I feel that my teaching pedagogy has been improving everyday. (That's right! My very own pedagogy.) It is not easy to observe all the time, especially when you know you would manage a classroom differently than your mentors. However, I do feel that I have been learning a lot from my experiences. I am getting a better at learning my students’ names, which I found out is VERY important. Moreover, I feel that my two classes with the methods teacher and field instructors are extremely valuable in learning how to be successful in the classroom without the aid of my mentor.
Last week I tried teaching a full lesson to a class of around thirty-five students, it was not easy!! I had a girl throwing food across the room and others starting their own conversations before I moved onto a different activity. I learned that I need to keep the kids active, manage the classroom, and be well prepared for what I will be teaching! It was quite the day… but practice makes perfect, right?
On a very exciting note: I visited a middle school French class in Dearborn and it was so much fun!! I originally started the program in hopes that I could student teach at the middle school level, but there weren’t any French middle school teachers participating with the MAC program. Nonetheless, the one-day visit really opened my eyes to what is available to me. I teach every level in the high school so I see a wide age-range of students, and I loved interacting with the middle school children. They were so tiny and just getting excited about the language! I want to continue visiting the different schools (which I think is a wonderful opportunity to have within our program requirements), and I am interested to see schools that are a little more economically disadvantaged than Pioneer – I want to see how these schools are able to engage students when resources (such as paper and technology) are not available.
How am I dealing with being a SMACer by day and having a real life by night? Well…. it involves very little sleep, a lot of multi-tasking, and focusing on what is best for me. Not an easy task!! BUT having a good cohort and positive friends to help me along the journey is always a good thing ☺
p.s. I always forget how beautiful Fall is in Ann Arbor. I have been absolutely loving the weather, and (even though I am up before the sun rises) I love seeing the changing colors of the leaves and feeling the cool breeze walking home at night.
...Oh, and T-shirts won the SMAC poll. More to come on how we will set up the design and ordering! If you have any ideas, please let me know. Gracias ~
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6 comments:
It's great to read that you're getting a sense of your capacity as a teacher, Maria. This post has a wonderful sense of empowerment about it, and that's really cool. Are you taking notes somewhere about what you're seeing, what you're doing, what you want to remember and factor in to your planning?
It sounds like you reached a rather important epiphany about classroom management, Maria. Reading your post, I'm reminded that a significant portion of what we label as classroom management is really more about pacing, variety, thinking through what we want to accomplish in a given class session, and being responsive to our students as people.
I also have an idea for someone you should visit. Ask me about it if I forget to mention it.
Hi Maria,
I am glad that you had such a good experience visiting a different school! I really want to go to a middle school as well... Also, I am excited about the MAC t-shirts! Thanks for heading that up. Lastly, I am also excited that it is Fall... I mean it is my season :). I am trying to enjoy it as much as possible before it is winter!
Autumn
Maria, sorry I forgot to vote on your t-shirt poll. But I'm excited to buy one.
I know what you mean about how big a task it is to monitor everything that's going on in the classroom. I was looking at my video footage the other day and noticed two boys playing with a camera during the WHOLE CLASS and I never noticed. It's definitely humbling, but it's a relief that we're in a forgiving learning environment right now.
And...I also LOVE Ann Arbor in the fall! Yay crunchy leaves :)
Maria-
I appreciate your positive attitude towards the program, and putting your priorities in order :) It's easy to fall into the swamp of negativity, but you manage to see everything in the best of light.
It sounds like your placement is going well. I also really appreciate the fact that we get to observe different teachers and schools in order to have a more well-rounded vision of diverse pedagogies.
salut! Allison
Hey Maria! I know how you feel about the balancing act need for teaching a full lesson with an even larger class! I think students really appreciate activity or at least the opportunity to be active. And at the food fight bit, I saw one of my students throw a water bottle at another student. And I'm teaching juniors/seniors. When I asked him what he was doing, he stated, "We're just playing."
Ha! Sometimes I think they enjoy reverting back to elementary school level. But right! Practice, practice, practice... but I don't think we should aim for perfect. Maybe aim for better every day?
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