Week #8

    Before I started my fieldwork hours, I still wasn't sure what I wanted to major in.  I had changed my major 4 or 5 different times, and thought maybe I would give Elementary Ed a shot. I love kids, but never thought teaching was something that I would be interested in. Going to a class room each week completely changed my mind! After having spent over 20 hours in the classroom with these kids, I couldn't love them more than I do. I know teaching is what I need to do in order to make a difference in the lives of others.

    Even though I was only in the classroom with these kids for a short, I developed such a love for them! It was so rewarding to see these kids succeed each in their own individual way. The most important thing for me that I learned this semester, is that I want to be a teacher! I know that teaching is hard work, but the reward of changing the lives of these children make it all worth it. I still remember my favorite teach from elementary school, and I hope that someday I can be that teacher for these children, and make a huge impact on the lives of each one of them. 

Week #7

    The teacher I have been observing has been teaching for over 15 years and is very set in her ways. Her students know exactly what she expects and know the punishment if they do not follow the rules. The teacher has a chart in the classroom with various colors. Each of the students start in the same place every morning, but based on their behavior will either move up or down on the chart and receive different consequences or rewards. The chart shows exactly what the consequence is whether good or bad, and they know where they stand on the chart. If they are doing something that does not line up with what the teacher expects, all she has to say is "move your pin" and they students immediately know the behavior they are participating in is either good or bad.
   With the different levels of learning in the classroom, the teacher has to have a classroom that is very quiet. There are times when the students know they can be loud and have fun, but when they are working on certain things, they know the teacher expects it to be quiet. They have points on the board called a "yahoo" and an "oh man". When the students are exhibiting exceptional behavior, they get a "yahoo" point. At the end of the week if they have more "yahoos" than "oh man" points, they get extra recess time. 
   I think this teacher is very successful with the way she runs her classroom. Her students know what she expects and she always follows through with the consequences of her rules.

Week #6

   The teacher I have been working with always makes it a priority to keep her students engaged in the lesson or instruction she is giving. She has a job chart so that each student feels important and is more involved in the classroom. 
   As we do math in her classroom each day, she has the students physically work the problem with items she has given them. This keeps the students engaged in learning how to do the problems rather than just listening to her talk. They do worksheets together as a class rather than on their own, and she gives each student an opportunity to answer a question. 
    The teacher I observe also has a smart board in her classroom and lets the students engage in the lessons while using that. As we have been learning about synonyms and antonyms, they play a game on the board deciphering between the two and each child gets to take a turn learning that way.