Julie Quackenbush

November December 2016

Field Experience Reflection

Bangor

I have known for a while that I wanted to be a teacher, still I was apprehensive when I

first entered the classroom at Bangor Middle School/ High School. I had never been in a school

that was both a middle and high school combined. I wasnt certain how the dynamics of this set

up would work. How did a teacher accommodate the needs of both middle and high school

students all at once?

I had the pleasure of observing both Mr. Todd Grant and Mrs. Michelle Harper at Bangor.

Mr. Grant dealt mainly with high school and some middle school students, while Mrs. Harper

assisted only middle school students. Throughout my time at Bangor, all of the students and staff

were very open and accepting to have me in their classrooms. There were many great

observations made in various math and reading instructional classes.

While observing Mr. Grants students, over the course of the semester, you begin to form

relationships with students and get to know them on a personal level quickly. They are open and

are honest and willing to share about themselves rather quickly. With that in mind, this quick

connection, I felt floored when one of Mr. Grants students decided to no longer continue his

education. I had never experienced a situation like this before, when a student decides to leave

school. This student had his parents sign paperwork so he could drop out of school. After weeks

of working together (and years for Mr. Grant), I felt that somehow the education system had

failed this student, or that somehow there might have been more that could have been done to
prevent this student from giving up on himself. It was through this experience though, that I

realized how important education is to me and how important the teacher student relationship is.

Mr. Grant had known this student for years, and I merely weeks. I saw the genuine concern he

had for this student and his future. In my future, I hope to be an elementary special education

teacher. But having the opportunity to observe in a middle/high school setting allowed me to see

how education comes full circle from start to finish. Students leave high school with bits and

pieces of teachers through shared interaction. It is not just the sharing of instructional time that

impacts the teacher student relationship, rather the personal connections. It is important to care

about each other as individual people first. I hope that my future students will see how much I

care for them and their education in the future. I hope they will see me as someone they can

count on and look up, not just instruct them. I hope they will look back upon our time together

and reflect about a mutually shared learning experience, like I observed Mr. Grant have with his

students.