I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity to participate in 4 different field days this semester. I was scared at first because I knew some people that switched their degrees after this part of the class because they realised teaching just was not for them. After doing this, I have never been more sure of anything in my life. I want to be a teacher! I looked forward to every Tuesday morning when I got to wake up and get ready to go over to the school. I was fortunate enough to get a taste of each grade level that I was considering and it really made me realise what I would prefer. I really like grade 1 and grade 3. I was not only made to feel welcomed in the school but the students were all so sweet as well.
In each one of the classrooms I was in, I always had some kind of job that they asked me if I would be comfortable doing. Anywhere from helping a student read or correcting quizzes or even helping scribe for some students that needed a little bit more attention. This not only made me feel welcome but also important and needed. I loved getting to know some of the students and just observing how to handle certain situations as well. I was lucky enough to get 4 awesome examples of teachers that were not only willing to show me their ways but explain them to me too. I learned so many different little techniques on how to get students focused or interested when it may be difficult for them in certain situations or even lessons. One of my favourite things one of the teachers did was when she told them to go to the carpet or go get something from somewhere she would give them a certain way they had to move and a certain speed they had to do it in. for example: take giant steps all the way to the carpet but do them super slow. This always got the students refocused by the time they had to sit back down.
One of my biggest beliefs that I still stand by and was validated in every classroom I was in was that no student is weak. You have to find certain ways to help them learn because everyone has their own ways and it won’t click the same for everyone. Overall I absolutely loved this experience and would do it all over again if i could. It makes me so much more excited for the future and gives me a great drive to keep on going!