Hello Hello, welcome to my first blog! For all of you who have gotten a chance to meet me, you know that my name is technically Christian. Both Christine and Christian are technically, me in this case. My name is Christine Allen and I am a senior Early Childhood Education Major at Illinois State University, born and raised all over Chicago. As an ECE major, I'm the type who loves working with the sweet and adorable babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Despite where my passion may lay; I'm studying to go as far as 3rd grade. This semester I'm practicing my studies in a 2nd grade classroom. I'm anxious to find what awaits me at this new school. I'm currently counting down the days until I'm completing my last clinical, then it's off to begin student teaching.At this point in my academic career, if I were to develop four goals this semester they'd include putting some polish on my teaching persona, chatting it up with current teachers and lastly, take my greatest shot at creating and implementing science and social studies lessons. I'll be taking you all a sort of journey with me to kick off my first blog page!
My first goal is to really become Ms. Christine, the teacher. Seeing that this is my last year studying teaching before I'm applying to actually teach in my own classroom. This semester I want to become more creative, reflective, cultured and talented with my teaching skills. I want to strengthen my teacher voice, especially since these students are not babies anymore. What type of teacher would I be if I thought I'd make it without a couple of classroom management strategies handy for both me and my students? I realized in my past clinical classroom how important classroom management is until the real teacher left me alone and in charge. As far as my becoming more creative in my pedagogy, I'm sure my classes will not let me drop the ball on that one. I'm moving and further from the stifling ways of teaching that many students my age endured.With the many assignments and projects I have this semester, it's just the push I need to become more innovative with my teaching. With each new classroom that I work with, I challenge myself to become a bit more cultured and reflective. That will remain the same yet again this semester.
My second goal is to get to know as many new people as possible, my students and networking with other education professionals. I really want all the help I can get from other professionals. This is of course one of the best times to do it. In my past clinical schools, I never talked much unless it was with my cooperating teacher or other students from my school. I also want to get to know my students as much as I can. That way I can better tend to their needs. I just hope when the time comes, I do not shy away from building great new relationships.
Third goal of mine is to create and implement an amazing science lesson. So far my teacher has split us into groups and I must say I'm anxious to work with these 2 classmates. It's not too often you hear about the great things teachers are doing with science in their K-3 classrooms. Ladies and gentleman, look no further. One of my courses this semester is all about creating and implementing science at the elementary school level.
My last goal is to discover just how to teach engaging social studies lessons. After reviewing the assignments from my 277 course, all I will be able to do is some up with lessons. My goal is that my professor is not only challenging me to produce numerous ideas but to make it engaging and interactive. I've never been asked to create a social studies lesson plan before, this will definitely be interesting. History has always been one of my favorite subjects and I hope I get my students to find some joy in it too.
Now that I've shared my goals with you all, and plan to keep in touch; help a sister out and leave some comments. Journey with me through my first blog and let me know what you thinking!
Think about it
Christine/Christian, I enjoyed reading your blog post and getting to know you a little better since you are new to our clinical block group. I can identify with a lot of what you are saying (so excited for clinicals to start and it to be time for student teaching!) and share in a lot of those same thoughts and feelings. Preschool is a favorite grade level of mine as well, which is a lot different from the 3rd grade classroom that I will be in and the 2nd grade class that you will be a part of. I believe it could be a challenge to shift gears for teaching older grades but I know that we will be much more confident after the semester is over. Who knows, we may find that we like the older grades better! After reading through your goals for the semester, I can see that you have thought through this and have chosen challenging, yet attainable goals. I like how you said, “My last goal is to discover just how to teach engaging social studies lessons” because I believe that is something that we need a lot of instruction on at this point. Overall, I think you have a great attitude about clinicals and the semester as a whole. I’m sure you will do well and I look forward to working and learning from you!
ReplyDeleteChristine,
ReplyDeleteI loved learning more about your background and enjoyed reading your blogging style! It sounded so much like you in person! So I have to ask, how did you come to be called "Christian," when your spelling looks like "-tine"? I'm so intrigued by names and how children come to be called by their names, so I'd love to know! Also, I really appreciated your goal of really coming into your own this semester. It takes awhile to feel like you have developed into your teacher self and know yourself as a teacher, so I'm excited to see you get there this semester. In addition, I loved the image you included. This is an image that I use in many of my classes because it sums up so much about assessment and what's not working in our current system. I also like your challenge to "think about it." I sure am!
:)Kira
Christine,
ReplyDeleteI’m glad to hear about your passions and goals for the future. I myself also enjoy working with babies, toddlers, and preschoolers but want to teach more towards 1st grade. I am excited to learn more about your experiences in a 2nd grade classroom, as I have never been placed in a 1st or 2nd grade classroom and want to hear more about it. I was in a 3rd grade classroom last semester and now again this semester. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed working with the older students, and how they can be a lot smarter than you think! As for your goals, I really like how you state that you want to become “Ms. Christine, the teacher.” I think this is very important, and something I had planned as my goal to work on my teaching skills and teacher voice. It is an eye opener once the teacher leaves the room and you are in charge. You realize how on top you need to be with classroom management. I think it will become easier with more experience, and also when you have your own classroom and creating your own rules and guidelines. I also agree with building new relationships with students, colleagues and other education professionals. This will really help guide our future as teachers if we take initiative to do this. Lastly, I believe you can also accomplish your goals of implementing engaging science and social studies lessons. I did this last semester while taking 276 and 277, and found that there are many different ways science and social studies can be integrated into the classroom that are fun and engaging if you put your mind to it. You will definitely be learning more about what content to teach and how it can be taught! I am still focusing on practicing these skills I have learned and being able to gain more knowledge! Overall, I think you have a great passion for teaching, and I am looking forward to learning from you and our other classmates in this experience. :) I also like the picture you posted of our education system. I’ve seen this before and have always thought of it as a great example of what schools or teachers can expect of students, when in reality not every student is the same nor can achieve the same potentials. I believe each student has their own potential, and it is our job as teachers to help them reach their potential.
-Laura