Full transcript
2:28Good morning everybody.
2:29This is the first day of student teaching.
2:32I'm excited.
2:34I'm not that nervous because I was with Miss Wilson last
2:37last semester for about two months.
2:40So the kids know me and I'll help them remember me.
2:44Well we'll see how that goes. But I've made my lunch.
2:48I got my coffee got my nametag and we should be ready to go.
2:53See ya'll later.
2:55So today is officially the first day of school.
2:58The kids are back from break and I'm
3:00excited to see how the day goes.
3:03I'm excited to start building those
3:05relationships with students. It'll be really interesting.
3:08I was running late because I didn't really
3:11gauge time well and I couldn't get
3:13an earring in, but I have one in.
3:16So, we'll see how the day goes based on my morning
3:20I report back later.
3:22Miss Balding is going to be with her reading group
3:25I'm with my reading group.
3:27If you need to ask a friend for help.
3:30More power to you.
3:31But it should be like one question maybe a two minute
3:34interruption and then you're back to doing what you're doing.
3:37Today is Tuesday January 8th.
3:40And today was my first day of student teaching and it was awesome.
3:46It was so tiring and so overwhelming but great.
3:53I love this group.
3:56There's just a lot of different personalities in there.
3:59I think it's going to be a really great semester.
4:02I feel like unprepared really right now
4:05and I think that's kind of how a lot of my
4:09classmates felt going into student teaching.
4:12We just feel like oh my goodness.
4:14Now it's like legit and we have to teach and you know plan
4:19lessons and do all this stuff so it kinda
4:21of everything just hit me today like I'm going
4:24to be doing this from the beginning school bell to the end.
4:28And it's exciting but it's nerve racking.
4:34Yesterday was my first day of teaching.
4:37You get to meet the kids for the first time and I played
4:42a little game with them to try to get you know
4:43so I could start remembering names and everything
4:46went great but I came home last night got sick
4:50and was throwing up all night.
4:53So what they say about schools is in fact true
4:56that there is a bunch of kids run around
4:58with with a lot of germs and they don't wash your hand.
5:02One thing I learned as a teacher is to always
5:06have you know hand sanitizer and taking your vitamins
5:09and washing your hands all the time
5:11because it is pretty miserable being that sick.
5:14What they said was true.
5:15Schools or dirty.
5:17Kids are dirty and I will
5:21I've I've definitely learned my lesson
5:23so hopefully next time I talk to you guys I've got better
5:26news and feel a little bit better so see you then.
5:37Hi my name is Halle Morris and for student teaching
5:40I'll be heading home to Hutchinson Kansas
5:42in a fourth grade classroom.
5:44So I grew up in Hutchinson Kansas.
5:46It's always felt like home.
5:49I've always enjoyed being home with my family.
5:52I've always had such a good experience with teachers.
5:54The school districts and the people around me
5:57just kind of encouraging me and telling me that education
6:00is a good path for me.
6:02My fifth grade teacher for sure Mrs. Mallon
6:05I remember my family was kind of having a little bit
6:07of a rough time and she just kind of took me
6:09under her wing and told me that everything
6:11was going to be OK.
6:12She was just that sense of comfort and I will always remember that.
6:17My parents never went to a four year university.
6:20They both went to a two year technical college.
6:23School for my family
6:25They always kind of expected my sisters and I to do good.
6:29There wasn't a pressure but just that little push
6:32we needed to always do our best.
6:35And I never felt like I would disappoint
6:37them in any way that was just kind of ingrained
6:39in me that school was important.
6:42They boys just kind of encouraged me through
6:44all my education and into college and they're
6:47just super excited for me now.
6:51I want to be a teacher because I truly feel
6:53like it's something that I was called to do.
6:55I just want to be a positive influence and a light
6:58in all of my students lives just that push they need to know
7:02that learning is fun and good and just you know
7:05I think being the light is kind of it's lacking right now
7:09and students could always use that.
7:14I was actually on time today but I was speeding
7:19in a school zone.
7:20So I started off my morning with a nice lovely ticket
7:25on a Friday morning but the rest of the Friday went great.
7:29And I can honestly say that just seeing the kids
7:33makes it even makes me forget about the ticket until after
7:37school of course until right now.
7:39But that being said the past two days has just really
7:43been about building the relationships
7:46with students and getting to know the students names
7:48getting to know their personalities and what their
7:51strengths and weaknesses are.
7:54My biggest worry right now is just discipline my
7:59cooperating teacher has been really good about
8:01expressing that "Hey, I want you to step in whenever you can."
8:05And even though she says it's still just a little bit
8:08uncomfortable so I'm excited for next week when we really
8:13get more into all of the academics of school
8:16and hopefully next week I can report that I don't
8:19have any speeding tickets and that I'm not late to school.
8:28As a cooperating teacher
8:30I see my role as being not only somebody who is modeling
8:34for somebody coming in but also again building
8:36that relationship and just trying to be
8:39as transparent and as honest with that student
8:43teacher as possible.
8:45You want to put your best foot forward you wanted to see
8:48or him to see you know how great everything
8:50is but it's not and it's OK.
9:04I've said that several times over the course
9:06of the years.
9:07You know what today wasn't the best
9:09tomorrow will be better.
9:11I try to let them know I don't put it on the kids
9:15put it on yourself. How can you be better tomorrow.
9:17Because the kids are coming they're just
9:19being who they are you know.
