Final Growth statement
Throughout my four years of college I have taken several education classes that all covered so many different things from content to learning about how the students should act. While yes I learned so much in all of those classes all things that I will use within my classroom. I can confidently say student teaching has been my best teaching and learning experience here at Manhattan College. Going into classes you learn so many learning styles, strategies and teaching styles. You see what works best with what type of person you are. Once in the classroom you understand so much more about everything you have learned. You are able to see where each skill can be used, and you are able to see what other teachers use. Being in the classroom I feel you learn more than in any class or lecture. Having that firsthand experience is the best thing a future teacher can have before having his or her own class to manage. My placement at P.S. 81 has been nothing but positive.
In my first placement I was in a fourth grade class with my co-operating teacher Ms. White. During this placement I learn a great deal of things I will carry with me into my next placement and into my own classroom. Ms. White has been a teacher at P.S. 81 for several years and she knows how to run a classroom successfully. Walking into Ms. White’s class she had me working right away. She wanted to make sure I fully experienced what it was like to be a teacher. She wanted me to experiences, teaching lessons, grading papers, organizing the classroom to working in small groups or one on one with students. I am very happy I had the opportunity to be in this fourth grade class. I learned a lot about their curriculum which is great. I feel I have learned about each grades curriculum but until you need to teach it you don’t really retain the information or know exactly what they are expected to know. Being in this class I also was able to create strong relationships with the students and I saw what is expected from students in fourth grade. I always was confused when observing where exactly each grade should be socially, emotionally and mentally. Being in the classroom really allowed me to learn so much about kids at this age. During all my education classes I always became so nervous and paranoid before presenting a lesson and teaching my first lesson in this class I was so nervous. I did not know how the students would react to my instructions but luckily they responded well. Ms. White made sure I was in front of the class at least for one lesson a day. She let me plan out my own lessons so along with becoming comfortable in front a student’s, my lesson planning skills improved. By the end of my placement, I had a better idea of how much work I feel could be accomplished during the 45 minute period with this class. I knew which students would struggle and which would be the first finished with the work. I learned so much in the placement. Ms. White let me have so much freedom within her class and I am so grateful she trusted me enough with her students to have done so much with them.
In my second placement unfortunately I did not have the same experience as the one I had in Ms. White’s classroom. In Ms. Hehirs second grade classroom I had a very different experience. The classroom management was not all there, this is Ms. Hehirs first year teaching at P.S. 81 and it was clear she was new. Along with being a new teacher she was given an extremely difficult group of students. Just like in Ms. White’s class I also was able to really create strong relationships with the students and I saw what is expected from students in second grade. I always was confused when observing where exactly each grade should be socially, emotionally and mentally, being in the classroom really allowed me to learn so much about kids at this age. In second grade they are still so young and don’t always understand why they are getting in trouble. With this class the students were always misbehaving and getting in trouble. I unfortunately did not have the opportunity to teach in front of the class nearly as much as in my first placement. I usually worked one on one with students which I did not mind I was able to see individually growth with those students, but it was not so much of a full “teaching” experience. But unfortunately when getting your own class you have no idea what type of class you will get and I may be faced with a similar class as Ms. Hehir. It was great to see different management strategies and what worked and what did not. Being in this class, there are many things I would do different then Ms. Hehir. But unless I was in this class I may have possibly thought to use some of these strategies with this type of class. Similar to my first placement I was able to really learn about the second grade curriculum, I had never observed in a second grade class. I was able to learn more about the curriculum and what the expectations were for these students. Being placed in this class was a great opportunity because I saw so many different personalities I could be faced with in my own classroom. Ms. Hehir also gave me a list of recommendations and things she would have done different at the beginning of the year. Being she is a first year teacher. I will be in her situation soon and she gave me so many helpful tips that I can use within my own classroom to avoid many problems she is faced with. I did not have to deal with testing since I was in a second grade classroom, which I am thankful for because I feel there isn’t much of a learning experience during that time.
