Giveaways in March

The Second Grade Super Kids blog is having their first ever "SUPER" giveaway. Go here to enter. Hurry this giveaway ends tomorrow (March 15).

Another great giveaway can be found on Lessons with Laughter. To enter go here: 

Student Teaching Assignment

I finally received my student teaching assignment! I'm very excited about getting to work in the 3rd grade at Jerry Junkins Elementary in Dallas. I've been trying to do as much research as I can on my new school. Here is what I found out:

Junkins is a school that emphasizes Science & Technology. The mission of Junkins is "to provide a diverse, safe, and supportive learning environment, in partnership with the community, ensuring all students gain academic and social learning in keeping with high standards and expectations." The school is named after Mr. Jerry Junkins, former graduate of SMU and advocate for education. He helped create the model for the Head Start Program in Dallas.

In searching for the school on Google, I found 

out that this years winner of the Annual Gardere  MLK Jr. Oratory Competition came from Jerry Junkins. You can watch the video here:

Embarking on My Teaching Journey

In actuality, my journey began during my time as a student at Charles Haskell Elementary in Edmond, OK. As a child, I had a desire to become a teacher. I would make notes in my head about how I could make teacher's lessons better or more appealing to my age group. I would think of cool ways to teach certain subjects and dream about the learning that would take place in my own classroom someday. Unfortunately, I neglected to write all these ideas down. Oh, the resource that would have been. Ideas about teaching from a child's perspective.

In high school, I set my dream of teaching aside and looked into becoming a veterinarian, or a web designer, or about a million other things that interested me. In college at The University of Oklahoma, I choose to pursue a degree in Letters which turned out to be entirely impractical. I do however have an extensive knowledge of History, Philosophy, & Literature. :)

I think the experience that had the most impact on my decision to become a teacher came from my time at the YMCA in Riverside, CA. I was there for a short time one summer as a Day Camp Counselor. As I look back on this experience, I see many missed opportunities for learning. I could have done this job so much better if I truly understood anything about teaching then, but I didn't. I may have not been the best teacher, but the kids I took care of taught me a lot. One student in particular, Michael*, showed me how much of an impact one person can have on another person's life. As his teacher, I was a role model. Someone who could teach him about the world, someone who cared for him and wanted the best for him. When I left Michael on my last day, he was crying. If you knew Michael at all you would know this is not a typical behavior for him. He was tough. It was then that I realized the impact that I could have as a teacher. Even if I just reached one child, teaching would be worthwhile.

Thus began my official journey to becoming a teacher as I enrolled at Southern Methodist University to receive a Masters of Education with Certification in May 2010. I have learned so much in 1 year from lectures, field experiences, readings, and my peers. Teaching has become a passion of mine. I can't wait to actually get into the classroom and start teaching my own class.

In this blog, I would like to compile all the things I am learning about teaching. I also would like this to be a place for reflection during my student teaching starting this school year.

*name has been changed