Journal Entries:
Today's date is February 4th
Internship dates: February 2nd and 3rd
My teacher, Miss Brennan, is a K-3 special education teacher at Whitemarsh Elementary. On February 3rd, she was out sick, so there was a substitute along with the two classroom aides. The student's have a routine of sharing their weekends at the start of the day and the other students can ask questions. After the sharing of their weekends, each child went off to do individual work with spelling depending on their skills. When Miss Brennan returned on the 3rd, she had expectations for her students to be able to work on their writing skills. Each child is at their own level and she knows what they should be capable of doing, each one of their work books has different size line spacing depending of the student's skills. She showed me how to work with the students to help them focus on the first letter sounds of words and using their finger to help them read. They also had to draw a picture and she enforced that every part of their story is included in the picture with all the details. Each of the students clearly admires and looks up to the teacher and aides. I learned a lot about how things are altered depending on the skill level of each child. The only issues were when a child would get frustrated, but Miss Brennan informed me that it is best to leave the child alone and allow them to cool off and have them come to you when they are better. Overall, I loved my experience and I am excited about continuing to go back each week.
Internship dates: February 2nd and 3rd
My teacher, Miss Brennan, is a K-3 special education teacher at Whitemarsh Elementary. On February 3rd, she was out sick, so there was a substitute along with the two classroom aides. The student's have a routine of sharing their weekends at the start of the day and the other students can ask questions. After the sharing of their weekends, each child went off to do individual work with spelling depending on their skills. When Miss Brennan returned on the 3rd, she had expectations for her students to be able to work on their writing skills. Each child is at their own level and she knows what they should be capable of doing, each one of their work books has different size line spacing depending of the student's skills. She showed me how to work with the students to help them focus on the first letter sounds of words and using their finger to help them read. They also had to draw a picture and she enforced that every part of their story is included in the picture with all the details. Each of the students clearly admires and looks up to the teacher and aides. I learned a lot about how things are altered depending on the skill level of each child. The only issues were when a child would get frustrated, but Miss Brennan informed me that it is best to leave the child alone and allow them to cool off and have them come to you when they are better. Overall, I loved my experience and I am excited about continuing to go back each week.
Today's Date is February 10th
Internship dates: February 6th and 9th
The culture of the classroom is very diverse, there are children from a variety of different backgrounds all coming together. They are very expecting of each other's differences which is great. All of the students work very well together and I have even seen them supporting one another in the classroom. On the 9th, along with the rest of the class I shared what I did over the weekend and the class fro to ask questions, this was fun because they were very interested in getting to know me. In those two days I got to learn how their spelling tests work so that this week I will be able to give some of the students their tests. Every student has different words depending on their abilities, and afterwards the teacher has to come up with a very simple sentence with all the words in it. I also helped students with their classroom jobs if they needed the help. I learned more about how the class works and I got to go observe one of the students in a regular education class to see how he behaves in that setting. I am just learning more about what it's like to be a teacher every time I'm there, and I am forming bonds with all the kids and they are beginning to come to me for help just like they would come to their teacher. I do not think that I personally made any mistakes in those two days because there is always a teacher there to make sure things run smoothly. I think that parents are involved in helping the students with their homework, or when there is a party like Valentine's Day, but I have not noticed anything other than that. So far I am not having any issues with my internship, I love going there and want to be there as much as possible.
Today's Date is February 19th
Internships Dates: February 12th and 18th
I think that my ideal class would be a class full of respectful and fun students that are eager to learn. I wouldn't say that I get annoyed easily with people, it takes a little while for something to really bother me. My biggest pet peeve about people is when they are rude and disrespectful, especially towards adults. When I was there on the 12th, it was the 100th day of school and the Valentine's celebration. My class went to art and I just sat and talked with them and encouraged their work. On the 18th, my teacher, Miss Brennan's parents came into the class. Her father is blind, so he brought his guide dog with him and the kids got to do activities with the dog. I think that I could lose my temper in the classroom if students are being mean to each other, or most of the class is misbehaving at the same time. I don't think that I am drawn to a specific student in the class because there are only 8 kids in the room when I am there. They are all a good mix of each type of child, so I am not more drawn to one over the other. I am excited to be able to grade students work, obviously I believe that the grading should be much easier for early childhood special education classes, but I am excited to get to see how much these children know. My biggest worry about teaching is the public speaking aspect, I get very nervous about this, but I have been getting better now that I am getting to know the kids. My cooperating teacher disciplines in a very calm but stern way, if a child is misbehaving she tells him or her to go away from the group and sit down until they are ready to come back. Overall, I am loving going to see my class and wish I could go everyday.
