Student Teaching begins in a month

I have taught for over seven years and worked in education for a few years prior to that. And I have never once thought this. For a second.

 

I didn't mean to imply that you aren't a teacher if you don't feel that way.

I do and it's the only job I ever had where I wish I had longer hours and less vacations because I think of all of the stuff we need to cover, how we are behind, loss of momentum, etc. etc.

It was not meant to be a point of contention by any means. I only meant that I am surprisingly much more dedicated to teaching than I was for any other job. Like not so much when I was bank teller and being tired = sick day. Sick day now? Huh, no way unless I want to be stressed out and panicky for the rest of the week.

I was not trying to be contentious.

 

I've never once wished that winter break was shorter. Or spring break.

Summer break, on the other hand...

 

You need a 47 to be considered a Satisfactory Intern. I got a 59 from my supervisor. 63 is needed for "Accomplished"

I think my CTs will fill it out tomorrow, as there is an overlapping prep tomorrow.

Yeah, had to write a 2 page reflection & self evaluation with most of it focusing on what I taught (rather than how it was taught) as part of my 40 page paper.

It all depends on what my CTs give me, but according to my supervisor, they gave no indication whatsoever of a bad score when she met with them very very briefly. My CTs could give me a 36 and I would still pass by the skin of my teeth (Although such a discrepancy in scoring would cause the college to call for a meeting).

Part of me is sad that the students will miss me. Another part of me is sad that I will no longer be a part of their daily routine. Another part of it is that I am going to miss teaching them, even if it is difficult for me to do some activities that are easier for others (including some that are easier for the kids to do for me).

Part of me is worried about graduating, because then the only semblance of a routine I will have is my weekly therapy session, which is pretty much the only time I leave the house.

Although teachers told me that after I am done, I should visit every once in a while if I can. I should probably do that, tell my afternoon CT to email me if she ever needs help with a class party or anything, or if I could just come in on field day just to help maintain order.

With summer break, it's more like after the second week of August, (at least I do) you get antsy and just want the year to start again because there's only so much of the same routine you can do over and over again before you need things shaken up.

Tomorrow I teach my last lesson(s) to the kids.

I think more of the kids are realizing that i'm actually going - got a lot of "I loooove you don't leave" today.

 

Bros, it sounds like you were a hit with the children.

As far as your new routine...try to make some time evefy day to get out of the house and be around people. It will help you refine your social skills and will make you more comfortable talking when you go in for interviews.

I have a grown son with autism. It has been my experience that without social interventions, people with autism tend to regress as they get older. My son is non verbal, but we have always taken him out into the community to keep him relating to people as much as possible.

That is another reason we keep annual passes to all the theme parks and go as much as possible.

I relate my story to you just to give you confidence to reach out and keep your people skills current.

Good luck with your future endeavors.

 

bros, I noticed that you had expressed concerns before starting ST about how you would accommodate for your disabilities at the Kindergarten level. What were the biggest challenges you faced while teaching? What accommodations did you make to meet these challenges? Was there anything that presented less of a challenge than you expected? Were there any challenges that were unexpected? How did you overcome those?

 

I should probably do that, tell my afternoon CT to email me if she ever needs help with a class party or anything, or if I could just come in on field day just to help maintain order.

......

I think more of the kids are realizing that i'm actually going - got a lot of "I loooove you don't leave" today.[/QUOTE]

Going to help/volunteer if you can is a great idea! Do that

What the kids are saying: that's sweet.

Congratulations on finishing student teaching!

 

bros, I hope that you have a great last day tomorrow and wish you the best of luck in the future.

 

Biggest challenges I faced was classroom management - one of the first things my afternoon CT told me was that if you can teach Kindergarten, managing any other classroom is quite a bit easier, as when they are that old, they know how to act in a classroom, you just need to set your rules.

I depended on technology for my lessons, along with photocopied worksheets.

Tomorrow should be a good last day. The kids were sad today when both classes got together and gave me a little gift. They were asking why I couldn't come back, etc.

It's going to be hard to leave for lunch tomorrow in the morning class.

 

I think she misspoke. Please don't think that other grade levels will be easier because the kids know how to act, just because they're older.
Every grade level has its challenges and positives. It doesn't mean it's easier. 3rd grade can be challenging for a number of reasons, the same as 2nd or 5th. and so on.
If it was for maturity and the fact that they've been in school so long so that now they know how to behave, high school would be the easiest to manage, which is not true.
So you gotta be prepared to manage your classroom no matter what.

 

She meant it in the way that it isn't their first year of school for the other grades.

 

I understood that, but it doesn't mean they're any more better behaved. Challenges appear and disappear with age, you have to handle each age group differently but you still have to know what you're doing. And it doesn't get easier.

 

Yeah. But you encounter quite a wide variety of behavior issues in K.

 

Just as in every grade.

 

The little guys want to please the teacher and generally misbehave because they can't control themselves. The older kids don't give a crap about pleasing the teacher and generally misbehave because they can. I wouldn't consider either to be easier or harder. It all comes down to your tolerance.