9:21And so it's like even though you might feel like well
9:24I worked hard on this lesson plan you know why
9:27didn't it go right?
9:28Well you're going to have days like that.
9:30So just know that and just say tomorrow will be a better day
9:33and we'll come at it from a different direction.
9:37Really for me
9:39It has helped me learn to give up a little bit of control.
9:43I am a very structured routine oriented person.
9:46And when you bring another person into the classroom you do
9:50have to let go of some of that.
9:53But I think that's important for me.
9:55But it's also really important for the students
9:57to get that other perspective of somebody that might have
10:00a different teaching style.
10:02I'm not even concerned about the accents, I'm concerned about these
10:05because their not getting it.
10:11I think the cooperating teacher is a very important
10:14role because you are exposing the students to their first
10:19interaction in a real classroom.
10:21They will have to take responsibilities that they never
10:24took before.
10:25It is so important that first exposure of these
10:29students in the classroom because the cooperating
10:33teacher will be able to guide them.
10:36When you teach you have to have the classroom management
10:39you have to be able to talk to a student and at
10:43the same time pay attention to everything that is going
10:46around you because you are responsible
10:49for those students.
10:51So the role of a cooperating teacher I think is very
10:54interesting because it's the line
10:56of one being an educator to the student teacher
11:00themselves but also being a friend and a confidant
11:03for the student teacher.
11:04One aspect you always want to make sure
11:06that you are helping and aiding the student teacher in their
11:09endeavors but also you want to make sure
11:11that they're doing what they're supposed to be doing.
11:13So it's this very interesting combination of being a teacher
11:18and a friend at the same time.
11:27Kevin was a very compassionate kid very friendly.
11:33He would always go to places and introduce
11:35himself to other people.
11:37Always liked to be around kids his age.
11:41He was born in Puerto Rico.
11:43And then I joined the military when he was five years old.
11:47So then we moved to the states and he grew up for the most
11:51part in Texas.
11:52He taught swim lessons to
11:55young kids and adults.
11:57And I think that made him want to become a teacher.
12:03Remember I living, Iiving, goodbye, goodbye
12:07but we have one more day
12:10Yes, we going to make the mask for the sport teams
12:15The wolf
12:16The tiger
12:18The owl
12:19The lion
12:20I hope to bring authenticity to the table
12:23when I'm teaching Spanish and ultimately humor.
12:28I like to make people smile and laugh and feel good.
12:31And I believe that just a simple smile can change
12:35a whole person's life around.
12:38I think he's going to be a great teacher.
12:40I think he's going to be one of those teachers can build
12:43relationship with the students and really connect to them.
12:47He's gonna touch many lives and make a difference
12:49as a teacher.
12:52It is hard work and sometimes it's hard.
12:55And you feel like you want to give up.
12:59But then at the end of the day when the kids come back
13:03In his case talking in Spanish or they come
13:05back to you and thank you for something you know
13:08that it was all worth it.
13:10The fact that he finished his degree he persevered.
13:13He's a very positive person. All those qualities make me proud.
13:23Today was actually the first day I taught my first lesson.
13:30So that was exciting.
13:31I knew I knew I was going to do that today.
13:34I had been watching my cooperating teacher Mr. Rix
13:38teach this lesson to a couple of classes.
13:41So he told me "Hey, just teach what I taught."
13:45you know he just kinda handed me the reins
13:48for for a class period. And to say the least
13:53It didn't go as well It did not go well.
13:56It did not live up to my expectations.
14:07You know I got up in front of class
14:09and I thought I knew my content.
14:12I was looking at the first slide and I was just drawing a blank.
14:17I didn't know what to say because I didn't
14:18make the slides myself. My teacher did.
14:22He's the one that created the talking points.
14:26And you know I thought I could just kind of emulate
14:28what he was doing.
14:30I got to that first slide and I drew a blank.
14:33I forgot the election in 1920 I couldn't remember
14:38who won it and I'll just kind of standing there
14:40with a blank look on my face.
14:42I was so focused on trying to do exactly what my teacher did.
14:47I was trying to use the same jokes and it just
14:50did not come off as authentic.
14:53When the students came up to me afterwards and said
14:55"Hey man, just a little tip of advise'
14:59"We're just a bunch of teenagers we have"
15:00"little to no idea what you're talking about."
15:02"So if you just go up there with some confidence"
15:05"and and teach to us is like we're not going"
15:09"to know what you're saying is true or false we're gonna believe ya."
15:12"But if you go up there they're timid and scared"
15:16"talking to us" he's like "we're not going"
15:19"to believe you and we're gonna tune out."
15:22It kind of hit me hard is like wow like my
15:24first lesson and a student's already giving
15:27me tips on how to teach better.
15:29So it was kind of a humbling experience.
15:39Hi we're the Frantz family and we're the proud
15:42parents of Scott Frantz.
15:45We have three boys and Scott is our youngest
15:50raising a houseful of boys was
15:51never quiet and as they grew the grocery
15:55bill during the teen years was frightening and going
16:00to lots of sports activities.
16:05Scott was more compassionate.
16:09Not that the others weren't but more so of him.
16:13Even in elementary he had some autistic kids in his class
16:17and his teachers would call me and say Scott just really seems
16:22to have a connection with them.
16:24Is it okay if we have him help them.
16:28That was kind of a sign that that was just his area.
16:34I knew Scott had compassion and I knew that you know being
16:38good in sports I think that would tie well
16:40in with his coaching.
