Five Things I Learned During My Student Teaching Experience

Well, it's over. It's really over. I spent four months in the final phase of the licensure process as a student teacher at William Henry Harrison High School. Here are five things I learned while working with the students at the school:

Even the best kids will let you down

It didn't take me long to figure out that sometimes students just won't like or respect you. I understand that it's not my job to be their friend or to be liked, but I did want their respect. In some cases, I didn't get that respect, even though I did everything I could to earn it. There were a couple students who really trashed me to other students, and I won't lie - it really hurt. They had no idea how much I really cared (and still care) about their success. It just goes to show that even the best students will let you down.

But sometimes the students will surprise you

On my last day at Harrison, one student brought me two squirrels ready to cook and eat. Yes, I know this seems odd, but it was a true gift, and it was made even more special because of the person who gave it to me. This student didn't always see eye-to-eye with me, even though I have a huge amount of respect for him. It meant a lot that he brought me this gift. It was special - and yes, extremely funny.

Methods development

I wasn't always able to teach to my style. I favor group activities and technical presentations over straight lecture, especially on some of the difficult material I was teaching the freshmen. I had to make adjustments based on lack of time and experience. That will change. I need to do a better job of making history interesting to my students, and I need to learn how to do it in a way that fits who I am as a teacher. I'll get there.

Keep improving

Sometimes things won't work. For example, I think I gave my students too much material for Chapter 12. While they were smart enough to handle it, I must do a better job with putting together material that is concise and easy to understand. I think I did that with the Chapter 13 stuff. I'll be looking forward to getting some feedback on that when they return from their holiday break.

Let the bad slide off your back

It didn't take me long to discover that I'm not always going to be on my game. Recently, I was losing my voice in class, and I had a group of students in the back who were laughing at my suddenly deep voice tone. There were other days when I came to school with no energy, and I had to find a way to survive through all seven bells. Sometimes the kids picked me up, and there were other times when we all just suffered through it together. The key thing I learned was to not let those negatives hold me back. I can honestly tell you that my students got my best effort every day I was at Harrison. Sure, I made my mistakes, but I never let them hold me back. I hope they saw that. I hope they saw a teacher that loved being there with them.

Overall, I have no regrets about my experience at Harrison High School. The administrators, faculty, and students all treated me well. I hope they enjoyed my presence in their school because I certainly enjoyed being there.

The Best and Worst of Educational Technology

I absolutely hated doing the movie comparison paper. I felt as if it had nothing to do with current technology except that I need to get it up on this blog. I think it would have been better if we had to do some kind of project instead.

As for the best technology topics, I loved everything else, but the big one for me was learning about Prezi. What a cool site! It takes time to work with, but in the end it definitely became something I can use in the future!

Does Using Technology Make Us Better Teachers?

The answer is yes. Technlogy give teachers the opportunity to engage students in various different ways. This is especially important for kids who struggle in the classroom. I have ADHD. Lecturing me in a classroom isn't going to work. Yet, I love technology. If a teacher engages me with some form of technology, it helps keep me interested both in the subject and the type of technology we're using. This is a world with Ipads, Ipods, and laptops. We need to use those to our advantage. Old school ways work sometimes, but those methods just won't fly with every one.

Improving a Lesson Through Technology

Lecturing isn't the only way to go anymore. Students need stimulation if they are going to succeed in the classroom. Through technology, I believe teachers can keep their children engaged. Personally, I would improve lessons by engaging children through the internet. Like this class required me to have a blog, I'd like my class to do the same. With their blog, I'd want them to post five things they want to know about the subject I'm about to teach and five things they did learn about the subject. That's just one thing I'd do to keep the kids engaged outside of the classroom. In the classroom, I'd make use of the internet through Youtube, history.com, and other sites to help engage the kids.

Learning from Fiction

Is there value in learning from fiction? Absolutely. Many life lessons have been taught using fictional stories in order to make a point. Students are often taught through fiction either in book or movie form. One movie that comes to mind is Ben-Hur, which I watched in my sixth grade social studies class. It taught on everything from culture to forgiveness. So yes, there is value in fiction. It just depends on how the educator responsible for the class presents it to his or her students.

Portfolio Assessment

What value is there in evaluating my portfolio? Well, it’s just like anything else we do. It’s testing our knowledge of what we learned on a project. If I didn’t learn what I needed to learn, then I’ll find out during the assessment. There’s always value in being tested. If we weren’t tested periodically in life, then how would we be sure we have a complete education?

Critiquing myself

To be honest, I hated critiquing myself, but it needed to be done. I think we all need to do it once in awhile or we’ll just end up missing an opportunity to do our jobs better. It’s never east, but I appreciate the opportunity to reflect on what I need to improve on.

Click here to read my assessment: Presentation Strengths and Weaknesses