Tracie Ambrose

Professor Goldman

Education 458

September 2, 2010

Reflections On My First Week

Tuesday of this week marked my first week of student teaching. On my first

day, I was a bit disoriented. I was unsure of the schedule and noticed that some

students seemed to float in and out of the classroom. No announcements were

made regarding who was to leave and at what time. I did not have a printed

schedule to help define the different time periods. I, also, was not sure which

students belonged in the classroom and which did not because some came for a

short time and left.

Several things that I encountered surprised me. First, Mrs. Siesky is a strict

teacher. This delighted me as I am also a strict teacher. I have taught for the past

six years, and during that time my students told me that I was strict. Seeing that

Mrs. Siesky is strict helped to alleviate my fears that I might not work well with

children. I had feared that I was not soft enough because I set standards high and

expect them to be met. The next thing I discovered was that the Pledge of

Allegiance is recited daily. Many people, especially those in my church, insist that

the Pledge of Allegiance is no longer allowed in our classrooms. I can now tell them

with confidence that they are wrong. At least, in the EVSC the complete Pledge of

Allegiance is recited. Another thing that I found interesting was the lunch that the

children consume. On the first day of my tenure in Dexter Elementary School, I ate

the school lunch. It consisted of pasta with meatless marinara sauce, a bread stick,

sherbet, mixed vegetables, and milk. The only protein on the menu was contained

in the milk. I thought about the 80% poverty rate that I was told about and the high

obesity rate of America’s children. I considered that most of these students are on

some form of assistance and do not have access to healthy foods at home, and they

are not encouraged to learn about healthy foods. It makes me wonder how the

students are supposed to learn how to choose wisely when selecting healthy

alternatives. If children are taught early in life to make healthy choices, they will be

more likely to do so as adults. Finally, I observed that most of the students are on

task and doing what they are supposed to be doing. There are a few students who

require extra attention to help them stay on task, however the majority do their

work when asked to do so.

By the end of the first week, I have begun to assist students with their work,

observe reading groups, enter grades, and grade papers. I have asked to pass

papers back to the students so that I can begin to put names with faces. I believe

that the students are beginning to accept me as one of the adults with authority.

Generally, when I ask them to put away something that is distracting them from

staying on task, they do so. They also listen when I ask them to stop talking or stop

some other behavior.

I look forward to next week when the reading class begins reading the book,

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. That was one of my favorite books, and I believe

this will be an interesting book for the students to become familiar with. I am glad

that Mrs. Siesky has agreed to have me in her classroom this semester. She is very

experienced and knows many things. It is refreshing to see that not only does she

use the technology, but she embraces it.