16:41I think he wants to coach as well.
16:43And I just thought what a great fit
16:45that would be if he would tie that all
16:47together and and follow through with teaching
16:50and coaching.
16:52You know it's not easy to go into teaching and I think
16:54through K-State football
16:56I think that gives him a great understanding
16:59of working through challenges and setting goals and I think
17:03he does a great job with that.
17:05And I think he'll do a great job teaching young
17:08individuals in the classroom and on the field.
17:16I think he has the ability to not just look at
17:20what is happening with that child right
17:23then how they're reacting but trying to look beyond
17:29or around that of what's causing that.
17:32Just a different mindset that you have to have.
17:37Sometimes you don't know what they're going through
17:39their life their challenges and sometimes people just
17:42see them in the hallway or in different situations
17:46and settings and and judge them.
17:49And I think what Scott brings is a lot of understanding
17:53and an ability to see what that person can
17:57truly be and not just what they are in that moment.
18:00And I think with all teachers they have a real patience
18:04and understanding and vision that they can
18:07see the good in everything.
18:11And so I think Scott really has that quality
18:14where he sees the good in people.
18:18We've seen all the work that he's put in to get
18:20to where he's at right now.
18:21And you know playing at K-State been a great
18:24experience and it's going to be a four
18:26year starter at left tackle.
18:27I mean I don't think that's ever been done in the recent
18:30history and and just his desire and work ethic
18:33and his God given ability has put him in a situation to do that.
18:37Hopefully you know there might be some years after
18:40K-State finishes up this year but you know he always
18:44has a degree to go back to and I think he'll do
18:46a great job in the classroom because they'll build
18:49a relationship with kids and I think it'll be a great experience.
18:54When that time comes he'll enjoy going into teaching.
19:06so I went to bed last night thinking hey tomorrow
19:09is gonna be another normal day of me just kind
19:11of sitting and observing and just
19:13getting a feel of the classroom.
19:14But no I got a text from my cooperating teacher about five
19:18thirty than the morning saying Hey I'm gonna be gone today my
19:22daughter is sick and I need to stay home and take care
19:24of her so I'm not sure if there's gonna be a sub
19:27or not but hopefully there is just to have someone there
19:31for you but so I was kind of in panic mode this morning
19:36and then I realize that there would be a sub
19:40and I was like OK. That's kind of cool.
19:42And then in her instructions She was like but he is going
19:46to be more of your help rather than me helping him.
19:50So in other words I kind of just took over the classroom today.
19:52I was the substitute.
19:58Being in the classroom you know these kids teach you what to do
20:03more so than you could ever learn
20:05just sitting in a classroom hearing about classroom management.
20:08Just learning how to deal what works best
20:10for this kid and dealing with what works best
20:13for this kid it's not all the same.
20:15Classroom management for me is one thing that I'm
20:18probably not as good at.
20:19Just because I'm such a laid back guy I'm a very
20:22personable guy.
20:23I notice as you develop relationships with kids
20:27they'll test you you know they'll kind of walk that line
20:30see what they can get away with.
20:32It's so easy to get off task in Spanish class.
20:36Sometimes I think I'm too nice. But I'm getting better at it.
20:45When I think of my own classroom management style
20:48I think I'm more on the strict side.
20:55It's definitely a lovingly
20:57strict but it is stricter.
21:01So when you're in education we're always
21:04worried about classroom management.
21:06And one of the techniques that I learned
21:09this semester is team points.
21:12So we came back from winter break and those students
21:16in their new groups all formed the name and that's
21:20their name for the rest of the year.
21:22And then you know if they're doing something right.
21:25If they're going at it with efficiency following
21:29directions at the end of the day we find
21:32the team with the most points and then the next day
21:34they have some sort of reward.
21:37I use attention getters just to make sure
21:39everybody is on the same page. So I'll do the three to one call
21:42do you know waterfall waterfall or all eyes on me.
21:46There's attention getters for kindergartners.
21:49There's attention getters us high schoolers. OK.
21:54Good morning guys.
21:56First of all . . . .
21:57For pre-K and all that they say "All eyes on me."
22:02or "Let's put bubbles in our mouths" and they get quiet.
22:06For high schoolers
22:07If you say that they're going to look at you like what.
22:13So the first week I thought the way she got
22:17the student's attention by clapping she was doing
22:19it great.
22:20I felt a little awkward doing it.
22:22But this is the third week now and I do it with no problem.
22:25Anything tonight just get their attention
22:28and they know look at me and so we can move on and go forward.
22:37So I'm from Hutchinson Kansas.
22:39I grew up there.
22:41It was a small enough town where you knew everyone.
22:46I'm very close to my family.
22:48My two older sisters are very close to me.
22:52One lives in Texas with her husband
22:54and my oldest sister and her husband have two kids.
22:57So I love being an aunt.
23:00Growing up I always knew I wanted to live
23:03in a bigger city.
23:04I love Chicago New York and I just knew I wanted
23:09that big city life.
23:12I've just always known that I wanted to be
23:14a teacher and I knew I wanted to teach in the inner city.
23:18And my parents have always supported me in that.
23:22She worked for a ministry in our church
23:25and they worked with kids that were lower
23:28income maybe had a parent that wasn't in the house.
23:32She just had a heart for kids and out of that flowed
23:36her desire to be a teacher.
23:39So she had her first week of student teaching
23:43and she was really nervous about moving
23:45to Kansas City new school everybody was new
23:48But I talked to her after her first week and she started
23:52sharing some stories.
