One of my many positive experiences so far in my practicum is simply getting to know each student on an academic and personal level. I’ve been able to engage with the children by listening to each of them read a few pages of a story to me. This not only gives me an indication of their reading level, but most importantly, their interests, background, and little quirks. Each child reads a book that they choose from the library and it is always a delight to see them pick out things that they are genuinely interested in or would like to learn more about. Even though they would stumble on some words, I can see their determination to complete the difficult sentence and finish the story which illustrates how they are not only “learning to read” but “reading to learn”. Such eagerness and enthusiasm at a young age simply inspires me to become the best teacher that I can be.
Another hit so far is seeing how creative and individual each child is in their work or task. I saw this when I led a duck-sketching activity with the class. Each child was provided with paper, pencil, a sketch board, and two real ducklings that the school took care of. At first, I was quite nervous leading this activity without my TA but she encouraged me to step up to the task. To my surprise, after giving the instructions, the children set off to work on their individual masterpieces excitedly. It was such a positive experience seeing their different creative abilities and artistic strengths! I want to always be a part of that development and celebrate each child’s talent and uniqueness.
A big hit in my practicum so far is working with such an exceptional TA. I am truly privileged to be working with an extraordinary teacher who always goes the extra mile for her students. Ms. Beeksma demonstrates tremendous patience and care for each child in her classroom and dedicates herself fully to their learning and development. She has also shown me how important it is to develop and maintain teacher-student-parent relationships by having consistent parent volunteers in the classroom and by taking time to chat with the childrens’ parents/guardians at the end of the day. Her dedication and patience are definitely characteristics I strive to develop in my personal journey towards teaching.
One less than positive experience for me is witnessing two students fight without any teachers around. This occurred at the end of the school day and I unfortunately wasn’t sure how to react. I walked towards them and thankfully, my presence was enough to break them apart. I stayed around to see that they wouldn’t continue fighting and made sure they left in their separate ways before I left. This incident really opened my eyes to the challenges of being a teacher outside of the classroom, even after school hours. I am thankful that I was able to experience this though because I was able to learn from it and develop my skills in handling such situations in the future.
Another hit so far is seeing how creative and individual each child is in their work or task. I saw this when I led a duck-sketching activity with the class. Each child was provided with paper, pencil, a sketch board, and two real ducklings that the school took care of. At first, I was quite nervous leading this activity without my TA but she encouraged me to step up to the task. To my surprise, after giving the instructions, the children set off to work on their individual masterpieces excitedly. It was such a positive experience seeing their different creative abilities and artistic strengths! I want to always be a part of that development and celebrate each child’s talent and uniqueness.
A big hit in my practicum so far is working with such an exceptional TA. I am truly privileged to be working with an extraordinary teacher who always goes the extra mile for her students. Ms. Beeksma demonstrates tremendous patience and care for each child in her classroom and dedicates herself fully to their learning and development. She has also shown me how important it is to develop and maintain teacher-student-parent relationships by having consistent parent volunteers in the classroom and by taking time to chat with the childrens’ parents/guardians at the end of the day. Her dedication and patience are definitely characteristics I strive to develop in my personal journey towards teaching.
One less than positive experience for me is witnessing two students fight without any teachers around. This occurred at the end of the school day and I unfortunately wasn’t sure how to react. I walked towards them and thankfully, my presence was enough to break them apart. I stayed around to see that they wouldn’t continue fighting and made sure they left in their separate ways before I left. This incident really opened my eyes to the challenges of being a teacher outside of the classroom, even after school hours. I am thankful that I was able to experience this though because I was able to learn from it and develop my skills in handling such situations in the future.