Welcome Cadet Teachers! Thanks for allowing me to switch to an electronic blog. I am excited to bring more technology into our classroom. The same criteria applies as in the syllabus. Have fun writing your reflections.
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RE: Texting me
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8 comments:
This week of school at Kyle in Ms. Montgomery’s classroom, was very nice experience. The classroom had kids from first to third grade. I found that I really enjoyed having multiple grades being in the same class, through there was only about four kids at the most in the classroom at a time. They had to go to other classrooms or specials. The first day was very reassuring, I helped the students with the worksheets, and I felt more calm and myself. It was great being back in a classroom. Being at the high school, you forgot about the fun of working and teaching with littler kids. When the new second grader came, I helped him look at books around the classroom and then get back to his work station when his timer went off. It was very nice when the aide said that I was very helpful keeping him calm and in line. She did not want me to go. It was very encouraging. The second grader, for the rest of the week was clingier towards me, I read books a lot to him and he keep finding more books to read. I also had a blast trying to say the long and strenuous names of dinosaurs. He was very smart at memorizing the names of animals. Another time, he got to pick out his Beanie Baby reading buddy and I taught him that it was an Ant Eater. I, then, told him to draw it (because he is a very good drawer) and then I spelled it out so he could label it. I did that draw and label activity with him when we read I Hate Me Bow. It was good because he needs to improve his reading level and writing skills. I usually made him write his D’s the right direction and make his little letters after the first letter in worlds. I would have liked to have a little more time with the other kids, though. I did, however, help the other students with worksheets. This one student was kind of a silly worker so we had to keep him on track a lot. It was funny, when I was watching the aide reading a word problem, the kid was getting distracted and I just pointed to the pages and he looked at me and then went right back to writing. It is a very rewarding experience when you can be stern with the kids, but not in such a drastic way. There was also one time with the same student and he thought he did something that was funny, but it was not time to be funny, so shook my head and said, “You got to get back to work,” and he did. I wish I could have got more engaged with the kids in other activities, but it was just that there were such a small number of students; they all were busy and there was usually enough for one adult to have two and the others to have one student for one on one time. The class was well organized and managed time well. I enjoyed how the kids knew where they needed to be in the timed break. It was very responsible of them. So overall this week went by quite nicely. –Emily Casella
My three days at Kyle Elementary were fun. I was with a 1st grade class. I helped the teacher grade papers. The first day I was there the students look at me like they were scared and like they didn't want to interact with me. The teacher introduced me as Ms. Cash and told the students I would be here for four days. I went over a worksheet with the students, then I helped the teacher grade papers. Some of the kids seem to have a hard time with the work. The second day I was there I got do interact with the kids more. I helped them with their math work they had to do, I answered some questions they had for me. I got books ready they had to take home and read by the next day. A boy named Dylan couldn't keep up when we were grading a worksheet so I had to help him get caught up. Then I helped them with an activity they had to do. The third day I went I helped them more with math work they had to do. I helped them find the place when we were reading out loud. My experience at Kyle made me feel happy because the kids were really good to the teacher and with me. They made it easy to help them with their work or with any questions they had.
part 1-
Over the course of four days, I’ve learned that I tend to be quite nervous with them when it comes to discipline or keeping them quiet. I had my own group on Tuesday and we were learning to count with a balance, apples, and markers and it was difficult to keep their focus on the task of taking turns and what the actual goal was. When one was asked to put their marker/apple in one of the balance buckets they all went bananas and all put their markers in and even one or two of them kept taking the markers from the marker bin and continuing to put them in the bucket, upsetting the others. It’s very hard to keep them in line when they don’t completely understand the concept of ‘no’ or ‘taking turns’ just yet. I need to keep my mind wrapped around the fact that they’re not just adorable little kids, but also students that need discipline, knowledge, and of course the love and appreciation of a teacher. Soft, but not too soft is what I’m trying to say.
It was amazing to be able to have the experience of a kindergarten field trip to the apple orchard. The bus ride there was quite adorable because they were quiet and well behaved sitting in their seats and when the apple orchard came into view, their faces lit up with excitement and the bus got a little louder with their chatter. It just made me smile and giggle to myself because that kind of excitement of a learning experience isn’t seen as much in the older age groups (it was also pretty darn cute). They were like that throughout the entire day, as we went through each learning stop with our guide. The two I had in my group were wonderful! Little Trevor and Eli were perfect little angels and were very helpful in keeping the class together. They were our line leaders and kept close attention to where I was going, as I was keeping tabs on them as well. Watching all of the kids pick apples and having them all tell me, “Don’t pick up the ones on the ground, Miss Jasmine. They might have bees on them,” was just awesome! At the end of the tour, we went through the petting zoo and I think I did a good job of keeping my kids with the class, so we wouldn’t get lost in the mob. Hand-holding is definitely a must with them because they will run off. I completely recommend it to any of the other Cadets who will be teaching kindergarten, also. In addition to that helpful hint, do make sure that all students can see when there is a visual being presented to the class. You do NOT want a crying kindergartener! That’s definitely not fun and not easy to deal with.
