The Wonderful Whirlwind Begins

The past few weeks in my clinical placement has been an absolute whirlwind, but the best kind there could possibly be.  The first few days of school are a wonderful, crazy, exciting, chaotic mess! I am so thankful I got to be there right in the thick of it all to really experience what it is like before I am given twenty two of my own little bodies to care for on the first day of school. The students have no idea where to go, who to ask for help, where to put their things, what their lunch number is, how to find their supplies, or how they are getting home.  However, I experienced my CE fully embrace the craziness and calm the chaos with confidence.  I was amazed at how she handled various situations and questions.  She truly was an example of the professional teaching standard, "Teachers demonstrate leadership."  I watched her fully hold her classroom together singlehandedly the entire first day.  As soon as she put the last student on the bus that day, she turned around and looked at me with wide eyes "We survived." she said with a relief. "This will be the toughest one, and we made it!"

The most encouraging thing I have seen throughout my outside research this semester was the image below...

This image quickly reminded me that the students who are sitting in my classroom are still kindergarteners.  It is my job to teach them how to be first graders.  They have never been in first grade before, so how can I possibly expect them to know how to do everything the first graders at the end of the year can do?  This is their first time doing this, and patience is key.  I will always give them my best, because I believe that in each students' own way, he or she is giving me his or her best. 

The group I have in my Clinical Educator's first grade class for the year is such a wonderful group to learn from! We have been blessed with three EC students, one DD student, two hearing impaired students, three speech impaired students, and three students who read three to four levels above the majority of the other students.  Differentiation is key! Especially in a group like this.  It is the only way that we will be able to effectively facilitate learning for every student in our classroom.  I have really been amazed at how my clinical educator is able to meet the needs of each student in such a way that seems to be nearly natural. I have found that refocusing a student or helping a struggling student without disrupting the entire class is quite a challenge.  However, my CE does so with such grace that you scarcely realize she has stopped to give one on one attention to a student.  She is able to point at something on a paper, wave a hand, or make a face, and the students respond so well to what she has prompted them to do. I believe that seeing how she is so great at meeting the needs of every student definitely have been the most beneficial learning moments so far.

I definitely have found some role models and some strong encouragers in my grade-level at my clinical placement.  I have spend hours after school talking about anything from managing school work along with a family, to how hard it is to go from having sixteen students to twenty-two and still effectively meet each student's needs.  I have spent this time not only with my clinical educator but also with the other teachers in my grade and my principal.  I have found that having an encouraging community in the school is one of the most precious gifts a teacher could ever receive.  The ladies in my school encourage one another, constantly collaborate, offer up resources, and share materials as if they were family. I already have a ton of wonderful resources in my back pocket they have shared with me, and have also received many fun things such as books and puppets for my future classroom!  I hope to find a community much like theirs in the school where I will be teaching.