Live it!

Throughout my field experience, I have had many opportunities to live out my faith.  I really like how "Engaging God's World" says that scripture invites us to find creative ways of applying its principals in the contemporary world.  I think that is great to think about; that we cannot just read the Bible but we need to apply it to our real lives.  Even if we cannot speak directly about our faith to our students in public schools, we can certainly find creative ways to show it. This is what I am looking forward to most about being a teacher; being able to share Christ's love through my actions. 

 So far this year I have had some great discussions with my cooperating teacher.  We have a lot of time to talk while the students are in gym class, lunch, or recess, so she asks about my life and what I do on the weekends.  She was surprised to hear that I didn't party or drink.  I think that even little things like that show people that you are different and it can lead them to ask questions about your faith.  Also, I am currently in a general education classroom, but I am majoring in special education as well and I would love to work special education classroom.  I told my teacher this, and she said that she thinks I will probably change my mind and that she could never work with students with special needs.  In response I said that I loved working with kids with special needs and I won't change my mind.  She said she admires me for that, and I think that is definitely a Biblical principle that we can live out; loving and caring for each student the same.

Finally, I have been able to live out my faith in front of the students and be a good example of honesty, respect, and reliability. I always come every Friday when they expect me, and I think it is important to be able to be counted on.  I have had a few conversations with some students about their lives, and I think it is great to listen and show that you truly care. In all, I love being able to live out what the Bible teaches!

Positive Learning in my Field Experience

For the most part, I have enjoyed my teacher aiding experiences so far.  I have learned a lot and feel that I will take a lot of my teacher's strategies and techniques with me. 

First of all, my cooperating teacher can be very strict. At first I thought that she was rather mean to her students for being so harsh.  However, I soon realized that the students were rambunctious and that they needed this to stay under control.  I feel my cooperating teacher does a great job of gaining their respect.  They like her and respect her despite the fact that she can be tough.  In the future, I too want to gain the respect of my students and have them disciplined as well.  I have learned that this isn't easy, but it is important for teachers to realize that not every student is going to love you.  Our job as teachers is to equip them with what they need to know in the future and support and encourage them. If a particular student doesn't like my cooperating teacher, she doesn't get bent out of shape.

Also, my cooperating teacher understands that the students need to move around.  If they have been sitting still for a while, she announces that the whole class can have a bathroom/water break.  She also has a table on the side of the room with a puzzle on it.  When students are finished working on a paper or project, they can go to that table and work with other students.  I think I would like to do this in my future classrooms.  Puzzles are great for kids to be able to work together with other students.  I love that she understands that it is hard to sit for long periods of time!

Finally, my cooperating teacher loves to read.  She encourages the students to read quietly when they are finished with their work, and they do a lot of book reports.  She has a large classroom library, and she has a shelf in the back with all new books that she bought. One student a week gets to choose a free book from the back to keep. She has read every book in her classroom, and she says that she always reads during quiet reading time with them to set a good example.  I love that she encourages the students to read and makes it fun, and I would like to do this as a teacher as well!

Circle Urban Ministries Day Two

I enjoyed going to Circle Urban Ministries a second time!  I am glad that I went more than once because I feel like relationships are beginning to form.  I remembered a lot of their names, and it was nice to talk to them again. This time I had no fears going into it; I was only excited! I looked forward to it all week actually.

This time we made name acronyms where we all had to write an adjective for each letter of our name to describe us.  I learned a lot about the students this way! Some of the girls I was sitting by were having a lot of discussions about what to write, and what they couldn't write because it didn't fit them.  Some were shy, some were very outgoing, some were athletic and some hated sports! It was a good "get-to-know-you" activity. 

Later after some more team-building games, we split up into 7th and 8th graders again to work on their projects.  This week I went with the 7th graders. I am glad that I got to go with the 8th graders one week and the 7th graders another to get to know even more students! They are all so welcoming and willing to talk and work with us.  They were working on writing a research paper about the future career of their choice.  The girl I worked with really wanted to be a singer/dancer/actor.  She was very passionate about it, and it was so great to see. I loved talking with her and answering her questions about high school.  I learned that students are never to young to start talking about their passions and dreams.  

I am very thankful for this opportunity to go to Circle Urban.  I probably never would have gone on my own; and I am loved the experience!

Children's Urban Ministries Day One

 I had a great time at Circle Urban!  I have never been there before, and it was a lot of fun. I had a couple of feelings before going there.  At first I wasn't too excited to go because I head that Austin was a dangerous neighborhood and I didn't really feel like trekking through that part of town. However, we were very safe and it was such a nice, big place that I soon learned that that was an irrational fear.  Also, once we got there I was just a tad bit nervous at first because the kids seemed to have a lot of energy!  I wondered how we would get anything done if they had to be shushed the whole time.  However, it turned out that their energy was a really good thing.  We had a great time getting to know each other, and they were excited to have us there; as was I excited to be there.  

I loved getting to hear about their lives and what they were working on.  I worked with some of the 8th graders as they made collages about what they were passionate about, which lead into thinking about what they wanted to be when they were older.  They had a wide variety of professions such as fashion designer, oceanologist, professional sports player, and so on.  I worked with a second grade girl, who was there with her older sister.  She gave me a hug at the end and I felt sad to leave.  I asked her older sister if she had a good time and she said, "Yes I did! We were all nervous at first for you guys to come because we thought you'd be uptight, but you were very relaxed and cool!" I learned that everyone has initial fears about doing something new.  It is important to go outside of our comfort zones and do things we wouldn't normally do because it may turn out to be a great experience.  I am very excited to go back next week!