So Long 2nd Grade...




 

Last week was my 8th week at Solana Vista Elementary School in Second Grade with Mrs. Hishmeh. and her class. It was definitely a tough week for me. I realized that the hardest thing for me as a teacher will be saying goodbye to my students as they move up to the next grade. Who am I kidding though to not know that would be the hardest part for me? I am such a relational person and children have such a big place in my heart. I was only in this particular class for 8 weeks and I fell in love with these students and would love to teach Second Grade one day. They are eager to learn and highly receptive to love, enthusiasm, and encouragement. Each student is unique and nobody is like anyone else.

 



  

Early in the week, my Master Teacher asked me if everything was alright because I didn't seem like myself. I shared with her that I was having a hard time knowing it was my last week in her class with these students at Solana Vista. I felt as though I finally got comfortable and settled in at this school and then I had to leave. I love the school and all the staff there are wonderful. My teacher encouraged me and reminded me that my next experience will be just as great as this one was. I realized that day that even though I was sad, I needed to make the best of my last week! And so, I did! I enjoyed every last minute of it. (as you can see to the right)

One little girl in particular never failed to remind me daily how many days I had left. She didn't want me to go. Everyday she'd say "Do you have to go? Whyyyyyyyy? I don't want you to go. Please stay." lol No wonder it was even harder for me to leave this adorable class. (She gave me a sweet card-see left picture...it made my heart melt.) The great thing about teaching versus student teaching is that I'll keep teaching at the same school (Lord willing) and so I'll be able to see the students the following year. I am going to surprise these students and show up at their Open House next month and hopefully I'll be able to Substitute Teach for them one day. :)

I had such a great experience in my first placement for Student Teaching. It was truly a blessing. I came across something in my Dream Journal that I believe is a clear picture of my Master Teacher. It was from December of 2009. I wrote "I remember being in a classroom and I was helping a teacher I met the week before. She was a great teacher-disciplined her students and was strict, but not too much. Just enough to have her students love her. I think it was second grade". :) And, I prayed before my placement that it would be right where God wants me to be. I heard horror stories about Student Teaching and I knew God is full of blessings. I confidently walked into this placement knowing He had a purpose for me there. I gained so much from this experience.




 One of the things that I believe was definitely a gift from God is my Master Teacher. She truly is a phenomenal teacher. She's sweet, loving, patient, kind, compassionate, caring, and the list goes on. She's very organized and well prepared. She always gets things done right away when she is asked to do something by someone. She even completes things in advance. Sometimes, I'd call her the little fairy. lol I'd be doing something such as making copies or teaching a small group and going about my day when suddenly I'd notice a change in the classroom. The vocab words would be changed for the following week, something new would be put up, copies that were my responsibility would get done. I was amazed at her ability to use her time wisely. She only took a break during lunch and recess. She'd work through every minute of every day that she had available, whether that be planning, prepping, or teaching. Even when there were only two minutes left before Recess, she'd say...Ok friends, we have two minutes left and I'm going to use it, so let's do this....That reminds me of something else I picked up on and love. She called her students "friends". I love that and definitely used it myself and know one day I will when I have my own classroom. Another great thing about my teacher is that she was so open to communication. We had many conversations after school about life in general. I really enjoyed talking with her. She and I both knew this was the start of something new for us. We will be lifelong friends. I will be babysit her kids. She will be my Teaching Mentor. I am completely blessed to have had such a great experience in my first 8 weeks of Student Teaching and God deserves all the glory for that. He truly works ALL things together for our good. (See Romans 8:28 in the Bible)

Teachers teach because they care about their students and want them to be successful learners. My Master Teacher surprised me with the students on the second to last day. Some parents came, they posted a sign and showered me with love and gifts. I almost cried. I opened the door and this is what I saw:



(Imagine 20 kids yelling "Good Luck Ms. Elder!" all at once and hearing "Goodbye Ms. Elder" lol while seeing the students altogether and then proceed to try and give me hugs all at once) It was a moment I'll never forget. I wanted to show some photos of what they gave me as gifts because they were so near and dear to my heart. I was given a tote bag with teaching patches on one side and the students from Room 6's signatures on the other side. Each student gave me their favorite book to start my classroom library. Mrs. Hishmeh put together a book with the students pictures and a note to me below their picture. I will post the notes only. :) Now you can see why I love teaching so much and can't wait to jump into this profession. I know this is what God created me to do and I can't wait to have my own classroom one day. I can't believe that time is almost here! Enjoy this journey with me through the photos. :)



   























Learning As I Go

Room 6 and I on "Who-ville/Crazy Hair day"
(Keep in mind I'm running on 4 hours of sleep because I went to a concert the night before in Anaheim that got done really late and feeling sick)



Two weeks ago was very interesting. I forgot about crazy sock day, so I made sure to remember crazy hair day (as seen above). I was sick all week with a cough, but it only got worse as the week went on. I was under the impression that I could not miss any days during student teaching, even if I was sick. So, mentally I was pushing through any sickness and learning how to "toughen-up". That didn't last too long before the principal and secretary of the school sent me home on Thursday morning. They both said I sounded terrible and I needed to get some rest and take it easy. They reminded me that I can pass along any sickness I have to others if I stay, and told me not to worry about missing a day of student teaching because I needed to go home. So, I followed their orders and headed home to go back to sleep. I went to the doctor, who gave me some antibiotics and a note saying I was to stay home from work for 48 hours. It seemed as though I kept sleeping and waking up, not feeling any better. I finally felt more refreshed on Friday morning when I woke up.

I had my third observation during this week from the Site Supervisor (She is from the University observes me teach and gives me feedback four times during each 8 week period student teaching). Afterwards, I had the opportunity to write down some notes of things that I realized from this observation. This observation helped me recognize that I am learning as I go.

-I always see the negative and what doesn't go well first

-Another second grade teacher (Amy Pobst) said that flexibility is key in teaching; hardly ever do things go as you expect them to. (Amy is only in her first year teaching, but you wouldn't know it because she's a phenomenal teacher!)

-This reminds me of Yvette Henry's advice from her father. She shared this with me over coffee (as she is a teacher, too) so she can relate to this all. It's as simple as three words. Adapt, Adjust, and Overcome.

*Carol (my site Supervisor) said sometimes the unexpected can be a good thing- For example, I called certain students to the back table to meet with me so that we could go over their seatwork together. (the lowest and highest group) This is called differentiation, meeting the needs of all your students.This did not go as I anticipated. I expected to go through a math group in the same way that reading groups go- discussing everything altogether. Instead, the students were talking and working more independently. Each of them were at a different place on the page, so I did my best to check each student's work. I encouraged them to use the pattern blocks to double check their work. I was surprised to see that the lowest group all knew what to do. They didn't need my extra help/guidance because the whole class instruction was great. They understood how to combine plane figures to make a new figure and I wouldn't have noticed this good thing if Carol hadn't pointed it out to me. I was learning as I go that things don't go the way we expect them to sometimes, but it can be a good thing.

I learned on this day (Tuesday) that I don't like observations because I don't feel like I'm completely myself when I'm teaching and being observed by someone other than my Master Teacher. I feel like I rush through it and I'm "frazzled" or frantic to complete the lesson. I feel like the students don't understand anything because I move through it too quickly. Despite me feeling all of these things, the Site Supervisor still had good things to say and she said that overall the lesson went really well. I think it's hard to see that we're not perfect. Even though we're not, we still sometimes strive to be perfect and dislike making mistakes and failing. (I say "we" even though I am speaking for myself, because I am guessing you can relate to this on some level)

The principal of Solana Vista posts quotes from John Wooden on the announcements and weekly bulletins. They always encourage me. Here are a couple of them:

If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes. John Wooden

 

Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability. John Wooden

 

Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be. John Wooden

 

Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming. John Wooden