When I finished high school in the 1980’s, I chose to defer going to college until after I started and raised my children. When my youngest child entered elementary school, I decided to begin working at the school she attended and where I had volunteered regularly. It was during these years as a special education teacher’s assistance that I found my love of education and passion for helping children learn.
When I finally went back to school, I was fraught with insecurities and self-doubt. It had been almost three decades since I had been in an academic setting, and the education world had significantly changed since I was last in school. My first two years of general education classes were spent proving to myself that I could successfully manage the demands of academia. It was not until I started my education classes at Regent University that I hit my academic stride and knew that pursuing a career in education was exactly the right fit for me. Heading into my student teaching experience, I felt prepared and ready amidst a bundle of nervousness.
I thoroughly embraced and enjoyed my student teaching. I loved the challenges of teaching gifted students that pushed me to go beyond the standard, stock answers of a concept. The first subject I took over from my cooperating teacher was the start of a science unit on the solar system. At the conclusion of my first lesson I gave an exit ticket that asked students to answer two questions: what they had learned and what they still wondered about. Their questions were impressively deep and thoughtful, and required me to spend my evening doing research! I decided to use questions in my lesson the next day as a platform that highlighted student questions, satisfied curious minds by giving some answers, and used other questions to pique student interest on topics we were going to be covering during the unit. Starting the unit in this manner proved successful as the interest and curiosity about the topic continued throughout the unit, and upon its conclusion I was met with student complaints because they wanted to continue exploring that topic.
Learning to navigate the use and integration of technology in the classroom was personally challenging. I knew that I was going to have to learn and use unfamiliar technology, but I did not anticipate how regularly I would be challenged by malfunctioning equipment. I very quickly learned to make sure I had contingency plans in place for my lessons. Interestingly, I found I needed to pull back some of the use of the personal devices because they had become a distraction for the students and their level of understanding for the content was suffering. With the reduction of time they spent on personal devices I was able to increase the amount of independent reading with physical books which has greater benefit to learner success. I also found that the use of the digital Smartboard for communication like morning messages, morning work, and center rotations made my classroom routines more efficient and afforded students the opportunity to take responsibility for their learning.
Sadly, my second placement in a first-grade class was very brief due to the COVID pandemic but still a great learning experience. During the brief time at this placement, I was able to bring an outside perspective to help my cooperating teacher make some changes she felt she needed. While I did not actually get to implement my ideas or lessons, I had already prepared to be teaching the first week the shutdown took place. The most significant change I intended to make was to shorten instructional time spent on the carpet to reduce ongoing behavior problems. Supporting the reduction of instructional time, I was going to increase guided practice that included the use of manipulatives and physical movement. While I am disappointed that I did not get the opportunity to see the impact those changes would have made, I am confident that it would have improved the quality of the students learning experience.
As I take the next step of my journey into the world of education, I will draw on the strength and encouragement of the amazing teachers I have worked with. I will boldly stand on the high quality of theory and instruction I have received from fantastic professors. I will remember the most important reason for teaching, which is to academically influence young learners in a positive way so that they may have a successful life and become lifelong learners. I will remind myself that mistakes are valuable learning experiences and excellence, not perfection, is my professional goal. And finally, I will faithfully use the skills and abilities entrusted to me to live out the divine calling of sharing my love of learning.
When I finally went back to school, I was fraught with insecurities and self-doubt. It had been almost three decades since I had been in an academic setting, and the education world had significantly changed since I was last in school. My first two years of general education classes were spent proving to myself that I could successfully manage the demands of academia. It was not until I started my education classes at Regent University that I hit my academic stride and knew that pursuing a career in education was exactly the right fit for me. Heading into my student teaching experience, I felt prepared and ready amidst a bundle of nervousness.
I thoroughly embraced and enjoyed my student teaching. I loved the challenges of teaching gifted students that pushed me to go beyond the standard, stock answers of a concept. The first subject I took over from my cooperating teacher was the start of a science unit on the solar system. At the conclusion of my first lesson I gave an exit ticket that asked students to answer two questions: what they had learned and what they still wondered about. Their questions were impressively deep and thoughtful, and required me to spend my evening doing research! I decided to use questions in my lesson the next day as a platform that highlighted student questions, satisfied curious minds by giving some answers, and used other questions to pique student interest on topics we were going to be covering during the unit. Starting the unit in this manner proved successful as the interest and curiosity about the topic continued throughout the unit, and upon its conclusion I was met with student complaints because they wanted to continue exploring that topic.
Learning to navigate the use and integration of technology in the classroom was personally challenging. I knew that I was going to have to learn and use unfamiliar technology, but I did not anticipate how regularly I would be challenged by malfunctioning equipment. I very quickly learned to make sure I had contingency plans in place for my lessons. Interestingly, I found I needed to pull back some of the use of the personal devices because they had become a distraction for the students and their level of understanding for the content was suffering. With the reduction of time they spent on personal devices I was able to increase the amount of independent reading with physical books which has greater benefit to learner success. I also found that the use of the digital Smartboard for communication like morning messages, morning work, and center rotations made my classroom routines more efficient and afforded students the opportunity to take responsibility for their learning.
Sadly, my second placement in a first-grade class was very brief due to the COVID pandemic but still a great learning experience. During the brief time at this placement, I was able to bring an outside perspective to help my cooperating teacher make some changes she felt she needed. While I did not actually get to implement my ideas or lessons, I had already prepared to be teaching the first week the shutdown took place. The most significant change I intended to make was to shorten instructional time spent on the carpet to reduce ongoing behavior problems. Supporting the reduction of instructional time, I was going to increase guided practice that included the use of manipulatives and physical movement. While I am disappointed that I did not get the opportunity to see the impact those changes would have made, I am confident that it would have improved the quality of the students learning experience.
As I take the next step of my journey into the world of education, I will draw on the strength and encouragement of the amazing teachers I have worked with. I will boldly stand on the high quality of theory and instruction I have received from fantastic professors. I will remember the most important reason for teaching, which is to academically influence young learners in a positive way so that they may have a successful life and become lifelong learners. I will remind myself that mistakes are valuable learning experiences and excellence, not perfection, is my professional goal. And finally, I will faithfully use the skills and abilities entrusted to me to live out the divine calling of sharing my love of learning.