1. I have taken all of the required education courses already. This term I am only taking this Level 2 along with ESOL 3. The one that impacted me the most was Integrating the Exceptional Child. I particuarly liked this class becasue I realized that every student is different whether they have a disability or not and as a teacher I must find a way to teach an entire class of 20 students the same material but basically 20 different ways so that each student, disabled or not, learns what they are supposed to learn.
2. The only real experience I have had is babysitting. They kids I used to babysit were about 5-7 years old. I used to enjoy babysitting so much because we got to do "little kid" stuff all day and throughout the days I would find myself sharing things with them that I had learned. While it wasn't a formal lesson I still got much enjoyment out of sharing my knowledge with the kids I used to babysit.
3. Looking ahead to my inernship I hope that I get to actually do some teaching this time. In my Level one i did nothing. I literally sat in the back of the class observing the entire semester! I fear that I will not be smart enough and that I will make a fool of myself in front of the students or even worse that I will teach them wrong information. I consider myself and intelligent person but I am just nervous I guess. One of my worst nightmares is being observed my the supervising teacher and my USF teacher. I think that I will feel more comfortable alone with the students, but I think that having experienced teachers sitting in the back of the class judging me while I teach will be super nerve racking!
4. I can honestly say that I have never had a BAD teacher. Some have been better than others but none have been exceptionaly bad. That being said my favortie teachers were always the ones who had a bad reputation for being harsh. I am an extremely organized person so I always felt most comfortable with a teacher that "had their stuff together". I couldnt stand those teachers that were so wishy washy and the class walked all over them and they were so unorganized and flew by the seat of their pants. The qualities that I always admired in my teachers were that they were firm but fair, and organized to a tee. I liked my teachers who always explained everything in a straight forward maner, teachers who were so thourough the first time around that there was no confusion.
Congratulations on making this far in the College of Education!
ReplyDeleteI think babysitting is good experience. Like you said, you were sharing things you learned with those children even though they were not formal lessons. Just because you are not writing formal lessons, does not mean you were not teaching them in some way. I remember working with my four year old cousin, teaching him how to cut. I did not have a formal lesson plan; I just came up with cutting projects I knew he would enjoy so he could practice.
I am sorry your first internship experience was not everything you hoped. You should not worry about not being smart enough or making a fool of yourself. Keep a positive attitude and you will do fine. I do not know you very well, but if you have made it this far in education you are intelligent enough to succeed in the classroom as well as a teacher. If your advising teacher will allow you to teach before you are observed that would be great experience so you can feel more comfortable. Again, do not worry, no one is judging you, they are there to help strengthen your abilities. Also, you have had many great role models throughout the years, as you were able to pick out their great qualities. Keep those in mind as you plan and teach. You will do just fine!
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI once heard someone say that informal lessons are sometimes the best ones. When we spend time just mentoring or babysitting kids the little things we do with them lead to great experiences. You might not have been teaching them concrete lessons but they were learning something.
Do not think of it as they are juding you but trying to help you. They are only here to help us become better teachers. I agree with the above post about doing a lesson before Mr. B comes in to observe. If your teacher is really nice maybe you can sit down with him or her and discuss the plan before hand. This way you will know exactly what you have to accomplish.