EDU 6949-Internship Week 3
Having 26 young students depending on you to teach them what they need to know to be successful later in life is a very daunting task. This 26-on-1 interaction is one that I have not experienced outside of the academic world. The only time when I have experienced anything like this, was during staff meetings at the resort I worked at for a few summers during college. There were about 15 to 20 of us with one person telling us what events were coming up in the week, customer service skills to work on, and any schedule changes. We had to take turns talking, just like students do while I am teaching a lesson. I think this experience has prepared me for the future because it taught me to listen to everyone’s opinion, reflect on how it affect me (or those around me) and how to take turns talking. This may sound like something you learned in elementary school, but it is MUCH harder to do with a room full of adults. This has readied me for my own classroom because I will listen to all of my students opinions, reflect on how it affects me (or other students), and to have a classroom management plan for turn taking.
All of the experiences (past and present) have helped me reflect on how I want my future classroom to look.
Managing large numbers of kids and keeping them productively engaged is a major challenge. Establishing agreed upon rules of order, respect, posture, hand-raising, active listening, patience, etc. takes time and practice, and a consistent and initially firm style of behavior from the teacher to reinforce appropriate student responses. It’s critical to future success to firmly establish clear expectations in these areas. Thanks for sharing. David