Hi all! Well I have to say that student teaching is not
where I thought I would be at the age of 32. Heck! I thought I’d be done with
school all together, but here I am in a classroom, working with some of the most
awesome little people I have ever met and living the dream! My name is Rachel
Shaffer, I am a master’s student at American Public University, a pharmacy
technician, student teacher, mommy to two amazing children and wife to one of
the funniest men I have ever met. In 2006, I graduated with a bachelor’s degree
in Psychology and, though it took me a while to discover my passion in life, I
can honestly say working with children is something I am meant to do.
A few
more tidbits about me; I love family time, reading, traveling to new places
(this was sparked by life as a military brat), trying different foods, outdoor
activities and did I mention working with kids?
As I enter the school each morning,
I find myself walking down the hall to my 2nd grade classroom
wondering, “What am I going to learn today?” This may sound funny to many of
you, a 32 year old woman learning in a 2nd grade classroom, but
TRUST ME each day is a learning experience! Every day I learn new techniques
for interaction, engagement, encouraging socialization, discouraging undesired
behaviors, and even ways to console upset students that I’d never considered
before. Living through the experience of student teaching will be something I
remember for the rest of my career and I’m grateful to those who are participating
in the process; my teachers for giving me guidance, my students for their
insight, and my family for putting up with me after sleepless nights and to
much caffeine.
Embarking on the student teaching
adventure can be very daunting at first, mixed emotions abound, now that I’ve
obtained my syllabus, met my teachers, and spent a few days in the classroom I
feel a little more at ease. I intend to utilize the information I gain from
this experience to encourage student achievement through research on, and
implementation of, effective instructional practices and techniques. Also,
because I have a very diverse group of students, diversification and
differentiation will be an integral part of my instruction so that I can ensure
I meet the needs of all of my students while also achieving the learning
objectives set forth by the state and professional agencies. Additionally, I
have observed a few behavioral issues over the first few days that I hope to
address when I obtain more responsibility within the classroom. I will be interested to see if my
implementation of differing behavior management techniques will have a positive
outcome on the few issues that have been seen.
I look forward to the next 15 weeks
and I hope to learn a lot while sharing just as much!
from: http://stunningmotivation.com/10-ways-how-successful-leaders-think/
Rachel, I loved reading your post. There is so much feeling and a since of drama behind what you were saying. I felt that I was with you. I am 33 years old and have found myself in the same spot. We are very similar.I look forward to hearing more about your experiences and sharing my with you. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you Brittany! It is absolutely an interesting experience. I'm settling in now this week and I'm getting to know the students much better. I just hate thinking of leaving them in 6 short weeks! I know it will be bittersweet and I can tell that, when I have my own classroom, I will be one of those teachers that gets emotional as my student move on to the next grade. Teaching and being in the school setting is definitely where I'm supposed to be! I hope you've had a great second week!
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