Teaching Blog: Midterm Reflection

It is reflection week and I am exhausted. Quest 2 has been as stressful as I thought it would be and my mind is ready for a break. Even though there have been obstacles, such as a hurricane, I still look back at these last six weeks as monumental in my future as a teacher.

I have learned so much over the last six weeks that I do not even know where to start. First, I learned a lot about classroom management from my SBTE and how it begins from day one. This 1st grade classroom is so well behaved that one would not think they were in a 1st grade classroom. Some of the teacher’s tips are: having a “student teacher” every day that is in charge of classroom management including passing out papers, requiring the students to always push in their chairs and put away their backpacks, having the students raise their hands in either an “r” shape or “w” shape for restrooms and water, and many other great ideas. Next, I learned a lot about how to teach a lesson to different ability levels. Because this 1st grade classroom consists of 5 GT, 4 special needs, and 9 general education students, I was forced to learn how to teach to these different students. Some of my lessons had to be modified for the individual students such as adding activities for the GT students, or shortening the lesson for the students with special needs. Although challenging, I feel blessed to have been able to be a part of this classroom.

All classrooms have challenges and this experience is no different. The first obvious challenge is Hurricane Ike. Due to the hurricane, I missed a week of class and time became an issue. Instead of 6 weeks with the students I only had 5 weeks and lessons still had to be taught. The students themselves fell behind and yet testing had to be completed. I handled this situation the best I could by focusing and trying to help the students get back on track. In the end, it all worked out and I taught 6 lessons. Another challenge is teaching to a mixed ability classroom. Before this experience, I was a proponent for inclusion. Now, I realize that teaching to a mixed abilities classroom is too difficult and almost detrimental to the other students. For instance, a child in my classroom is emotionally disturbed and requires the majority of the teacher’s time. While she is helping said student, the other students are left to fend for themselves. Again, I feel blessed to have been able to work with these students although it is trying.

I am looking forward to the remainder of the semester with an upper grade. I am hoping to feel more comfortable teaching a lesson. I am also hoping to use technology in my lessons due to the fact that I did not use any this previous 6 weeks. The professional attributes I struggled with in the first reflection have not been accomplished so I am optimistic that I will reach these goals during the next 6 weeks.