Week one: “My field placement school is aware of the many different types of families that are attending there school. Teachers try there hardest to help every student and are aware of the different home lives each student has.”– this quote is about getting to know the community, the students and how to teach them. Being aware of the families my students come from (culture, financial situation, ways of learning, family life) is crucial to becoming a great teacher.

Week two:  “Everybody learns differently, so it makes sense that she has multiple ways of teaching.”- this quote is about providing different ways and opportunities for students to learn a concept. Some kids need to learn by doing whereas others can learn by being told. As a teacher, you have to provide as many ways as possible of explaining concepts because every child learns differently as well as be aware of the different learners in the classroom. 

Week three:  “Not all students come with a file, you need to figure out their needs and remember them.” -This quote explained how important it is to get to know your students. As a teacher, I need to be aware of the different challenges each student faces and be a safe, trusted adult they can come to for help.

Week four: “There is a diverse group of students with different beliefs, we saw this when a student asked my field placement teacher if the tooth fairy was real. My teacher handled this wonderfully saying, “I believe in the tooth fairy, but you can choose whatever you want to believe. However, you can not tell others their beliefs are wrong.” -When this question was asked I was so nervous, it is such a tricky question to answer. My field placement teacher handled it perfectly and answered in a way that respects everybody’s beliefs. It is crucial to respect everybody’s different beliefs and cultures in the classroom and sometimes it can be easy to make a mistake but, I felt this tough situation was handled perfectly. 

Week five: “I realized that some of the most important things teachers teach kids aren’t always in the curriculum” -I realized this one pretty quick when my field placement teacher was teaching kids there manners like please, thank you and pardon me or how to share and wait there turn. She also was teaching them how to do chores like sweeping the floor and cleaning up after themselves, or even how to use glue and not to run with scissors. Lots of teaching is not in the curriculum but is crucial for kids to learn.