The Start Of A Life Long Journey!

Someone once told me that, "The best part about being a teacher is knowing that the students will move on after a year. The worst part about being a teacher is knowing that the students will move on after a year." The Early Childhood Education program here at the University of Georgia aims to prepare us as future teachers for every aspect of the job as a K-5 teacher. There is no way to prepare for leaving a group of individuals that you have become attached to over the course of the a semester or a year.

This however, is a necessary evil for the career field that we have decided to enter. It is our immense responsibility as educators to prepare our students for life at the next level, whether that is the next grade level, the next school level, or for "life in the real world". We must equip our young people with the tools necessary for "success" in every definition of the word. This task can not be measured by a test taken at the end of a quarter or at the end of the year, but instead could only be measured with the total growth of each student, academically and socially, from the begining of the year until the end.

As I reflect on not only this last semester, but the last two years in the Early Childhood Education program, I find it imperative that I have an equal impact on the students in my actual classroom that they will have on me. We all remember those teachers who have the greatest impact on our lives, no matter what age we were or what grade we were in. My goal as a teacher is to have an even bigger impact on the lives of the children I teach in my classroom as the students have had on me these past few semesters.

It is great to walk through any school and to genuially be loved by the students. To know that the students want to be in your classroom when they reach your grade level is an amazing feeling. This shows that a teacher is having an effect on not only their students, but on the school as a whole. As I enter into the work force and start my life long journey. I take with me these three quotes:

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." William Arthur Ward.

“None of us alone can save the nation or the world. But each of us can make a positive difference if we commit ourselves to do so." Cornel West

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school." Albert Einstein

Almost Done!

This week has been a great one. I have slowly began to do less and less teaching in the classroom. I must admit that I miss it already. The students are all amazing in their own ways and I will miss them all individually for different reasons. This is a bitter-sweet part of being a teacher. Each year we have numerous students that we become close to and grow to love throughout the course of the year. It seems as though the time flies by and before we know it, they are moving on and we are only left with memories and the satisfaction that we had an unimaginable impact on their lives.

We received a new student at the end of last week in my absence. This week has been a journey in realizing how the students react around the student. This student in particular has a big personality and completely skipped pass the quiet, shy stage. This has caused an interrupting of the balance in the classroom. The classroom is like a community. Whether this is a civilized community of people or a community of animals in the wild, that is up for us as their teachers to decide.

Some may find it weird that I refer to the class as a community of animals in the wild, but are we not all mamals/animals. When you look at any classroom, you will see that they all have to figure how to coexist. This balance can be thrown off when a new student enters the classroom. Once the student is accepted by all of the studnets and not just some or most, the classroom has obtained it's new balance and the students will all grown and learn as a new community of young people. This is a lot to take in at the end of my time student teaching, but with two days left, it feels great to be almost done.

I'm So Excitired!

Tuesday was another great day in the classroom. The students are starting to notice that my time here is winding down. The last few days have been very tiring and the cold weather is definitely not helping. I have to remember to never live on the Third Floor when working in the future. Having to walk down those stairs to warm up my car and then walk back up those stairs just to go right back down in five minutes is not fun at all.

Today's posting is a short one. I am very excited to leave this afternoon in pursuit of San Antonion, Texas. I've always wanted to vistit the state of Texas and it only seems fitting that my brother, the little man that I grew up with from a little boy, is the reason I'm going. I feel blessed to be close to my brother and I am extremely proud of him. This weekend he graduates basic training and starts his career as an Airman in the United States Airforce. I'm ecited and tired both at the same time. I guess it's safe to say that I'm very Excitired!

You Gon' Learn Today!

This past weekend was an incredible weekend for me. I was one of the thousands who took the trip down to Jacksonville, FL for the 2011 Georgia vs. Florida football game. This was my third time making the trip and I must admit that this was the best time I have ever had on the trip. There is just something about spending time with people you love that makes great moments even better! The cherry on top of this wonderful weekend Sunday was the end score this year being 24-20 in favor of the Bulldogs!

I thought the chants would never end and I would lose my voice for weeks, but somewhere between Jacksonville and Athens I found my voice and I could not wait to tell all of the students about my trip. When starting my story, it was clear that all of the students already knew that Georgia won the game this past weekend. It felt great to have the students excited with me about the Dawgs pulling out a much needed win over our rival.

At the end of the weekend, I was able to see a comedy show came out in theatres three months ago. (I felt like the last person seeing the show.) I was about to start a lesson when the funniest part of the show came to my mind. I proceeded to get the classes attention focused on the front of the room. As I started the lesson, I simply said, "Alright, alright, allllriiiigghhhttt", and immediately a student responded by saying, "You gon' learn today." I burst into laughter and it then took another five minutes to start the lesson. 

Sometimes it makes a student feel good to know that a teacher likes the same things that they like. It also makes a teacher feel great knowing that the students can relate to something that they enjoy. This week I think I will go to school knowing that at the beginning of every lesson, the class will know that, "You gon' learn today!"