Emma Arndt

Education 2500
Education 2500 Final Journal
To say that my first experience with practicum and teaching
students was amazing would be an understatement. I have a hard
time putting into words what this experience meant to me. I think that
having a class, such as Ed 2500, for students who have not yet decided
if they want to apply into the education faculty is a wonderful
opportunity to test the waters and see if this is where you belong; and
for those who feel like teaching is their calling in life, they get the
opportunity to have a nice little taste for everything they can expect in
their future.
I went into this experience with a very excited, nervous and open
mind. I have always told myself that I would only teach high school,
nothing younger than that. However, having the experience of being
in an elementary classroom for four out of five days of the week for
three weeks really opened my eyes, mind and heart.
I found out that in elementary school, children are still full of
wonder and get excited about everything! Their need to explore and
discover new found knowledge is so profound that it inspired me to
explore and discover with them. An elementary student is like getting
a fresh piece of clay that is yours to help guide, shape and mould into
the person they will become. It is your responsibility to help guide
them on the right path, and encourage their sense of wonder. Being
an elementary school teacher is probably one of the hardest jobs there
is! Day in and day out, no matter what is happing in your life, when
the bell rings at 8:30, those students are in their desks looking up to
you for guidance, knowledge and inspiration, and it is your obligation
to provide that for them. After just three short weeks observing and
teaching along side my teacher advisor, I saw this take place.
One of the things that my teacher advisor was amazing at was
classroom management. She had established an amazing routine so
her students knew exactly what to do without her even telling them. I
think that for younger students, routine is of the utmost importance.
It gives them a focused and expected lifestyle of established rules and
guidelines to help eliminate little problems, such a being unsure of
what is coming up and then losing focus. I think that I lucked out
being able to observe such an excellent example of classroom
management, and I am definitely going to be using some of the
practices I observed in my classroom in the future.
Well-managed classrooms provide suitable environments for learning.
Students know what is expected of them and how to succeed.
Disruptions and confusion are minimal, and the classroom atmosphere
is pleasant and relaxed. Recent studies show that effective teachers
create these positive environments for learning by using management

Emma Arndt
Education 2500
skills to organize time, space, materials, auxiliary personnel and
students. (Strother 725)
This quote from Deborah Burnett Strother really embodies what I
saw in my classroom. If a classroom is well organized with good
classroom management in place, it eliminates the amount of discipline
needed for individual interruptions and disruptive behaviour. A wellorganized classroom allows children to thrive because they know the
behavioural expectations and the schedule of the day, so they do not
have time to disrupt class or make an individual choice to waste time
or distract others. This results in less individual outbursts and
disruptions. The teacher advisor that I observed during my practicum
had this down to a science. The students knew exactly what to do at
all times, making transitions between classes and subjects seamless.
When coming in from recess and lunch breaks, the children come in
and know exactly what subjects are coming up, so they know what
books and materials to take out, without the teacher prompting them.
One routine that I think was really effective was put in place in the
morning. The students would come in every morning and do
handwriting. This happened every single morning, so the students
would come in, put their indoor shoes on and start handwriting for ten
munities. Having this routine allows the students to calmly focus
themselves before they start a full day of learning; having ten munities
of relaxed work they can focus themselves, and mentally prepare for
what is coming in the day.
Another really important part of classroom management is
making personal relationships with your students. Having these
relationships allows you to know what is going on in their personal
lives, and can give you the skills to assess the reasons why a child
might be acting out or misbehaving so you can respond accordingly. A
really good way the teacher advisor I observed created personal
relationships was by doing bi-weekly journals with her students where
they tell her about what is happening in their lives at the moment,
what their excited about, what is bothering them, etc. and she
responds to them; asking questions about what they have written and
making comments on what is happening in their lives. Because this is
an on going activity, my TA always knows what is going on in her
students lives, so if anything changes throughout the year such as
divorce or a death in the family, she will know a possible reason why
the child could have a sudden mood change or why they are suddenly
acting out in class.
My TA also has a way for parent involvement in this journal
activity through Friday Letters. This is an activity where the students
write home to their parents about their week in school. The students
write about what they learned, what they liked and then ask a question
to their parents. The parents are given the letters every Friday, and

Emma Arndt
Education 2500
write a letter back to the students for them to read on Monday. This
activity keeps the parents involved in the childs school lives, and also
gives the parents a taste of what the students worked on in school that
week. The letter is written very independently, without very much help
from the teacher, to show the parents how the students writing has
progressed throughout the year. This is not only a form of
communication that builds a personal relationship between the
teachers, students and their parents, it is also can be used to assess
the students progress in writing and language arts throughout the
year.
We learned in our workshop with the Alberta Teachers
Association that it is very important to have at least one meaningful
conversation with all of your students every day. Making this
connection will help establish your personal relationship with your
students, and it will show your students that you genuinely care about
what is happening in their lives, and that you are always there for
them. For some students, this personal connection may not be a huge
deal, but for some students it could be one of the most meaningful and
personal relationships that they have with someone. If a student
comes from an unstable home life, having a consistent and positive
personal relationship with their teacher could be one of the only
positive, personal relationships in their lives.
To help achieve this goal of talking to all of your students and
creating meaningful conversations, my TA would greet all of her
students at the door in the morning, and either shake their hand or
give them a hug and ask them how their night was. Even a small
gesture like this creates a solid foundation for building an excellent
personal relationship with all of your students. This idea of creating a
basic foundation of personal relationships with the students and
creating a safe and secure learning environment falls under KSA F under parent and societal variables.
Over all, I think I had an amazing first experience with practicum.
I feel incredibly inspired and excited to be able to work and grow with
the students I will be teaching. I realized that one of the most exciting
things about being a teacher is that you are always in a state of
learning. In my short time in a grade four class, I learned, or relearned, so much. I am honoured that I got to experience a little bit of
the magic that occurs when teaching elementary aged children.
An amateur teacher teaches for the love of learning? Certainly not for
the money! To teach, we need to love both our subject and our
students (Loui 285).
This quote by Michael C. Loui perfectly embodies how I felt about
what I have experienced so far in my teaching career. I will teach to
inspire children and encourage their sense of wonder. I believe that

Emma Arndt
Education 2500
teaching is a constant cycle of inspiration and passion; the more
passionate you are about your subject of interest, the more inspired
the students are to learn, which in turn inspires the teacher to do their
very best in everything they do!
I had an amazing experience in Ed 2500. I am so excited to
continue my education journey.

Work Cited Page

Deborah B., Strother. "Classroom Management." The Phi Delta Kappan
(1985): 725-28. JSTOR. Web. June 2016.
Loui, Michael C. "Love, Passion, and the Amateur Teacher." College
Teaching 54.3 (2006): 285. Web. June 2016.