Placement+2+Week+7+Experience

Week of April 26th, 2010

4/26/10

Today was another wonderful day working with Ms. Stamp and all my Middle Schoolers. I can't believe tomorrow will be the last day of this internship placement! At first it seemed like it stretched out in front of me until forever, and all I could think of were all the things I didn't know about teaching students of this age group. Now, I am finding it difficult to number all the many things I've learned from working with these students and all the great teachers here at NMS. Not only has my confidence and poise at the front of the classroom grown immensely, but I also feel even more attuned to the moods and needs of students at this age - especially those with disabilities.

Another thing that struck me today was the thought that during one of my class meetings (Teaching Secondary Students with Disabilities - EEX 3243) at UCF this past Wednesday, it made me giggle to have the professor actually test my ability to write on a marker board with clarity and accuracy. Today when Mr. Knapp asked me to write on his, I felt honored. That probably sounds silly, but I could only think, "This is the real test!" Too bad I wrote with an upward slant...but then again, maybe that means something good...like when people say "my glass is half full"...my facilitation and dissemination of knowledge is moving in an upward and positive direction?? Hahaha - or maybe I just over analyze :o)

The other interesting thing that happened today was having Mr. Allen, the school principal, bring copies of a list to Ms. Stamp and I that showed average grades students would have to earn in their core subjects (Reading, Math, Science, and Social Studies) in order to be able to be promoted to the next grade level. I have never before witnessed a principal holding his students and teachers to such a high standard of accountability! It's one thing to simply say "You need to do better this nine weeks," but it's something special when you take the time and effort to publish a list by grade level of the kind of improvements you expect to see.

That makes me hope that whatever school I am lucky enough to be able to teach at will have a principal who is so caring and involved!

4/27/10

Just as I knew it would be, today was definitely bittersweet. It felt so nice to receive all the hugs and well-wishes for my future from the staff and students of Narcoossee Middle School, but it makes me sad that I won't be spending my days working with these kids and their teachers. To everyone who asked, yes, I'll certainly come back to visit you all! Perhaps I'll even show up as one of your teachers one day soon, who knows?!

Aside from this being my last day, the other experience that set the somber mood for the day was being able to attend what's called a "Manifestation Determination Meeting." Basically, this is a meeting where the school administration, teachers, parents, and the ESE student in question convene to determine if a poor choice made by the student - something which would normally result in major corrective or administrative action like expulsion - occurred as a result of the student's disability or simply because the student made a bad decision. In this case, the student was deemed at fault and aware of his poor choice. His disability had no bearing on his ability to make a better choice, therefore under the school's zero-tolerance policy he must be expelled and made to attend a county-run alternative school for one school year.

This was very sad for me to witness because, as a young teacher, I can't help but be idealistic about all the students I meet. I'd like to think that each and every one has the potential to do great things, make all the best choices in life, and stay on the right path in education and life as a whole. Honestly, leaving the meeting, I wanted to cry because it seemed like this student had given up, even though all his teachers wanted so much for him to succeed. How devastating! But then, I am happy to have had this experience, even if it was sad. Now I know how it feels to see a child let his disability become an excuse for his own failure. If I didn't see this now, if I saw it for the first time as a first year teacher, I'm afraid I'd have to call off work the next day to eat a pint of ice cream and cry all day because it was so heartbreaking.

Overall, I am so glad to have had the wonderful experience of being a teacher at both the elementary and middle school levels this semester. I'm sad the time was so short and went so quickly. I'll treasure the memories I've made and all the wonderful...and even not so wonderful...things I've learned. It's all been brilliant.