-jasmine
part 2-
My last day was definitely my hardest. Not only was it heart- wrenchingly sad, but I had to deal with my very first problem student. Richard came with no warning, so I had no idea he was going to act the way he did. They were having circle time and Richard kept trying to interrupt Ms. Tosch in the middle of her lesson, when she finally told him no and to stop. Richard didn’t like that so he let out a huge, “HMPH!” crossed his arms, and turned away from Ms. Tosch. I had seen him do this over the course of a couple of days, so I didn’t think it was out of the ordinary. He had also proceeded to kick a student next to him and Ms. Tosch sternly told him to stop and made him apologize, which made him angry. He refused to look or listen to Ms. Tosch when she asked him to get in line for library time, so I went over and he did it a couple of times to me until I offered him my hand to walk him to the library. He stopped every couple of steps, ‘HMPH’ed, and continued to walk when I gently pulled him. Even though he was frustrating me a little, I had to stay calm and still let him know I meant business when I said, “Let’s go.” As we walked he still tried to kick the person in front of him and I immediately told him to stop, calmly but sternly. He did okay in the library, but when we got back to the room he refused to trace his letters and Mrs. Ozbolt took over for me, so I could work with the other students. A couple minutes later, he let out a rather large, “NO!” which ended with him removed from the classroom. Part of me feels very bad that he had to be removed because he’s missing out on a wonderful thing, but the other part of me remembers that there are rules and he decided they didn’t apply to him. I was then told that this was not the first time Richard had caused problems in class. This alarmed me quite a bit because if that behavior is something he can help, then he’s going to miss out on a lot of things and could have some very severe results. If it’s something he can’t help, why isn’t anything being done to prevent it, so he can still have a quality education. Is it a parenting problem? A learning disability? A behavioral disability? A chemical imbalance? What is it that makes him that way?
-jasmine
My first experience as a Cadet Teacher impacted me much more than I expected it to. This last week I was assigned to Mr. Lesich’s fifth grade class at Kyle Elementary, and it was an adventure to say the least. Throughout the week, I learned that fifth graders believe they can do everything themselves, which is not the case at all. My time there was spent on triple digit math problems and finishing the novel they were reading. By day two, I was comfortable enough to help the students that were struggling to stay on task and master the standard. I stayed in the back of the room so the confused students could work with me separately while I taught them the lesson again at that student’s individual comprehension level. The students helped me keep a positive attitude because I felt accomplished when I could help them succeed. Overall, I made good connections with the students and did my best to make them feel welcomed and important. Mr. Lesich really showed me how to have humor but still keep the student’s respect. I was very fortunate to start off my Cadet Teaching experience with such a great class and such an awesome teacher.
-Alexis McKee
It is amazing how attached I became to Mrs. Falks second grade class in such a short amount of time. Thoughout the week I had the pleasure of working with the students to comprehend what they were reading and connect their own thoughts to the story. After my first day of working with students I realized that the more idea's I gave the class during brainstorming the more open they were to suggest their own ideas. As the week went on the class became more open to asking me for help and more excepting to the fact that I was learning as well. This week's experience was definitly a positive one because it changed my initial decision on what grade level I wanted to teach. Today I am still extremely interested in teaching at the high school level, but because of my week with Mrs. Falk's class, I have a much higher interest in younger grade levels. Never the less, my first week as a cadet teacher will always be memorable because they were my first class.
P.S. By the way; there was a really funny little girl named Abby!
-Abagail Trader
My first week as a cadet teacher turned out to be so much more than I expected. When I first walked into the gym at Aylesworth I was greeted by an extremely kind and funny woman named Cathy Zielinski. Ms. Zielinski quickly explained to me how the students would enter the gym and sit four students to each square that was taped on the floor. On the first day I felt somewhat awkward as the students came in and went through their normal routines. Ms. Zielinski quickly got me involved by having me demonstrate the warm-ups for the students. The warm up was called "inch worm", which I think it's pretty self explanatory, but not for third graders. After the warm-ups, Ms. Zielinski and I split up teams and watch the students play "line soccer". The students had already played this game before so I gave them a very brief explination. I then called goals for the rest of the class. The next class did the same thing with a warm-up that was basically a push up. This class was fifth graders, and it is ridiculous when it comes to the different motor skill capability in just two years of growth.
The rest of the week carried on in an almost exact repitition of Monday. There was a slight difference when one of the first grade classes came in. Instead of playing "line soccer", the students attempted to dribble a soccerball back and forth between five cones. I say attempted because I do not think one of them actually succeeded in making it there and back correctly.
In a slightly shortened version, that was my week at Aylesworth. I really enjoyed teaching in a gym enviroment and am almost sure that I will choose Ms. Zielinski's class. That means Travis back off(;
Well it's 3:54 so I'm off to bed!
-Riley
My first week of cadet teaching was a great experience. I loved my teacher and I got a hang of the class schedule and routine quickly. The teacher ran a strict classroom and that meant a kit ti her. The kids didn't really know my name but they weren't shy to ask for my help. It seemed like they were comfortable and I enjoyed having them. The teacher also wasn't shy around me. She would tell me a different story about herself or the school each day I walked in. I really miss the class and hopefully can go back to them because I really liked the way my teacher ran her classroom.
--Cait
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