Again.. This has been a rough semester, as I am sure it has been for several of other people.
But God knows just who we need, what we need and when we need it. Some things He has us go through we might not always understand why. Or why now. Why this moment. But He has His reason, His plan. And some things might actually be a blessing in disguise. God has put truly amazing people in my life that have helped me through these tough times and who have really encouraged me and reminded me of how great our God is. And of all of the blessings He has given to me. Sometimes I need to just take time to just sit and reflect, and enjoy the moment.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
2nd grade vs. 5th/6th grade
Going from 2nd grade to 5th grade/6th grade was quite a jump. I like both grades a lot, they are just different.
In second grade they are more dependent on the teacher and they need a lot more help. They are much more "needy" which isn't bad. It is totally understandable and they are still learning and we are teaching them to become more independent. In second grade I was always walking around the classroom checking on the students and someone was always saying, "Miss Hoch." "Miss Hoch." "Miss Hoch." Which was a great feeling, being the teacher, the one they came to for help. Also the students have a shorter attention span. They need to switch up their activities and can not sit for long periods of time. If I did a lesson at the smart board I would not make it took long or else they would start to get distracted.
Where as in 5th/6th grade the students are more independent. You can give them instructions and explain what you want them to do and "send them on their way." They will just work until it is complete and then hand it in. They might have a question here or there, but they will basically just work quietly and then hand it in. And ask what they can do now that they finished. It was also different because they were writing paragraphs, whereas, my second graders had trouble writing complete sentences on their own. Also they have longer attention spans so they can sit through a longer lesson, and they can start to learn to sit through a lecture and how to outline their notes.
People ask me which grade I like better, and I do not know if I have an answer. They are just different, but I like both grades a lot! :)
In second grade they are more dependent on the teacher and they need a lot more help. They are much more "needy" which isn't bad. It is totally understandable and they are still learning and we are teaching them to become more independent. In second grade I was always walking around the classroom checking on the students and someone was always saying, "Miss Hoch." "Miss Hoch." "Miss Hoch." Which was a great feeling, being the teacher, the one they came to for help. Also the students have a shorter attention span. They need to switch up their activities and can not sit for long periods of time. If I did a lesson at the smart board I would not make it took long or else they would start to get distracted.
Where as in 5th/6th grade the students are more independent. You can give them instructions and explain what you want them to do and "send them on their way." They will just work until it is complete and then hand it in. They might have a question here or there, but they will basically just work quietly and then hand it in. And ask what they can do now that they finished. It was also different because they were writing paragraphs, whereas, my second graders had trouble writing complete sentences on their own. Also they have longer attention spans so they can sit through a longer lesson, and they can start to learn to sit through a lecture and how to outline their notes.
People ask me which grade I like better, and I do not know if I have an answer. They are just different, but I like both grades a lot! :)
Public school vs Christian school
Teaching in a christian school is a great experience. I love being in the classroom and being able to talk to the children about God. To encourage them to do everything they do for the glory of God. It is very encouraging to see young children reading the bible and knowing bible stories and being excited about God. It is also great because from the faculty point of view, every Monday there is a bible study and every Wednesday there is a prayer meeting. These take place in the mornings before the children come into school. It is again encouraging to see the faculty come together and pray for each other and for their students. This is a K-12 school, so it is really great to gather that many teachers together to pray and study the word :)
Parent Teacher Conferences
It has been a while since I have blogged... So I am going to do a couple of different posts. But this one is going to be about parent teacher conferences.
Our school had parent teacher conferences right before Thanksgiving. It was definitely a good experience. With my first placement my teacher let me come to back to school night, which was great to see how she ran that, and just to get ideas. And now with this placement my teacher let me come and sit in on parent teacher conferences which was another great experience. The parents were very understanding as well. My teacher just explained that I was her student teacher and they were all fine that I was there. It was really sweet because the one parent said her son had told her about me :) It was sweet because I was not sure if my kids went home and told their parents about me but this little boy did. It was just sweet and a little reminder of why I teach. That it is for the students. That I want to teach them and make a difference in their lives.
Our school had parent teacher conferences right before Thanksgiving. It was definitely a good experience. With my first placement my teacher let me come to back to school night, which was great to see how she ran that, and just to get ideas. And now with this placement my teacher let me come and sit in on parent teacher conferences which was another great experience. The parents were very understanding as well. My teacher just explained that I was her student teacher and they were all fine that I was there. It was really sweet because the one parent said her son had told her about me :) It was sweet because I was not sure if my kids went home and told their parents about me but this little boy did. It was just sweet and a little reminder of why I teach. That it is for the students. That I want to teach them and make a difference in their lives.
