Reflection

Overall, I had a very successful clinical experience.  This course and being in the field has taught me so much about teaching language arts.  I have learned that giving students freedom when they write is absolutely crucial to helping them appreciate writing.  I wish my teachers would have allowed me to choose what I wanted to write about instead of forcing me to write about something I had no interest in.  It was so neat to see the strategies we have discussed in class actually be implemented in a classroom.  I was very impressed with what I observed.  The teacher really cared about all of the students and she made sure they knew it.

The only thing that really surprised me was just how she talked about genres.  I know that a lot of her students are below grade level so she tries to simplify every concept.  I just feel like she should introduce all of the genres by their proper name and give them examples of each genre.  I think It would be really helpful to have the books in their classroom library labeled with the proper genre.

I really loved the way she structured their mornings.  I love the music she chose for the students to sing and dance to.  They really loosened up and became so comfortable with each other.  I want to incorporate this in my own classroom.  For sharing time, I liked how she drew only five names.  This way, it wouldn't get so hectic, but everyone would still eventually get a turn.  I also loved how the Writing Workshop was set up.  The students all cooperate and work together.  They know not to interrupt when the teacher is conferencing with someone else.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting how diverse her class was.  Don't get me wrong, I really benefited from being in this class, but it did catch me off guard.  I didn't expect to have to wear a headset when I taught.  This was really good for me to see because I know I am going to have children from all different backgrounds and with all different needs.  It is up to me to accommodate these needs and be able to get on everyone's level.  I also didn't expect to see my teacher completing her running records on a Palm Pilot.  I would like to do more research on how that works.

I have learned so much in this course and in the field.  I have seen things, both good and bad, and I know what I want to carry out in my own classroom one day.  I was very lucky to work with such a cooperative teacher.  She was always there to answer any questions I had.  I can't wait to have my own classroom and carry out all of the ideas I have learned from this experience.