Week 4 Reflection

Working through with the different grade levels in language arts, I found that there were some students who struggled with the activities that I had planned for them. When noticing these kinds of struggles it was obvious that we couldn't continue with the lessons planned, therefore, we had to simplify the lesson. The advantage that we had was that we were working with so many different age levels that if something was too difficult with one group then we used the activity from the prior group with the students. We didn't want to simplify the activities too much because without at least a small bit of challenge the students are not actually learning anything. 

Throughout the three weeks of teaching and week of traveling in Belize, I realized that my passion is without a doubt teaching. Being told that I seemed as if I had my degree made me think about all the people who have asked me if I thought that I was making the right choice as far as my career, and how I always chose the right response. I learned that I can think quickly on my feet when it comes to making accommodations, that even though the children in Belize are different from American students, I am comfortable with working with any grade K-5. On the flight home, I got a phone call being invited back to work in the afterschool program at Ogden Elementary. I plan on taking full advantage of working with these children and going beyond what the other leaders do with the kids and actually planning out different activities on my own and ensuring that it is suitable for their ages and their learning level. 

This trip was the first time out of the country for me. Had I not gone on this trip, I may not have realized that I have so many teacher qualities that come naturally. Granted, with the Watson program we get tons of field experience to figure this out for ourselves, but to have teachers who believe that we are already a teacher makes me feel extremely confident in what I am choosing to do with my life. I tried not to let the culture shock get to me, but I think that I did just a bit. Once it started setting in that I was in another country, I got the hang of things and felt at home. Being back, I have realized that I am not as tense as I was before I left. Just that little bit of change from being on this trip has made me feel wonderful.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Week 1 Reflection

Week 3 Reflection