Student Panel

5 things that I learned today to prepare me for college:

• Stay Organized- So that you will know where everything is.

• Keep your syllabus- To be aware of deadlines.
• Prioritize- Stay on top of all your work.
• Manage your time- know what is most important.
• Always make time for yourself no matter what- if you don’t then you will overwhelm yourself.
• Make as many friends as you can- to network
  

  

North West Middle School Observation

The middle school Northwest Middle School setting is in an urban area, also high in poverty, which means that the students all come from different backgrounds. Today I observed Mrs.Jackson’s 6th grade reading class. She seemed like a good teacher. The students respected her and it was obvious that she respected the students as well. Today, the class was working on a pre-write over their personal beliefs. Mrs.Jackson started the class off with bellwork. In the bellwork, the students were reviewing the suffix -ness, and were asked to place the words dampness and fondness into the correct sentences that were given.

After the students did their bellwork, they worked on their pre-write to prepare them for their final essay, which they will write on Thursday. While the students worked on their pre-write, Mrs. Jackson pulled up “This I Believe” on her laptop so the students could see examples. The final project is to write an essay about personal beliefs and post it on edmodo. Overall, the class seemed like a safe place and every student seemed like they were comfortable.

At first, I thought Mrs.Jackson would be a teacher that the students did not respect and would not have control over her class because she is young and speaks in a quiet and calm way. As the class went on, I realized that as a teacher having a calm voice can be beneficial because it makes the students pay attention more. Also, I realized that she had more control over her class than a few older teachers that I have previously dealt with.

Although the room was packed because of it being the last week of school, it was obvious that it was a safe environment. I could tell that it was a safe environment because for it being the last week of school, the class was very quiet and seemed interested in the assignment which was really unusual to me because in the schools that I have been in, the last week of school is really hectic.

In conclusion, this was a great experience even though we did not get the opportunity to teach this year, but this observation showed me that students in urban area schools need more attention. After learning about the different psychological development theories, Abraham Maslow’s theory really goes in hand with this. Students in urban areas usually come from broken families as well as broken homes. Maslow’s theory of the “Hierarchy of Needs” explains that if a person’s basic needs are not met, then the person will not perform to the best of their ability because they will be distracted by what is lacking in their life, such as: food, water, sense of confidence, protection, and not knowing what they are capable of doing. People that come from neighborhoods and families that are poverty stricken often times lack many of these basic needs and/ or more. This is the reason why it is important for teachers specifically teachers, that are in schools that are in poverty stricken areas, to be aware of these theories and keep them in mind, when handling a situation. For an example, the student that may be misbehaving in class, may be going through things at home and temporarily escape the harsh reality by misbehaving in class. This is why building close relationships with your students is tremendously important so that you have a better chance about being informed about this.

Educational Psychology Reflection

Today we studied the different psychological developmental theories. My favorite theory is Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs”, in this theory Maslow talks about if the basic needs such as: water, sleep, food, feeling of being protected etc. are not met then the person will not perform to the best of their ability. For an example, if a student is hungry, he or she will not accomplish what is expected of them because their hunger will be a distraction. Another theory that i found interesting is Erik Erickson’s “8 Stages of Development”. In this theory, Erickson explains the psychological developments from infancy to late adulthood. I found it interesting because it explains why people in each age group react to certain things in a certain way. For an example, most older adults with common sense react to things in a more civil way, because they are more wiser than us younger people and they think before they act. Also Jean Piaget’s and Kohlberg’s theory all tie into Erickson’s. They all break down the psychological development stages from infancy  to older individuals. In conclusion, it is very important for all teachers and parents to be aware of these theories when handling situations.

Characteristics Of A Great Teacher

In order to be a great teacher, one must obtain certain characteristics. The first characteristic that a teacher must have is that a teacher must be personally involved with each student. Being personally involved with each student means that the teacher builds a personal relationship with each student and knows the needs of every student. Next, a great teacher is also caring. As a teacher it is important to be caring because students will feel that they can trust you and feel open with talking to the teacher about anything. Equally important a teacher must be patient. Teachers endure a lot of rough days, and you must be patient. Students will try their hardest to get to the teacher and if the teacher is impatient all the time, then it will make the student think that the teacher does not really care about him or her and will ruin the relationship between the teacher and student. Also, a teacher has to be understanding. Understanding goes in hand with having a personal relationship with each student. For an example, if the teacher is aware of a student’s home life then in most cases the teacher will understand why the student does certain things. Lastly, every great teacher must be open minded and always receptive to learning new things. No one can ever be too old to learn something new or can never have too high of credentials to learn something new. Students will teach you things as well. If the students see that teachers do not know it all, the students will be more willing to listen to that teacher because the student will realize that the teacher is human and like all other humans we all make mistakes. In conclusion, a great teacher has many characteristics that shapes them into the people that they are.

Personality Tests Reflection

In the first personality test, my score added up to be the color blue which gave the characteristics as follows: in search of self, value close relationships, desire quality time with loved ones, etc. I believe that the results to this assessment were completely accurate because a lot of the characteristics that were listed are very important to me and I truly value. With the second personality test, my personality was the direction South which meant that I am extremely caring. I do agree with that result to a certain extent. On the other hand, sometimes I may come off to others as direct and to the point and some people believe it is rude. I often times tell people how I feel, but at the same time if I know that I hurt them I apologize and admit that I was wrong. But majority of the time I do care about others emotions. I learned that I can be too emotional at times and as Teacher that could be a bad trait to have. If a teacher is too emotional than that would make the students feel as if the teacher would be easy to run over.  I need to learn how to balance being emotional and when not to be too emotional. In conclusion, these are great tests for anyone to take, so that they may learn more about themselves.