Amie's Adventures in Education

The time is going to come: the time where you become frustrated with your students. My cooperating teacher, Ms. Norton is the teacher of a grade 1/2 split class at St. Michael Community School. One day during my field placement, she left my partner and me to help her grade two students with a math lesson in the staff room, while she helped her grade one students in the classroom. I thought it would be an easy task. But, to my surprise, it was actually quite difficult. There were two students who constantly needed my constant attention. I would help one student at a time and tell the other student that I will be there to help them shortly. There were two other students I was helping. One of these other students asked for help, I showed her what to do and then she was able to complete her work on her own. The other student was able to do his work with no problem. I became frustrated because when the other student was waiting for my help, she would not try at all, become off task and start drawing. I asked my friends for their advice on this and they said that I could have helped both the students who were struggling at the same time. I never thought about this when I was in the situation. I did not think about this because I like to help students one-on-one and also they were at different points in their assignment because one girl had not been at school the previous day. I now understand that at times my students will frustrate me, but I have to learn how to handle my students so that they feel comfortable and helped in the classroom.

Ms. Norton was my cooperating teacher at St. Michael Community School. She is the teacher of a grade 1/2 split class. She also has an assistant teacher, Ms. Morris who works in the classroom to give extra help to the students. I found Ms. Norton to be a very kind lady. But, the first time I met her she said that teaching did not pay a lot and to maybe think about a different career choice. I was not expecting to be told this and I was worried a bit. I did not think about the money I would be making when I joined the education program. I was thinking about how teaching young children would be an enjoyable career for myself. Many individuals talk about how they do not like their jobs, but I have always seen myself becoming a teacher because it is something that I would enjoy doing every day as a career. Teaching does not seem like work for me, it just seems like something fun to do that you get paid for doing! Besides that, Ms. Norton has a very distinct teaching method. It is different from anything that I have ever seen or experienced personally before. She shows her students videos from popular cartoon shows such as “Sesame Street,” that explains a concept to the student as well as showing a familiar cartoon to the students for them to be interested in the lesson. Every time she transitions in between subjects, she gives the students a “brain break.” A “brain break” encompasses Ms. Norton showing her class of students a dancing video for the class to watch and to dance to. Students at a young age can not focus for long, so it is important for them to be able to get up and move every once in a while. Ms. Norton always wants her students to behave properly. If she asks her students to line up to go to the library to pick out books and the students do so noisily, then she will ask her students to sit back down in their desks and to line up again in a more appropriate matter. She will point out a student if they are behaving properly (such as hands on the desk, feet flat on the floor and looking at the teacher) and ask her other students to model this specific behaviour. Ms. Norton always wants her students to “act their age” and behave appropriately. When showing how to understand a concept, Ms. Norton asks a student to complete an example on the whiteboard in front of the class. She wants her students to “listen to the details” instead of shouting out the answer right away. She wants her students to know that the details of the concepts are important instead of just shouting out the answer right away and being the first to answer the question. If a student is continually not behaving, Ms. Norton will send the student to the principal’s office. She gives her students usually two to three chances to correct their behaviour though before sending the individual to the office. Ms. Norton truly wants the best for her students and wants them to behave appropriately. Most importantly, she wants her students to focus so that they can learn!

