It's the end of the semester, end of the year, and end of the decade. What a long, strange trip it's been.
A lot of people come up with "Best and Worst" lists around this time of year--best and worst movies, best and worst trends of the year, etc. So, In that spirit I've decided to come up with a best and worst list for the first semester of our program. Everybody feel free to contribute their own list of highs and lows. Personally, it's been a crazy semester. There have been a lot of great days, but there have also been plenty of days where I have wondered just what in the hell have I got myself into. Anyway, here goes.
The Highlights
--401 with Cressey
--Observation (The best learning experience of the semester)
--Philosophy with Baxter (most days)
--New Friends
--Grad Lounge afternoons (a lot of serious teacher preparation going on)
--The day we went out to the woods with Chris (even if it was a little cold)
--Alternative site visit
--The sense of community our cohort has developed
The Lowlights
--e-portfolio
--Too much busy work
--That class on Tuesday's and Friday's after 780 (although it's getting a bit better, I think)
--The feeling that we are not learning enough about teaching
--Too much emphasis on technology
--Unit Plans (mine has been left until the last second and it's driving me crazy)
--Not enough time spent getting practical experience in a school between the start of the year and the practicum
Cheers
Everybody have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
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Oh Kelly!! I think you hit this semester dead on!! Here's to wishing some of the lowlights will turn into highlights next semester!! :)
ReplyDeleteWow, I only realized when you wrote this Kelly that it is indeed the end of the decade! That really snuck up on me!
ReplyDeleteKeeping to your theme here are my own Highlight and Lowlights of this semester. They may not exactly line up with classes, but for me this program and life is a holistic experiences that encompasses life in the class and outside of it.
HIGHLIGHTS:
-Being involved in a program with a cohesive goal that I deeply care about. I always felt that my undergrad courses were so disconnected. They didn't seem to be building to anything more than a piece of paper and some scattered knowledge.
-Getting to know people in our cohort. I want to get to know everyone a lot better next semester. I enjoy the sense of community and all of the positivity and interesting perspectives that everyone brings to the program.
-Having my beliefs and perspectives challenged. This happened a lot in Philosophy. And quite often in psychology of adolescents as well (especially the sexualization of girls reading). I left class the first few weeks frustrated and a bit disillusioned with the teaching system. I think that this made me think about why I want to teach and how to go about it.
-Not having massive finals in the gym. I am less stressed this December than any other since I started university.
-Making videos. Okay, so tech class was not always the best experience. I did enjoy learning to use some new programs. Especially making videos.
LOWLIGHTS:
-Getting up in the morning. Hahaha. In all seriousness, I am terrible at this. I do work late during the week sometimes, but I need to get better at it.
-Coming back to school after practicum. I really enjoyed the observation and learned a lot. I can't wait to go back into the schools. I can't believe we have 7 months between school visits. This really bummed me out after the observation.
-disconnect from real teaching. Sometimes I feel like we talk about such ideal teaching. We need some time to talk about the realities of being a new teacher.
RESOLUTIONS:
-to be on time for more classes next semester (especially 8:30am!)
-to get to know everyone in the program better
If you want to see two of the videos I made this semester, you can see them on youTube here:
Elephant toothpaste http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKJk2dWsRZ0
A video about community sports integration http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yt3GRtUID8
Happy Holidays Everyone!
PS-Where can I find the blog readback guidelines?
Good lists. I personally would add my methods class which I think should be year long not adolescent psychology but maybe that is just me.
ReplyDeleteHave a great break everyone
I'd just like to say that for me the BEST part of this semester so far has been YOU GUYS!
ReplyDeleteAlthough we've had some great teacher/instructors I feel like our real guides through these classes have been each other.
Just reading back though this blog and seeing how many of each others questions we have been able to thoughtfully answer is proof enough of how much we have taught each other.
So thank you, happy holidays and see you next semester for more cohort-love.
Justine
I found the readback guidelines. They are in the course outline, just in case anyone else is looking for them.
ReplyDeleteHighlights and Lowlights, you guys can probably figure out which ones are which
ReplyDelete- Moss and Seb's commentary along with the best hand and arm gestures ever
- Nick's parties
- Trying to read the least number of pages of a paper and still being able to write a reflection for that class after seminar
- Counting the number of people and number of reasons reflections need to be rewritten
- Rewrites of rewrites
- Being given a pass and yet still asked for a rewrite (obviously I have some issues with the class after seminar)
- Cressey’s class being the most work-intensive and yet 401 being my favourite class, proving you don't have to be an "easy" teacher to be a great teacher
- Counting the number of people in our class of 16 who actually show up for Technology class
- Laurie Baxter and the Celebration of Knowledge
- Todd Milford actually making me like Science again
- And finally: Being a part of the Best.Cohort.Ever.
Cam, that video about elephant toothpaste is absolutely enthralling.
ReplyDelete