Closure

A Year in Review...



This week was my last week in my site school classroom with my first graders. It was a really sad feeling knowing that I won't get to go back again. On my last day, I brought all of my students little goodie bags and pictures of me and them with a nice note. Mrs. Barnhill also brought cupcakes and juice boxes to have a little party before I left. This brought closure to my experiences with my class, but it was still hard saying goodbye.

Three More Monday's

It is crazy to think that my senior year has flown by so fast. It seems like it was yesterday that we all came to school in the heat of August, and I began to learn more about becoming a teacher. Then the second six weeks rolled around and I began to intern in Mrs. Barnhill's first grade class at North Ridge Elementary. I'm so sad that I only have one more week left with them.

When I first walked into my class I was so nervous. I didn't know what to expect from my students or my mentor teacher. However, now that I have spent nearly an entire school year with them I don't want to leave. Mrs. Barnhill has been so good to me and taught me so much about how to be a good teacher. My kids were all so sweet and I have loved getting to teach them and watch them grow.

After my experiences this year, I am definitely more enthused to become a teacher. I can't wait to graduate from college in four years and be able to have my own classroom and students to teach. I want to impact students' lives and I will. It is sad for me to have to leave my class at North Ridge Elementary, however I hope to be back again here, or some other school in BISD, one day in my future. This thought helps me have closure because I know that it is not a "goodbye", but "I'll see you soon."

Smart Technology

I am currently interning in a first grade class and technology is very beneficial to incorporate into lesson plans. All the new advances in technology such as smart boards, slates, and iPads have drastically changed the course of teaching.

I could implement iPads into my classroom so my first graders could use eduational apps for their enrichment. Here is a link to the Education page of apps that iTunes offers. Two free apps that I have found are Animal Fun and Kids Math Fun-Kindergarden. Animal Fun shows pictures and makes sounds of animals, as well as tells some fun facts about them. My first graders have been learning about turtles and frogs so this could be helpful. Math Fun-Kindergarden is an app that allows the students to practice their math facts in a fun way.

I could also use a Smartboard in my classroom to teach a lesson. This website has really helpful already created lesson plans and activities that you can use on a smart board for your first grade class. I found one lesson in particular that I could use in my classroom to help me teach fractions. Here is a link to the file that you can download online.

Financial Literacy Can Pay Off

On my years in school, there were definitely subjects that could have been taught in a more relevant way. For example, in math class we often have homework assignments that simply have you solve differentiable equations over and over. This seems tedious and irrelevant. However, if we had a couple of real world word problems, this would be more practical and relevant to life situations.

Throughout my school years, I have taken many subjects that are useful to me. One of these was my English III Rhetoric class. This class taught me how to be persuasive in my writing and speaking, which will greatly benefit me in life. Another class was BCIS, because I learned how to be a professional in Microsoft Word and Excel. I will be able to use this information in all my future classes, and my future profession. A subject that I will our school offered is personal financing. This would have taught me how to manage money and deal with my taxes and retirement. Another class that would have been beneficial to me is home economics. This would have taught me the basics on how to run a home, which I will need in a few years when I have my first house.

Even though I never took a personal finance class, I still feel relatively comfortable about my ability to manage money and finances. My parents have always provided for me, but they have also taught me responsibility by making me pay for my wants. I have babysat throughout high school and kept a budget so I made sure I had enough money for my expenses such as fast food, clothes, movies, etc.

With this being said, if I had been taught a financial literacy curriculum in school I would feel better about my financial future. I hadn't really been aware of how much college tuition, mortgages, or car payments were until recently. A class that provides exposure to these real world expenses would have prepared me for college and adulthood a lot better.

-inspired by this article

What Teachers Want Parents to Know

The Ron Clark Story is a well-known movie that sheds light on the hardships teachers face, as well an inspirational story of a man who never gave up on his students. Ron Clark's story inspires many educators and gives them new ideas to use in the classroom. This recent news video came out about Ron Clark, his academy, and advice he had for educators and parents.

This video tells that teachers need parents to understand that homework should be done in different and fun environments. Some examples are in the back yard, in a bean bag, or at the park. Another thing that parents should understand is that teachers have a lot of regulations that inhibit their teaching. Standardized tests and administrators often times set limitations that teachers must face. Teachers face these limitations to the best of their ability, and parents should understand this.

Parents should also understand that they should be partners, not prosecutors. To me, this means that parents should be supportive of teachers and their teaching styles. Parents should talk about teachers in a respectful light, so their children foster a respectful idea of teachers as well. When teachers feel supported and encouraged by parents, they feel more appreciated and will therefore better educate their students.

My Classroom Rules

In my Education and Training Class, we recently watched the movie, "The Ron Clark Story." This was a very inspiring, true story of a man who faced a challenging class in an inner-city school. His patience was tested, but he overcame these challenges and serves as a role model for all educators.

Ron Clark's #1 Classroom Rule was "We are a Family." I think he placed so much importance on this rule because all the following rules were rooted in this. If you saw the classroom as a family, then you would respect others, and follow all other rules because you knew they would be for the good of the family.

I was inspired by Ron Clark's story to create my own list of rules for my Education and Training class:

1. We are a family.

2. Work first, then play.

3. Listen and focus when the teacher is talking, so we can get down to business faster.

4. Enjoy (or pretend like you enjoy) others' company.

5. Give one hundred percent of yourselves all the time.

6. Respect others.

7. Smile often! :)

Glogger for Life!

Here is a link to my glog about teaching first graders how to tell time.