Question 15: The End

It is sad to think that I may never get the same opportunity to observe Mrs. Roark classroom again but she has taught me so much about being a successful teacher!

1. She has taught me the importance of being flexible. If a teacher does not know how to “roll with the punches” then I feel like they will become a stressful teacher.

2. It is important to hear what the children are saying. Each child is special and you can learn a lot from them. The students are not the only ones who should be learning in the schools but the teachers should be learning how to modify their lessons if one child is beginning to struggle. Each child has the potential to change the world and it is important that teachers are one of the people in that child’s life that will listen to their ideas. We are teacher are there to help plant the seed of thinking and we must water their curiosity.

3. Mrs. Roark taught me that the setup of your classroom will either invite or hinder the children’s learning. If you have too much going on in the class children will become distracted but if the classroom is not inviting then the children will just think that they are in prison. Teachers need to start creating safe environments so that a child is not afraid to think outside the box.

4. She has also taught me that as a teacher you will have some good days, some bad but in the end we are doing this to make a difference even if you only make a difference in one child’s life.

5. Conversation is important! If the children do not talk to you, then how will they learn how to think and perfect their comprehension?! I think many teachers are scared that if they allow their students to talk then they will have chaos but if guidelines are set and there respect within the classroom then that wont happened

6. In order to receive respect from the students in your class you MUST give it to them first! The students will never respect you if they don’t feel like you value them. Each child in you class WILL make a difference in the community they live in. We must remember the influence we have on the children in our class.

I would rather make a huge difference in one child’s life than make no difference at all. In the end I realized that there will be good days and there will be bad days the most importance thing to remember is that you are not doing this for the pay in income but you are getting paid to see children understand more.

xoxo

Question 12: Present and Absences

I guess it was because of the time of day that I got to observe the class might explain my answer to the following questions.  I did not see a lot of writing, viewing or visually representing within the classroom. I did however see the children read for fun never because they had to. I did get to see the students listen and speak.

Speaking and reading was a big deal in Mrs. Roark’s class. Even though busy work for the students is not necessary a good thing I did like that Mrs. Roark gave the students the option to read a book when they were done with their work. So throughout the day the students got a chance to escape the reality of school and go on an adventure in the book they were reading. Since talking and conversations helps build fluency, the students were constantly talking about what they were reading. They would tell Mrs. Roark what was going on in the book they were reading and she had them journal a lot about the book they were reading.  I like that they could have a conversation with the teacher and they would also recommend books to the peers in their classroom as well.

Since I didn’t get to see the students do a lot of writing, viewing or visual representing it would not surprise me if Mrs. Roark did include that in her lessons throughout the day.  I could think of several ways that it could be including in lessons. Since writing is very obvious but as far as including viewing and visual representing that could be in word search around the classrooms and having the students use class resources in order to expand on some new ideas they are learning.

Mrs. Roark could include anything in her teaching because is a very flexible teacher!

(Dear God, teach me how to be flexible in my teaching…Amen!)

xoxo

Question 11: Literature play

Literature play throughout the class is not a large thing that I saw but I did see it some time. Since I did not real get to see the class uses this method a lot. As a matter of fact I don’t think I have even seen Mrs. Roark include literature play in other curriculum areas.  I do see the importance of including that is every aspect of curriculum and throughout the day but I do not think that harm is done if it is not included all the time.

Since the children would expect it all the time throughout the day I feel like that the students would use that time to just goof around and not really do any work. Now I may be wrong or may have the wrong idea of what literature play is but since I did not see Mrs. Roark make a huge stress on that I don’t think that the students would not be able to learn. Even though play is universal where ever you go, every child likes playing I don’t think that it is a very cruel thing.

xoxo

Question 7: Releasing

Mrs. Roark does a good gradual release with her students. When she gives the students instruction on what she is expecting them to do she follows the model of:

Teacher do, Students watch

Teacher does again, Students help

Student do, Teacher helps

Students do, Teacher watches

There was one incident where I got to see a new student enter the classroom the very same day that I started my observation and all the instructions that Mrs. Roark was giving that student she would show them how she wanted everything done. When it came to reading with the child, Mrs. Roark would give instruction and would do it. Over time the child began to catch onto what was being expecting from him Mrs. Roark would gradually rely on the student to do their part until finally she could tell that the child could do everything on their own.

