A Bitter, Sweet Goodbye

Many people do not know that I teach a religious education class one night a week. This is something I have been doing now for seven years. This year I had a third grade class, which is unusual for me. Most other years I have had grades sixth or seventh grade classes. Having such a young class was very different for me. It took a lot of getting used in the early part of the year, but as time went on things began to come together. Today was the last day of class with them for the year, and I left with very mixed feelings about this past year. For the most part I am going to miss my class, but on the other hand I am happy it is over because they were a handful and I already know that I have a sixth grade class for next year. Having such young students taught me a great lesson in being very patient. I'm not always the most patient person, but working with them taught me that I had to be patient because they were still very young and trying the best they could. Some of my students were only on a kindergarten or first grade reading level so this made it difficult for them to complete some of the readings for class. Initially this was very frustrating for me. As time went on I made many of my lessons hands on using different activities and projects to teach them the material this really worked out well. So, overall I am sad to see them leave, but I am relieved that there is one less thing to do on top of work and school.

So Much for Saying Goodbye to the Blog

Although this assignment is over and I thought that would be the end of me blogging, I keep finding things to blog about. When we were "forced" to post for class I found it difficult to post sometimes as I knew that it was part of my grade, but now that it is just on my own for fun it seems so much easier. The last few days I have had quite a few things come up that I have either already blogged about or will be blogging about in the near future. Unlike most assignments in school that end when the semester ends or the due date arrives, this has become something that I want to continue doing. The blog has become fun for me to do, and I have found out that it is impacting other people. So I will be continuing my blog as long as I still have things in education to write about. The possibilities are endless meaning this blog will go on for a long time. I definitely plan to use this with my students, and hopefully they will come to enjoy it as much as I am. 

Picking on Students

My personal belief has always been that a teacher should not pick on students directly. Joking around is one thing, but giving students a hard time by picking on or making fun of them is completely wrong. I feel that picking on students can lead to them no longer wanting to be in that class. Students have it tough enough being students and teenagers with the peer pressure and other issues they go through. Why would a teacher want to add more pressure to these students in the classroom by picking on them. This puts the students on the defensive rather than feeling comfortable in the classroom. It frustrates me when I see teachers doing this. Teachers are there to make the classroom and the entire school a positive learning environment where students feel comfortable sharing their opinions  and being who they are. 

I saw this happen in a college classroom today. A teacher spent a good amount of the class giving a student a hard time. I found this to be a waste of valuable class time as well as insulting and demeaning to that student. At any educational level this is inappropriate. Sorry if this seems like a rant, but it is something that made me really angry because it wasted so much time and was so insulting.

Taking Work Home with You

It was brought up in class about taking what happens in class home with you. Bringing what happens in the classroom with you should be something that you expect. In any job I feel like there would be somethings that occur that you will think about long after you leave for the day. During my junior field I have become very involved with the class I am in and as my time there is coming to a close I am realizing how much I am going to miss this group. I have also had the students tell me that they are going to miss me and it makes me feel bad that I have to leave them. I find myself talking to my family about my time in the classroom whether it is a good or bad day I still take some of it home with me. I have also found this in jobs I have had outside of teaching. No matter what you do some part of it will follow you and even sometime influence you as a person and/or a teacher.

Use of Certain Language

Today in class it was brought up whether or not it is appropriate to use words that could potentially be considered offensive, such as hell. I didn't even take notice to it until it was brought up by Dr. Luongo. I feel as though we are all desensitized to certain words and actions. It does not even phase most people of the current generation when someone uses what would have been perceived as bad or offensive language several years ago. Although this language may not be noticed by most, it may still be offensive to some. This is where a teacher has to determine what is acceptable and what is not. After having that discussion in class I went to my junior field class. I took notice to some of the potentially offensive language being used in the classroom. It was used in describing a certain situation. It was not meant to be used in an offensive manner. When used in that way, I believe it is acceptable on occasion, but it would be better if other words could be used in place of these words.

Reflection on the Blog Assignment

In the beginning of the assignment I believed that this was just going to be a time consuming project that would never end. When I heard we had to blog a couple times a week, my thought was oh great just more work to do. As I began to blog I realized that it wasn't so bad. The assignment began to grow on me not long after it started. As time went on I gained a large amount of information by reading the blogs of other students in my class as well as my professor. I also learn quite a bit by researching topics to post on my own blog. This assignment turned out to be one of the most effective assignments I have ever done. This was because I got to do my own research on whatever educational topic I wanted and write about it. It became fun to do this assignment. As a teacher I would definitely consider doing a blog with my students. This would allow them the same opportunities I had. Students get to be creative and have fun while still learning. For me the most fulfilling part of the assignment was when I found out what an influence my blog had on a friend of mine and the program that she runs.

Micro-Teaching Reflection

Friday I got to do my micro-teaching lesson on A Tell-Tale Heart by Poe. Going into that micro-teaching I definitely felt more comfortable than any other micro-teaching I ever went into. At the same time I was a little nervous about it because this was the first time I was dealing with the issue of behavioral problems in this situation. In the past I have dealt with behavioral problems in a real classroom situation but that is different because their regular classroom teacher was still in there and helped with the situation. In class I knew I was on my own. After starting my lesson that fear of the problems eased. I was a little taken back by the fact that there were not as many behavioral problems as I thought their were going to be. Overall I was happy about the way the lesson went. I definitely feel more confident getting into a classroom and teaching real students.