Student Teaching Introduction
I had the privilege to student teach at Thompson Valley High School in Loveland, Colorado and at Strasburg Elementary in Strasburg Colorado. Through my student teaching experience I learned from each placement, and acquired tools that I will take with me as I continue my journey in teaching music.
At Thompson Valley Highschool I had the opportunity to teach 4 choirs, a pop choir, and A.P. music theory. The students had diverse interests. For example there were students who played basketball, students who participated in cheerleading, students who participated in swim, students who played baseball, students who were in ROTC, and students who enjoyed theatre. The students were also diverse because of economic status. There were several unique things about the school. First, administration and staff worked together to support their students on a social level. Although the students were from diverse economic status backgrounds, they saw their peers and educators as family. One thing Thompson Valley did to unite students was provide ELO clubs (elective opportunities). Teachers could choose a skill they were good at and enjoyed teaching such as knitting, or meditation, and students would participate in ELO clubs before lunch on Tuesdays and Fridays. Thompson Valley also had a unique grading system that took into account work ethic as well as knowledge of content. The knowledge of content was weighted higher than work ethic. This system of grading motivated students to participate and complete school work. Students were positively reinforced for their effort. As a result they felt more accomplished. Students at the school felt like their teachers cared about them.
In my student teaching placement at Strasburg Elementary, I had the opportunity to teach all of the classes for each grade level (K-5). At Strasburg, I saw that educators and administration cared about supporting students on a personal level of connection, as well as supporting the education needs of students. Specials educators i.e. P.E. educators, art educators, the librarian, and the music educator were asked to lead math and literacy interventions for various age levels. Since my mentor teacher was asked to lead a hand writing, counting, and rhyming intervention at the kindergarten level, I had the opportunity to lead activities in the daily interventions. In each intervention concept I saw students' improvement. The school valued families bonding with their students and being involved in the school. Strasburg elementary hosted Family game night and family exercise night in the 8 weeks I was at my placement. There is a large hispanic and latino population within the school, about 22% of students were hispanic or latino. The school was supportive of hispanic and latino students because I saw that educators practice culturally responsive pedagogy. The greatest thing I learned was that because Strasburg is a small town, the community valued the school faculty . This facilitated a stronger connection between students, families, and school faculty.
At Thompson Valley Highschool I had the opportunity to teach 4 choirs, a pop choir, and A.P. music theory. The students had diverse interests. For example there were students who played basketball, students who participated in cheerleading, students who participated in swim, students who played baseball, students who were in ROTC, and students who enjoyed theatre. The students were also diverse because of economic status. There were several unique things about the school. First, administration and staff worked together to support their students on a social level. Although the students were from diverse economic status backgrounds, they saw their peers and educators as family. One thing Thompson Valley did to unite students was provide ELO clubs (elective opportunities). Teachers could choose a skill they were good at and enjoyed teaching such as knitting, or meditation, and students would participate in ELO clubs before lunch on Tuesdays and Fridays. Thompson Valley also had a unique grading system that took into account work ethic as well as knowledge of content. The knowledge of content was weighted higher than work ethic. This system of grading motivated students to participate and complete school work. Students were positively reinforced for their effort. As a result they felt more accomplished. Students at the school felt like their teachers cared about them.
In my student teaching placement at Strasburg Elementary, I had the opportunity to teach all of the classes for each grade level (K-5). At Strasburg, I saw that educators and administration cared about supporting students on a personal level of connection, as well as supporting the education needs of students. Specials educators i.e. P.E. educators, art educators, the librarian, and the music educator were asked to lead math and literacy interventions for various age levels. Since my mentor teacher was asked to lead a hand writing, counting, and rhyming intervention at the kindergarten level, I had the opportunity to lead activities in the daily interventions. In each intervention concept I saw students' improvement. The school valued families bonding with their students and being involved in the school. Strasburg elementary hosted Family game night and family exercise night in the 8 weeks I was at my placement. There is a large hispanic and latino population within the school, about 22% of students were hispanic or latino. The school was supportive of hispanic and latino students because I saw that educators practice culturally responsive pedagogy. The greatest thing I learned was that because Strasburg is a small town, the community valued the school faculty . This facilitated a stronger connection between students, families, and school faculty.