Education Blog

        My first reflection this week relates to my experience in the elementary school last week. It was such a drastically different environment compared to the Middle School. I was in a kindergarten room to begin with, and when all the children walked in, every single one of them had the biggest smile on each of their faces, and was so thrilled to be there. (Not quite like the Middle School!) I forgot how small they are at that age, and so cute! Everything is a big deal in kindergarten, from emphasis on words, to repeating everything you say as a teacher, to making the stories they tell you out to be the best stories you have ever heard. As well, everything was so colourful in the classroom. There was a big pole in the middle of the room, and the teacher made it into a tree. It just gave the classroom a great home-like feeling. It reminded me of my philosophy reading this past week about how Pestalozzi believed that true teachers would have to create a homelike environment in their classrooms. This teacher definitely made her classroom warm and inviting, like home. I got to read the children the story, “Silly Sally” which introduced them to rhymes. They did not know about rhyming prior to, and picked up on it so quickly! They picked up on everything so quickly, for instance, the games we played in the gym, to watching each of them learn to print their names. It was a very fun day, yet I still am not sure that I would be able to do what that kindergarten teacher was able to every single day!

       This past week I also thought a lot about transformation, as I have a presentation coming up on it. I realized as I was sitting in my nature spot (where we have to reflect on transformation for the presentation) that when I first came to the spot, I felt awkward and uncomfortable. It was the same way I felt on the first day of school. However, the more I go to this spot, the more relaxed I feel, and I can work a lot better. It was the same with the more I came to school and became familiar with everything here. I got to know my classmates so well, outside of school helped with that a lot, and now I am at ease every day and love doing group work. I think this is what it is like for students of any age, and why it is important to get to know your students, and for them to get to know their classmates. The more they feel that they know the teacher and their classmates, the more willing they will be to participate and actively engage. I think that the Adult Advocacy for each student is a great idea for this reason, as like my nature spot or getting to know my classmates, it will help students to feel more comfortable in their school setting, and they may work better.            Overall, I am still learning more and more every week, whether it is new material from my textbooks, or things about myself, or things about Education in general. I guess this is what they mean about truly being a life-long learner going into teaching!