Last day... Again? So soon??

My last week with my 3/4s was serial. I didn't believe that it was going to end. I felt as though I just got there. I was finally in my groove and wanted to plow on.
Thursday night I put their gifts together... A container of bubbles with a tag that said "You've 'blown' me away. I will miss you. Love, Miss S" and some bubble gum.
Friday we went on with testing. The kids were talking in whispers about the party and the end of the day. Once the end of the day came we had our party. I began to cry as I told the students how much I would miss them. It was shocking to me that I was even crying. I did love my students and had a wonderful time with them but I felt ready to go. It was a wonderful celebration. We hugged and they went to PE.
I received a few gifts but the most precious of all was from one of my 4th graders. It was a toddler's book about the five senses, wrapped in lined paper with a make-shift bow. I will always cherish this gift. Even now I am crying like a baby just thinking of how I will always remember her and all of my 80+ student-teaching students.

I went into this placement longing to be back with my other kids. Now that I am finished I am just so thankful for the opportunity that I was given. God has blessed me and molded me using these young children. I couldn't be more amazed.

NYS Testing

The big weeks are here. The students have been working so hard reviewing for the NYS ELA and NYS Math assessment. Two weeks of testing 3 days each. It is hard not to be worried. You worry that the students will be scared. You worry that you didn't review the things that they put on the test. You worry because although the students are assessed by this test, you are being assessed by your students performance.

On test days it always seemed that the students were eating the pencils. We were constantly running out. The 4th graders loved the listening piece. It hey were excited and writing notes as fast as they could. The 3rd graders were happy that there were a lot of Geometry and Measurement questions because we had just covered those subjects.

Overall, the testing was not as painful as I imagined it would be. The students were exhausted by the end of they day which was a small price to pay for the hard work they put in during the teat. It was a good experience and I feel confident that the next time I face the NYS assessments as a teacher, I will be well prepared.

Guara Devi

My second cooperating teacher, Mrs. T, puts on a musical play every year with the 40+ in the 3/4 MAC. All of the teachers in the 3-elementary-school district know about her plays. My first cooperating teacher mentioned the play as soon as I told her that I would be with Mrs T.
This year the students are putting on a play called Guara Devi that tells the story of how the tree-hugging movement began in India in the foot-hills of the Himalayan Mountains. The women of the hillside, also known as the girls of the 3/4 MACs, stand against the woodcutter, played by the 3/4 boys, who are trying to cut down the forest for money.
The students are excited for play practice. Even on the days when we go through the whole production, they are exciting. Which can be part of the problem.
Aside from all of the invitations, playbills, to-do lists, and letters home, my jobs was to keep the students who weren't in the current scene quiet was they waited. It was a large task. Keeping 30 students deadly quiet is hard at any time but when they are excited it is nearly impossible. As they move farther alone they are getting better at being quiet. I am sure that on the final show, they will do great.

It has been wonderful to see the students practice and perform. Seeing Mrs. T use the Arts and drama in her class was truly inspiring and I hope to have that ability one day.

There is a difference!!

In my 3/4 MAC placement I have been teaching with another student teacher. I knew from the beginning that she was coming just a few days after me. I was a little nervous thinking there would be a sort of competition between us. It was awkward and first but I found her to be friendly. Our teachers told us that they wanted to do a bulletin board together and to put together a project for the students. I was excited but the other student teacher was not. She was hesitant toward many of my ideas but was not offering any herself. I just chose something for us. I decided for the board we would do a Great Wall and have the students write different things that they learned on the board. Once everything came together my partner was proud.
After many different occasions where we shared our ideas or expressed our ideas I was made very aware of the different between our preparation at Nyack and the preparation at other schools. I am so glad that we are encouraged to be creative, positive servants who want to go above and beyond for our students. God has truly blessed me!

MAC as in "classroom" not "& cheese"

My second placement....

a "MAC" classroom.

MAC stands for Multiple Angle Classroom. Our classroom on paper has 24 students consisting of 3rd and 4th graders. However, we are conjoined with another 3rd/4th MAC class. In a day, I teach over 40 different students.

3rd grade Math
3/4 Writer's workshop with all 40+ kids at once
Social Studies for 3rd and 4th.

Getting to understand this set-up was hard. I didn't really know what was going on when it happened. From my first day at this placement, I was teaching the full load... aka- everything was going on around me.

Now that I have been there for two weeks, I have a much better hold on things. There are still a few students who's names I am not quite sure about. I still have to look at a students to decide if they are a 3rd or 4th grader.

I still miss my big kids but I am positive that these kids will wow me just as the others did.

Tell me it's not the end. (My last day in 5th grade)

From the beginning of my first placement, I knew this day would come...

My last day at VCE.

For weeks before I walked with friends about how hard I knew it would be to leave 5th grade. I had grown so close with the students and my cooperating teacher. I knew in my heart that my next placement would not compare to what I had experienced.

As the day grew closer, I refused to talk about that day coming or what that day would be like. I didn't want to think about leaving the 43 students that had captured my heart. Even as I write this now, 3 weeks later, my eyes are welling up with tears.