23:53And she told me how much she missed the kids
23:57already after the first week.
23:59And she can't wait to get back on Monday and be with them.
24:02And she's going to be an awesome teacher.
24:06I'm a pilot with Southwest Airlines.
24:08I've been a pilot for probably 25 years now.
24:12I can see things happen now that I see some
24:15of the younger guys that are flying with me don't
24:17see coming student teaching four months that's.
24:25She's got a steep learning curve but just like with my
24:29job and any job it's going to get better and better as she goes.
24:34And I think that she'll just add new pieces
24:37to that every year to make the experience
24:40for the kids better.
24:42I'm proud of her perseverance helping
24:46others and making a difference. She's going after that dream.
24:51Probably what I'm most proud about with Hannah
24:53is her enthusiasm.
24:56She's channeled all that energy into
24:58helping other people.
25:12This last week I had to deal with something that was I don't
25:17know just kind of intense.
25:19My teacher was out of the room and so it was Friday
25:23and we have lunch in the classroom on Fridays
25:26for fun Friday.
25:27If they're you know they've been behaving correctly
25:31for the week and I was eating with them and I heard a boy
25:35call another boy a girl and everyone in the class
25:39heard it.
25:40And I just kind of looked at him in disbelief like Did
25:44you really just say that.
25:46And this boy who was called a girl he just shut down.
25:51He laid his head down and just automatically started crying.
25:55And so I'm looking for my teacher first of all I'm
25:58in shock about what this boy said.
26:00My teacher's not in the room and all the kids
26:03are looking at me.
26:04And so I pulled this boy over and I you know just said
26:09like, "Hey what is going on?" like why did you say
26:12those hurtful things.
26:14He just said he was joking and everything.
26:17And that bothered me just to see this kid shut down
26:21and then this cannot be very sorry about it.
26:24It just it kind of hurt me.
26:27And that's when I realized that I must really care about
26:30these kids because if they are bringing
26:33each other down tearing each other down it hurts me too.
26:37And so my teacher said that's a good feeling
26:41to have because that means you care about these kids
26:50we had a staff meeting with five or six of the social
26:54studies teachers and one of the teachers was late
26:57and she had a student that came to her crying
27:00and she was just bawling her eyes out talking about how
27:05she feels like she doesn't have any
27:06friends and how she feels like you know no
27:09one cares for her.
27:10And she felt so misplaced and insecure
27:16but what really stuck out to me was as you know
27:21as the teacher was talking about this not
27:23incident but event that happened.
27:26She said her name and I was just sitting
27:29in the back of this meeting like oh my gosh like I, I just
27:33talked to this girl no more than an hour or two hours ago
27:37she actually came up to me and was like oh hey I'm
27:41here I what we know but you know I'm going to go
27:44to different classroom and work on some homework just tell Mr. Rix
27:48I checked in I'm going to go to the classroom
27:51next door. And I had no idea.
27:55I came to the realization that it's so important for us
27:58teachers to really get to know our students and really get
28:01to know them on a personal level.
28:03You know maybe I could have made her day say
28:05Oh hey how's your day going.
28:07It just goes to show that it really does matter
28:10to the students how much their teachers care about them.
28:17One afternoon my cooperating teacher left me alone.
28:20It's like the first time on my own officially
28:23and by the end of the day we had two girls in tears
28:26and I was like oh my gosh my teacher leaves me
28:29alone for one afternoon and they're two in tears.
28:32But one of the girls just really opened up about how
28:37she's been feeling bullied and how she feels
28:41suicidal sometimes.
28:42And just hearing a fifth grader say that
28:46it wasn't anything that I would have even
28:49considered in fifth grade like I knew of suicide
28:52but it's just so prevalent in our world now
28:55and people are just so aware of it just I wasn't expecting
29:00that conversation to come up.
29:02But in a way I'm glad it did because I was able to talk
29:07to her and just be like my cooperating
29:09teacher and I want you here. We love you here.
29:11You always have a place here you're safe here.
29:13Like I never realized how true that is for the majority
29:18of kids like they'll feel as so much more at home at
29:22school our relationship since then has just taken off.
29:29It's good to know that she trusts me
29:31enough to confide in me.
29:39I really wanted to become a teacher because of my mom.
29:43She is an elementary school teacher and my mom really
29:47influenced me to become an educator.
29:50Hi I'm Joy Mae Johnson.
29:53I have been teaching for 34 years.
29:55I am the proud mother of Angela Johnson.
30:01Angela was very outspoken.
30:03If something came up and she didn't agree
30:06with it she would certainly give you her opinion.
30:09That was a good thing because I think it made
30:11her a stronger individual.
30:13She loved to play outside and she and her sister
30:18would play in my classroom after school and pretend
30:23to be teachers she has always enjoyed helping others
30:28not just in a school setting but she has always
30:32been the go getter wanting to help other people.
30:36I think that was something that made her realize
30:38that she wanted to be in front of a group
30:41of students and share that love of math and other
30:45subjects as well.
30:47I am really excited to just be in a classroom
30:50where the teacher her area of concentration is math.
30:54And so I can't wait to see her be passionate
30:56about what I'm passionate about.
30:59I've spent so much time during my college
31:01career studying mathematics.
31:03Now I'm just worried about covering all of the other
31:06contents for fifth grade.
