Week 3

Now that I am halfway through my internship, and halfway through my project, I already find that I've learned a lot from the experience. My original hope for my project was to deliver an entire lesson myself, complete with assignments and classwork. I have found this to be both easier and harder than I had anticipated. Keeping the attention of the class was even more difficult than I thought it would be, but when I finally got them enthralled in the lesson, that part became much easier. I thought I would be able to be independent with what I wanted to teach, and what work I could assign about the material. Unfortunately, my hands were tied with the curriculum more than I had guessed, and I was restricted in my lesson plan and the work I assigned. Still, there was room for me to think up new ways to use the class work, and aside from the subject, I was still completely free to teach the lesson the way I wanted. I learned that teaching can sometimes be more restricting than it seems, and that there is no shortage of obstacles to overcome, whether they be from the material itself or the students. But when you achieve the purpose of the lesson and watch the students take hold of the information you've given them, it will make the whole thing worthwhile.

My life at HTHMA has prepared me for the work at my internship primarily in our school's project-based approach to learning. It encouraged me to think critically and consider how my students were going to react to the work I assigned them and how to make it more intriguing to them. For a lesson on reading comprehension, I read them a short story and asked them to retell it in the form of a comic strip. The skills I've attained at HTHMA have gone to great use in my work at Allen Elementary.

Week 2

Because of special circumstances of working in the Chula Vista school district, this is technically my first week. Despite the scheduling issues, my first week on the job was nonetheless a valued experience.

My roll at my internship, at present, is something of a teacher's assistant for Kate Keith, one of the first grade teachers at Allen Elementary School. I work with her in class, aid in preparing lessons, work one-on-one with children who are struggling or simply need a little practice, and help to keep the class in order. I hope that in the next several weeks, my roll will evolve to be more of a second teacher in the classroom. I've talked to Mrs. Keith about preparing my own lessons and classwork for the students in the coming weeks.

I see myself growing and changing as a student from my experience on the other end of the educational system. I realize how much work, dedication, focus, and insanity it takes for one person to successfully and responsibly run a classroom full of students. I see the importance of education beyond the typical day-to-day classwork.