Internships Dates: February 12th and 18th
I think that my ideal class would be a class full of respectful and fun students that are eager to learn. I wouldn't say that I get annoyed easily with people, it takes a little while for something to really bother me. My biggest pet peeve about people is when they are rude and disrespectful, especially towards adults. When I was there on the 12th, it was the 100th day of school and the Valentine's celebration. My class went to art and I just sat and talked with them and encouraged their work. On the 18th, my teacher, Miss Brennan's parents came into the class. Her father is blind, so he brought his guide dog with him and the kids got to do activities with the dog. I think that I could lose my temper in the classroom if students are being mean to each other, or most of the class is misbehaving at the same time. I don't think that I am drawn to a specific student in the class because there are only 8 kids in the room when I am there. They are all a good mix of each type of child, so I am not more drawn to one over the other. I am excited to be able to grade students work, obviously I believe that the grading should be much easier for early childhood special education classes, but I am excited to get to see how much these children know. My biggest worry about teaching is the public speaking aspect, I get very nervous about this, but I have been getting better now that I am getting to know the kids. My cooperating teacher disciplines in a very calm but stern way, if a child is misbehaving she tells him or her to go away from the group and sit down until they are ready to come back. Overall, I am loving going to see my class and wish I could go everyday.
Today's Date is February 25th
Internship Dates: February 20th, 23rd, and 24th
The kids in my class really don't have many social challenges, there have been times that they don't want to listen or sit still, other than that they get along very well and behave majority of the time. In my class, they are all different ages and races, they all treat each other no different and all get along very well. Over those two days, I helped with many different things, some include; be in charge of the kids talking about their weekends on Monday morning, giving one student a spelling test, helping the children with severe case with his tracking skills, doing guided reading with one student, and just going around and helping students on whatever it is that they are doing. My cooperating teacher dresses is a comfortable but appropriate way, usually it is khaki slacks and a nice long sleeve button-up shirt. I have typically been wearing a swear with a scarf, black pants and boots. My cooperating teacher gets the attention of the students just by talking loud so that they all turn and give her their attention, if there is an issue she calls the child's name to get them to focus on her. There were not any mistakes that I can remember making since my cooperating teacher is always there to help me when I need it. I do have social media, I do not think that it is appropriate for teachers and students to see each other's pages when they are still in school, it is okay once the student has graduated but they should not do this if there are things that they would not want each other to see. Overall, I am not having an issues and am really enjoying my time with my class.
Internship Dates: February 20th, 23rd, and 24th
The kids in my class really don't have many social challenges, there have been times that they don't want to listen or sit still, other than that they get along very well and behave majority of the time. In my class, they are all different ages and races, they all treat each other no different and all get along very well. Over those two days, I helped with many different things, some include; be in charge of the kids talking about their weekends on Monday morning, giving one student a spelling test, helping the children with severe case with his tracking skills, doing guided reading with one student, and just going around and helping students on whatever it is that they are doing. My cooperating teacher dresses is a comfortable but appropriate way, usually it is khaki slacks and a nice long sleeve button-up shirt. I have typically been wearing a swear with a scarf, black pants and boots. My cooperating teacher gets the attention of the students just by talking loud so that they all turn and give her their attention, if there is an issue she calls the child's name to get them to focus on her. There were not any mistakes that I can remember making since my cooperating teacher is always there to help me when I need it. I do have social media, I do not think that it is appropriate for teachers and students to see each other's pages when they are still in school, it is okay once the student has graduated but they should not do this if there are things that they would not want each other to see. Overall, I am not having an issues and am really enjoying my time with my class.
Today's Date is March 10th
Internship Dates: February 27th, March 3rd, and 9th
My cooperative teacher motivates her students by her positive attitude and encouraging them to succeed. Something that was interesting was that one of the girls in class was talking about how she has been in 3rd grade twice and a lot of her friends moved onto 4th grade, this is because she has special needs so she stays in this school longer than regular education students. I have done many jobs like helping with guided reading and word study. My cooperative teacher showed me how to do a guided reading and the types of questions to ask the students, and then I did it with three students after she showed me. This was very interesting to see the different reading and comprehension levels each of the students is on. So far, I have no concerns about my internship, everything is going great and I love being with my class.
