Week 16 December 10-12

This was my last week at my PDS. I spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at my school co-teaching with my mentor teacher and running errands around the school. I was so sad when I had to leave on Wednesday. I didn’t know how much of an impact the students had had on me or how much of an impact I had on my students. I became very comfortable in my classroom and was able to take charge when I needed to. The experience I have had this past semester is invaluable to me. I was so lucky to be given the opportunity to spend so much time in the classroom and experience what being a real teacher is like, along with the many different things (good or bad) that occur in the classroom everyday.

This week I got the opportunity to sit in with our speech teacher and observe her testing a student for a learning disability. The child was a student in my class so it was really cool for me to watch him and see the ending results of his test. This particular student ended up being right in the middle of the level the teacher was screening him for. This meant that he was not eligible for more screening for a learning disability. My mentor teacher, the speech teacher, and I were both very disappointed with the results because this student has an obvious problem in reading.

Overall, I have learned so much from my mentor teacher and students in my classroom. I was very lucky to have a mentor teacher that gave me full control of the classroom and helped me plan lessons and helped me with anything else I may have needed. I am looking forward to next semester with my release days in which I will be acting as sub in the classroom. I believe this semester gave me the experience and confidence I need to have my own classroom one day. Getting up in front of the class and teaching is no longer scary for me and has become easier and easier. I used to be so nervous teaching, however, now it has become so normal for me. I am grateful for the teacher education program I am and the experience I have been given through the PDS.