31:10I am very proud of her because she always pushes
31:15herself and I'm very proud of her for becoming a teacher
31:19because as I'm leaving the profession retiring
31:24and knowing that my my daughter is going to be in the classroom
31:28to help children is probably one of the greatest things
31:31that I could could possibly dream
31:45Student teaching provides the avenue of success
31:50in teaching.
31:51It's important it gives you that opportunity to not
31:56necessarily fail but to understand
31:59that it's OK not to know.
32:03Immersion in any capacity is a good thing.
32:06Whether it's a foreign language whether it's teaching
32:09or being a doctor or whatever when you can
32:12have a fellowship or a mentorship
32:13or some kind of immersion in what you want to learn.
32:17That is the best and easiest way to learn
32:20and that's what student teaching is.
32:23I remember when I was a student teacher
32:24I was told if you're ever going to try something try it now
32:27because you know my cooperating teacher
32:28was there to help me and that's things
32:30I would like my student teachers to do as well.
32:33You know if you want to try something that you're afraid
32:35of doing now would be the best time to do
32:37it because there's someone else in the room that can help you.
32:40Failure really lets you move forward in life.
32:45And it's not just student teaching. In any aspect of life
32:48whenever you try something and you fail you learn from it.
32:52My lectures became better because I failed that first
32:55time so failing forward is just it's almost
32:58a necessary step that you have to take in order
33:01to become better.
33:03Failing will happen at any time in your life even as a teacher.
33:08I am going to fail big time.
33:11That is what we decide to learn from that moment
33:16that will turn our lives and that will make us better.
33:21We tell kids all the time we learn from our mistakes.
33:24But if you're having mishaps and you adapt
33:27and grow from that then you're showing that you're a learner
33:30and a teacher at the same time.
33:33I've tried to stress to the student teachers
33:35that it's OK to have a bad day you know and it's OK
33:40even to apologize to the kids and say you know what we're
33:42going to do better tomorrow and it's OK for them to see
33:44you, you know not be your best you know
33:48because you're human.
33:51In order for a student teacher's
33:53semester to go well I really believe
33:55that the student teacher should seek out as much
33:58as they can.
33:59It's your student teaching semester and treat it as such.
34:03You want to gain as much as you can from that semester.
34:07So if you ever want to go that extra mile just do it.
34:12Student teaching is very important because you're
34:15learning how the classroom actually works how to do your
34:20routines how to deliver instruction how to deal
34:23with you know those students that are making
34:27counterproductive decisions in your classroom how
34:31to communicate with parents you're learning a lot
34:33of different things.
34:35Teaching is a tough job and it's a high stakes job
34:40and it's a serious matter.
34:51There's a fine line
34:55to building relationships with kids and being
34:57their educator.
34:59Yes you can build relationships but also
35:01you should focus on being that adult.
35:03That's teaching them whether it's student
35:06teaching or your first classroom.
35:08I think relationships are the first thing
35:11that you should focus on.
35:13So those first two weeks you know they're there
35:15for us to build the relationships for the kids.
35:18And so I really wanted to know names you know
35:21you talk to a kid the very first day and it's like hey
35:24I know your name is Marlon you know
35:27and and she's like oh my goodness I have no
35:29idea who you are. But you know my name.
35:32It's like boom there's an automatic connection
35:35If you don't put yourself out there and start creating and building
35:40those relationships right away.
35:41Then I feel like you're always going to feel distanced.
35:44They're not going to feel like this is a teacher
35:46in my classroom.
35:47They're just going to think this is an observer.
35:49It was interesting the first day I got here
35:52Yeah it was quite obvious that I played some sort
35:56of sport at Kansas State.
35:57They're like oh my gosh look how tall this guy
36:00is and how big this guy is.
36:02It was really good for me because it's started
36:04to let me build relationships with my
36:06students especially with the male athletes.
36:10They had the instant connection of Wow this guy's
36:12a division one football player.
36:14Looking back on things I wish I would have kind
36:16of opened myself up sooner first I kind of had a barrier
36:21between myself and my students.
36:23I was just kind of locked up and it wasn't till I became
36:27a lot more comfortable in this environment a lot
36:30more comfortable with my students that I began to open
36:33up and once I did that you know I became a better teacher.
36:38They need to respect you and you need to obey
36:40you and to not just be their friend.
36:42I've honestly noticed that some who I have friended
36:46it seems more difficult to tell them to follow the rules.
37:04It is the morning of the day I have my first
37:07formal evaluation.
37:09I'm kinda nervous.
37:11Just the word "observed" I am going
37:14to be coming to observe you.
37:16You know it just kind of freaks me out and makes me
37:19kind of stress out even more so I was just really scared.
37:24What if you know my kids are bad.
37:26What if you know this is going to happen
37:28or this is going to happen.
37:30I probably spent too long on my lesson plan.
37:32I went through every detail just to make sure
37:35it was perfect and making sure all the modalities are there
37:39you know getting the kids out of these seats using technology.
37:44And then I'm just thinking not every lesson
37:47is you get to be as detailed as this.
37:50Last week was rough.
37:53First of all I got observed again and that went
37:57horrible because I got nervous.
38:00I got really nervous and I let that nervousness
38:03take the best of me and my cooperating teacher says
38:06that I stood there like a board. Then second hour I was fine.
38:11I was engaging with the student and I was laughing with them
38:14and I was having a good time and my cooperating teacher even told me
38:17that it was like night and day.
38:19That's like literally like scribbles.