Internship Dates: February 27th, March 3rd, and 9th
My cooperative teacher motivates her students by her positive attitude and encouraging them to succeed. Something that was interesting was that one of the girls in class was talking about how she has been in 3rd grade twice and a lot of her friends moved onto 4th grade, this is because she has special needs so she stays in this school longer than regular education students. I have done many jobs like helping with guided reading and word study. My cooperative teacher showed me how to do a guided reading and the types of questions to ask the students, and then I did it with three students after she showed me. This was very interesting to see the different reading and comprehension levels each of the students is on. So far, I have no concerns about my internship, everything is going great and I love being with my class.
Today's Date is March 18th
Internship dates: March 12th, 13th, 16th, and 17th
I did my usual helping with the students with their sentence writing. I also did more guided reading one on one with a few of the kids. It was interesting to see what they individually strive and struggle with. My cooperating teacher uses Bloom's Taxonomy to help get the students to understand what they are reading and make connections to their lives, she does not go through all the steps but what she does works for her. The students were misbehaving in the hallway so they had to learn a lesson about being kind to each other and staying safe in and out of the classroom. They could practice synthesis by having the students create their own sentences to practice the words that are learning. I have still not had any difficulties in my class, everything is going well and I am enjoying spending time with all my students.
Internship dates: March 12th, 13th, 16th, and 17th
I did my usual helping with the students with their sentence writing. I also did more guided reading one on one with a few of the kids. It was interesting to see what they individually strive and struggle with. My cooperating teacher uses Bloom's Taxonomy to help get the students to understand what they are reading and make connections to their lives, she does not go through all the steps but what she does works for her. The students were misbehaving in the hallway so they had to learn a lesson about being kind to each other and staying safe in and out of the classroom. They could practice synthesis by having the students create their own sentences to practice the words that are learning. I have still not had any difficulties in my class, everything is going well and I am enjoying spending time with all my students.
Today's Date is March 25th
Internship dates: March 20th, 23rd and 24th
My class only has a handful of students so they work individually on their work, but when they do math, they work in pairs to help solve problems. I think team learning is effective because they can depend on each other and not the teacher to help them. Usually my class is working on sentences, but my teacher changed it around to math the past two days so that I can see what math is like for them. So I had to help two students with their coin counting and help them with skip counting by 5's. So far, I think that the contents of this internship education class is very interesting, I am learning a lot of things that I never knew before. They are disciplined by having to go sit alone and they can come back when they have calmed down. I think that math is a good example of critical thinking and problem solving because they have to count a combination of coins that I give them. There is not much differentiated activities that I noticed, but that could be because I am unfamiliar with this. Some social changes that will occur in the next decade will probably be students becoming too technologically dependent and sexual orientations/identities will still be evolving. I think that the most important thing that these students need to learn is respecting each other and themselves; these children know that they are different than regular education students, I just hope that they never think negatively of themselves.The only difficulty is that I broke my right arm, so it's a struggle to write, but it has not got in the way of my helping in the classroom.
Internship dates: March 20th, 23rd and 24th
My class only has a handful of students so they work individually on their work, but when they do math, they work in pairs to help solve problems. I think team learning is effective because they can depend on each other and not the teacher to help them. Usually my class is working on sentences, but my teacher changed it around to math the past two days so that I can see what math is like for them. So I had to help two students with their coin counting and help them with skip counting by 5's. So far, I think that the contents of this internship education class is very interesting, I am learning a lot of things that I never knew before. They are disciplined by having to go sit alone and they can come back when they have calmed down. I think that math is a good example of critical thinking and problem solving because they have to count a combination of coins that I give them. There is not much differentiated activities that I noticed, but that could be because I am unfamiliar with this. Some social changes that will occur in the next decade will probably be students becoming too technologically dependent and sexual orientations/identities will still be evolving. I think that the most important thing that these students need to learn is respecting each other and themselves; these children know that they are different than regular education students, I just hope that they never think negatively of themselves.The only difficulty is that I broke my right arm, so it's a struggle to write, but it has not got in the way of my helping in the classroom.
