Block One, Week One

I know that this post is a little late considering I started practicum last week, but currently I am just taking some time to reflect. I cannot express how grateful I am for being able to experience my first day of practicum this past Tuesday. Going back into the classroom was such an enriching experience for me. For this first day of practicum I had the privilege to sit in and observe a grade three class. The most influential take away from this classroom adventure was how the teacher was able to create a safe and inclusive learning environment for all her students.

After getting situated in the classroom and introducing myself to the teacher, it was time to go gather the students from outside. Upon their arrival to school, there were two children who were very upset. My supervising teacher (for privacy purposes I will refer to her as Mrs. E) went straight to these children, even before coming inside to see how they were feeling and help sooth their worries. Mrs. E later explained to me that some of these students had problems in their home lives that often troubles them throughout their school day. Due to her consistent reaching out, Mrs. E has become trusted by her students to confide in her with their problems and concerns. I was able to watch her start off the day by reassuring these children and I saw how their moods improved when entering the classroom and engaging with their lessons. School seemed like a safe and happy space despite their struggles in their home or personal lives.

Mrs. E always put her students wellbeing at the forefront of her teaching, and I believe this is one of the main contributing factors to the inclusive learning environment she has created. The students were able to express their feelings, thoughts, and insecurities to her either privately or publicly depending on their level of comfort. This reassurance meant that after disagreements on the playground, they confided in her. Moreover, this gained trust also meant that in class when they were not understanding the material or had questions the children felt comfortable asking during lessons.

Many of Mrs. E’s lessons, such as language arts and math included various different learning styles to further engage all her students. For example, in the morning the students were given a set of words and were instructed to come up with lists of words they knew with the same word endings. There were many different ways that this lesson took place. Mrs. E handed out worksheets for the children that wanted to work independently. The students were also able to raise their hand or use the smart board and share their words with the class. Mrs. E also did a fantastic job of posing questions for the students which allowed them to do their own critical thinking and come to the answers themselves.

Throughout this lesson, all of the students were listening and participating. The children seemed to feel comfortable sharing their answers, asking questions and adding the words to their own lists. Between Mrs. E and their fellow students, the children were able to both collaborate their work and create on their own lists. I was amazed by the communication and excitement during this lesson. By the end, everyone had a list, and even though they varied in size, all students had made their own contributions. By including different learning styles, Mrs. E was able to accommodate and engage the whole class. Over-all, it was a tremendous blessing to be a part of Mrs. E’s classroom and observe her talents as a teacher.

Also, during this practicum day, I also had a very positive experience with a student that I saw struggling. During math class later that morning, Mrs. E was explaining the task at hand and I could see this student struggling to pay attention. In my best attempt to explain, he just didn’t look confident in own his abilities. In this lesson, we were learning about ones, tens and hundred tiles and how they can represent numbers. After watching him poke around his tiles, I decided to go and sit with him. I asked him how he was doing with his worksheet and he stated, “I don’t want to try, I am never good at math”. If you are an avid reader of my blog, you know that math was also a source of anxiety for me. I then proceeded to tell him about my struggles with the subject and asked him if he would like to show me how to do the worksheet. At this his face lit up, and we proceeded to start the worksheet as a team. I would ask him questions and count with him, while he filled out the worksheet.

This experience truly filled my soul. As someone who didn’t feel confident asking questions even when I was struggling, I understood this child’s point of view. Math is different than other subjects in the sense that it can cause a huge rise in emotions. For me and this student these emotions can often be anger, frustration and even sadness. It feels like success anytime we can help students make a breakthrough or progress such as in my experience above. As teachers, we want to see every student having success in their education and if we can help them improve their confidence, that’s a win in my books.

Throughout these past few months, I have been really thinking about my choice to become an educator. For me, teaching is more than a profession and I wanted to ensure that I am up for the challenge. This experience in the classroom reassured me that this is where I am supposed to be. I am overwhelmed with the feeling of alignment in my current path in education. Even though teaching will not always be easy, and I will constantly be faced with challenges, I cannot help but feel blessed to have chosen teaching.

Anyway, I apologize for the longer post. I’m just inspired and am eager to share. Hope you enjoyed it!

Note: Interested in my practicum experiences? Find these posts under the practicum section in the menu. Thanks for reading!