Primary level is sooo different! I've had to adjust to breaking every single task down to it's basic elements and then going down to quantum level haha It's been a huge learning experience for me and my associate teacher is really an expert at what she does...she's constantly feeding me tips and tricks and ideas to help me develop as a teacher and I am so grateful for this experience. But boy is primary different!
I went to visit my grade fives on Friday and I really do miss them...they all wanted to talk to me (one student even made me a bracelet) and everyone was begging me not to go or at least switch classes so that I could teach them again for another block. It was bittersweet seeing them knowing that I wouldn't be able to explore more creative engagements for them to get excited about. Surprisingly there are quite a few changes that have occurred in the classroom since I've been gone...there's suddenly more group work and better seating arrangements and more board use when my associate teacher is teaching. I'd like to think I had something to do with those minor improvements but that might be a tad egotistical.
And as for my social life...I actually did manage to go out this weekend and meet up with friends but now I'm exhausted and have a tonne of lesson planning to do! It's so hard to find that balance...my associate for this block said I won't have a social life until maybe 5 or 6 years of work experience :S I believe her but I hope that I at least manage to leave my classroom once in awhile and maybe go home before it gets dark. She's extremely dedicated to her work and it's truly admirable but I don't know if I want to be that engrossed in my work. I guess I will have to learn how to develop and strengthen my time management if I ever want to be able to get out and have some fun in between.
Anyway I should get back to lesson planning... power paragraphs here I come!
Happy Teaching :)
Showing posts with label things i'm learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label things i'm learning. Show all posts
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
The things I'm learning (week 1)
It has been a crazy week and I've already been given a lot of readings and lesson plan projects. I even went to the campus library to get some reading done (it was hilarious because so many frosh kids were in awe of my work ethic lol)
So here's what I've learned this week:
1) As much as I love education and teaching, I need to find hobbies other than school
One of my profs made it a point to emphasize that people who aren't in education make huge assumptions and judgments about the teaching profession. Even the ones we love don't want to hear about our teaching ventures 24/7 (unless they're teachers too!) so the best thing to do is to explore hobbies and interests outside of education so you can carry out a decent conversation.
2) Kids love math when they don't know they're doing math
My math teacher (who I secretly wish was my elementary math teacher) explored hands-on geometry as a great way of easing kids into the math unit at the beginning of the year. Most kids associate numbers with math but we all know that the math that comes in handy in day to day life is not always associated with a paper and pencil.
3) Crease, Lick and Tear
Honestly, try it. If you don't have scissors and need your kids to tear some straight edges it works.
4) Searching for Jobs in January is like adding another course to your load
5) The faculty staff expect us to melt down a couple of times over the year (but it's normal).
I think this surprised and comforted me the most. We're don't need to know everything and we don't need to be perfect...we just need to be willing to learn and try our hardest.
6) Queen's is all about helping us realize our potential as future school board employees and teachers
From math workshops, job searching workshops, faith studies, physical health and everything else in between it's obvious that our learning doesn't stop at just our scheduled classes! The amount of resources available to help make the most of our time here really shows how invested they are in our success at the end of the school year. (I'm sure this is the same for other schools but I'm just glad I get a sense of that esp. moving away from home again to study here)
7) Tannograms put me in my place
Math class was all about tannograms and it took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to solve it. It's a great activity for students but it reminded me that there are things I have forgotten along the way and that sometimes I over think problems. Math reviews are in order!!
8) Downtown busing has made me appreciate the ability to walk.
My friend/roommate and I have been wandering the downtown life here and each time we've been stranded or we've realized too late into the evening that the buses randomly stop running or that the bus stop was several blocks away. So my calves have gotten a work out!
9) My teachers are amazing!
Seriously. Great teachers with relevant advice and they just make sense. They don't rely too heavily on textbook teaching and drive home the message that the classroom needs to prepare students for the real world.
That's all for now. I probably should have added in one more point to make it an even 10 but oh well!
Now to get back to my work. This week I've been assigned to bring an object/demonstration to class that is relevant for a specific science unit in a specific grade. Excited but nervous!
Happy Teaching!
So here's what I've learned this week:
1) As much as I love education and teaching, I need to find hobbies other than school
One of my profs made it a point to emphasize that people who aren't in education make huge assumptions and judgments about the teaching profession. Even the ones we love don't want to hear about our teaching ventures 24/7 (unless they're teachers too!) so the best thing to do is to explore hobbies and interests outside of education so you can carry out a decent conversation.
2) Kids love math when they don't know they're doing math
My math teacher (who I secretly wish was my elementary math teacher) explored hands-on geometry as a great way of easing kids into the math unit at the beginning of the year. Most kids associate numbers with math but we all know that the math that comes in handy in day to day life is not always associated with a paper and pencil.
3) Crease, Lick and Tear
Honestly, try it. If you don't have scissors and need your kids to tear some straight edges it works.
4) Searching for Jobs in January is like adding another course to your load
5) The faculty staff expect us to melt down a couple of times over the year (but it's normal).
I think this surprised and comforted me the most. We're don't need to know everything and we don't need to be perfect...we just need to be willing to learn and try our hardest.
6) Queen's is all about helping us realize our potential as future school board employees and teachers
From math workshops, job searching workshops, faith studies, physical health and everything else in between it's obvious that our learning doesn't stop at just our scheduled classes! The amount of resources available to help make the most of our time here really shows how invested they are in our success at the end of the school year. (I'm sure this is the same for other schools but I'm just glad I get a sense of that esp. moving away from home again to study here)
7) Tannograms put me in my place
Math class was all about tannograms and it took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to solve it. It's a great activity for students but it reminded me that there are things I have forgotten along the way and that sometimes I over think problems. Math reviews are in order!!
8) Downtown busing has made me appreciate the ability to walk.
My friend/roommate and I have been wandering the downtown life here and each time we've been stranded or we've realized too late into the evening that the buses randomly stop running or that the bus stop was several blocks away. So my calves have gotten a work out!
9) My teachers are amazing!
Seriously. Great teachers with relevant advice and they just make sense. They don't rely too heavily on textbook teaching and drive home the message that the classroom needs to prepare students for the real world.
That's all for now. I probably should have added in one more point to make it an even 10 but oh well!
Now to get back to my work. This week I've been assigned to bring an object/demonstration to class that is relevant for a specific science unit in a specific grade. Excited but nervous!
Happy Teaching!
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