May Term Placement

For Practicum I've been placed in a 4th/5th grade Resource Room in an Intermediate School. This is a AAA classroom with 4 students, but not all on extended standards. There is diversity in disabilities, and an interesting mix: ED, Autsim, ID, and LD. The students also have a mixture of resource time, from most time in their GenEd class to only PE with GenEd. Staff wise, this class has a teacher and two paraprofessionals. I'm excited to observe and participate in this class. This is my second 5th grade experience, but my first in a concentrated resource room. I'm very excited to add experiences to begin to compare and contrast.

Roses and Thorns

May Term Roses and Thorns... Roses: 1. The kids. I loved the kiddos in my class. They cracked me up, they inspired me, one frustrated me and made me grow in patience and management skills. I really enjoyed the kids in my class. 2. School experience. I had the most diverse school experience yet when I consider staff and school. I met many teachers and professionals, many spending time with me answering questions or coaching. Also, I witnessed a challenging social dynamic between staff which was thought-provoking and enlightening. I gained a lot of knowledge that does not necessary fit into a lesson plan or IEP. 3. I enjoyed my classmates and made new friends. 4. Loads of experience. I taught a lot and got a lot of hands-on expience. Thorns: 1. The work load was rough! Managing observations, the school load, my CTs expectations and general life in such a concentrated time was exhausting. 2. Disappointing examples. Considering it was May and close to the end of school, my CT told me upon entering: "I'm done teaching." She really was. I'm not passing judgement I just was disappointed I didn't get to observe many lessons and daily routines. 3. Drama. Unfortunately there was a lot of drama in my school and it was distracting. 4. Traffic and parking. This sounds so silly and petty, but it as such a pain! Traffic congestion, the school infrastructure, and limited parking was a big challenge. When the parking lot flooded... I had to hike in the rain. That was lovely.

May Term

This May I have a May "mini-term" which is a practicum for Special Ed. The requirement of the class is to log 90+ hours in the classroom for observation, plus a few papers on teaching and observations. In this class, I write lesson plans, teach them, and am graded by my cooperating teacher (CT) as well as my professor. I will also begin the behavioral instruction unit, observing and recording behavior data to use in other classes this summer. This concentrated class will be a lot in a little bit of time, but I'm very excited!