Advice for Student Teachers

The following is my advice for student teachers.

• Understand your students by listening to them. They will let you know if you need to explain or re-teach a lesson. They will be the ones who will let you know if the lesson connects or not.
• Show patience. Remember that each student learns differently.
• Greet your students by saying "Good Morning" or "Good Afternoon" at the beginning of each class. Just by saying these few words can set the mood for the rest of the class period.
• If you want respect from the students you must show them respect. Saying "thank you" or "excuse me" will go a long way.
• Get to know your students names right from the beginning. It will make the students fill important that you have taken the time to learn their names.
• Wear a smile. You may not know how a students' day has been, but showing this small gesture can make them fill so much better.
• Show that you care. At times just showing that you care what is happening in a students' life can make a difference.
• Enjoy the students. Talk with them. Laugh with them. Listen to them. It will be amazing what you will learn from them.

Week 15

This was the week which I was looking forward to seeing and hearing the presentations from the students on "Going Green at Benton Middle/High School." They had worked so hard on their projects. This past weekend I had gotten everything done and felt good when I had gone to bed. Getting up on Monday morning I was not feeling very good and was finally taken to the hospital and admitted that afternoon. It wasn't until Wednesday afternoon that I was able to be discharged and get back to my own home. I was so disappointed in not seeing the student's presentations. I know that they had done a good job.

I am looking forward to getting back and working with the students this coming Monday. I realized while in the hospital how much I missed being there and teaching. Even with the challenges which teaching brings, this is something that I know I want to do. I know that I will have a lot to get caught up with once I return, but I will get it done and am looking forward to whatever this week brings to me.

If I had the chance to start this week over again, that would be to have not been so sick. I am on the road to recover but it is going to take some time. All I know is that I am ready for whatever comes my way.

Week 14

It was hard getting back into the routine on Tuesday morning after being off for a few days, but once I got to school and started teaching it felt good. The students also were having difficulty settling back down after being off. By Friday, everyone seemed to be back to normal.

The computer concepts class started presenting their "Going Green at Benton Middle/High School" project and I have been very impressed with what the students have done. They have put quite a lot of effort and time into the project and it shows. This has been a group project and I have learned a great deal on how to manage groups. Managing groups and keeping control of the classroom has been a challenge especially the noise level. This was very evident with the class of 30 students. Giving them the opportunity to work together and the layout of the computer lab made if difficult. The environment that the students have been use to when working in groups has been very different then the way they had to work together in this classroom. When working in groups in their academic classes they have the ability to move their desks and chairs, where in the computer lab this is not possible. The end result has been that all of the students have learned on how to work together and I have learned how to control the noise level.

With each of my classes, I have always greeted the class first thing with either "Good Morning" or "Good Afternoon." The other day just as I was ready to begin the one class there was an announcement made which I had to stop for. After that I started to say something not saying "Good Morning." One of the students raised his hand and I stopped. He proceeded to remark that I had not said "Good Morning." The other students chimed in and wanted to know why I hadn't said it. I apologized and greeted them with two "Good Mornings." This class has rarely made any effort to respond back to me when I have greeted them as the other classes have. I was so surprised that they had noticed. I hadn't realized that a simple jester such as a greeting had made an impression on these students.

What I would change if I had the opportunity to start the week over would be to explain to the students that I realize that the noise level will be different when working in groups. I would have explained that we all need to be aware of it and try to control it.

Week 13

This week brought new challenges for me. Not only was this a short week, but on Monday I started a large project with the Computer Concepts classes. The students were placed into groups to start putting together a PowerPoint presentation on "Going Green at Benton Middle/High School." The groups will be presenting their findings and recommendations at the end of next week. Having to control groups is a new experience, but by Tuesday things were going well. The students are really getting into the project and I am looking forward to seeing their presentations.

The Computer Projects class has been working with budgets and spreadsheets this past week. It seems as though they are once again having difficulty with the spreadsheet formulas. These formulas are basically the same ones that they were using in the previous chapter. Even my co -op said that she cannot understand why the students are once again having difficulty with the concept. These students have had two years of working with the basic formulas. When we return on Tuesday, I will have to review again, but I realize that this is part of the job of teaching. If I can assist these students with the concept, then I know I have done my job.

Teaching the two keyboarding classes has been different. The one class I have three times out of the week, while the other one is only there two times a week. This means that the one class is always behind. Trying to keep track of which class is doing what has been an experience, but I have been able to keep on top of it.

If I could change one aspect this past week, I would change how the groups were selected in the one class of thirty students. The groups are working well now, but it was a rough start. Selecting groups is difficult and no matter which way you do it, there will always be some problems.

Week 12

After returning from FBLA, it was good to be back up front teaching again. The students greeted me with that they were glad that I was back which made me feel good. I do enjoy teaching these young people. They have so much to offer and I am glad that I can be a part of their lives at this time.

On Friday, all of the students wanted to stop doing their work about ten minutes before the class was over. It was like they were already for the weekend or something. Even the substitute teacher said he noticed this. It was difficult to keep them going until the end of the period. I know that this will happen from time to time and you just have to keep on top of them.

What I would change if I could start the week over would be to keep the students on tasks on Friday. I know that they just wanted to relax. It has been a long time since they have had a break from school and they are at the stage of being ready for Spring Break. As a teacher I know you must keep them on task at all times which at times is a challenge.

Week 11

This week I have been very impressed with the eighth grade students in all of the computer concepts classes. We have started a new lesson on Microsoft PowerPoint. After doing the exercises in the text book, I had them complete other PowerPoint assignments. I realize that they have been working with PowerPoint since elementary school, but as I moved around the room and started looking at what they were creating I became very impressed with their knowledge, creativity, and skills. I am planning a project which the students will be placed in groups and will research a specific topic. The group will then have to create and present this topic on PowerPoint. I can hardly wait to see what they are going to come up with.

The end of the marking period was this past Thursday and all the grades must be in by this coming Tuesday. On Friday, besides trying to get everything done before leaving for FBLA, I had to get all the make-up work graded and recorded. This has been a new experience for me with all the classes that I have been teaching, but I got it all finished.

The one thing that if I could start the week over would be was when I had demonstrated a specific concept I would now have done it differently. The students had difficulty and it had taken longer then I had planned. The end result though, was that they did learned how to do it.

Week 10

One of the aspects of this week which I have found to be most valuable has been, with the class of tenth graders. After Monday's class and discovering that the students were having difficulty with this chapter, my co op and I decided to just take the lesson each day very slowly. This is a small class of 14 students and a quarter of the students are learning support. The class is very easy to work with and the students are eager to learn. On Friday, at the end of class I asked the students to write down on their Post It one thing that they had learned today regarding the lesson. While making notes regarding the lesson, I pulled out the Post It notes and started reading them. All week long I had been going over the same concept with them. Today on the Post It's each student in their own way said that they had gotten what I had been teaching all week long. Tears came to my eyes.

The other aspect which I have found to be of value this week has been on taking into account that the students had been taking their PSSA testing this week. When the students would arrive in the afternoon, I made sure that I had taken the testing into account when working with them. I was glad to see Friday arrive and return to a normal schedule. I know that the students were glad to be back on a normal schedule,too.

As I look back on this past week, the one thing that I would change if I had the chance would be planning more time for the students to complete an assignment. The assignment was a team activity and I should have planned more than two days to complete it. Planning the length of time that a class has to complete an assignment is very important. Not only do you have to take into consideration the amount of time that an assignment would take, you must also take into consideration the learning level of each student within the class. This has been a learning experience for me and I know that if I use this assignment in the future, I will make sure to plan more time for the students to complete it.