Final Growth Statement
Student Teaching was an unforgettable experience that really opened my eyes to a different side of teaching and also helped reassure that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. Coming into student teaching, I felt extremely prepared by the courses I had taken at Manhattan College and from the observations that I had been required to complete up to this point. However, student teaching was such an eye opening experience that solidified my passion for teaching. It helped me realize things about myself that I would have never come to terms with if it were not for student teaching. It was truly an extraordinary journey that I will remember for the rest of my teaching career.
Upon entering my first placement, I was really dreading starting off in a fifth grade classroom. I had observed in this grade before and I really didn’t like the content or the age group. However, after a week in Ms. Pagan’s fifth grade class, I fell in love with this age group. I loved the conversations that were able to happen at this age and the level of content made everything exciting. After the 7 weeks flew by, I found myself not wanting to leave this class. I had always pictured myself teaching the younger graders, mainly grades 1-3 however after this student teaching experience I now envision myself in the upper grades. I came to the conclusion that I enjoyed having conversations with the students, I was able to connect with this age group on a deeper level, and I really enjoyed the content that was being taught. Student teaching completely changed my outlook on my reasoning behind what grade level I want to teach.
Several of Manhattan College’s education courses talked about classroom management and the importance of having good classroom management. I soon realized that you don’t learn effective classroom management until you are living it. I also learned the differences in classroom management depending on the grade level. The type of management is also different depending on the class because different groups of students respond to different methods of management. Ms. Reda is an expert when it comes to managing a first grade classroom. When she tells them to be quiet, she tells them that she says what she means and means what she says. The students take this to heart and you could literally hear a pin drop in her classroom. Ms. Reda’ students know her expectations and they strive to reach them everyday. Mrs. Pagan had a very effective way to make sure that the students’ desks stayed organized. The first week of school was a time in Mrs. Pagan’s class for the students to get organized. She guided and supported them throughout this process. She had labels for each and every one of their books and she made them color the sides to color-code all of their belongings. This helped so much during transitions because the students could simply look in their desks for the color then pull out the appropriate notebook. Both Ms. Reda and Mrs. Pagan have effective ways of regaining their classes’ attention. Ms. Reda uses “touch your head, touch your shoulders, clap once” or “one, two, three, eyes on me”. Mrs. Pagan however uses “if you hear me clap once, if you hear me clap twice”. Both are very effective ways to regain focus in a classroom. These are just a few of the many ways that I found to be effective while observing my cooperating teachers.
From being in two separate student teaching placements, I learned how I want my classroom to be setup. I saw organizational skills that I adored and skills that I would not use because I did not find them effective. I really liked the way Mrs. Pagan set up her classroom, although it was cluttered because of the limited space, she set up her room in a very effective way. I found the name tags on the desks to be very effective, she used every bulletin board in a creative way, the hooks in the closet were all labeled with the students names, and the library was leveled and accessible to students at all times. I really liked all of the labeling because I felt that it kept things extremely organized and also gave the students a place to call their own in the closet and with the name tags on their desks. Mrs. Pagan organized everything in a way that was easily accessible to students and stayed organized. Ms. Reda was also very organized but I felt that there wasn’t enough support to keep 6 year olds organized. Their desks are a complete mess and it drove me crazy everyday. I would have made sure to color-code everything for the students and I would have had bins for them to keep extra things like their word sorts so the sorts didn’t clutter their desks. I found some very useful ways to organize my future classroom.
Beginning in Mrs. Pagan really gave me a good perspective on the highs and lows of teaching. I experienced everything from IEP meetings to data sheet meetings. It was definitely eye opening and really showed me the behind the scenes aspects of teaching. It was so helpful seeing all these different types of meetings because it showed me how to appropriately interact with a parent and also how to engage with my colleagues. These are life long skills that can only be developed in a school environment. I was extremely grateful to be a part of the community and really felt like I was a major part of my fifth grade classroom.
Ms. Reda taught me so much while in my first grade placement. From excellent classroom management to showing me how to be effective in the first grade, Ms. Reda taught me so many effective strategies that I will use as a future teacher. One of the main strategies that I will definitely use, if I teach in the younger grades, will be to constantly repeat myself and then have the students repeat what I have said back to me. Oftentimes on the rug I will ask the students to engage in a turn and talk. Once I pose the question I ask the students, “What are you talking to your partner about?” I believe that having them repeat what I asked really makes sure they are listening and also holds them accountable when they are talking to their partner. Another important technique I loved was talking very, very quietly. I realized that if you talk quietly the students stop talking and their ears perk up to listen to you. They realize that they can’t hear anything that is going on if they are trying to do something else while you are talking. There are just a few of the effective tools that I will take away from student teaching in the first grade.
Student teaching was such a memorable experience that taught me so much about the profession that I am about to dive into. I now have a better idea about what grade level I want to teach and what aspects of teaching I like and dislike. I finally proved to myself that this is my passion and this is the job that I want to take on for the rest of my life. My enthusiasm for teaching children grew and flourished during this experience and I cannot wait to have my own classroom. I was able to get a handle on how I see my future classroom and what strategies I will utilize while teaching. I am so grateful to my two cooperating teachers who took me under their wings and really taught me everything they know about the professional world of teaching. I am one step closer to my goal of becoming an effective educator.
