Weekly Reflection 1

     Although this week was somewhat stressful, it was a great start to my project. It was also a definite test on time management for me. My biggest challenge was budgeting my time at each school and making sure I got my hours done. Aside from that, my time in each class was very fun. Even though I only had one day at Kearsarge Middle School last week, I learned a lot about how a class of their age functions. I learned that in the same class, there will be people who have a passion for learning the language, as well as kids who are just trying to get through it. It is important to find activities and styles of learning that will work for every different student to cater to their ways of learning. I also learned at Kearsarge that sometimes it may take them a few tries to understand a new concept, and that patience is key. It is also important to know when and when not to help them. That is something that I will have to practice and really get down, because while we do not want them to fail, we also do not want to give them the answers.

I also learned a lot during my time at Proctor this week about lesson planning. I was asked to plan out two class periods for Mikaela’s French one class next week. It takes a lot of time and patience to make sure that each minute of class is productive and will keep the students’ attention. I tried my best to include fun activities that the students would learn a lot from. I also really enjoyed the planning. It ended up taking many hours, but they went by quickly because I found it fun to be in charge of planning what they would do. It gave me a chance be creative and organized and to tap into my own thoughts as a student. I was able to figure out what worked the best for me and to apply it to what I was planning for them. The only surprises that came to me was how long the planning took, and how it is equal to much more than the daily class hours. I think that I was asked to do that planning because it showed me exactly how time consuming being a teacher can be outside of class. This experience taught me a lot about what being a teacher is, and how it is not just a day job.

 
    I can take what I’ve learned this week and apply it to what I will be doing next week. While this week was mostly about planning, next week will be about teaching. I know that while both are equally important, they are also very different, and require different skills. I am hoping that I will be able to take what I’ve planned and use it to effectively teach and show the students that what they are learning can be fun and very useful in everyday life. I hope that I will have the confidence and the patience to do a good job. It will be a very different experience for me to be at the front of the class where everyone has to listen to me! I am confident that they will be great listeners and hopefully take a lot from what I say.