The day before my last day Malachi, a student that I loved from day one, kept saying "Tomorrow is going to be the best day because you are leaving." When he said those words, I was shocked and honestly- hurt. Then I realized that he said those words to deal with the fact that someone he loved was leaving. After the hurt he has been through, his was of coping with loss was to act as though he wanted it to happen.

The night before, I went and bought candy and cards for my students. I wrote them each a personalized noted telling them how they encouraged me in my time in their class. I also thanked them for allowing me to enter into their room and for allowing me to learn from them. I held back tears the whole time.

The dreaded day was here.

When the students came up to the room they all hugged me and reminded me was day it was. They said they would be sad. Two students were assigned to take me out of the room so everyone could bring in the treats and presents that they brought for me. Kayyah and Jibreel brought me to look at the Martin Luther King projects that the other 5th graders had done in the other wing... not very subtle.

At snack time, we had cake, cupcakes, juice, and popcorn. The kids gave me gifts which I told them I would wait to open because I did not want to cry. Then Mrs. L asked the students to say a few words. Justin thanked me for the "pep talks" I would give him when he felt like the whole world was against him. Jibreel said that he wouldn't forget the eyes we would make across the room. Sean told me that he was so glad that I was in the class and that he thought I would be a great teacher. It took all I had not to break down right then and there.

At the end of the day, I gave the students the notes I gave them. Kayyah, the strong headed leader of the class, opened her note. In it I said of how I admired her strong will and strength and how I hoped that she would always use it for positive things. I told her that I loved watching her and Jibreel dance. She ran over to Mrs. L's desk and began to cry, hiding her face so that no one would see.

Right before the last bell, I was swarmed by the students for a group hug. We took a few pictures and they were gone. I began to clean up my desk and put it into a bag to take home. I was still holding back the tears, wiping each one before it fell down my face. Then, I saw the bag with the gifts that I hadn't opened. I opened the present from Kevin. Kevin reminded me so much of myself as a child. Just like Kevin, my curiously and "different" sense of humor often got me in some trouble. In the bag was a small bear and a card. I couldn't hold back the tears any more. I began to ask my friend why they did this to us. Put us in a classroom with students and take us out just 5 weeks later. It wasn't fair.

I still miss my students from 5th grade very much. I want to know how they are and hear their jokes and watch them learn. I know that at a classroom teacher, you only have your students for 10 months and then they are off to someone else. If I was to get attached like this every year, I would end up heartbroken. It is not a bad thing to love our students. We should love them. As I gain experience as a teacher, I will learn to deal with loving my students while knowing that I have to let them go eventually.

Strength Finder 2.0

Developer



"People who are especially talented in the Developer theme recognize and cultivate the potential in others. They spot the signs of each small improvement and derive satisfaction from these improvements"


As soon as I read the description of this strength, Mean Girls staring Rachel McAdams, Tina Fey, and Lindsay Lohan came to mind. "I'm a pusher, Cady. I'm a pusher!" Developing people does not have to mean pushing them. Christ, through His love, develops us without pushing us. He reviles His desires for us to lead us and develop us into His purposes.


It has always been my dream to work in the inner-city where many children do not have what they need for their day-to-day, let alone ambitions for the future.


This strength will be key to achieving my goal of not only developing my students and allowing them to see their fullest potential but also developing the community around the school to its fullest potential.

Belief


"People who are especially talented in the Belief theme have certain core values that are unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for their life. "

As a Christian Teacher, our beliefs need to be the core of our beings as individuals so that we can be a light to our students, colleagues, and administrators. As a teacher, using this strength allows for Christ to be a part of the classroom without breaking the "separating of Church and State". This strength is used in how you fulfill your responsibilities as a teacher and the standards you set for your students in the classroom.

Empathy


"People who are especially talented in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others’ lives or others’ situations."

Empathy is one very important gift for a teacher to have. It allows the teacher to take on the emotions and mind-set of others. As a teacher, you work with may different types of students who will face a wide range of struggles. I am able to use the gift of empathy to understand my students and their hearts so that I may reach them in their many different situations.

Responsibility


People who are especially talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty. 

The gift of responsibility allows students to trust their teacher. A teacher who has this gift sets standards and goals for the classroom and is sure to follow through with those standards and goals. Outside of the classroom, this gift is even more valuable. It allows a teacher to stand up as a leader. Colleagues and administrators will see a person of "responsibility" as someone that they can respect and depend on. 

Consistency


People who are especially talented in the Consistency theme are keenly aware of the need to treat people the same. They try to treat everyone in the world with consistency by setting up clear rules and adhering to them. 

In my mind, a person is the same as anyone else no matter what their skin color is or any physical, mental, or emotional challenges they may face. "Dumbing down" curriculum or lowing expectations for certain students does not allow them to succeed. It just teaches them that they aren't able. We as teachers need to empower our students. We must be consistent to teach them that they, just like those around them, have a high potential that they can reach.