Overall this semester of student teaching I feel has been extremely successful. I have learned so much more then I ever thought I would have being in these two classrooms. I learned so much about being a teacher and all thing things that come along with it besides just planning lessons. I saw how the school runs as a whole from administration to the classroom and how to work with individual students. I also have had the opportunity to see how the school handle’s the upcoming quality review and how those things work and what is needed to prepare. I will walk away from this experience ready to have my own classroom, and I feel that is exactly how you should feel leaving student teaching.
In my first placement I was in a fourth grade class with my co-operating teacher Ms. White. During this placement I learn a great deal of things I will carry with me into my next placement and into my own classroom. Ms. White has been a teacher at P.S. 81 for several years and she knows how to run a classroom successfully. Walking into Ms. White’s class she had me working right away. She wanted to make sure I fully experienced what it was like to be a teacher. She wanted me to experiences, teaching lessons, grading papers, organizing the classroom to working in small groups or one on one with students. I am very happy I had the opportunity to be in this fourth grade class. I learned a lot about their curriculum which is great. I feel I have learned about each grades curriculum but until you need to teach it you don’t really retain the information or know exactly what they are expected to know. Being in this class I also was able to create strong relationships with the students and I saw what is expected from students in fourth grade. I always was confused when observing where exactly each grade should be socially, emotionally and mentally. Being in the classroom really allowed me to learn so much about kids at this age. During all my education classes I always became so nervous and paranoid before presenting a lesson and teaching my first lesson in this class I was so nervous. I did not know how the students would react to my instructions but luckily they responded well. Ms. White made sure I was in front of the class at least for one lesson a day. She let me plan out my own lessons so along with becoming comfortable in front a student’s, my lesson planning skills improved. By the end of my placement, I had a better idea of how much work I feel could be accomplished during the 45 minute period with this class. I knew which students would struggle and which would be the first finished with the work. I learned so much in the placement. Ms. White let me have so much freedom within her class and I am so grateful she trusted me enough with her students to have done so much with them.
In my second placement unfortunately I did not have the same experience as the one I had in Ms. White’s classroom. In Ms. Hehirs second grade classroom I had a very different experience. The classroom management was not all there, this is Ms. Hehirs first year teaching at P.S. 81 and it was clear she was new. Along with being a new teacher she was given an extremely difficult group of students. Just like in Ms. White’s class I also was able to really create strong relationships with the students and I saw what is expected from students in second grade. I always was confused when observing where exactly each grade should be socially, emotionally and mentally, being in the classroom really allowed me to learn so much about kids at this age. In second grade they are still so young and don’t always understand why they are getting in trouble. With this class the students were always misbehaving and getting in trouble. I unfortunately did not have the opportunity to teach in front of the class nearly as much as in my first placement. I usually worked one on one with students which I did not mind I was able to see individually growth with those students, but it was not so much of a full “teaching” experience. But unfortunately when getting your own class you have no idea what type of class you will get and I may be faced with a similar class as Ms. Hehir. It was great to see different management strategies and what worked and what did not. Being in this class, there are many things I would do different then Ms. Hehir. But unless I was in this class I may have possibly thought to use some of these strategies with this type of class. Similar to my first placement I was able to really learn about the second grade curriculum, I had never observed in a second grade class. I was able to learn more about the curriculum and what the expectations were for these students. Being placed in this class was a great opportunity because I saw so many different personalities I could be faced with in my own classroom. Ms. Hehir also gave me a list of recommendations and things she would have done different at the beginning of the year. Being she is a first year teacher. I will be in her situation soon and she gave me so many helpful tips that I can use within my own classroom to avoid many problems she is faced with. I did not have to deal with testing since I was in a second grade classroom, which I am thankful for because I feel there isn’t much of a learning experience during that time.
Overall this semester of student teaching I feel has been extremely successful. I have learned so much more then I ever thought I would have being in these two classrooms. I learned so much about being a teacher and all thing things that come along with it besides just planning lessons. I saw how the school runs as a whole from administration to the classroom and how to work with individual students. I also have had the opportunity to see how the school handle’s the upcoming quality review and how those things work and what is needed to prepare. I will walk away from this experience ready to have my own classroom, and I feel that is exactly how you should feel leaving student teaching.