Reflection about the Hike

I realize this blog is...a bit late, but hey, the day we went hiking was my birthday...of course I was going to forget = ]
I have to say that I absolutely LOVED this class. I enjoyed going outside and exploring. I am a very athletic, outdoorsy gal and being around nature makes me happy, espically when you are walking along side of the mighty niagara river!! who wouldn't love it?!
My favorite part about this activity is a toss up between the rock throw, and the muffins. The rock throw was a great way to relieve stress (I wish I had one right about now....) and yet, the muffins were delicious!! I thought it was amazing that shelley trusted everyone enough to allow them into her home as guests, you don't see professors in a university doing that too often. I have learned that shelley is a pretty unique teacher; which i love because that is what I inspire to be. I dont want to be the teacher that everyone dreads going to every day.(its already against me that I will be teaching math...everyone hates math) I want to make learning fun and original and if that means inviting my students over for some muffins and OJ, so be it!
But on an honest note, this was my favorite class of the semester, and not just because it was my birthday. I got to learn a lot about classmates that I otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity to know. Kalani and I have been in the same EDU class every semester, and I had no idea how much we had in common. I got close to jenny as well, she is so sweet. I think it is very important to think not only about grades, but about knowledge and to not get those two confused with one another.

learn and serve. Last Visit

6hours.

Last Wednesday, I am sad to say, was my last day at gaskill. It was their last day before thanksgiving, and NU didn't have class, so I decided to spend the entire day there from 8am to 2pm to get my final six hours completed.

During this day, every class worked on vocabulary folders. Myself and Mrs. Roesser had to make all the folders for the students that were absent and finish the ones that others could not complete. Overall, lets just say by the end of the day my fingertips lacked their fingerprints from all the tape usage. = ]

Anyway, today I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Roesser's exceptional students which are her 7th period students, whom I have never been able to meet. She filled me in with the children who had their own IEP's and I learned that many of them had their own aid as well. This reminded me of Chapter 3 in our text books and how early intervention is key to helping a child with a disability over come many obstacles throughtout his/her life.

I personally believe that IEP's can be very helpful to students who will use them to their advantage. The government has come a long way in how well they manage student's individual needs.

On a different note, throughout the day I was able to help students one-on-one with any questions or problems they might have had while doing this project. Mrs. Roesser's honors class had already completed most of their folders and had to take a test. A lot of them were not too excited about the equations test for NYS, which is what Mrs. Roesser had had them take. This was a practice exam for the end of the year test that they all must take. Mrs. Roesser has a neat set-up in her classroom where she provides "hints" on posters placed throughout her room. This is to assist the kids in learning how to rely on other forms of information and help than just her or I or any other assistant in the room. I find this method unique and helpful because Mrs. Roesser will not always be the one to give them the answer they desire to a certain question, however, if the students learn to ask each other, or look around at the "hints" provided, they may find what they are looking for.

At the end of the day I was sad to see my experience at Gaskill come to an end, out of all the placements I have had thus far, this one was the most rewarding. I had a great cooperative teacher and great students that accepted me from day one. I learned a lot about teaching and a lot about NYS expectations of both students and teachers. As I handed in my ID to the main office the secretary asked me if I would like to come back for another semester and with out hesitation I replied "absolutely."