Even though that might not be the best example of what gradually release is, I did notice the importance of this method. Not only is it teaching the child to pay attention to what is going on but you are teaching them how to become young responsible citizens. Since in the ‘real’ world you are on your own I think that this is great preparation to teach the students what is to be expected but it also shows them that their teacher will always be there to help out.

As teachers we should not just expect the students to do everything on their own but to realize that teacher are there to guide and to help during difficult times. Independences is a good thing, and I feel like you can never teach that too young!

xoxo

Question 5: How to teach...

Rosa Parks Elementary School believes (thank God) in balance literacy. So I have heard my teacher ask her students to think about what they are thinking about. Even though most teachers are not use to this method of teaching I feel like it’s very easy for the students to grasp.

I think that this method is easier for each child to understand, the second language learner’s students can learn and those who are the “smart” students even know and can be challenged.

xoxo

Question 4: Within the Classroom

Within the classroom that I have been observing I’ve noticed that Mrs. Roark using a lot of resources, she has three computer in the classroom that the children have access to when permission is given, she uses the smart board to give information and instructions and she has a magna- doodle!

*Note to future teacher: Magna doodles are a MUST! It writes like a white board but no messy or dirty sleeves!*

 The children in the classroom use small white boards with certain activities like math and some of the word searches, word work etc.

I don’t know if I want to rely on technology allow to connect with my student but I guess it would just depend on where I am teaching and what most students have access to (“ this would definitely be a why would you, why wouldn’t you”)

xoxo

Question 1: What have I learned?!

Throughout this whole semester I feel like I’m ready to enter into the world of teaching. The textbook has opened up my eyes to a new way of thinking about phonics, comprehension, thinking out loud and fluency. In order to have my students interested in reading I myself, must read and learn to enjoy reading. It is through reading and conversation that fluency is developed and increased. All the time my elementary teachers told me to stop talking out of turn, or to stop talking because I was distracting other I realized that they we stopping my thinking, well not really but in so many words it is true. I realize how important it is to have the children in my class to talk about what they are thinking about. I loved the way Huntley would lecture us on something and then she would stop and tell us to talk to the people at our table about what we were thinking about. Since I am a talker I think this really help me thinking about not only what was going on but it really had me thinking.

Thinking is important and I learned that it is dangerous to have our students stop thinking about what they are thinking. How do we expect the students to learn anything if they cannot talk about what they are thinking? I wish more school would believe in balance literacy, I think that if teacher would create a safe and respecting environment in their classroom students would feel comfortable learning and would not be scared to ask silly question. In my practicum I noticed how every child understood that there were rules that needed to be obeyed but at the same time they understood that Mrs. Roark is there to teach them and to help answer their questions. If teacher do not create a safe environment for thinking and to ask questions that where will we produce thinkers who are not scared to think beyond the limits?!

Along with allow and encouraging my students to think I want them to talk about things. Through conversations is how fluency is developed. I don’t want any child to feel scared to talk in class. If they have a theory I want them to explore it until they find the correct answer. If my teachers would have allowed for exploration in their classrooms I think I may have loved school but because the environment never seemed welcoming I elementary school left a bad taste in my mouth.

I honestly have learned a lot for this class but I think one thing that I would take away from this class is the fact that a safe environment creates a safe place to explore. Exploration leads to answers and answers lead to conclusions. I want to be the teacher who produces students who think and learn. I want to be the teacher that not only pushed her students to think outside the box but to go and find answers to question that I cannot answer. I want to one day look on the news and see that one of my elementary student has just found a cure for cancer because they thought beyond the limits.