Wrapping it up

And just like that, it’s all over. I student taught for 16 weeks. I lived in Chicago. I created wonderful relationships with my students, colleagues, and friends. I had an experience I never imagined having when starting IU. Choosing to student teach in Chicago Public Schools was one of the best decisions I have made, and I believe I’ve grown so much as an educator and as a person because of it.

The last time I blogged was about four weeks ago. In those four weeks, I did so much with my 2^nd graders. We moved on to creating large opinion writing pieces, learned how to identify text written in first person and third person, picked out key words from math word problems to see which operation we needed to use, and completed our science unit on balance and motion.

I was so glad to have a supportive cooperating teacher to guide me through this experience because there was so much to do and learn while teaching these 2^nd graders. She helped me find ways to deal with student behavior and classroom management strategies that worked for me, and she provided me with feedback on my lessons and interactions with the students. We got along really well throughout the eight weeks, and I know I will be keeping her as a resource in the future!

My students were awesome. They brought me so much joy every day and reminded me why I love to teach the little ones! Each one of them has so much potential to grow and do amazing things in the future. All of my students wanted to learn. They were motivated by many things to continue to make progress in each subject. I loved their creativity and enthusiasm to try new things, something that I feel gets lost as students get older. So many of my students’ parents were involved in their learning, which is something that I was so grateful for during my time with them. The parents were willing to work on anything at home, whether it was improving their child’s math skills or working on a behavior issue. Through this eight week experience, I’ve seen the need for parental involvement and how big of an impact it has on students and their progress in school.

I am so grateful for the teachers and staff that I worked with at Belding Elementary School. I was welcomed into the Belding family and was provided with support and guidance throughout my experience. Each teacher has something special to offer to the school and the students, which makes Belding such a great environment to work in.

The next step: Finding a job. I’ve been fortunate enough to have received an official offer from a school district in Indianapolis and an early offer from Chicago Public Schools. I’m still applying to many school districts near my hometown so I have more options. I’m keeping all of my options open because I have no idea where I’ll ultimately end up teaching, so wish me luck!

Thank you to all of my teachers at IU, the Global Gateway staff, my family and friends in Chicago and Bloomington, and all of you who read my blog throughout my 16-week experience! I appreciate all the love and support you gave me as I went through this important time in my teaching career!

Graduation is 3 days away! Four years at IU have gone by so fast!