Victoria Bye Clinical Reflection 1 Entry 1: Record you first impressions of the school and your classroom during

the first week of school. Demographic information: create a chart to represent- gender race free!reduced lunch special ser"ices any religious di"ersity students in each reading tier etc. # ha"e a$solutely fallen in lo"e with %race Crossings Elementary &chool. # lo"e the en"ironment leadership faculty staff and students. E"eryone has $een incredi$ly welcoming and gone out of their way to make us feel at home within their school. 's # listened to people talk a$out all the different aspects of %race Crossings at orientation # knew that we were coming into a special place. # was $lown away $y the amount of di"ersity. #t is so encouraging to see a school ser"ing so many students from different $ackgrounds. # was also impressed $y the efforts made $y the school and parents to take care of and pro"ide for each %race student. %race %reats is an incredi$le program run $y parents which pro"ides daily snacks and weekend food supplies for students in need. (rior to orientation # had ne"er heard of a program like this. %race also has an awesome partnership with the 'ssistance )eague of Birmingham which helps to pro"ide clothes shoes etc for students. #t was e"ident at orientation that each and e"eryone of the speakers lo"es the children at %race and wants to do e"erything in his or her power to help them succeed. %his inspired me to $e my $est e"ery time # walk through the doors and to pour out e"erything # ha"e for these kids. # am in *rs. *c'dams+ kindergarten class. ,hen # walked into her classroom # encountered a room full of life strong personalities and little $it of chaos. %he students were e-tremely welcoming and kind. # cannot wait to get to know each of them. %he dynamic of this classroom is "ery interesting. %here are children who speak little to no English children who are discipline pro$lems $ecause they are $ored and ahead of the rest of the class children from difficult home li"es and children from e"erywhere in $etween. .rom listening to *rs. *c'dams descri$e her students # can tell that she has an o$"ious passion for her kids and wants each of them to learn as much as they can within her classroom. Classroom discipline is definitely an issue due to the "ast differences in $etween children in her classroom. &he does a great way of attempting to maintain order and pro"ide for the needs of e"ery child within her means. # will $e helping her in this area $y focusing on pro"iding enrichment acti"ities for four students who are way ahead of most students in the class and helping with inter"ention for three or four children who are $ehind their e-pected le"el in most areas.

Clinical /ournal Entry 0

1*rs. *c'dams does not ha"e information on religious di"ersity or special ser"ices at this time.

2 3ow ha"e your impressions of the school!classroom!students!teachers changed since your first week4 # think # ha"e gotten a reality check since my first 5ournal entry. 'fter hearing a$out the school demographics and programs for the students # reali6ed that # would definitely encounter some students in difficult circumstances7 howe"er # unrealistically e-pected children from these difficult circumstances to $e successful due to the many programs and ser"ices offered at %race. %here is no dou$t that programs such as the %itle # program %race %reats Cu$ Clu$ and other programs make a difference in the li"es of children $ut # ha"e reali6ed that it takes hard work e"ery single day to help pull children out of desperate situations and circumstances. %he pro$lems will not $e sol"ed o"er night and it will take hard work from many faculty staff the resources from school programs and a caring classroom teacher to impact the achie"ement of low-performing students. # ha"e reali6ed that there are at least se"en or eight children in my class who are $order line learners who could easily fall $ehind unless someone takes the time to in"est in them and pro"ide them with moti"ation and resources. %here are four students in *rs. *c'dams+ class who are falling more and more $ehind on a daily $asis. %hree of them speak "ery little or no English and the forth comes from a foster care situation and has a low oral "oca$ulary little alpha$et knowledge and "ery little outside knowledge to $uild upon across su$5ect areas. %hese children need immediate inter"ention in order to catch up to their peers and reach their potential. *any of the teachers at %race are in difficult situations due to the circumstances of their students and they also need support in order to $e a$le to pro"ide ade8uate support for struggling students. 2 ,hat ha"e you learned a$out teaching!students so far4 # ha"e learned that teaching is not as easy as it looks at time. *rs. *c'dams for e-ample is faced with the challenge of teaching a classroom with four high-end learners three low-end learners and three students who do not speak English. &he must teach her lessons in a way that engages and includes each and e"ery student. %his is e-tremely difficult and sometimes results in high-end learners feeling $ored and distracted or low-end learners feeling discouraged and left $ehind. #t is important for teachers to think a$out how to $est write a lesson which will appeal to and challenge all learners. # ha"e also seen the effects that the home en"ironment has on students. #t has made me reali6e that when students come to school they $ring $aggage from home whether it $e an emotional pro$lem po"erty or lack of education and support. %he causes of students struggles need to $e in"estigated in order for teachers to ade8uately pro"ide for the students. .le-i$ility is an important part of the education profession. %eachers must $e prepared for any situation which could arise in their classroom. %his includes anything from reworking a failing lesson to keeping students calm during an emergency to dealing with a difficult home situation. 2 ,hat are your struggles to date4 # am $urdened for some of my children. # know that they need help $ut # feel helpless and inade8uate. # am learning that # cannot do e"erything for them and change all of their circumstances $ut # can all # ha"e preparing for my time with them and one hundred percent of my effort while # am with them. # struggle with knowing the circumstances that some of my students go home to e"eryday. # am learning to rely more on 9od and trust that 3e is looking out for these precious little ones. # am also struggling with feeling slightly an-ious a$out teaching lessons for my kindergarten class. %his is "ery strange for me $ecause # ne"er get stressed out or ner"ous a$out school and #

teach kids at church e"ery &unday and ,ednesday. # think # am scared that my students will not en5oy the lesson or not understand what # am trying to teach them. Clinical /ournal : ,hy is it important for teachers to $e in"ol"ed in the school outside of their own classroom4 #t is e-tremely important for teachers to $e in"ol"ed in the school outside of their classrooms in order to promote to the learning community as a whole. #t is important for teachers to participate in school wide e"ents pro5ects decorating etc. %his will contri$ute to the unity amongst faculty and staff in the school as they work together to promote learning together. %eachers who $ecome in"ol"ed in the school ha"e the potential to $ecome teacher leaders and make a large impact on the school. #t will also help moti"ate the students to $ecome in"ol"ed in e-tra curricular acti"ities if they see their teachers moti"ated and participating. #n what areas would you like to grow professionally4 # would like to learn how to $etter incorporate technology into the classroom and link technology in the classroom to technology at home. # would also like to learn how to $etter communicate with principals and officials in the school system in order to ad"ocate for my students and make my ideas and goals known to those a$o"e me. ,hat are some of the strategies that you ha"e implemented in your teaching during clinicals4 # ha"e tried to incorporate many strategies into my instruction at %race this semester. ,hene"er # am working with students # always ask them to e-plain their thinking after gi"ing an answer. # also try to ask open-ended 8uestions in order to re8uire students to utili6e higher le"el thinking and rethink their answers. ,hat ha"e you learned as a result of your e-perience at %race Crossings4

# ha"e learned a lot of skills at %race this semester which will $enefit me in the classroom. ,hen # arri"ed at %race to a su$stitute telling me # would teach all morning # learned the importance of fle-i$ility and ha"ing ideas prepared to use at any moment. # also learned that home life complicates situations in the classroom through circumstances surrounding a precious little $oy in child care. *ost of all # learned that e"en on the hard days when you are tired and not wanting to $e at school your students need you to $e there and $e completely dedicated to their learning and de"elopment.