As I begin my student teaching, I feel as though I am on a roller
coaster of emotions. The feeling of excitement and relief of finally
getting into the classroom for the first time is, of course, one of the
strong emotions that I have. I often find myself asking if this is truly
happening and telling myself not to “mess up.” Most importantly I was terrified as to how the students were
going to take to me as I began to
become a part of their classroom. Despite having this scared feeling, I found that these young students
connected really well with me during the first week. However, some of them are
still warming up to my being in the classroom and that is ok with me. I want
them to feel like I am a part of the little family that my cooperating teacher
has created within the classroom.
Finally here is my question to you..
1. How did you connect with your students for the first time you
were in the class?
Connecting with your students is always different. Sometimes its giving a student a clean slate, where they succeed on new behaviors instead of old habits and expectations. Other times its just being helpful with a coat, sharpening a pencil, answering a question.... connecting with your students is extremely important. Having them want to pay attention, instead of talking with friends, glancing through a book, not participating .... is paramount.
ReplyDeleteOn my first day of student teaching, my cooperating teacher gave an introduction about me to the students. I told them my name as well as something that I like. They trust their own teacher so her bringing me into the classroom means that they know they can trust me too. Learning their names shows that I can to know them each individually. I try my best my help each student the best that I can. The "connection" between the students and I has really grown in the last three weeks. They ask me for help, if they can get a drink, or go to the bathroom. They look to me as another teacher in the room and I am glad to have this opportunity to influence them.
ReplyDeleteI feel having a connection with the students is very important because this whole experience is about them. Its for me to gain experience to be a teacher but they are helping me everyday. I am preparing lessons for them to hopefully leave them thinking about what I just taught. Without connection how can you run a classroom? This can be compared to dots on a paper. You have all these dots scattered around but in order to make a picture the dots have to be connected. It is the same thing each dot is the students and the teacher is drawing the line to connect the dots. The final picture is student success.
My connection with the students is being established gradually. It began with small steps, such as tying a shoe or fixing a zipper. Every morning I greet each of them at the door, wishing them a good morning. I try to connect favorites of my own similarly aged children to the topics that my class is covering, relating a familiar element in order to engage them. I find that more and more the students are seeking my input instead of simply going to my coordinating teacher. This connection will be essential to my success as a student teacher. If my students do not feel a connection, they will not be completely comfortable sharing or be as open to learning. With that connection comes a mutual respect, which if missing may present in behavioral issues as well.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed talking with everyone tonight about these blogs. Similar to this discussion question, we too are creating connections with each other that will hopefully draw us into the course work and create a community of learners. Connections with our students and between students is imperative. Often we stay within our comfort zone because it is safe there, familiar; however, we may have to step out of our comfort zone at times to reach each child. This takes great courage, yet it allows us to be vulnerable, be seen as vulnerable, and be an example for our students. Sometimes the greatest connection we can make is when our students realize we are a community of imperfect people, but together we are able to provide hope for each other and strength.
ReplyDeleteAs I began student teaching, I too, was mixed with emotions as to finding my place within the classroom community. I have bounced around a few times in these past few weeks due to my original cooperating teacher going on a leave of absence. Just when I started to make connections with students, I had to change classrooms and start the process over. I feel that having a connection with students is very important to the student teaching experience. The connection starts with small steps, as Mindy stated, such as greeting students at the door welcoming them with a smile, walking them to the next class, saying hi to previous students in the hallway, all create a connection. As I spend more and more time in the classroom the students are beginning to feel more comfortable and seek me for help/questions. I believe that the connection with students is an ongoing process that will grow with each student in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteYou are always going to feel anxious when walking into a classroom. Once you are in the classroom, meet the students and get comfortable with the schedule you will be fine. Connecting with the students is the best thing you can do in the classroom. Once they are connected to you, you will have their respect and attention. It can be hard at first as some students take awhile to warm up to other teachers but you'll get there! When I first walked into my classroom all the students were so curious to find out who I was and what I was going to be doing in their classroom. After two days I think every student knew my name and I could feel as if they were starting to trust me already. Mind you the classroom I am in is about 8-10 students so its fairly a small class so it was easier to get to know each student one by one. I do believe that having a strong connect with every student is important because once you have that connection learning becomes fun and easier for the students.
ReplyDelete