Today's Date is April 8th
Internship Dates: April 6th and 7th
On Monday, most of my time was spent with the class and teachers (including myself) sharing out about their spring breaks and what they did, other students had the opportunity to ask questions. Later they began working on a small writing piece. On Tuesday, we began with students finishing up on the writing pieces. While they wrote my cooperative teacher showed me board maker, it is a program that they use to help kids show their emotions when they are upset and don't want to talk. The last thing I did was a guided reading with one of the girls in class. My cooperative teacher is very effective at engaging the students and keeping them in line behaviorally. I think that an effective teacher is one that is kind and fair, but can be stern when they need to be. An ineffective teacher is one that does not care and is either very lazy or very strict. I think that I am being effective because I have been able to help students sound out words by breaking apart the sounds. I do this by having the student write the word on a whiteboard and putting lines in between the word and having them sound it out each section at a time. My teacher motivates the students by having them say that they are smart and things like that, just having the students hear themselves say positive things helps make them want to keep trying. I think that I am motivated by things that help other people, if I know that what I'm doing will benefit others, I am more motivated to do it. There have not been any difficulties and I am still loving my class.
Internship Dates: April 6th and 7th
On Monday, most of my time was spent with the class and teachers (including myself) sharing out about their spring breaks and what they did, other students had the opportunity to ask questions. Later they began working on a small writing piece. On Tuesday, we began with students finishing up on the writing pieces. While they wrote my cooperative teacher showed me board maker, it is a program that they use to help kids show their emotions when they are upset and don't want to talk. The last thing I did was a guided reading with one of the girls in class. My cooperative teacher is very effective at engaging the students and keeping them in line behaviorally. I think that an effective teacher is one that is kind and fair, but can be stern when they need to be. An ineffective teacher is one that does not care and is either very lazy or very strict. I think that I am being effective because I have been able to help students sound out words by breaking apart the sounds. I do this by having the student write the word on a whiteboard and putting lines in between the word and having them sound it out each section at a time. My teacher motivates the students by having them say that they are smart and things like that, just having the students hear themselves say positive things helps make them want to keep trying. I think that I am motivated by things that help other people, if I know that what I'm doing will benefit others, I am more motivated to do it. There have not been any difficulties and I am still loving my class.
Today's Date: April 29th
Internship Dates: April 23th, 24th, 27th,and 28th
On Friday my class had their eatery to help teach them skills of communicating, working with money, and other things like cutting. So, on Thursday and Friday while I was there I just helped the kids prepare for this because it started after I left. If two kids were fighting over a bracelet, I would just take away the bracelet and give it to the student it belonged to at the end of the day. If a student came in with bruises on his arm, I would ask what happened and just monitor the student for any other signs and report it if anything is found. If I smelled alcohol on a student's breath, I would send them down to the principal or security. If a fellow teacher is doing illegal activities, I would report them, but ask to remain unnamed. My thoughts on tenure is that it is that it makes sense and is very fair that teachers cannot be fired for no reason after working for a certain amount of time. I think that a teacher should be paid based on the current rate, if a teacher is having a rough time and is not performing their best, they should not be paid less. I think that being friends with students on Facebook after they graduate is okay as long as the teacher is okay with it. I still do not have any issues at internship and love spending my time there.
Internship Dates: April 23th, 24th, 27th,and 28th
On Friday my class had their eatery to help teach them skills of communicating, working with money, and other things like cutting. So, on Thursday and Friday while I was there I just helped the kids prepare for this because it started after I left. If two kids were fighting over a bracelet, I would just take away the bracelet and give it to the student it belonged to at the end of the day. If a student came in with bruises on his arm, I would ask what happened and just monitor the student for any other signs and report it if anything is found. If I smelled alcohol on a student's breath, I would send them down to the principal or security. If a fellow teacher is doing illegal activities, I would report them, but ask to remain unnamed. My thoughts on tenure is that it is that it makes sense and is very fair that teachers cannot be fired for no reason after working for a certain amount of time. I think that a teacher should be paid based on the current rate, if a teacher is having a rough time and is not performing their best, they should not be paid less. I think that being friends with students on Facebook after they graduate is okay as long as the teacher is okay with it. I still do not have any issues at internship and love spending my time there.
Today's Date: May 6th
Internship Dates: April 30th, May 4th and 5th
My greatest anxiety in school was test scores and keeping good grades. If I did bad on something I would get very upset with myself, I always wanted to get good grades to make my parents proud of me. My worst student moment was in kindergarten when I peed myself and had to go to the office and have my mom come with extra clothes. My best student moment is anytime that I got a 100% on something that I worked hard on. I wish I had the opportunity to learn more about things like real world financial things so that I am better prepared for the future. My biggest challenge as a student was not procrastinating too much. My perception of PW is that it has a good education system but things like the integrated math system should be fixed. I'm not really sure what a non-Colonial students' perception of PW is, probably that it is similar to their school, but maybe things like block scheduling is different. This week at internship, I ran the smile mile with a boy with cerebral palsy, and the next day him and I worked on writing sentences about his mom for Mother's Day next week.
