Section VII: Student Teaching Experience Reflection
This experience was one of the most inspiring and rewarding experiences I have had. Working with these students and developing relationships with them lifted me up to a whole new level. I was thrilled to come into work every day with a smile on my face. However, it broke my heart to leave them in mid-semester. What made leaving even worse was having the students want me to stay with them. I know they were left in good hands, but still broke my heart. Needless to say, the relationships and encounters I had with students went really well, possibly the most successful.
The cooperating teaching environment is incredible to work with. I could not have asked for a better placement. This placement helped me grow as a teacher, but I wish I had more time in this placement, not only to work with these students but with my cooperative teacher. I felt like I was just starting to come into a more advanced level of teaching and honing my skills when I was placed somewhere new and started all over from the beginning. Working with Karen Lemmon was phenomenal. I was given great feedback and tried to implement it immediately into the classroom. During this cooperative teaching, I was able to learn that I have great plans, but sometimes lose things when I get to teach it in the classroom. I learned from the art department teachers to resort to my list making skills and write a “to do list” for every lesson, so I know the order of what I am going to teach and when I want to ask the big questions. I also learned that I have a strong and confident presence in front of the class. I did not expect this, because I have always seen myself as a poor public speaker. Guess I can’t make that argument anymore.
If I could do this experience over again, I would have jumped into teaching faster. Eight weeks goes by so fast I could have used that extra week or week and a half to work with the students and grow more. The biggest thing I would change is having more confidence in myself from the start, but at the time I was just starting, and as expected not very confident. The one thing I wish I had done more of was to research or try more new projects that got the students even more into working with clay. However, it wasn’t my classroom so maybe this wouldn’t have worked anyway. Regardless, I will definitely be spending more time looking for creative, inspiring, and exciting projects to do with the students.
I think through this experience I have discovered that I live to work with high school students and love having a class that is going in all different directions. This makes things more interesting and results in more inspiration for every student in the class. However, I still am struggling with finding the balance between being the stricter teacher and the flexible teacher. I feel like I am more on the strict side, but am more than willing to work with the students who come to me for more time or that I see need more time whether they have an IEP or not. I have learned that my compassion for my students and my passion for art are my two strengths that I will take with me everywhere. These traits are what will make me into an outstanding teacher, but I am still learning and growing and will continue to do so throughout my career. Hopefully, I will find a great job that has the support I need and that both the school and community are a good fit for me. I don’t want to take a job just to take a job. I am looking for that long term fit.
The cooperating teaching environment is incredible to work with. I could not have asked for a better placement. This placement helped me grow as a teacher, but I wish I had more time in this placement, not only to work with these students but with my cooperative teacher. I felt like I was just starting to come into a more advanced level of teaching and honing my skills when I was placed somewhere new and started all over from the beginning. Working with Karen Lemmon was phenomenal. I was given great feedback and tried to implement it immediately into the classroom. During this cooperative teaching, I was able to learn that I have great plans, but sometimes lose things when I get to teach it in the classroom. I learned from the art department teachers to resort to my list making skills and write a “to do list” for every lesson, so I know the order of what I am going to teach and when I want to ask the big questions. I also learned that I have a strong and confident presence in front of the class. I did not expect this, because I have always seen myself as a poor public speaker. Guess I can’t make that argument anymore.
If I could do this experience over again, I would have jumped into teaching faster. Eight weeks goes by so fast I could have used that extra week or week and a half to work with the students and grow more. The biggest thing I would change is having more confidence in myself from the start, but at the time I was just starting, and as expected not very confident. The one thing I wish I had done more of was to research or try more new projects that got the students even more into working with clay. However, it wasn’t my classroom so maybe this wouldn’t have worked anyway. Regardless, I will definitely be spending more time looking for creative, inspiring, and exciting projects to do with the students.
I think through this experience I have discovered that I live to work with high school students and love having a class that is going in all different directions. This makes things more interesting and results in more inspiration for every student in the class. However, I still am struggling with finding the balance between being the stricter teacher and the flexible teacher. I feel like I am more on the strict side, but am more than willing to work with the students who come to me for more time or that I see need more time whether they have an IEP or not. I have learned that my compassion for my students and my passion for art are my two strengths that I will take with me everywhere. These traits are what will make me into an outstanding teacher, but I am still learning and growing and will continue to do so throughout my career. Hopefully, I will find a great job that has the support I need and that both the school and community are a good fit for me. I don’t want to take a job just to take a job. I am looking for that long term fit.