Upon entering my first placement, I was really dreading starting off in a fifth grade classroom. I had observed in this grade before and I really didn’t like the content or the age group. However, after a week in Ms. Pagan’s fifth grade class, I fell in love with this age group. I loved the conversations that were able to happen at this age and the level of content made everything exciting. After the 7 weeks flew by, I found myself not wanting to leave this class. I had always pictured myself teaching the younger graders, mainly grades 1-3 however after this student teaching experience I now envision myself in the upper grades. I came to the conclusion that I enjoyed having conversations with the students, I was able to connect with this age group on a deeper level, and I really enjoyed the content that was being taught. Student teaching completely changed my outlook on my reasoning behind what grade level I want to teach.
Several of Manhattan College’s education courses talked about classroom management and the importance of having good classroom management. I soon realized that you don’t learn effective classroom management until you are living it. I also learned the differences in classroom management depending on the grade level. The type of management is also different depending on the class because different groups of students respond to different methods of management. Ms. Reda is an expert when it comes to managing a first grade classroom. When she tells them to be quiet, she tells them that she says what she means and means what she says. The students take this to heart and you could literally hear a pin drop in her classroom. Ms. Reda’ students know her expectations and they strive to reach them everyday. Mrs. Pagan had a very effective way to make sure that the students’ desks stayed organized. The first week of school was a time in Mrs. Pagan’s class for the students to get organized. She guided and supported them throughout this process. She had labels for each and every one of their books and she made them color the sides to color-code all of their belongings. This helped so much during transitions because the students could simply look in their desks for the color then pull out the appropriate notebook. Both Ms. Reda and Mrs. Pagan have effective ways of regaining their classes’ attention. Ms. Reda uses “touch your head, touch your shoulders, clap once” or “one, two, three, eyes on me”. Mrs. Pagan however uses “if you hear me clap once, if you hear me clap twice”. Both are very effective ways to regain focus in a classroom. These are just a few of the many ways that I found to be effective while observing my cooperating teachers.
From being in two separate student teaching placements, I learned how I want my classroom to be setup. I saw organizational skills that I adored and skills that I would not use because I did not find them effective. I really liked the way Mrs. Pagan set up her classroom, although it was cluttered because of the limited space, she set up her room in a very effective way. I found the name tags on the desks to be very effective, she used every bulletin board in a creative way, the hooks in the closet were all labeled with the students names, and the library was leveled and accessible to students at all times. I really liked all of the labeling because I felt that it kept things extremely organized and also gave the students a place to call their own in the closet and with the name tags on their desks. Mrs. Pagan organized everything in a way that was easily accessible to students and stayed organized. Ms. Reda was also very organized but I felt that there wasn’t enough support to keep 6 year olds organized. Their desks are a complete mess and it drove me crazy everyday. I would have made sure to color-code everything for the students and I would have had bins for them to keep extra things like their word sorts so the sorts didn’t clutter their desks. I found some very useful ways to organize my future classroom.
Beginning in Mrs. Pagan really gave me a good perspective on the highs and lows of teaching. I experienced everything from IEP meetings to data sheet meetings. It was definitely eye opening and really showed me the behind the scenes aspects of teaching. It was so helpful seeing all these different types of meetings because it showed me how to appropriately interact with a parent and also how to engage with my colleagues. These are life long skills that can only be developed in a school environment. I was extremely grateful to be a part of the community and really felt like I was a major part of my fifth grade classroom.
Ms. Reda taught me so much while in my first grade placement. From excellent classroom management to showing me how to be effective in the first grade, Ms. Reda taught me so many effective strategies that I will use as a future teacher. One of the main strategies that I will definitely use, if I teach in the younger grades, will be to constantly repeat myself and then have the students repeat what I have said back to me. Oftentimes on the rug I will ask the students to engage in a turn and talk. Once I pose the question I ask the students, “What are you talking to your partner about?” I believe that having them repeat what I asked really makes sure they are listening and also holds them accountable when they are talking to their partner. Another important technique I loved was talking very, very quietly. I realized that if you talk quietly the students stop talking and their ears perk up to listen to you. They realize that they can’t hear anything that is going on if they are trying to do something else while you are talking. There are just a few of the effective tools that I will take away from student teaching in the first grade.
Student teaching was such a memorable experience that taught me so much about the profession that I am about to dive into. I now have a better idea about what grade level I want to teach and what aspects of teaching I like and dislike. I finally proved to myself that this is my passion and this is the job that I want to take on for the rest of my life. My enthusiasm for teaching children grew and flourished during this experience and I cannot wait to have my own classroom. I was able to get a handle on how I see my future classroom and what strategies I will utilize while teaching. I am so grateful to my two cooperating teachers who took me under their wings and really taught me everything they know about the professional world of teaching. I am one step closer to my goal of becoming an effective educator.