It is with disbelief that I begin
this paper. I can hardly believe that my
student teaching experience is at it’s close.
Overall, this has been the most authentic experience I’ve had to
date. Though my time student teaching
has challenged me, those challenges have only reaffirmed my decision to be a
teacher. I can honestly say that the
most difficult challenge I faced was the discrepancy between what my SDSU
coursework “prepared” me for and what I actually encountered in the real
world. My cooperating teachers proved
invaluable time and time again as I struggled with students’ lack of motivation
and chattering selves. I would say my
most important success is that I know with absolute certainty that this is what
I’m meant to do. In our world today, I
think careers are thought of as just that.
I’m wonderfully blessed to say that I have a true and strong calling to
be an educator.
Let
me just jump in by saying that the SDSU coursework I went through pales in
comparison to any and all of my student teaching experience. If it were not required by the rubric, I
would not mention these classes because they were inconsequential compared to
my fabulous semester at Brandon Valley. I
appreciated the practicality of having some background in Law and Ethics. This came in handy particularly when dealing
with the issue of saying the pledge of allegiance at school. Though I had to create a lengthy personal
management plan for class, I did not find this helpful because it was all in
hypotheticals. While yes, some things I
can plan for and structure before my students arrive, most I cannot. In my
opinion, that is a mark of a good teacher- someone who takes into consideration
her students before making ambiguous decisions.
The most helpful of the four classes was easily the assessment
class. I appreciate the structure of
backwards design and using an assessment to plan a unit. However, it should be mentioned that a more
realistic exercise came from adjusting my lesson plans on a day-to-day basis,
which is exactly what my cooperating teachers tell me they do all the
time. You cannot be so set in stone that
you refuse to deviate from a plan.
Rather, I believe it is more beneficial (for all involved) if there is
some spontaneity. From the special
education course I unfortunately learned almost nothing. The majority of the presentations and
information was plagiarized and incomplete which gave me little to go off of
when I entered the field. Thankfully,
again, my cooperating teachers walked me through all the essentials.
My
personal philosophy of education has very much remained the same. In our world today, a public education is
sometimes the only constant in a student’s life. That means that it is my responsibility to do
my absolute best each and every day. I remember the beginning of the
semester being a little nervous to laugh at myself, and now that is usually the
most fun I have with my students!! It is mind-boggling to think that only a few
short months have changed and grown me in such wonderful ways. Being a professional educator has many twist
and turns. I’ve learned quite a bit
about the politics of being a teacher, something that everyone warns you
about. I’m privileged to work in a
school district that treats it’s teachers well, and that has set quite the
precedent for anywhere I might teach in the future. I know that anyone and everyone can be
someone of importance, and it’s vital to act professional and respectful at all
times.
My
first goal for professional growth comes from planning and implementing an
entire year’s worth of curriculum. As
this is something I will not start doing until this summer, I have little
experience with it. I know how to plan
individual units, but planning an entire year is a whole different ball
game. I loved planning both my Night and Frankenstein units, which leads me to believe that once I’ve
planned an entire first year, the second year will come much easier. I plan to use a vast majority of my summer
while nannying to plan for my first year of teaching in Egypt. Resources and mentors are absolutely vital
when it comes to starting such a daunting process, and I’m happy to say that I
have two fabulous mentors I know I can continue to turn to throughout the years
to come. It is obvious that a year’s
worth of curriculum is an essential goal; without it I would have no way of
preparing my students for the upcoming years in their education. I look forward to creating and implementing
curriculum in a classroom that is all my own starting this August!
Secondly,
I want to continue to be a student myself.
I’ve always loved learning, one of the main reasons I decided to become
a teacher. However, I can see how it
might be easy to get caught up in monotony and forget that I too need constant
education! A way to combat this is to
stay in touch with my fellow teachers to bounce ideas off each other. This is something I’m already doing with my
student teaching peers, as well as my cooperating teachers. Another easy way to foster my learning is to
attend workshops and trainings to keep me up to date. I’m already looking at doing a couple of
workshops this summer because of what my cooperating teachers have shared with
me. I think being a lifelong learner is
absolutely essential to being a great teacher.
I never want to forget all that comes with being a student; I’m afraid
if I do, I’ll fall out of touch with my own students.
What
have I learned about myself? What an
interesting way to end this paper. I
feel it merits mention that I frequently become annoyed with the extensive
reflective assignments that we have to do for SDSU. I’ve come to realize the reason I’m so
frustrated with these is because I’m already reflecting. All the time. With my peers, with my
cooperating teachers, and most of all with myself. Throughout my entire student teaching
experience, I’ve been blogging my thoughts and ideas and struggles for the
world to see. By doing this I have to
actively look at myself and my teaching practices and philosophies to make sure
that they line up and complement each other. I’ve learned that what I’m doing works, and
that the more you care about your students, the more they care about what
you’re teaching. It’s as simple as that.
As for the teacher I want to be?
Well, doesn’t that list just go on and on… I want to be the teacher that the students can
always count on. I want to be the
teacher that pushes boundaries and encourages challenges. I want to be the teacher that can admit when
she’s wrong and step back. I want to be
the teacher that my students think I am right now: energetic, passionate, and
each of their champions every day.
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