Friday, November 25, 2011
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." 2 Corinthians 4:8-9. This seems to be the verse for me this semester. I am not going to lie... this has been an extremely tough semester for me. This placement had been going so well. I was read to start teaching and BOOM...I had absolutely no voice, thanks to having laryngitis and bronchitis. The students could not hear me. They would place a paper where I was sitting and I would call their name and they would just keep walking because they had no idea. People sitting right next to me I had no idea I was talking to them. It was awful. Then my step grandmother who I have become very close to, she is like another grandmother to me, fell the second week in Nov and broke a couple of ribs. She had been in and out of the hospital. I am not going to go into the whole story. But she was going to go to a rehab, but she was not getting better. They ended up bringing her home and doing hospice from her home. My dad called me this past Sunday and said they were giving her about 3 months to live. My heart sank. She was just up and moving and doing pretty well when I saw her in Sept. There is no way she can be gone in 3 months. Well I didn't think things could get worse...they did. My dad called me two days later (Tuesday) and told me they were giving her only a few days... and if I wanted to come see her I should come soon. So I talked to my fiance, we packed our bags and we got in the car and started our 7 hour trip out to West Virginia. About 1 and 1/2 hours into the trip I received another phone call from my dad telling me that she had passed about about 25 minutes ago. I just feel so crushed... I do not know what to do. I feel like this semester a lot of things are not in my favor. I definitely have a lot to be thankful for and I make sure not to forget about those things. Such as my amazing fiance, He has been by my side through everything! My wonderful family and friends. My best friend, Gretchen who always encourages me and is always there for me. And for God, who I know is with me through this all. All of this bring me back to a song by Matthew West called Strong Enough. "You must, You must think I'm strong, to give me what I'm going through. Forgive me, forgive me if I'm wrong. This looks like more than I can do. On my own. I know I'm not strong enough to be. Everything that I'm supposed to be. I give up. I'm not strong enough. Hands of mercy won't you cover me. Lord right now I'm asking you to be strong enough, strong enough for the both of us. Maybe, maybe that the point. To reach the point of giving up. Because when I'm finally at rock bottom. Thats when I start looking up. And reaching out." Then later in the song it says "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. And I don't have to be, strong enough...strong enough." This has been very encouraging to me. It reminds me that it is ok that I am not strong enough on my own but that God is strong enough for the both of us. This is going to be a rough next couple of weeks, but with the help of my fiance, family, friends and God I am going to make it through. I have to.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Great start!
God is so good! I am loving this placement. I am at my fiance's old school, and I am loving it. The teacher is great and so are the students. They are 5th and 6th grade. Some of them are going to be a challenge but no matter what school you are at you are going to have students that are going to be a challenge. I am really liking the fifth and sixth grade so far. Don't get me wrong, I still love second grade and I do miss them. But with the older kids you can have more in depth conversations with them and they take an interest in you as a person. It is a really cool difference. I am also in a Christian school which is a lot of fun. The students are just great. They want to know a lot about me and about Joshua. I will definitely have to write more about it some other time but I wanted to blog about it today, but just check in and say that so far so good. :) I am really enjoying it!! My teacher also found out from a friend of hers who is a friend of Joshua's family, that today is my birthday. So she brought in a snack and told the class it was my birthday and had them sing to me. It was so sweet. And it is only the second day :) Joshua also stopped by towards the end of the day to see me :) Lovely day
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Half way there.
A new fresh start...
Student teaching has been a learning experience. It has had its ups and downs. But hey, you have to have a challenge and push through in order to learn and to better yourself. My teacher taught me a lot. I have had my struggles through this placement as well. My kids were great. Again I struggled a lot with classroom management, but my kids overall were wonderful and I am going to miss them so much. It still has not quite set in that I am not going back to the same school on Monday. But even though I am going to miss my students a lot. It gave me time to reflect on myself as a teacher and to really take everything I learned from this placement and take it with me to this next placement. It is time for a new fresh start. And to take everything I learned and to press on and practice everything I learned and become a better teacher. Again it is time to practice and work extremely hard. As always. Like we should be doing with everything. I had a great last day on Friday. The teacher worked with the students to make me a cute book. Each student made me a page with their picture on it and telling me something that they learned from me. They gave it to me at snack time and brought in munckins. It was so cute. I also had a really great talk with my teacher.
Also this week in school I was feeling really down and really upset about myself and my teaching. I was just really discouraged. And then as I was going about the morning this verse came to me... 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."
I am sad to be leaving this school, but I am also very excited for my next placement. I am looking forward to what is to come. I know it is going to be a challenge but I am definitely looking forward to it. God is good. And I know that he is definitely going to bring me through this.
Student teaching has been a learning experience. It has had its ups and downs. But hey, you have to have a challenge and push through in order to learn and to better yourself. My teacher taught me a lot. I have had my struggles through this placement as well. My kids were great. Again I struggled a lot with classroom management, but my kids overall were wonderful and I am going to miss them so much. It still has not quite set in that I am not going back to the same school on Monday. But even though I am going to miss my students a lot. It gave me time to reflect on myself as a teacher and to really take everything I learned from this placement and take it with me to this next placement. It is time for a new fresh start. And to take everything I learned and to press on and practice everything I learned and become a better teacher. Again it is time to practice and work extremely hard. As always. Like we should be doing with everything. I had a great last day on Friday. The teacher worked with the students to make me a cute book. Each student made me a page with their picture on it and telling me something that they learned from me. They gave it to me at snack time and brought in munckins. It was so cute. I also had a really great talk with my teacher.
Also this week in school I was feeling really down and really upset about myself and my teaching. I was just really discouraged. And then as I was going about the morning this verse came to me... 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."
I am sad to be leaving this school, but I am also very excited for my next placement. I am looking forward to what is to come. I know it is going to be a challenge but I am definitely looking forward to it. God is good. And I know that he is definitely going to bring me through this.
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