 

Lol. I'm the total opposite. Once I've got momentum going I hate to take a break. I'm the same way with things like cleaning my house or home improvement projects--no breaks until it's finished. But once it's finished I can break forever. Let summer last for months upon months I'll be drinking something a little fruity next to my pool day after day

 

My two-year-olds somehow manage to be both of these at once.

 

I agree that there are challenging behaviors at any age, but I do believe management (which I don't see as just behavior), is exceptionally difficult in kindergarten. I imagine that's what the CT was referring to. I say this as a first grade teacher who gets kids in the fall who have been trained by the wonderful K teachers! When they enter K, many of them don't know how to stand in a line, sit at a desk, hold a pencil, sit on the carpet, share, respond to being told "no," etc etc. They have to be taught every. single. little. thing.

I'm not trying to start a harder or easier argument, or even say that one is harder than the other. Just thinking that's maybe what was meant by that statement.


Anyway, bros, congratulations on finishing student teaching! It sounds like you made quite an impression on the kids.

 

And it is over.

Today was bittersweet.

Some students gave me Christmas gifts, which was very nice.

My afternoon CT gave me a small (but very nice) gift.

I had Holiday Parties pretty much the entire day.

It was fun.

My CT told me I should come back and visit sometime, she said the kids would love it. A lot of them didn't really understand that I wasn't coming back. Two kids from the morning class were crying at the end of the day because I was leaving. One cried all the way to the bus.

My supervisor & CTs submitted assessments. My supervisor reviewed my videotaped lesson, gave me good marks, her comments were that I need to use my voice and body language to engage students, I need to work on closure activities and good transitions and that I need to work on seizing cross curricular opportunities and classroom management.

She said the giant paper I had to write was good, minus some run-on sentences.

For the final assessment, she said I need to continue working on displaying extensive content knowledge, I need to continue expanding my classroom management skills, and that I need to continue to work on collaborative skills and develop initiative.

She gave me a 70 on the final assessment that she submitted online.

The average of the two makes me considered an Accomplished Professional Intern.

 

So what's next?

We need to keep this thread running :haha:

 

Congrats bros! Enjoy your break!

 

I laughed at this because although I haven't contributed much and although I didn't agree with some of the language in some of the responses, I really have enjoyed keeping up with your journey Bros.

 

Job Hunting/waiting for my degree to come in the mail/waiting for my certificate to be done (my college doesn't submit the papers I filed in August until middle of February or so)

We can keep the topic alive with that

 

Congrats Bro!

 

Ditto!

Congratulations, Bros! Take some time to celebrate your accomplishment. You worked hard and it has paid off!

 

Congratulations on your successful completion of student teaching, Bros. I'm really proud of you. Your tenacity really inspires me.

I know I haven't responded to this thread much, but I have been following it lately, and it has been such a joy getting to know you.

 

Congrats---will you be visiting your college's career center now that you have more free time?

 

Can you sub in a local district while you are waiting for your certificate? Have they given you a letter to submit with your applications that your certificate will be awarded and is in the process of being finalized? If so, you can think about more than just subbing.

 

They won't be in until next semester. So i'll have to get my disabled train pass renewed and try to arrange all of that.

When the certification person presented to my night class, she stated that if we were applying for a job and needed a piece of paper saying that we completed the program, that the potential employer would have to contact the college for the paper.

I would probably get my teaching cert by the time I get a sub cert.

 

So it appears that you have the wonderful gift of time. Time to prepare for the upcoming job season, time to perfect your resume, time to come up with a killer cover letter. Time to zero in on all those issues and come up with an answer to al the questions that have been asked on this thread. Time to become an expert on the material you hope to be teaching. Time to become better known in any and all of the local districts in which you might hope to teach-- perhaps by volunteering to work in their literacy programs or after school programs, helping with the spring concert or with graduation.

The spring graduates won't have any of these things, bros. Start, on January 2, using all that time to your advantage. You know that you're at a disadvantage in the job search; use this time to help level the playing field.

Congrats on finishing up, Bros. We all know that this has been pretty difficult for you. You should be proud of what you've accomplished.

 

Have you given any thought to moving out of the area? I know the idea of moving is difficult for a lot of different reasons, but you're in one of the toughest areas in the country to find a teaching job. Maryland isn't too far away from you, has a much better job market, has similar quality of disability resources, and your certificate would probably transfer pretty easily. I know that in... February, I think, there's always a big job fair in Baltimore with every district in Maryland. If I were you, I'd at least consider trying to get there, and talk to the folks in Charles County, Prince George County, Baltimore County, Montgomery County, and Howard County. Maybe Baltimore City too, though your classroom management concerns would be tougher there than in other districts.

 

Congrats bros!! Now you have graduated from pre-service forum to "Job Seekers."

 

Congrats on finishing student teaching.

This 70 is out of how many possible points? I ask because a 70% isn't passing ST here, but I know where you're at it means you're "Accomplished".

 

I think he said he needed a 47 to be considered Satisfactory and a 63 to be accomplished.

 

Thanks.

 

There are 15 areas of competency.

Maximum score of 5 per competency.

15*5 = 75.

Max score of 75.

 

Yay! Now it's time for the job hunt

 

Well 70 is a very nice score. I hope you find something in the near future!