Week 2

This week I was at Hoover. They had off school on Monday and a half day on Friday, followed by teacher institute. On Tuesday, we had math RTI, which was the first time I have been there for that, even though they are supposed to do it three times a week. I learned that this is for the students to be broken up into ability levels so the teachers can cover more things. I think it is cool that they incorporate this into their school day because it not only helps those who are struggling, but also gives the opportunity for those who want to know more to learn more. This is the whole point of RTI, but it is good to see it in action.

We have meetings with the principal each week. We meet with all the fifth grade teachers and talk about what is going on in the school and with the grades. I think this is a great idea, but it is right in the middle of the day when the kids go to special. This is a good way to make sure everyone attends, but it is also interesting that they don’t do it before school. It took about 45 minutes, and was very informative.

One more thing that was interesting this week was that one of our students got lice. Mrs. Wiora saw this on Tuesday morning and sent her right to the nurse. It is the fifth time she has had it this year, and it seems to only affect her and none of the other 7 children she is living with. This really just reminds me to wash my hands all the time. I got a little sick the first week, and that is just miserable. Being a teacher is a hard job, and I can see how it would be nearly impossible to do if you’re not feeling well.

When I left to go on my trip, the students wrote me a little card and signed it. They gave me a little bag of goodies to take on the plane and all gave me hugs goodbye. It’s moments like this that make me sure I want to be a teacher and put in all this hard work. I want to help these kids and I want to help them learn. I am thankful for moments like this God puts in my life to remind me what his purpose is for me.

I am currently writing this from the airport in Istanbul, Turkey. I am en route to my school in Kenya and I am so incredible excited. I have met four new friends from Cornerstone and two more from Calvin are on their way. We made it through the 12 hour flight here with short naps and cool TV screens in the back of our chairs. When we got here we walked around, bought a 7 dollar cup of coffee from Starbucks, sampled some Turkish Delight, and now are waiting at our gate for the next seven hour flight and new adventure.

Even if I am a little bit unsure of what I’m walking into, I am confident this is where I am supposed to be for this part of my journey. I can’t say enough how blessed and grateful I am that I have this opportunity to teach students who live such a different life than I do. I pray that each person here will have a great experience and learn more about themselves and about God. 

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** Sorry for the late post! It has been a challenge finding reliable wifi, and I have been quite busy but it should be good from now on!

Week 1

My first week of student teaching has been completed!

Mrs. Wiora's 5th grade classroom

Monday was my second full day at school. The schedule is as follows: Morning work and breakfast, Reading RTI, Social Studies and Science, Special, Lunch, Math, Computer work. Each day we have a different special, and today was library. We do this for the most part every day unless there is a special event.

Wednesday was the school Spelling Bee. All of the third through fifth graders met in the gym to watch their fellow classmates spell. The top ten went on to the district Spelling Bee. The district is made up of two schools, Hoover and Schrum (the middle school). It was cool to see some of the third graders spelling the same words as the fifth graders and even some advancing to the finals.

Three times a week we have math RTI. This week we did not have it at all because one of the teachers was sick. This is where the students are split up into different groups and switch classrooms. My cooperating teacher says it is a lot of work, and she is not sure yet as to the effectiveness of the program. It is relatively new and they are still trying it out.

On Thursday, we had a math specialist come in and talk to all the fifth graders for an hour and half. She talked about teaching the concepts rather than just teaching the skill. I thought it was interesting that they hired substitutes to come in and teach during the day while we were in the meeting.

On Friday, the morning was pretty relaxed so instead of helping out the students while Mrs. Wiora taught, I organized the class library. It was in need of some help and it is amazing to me how many books she has. She has been teaching for five years and has a lot of good and grade appropriate books. I hope that someday I can have a library in my classroom that encourages reading as much as hers does.

Newly organized Library 

I also learned this week that it is critically important to be flexible. I have always thought this throughout my observing and novice teaching hours, but this week has proved it to be true. Mrs. Wiora had to take in groups of students into her room and instruct them on their work packets when other teachers went home sick. She had to go pick up some other classes during her lunch break. And she had to fix the copy machine twice for some of the other teachers. On Thursday after school, she was told that she would be getting a new student. Friday morning, we entered him into the system and got him all set up in the class.

Another thing I did this week was testing. We are doing AimsWeb testing. It is not difficult, but incredibly hard to fit into the schedule. I am glad that I was there to help her with everything that had to be done this week. There are some tests that can be given to the whole class, but some that need to be administered individually and take a bit of time.

Mrs. Wiora has a incentive program called Homeworkopoply. She says that it is the best incentive she can think of and since she has started it the students have started handing in their work. The idea of the game is that if they turn in their homework at the end of each week, they get a turn. The board has a velcro spot for their names and they store it there all week. They land on a space and Mrs. Wiora asks them a question and gives an appropriate prize or snack.

Homeworkopoly Board

I really appreciate her good attitude towards it all. I hope that when I am a teacher, I will be able to be as patient with students and coworkers as Mrs. Wiora is. I am also appreciative of this placement. I believe that God has lead me to this school and helped me understand what my real calling is. Mrs. Wiora said that this is a very hard school to teach in, but if I can do it then I can teach pretty much anywhere. I love the challenge and I hope that I will be able to be a good teacher to these kids.

I am thankful that I get to go to this class for two weeks before I go to Kenya. This way I get to know the students and they understand who I am and what I am going to be doing. They really are good kids and I am excited to get to work with them. It was a good week!

Here We Go!

The time is here! I will be student teaching in my final semester at Trinity Christian College. I will be doing two placements, the first at Mulandi Primary in Kenya and the second at Hoover Elementary in Calumet City, IL.

This week was full of meetings, portfolio's, and meeting my second placement teacher! I will be doing two weeks at Hoover Elementary before departing for Kenya on January 24th. I am excited as well as a bit nervous for this endeavor, however I am so blessed that this opportunity came up and that it all has worked out.

This week I went to Hoover Elementary on Thursday to meet with the principal, Dr. Mays. She showed me around and introduced me to my cooperating teacher, Mrs. Wiora. She had absolutely no idea that I was coming or that she would be having a student teacher at all! She teaches a fifth grade class of twenty two students.

This is Hoover Elementary School. My classroom is on the second floor, first window to the right of the stop sign. 

On Friday, I went into the classroom and observed/helped out all day. This was actually a lot of fun! I graded some tests and co-taught a little when she was teaching math. I walked around and helped some students with their protractors. She told me a lot about the students and which ones may need extra help and some of their backgrounds. I think that it will definitely be a challenge to teach these students, but they are a loving and a good class. I am thankful that I have been placed with a teacher who is young, but a very good teacher and very willing to help me out!

Since I have only been to school once so far, this will be a brief blog and just an overview of what is coming up. I hope to learn a lot from Mrs. Wiora as well as from my students and other specialists in my school. I am so grateful that everything has worked out so well this far and am looking forward to continuing to grow in my faith and my education at Trinity!