Student Teaching Experience Reflection
Student Teaching Reflection
Student teaching this semester at Rocky Mountain High School was an extremely rewarding experience. Over the course of the semester I have grown as a student, as a teacher, and most importantly, as an individual. As a teacher, I am a firm believer that we never stop learning. In all aspects of life, there is always something new to discover. Student teaching has made that even more evident.
I first came into student teaching with mixed feelings. For starters, I was extremely anxious to be done with my college career so that I could move into the working world. I have been at Colorado State University for five years, so I was ready for a new beginning. When I got to Rocky Mountain High School, I got a huge dose of what life would be like after graduation, and I really did enjoy it. It took a while to get settled into the normal routine. Not only do you have to learn how to adapt to students, you also have to get comfortable with the staff and busy schedule. Student teaching is a little tricky because you’re not quite a teacher and you’re not quite a student. It is hard to find where you fit in during staff meetings, how you can add to the conversation in the office, and how to act mature and responsible but still give space for your personality to come out as well. After about a month, I finally started to feel comfortable as a teacher, as a colleague, and as student.
I learned so much over the course of the semester that it is difficult to thoroughly explain it all in a brief reflection essay. Apart from the big things like how to grade, classroom management, the line between friend and teacher, and more, I think the most important lesson I learned is that teaching is not an easy job; this being said, it is a very rewarding job. I spent hours on hours grading essays, week nights planning papers, and Sunday afternoon’s emailing parents and students regarding course requirements and so forth. I spent lunchtime helping students with make-up work or staying after class to finish making copies or getting the grade book caught up. I mention all of this not to complain but rather to say that hard work brings rewards. I learned so much from my students regarding how busy their lives are, what some of them have faced at such a young age, how they react to certain situations. With all of this, I would like to think that I made some sort of a difference in the lives of my students during my short time at Rocky; I know that they made a huge difference in mine.
In regards to personal and professional goals, I have made the decision to postpone teaching full time. While I would like to teach eventually, and I really enjoyed my time at Rocky, student teaching gave me a chance to explore an even bigger passion of mine. That passion is worked with under-privileged students. That being said, I have decided to go into Non-Profit management in order to be able to merge Non-profit organizations with education. With this, I hope to use my experiences from teaching and education to make an impact on students who come from lower-level income, minority groups, and more. Had I not student taught this semester, I don’t think that I would’ve made this realization.
Overall, I could not be happier with my experiences at Rocky Mountain High School. I learned so much in the short semester that I was here and I look forward to what the future holds for me in Non-Profit and Education.
Student teaching this semester at Rocky Mountain High School was an extremely rewarding experience. Over the course of the semester I have grown as a student, as a teacher, and most importantly, as an individual. As a teacher, I am a firm believer that we never stop learning. In all aspects of life, there is always something new to discover. Student teaching has made that even more evident.
I first came into student teaching with mixed feelings. For starters, I was extremely anxious to be done with my college career so that I could move into the working world. I have been at Colorado State University for five years, so I was ready for a new beginning. When I got to Rocky Mountain High School, I got a huge dose of what life would be like after graduation, and I really did enjoy it. It took a while to get settled into the normal routine. Not only do you have to learn how to adapt to students, you also have to get comfortable with the staff and busy schedule. Student teaching is a little tricky because you’re not quite a teacher and you’re not quite a student. It is hard to find where you fit in during staff meetings, how you can add to the conversation in the office, and how to act mature and responsible but still give space for your personality to come out as well. After about a month, I finally started to feel comfortable as a teacher, as a colleague, and as student.
I learned so much over the course of the semester that it is difficult to thoroughly explain it all in a brief reflection essay. Apart from the big things like how to grade, classroom management, the line between friend and teacher, and more, I think the most important lesson I learned is that teaching is not an easy job; this being said, it is a very rewarding job. I spent hours on hours grading essays, week nights planning papers, and Sunday afternoon’s emailing parents and students regarding course requirements and so forth. I spent lunchtime helping students with make-up work or staying after class to finish making copies or getting the grade book caught up. I mention all of this not to complain but rather to say that hard work brings rewards. I learned so much from my students regarding how busy their lives are, what some of them have faced at such a young age, how they react to certain situations. With all of this, I would like to think that I made some sort of a difference in the lives of my students during my short time at Rocky; I know that they made a huge difference in mine.
In regards to personal and professional goals, I have made the decision to postpone teaching full time. While I would like to teach eventually, and I really enjoyed my time at Rocky, student teaching gave me a chance to explore an even bigger passion of mine. That passion is worked with under-privileged students. That being said, I have decided to go into Non-Profit management in order to be able to merge Non-profit organizations with education. With this, I hope to use my experiences from teaching and education to make an impact on students who come from lower-level income, minority groups, and more. Had I not student taught this semester, I don’t think that I would’ve made this realization.
Overall, I could not be happier with my experiences at Rocky Mountain High School. I learned so much in the short semester that I was here and I look forward to what the future holds for me in Non-Profit and Education.