Robert Samelson

EDUC 350/386-006
Kendra Vair
12/8/16
Narrative
My essential question I had at the beginning of the semester was how would they (the
students) react to me? I realize (and never wanted it to be) that teaching is not a popularity
contest, but it is valuable to make positive connections with your students. So, in a weird, twisted
sense of the meaning, it is a little bit of a popularity contest. Recalling from my time at Blevins
Middle School in Fort Collins for my EDCU 340 class in the fall of 15, I had a great experience
in the classroom and made several connections of varying degrees with most, if not all, of the
students. I got to spend plenty of time one on one time with a few students and they grew to trust
me and, as far as I could tell, all of the students in both blocks of classes enjoyed me being in the
classroom. I came into this semester with hope for a similar experience here at Conrad Ball. In
both of my classrooms (Mrs. Standleys 8th grade Social Studies and Mrs. Schwarzs 6th grade
Language Arts) I felt that the students, at least a majority of them, thoroughly enjoyed me being
in the class. One student from Mrs. Standleys class told me on the last day that he liked me
being in the class, thought I was cool, and that Ill make a good teacher. Those were some of the
most reassuring words Ive heard in a long time, and I did thank him for saying those words, but
my thanks are not enough.
I believe I have changed some as a teacher candidate over my time here at Conrad Ball.
For starters, I realized the potential for me becoming an English teacher as well, so after I get my
credentials, Ill seek to get a Bachelors in English as well, on top of my history degree. I found
out that I enjoyed being in an English class and enjoyed making lessons for one. Another way
that I changed, negatively however, is that I dont feel that I could teach that well in a middle

school setting, especially when it comes to social studies. I feel that, if I had to, I could. But
based on my experience here, I feel that my teaching style, disciplinary style, laid-back nature in
regards to language in a classroom, and that my lectures use higher level terminology that most
likely will go right over the heads of middle schoolers. I also am a little less receptive to
Standards Based Scoring than I was before the start of this semester (I had grown to be more
accepting of them during my time at Blevins). The traditional A-F model of grading seems more
in tune with my thoughts on education. However, I do know that I can adapt to any situation and
am willing to take on any task, but I feel that I would be a much better educator in a situation I
feel more comfortable in, for the sake of not only myself but for my students as well.
My next steps are to get much of my content classes out of the way in the Spring. Ill be
taking four classes next semester, three history and one geography. In addition, Ill continue to be
coaching debate at my old high school, but only once a week as opposed to the twice of week
that I did this year. In addition, Ill be working five (or hopefully six) days a week in the
morning, then going to class four days a week, and debate on Thursdays. Then, in the fall, Ill be
taking my remaining education classes (450, etc.) and a cultural geography class, as well as
taking my licensure exam, hopefully just once. Finally, in the Spring of 2017 Ill be completing
my degree by student teaching at my old high school with one of my former history teachers
being my mentor teacher (if CSU still will allow it). Those are my next steps here within the
CSU education program. I am hoping all of these steps go well for me and that I continue to
enjoy teaching in a classroom.
The extracurricular activity I attended was the Choir concert on December 6th, and
attended with my wife. It had been awhile since I had been to a choir concert and I enjoy
listening to choirs (I was in choir in 7th grade, but back then I was embarrassed by it). I must note

that uniform and movement requirements are much more lenient then when I was in choir. I had
no interaction with any fellow teachers, though I do believe Nick (classmate) was in our row,
he left before I could confirm it was him or not. I also was unfortunately unable to say hello to
any of the kids in either of my classes, which I counted at least eight, most from Mrs. Standleys
class. I did enjoy the show, and would attend a concert at whichever school I end up teaching at.
Over the course of this semester, I have learned several things from both the students in
the class and my mentor teachers. One thing that the students taught me is the unpredictable
hilarity that seems to be the norm in a middle school, as well as the unpredictable nature of
middle school in general. Another lesson learned from this year is that there is an extreme wide
range of students. Some students are already at a high school level when it comes to reading and
critical thinking, while some struggle with elementary material. Some students are calm and
polite with great classroom focus, while others are loud and rambunctious with the attention span
of a chipmunk with ADHD. Some students are highly interested in the subject that you are
teaching, some need some encouragement, while others wont give a darn about the subject you
teach no matter how hard you try to get them to be engaged by it. My mentor teachers taught me
plenty as well. They gave me plenty of pointers on how to improve my teaching and lesson
planning, as well as gave me advice on how to get through to hard to reach students and students
who are not focused on lesson.
As I advance to the next step in my journey, I will take several new tools that I have
learned here in this class with me. I will definitely be using the Teach Like a Champion book as a
reference source if I ever need help. I will also be sure to use CERs and Close Reading, which
are definitely applicable to a Social Studies class.

My overall experience here at Conrad Ball was enjoyable. I learned a few new techniques
on teaching and building relationships with my students. I also enjoyed being back in a
classroom with kids, as I truly do enjoy it. There was a lot of stress involved in this semester,
yes, but ultimately it was worth it, and I enjoyed being a part of this class.