Tuesday 11/11 - We visited Mauldin Middle School and got to listen to Mrs. Gardner, the principal, speak about teaching middle schoolers. She told us about what she expected from her students and what kind of teacher it took to be able to handle middle schoolers. Before we went on our tour, she gave us a booklet for parents of middle schoolers, which we got to take home and read. Then we took a tour of the middle school from a teacher's point of view. It seemed a lot different now that we didn't actually go there. The school seemed a lot smaller and the students even crazier. After our tour was over, we headed back to the school.
My class at the daycare I work at.
Wednesday 11/12 - We worked on our presentations for Beck and put all the final touches on our activities for the kids.
Thursday 11/13 - On Thursday, we went to Beck to present a play and a story for a class of extremely physically and mentally challenged students. The other group read a story to a group of emotionally challenged students a did an activity with them also. Our group read a story to the kids then did an activity in which each child got to color their own penguin from the story to create a family of penguins that was made up of all different kinds of penguins. We emphasized how we could all be different from each other but still make a big family or group of friends. I really enjoyed being with the students at Beck. Their smiles and laughs were very contagious and they just absolutely loved being around us and having us spend time with them. It was very rewarding to spend time with these kids and have fun with them.
Friday 11/14 - On Friday we had our individual observations at Mauldin Middle School. We each chose a teacher, grade level, or subject that we wanted to observe and got to spend time watching the teachers with their classes. This was a good way to see what teaching middle school is like and what kind of teacher it takes to teach these kids.
Monday 11/17 - Monday we had our special breakfast with the Teacher of the Year, Jenna Hallman and got to ask her questions and hear all about her experiences as a teacher.
Tuesday 11/18 - Tuesday was another catch-up day since we hadn't been in the classroom together since Wednesday. We chose service projects for the month of December and signed up for the ones we wanted to help with.
Wednesday 11/19 - We talked about the teacher, Ron Clark and what an amazing career he has had. After we talked briefly about who he was, we watched a movie based on his story. The movie was called The Ron Clark Story and told all about his class at Lower Harlem Elementary School.
Me and one of my kids, Connor.
Thursday 11/20 - We continued to watch the amazing story of Ron Clark and the challenges he faced in his class in New York City. He is an amazing teacher and the movie was extremely inspirational.
Friday 11/21 - We finished watching The Ron Clark Story and talked about his school in Atlanta called the Ron Clark Academy. The movie showed what a truly amazing teacher he is and how he has impacted so many children.
Quote of the Week - "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."
I think this quote really sums up what being a great teacher is all about. Anyone can be an alright teacher but it takes an amazing person to be able to inspire their students to want to learn and do more than just take in information. A great teacher will inspire students to go beyond the classroom to learn other things and become a better person. I think that is what every teacher should strive to be like.
My kids from work playing with shaving cream.
