Student Teaching: Week 7!

I finally feel like I'm getting a hang of this teaching thing. I'm finding new and exciting ways for students to show what they know. I'm finding ways address the multiple intelligence's and as I do this i'm realizing how that when learning is fun for the students it's much more fun for the teacher as well! I'm always excited about what i'm teaching (except wildlife and fishery science) but making the students feel my excitement isn't always easy.

Something I did this week that was really fun was my interest approach for Parliamentary Procedure!! I created a meeting agenda and since most of my officers were in the class we went through opening and closing ceremonies and the items of business to discuss were the information of the class. The students really enjoyed it because it was new fun and an exciting way to learn!

This week I also realized that it’s so much easier to be at school than to not be there! I had my first experience writing sub plans and preparing the students for my absence! According to school policy teachers are not allowed to leave their computers unlocked or give the substitute the access information. So any work given had to be in the form of worksheets or videos, etc. Granted, there’s nothing wrong with this, but this makes things difficult, for me anyway! So after writing sub plans and creating activities for students to do I realize that I have two more days of sub plans to write! It was much easier the second time for sure!

As I begin to make connections with students I begin to realize that there is can’t possibly be a job any more rewarding than teaching! 

However, sometimes those relationships are emotionally a struggle. There are some students that are just happy, all the time and they’re great and then there are students that seem sad all of the time. And sometimes I just have to wonder how much of a front are the students putting on? What are they struggling with at home? Where and who is home? When they strive for so much attention is it because that’s all of the attention they get in one day? Sometimes it’s really tough when I have a student that just talks and talks and talks when I’m trying to do something before or after school or during my plan period but I realize that whatever I’m doing it can wait right now what this student really needs is just someone to talk to even if you have no idea what their talking about.

I really do enjoy teaching and forming connections with the students and as I get deeper and deeper into my internship I am realizing how hard it’s going to be to leave Juniata!