Blog Post 8

One word to describe this past week: completion (almost!)

It feels great to be wrapping up my student teaching experience. Two things I learned that I did not know at the start of my student teaching experience were the amount of collaboration that goes on with other teachers and the flexibility you need to have on a daily basis. The collaboration aspect has been huge for me as I've been lucky enough to work with some outstanding educators who really helped me grow as a teacher. I've learned a great deal from my 3 cooperating teachers, but there have been many others along the way who have given me some great guidance. Flexibility has also been key for me, in terms of working with students, planning, and working on a daily basis. Being flexible with students is something I want to make sure I do throughout my entire career, while still maintaining order in the classroom setting. I've also learned that things will pop up from time to time and you just have to roll with it and adjust as needed.

Two takeaways I had from the alumni panel were the need to be patient and to stay positive throughout the job search process. Being patient will be difficult for me, but I know that this will ultimately lead to a great job as long as I am working hard throughout the process. Staying positive is something that will be easy for me, but it will be very important to not lose sight of that.

In terms of final items that I am working on, I need to complete my portfolio still. Otherwise, I am basically wrapped up with the student teaching process, which is a great thing.

In terms of communicating with my college supervisor, I just want to thank her for all of her help this semester. She's been a tremendous asset in terms of providing me with guidance and giving positive, constructive feedback that has helped me for great classroom habits. I am truly grateful.