38:21You were scribbling on that one.
38:24And my CT Miss Sueppel
38:27or she was just very helpful just like you know
38:30this is what you're doing.
38:31You know you do this every single day.
38:33You know you're just having one more person watch you.
38:36It was fine.
38:37And my kids did great and she told me I was a natural.
38:42My first formal observation went really well
38:46and I'm just looking forward to the rest of this semester.
38:50I don't know why that felt so good to get it done
38:52but it did.
38:54My supervisor said that it's nearly impossible
38:57to get 100 percent engagement from all the students.
39:00Most of the time usually at 80 to 90 percent.
39:02And that was kind of encouraging.
39:05It's not me if the kids aren't fully engaged
39:07and it's pretty impossible.
39:09It was just so good to hear her say
39:13like this is what you are supposed to be
39:16doing teachers make mistakes.
39:19You know lessons aren't always going to be perfect.
39:22And I just think that's just so good to know
39:26because I, I try to be a perfectionist
39:30but teachers are always learning and I think that's
39:33so cool because my teachers have been teaching 22 years
39:37and you know she's still learning things
39:43it's important to be a professional during
39:45student teaching I think because you are transitioning
39:48from being a college student to being a professional
39:52and that was kinda of hard for me because I had to get out
39:55of a college mindset but now it's like I want
39:58to do well at student teaching.
40:00I want people to see me as an individual fit
40:03for this profession, and in our block C.
40:07They really emphasize that.
40:08So I think just making that transition I'm no
40:12longer a college student and I am a role model.
40:16I need to be positive for these kids not
40:19only how I dress but how I talk and how you act.
40:23We made a Graber fourth grade Facebook page
40:26and on the groups that were using
40:27our personal account.
40:29So we had a marketing team come and make sure you set
40:31the private, make sure you're looking at
40:33what you posted kind of deal because those
40:35are things that happen.
40:36Even as a fourth grade teacher they may not be
40:39looking at your Facebook but parents are definitely
40:41curious to see who's the new student teacher
40:44in their classroom.
40:45Last time I talked to guys I talked to you about
40:48how I'm trying to get to know my students more.
40:50Let me tell you, it goes both ways.
40:52My students are definitely trying to get
40:54to know me more in a good way and also kind of in a weird way.
40:58Kids nowadays they don't hold back they look you up on Google.
41:02They type in your name on Twitter or Facebook.
41:04They were you know searching through all my
41:08tweets trying to get to know what they're trying to get
41:11to know me or try to find something funny
41:13I'm not really sure.
41:14But yeah, students are pretty ruthless
41:17when it comes to invasion of privacy.
41:22One important thing that I have dealt with this week
41:24is boundaries.
41:27The other day, this student he knows
41:31somehow that I am getting married.
41:34And then he comes out and he says "Hey".
41:37He said first of all I said my first name.
41:39He said "Hey Kevin, can I come to your batchelor party?"
41:42Yeah.
41:43And as soon as he said that not good my cooperating
41:47teacher did not like that and I didn't
41:48like it either.
41:50Comments like that get you in big trouble. And yeah.
41:53So that's that's like one of the biggest thing is knowing
41:58where that boundary is.
42:05I think it makes a difference when you're part of a community.
42:08The investment you have within that community.
42:11I have three children within our district.
42:13I want our district to be the absolute best that it can
42:15be for my own kids.
42:17And when I hire teachers I worked hard to hire teachers
42:20that I would be proud to put my own children in their classroom.
42:24Our team wants a teacher that student focused
42:27that bases their decision on what's best for each
42:30student not for what's best for them.
42:32As a teacher not what's best for the content
42:36but they have a heart for students and their
42:38ability to learn.
42:40Are kids that come from poverty have some
42:42additional challenges and they need a greater level
42:45of love and care and support.
42:47And it takes a teacher with a big heart to be
42:50able to bounce back day after day and provide
42:52that kind of support to kids.
42:55We can teach things about instruction and classroom
42:58management and provide support so we can
42:59teach that part.
43:00But you can't teach heart.
43:02Sometimes it's the support
43:04they don't get at home.
43:05And so we have to make sure that we find ways to give
43:07it to them at school.
43:09You have children that are at different learning
43:13levels but also you have children who are at
43:17different levels emotionally socially emotionally.
43:21And you have to be able to be in tune with those
43:27kids and you have to be able to be willing
43:29to get to know them in order to be able to reach them.
43:35It's important for me that they have a growth
43:37mindset that they don't have preconceived
43:41notions of what a student can and should be able to do.
43:44Until you walk in the shoes of that student's
43:47life you don't know what they bring in the doors
43:50every day.
43:52I see a lot of young teachers come in and they know physics
43:56or how to write a wonderful paper but you can't get
43:59to the content until you've mastered the art and science
44:02of relationship building and classroom management.
44:05Students crave structure they crave discipline
44:09particularly those that don't have it outside of school.
44:12They want it and they need it. Teaching is not friendship.
44:17Leadership is not friendship.
44:20And so when they can see that you have that kind
44:22of connection with them they'll do cartwheels
44:25down the hallway for you.
44:27But as soon as they see that you don't really care
44:30you're not genuine in your heart you've lost them
44:36Teaching is such a powerful important career.
44:39And I know that education is a hard field to be a part of.
44:43But there are so many benefits to creating great opportunities
44:46for kids and to establishing foundations that children will
44:53use for the rest of their lives.
