I am officially finished teaching. I thought that the only thing that I would feel is relief, but honestly, I feel a bit of sadness. I told the seventh graders at the end of class that this would be the last day that I would teach them. I was surprised at how disappointed they seemed. I gave them my last survey for action research, and several of the students wrote, "We will miss you!" or "I wish you didn't have to leave!" Those comments made my day. I realized how much I have loved working with this group and that I'll really miss them. It will be weird being in here next week with Mrs. McCutchan teaching them since I have been with them since September.
Neal, the content that the students seem to have the most problems with is language, which is why I chose language for action research. The students really don't have many problems with story elements, comparing and contrasting, or even inferences in literature. Sometimes, I feel that they even comprehend the stories better than I do! I think that the reason that the students struggle more in language is because THEY DON'T FIND IT INTERESTING! I think that I've made it somewhat better for them because of my action research. I know that there is still more that I can do for these students and can't wait to have my own classroom so that I can see the students' development throughout the year.
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Kelly, thanks for responding to my query on content challenges. Your comment about student motivation keeps coming up over the years - esp with writing and that the key seems to be finding relevant assignments for them. Sometimes there are other reasons hiding behind student performance, such as bad experiences with reading or writing, and students shy away from tasks that might reinforce failures.
ReplyDeleteAlways try to find out the real reason why students don't want to write. Or read. By middle school some students can get really behind in their literacy skills - these problems compound over the years.
I was startled during my observation. You had really good control of your classroom. Your teacher voice is quite good and you didn't let those students roll over you. I also thought the smaller class size had to help. In any event, here you are at the end of the internship. This was such valuable experience across grades/content areas. It will make a difference in your job hunting and your first day as a teacher with your own classroom. Let me know if this is so, after your first week.
big picture = students out there who need you
big picture = ongoing cycle of curriculum initiatives will be poking at you
big picture = we will miss you