Blog 8

I have done a few classroom observations in my life. I've observed as a parent, as a student and now as a future teacher. During this observation I feel I've had an advantage. My teacher is a recent college graduate so she has had a lot of new teaching techniques to share, as well as tips for my own schooling. She has been very supportive and kind these last couple of months. However, if I had to choose just one thing as the most important, it would be reassurance.

Watching and helping Mrs. Brown, has really cemented for me the goal of becoming a teacher. I've known I've always wanted to be a teacher, but now it has really become a passion of mine. Watching her interact with the children and their responses to her, have made me sure that this is the right path for me. I usually go about life a bit apprehensive and fearful, so having a clear focus on my career path is a refreshing experience. It's often said that if you do what you love it's not work. I am looking forward to running a classroom and loving those children as my own. 

Blog 7

The classroom rules in the class I am observing are pretty standard. Respect others, keep your hands to yourself and using kind words with each other are a few of the rules. These rules are clearly posted in the classroom and referred to often. They are enforced in many ways. One is with warnings and reminders, but the most effective way is with a color coded card system. 

Each student has a pocket on a large sheet of paper with their names on it. Each pocket contains a green, yellow, red and black card. The green card is always on top and as long as the student is behaving, their cards will remain green. However, once a rule has been broken and a warning given, the child is then asked to "pull a card". When yellow is on top, the child is kept in at the next recess, a red card is a note home and a black card is a one way ticket to the principles office. 

I really like this method of keeping the classroom rules. I think by having the children go up and pull a card, they are taking an active rule in their discipline. It makes it a bit more real versus putting a check mark on the board next to a child s name 

Blog 6

When you think of actively engaging students, you usually think about "hands on" activity's. Things like class wide games and small group activities are a few of the things that come readily to mind when you are planning to actively engage your students. These are fun and educational ways to reach students. However, games and group activates may not reach every student. An idea that Mrs. Brown uses that engages all of the students in a group, but each student is allowed to work independently are working with white boards.

Each child has there own one foot by one foot square of erasable white board. The children really love working independently on their personal board. But since the class is working together on something they are still engaging each other. I feel that this is a very effective tool for the class and look forward to them in my own classroom.

Blog 5

Teachers play many roles throughout the day, but I feel the most important of these is educator. At it's core, that is what being a teacher is all about. It is your job to instruct your students in the basics of education, then expand that knowledge and introduce new concepts as the year progresses. 

When you think of the traditional role of a teacher, you typically invoke the image of the old one room school house and the strict schoolmarm at the head of the class, leading endless recitations of classic poems and arithmetic. Back then, if you got it, you got it. If not? Well, you could always be a hired hand. Thankfully,today's teachers are much different; they need to teach in a more flexible way, utilizing different techniques and strategies that will meet students where they are. 

Along with modern education practices, a teacher must also inspire a life long love of learning. I feel this is the hardest role a teacher must play. You must balance instruction with inspiration and enthusiasm. There are certainly proven ways to encourage that spark, but I would venture to say most of the time being a muse takes a muse of your own: the children. You can use what you know of your students as well as their questions and observations to build on and clarify the material being presented. If you view teaching as a give and take relationship, everyone in the classroom will learn -- the teacher included. 

Blog 4

My favorite part of teaching is preparation for the school day. In my opinion, it is also the most important part. A properly planned day is the difference between engaging with a child and teaching at a child. I've been in a classroom where the teacher wasn't prepared for his lesson. He seemed distracted and just spouted a bunch of facts instead of having real world examples for the children to relate to. Yes, it filled the appointed time allotted for the subject, but I feel the kids weren't any better off for having sat through it.

The teacher I am working with currently is very prepared for the day. The preparations I've been involved in are usually for the coming week. Since it is a second grade classroom, the things I've been doing are pretty fun. I guess I should explain that I enjoy monotonous tasks, so when I say that I had fun, I mean it. What I've been doing are things like counting out beads into little bags, cutting out pumpkin shapes, and correcting papers. As much as I enjoy the tedious task of preparation, it's even more fun to watch the lesson unfold and see the children enjoying the activity you've helped prepare.

Blog 3

As a volunteer in the classroom I am not given the details of a child exact diagnosis, but it's easy to see how modifications are being made for certain exceptional students. In some cases, the student is taken out of the classroom to work directly with a special education teacher. On other occasions, the student will be helped by a parent volunteer like myself. However, the most common thing I've observed is the teacher teaching to the class, but taking special care to read the signs of the student, and gauging his or her attention to the subject and whether or not they are struggling to understand.

I've observed the teacher trying to take special care in not pointing the child out repeatedly. On occasion, she will need to pull the students focus back to the lesson at hand, but she mostly tries to teach to the class as a group of learners. I feel that this is important for all of the children of the class. It helps the exceptional student, in that it makes them feel included in the classroom. Sometimes, being the odd man out can be more of a distraction that a help. It also benefits the rest of the class, because the teacher is not needing to take time away from them in order to instruct the other child.

This way of intuitive instruction seems to work best with a teacher who is invested in her students. Much like mothering multiple children, you need to know how your child learns, the best incentives for success and the best way to gently correct and redirect behavior. All the while, making sure to meet the needs of the other children in the family, so at the end of the day each child feels included but still unique.

Blog 2

Working with a small group of students can be both fun and rewarding. In elementary school, a small group usually means you're playing a game or doing a fun activity together. I love to hear the little giggles from the children as you give voices to the characters, attempting to bring a book to life. Equally rewarding is the excitement of children winning a game against an adult. Even with all of the fun of working with a small group of students, I still prefer working one-on-one with students far more.

Usually when you work one-on-one with a student, it is because they need extra help with a subject or assignment. The time that stands out the most for me is when I was able to read with a little boy who had been struggling to do so. My heart would break as tears welled up each time he guessed at the words on the page, and they were incorrect. I needed a way to teach him; to get through to him; to help him succeed.

The next time I came into the classroom, I brought a special present. I had written a book all about the him that contained the SVS words the class was working on. We had a relaxing time of him drawing pictures as I read aloud. It was such a relief to see his smile instead of his tears. The best part was the next time I came into class, he still had the little book with him, and he read every word to me beautifully.