44:55You get to be that person that builds
44:56that and that is powerful beyond words
45:09Today was probably the hardest days of student teaching.
45:13Yesterday my teacher was sick and I didn't find out until
45:19I was on my way to school and my university
45:22supervisor was coming to watch me teach a lesson.
45:26And I don't know what happened after lunch
45:30but we had some major behavior just
45:33between two students.
45:36We just been having a lot of bickering going on people
45:39getting into other people's business when they're
45:41not needed.
45:43But I just felt like I was not as kind
45:46is I wanted to be today. I had to get after students.
45:50so we did a science experiment. I had some kids
45:54who didn't even want to do it didn't want to do
45:57the experiment didn't want to do this assignment didn't
46:00want to do a flip grid and I had a hard time with that.
46:03Actually it never dealt with that.
46:05So it's just I don't really know how to do things just
46:09completely by myself like that.
46:12I still had to rely on someone but even going
46:15to the bathroom like one time my teacher was gone
46:19and I had to ask Ms Mitchelson fourth grade teacher across
46:24the hall to just keep an eye on my kids because I had to go
46:27to the bathroom so bad and just things
46:29like that you don't think about it until you're
46:32in it and you're experiencing it.
46:34It's just it's crazy.
46:38And you know I was hard on all my kids today
46:41because I seriously love them.
46:43I I want the best for them I want them to have
46:48to learn as much as they can while I'm here
46:50and I, I hope that I'm just effective in doing
46:56in being here.
47:03One of the most difficult things about the semester
47:05was as you become closer with your students you begin
47:10to know more about them and sometimes that can be good
47:13and sometimes it can be heartbreaking because a lot
47:16of kids especially in my special education classrooms
47:21come from some rough situations and a lot of times
47:25these kids they didn't get like the right education
47:30when they're younger they have the right
47:32you know supporting cast.
47:35I had kids they come to school in the same clothes
47:40you know they're obviously not getting the food
47:44that they need and that's that's the most difficult thing
47:47is seeing problems that you can't fix.
47:52I had one of my students pass away.
47:56that was extremely difficult.
48:00That stuff really kind of gets to you.
48:04Obviously growing up in high school when you hear about
48:08people's you know family members passing away
48:11and as tragic as that was it's a whole
48:14different ballgame when when you're a teacher
48:17because you have a different connection with these kids
48:21a lot of unexpected things happen because when you're
48:26dealing with hundreds of kids you're subjected
48:29as a teacher to a lot of different people's lives
48:33and the tragedies that can occur.
48:37That's something I never really thought about just
48:39the kind of baggage that that you either
48:41learn about or just the things that randomly happened.
48:46I think it's so important for student teachers any
48:49teachers to understand that we can't be perfect
48:52nobody's perfect and that's just it's a standard
48:55that we'll never meet.
48:56But it's knowing that we can come back the next
48:59day and start fresh.
49:00We have the opportunity to start fresh and inspire
49:03those kids that we might not have inspired the day before.
49:06There is always new opportunity with every day
49:15this semester Scott really tried some
49:17out-of-the-box things.
49:19He really embraced creativity things such
49:22as maybe annotated timelines one pagers even protest posters.
49:27The thing that I really liked about Scott
49:29was is the relationship that he had with the students
49:32on numerous occasions.
49:33I would just sit back and listen to the conversations
49:36that he was having with students.
49:37I've learned a lot from Mr. Rix.
49:40In terms of classroom management.
49:41Mr. Rix is a great laid back guy but he was also a drill
49:44sergeant in the military for a handful a year
49:47so he can be very demanding when he wants to.
49:50One thing I've learned in terms of classroom
49:52management is it's easier to ease up and give students
49:55a longer leash than it is to take leash away from them.
50:00With Kevin,
50:02I have learned his passion for technology.
50:05He loves to incorporate a lot of technology
50:09and you can see it in his face when he passes
50:11that love for technology.
50:14I've learned to explore new options just because Kevin
50:18was there and I appreciate that. I've learned a lot from Mrs. Wilson
50:22But the most important thing that I learned so far
50:25is that your last class will always be your best class
50:29because your first hour your teaching
50:32and then you realize some things that you didn't do
50:34or you didn't get to do. Then second hour you fix it.
50:37You perfect that and then as each class goes by you're getting
50:40better and better better at it.
50:43Hannah has taught me just the honesty I think
50:45in the transparency and the not being afraid to ask questions
50:51and everday she comes with a smile. It takes me back.
50:55When I was student teacher in Cedar Rapids Iowa having
50:59a cooperating teacher there to kind of guide you through
51:03it is always a good thing.
51:06Any time Mrs. Sueppel was talking I just wish I could remember that you know
51:10I'm like oh I'm going to need to know that for this next
51:13year I just wanted to soak it all up during the time that I was here.
51:19Having Miss Johnson
51:21this semester.
51:22I think the biggest thing she taught me is more
51:26informal assessment instead of the homework
51:30and the worksheets.
51:31I've always been a big proponent of sending homework
51:33home but I've really in the last couple of years
51:36tried to get away from that and she did
51:38a really great job of incorporating assessment
51:41within her lesson to know what the kids have learned
51:46that they still met the objectives and that there
51:49was evidence of that.
51:51The learning, the intern learns
51:53from the cooperating teacher with the lessons cooperating
51:56teacher can learn from the interns.
51:57I think that's just an opportunity for everybody
52:01involved to just be a better teacher and a better person.
