Internship Week 2

This week was our first week with students and all I can say is what a fun, different environment.  This is unlike anything I have experienced in the past two years at my PDS.  In fact, I feel that this is exactly where I want to be and where I want to take my future career.
The structure of the classroom is wonderful and the students are very well adapted to it at this point.  All but two were in this room last year, so they know "the drill" and what to do as soon as they walk in the room.  This week, however, was a bit different from the norm as ESY testing (Extended School Year) took place.  I found out that this is a test that the students take right before summer break to see where they stand in that particular area.  They then take the same test as soon as they get back from summer break to see if they regressed or progressed over the three month break.  I was extremely excited to see this all take place because the Reading ESY that my mentor teacher used to assess the students was the BRI assessment, which we learned how to use last fall.  It is always exciting to see work that I recognize put to use.
The other ESY testing that took place was the Math ESY.  This consisted of evaluations of addition and subtraction.  Some of the students were borrowing and regrouping, others were completing basic addition or subtraction.  It was very interesting to see the different levels in the room and it made me immediately realize that there will be much planning involved in my future lesson plans.  One thing that came to my mind while observing this is the fact that there are no two children that learn alike.
Along with academic levels, I was able to get a glimpse of the personalities of each of my students.  I saw that some became frustrated quite easily, and some would sit there and smile if they were not understanding their work, rather than expressing their confusion in an angry way.  However, noticing how my mentor teacher responded made a light bulb go off in my head.  She always remained calm, understanding, and supportive to each of the students.  So often we are quick to judge why a student would yell, and make assumptions and become frustrated with them.  What we don't know is what is going on inside their head, at home, or even what happened in the class before they came to ours.  As I watched my teacher reply calmly to each student, I noticed that the ones that were frustrated began to calm down .  It looked as if her voice and reaction came as a sense of peace to them.  It is apparent they trust and love her.  So often you see teachers yell at their students... I have yet to see a positive reaction come out of this.  This week, I have found the best way to help out a frustrated student is to remain calm, let them know you are always there to help, and relay this information with a smile.  We have to remember, this could possibly be the warmest part of their day.  It is not only our job to teach them, but our job to comfort and support them.  This was my biggest lesson of the week.

Internship Reflection 1

The first week of my internship, I saw what it takes to plan for the upcoming school year.  The students came back on Thursday, but since I am in a Special Education resource room, we did not pull students the first two days.  This gave me an opportunity to become familiar with my room, as well as my mentor teacher.
The first day I was there, we cleaned the room.  As I cleaned, I looked through the resources that my teacher provided for her students.  It was evident that she had everything she possibly could to aide her students in Math and Reading, the two subjects I will be teaching primarily this semester.  This was so encouraging to see how many manipulatives she provided for her students.
The second and third day were group meetings with the entire county, known as the Academy.  Here, we discussed how to reach the Common Core Standards during this school year, as well as what we could do to provide a wonderful, goal-seeking year for each and every one of our students.  The Common Core made me think of what I could do this year to reach the sacred guidelines the standards provide, as well as the secret stories I could develop to reach the guidelines to their full potential, but in my own way.
Another thing I also realized was how much documentation a special needs classroom requires.  The amount of copies I made goes to show exactly how many recordings I will keep up on to keep records on each student.  I was able to become acquainted with each child's schedule as well as their strengths, what they need, etc.  This time was much needed in order to give me a bit of preparation to accommodate my students when the time came for them to come into the classroom.  Individualizing plans for 15 individual students will be challenging, yet rewarding.  I can't wait to take on this journey and prepare myself for my future career.  I can already tell my mentor is going to be one that I learn a lot from.  I'm really looking forward to this year.