Final Reflection

As my final week of this experience rolls around, I have been asked to comment on how this experience went. This experience was amazing in every sense of the word. From beginning to end, student teaching taught me how to be responsible and well prepared. It taught me how to be responsible because I was dealing with teenage children that need the right and proper attention. These young adults feed off their teachers’ energy. If positive energy is transmitted to them, the young adults will respond positively.
I was fortunate to have such an incredible cooperating teacher. Mrs. DelaRosa guided me through everything with open arms. She took her time to help me develop my own style and at the same time, Mrs. DelaRosa gave me the creative freedom to develop my lesson plans. All the material that was used was approved by her and was always supervised by her. When it came for me to take control over the classes, Mrs. DelaRosa supported me and gave me the confidence to teach.
At the end of this experience, I also realized that I want to venture in other roads that life might have in store for me. I realized that one point in life I do want to teach, but not right now. I do not want to be selfish with myself and with the young adults that would be in my classroom. I want to have 100% certainty that this is the road that I want to take. The way that I am going to find out is trying other occupations.

Things learned

My students and I had a great relationship. Both parties did was expect from one another. I taught, they tried to understand and do their best. I respected them no matter what; they respected me as an adult and as an authority figure. The students did their best in learner a language that is not simple to learn. Even though most of these students are Hispanic, Spanish is not spoken constantly in their households. These students got to learn more than the language; they got to learn the culture a little bit better. The students were really fortunate to have 2 teachers that were both fluent in the language but that had also lived in a Latin-American country. My cooperating teacher is from the Dominican Republic and lived there for almost 20 years. I am a New Yorker raised in Colombia for 10 years.
From them I learned a lot. I learned that sometimes I had to be sympathetic to personal situations. Everyone at a certain point has difficulties. The students need someone that can maybe guide them through a rough path. That person might be a teacher. I also learned that I had to adapt to everyone’s learning style. Each student was totally different from the next. Each one had a special need; adaptation to everyone was a huge key to my success with them.
My philosophy of teaching has not changed much. I taught them with kindness, firmness, and respect. Every student got that from me day in and day out.

a talkative young man

He is in his last year at the high school. This student is a talkative young man. He is not as enthusiastic to learn the language but tries to enforce the discipline in the classroom. He asks the teacher for help but can give up quickly to certain tasks. He does believe if he would have tried harder in school, he would have a better grasp of the language. His personality helps him to be outgoing. He likes to present projects, even if he does not speak the language well.

another student that caught my attention

This student is a bright young lady, but with her the difficulty is creating lesson plans that are challenging for her. He has a vast exposure to the Hispanic culture and she is fluent in the language. She tries hard to contain herself and not be disrespectful to the class, but her attitude gets the best of her. She does bring an incredible knowledge to the class. The other students feed of it.

Advice for a student teacher

Student teaching is a great experience that everyone should enjoy. Student teaching has its difficult parts but nothing that would cause anyone to not enjoy the experience. I would advise a new Student Teacher to follow the rules from the school and the teacher as much as possible. If following the rules, the experience will run smoothly. I would also suggest to be polite to everyone but to carry oneself with confidence.

Biggest challenge

My greatest challenge will be getting the students to believe in my teaching style. As I have been teaching a couple of classes, the students seem to be responding positively. As I get all responsibilities, my lessons plans have to be on point in order to get my point across. Also, the discipline will be a huge challenge. I have to show the students that I am in charge and that I will help them and respect them as long as it is a mutual agreement. I want them to learn and to grow for my teachings and my experiences.

One student in particular

One of the students is male 16 year old football player. This student is enthusiastic in every way. He has an unbelievable personality and is willing to learn. He moves faster than other students because he practices Spanish at home and in other society settings. He gets impatient with the teachers’ teaching style. He feels that everyone should move at his pace. At the same time, he does not push students to go faster, he actually will take time to help other students, especially close friends that are not native speakers. He likes the culture aspect of the language. The student will always try to participate in any cultural discussions.