It is funny to think that this time last year I was studying for exams in classes such as Ecology, Education Theory, and Museum Programming and now I am sitting on my balcony in the Dominican Republic relaxing because I have completed all of the requirements for graduation. Graduation is THIS WEEK. And real life is starting Monday since I have a big girl job. How crazy is that?!
My students are under pressure this week too, because it is midterms week. Today the high school students completed their math and social studies exams during the half day of school. Tomorrow there is no school because it is a “study day.” Then another half day Wednesday. If exams were like that in my high school or college midterms would be a piece of cake! Like regular school days, exam days here are very different from what I’ve experienced at home. Students are still pretty talkative even though they are taking an important test. The teacher whose class the test was for would walk around to the different classrooms to answer questions. They were giving a lot of help because students had tons of questions. I felt like I was not very helpful at all today.This is what I accomplished: Helped a girl put her hair in a ponytail because she had a broken finger. Updated my LinkedIn profile. Made the finishing touches on my electronic portfolio. I did not know how to help because if it was my class I would have been much more strict on the talking issue, but I did not want to overstep any boundaries because I realize there is a difference in expectations here. Or maybe I’m just a “mean lady,” as a little boy at the museum once told me when I saved him from running into traffic…
Good luck to all my friends at CMU who are slaving over a hot scantron this week 🙂
Today my CMU professor came to observe my teaching for one last time. Now that it’s done I have finished all of my college assignments and am basically just waiting to graduate. Of course I will still be in my classroom here and will be teaching government for the remainder of the week, but it feels so nice to have everything else done! I think that my lesson today went well, my professor had some very nice things to say about it, as well as some helpful ideas.
My 12th Grade Government Class at St. Thomas School
One thing that we talked about was how facebook is used in the classroom. I know I mentioned it before, but I still think it is a really good use of technology. Each grade has a private facebook group (only students are added to the group and no one else can see it) where they can talk about class, ask the teacher questions, find assignments, and download powerpoints. Everyone in the states is so afraid of using social networking as a classroom tool, but I see it as a wonderful resource.
After we walked home from school (it was so hot today!) I relaxed a little and then got to work on some museum lesson plans. I officially start my new position as a Museum Educator on the Monday after graduation (not much of a break for me!) but I am working via email right now. I am really excited for the things that are coming up and I can’t wait to get home to work on new exhibits and play with the little kids! Even though my degree is in secondary education (grades 6-12), I love working with young children and have learned a lot about teaching them throughout my CMU education. A big part of my job will be to align our programs and exhibits with the topics and education standards that are being covered by our local schools, so I’m glad I learned all about the Common Core, Michigan GLCEs, and Next Generation Science Standards in my education classes. I have also learned so much about classroom management during student teaching, so I will be able to apply that to museum programs to make the experiences as enjoyable as possible. I also had my graduation party invitations sent out today, so it is starting to feel like “real life” is coming up really soon!
Miss Hanel's Student Teaching Blog 