Field Experience Completed

I completed 3 hours of my field experience at Fairgrove Middle School and 3 hours at Green Grove Elementary School. My experience at Fairgrove was with a 4th grade class. I was welcomed politely by the teacher and all students. The students had several questions for me while I visited with the. The class was divided in groups. Each group worked on a different assignment and then after a given amount of time, each group switched to another area. None of the students hesitated to ask for my assistance and I was pleased to actually be able to help; especially the ones with questions about Math (my favorite). The teacher gave me an oppurtunity to speak with students. She asked if I would speak to them about the value of an education. At first, I thought what in the world am I gonna say. Once I got started though, the words just kept coming. I told them a little bit about myself, my educational background, my current career, and why I want to be a teacher. They had several questions for me and I was surprised to see how interested they were.

At Green Grove, I observed the Pre-K class. Pre-K was much more structured and there were several more rules; compared to the 4th grade class where the students had a little more freedom and the rules were pretty much understood. I'm definitely not interested in the Birth-PreK area. I observed how working with the very small kids how being a Pre-K teacher may feel like a babysitting job at times. I don't mean to insult anyone; only stating that I'm sure I wouldn't have the patience needed for a classroom full of kids that young. Although, the fact that they have naptime still is an added bonus for the teachers. The kids in this class barely acted as if they were aware that I was present. There wasn't any curiosity as to why I was there at all.

I really hope that when I do receive my licensure, that I will be able to find an available position between the 3rd grade through 6th grade. Being in the 4th grade class and being actually feeling useful in there helped reassure me that I could be a good teacher. I talked with Mrs. Hunt a lot about my ideas and thoughts about teaching. She informed me that I seem to be on the right track and welcomed me back to visit her class anytime. She also offered to help out with anything that she can. With 2 Master's Degrees, 15 years teaching experience, and many years in guidance; I'm quite sure she'll be very resourceful for me.