Last Week

My last week of student teaching was great! I had the opportunity to talk more with my Cooperating Teachers, observe the students work on their final paintings, and interact with individual students as well. Two mods threw a little goodbye party for me, and they all brought food. It was really nice! There were also two students that still owed me some work, and only one was able to hand it all in before Friday. My Cooperating Teacher will be grading any late work after Friday.

Overall my student teaching placements were a great learning experience. I am certainly glad it is over (I mean that in a good way). I have applied to several school districts and have yet to hear from them. I am trying to be patient and just keep reminding myself that schools are wrapping up the year and won't schedule interviews until maybe June.

I definitely feel like my calling are the elementary/middle grades. I really hope to teach Art, which is my passion, but I have also decided to get an endorsement in ESL/Bilingual and Special Education license through the one-year program at TCC. However, I did not know that you need to be actually teaching in a school in order to enroll in the classes, so I am hoping for the best so that I can continue my education.

These 3 years at Trinity have really helped to shape my faith, worldviews, and character as a person and future teacher. I am thankful and happy that I chose to transfer to Trinity when I did. I thank all of my professors, staff, and classmates for teaching me and encouraging me to keep going. I still get that sense of peace when I step onto Trinity's campus, which is a reminder to myself to always trust in God no matter what the circumstance because he will always lead me where I am meant to be.

Thank you for reading my blog!


And that is all she wrote.....   

Week 17

This week I simply observed the classes as they started their work on final painting. On Thursday, one student returned to school after being sick and is 2 projects behind. Mrs. A told me that I could be in charge of helping her catch up, so I printed out several poses for her to pick from to create her mannikin drawing. The students are re-creating a painting of a master artist for their final project. They are all so talented, and I look forward to seeing their final product.   

I learned that in terms of grading, at least in this setting, it is not allowed to fail a student unless there is absolutely nothing that the student is doing. For the couple of students that are failing, I do not see a great concern from parents or the student themselves. I also do not see the classroom teacher in communication with the parents about it. I don't think that parent communication in high school should be less or nonexistent because the students still require support and encouragement to do well. 

I hope to finish this upcoming week strong. Mrs. A said that the students wanted to throw a little party for me and I said yes. I look forward to graduation more than ever, and hearing from schools soon to set up interviews.


Schmidt, Chapter 12

1. What are your plans for being a lifelong learner? How has chapter 12 enlightened your ideas?
   
   I love school, and it is hard for me to imagine being away completely. I will be taking classes starting in September  to get an endorsement in ESL/BIL and SPED. I want to learn as much as I can to be an effective teacher.
   
   I would like to teach for several years and then go back to school to get my type 075 endorsement. I admire the work principal's and vice-principal's do at schools, and I can see myself in this position. Chapter 12 enlightened my ideas by encouraging me to continue to learn myself. I also think that it is necessary for me to become a member of an arts organization or be in contact with other professionals through for example blogs.