Throughout our time here at Vanderbilt, we have been placed in around six or seven different schools. This means we have had the opportunity to meet around 200 different children. The other day, I was thinking about these two things. I thought about how many times I laughed at something funny a child has said, really reflected on particular experiences, or felt truly touched by a child overcoming a struggling or encountering adversity. As I sat in my room reminiscing about how many opportunities Vanderbilt has given me to experience the realities behind being a teacher, I realized I wanted to keep a journal of all the daily events that make me laugh, worry, shake my head, smile, or frustrated. Just last Friday alone, two students used the funniest phrased to explain their thoughts or themselves. One little girl looked perplexed and I asked her what she was thinking about and she responded, "nothing in my noggin'." I thought it was one of the funniest things I have heard in a while. In the same day, I was talking to my teacher about another students progress and how she has been staying on track more and more each day. One little boy in the classroom turned to the teacher and told her that it was rude that she was talking about another student. My teacher began to justify what she was saying by explaining how she was complementing the other girl when she stopped and told the little boy that she didn't have to justify herself to him. She then told him that he was pretty nosy today. The little boy stopped and thought for a second and responds, "Yeah... my mom thinks I'm nosy too. She says I'm an ear assassin." I cried. I then called one of my friends the same thing this weekend when he was listening to my conversation with another friend.
I think that it is so important to begin writing all these things that happen that evoke emotion or thought. One day, we might want to share them with our students or even possibly a student teacher we might work with. I started this journal and I really think ya'll should consider starting one too! At the end of the week, I am going to write down anything that stood out to me during the week. Hey, one day it might make for the beginning of a great book about the realities of being a teacher!
I completely agree! There are some things that I hear from my students throughout the day that completely make my week. I am always so excited to come home and tell my friends or parents about what I heard.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, there are always times that I want to write down different ideas that I see in the classrooms that I am in for my own. I wish that starting from the beginning of my practicum experiences, I kept a journal of all different ideas for lessons, classroom management and classroom set up. There are so many different great ideas and strategies that I see that I would love to implement in my own classroom one day. Because of this, I think that it would have been very beneficial to have a place to jot down all of these ideas for future reference.
I agree 100%. This is actually something I have been struggling with recently--having an outlet for all of these fun memories. You can only share so much with the other teachers over lunch. A journal could be just what I need. Thanks, Nicole! I also wanted to add that something I do to keep ideas and resources that I uncover over time is to save them in a specific folder on my computer. Even though I don't know the grade I will be teaching, saving engaging activities will help me in the long run. Plus, it means that I am downloading good teachers pay teachers documents when they are free!
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