Narrative

My experience during practice teaching, January 7, 2019 was our first day of
deployment in University of Batangas. This was also my first day of being a practice
teacher. Dr. Efsica Maranan and Dr. Angela Napa introduced us to the Department
Head, Principal and also to the critique teachers who will be our mentors for almost
three months of our On the Job Training or OJT. During my first day of being a student
teacher, I had felt mixed emotions because this experience would be the first thing that
happened in my life which was real teaching real students for almost nine hours every
day. As a teacher, I needed to study a lot of the lessons I had to teach for the next days.
In my one week of teaching with Ms.Roszanet I. Portugal, I met her Grade 8 students
with four regular classes and two science classes. As a teacher of Grade 8 students, I
saw myself as someone who needs to face and teach them for almost six hours every
day. But I saw them that they were willing to learn a lot of things from our discussion.
The impact of this for me was happiness because I realized that everything was worth it
just because of them.

Being a student teacher is not an easy task. Lots of demands from my mentors
must be attained. High expectations were given. There were a lot of tears that I shed
due to the making and revisions of lesson plans, grades, and mentors' comments. I
must be strong in meeting the hardship of being a student teacher. I do believe that
through the hardship I had experienced inside the campus, this will mold me to be a
best teacher someday. All my sufferings will be all worth it when I'll be in the real battle
field of being a professional teacher.

One thing I could say about my learners is that they were very noisy during our
first meeting. There were times that they did not respect their student teachers; thus, it
created a gap and hate between us and them. As days went by, I've learned that even
though they were very stubborn, they were still sweet and lovable in their own little
ways. The hardest thing to do of being a student teacher for me was lesson planning
because it took me a lot of time to finish one. I needed to study harder to master my
lessons and clear all the instructions to engage my students. My cooperating teacher
helped me with other teaching strategies. Lesson planning for me has to be done in the
right state of mind. I needed to zone out on all responsibilities. I spent every vacant time
by doing my plan even during lunch break. I was distracted by all the worries but at the
end of the day, I always kept in mind that these challenges will be worth it soon. By
these students, all tiring days seeing them in front on me listening my lesson became
priceless.

During my student teaching experience, I spent a lot of time preparing my lesson

plan worked hard to research different ways to present the information for each lesson. I
looked for activities that my students would enjoy, and I made sure that I had all of the
materials and other things that I needed before class started. Even then, there were
always things that would go wrong. Technology would fail. Students would complete
activities quicker than planned. Or students would require much more time and
explanation than expected.
As such, I realized that I needed to be prepared as much as possible, but, more
importantly, I needed to prepare to be flexible. You never know what’s going to come up
or what will catch the students’ attention. When creating lessons, remember that you
need to be prepared for changes. Figure out alternative activities in order to help your
day go as smoothly as possible and allow your students to gain the most from the
lessons.
Confidence is crucial for a great student teaching experience. Students need to
see that their teacher knows what he or she is talking about. They need a teacher that
demands respect. When I first started as a student teacher, I was awkward and unsure
of myself. I wasn’t sure what my cooperating teacher would think, and I worried about
how my students would perceive this teacher who didn’t look old enough to teach in the
first place.
As I fell into my groove and gained more confidence as a teacher, I found that my
students not only respected me but felt more comfortable talking to me, too. Confidence
meant I could be myself while still demanding respect from my students and colleagues.
 One of the most important lessons that I learned was the importance of
feedback. During your student teaching experience, you want to find ways to improve
your teaching skills. Don’t be afraid to ask your cooperating teacher for advice. When
observing you in action, he or she will notice things that you hadn’t noticed before.
Maybe you use too many filler words, look at the floor too often, or stand in one place
the entire time. Your cooperating teacher can point out these things to you, so you can
make the necessary changes to improve.

With my fellow student teachers, so far we were okay although there were times
that we misunderstood each other. Every problems and failures we've experienced due
to the pressure of being a student teacher, we were still there to comfort and hug each
other. We had shed a lot of tears due to different factors but we never thought of leaving
each other in the midst of sadness. We were always at each other’s side to give
encouragement and joy. Thus, we had created a beautiful and strong bond. With my
beloved Grade 8, Grade 9 and also the Grade 10 students, they are always here in my
heart that will remind me that being a student teacher is a blessing. I just always trust
the process of God and all the impossible things are becoming possible.

I want to express my gratitude to my dear students from G-9 Rizal for my final
demonstration. The most awaited day for every student teacher is the day of the final
demonstration teaching. Some says that that day is the day of the final verdict. That is
the day that every student teacher felt mixed emotions - excitement and nervousness.
My cooperating teacher helped and assisted me in preparing for my final demonstration.
She was the one who was busy preparing the classroom while I was busy preparing my
instructional materials.

My students were also helping me. They were cleaning the room. They arranged
the chairs and wiped the tables. My co-student teachers bought food for the panel. I
was really thankful that they helped me. I was very happy that they supported me even
though my parents did not attend because of personal matters that I totally understand.
We started the class at 11:45 in the morning by greetings. It was followed by an opening
prayer. I was the one who lead the prayer using my PowerPoint Presentation. It was
followed by a short review of our yesterday’s lesson. I could easily monitor if they really
understood the previous lesson and that was the advantage of having this class - they
were all cooperating. It was hard to monitor their performance and their development
because the class had a bigger number of students. After having a review, I presented a
video clip for my motivation that was related to the lesson I was going to discuss so the
students would have an idea. After discussing Chapter 63-Noche Buena in Noli Me
Tangere, I grouped them into four, and for my evaluation, I gave another example for
them to understand it well. I was very happy that my students were actively
participating. It meant that they understood the lesson. It made me feel better and
lighter because they made the flow of the discussion smooth than I expected.

Then, I proceeded to the evaluation. I asked them to get a piece of paper. I was
about to explain the direction in their quiz. Then, I continue on explaining the direction of
their quiz. Afterwards I allow them to copy and answer their quiz posted in my
PowerPoint. While my students were busy in answering, I went around monitoring how
they were doing. I checked if they were doing well. During that time I took another deep
breath and noticed that I felt lighter than before I started the class.

When I noticed that all of them finished in answering I asked them to pass the
papers to me. I was the one who would check the papers, but I smiled when I glanced
at the papers and see that they got correct answers. I just put in myself that they really
understood our lesson for that day

I observed that all of the cooperating teachers were busy assisting my co-
student teachers for their final demonstration teaching, like what my cooperating
teacher did. She was very supportive regarding my final demonstration teaching. After I
had finished preparing my instructional materials, I arranged the folders containing the
evaluation sheet and copy of my lesson plan for the observers.

Regarding my beloved mentors, Ms.Roszanet I. Portugal, a Grade 8 teacher, and

Mrs. Aida De Chavez, a Grade 9 and Grade 10 teacher, they are both very kind,
understanding, approachable, responsible, calm and a very supportive mentors. And I
am lucky to have these mentors. I felt that they gave me worth and I was being loved
and cared. They are always entertaining to face all our problems and complains. Thus, I
consider them as a strong tree for us to hang on in every failure that we've encountered.
I really enjoyed being with their company and I know, like my other co-student teachers,
I will treasure this experience like a precious diamond.