I learned quickly that being an effective teacher is an art that takes time and devotion. Many times, teachers are not provided with the necessary materials in order to maintain the various learning styles in a classroom. It is up to the teacher to create an environment where students can succeed. This is a full time job, meaning that a teacher’s work is not done once they leave the school. A teacher must contribute a significant amount of time and effort in order to see positive results in the school and in his or her own classroom. After observing my cooperating teacher’s strategies and learning more about the profession, I knew that I was going in the right direction with my life. I took a significant amount of knowledge away from this experience and have continued to strive to be the type of educator that I was blessed to work with during this experience. .
At the age of two, I started school at Urban Christian Academy here in Savannah Ga. My teachers there were awesome. They worked with me and made sure I was nurtured and taught everything I needed to know. After completing the elementary grades, I went to Bible Baptist day school as a seventh grader. I stayed there until the eleventh grade.
I applied to be placed in a mathematics class at Lamar High School and was successfully placed in a tenth grade geometry class that was taught by Mrs. Jenalle Kamla. I was able to acquire a whole lot of information about adolescents, learning, teaching, classroom management, discipline, body language and how I should uphold myself while teaching. This experience has most definitely molded me into a better person and has solidified God’s calling for me to become a teacher at the high school level.
In that class, the student learns about different teaching methods and how to care for children. As part of the curriculum, we volunteered at Long Elementary as teacher aides. Working with 4th grade students and observing an everyday class room was such an awe-inspiring experience. I had a completely new perspective about teachers. I have so much more respect as before. Teachers put so much time and effort into helping children for their benefits. I knew from the first day I helped with Ms. Williams’ 4th grade class, how much a teacher is a positive influence on children. There is an overwhelming feeling when you help a student with a problem and in return they give you the most heart-warming smile. The experience at Long Elementary helped me make my final decision on whether I wanted to teach elementary or secondary school. As much as I enjoyed helping elementary students, in my heart I knew secondary school was the path God had in store for me.
For my last semester of observing before student teaching, I was placed at Mink Shoals in a fifth grade class. I was placed with Miss Whitten. She is an amazing teacher who has taught me many valuable lessons. Miss Whitten has been at a variety of schools and classrooms so your management techniques and basic skills were great. I spent about one-hundred hours in her classroom. I got to know her, and all of her students very well. Being at Mink Shoals was the first time I had the opportunity to work with hearing impaired students. In her classroom, she had two students with hearing issues. I only got the opportunity to work with them during math, but I was able to learn how to communicate and teach them to the best of my ability. In her classroom, she also had a few students below grade level in a variety of subjects. She taught me how to work with these students. We were able to work with these students one-on-one because we did a lot of group work. She would always be sure to put the students below grade level together so I or she could work with them to help them improve their skills.
Wiest took the time to listen to my troubles and work with me outside of class. She even invited me to come drink tea in her office if I needed a break or was not feeling well. But more importantly, she helped me put everything into perspective and I made some tough decisions. I cut down on my work hours, took a few months off from orchestra, took less volunteer opportunities, and learned to prioritize my responsibilities. Mrs. Wiest also helped me with my work when I was falling behind and let me take her finals at different times to balance my work load. I panicked when everything got difficult, but she supported me. If any teacher has made an impact on me during my academic career, it was certainly Mrs. Wiest. She goes above and beyond for her students and wants everyone to succeed. With her help, I was able to succeed during a very rough
As a student, people deal with teachers for at least twelve to thirteen years of their life and not all of them are bad, but then again they are not all good either. Most teachers fall into three categories; the I Am Just Here For the Paycheck, the Shut Up I Hate Children, and the Holy Grail. Now it is understood that teachers have a hard job dealing with snot nose brats and even snottier parents, but sometimes a teacher has to over look all that and do the job to the best of the teachers ability, and some do a great job of that, but others scrap the bottom of their barrels everyday.
This past semesters has been an eye opening experience that has changed my views on teacher. Ever since I was little, I have always wanted to be a fourth grade teacher. However after being placed in a second grade classroom my views have changed. I liked the idea of teaching fourth grade because my fourth grade teacher was my inspiration in life. When I was in Ms. Petro’s class I enjoyed being able to watch the students progress over time. Being able to see the drastic improvements in little children is very rewarding and that is why I want to continue to teach lower grades. I have learned that being a teacher requires a special someone, a person who knows that sometimes you will have to deal with tough situations leaving you exhausted and feeling like you are not able to help more. But at the same time, being a teacher allows one to be a visionary for the world and those who surround you.
There is a quote that I have embraced during my professional journey I like that state, “The influence of a good teacher can never be erased”. As a product of the Muscogee County School district, my life mirrors that statement. If it were not for my awesome teachers I would not be the person and teacher I am today. Growing up poor, I lived in Wilson Apartments and attended Fox Elementary School. It was my kindergarten teacher Mrs. Vignery that ignited my passion to become a teacher. She would always hold my hand and made me feel loved despite my many issues. As a result, I wanted to pass this love to my students. I cannot remember not one single thing that she taught me, but I will never forget how she made me feel. I find myself holding
The best teacher I’ve ever had was my Honors English teacher, who was the strictest and harshest grader I’ve ever come across. With her as my teacher, I spent the majority of my sophomore year stressed out. What I didn’t realize, however, was that the only reason I was struggling, was because I refused to acknowledge that what she was doing was teaching. The teachers I had previously, never challenged me in the way that she did and, because of that, I could do the bare minimum and still pass. After I finished her class, I realized that she didn’t just set me up to pass her class, but set me up to excel in the future. She changed the way I looked at education, and made me acknowledge that having trouble in a class didn’t mean that I was incapable;
I have a disease called Lupus, so my immune system was really bad which made attendance a little bit of an obstacle throughout high school. Although, most of my grades were A’s and B’s I was still reprimanded when it came to absence; that was the bad part of my educational history definitely. Sometimes I would have to miss four days in one week which made whichever tests I had at the end of the week or the beginning of the next week difficult or late. I think my teachers who did not understand the illness I had probably thought that I had taken advantage of them or the class.
Why does society consider education such an important quest? Should there be a purpose for education or should education simply be an intrinsic pursuit (Marples, 2010), where individuals just want to learn and become more knowledgeable. Education should be accessible for all young people to obtain skills required to become meaningful members of society, whether it is simply to acquire knowledge or to acquire more purposeful skills for a meaningful profession. How that occurs is determined by stakeholders commissioned to realise the aims for education devised by governments, who ultimately decide what is best for society. Education can be applied to any number of programmes that teach and encourage learning (Hand, 2010). The argument
The teacher who has had the most impact on me was my English 101 teacher. After high school, I went straight to college and took English 101 as one of my first classes. I came from a very good school and was extremely confident in my writing abilities. I had a fixed mindset about my abilities but not in the traditional way. I was convinced that I couldn’t be better. After hammering out a paper in a couple of days, turning it in with pride then continuing on with daily life, I received my paper, with a C! I couldn’t believe it I never got C’s on my work, ever. I went through a lot of stages of denial. I thought it was a mistake, or maybe the teacher had a personal grudge against
To participate and enter the field of STEM, students must have an adequate accumulation of knowledge from their K-12 schooling. Students that consider majoring in the STEM field prepare themselves in high school by taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses specifically in math and science. Therefore, the development of basic math and science skills gained in school (K-12) is crucial for a student that desires to pursue a STEM major in college. In high school, students are allowed and given the opportunity to take certain classes that interest them or correlate to their learning speed. Ideally, high school shapes the students’ educational opportunities and interests through their course offerings and most importantly, access to AP math or science courses.