Student Teaching

This semester I have been student teaching. Some days it has kicked my butt with cranky students and late nights combined with early mornings. Most days, however, I am very pleased with being in the classroom. I love seeing my students learn and use new grammar structures that they wouldn't have been able to use without me. I love the enthusiasm that students can have. I love seeing the students open up and watch their personalities develop in my classroom. I love making kids laugh and acting like a fool in front of them to help them learn. I also love speaking Spanish everyday.

Today is April 8th and May 3rd will end my student teaching experience. I can't believe that I have less than a month left in this amazing 15 week experience. Although it will be nice not to get up at 5:00AM, I will miss my students dearly. I will also miss my cooperating teacher, señor. Señor has helped me and supported me so much. I know that next year will be less difficult because of all the wisdom and experience he has given me, and I don't know what I will do without him to chat with on a daily basis. I honestly can't think of next year without him being there to help me.

From the 11 weeks I have had so far, some of the best memories/my proudest moments include:

1. Having my struggling French student get an answer correct that no other student answered correctly.

2. Having my students work on the interactive map activity I created.

3. Seeing one of my first hour students excel when she previously struggled.

4. Watching my students present on dictators/heroes in Spanish.

5. All the creativity that my students have and seeing them apply that creativity to Spanish.

Although I think at times I can be negative or get frustrated with teaching, overall, this is where I belong. When I am in front of the classroom, I am happy, and finding something that you love to do is rare.

That is all for me today, kind of a shorter blog post and I apologize for the break from blogging: I will do my darnedest to be better.

-J