This was one of my favourite initial classroom experiences so far. I connected well with the students, teacher and EA’s, and I learned a lot about how to effectively work with students and various classroom management styles. I appreciated seeing the teacher’s lesson plan techniques because they were so deliberate, thorough, and yet as simple as they could be–there were not too many bells and whistles, but everything seemed significant. I felt close to the kids and they seemed to like me. I enjoyed getting to know students before class started, during lunch, and when they had time to do group work together. This increased my value for building connections because I saw how getting to know students helped me teach them more effectively. I learned about individuals’ strengths and stretches, which let me go into my lesson planning more informed. My lessons were more connected to the individuals I taught and what I knew they needed.

I remember one student who saw my example drawing a bit before I taught a lesson. She said she did not like art and that she would not be able to create that. In the lesson, I broke down the drawing into simple steps and circled the class to give feedback they could immediately respond to. The girl’s creation ended up being quite good! I remembered her comment about not being able to draw, so I brought this up to her. I corrected her negative identity of “not being an artist” and helped her believe in herself. I would not have been able to do this if I did not get to know her a bit before teaching my lesson.

A second student’s growth that came from me connecting with her is also a highlight of my classroom experience. This is the girl who sits beside me in class. She very rarely raises her hand to answer questions because she seems to feel timid. However, when I taught, she raised her hand after I encouraged students who had not talked yet to answer a question! I was so surprised and happy she gained the confidence to speak up in class. I think she was more likely to answer me because she knew me fairly well by this point, and she felt safe with me. I was honoured to have her raise her hand when I was teaching.

My SMART Goals were related to arriving on time, creating lesson plans in time for the mentor teacher to provide feedback, and implementing time-blocking into my everyday schedule. While I did not complete each goal at the exact time, that was okay because I gave a lot of room for margin! Lesson plans were completed with time for the mentor teacher to give feedback, and I arrived on time. I grew so much this semester in my practicum, my own classes, and my new job in a school. I feel significantly more confident, organized, punctual, and able to manage a classroom.

This semester, I decided to be very intentional about growing in the professional standards. To do this, I wrote them out in the first pages of my agenda, highlighting the standards that needed the most attention and that came less naturally to me. Then, I looked back at the standards throughout the semester to see if I was on track and check on where I could redirect when I was missing the mark. I am glad I did this, because in passed semesters, I have been a very strong candidate, but some of my strengths did not directly connect to the BCTC Standards. My mentor teacher did not have a space to put a lot of these strengths because there simply was not a category for them on the feedback form she filled out. Because of this, I focused my attention on specifically growing in the traits that I am being assessed on, rather than just assuming I’m doing well based on more abstract reasons.

Show journal photo here.

I took more initiative this semester because my previous mentor teacher mentioned that I seemed tentative and less assertive in the beginning of the year, so she was not sure about me until she saw my abilities in teaching lessons that showed up later on. I was tentative because I was unsure of what was appropriate for me to help with and what would be a disruption. Because of this, I chose to focus a lot of attention on taking initiative and risks. I also asked for feedback on how to improve regularly so I could know how I was doing before it was too late to change. I took initiative by looking around for students who were talking out or looked confused and in need of help, and approached them to assist or ask them to be quiet right away. I decided to act like an EA, helping with classroom management and struggling students. The fact that the teacher gave me a seat next to a specific student to help her was beneficial. I was more directly integrated into the class and felt I could assist without being disruptive. In previous years, I have had a seat way off to the side or at the back, where it felt intrusive to get more involved. I think this effort to take the initiative and ask for feedback showed BCTC Standards 6 & 9, as described in the course learning outcomes because reacting to past mistakes (of appearing tentative) and asking my mentor feedback for feedback early on are ways of displaying wisdom and humility. It is learning from the past as well as admitting my mistakes so I can grow from them.

I enjoyed my lesson planning and teaching this year because it was art! Art is one of my teachable subjects. My mentor teacher knows I teach private art lessons, so she trusted me and let me have a lot of freedom in my planning. That felt good. I gained from hearing her curriculum schedule and the order in which she teaches elements of art before having a final project. It helped me with my own private art lessons, actually, because I got ideas for how to build a structure for learning. This showed me a way to put my learning from EDUC 321 into action. In that course, I was taught how to build a curriculum through backward design, thinking about understanding first. My mentor teacher used that in a way by having small assignments throughout the year that built up students’ skills to create a final project of which they could be proud.

It was encouraging to see how confident I was, teaching my lesson. It can be nerve-wracking for me as this is a form of public speaking. I am very comfortable in this class, and I am growing familiar with standing in front of a class. It was almost weird how I barely felt nervous standing in front of these children. I just rang the bell–as they do in this class to call students to attention–and began. There were a few hiccups that I learned from (like waiting for quiet before talking), but it was fun and rewarding overall.

I have also been working to meet BCTC Standard 7 or social-emotional learning and mental health by improving my daily routines and building healthy habits. My SMART Goal of time-blocking was related to this because it is a way of structuring my day to build self-control and the ability to achieve what I want to do. I have also been working on Standard 7 by prioritizing sleep. I feel horrible in mornings with little sleep, and I dread getting out of bed and going to school. When I am tired, I feel more insecure in the classroom and worried about mistakes. I also make more mistakes because my mind is not functioning as it should be. Because of this, I am working towards building a consistent sleep routine with the “Sleep Cycle” app and allowing myself to have days of slowness and rest for Sabbath. If I feel tired on those days, I allow myself to nap or sleep in so I can refuel for the upcoming week. This practice makes my life feel more peaceful as well as proactive rather than reactive. I am able to go through life with more steady slowness than hurriedness, while still accomplishing what I need to do. I feel more equipped and mentally ready to face the day when I bless my future self with supple sleep.

I was able to connect my classroom experience to spirituality after talking to the EA, Mr. B. Of course I learned about my faith throughout the semester, but he said some things that gave my very direct wisdom. I value how he talked about praying for students because this puts the worry on God and brings me to acknowledge that I cannot solve all the problems in the classroom on my own. Praying for students brings real-life solutions, and it also helps the teacher develop compassion and love for them.

Working in this class has increased my desire to teach. I feel inspired by the student-teacher dynamics and how the children got along and were excited to learn. I know many classrooms are much more challenging than this one, but it showed me some possibilities and ways the mentor teacher fostered this atmosphere. I also just very much enjoy inspiring growth and building a want to learn in children. I loved seeing their excitement about breakthroughs in my art lessons. I was so proud to see how much they improved only minutes after I provided feedback. I felt energized and like teaching was something I was meant to do when I saw this.