My expectation

Before I began my student teaching expectation at Talisay Development center together with
teacher Arlene G. Palencia Daycare teacher. First, I did not know what to expect. I was a little nervous,
but mostly excited to take such a major step towards my future profession., I want to embrace every
opportunity I am given in the classroom and throughout the school. I will use my skills of observation to
take in my surroundings and note the kinds of things I like and do not like in the class. My second goal is
to connect with the students. I want them to respect and listen to me, but I also want them to view me
as a person. In turn, I also want to take the time to get to know them individually. I think I can learn a
great deal about how children learn by getting to know what there situation in life is. I want to practice
and master the art of questioning. I do not want to tell my students what to think, I want to pose
questions that challenge them to think and construct meaning on their own. I will encourage them to
make connections through questions. Additionally, good questions can help students practice and
master using higher level cognitive skills like synthesizing pieces of information. I want to move away
from asking yes, no, and simple recall questions and more towards higher level questioning.

I want to learn different pedagogical techniques through my cooperating teachers as well as learn
more about the ways students learn and behave. On the last day of my placement, I want to be able to
say, “I am ready to do this for real. I am ready to have my own classroom and work with students on a
daily basis.” Through this experience, I want to gain confidence in my abilities to teach. I want to know
that I can give a lesson that enables students to master the material; if the students do not understand
the first time, I want to have the ability to rework my way of presenting the information so that the
students understand. I am fully committed to becoming the best possible teacher. I want to be one of
those teachers that students remember years and years later. My student teaching is the first step
towards becoming that kind of teacher, and I am going to do everything possible to get myself closer to
that goal.

With being honest about my mistakes and imperfections, I was able to also form stronger connections
with the students. This is another takeaway from the semester. I have always valued forming strong
relationships with my students in order to create the best learning environment for them, but I was able
to truly see the value of this throughout the semester. Being the first placement where I was able to be
with the students every day of the week, I was able to see the growth of my relationships with them
from day to day. I was honestly intimidated working with older, gifted students coming in, but I worked
hard to break down their walls and get to know them as individuals. I have loved getting to know each of
my students likes, dislike, strengths, and weaknesses. I believe that this has helped me better teach
them and has made my classroom a happier place to learn!
Finally, I have learned the importance of having an open mind. You can walk into any classroom and see
completely different environments, teaching styles, student personalities, curriculum, resources, etc. It
is so easy to have your own ways and your own approaches to teaching, disregarding anything else that
you encounter. I have learned that opening up to approaches and styles that I am not particularly used
to is beneficial to help me learn more ways that I can help my students and to also learn more about
what I like and dislike as a teacher. Rarely does anyone have a perfect student teaching placement. I am
fortunate to have enjoyed mine, but I have also learned that there is value in learning about what you
do not want to do as a teacher just as much as learn what you do want to do. It is so important to
continue being open minded so that you can leave room to grow into a more effective teacher!

I have really enjoyed my student teaching experience despite all of its hardships and challenges. I found
myself in very low points but also in very high points, but I can clearly see how it has all grown me as a
teacher, and I feel as though I can confidently walk into whatever classroom I will be teaching in next
year. I cannot believe that the time has come for my own classroom; I can hardly wait!

I have learned the value of making these connections from day one. My relationships with these kids
have been building each day, and it is amazing to see how far they’ve come. I have learned how
intentionally forming these relationships plays such an important role in the environment and
community of the classroom. Because I was able to form these connections, getting to know my
students on an individual level, I was able to see more success, more engagement, and more
collaboration in classroom. I have built mutual respect and rapport within my classroom, and I have seen
the benefit of these relationships in several ways. First, I had a student simply tell me how great of a
teacher I was and how they want me to stay. This was so incredible to hear, and I was so touched by this
comment. Also, I have seen students opening up to me and instinctively coming to me with their
comments and questions. I have loved watching this grow with my relationships formed. They truly
consider me their teacher and trust me and my abilities enough to come to me rather than my
cooperating teacher. I know that this is developed from my relationships with them and the openness
that I have tried to instill from the very beginning. For example, we were working on vocabulary words,
and each student would come to me with their questions. Whether that be, “Does this definition work?”
or “What do you think of my stick figure drawings?” I have loved getting to experience the benefits of
forming strong relationships with my students.

As a future teacher, I cannot wait to build these relationships with my own students. I realize the
importance of forming this open and loving community, and I intend to begin intentionally forming
these relationships and building respect and rapport in my classroom from day one. Although the end of
the semester is sad and sentimental, I am happy to see how far I’ve come as a teacher and the
development of my relationships with the students.