Connect and Reflect 9/9

Dear Passionate Teachers,

These last two weeks I have begun my student teaching journey! So far it is amazing and I love every, stressful minute of it. I love being apart of USF/HCPS Urban Teacher Residency Partnership Program! I realized a lot more goes on behind the scenes, about teaching, then I previously assumed. I thought every teacher has their own one way street teaching with classroom management and the curriculum. These past weeks I have learned from my readings and experience in the classroom, that what I assumed is 100% wrong.

My readings and professors have taught me that research is key in education. I do not know why but this has never crossed my mind before. I always thought that research was only used for science, not teaching. But boy am I so happy that we have so much research in the education field! I feel as if without research teachings would be boring and very repetitive. In the book, Classrooms That Work, they talk about doing different studies to find out how effective teachers are so effective and why their methods work compared to other teachers. Reading chapter 1 from this book made me realize that all of the components of an effective teacher really makes a difference. I connected this with my internship by observing different teachers in different grade levels to see what their difference in teaching styles. From my ESOl I readings, I have learned that every student has their own culture and it is my duty to look into their background to find the best teaching strategies for them to succeed in my classroom. After I finished the reading I went on Google to research the backgrounds of my students. It was really beneficial that I did my research because the next night was open house and there was an arab women who is one of my students mother. I knew when I met her not to shake her hand unless she put out her hand first for me to shake. I knew not to shake her hand because my research shared with me that Arab women have a choice of their own if they do want to shake hand or not. Also, they shake with only their fingers. I decided not to put my hand out for a polite shake because I did not want to make her feel uncomfortable. Now when I am working with my diverse students, I am more cautious of their background and what norms they have. Researching has helped me everyday in the classroom and I am so excited to learn more! To be the most effective teacher that teacher must be full of passion for teaching because I learned there is a lot of research to do and teacher must be passionate or they will not do it. My PRT has taught me that every teacher has their own teaching philosophy. I know what mine is exactly, but I do know I want it to include that latest, successful research for effective teachers.

Sincerely,
Miss Intern