Blog Reflection

Well everyone!

We made it. The end is here and we have successfully made it through SSED 307. I can honestly say that this was the hardest, toughest, most challenging, rewarding class that I have taken so far at Gardner-Webb. We all worked our tails off, struggling each week to complete all the assignments, taking it one day at a time. Looking back at over the semester though, I have never been more proud of myself. This isn't the first time that I have said this, I have learned more in this one class than I have my entire time at Gardner-Webb. I feel more confident and prepared for student teaching than I ever have.

When Dr. Parker first told us that we would be blogging each week, my stomach was in knots. I literally had no desire to blog, or even learn how to blog. I remember trying to write my first blog. I had no idea what I was doing or what to research. However, as the semester has progressed, that became the easiest (and honestly, my favorite) part of the week. I could pretty much effortlessly find an article that I wanted to address. I felt that the articles I chose were relevant to our learning experiences from the week and helped me better myself and learning throughout. Looking back though, I would like to have made my blogs more personal by adding in more personal experiences from the week. I am with five years all day long, I could have connected with articles more. I also spent a lot of time in the classroom this semester. Talking about this more in my blogs to make them more personal is something I would go back and do. However, this helps me prepare for my future blogs in 435, 450, and hopefully in my own classroom. Overall, blogging is a time for me to vent, reflect, and learn.

There are two main standards that we can connect this learning experience to. The first one being standard 5: Teachers reflect on their practice. Blogging has been a great way for us to analyze and reflect on what we have been learning, the work that we have completed, and the overall semester. This will set us up to be productive and successful bloggers in our own classroom. Blogging specifically for parents may be a great tool for future classrooms. This has not only taught me the importance of reflecting on work, but also reflecting on current events and issues regarding education. Education changes everyday. It is especially important for teachers to be aware and up to date with the changes that are occurring. This brings me to the second standard that we can connect to. Standard 1: Teachers demonstrate leadership. Blogging shows that we are continuing to learn, showing students how important it is to never stop learning. It also shows that we care about our work and what we have learned. This shows great leadership for us students, but also other teachers.

This summer I will be working with 4th graders at a Christian Day Camp. This is an 8-5 day with twenty fourth graders (this is a LONG day). This is something that I am really looking forward to! This will give me an opportunity to have more experience with upper grades. Even though we are not planning academics, we do make lesson plans which will consist of different engaging activities, physical activities, and Bible lessons. We will go on MANY field trips this summer, where students will have the opportunity to learn about many different subjects. After blogging each week for so long, my goal this summer is to continue to blog this summer at least once a week. This will give me the opportunity to reflect on the week, continue to learn new things, stay up to date on current events, and also stay in the habit of blogging each week! Next fall will be here before we know it. At that point, blogging each week will be something I won't even think twice about.

Overall, this has been a wonderful experience for me. I feel so accomplished this semester. I have been accepted into the education program, passed my NCEL, taught my first independent lesson to a full class, become an expert with differentiation, learned about flipping a class, and gained a wealth of knowledge. I know that this class and blogging has prepared me greatly for the future.