Benefits of Interviewing

 

Let me begin by explaining that I will not be telling you how parent/teacher conferences went since they ended up being cancelled due to weather.  We will just have to hold that thought and see if the school reschedules them.  So instead of that topic, I will move on to the next one, interviews.

 

I went to the interview day hosted by WSU career services last week.  My thought was that it can never hurt to get your name out there and to practice interviewing.  There was also one school there that I would absolutely love to work for (of course I’m not the only one).  These were the intentions I had when I went into this process.  The lessons I learned about myself were a major added benefit that I had not even counted on.

 

One of the first things I noticed about myself is that I was not even nervous really.  I think I was just more concerned with the questions and being myself that I left no time for the nerves.  I just wanted to be sure that the interviewers saw who I was and what kind of educator I would be that I had no time to worry about the rest.  I did a total of six interviews that day, putting the one I really wanted in the middle so that I would be warmed up but not too exhausted.  I learned some amazing information.  There was one district that was not even sure what format they were going to use to assess writing because they had not been assessing writing for years.  For the most part the interviews were really good though.  I was excited to find that I knew the answers to all their questions.  I realized how much it means to me that the students accomplish something in my classroom, even if it is just that someone cares.  I found myself thinking as much as a parent as an educator.  I have learned that the two really do go hand-in-hand for me.  I also learned that I would not mind, probably would even enjoy, teaching middle school kids as well.  I had one employer that like that I was a “non-traditional” student.  I just wish they had some openings but he was not sure at the time what would be available in my field.  I also learned that I would move my family if the fit was right.  I have originally thought that I would not really want to move for two years so that my oldest could finish school where he is at, now I am not so sure.  The school I really want to work for, I would move my son there because I think the benefits would outweigh the negatives.  I spoke with my son about this and he has said he does not really want to move but he would definitely do it for me and would be okay with keeping in touch with his friends over the internet.  Wow, my teenage son actually loves me!   

 

In the end, I just really hope to get a job but I would LOVE to get a job that want.

Parent – Teacher Reflection

 

This week we will be having parent/teacher conferences at my school.  As a parent I have been attending these types of conferences for 10 years now with my oldest son.  I have always sort of feared going to these conferences as I was never quite sure what exactly I was going to learn about my first born.  In all of these years though, these conferences have always been consistent.  I now know that my son is intelligent (okay so I knew that fairly early) but I also know that he is a procrastinator and tends to rush through his work instead of worrying about getting it right, he was rather just get it done.  I now have the chance to see these conferences through the lenses of a teacher.  I was intrigued when my cooperating teacher asked me to come to the conferences.  My first thought was, “oh my, is she going to want me to talk to the parents?”  As I have had time to contemplate this, I do not think it will be that bad.  I surely have enough experience on the other side of the table.

We sat down this week and went over all the student’s grades and talked about why they were either excelling or struggling.  When we finished our conversation, my cooperating teacher commented that I really seem to be very good at observing and understanding the students.  Okay, I admit that I grinned from ear-to-ear.  I am glad that she noticed that skill as I have been trying to perfect it for years on my own children.  After the compliment that I received from her, I am now ready to step up and take my part in the conferences and I find that I am looking forward it.  I will definitely remember that parents want to hear the good things their children do and to always try to share more positives than negatives.  I hope that my experience in my personal life will help guide me through this process.  I will have to update this after the conferences and let you all know how it went.   

Reflection #1 

 

It’s Time to Be a Grownup

 

As I begin my last semester, my student teaching semester, I am realizing that it is time to be the adult in the room.  I have always been the one to help the students with their reading or with their assignments, but I usually am not the one who is charge of those assignments.  Now that I have taken over two of my four classes, I am learning that it is okay if I act like the adult in the room instead of the buddy who helps out.  The first example of this came when I asked the students to quiet down so that I could give them their instructions.  They didn’t stop talking, so I told them I would wait.  One of the students made a nasty comment under his breath.  I stood there for a minute and thought to myself, “that wasn’t so bad.  It doesn’t really matter if they ‘like’ me every minute of the hour, but it does matter that they learn to respect me.”  I know for a lot of people that would not be a huge epiphany, but for me it was a big moment.  I find myself learning little lessons like that one on an everyday basis and I find that fact exciting.  I may be scared to death of the KPTP, but I am growing as a teacher daily.  At this point, I am really looking forward to the end of the semester and being able to look back on my growth throughout the semester.