"Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all" Aristotle. With this quote as one of my key motivation I geared up and took a taxi on January morning and went in to my assigned primary school for Final Year Students Practicum. This is a requisite outlined by the education licensing body in order to complete studies and achieve mastery in the area of study. So I went into the observation week (Week 1) with the mindset that our Lecturers can only open the doors for us as a prospective teacher, but we must enter through that door by ourselves and engross ourselves.
On my first day, I was rather doubtful and uncomfortable entering into the school on yet another practice occasion. (I went there before on another program which I had to forfeit due other circumstances beyond my control.) I felt as though as I was at a disadvantage because my other batch mates had the support of each other in the schools they were placed at and I was the only one placed at the school which I was assigned to. However, with reassurance from my assessor and friends I went in with a positive mindset. I was placed in one of the (6) grade three classes present at the school. My class supervisor welcomed me with opened arms and encouraged me to just relax and apply my knowledge and that the school family was a very supportive one.
On the first day of school, it was business as usual for the staff. Discipline and conduct were the primary focus of the entire staff. Students were welcomed back to school and encouraged to give of their very best towards building their future. Both the class teacher and I played introductory games with the class of 42 students as well as highlighted class rules to best suit our students' needs. Apart from being a teacher, Mrs. Graham (not real name) was assigned the grade 3 coordinator role. As such her task was very tedious and required partnership from me as the student teacher to help make the procedure a smooth sailing one. Students' abilities were immediately assessed in the areas of Language Arts, Communication Task, Mathematics and Comprehension under the grade 3 Diagnostic test required by the Ministry of education. This feedback immediately provided us with a scope on how to plan and cater for our students and ensure that the goal of teaching and learning are being met while catering to each and everyone's learning styles and needs.
A quiet environment was maintained by overall school polices. For example, during break time students are allowed out only to use the bathroom, buy their snacks and return to their classrooms in an orderly fashion. It was the same procedure for lunch. At dismissal time, students are sent to the waiting area to be picked up by their parents or vehicles by groups/classes in a orderly fashion likewise. Home work was given to students to be written off 10-15 minutes before dismissal. Bells are staggered to accommodate the student population and avoid chaos in the break time, lunch lines as well as release through the gates as it was a big population at the school. Teachers were required to collect their class lunches at the canteen and hand them out to their students in the classrooms. I like this procedure because it lends itself to overall control of whereabout of students, prevention of destruction of school property as well as the amount of constructive contact time with students and now since the pandemic it is even more practical to have crowd controls and cross- contamination reduced. Healthy meals are provided on a daily basis at the canteen at a cost to students and staff. For the less fortunate population hot meals could be accessed through PATH beneficiaries. This is a government subsidy provided to help sustain the less fortunate on a weekly basis.
Each and every student was provided with a time table for their grade and was allowed to store their textbooks within their classes for daily usage. A very active principal and vice principle kept relevant information and instructions circulated through the use of a microphone system. A staff of 45 teachers spends very little time in the staffroom apart from meetings just to be able to maintain order of their classes and help the students to maintain their rules and regulations.
Although teaching was not officially resumed on the first day, impromptu lessons were done to refresh students minds on the weak areas observed during assessment. I looked forward to the following week which was timetabled for reading assessments as well as rules and regulation reinforcement towards my behavior modification plan. Every child provided with an opportunity to participate and become engaged. The students flourished in confidence and character as their comments and thoughts were affirmed and encouraged. Over the course of the week, it was amazing to see the students thrive and change before my very eyes. I had to be more direct and deliberate about my expectations by constantly reinforcing rules discussed together from day one and used the positive and negative enforcement system to encourage positive behavior. I was given several opportunities to exercise this newly forming muscle by issuing detentions, sending to time out corners, and writing up students for meetings with the principal.
Until Week 2....
Kerisha.
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Reflection
Short StoryReflecting on College Experiences that helped to shape me as an individual inside and outside of the classroom.