Instead of writing in a journal about your field experiences observations and experiences, you will be required to post your reflections here, in this blog. For this week, ending Friday, Oct. 8, tell us about your first week at Simle Middle School. Remember, you are to complete a 3-hour placement this week. In 100 words, or so, tell us what you experienced. By posting to this blog, I will have evidence that you were there and I can grade you for the week.
Also, remember to have your cooperating teacher, or the tutor in charge, sign your timesheet that was in the handbook I gave you. This is required as documentation of hours completed.
My practicum at Simle Middle School was very busy and an exciting experience. I promptly reported for duty on time and represented myself in a professional manner. Upon meeting Mrs. H and Mr. I, I was warmly welcomed. I was given information about the block period system that Simle uses. I was also taken on an extensive tour of the facility and was introduced to many staff members in the support services department. I began as a tutor in the second period study hall and then transitioned into the Title VII classroom to assist students there. After that placement, I had the opportunity to take part in the lunch hour tutoring program. My day concluded at noon hour. It was a productive and appreciated learning experience for me and the students.
ReplyDeleteI had the opportunity to observe at Simile Middle School. So far I love it. The staff there is very helpful and down to earth. When I arrived at 9:00 a.m. I was given a tour and met many of the staff that we will be working with. At about 10:00 I was taken into the tutoring room to working with the 8th grade students. I was a little fearful and nervous at first but once I got in to helping the students it was fun. I look forward to the next weeks to come. I hope to learn a lot from this experience.
ReplyDeleteThursday October 07, 2010 - This was Day 2 of my practicum experience. I arrived bright eyed and ready to be put to work. I had the opportunity of being placed in the Title VII tutoring room for the morning. I was paired with a young lady to work with and we relocated to the library because there was more table space to work with. We also needed access to a computer so that she could complete a particular assignment. She had missed several days of school and was quite a bit behind. Together, we diligently worked to get her up to speed. We worked well together and she was receptive to my direction. I hope she hangs in there and keeps up the good work despite her personal situation (which greatly affects her attendance). All in all, it was a great learning day!
ReplyDeleteFriday, October 8th
ReplyDeleteToday I went to Simile Middle School. I got to meet with Amber, Nick and Mrs. Maher downstairs in the Cafeteria. During the day they have tutoring in the cafeteria for the teachers if they want to send their students to get help on homework or late work. I was a little scared at first if I would know the material that they were studying. Most of the students were just working on late work in their English Class. They were doing questions from the book Anthem by Ayn Rand. I did get to help a student write an outline from a paper she had already wrote. From there I got to go to Mrs. Maher ‘s study hall. I worked with a 8th grader boy , one on one with Math. Then later a teacher brought another boy in to work on Math for a one on one. Both of the boys did a good job and were very polite. I was scared I might not of known how to work on the problems , but I thought I did a good job explaining the problems. After study I got to go to lunch room tutoring for 15 minutes. In the classroom it was half of the students I had seen from the morning tutoring. On a social aspect I noticed a couple of girls in the morning tutoring who were very talkative. One of the girls was asking one of the tutors a question and when he wasn’t looking she was making faces at him. In study hall and lunch room tutoring I saw two girls who had major attitude. One girls was mad because she had got her phone taken away from her and the other girl was just rude for no reason. Most of the boys I saw were all happy and doing there own thing in class. There was one girl who I might be concerned with because she comes to lunch room tutoring and she is not apart of the list. She didn’t bring up her lunch and she was just sitting there drawing not speaking to anyone. From what I understood she just comes there on a regular basis during lunch. She might not have any friends? Overall, this week was a good experience!
Way to go, ladies! Sounds like you're off to a great start. This is going to be a phenomenal learning experince for you all. There's nothing more fulfilling to actually get into a school and put your skills to use!
ReplyDeleteMy first field experience took place on Wednesday, October 6th at Simle Middle School. I met with Amber H. briefly and we went straight to lunch tutoring. The 7th graders were the first group in and I got put right to work. There were approximately 10 students in the group. They ate lunch quickly and started their homework. I went around the room and helped the students with their work. Most of them seemed to be working on social studies and math. This group stayed in the tutoring session for a half hour. The students were a quiet group. Then the 8th graders came in. This was a huge group of about 22 students, Amber had to split the group up and some of the students went to another classroom. I stayed in the original classroom, which was a group of 12. This group was different in that they were laughing and needed to be reminded to start their work. There was one student that really challenged the teacher. He seemed quit disruptive and needed to be refocused repeatedly. There were only 2 girls in this group. They kept to themselves. Most of these students were working on the same thing, which was a report on the movie The Outsiders. I somewhat remembered this movie but not enough as I would have liked to. One student asked me for help and I had to read through his whole paper to kind of gage how I could assist him. I felt a little stumped. This session also lasted for a half hour. When it was over I joined Mrs. Maher in her study hall.
ReplyDeleteHer study hall was a group of 16 students. The students took out any homework that they needed to work on. A few students were caughtup and didn't have anything to work on, these students were allowed to go to the library and get a book. Usually during this study hall she allows some of them to go to the library and get on the computer but there was a class already in there so some couldn't go. There were a few students upset but she changed their mood by telling them they had the first option next time. There was one girl that needed help finifhing her math test and I helped her. I have to admit I was a bit nervous because I wasn't sure if id even understand it right away. Mrs, Maher gave me a quick crash course that helped. I was able to look like a pro and help the student through it. The day seemed to fly by. I went to meet with Amber after the study hall and she apologized for not being able to give me a tour and talk with me more. it was one of the busier days that I was able to be there for and I got thrown right in the mix of things, which didn't bother me because I would rather be busy then have nothing to do. I enjoyed my day there and am looking forward to next Wednesday.
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