I have never attended a Catholic school while growing up. I am a Christian but my mother and father never sent me to a Catholic school. They sent me to the school that was the closest to our neighbourhood because it was convenient for me to walk to school, as it only took ten minutes. I attended church growing up but not regularly. There would be periods where my family and I would attend church regularly, quit going and then go again after a break from church. This is not because we questioned our faith but because of problems within our family. I have a few Christian influences in my life, one which includes my youth group leader which I attended from grades eight to grades twelve. Sometimes I went to youth group regularly and sometimes I did not. Sometimes I did not go because I was afraid of making new friends or because I had to work. I made a close friend at church and we are still friends to this day. She is a very positive influence on me, but we do not talk to each other enough for the influence to have a daily effect on me. All of my other friends are not Christian, so I find myself doing things that are not “Christian-like” in order to fit in with society. One day at St. Michael Community School, “Father James,” the priest from “Our Lady of Peace” Church came to visit the school. He went around to different classrooms of varying age groups asking the students what they think the benefits of Catholic education is. Many of the students in the grade 2/3 said that it is important to pray, to learn about God, to thank Him and that God helps we humans to become better people. Some students talked more than others, while others were reluctant to put up their hand to give answers. Students in the Kindergarten Class had shorter responses that were quite humorous. The students said that “we should not throw rocks at people,” “we should not hit people,” and “we should make our bed before going to school.” All in all, the students were saying how God helps individuals to become better people. The students in the school have “religion class” every once in a while. I have never experienced this class but it is a routine for the students. I hear my co-operating teacher, Ms. Norton throwing in Catholic references once in a while in her classroom. One time she asked the students: “Why did God give us brains? For other people to use it or for us as individuals to use it ourselves?” I do not hear many Catholic references, but I am sure if I was able to be at the school for longer portions of the day, then I would. It was very interesting to see what a Catholic School was like because I had never attended one growing up!

When I was first assigned to St. Michael Community School, I did not understand what a “community” school was. I attended Sunningdale Elementary School in Moose Jaw when I was growing up. It was your “typical” elementary school and it was way different than St. Michael Community School. I am glad I was placed at St. Michael School because it offered me insight into the difference of a community school. I asked the office manager, Marcia Appleyard and the community school coordinator, Denise what made a community school different from other elementary schools. They were both more than happy to talk about it! Denise’s job is mainly to work with students and their families to be supportive of them. Many of the student’s guardians are out of work or have a very low paying job. Denise job encompasses doing many things such as taking children to appointments and driving them to/from school. She also keeps food in her office to give to the students and/or their families, winter jackets/boots, Halloween costumes for the children to dress up in, personal items (such as body wash and shampoo), and also toys to give to the children. Denise also does check-ins with the children every once in a while to make sure that the students are doing well. She also helps kids join sports programs and connects students to agencies such as an agency that is able to help a student deal with a death in the family. Denise also has assisted suicide training to help students and families in need. Marcia Appleyard, the office manager, really wishes to see that the students succeed as well. She wants to make sure that the students’ attendance is high. She has a belief that for students to do well in school that they have to be present at school. If a student does not show up to school, then Marcia will call a resource officer and send the individual to the students’ door who did not show up for the day. Most students do not show up simply because the students’ parents slept in during the morning. The attendance rate at the school is now 95%. This is a huge improvement because a while ago the attendance rate was only 60%! Marcia also wishes to have an excellent relationship with the families of the students. She wishes to make the parents want to have their children educated at St. Michael Community School by explaining all of the benefits that there is by attending the school. She not only looks at the students, but she also looks at the families of the students to foster a better life for the student. The students have a life outside of school and every staff member at the school want the students to have a wonderful life outside of school and inside the school.

Hello everyone! I will be sharing my journey through education in these blog posts. My very first day at St. Michael Community School was on Wednesday, October 10, 2018. The first time I stepped into the school, I was way more excited than I was nervous. I stood in front of my classroom of grade 1 & 2 students for the first time and I felt at home. I felt “at home” because I always wanted to be an elementary school teacher ever since I was young. I remember looking up to my teachers growing up and I looked up to them because it looked like they were having so much fun doing what they were doing. Most of my teachers were passionate about their jobs and they always made a huge difference in the course of my life from Pre-Kindergarten to grade twelve. I remember the names of each one of my teachers, all the way from elementary school to high school. I also remember my interns growing up and they always made class extra fun. It was like having a second teacher! Teachers make a huge impact on students for the better or for the worst. I aspire to be a teacher who makes a positive difference in the lives of young children. The students at St. Michael Community School were a joy to be around from the very beginning. They were so sweet, kind, and friendly and not yet introduced to the pain of the world. Children at a young age are innocent and do not let anything get them down. My mood instantly felt lifted up being around these children and I cannot wait to have this feeling for the rest of my life!