52:05One of the things that I've observed from my cooperating
52:08teacher that I really want to continue in my own
52:11classroom is to just be consistent.
52:14Kids notice if you have one expectation
52:17and you don't follow up on it that damages
52:20the relationship. So just consistency.
52:24The biggest lesson I've learned from watching how she sets
52:26the classroom community.
52:28I'm learning that it's so important for them
52:30to feel that sense of community to be kind to each other
52:34and if they know and they have that expectation
52:37that they're to be kind to each other then everything
52:39else just goes much smoother with that.
52:43For the future student teachers make sure you thank them.
52:46Make sure you let them feel that everything
52:50they've done for you.
52:52You appreciated it and you've learned from it and make them
52:55feel good because they're taking the time out from their
52:58schedule to actually teach you
53:06Teaching requires you to be on every time
53:09you're around your kids.
53:10If you can give it your full attention give it all
53:13your efforts.
53:14That's the best way to get the most out of your experience.
53:18I feel like student teaching is kind of a giant
53:20job interview.
53:22It is your real life experience in a classroom
53:25where you get to compile everything that you've
53:28learned in the previous semesters and put in an action.
53:32I think when students commit to a student teaching
53:36100 percent and really maximize the learning
53:40time from that a student teaching time that you have
53:45always come open mind.
53:48I did my student teaching having five children
53:50and there were days that I couldn't go to my
53:54son's soccer games because I had to study
53:59to teach my lessons or I had to grade and I know
54:04it's hard, but this is going to be your job.
54:08So it is only a semester.
54:12I don't think you can place enough emphasis
54:15on how important it is to plan and prepare for lessons.
54:20And then after you implement those lessons be reflective
54:23and take more time to reflect on how it went
54:27and what you could have done better
54:28so that when you go back and redo that lesson
54:30it's better each time.
54:32I can see also the survival mode of I need to work
54:35because I got to pay the bills.
54:37I see that in a college student but maybe
54:40something else gets cut back. Maybe social time gets cut back.
54:44If you work you might be tired when you are teaching
54:48in those little moments.
54:50They're just, you're not even aware
54:52of that because you are tired. So just commit 100 percent.
54:59You have to know that anything worth having is going
55:04to require hard work and time.
55:09If you really commit 100
55:11percent to your student teaching experience your
55:15whole journey will be ten times better in the sense
55:21that you will invest in your profession.
55:29So I just finished
55:31making some little goodbye gifts for my
55:35kiddos and I'm slightly getting a little
55:39bit sentimental. And those are gifts for my CT
55:45And then the other fifth grade teacher.
55:48It is a Friday.
55:49It is the last day of student teaching and I walked
55:52in this morning to this for the graffiti wall.
55:59That one's really sentimental but the rest of them
56:03I think would be good.
56:09Just got to my car.
56:11It's feels weird to know that I won't have anything
56:15to do next week besides work.
56:18I got lots and lots of hugs from people
56:21I didn't even expect to get hugs from. A lot of kids got
56:24more sentimental than I expected.
56:27I cried twice but happy tears for sure.
56:31And I'm about to drive off from Bluemont for the last
56:37time as a student teacher.
56:38So next time I come back I will be a middle
56:42school math and science teacher somewhere else
56:44and I will just be a visitor. So that will be weird.
56:48But good day. Good semester.
56:54People aren't kidding when they say they have
56:56a special place in your heart.
56:58So I'm just gonna miss the kids.
57:10I love their personalities they're so sweet they each
57:15are also unique and have different talents
57:19and to just see them thriving in the classroom academically
57:22some of them have just wowed me.
57:26It's just seeing like where they're going to go
57:29and so just waking up every day.
57:31You know it just became a norm and you know just
57:35that's not happening anymore.
57:36It will just be really weird not being around them.
57:44I got done with elementary school
57:46yesterday and I wanted to show you guys what I made my kids do.
57:52So here we got the rain light.
57:55La lluvia, that's supposed to be a penguin, El pinguino
57:58El sol and over here they actually
58:01I didn't tell them to label.
58:03Some of them did. They labeled El leon La lluvia
58:08pretty nice el delfin
58:11They kind of spelled it wrong but that's OK
58:14from the first week I was there till the last week I was there.
58:17They knew it all.
58:18And that really surprised me and made me so proud
58:21that they were actually learning.
58:24And it felt good. It felt really good.
58:26And I think that's one of the one of the best things
58:31about me a teacher is those proud moments
58:34that that realization that your kids are actually learning
58:37and everything you're teaching them is getting
58:39stuck in their heads And it's just amazing.
58:42And I'm, I'm happy
58:46Coming back to student teach in
58:48Hutchison has just been fulfilling to me
58:50because it's so neat getting to work with people
58:52and teachers that I've had, and then coming back
58:55to the community and seeing the students that are growing
58:57up in Hutchinson just knowing that I have that impact
59:00on them as part of what makes me excited to go
59:03into your next year knowing that I'll have my own fourth
59:06grade classroom here and just being back
59:09in Hutchinson and giving back to the community that way.
59:13It's such a kind of mixed emotions because on one
59:15side this was a really crazy semester for me.
59:18So part of me is like I can't wait to be done.
59:21But on the other hand it will be so crazy like leaving all
59:26the relationships that I developed here.
59:29The kids that put a smile on my face every day
59:34Although this chapter of my teaching career is over
59:38there's going to be so many more
59:39great chapters to come.