Internship Dates: April 30th, May 4th and 5th
My greatest anxiety in school was test scores and keeping good grades. If I did bad on something I would get very upset with myself, I always wanted to get good grades to make my parents proud of me. My worst student moment was in kindergarten when I peed myself and had to go to the office and have my mom come with extra clothes. My best student moment is anytime that I got a 100% on something that I worked hard on. I wish I had the opportunity to learn more about things like real world financial things so that I am better prepared for the future. My biggest challenge as a student was not procrastinating too much. My perception of PW is that it has a good education system but things like the integrated math system should be fixed. I'm not really sure what a non-Colonial students' perception of PW is, probably that it is similar to their school, but maybe things like block scheduling is different. This week at internship, I ran the smile mile with a boy with cerebral palsy, and the next day him and I worked on writing sentences about his mom for Mother's Day next week.
Today's Date: May 13th
Internship Dates: May 7th, 11th, and 12th
I did my normal routine of doing one-on-one guided reading lessons and working with the kids individually on writing sentences. Yesterday I observed a regular education class because my normal class was on a field trip. It was interesting to see the differences. My cooperating teacher's educational goals are for her students to achieve but at their own pace. She thinks that the concern of school should be for her class to do well and feel good about themselves while doing that. She believes that the school atmosphere should be a positive happy environment. Her role is the to be a role model and be able to teach her students the best that she can. The curriculum should include a variety of lessons for each student depending on their grade and skill level. She usually does more interactive teaching and worksheets. If I was hired as a teacher today, I would want to replicate how my teacher can get her class to focus and how she can keep them in a positive mood even when are not feeling their best. There were not difficulties this week and I am still loving going to see my class.
Internship Dates: May 7th, 11th, and 12th
I did my normal routine of doing one-on-one guided reading lessons and working with the kids individually on writing sentences. Yesterday I observed a regular education class because my normal class was on a field trip. It was interesting to see the differences. My cooperating teacher's educational goals are for her students to achieve but at their own pace. She thinks that the concern of school should be for her class to do well and feel good about themselves while doing that. She believes that the school atmosphere should be a positive happy environment. Her role is the to be a role model and be able to teach her students the best that she can. The curriculum should include a variety of lessons for each student depending on their grade and skill level. She usually does more interactive teaching and worksheets. If I was hired as a teacher today, I would want to replicate how my teacher can get her class to focus and how she can keep them in a positive mood even when are not feeling their best. There were not difficulties this week and I am still loving going to see my class.
Today's Date: May 27th
Internship Date: May 26th
I helped the students prepare for their Eatery that will be taking place on Thursday. I helped one boy fill up big jugs of water, I liked this because we got to have some one-on-one time to talk. I do not recall my teacher wearing a CEA shirt, but I am aware that teachers where them because of the union. I think that being in a union is a good thing because then you cannot lose your job for no apparent reason. I think that when a teacher's on strike they feel angry because they feel like something is unfair. The students are probably annoyed because school cannot continue when the teachers do not want to work. And the district is probably angry and concerned that the teachers are not working. my mom used to help out in the class when I was younger, I think that parent involvement is good because the students get excited and want to please their parents. I think that when students are older like high school that parents should not be involved because then the students are old enough to not need their parents help. My classroom is made up of 9 students, it is very small because it is a Special Education class. I would not like a class that is too big because then I would not be able to have the close bond with each child. Overall I love my class and I am going to miss them when this is all over.
Internship Date: May 26th
I helped the students prepare for their Eatery that will be taking place on Thursday. I helped one boy fill up big jugs of water, I liked this because we got to have some one-on-one time to talk. I do not recall my teacher wearing a CEA shirt, but I am aware that teachers where them because of the union. I think that being in a union is a good thing because then you cannot lose your job for no apparent reason. I think that when a teacher's on strike they feel angry because they feel like something is unfair. The students are probably annoyed because school cannot continue when the teachers do not want to work. And the district is probably angry and concerned that the teachers are not working. my mom used to help out in the class when I was younger, I think that parent involvement is good because the students get excited and want to please their parents. I think that when students are older like high school that parents should not be involved because then the students are old enough to not need their parents help. My classroom is made up of 9 students, it is very small because it is a Special Education class. I would not like a class that is too big because then I would not be able to have the close bond with each child. Overall I love my class and I am going to miss them when this is all over.