Final Reflection
The practicum has been an amazing
experience. I had learned a lot during the entire process, and I can even take
the risk to say that I learned more than during the entire major. I had heard
before from other colleagues who had bad experiences during the practice
because they had a difficult relationship with their mentor teachers or the
principal, so for me it was very important to look for a school and a mentor
teacher who seems to be very open to my new ideas. I went to different schools,
and I observed a lot of teachers, but my final decision could not be better.
People from the school where I worked were very willing to help me with my
practicum as long as I brought them all the administrative requirements, and my
mentor teacher has such a good energy, and showed me her excitement about
having the opportunity to share knowledge and to help each other. During the
practice, she gave me very good advices and tips to work better and to improve
in different areas. She also allowed me to come up with new ideas, and to try
activities that she thought were not a good idea, but she let me to experience
that by myself. She definitely earned my respect and admiration not only
because of her great performance as an English teacher, but also because of her
human qualities.
From the very beginning of the
process I knew it was going to be a challenge because it was my first time
working with kids. During the major I had the opportunity to practice with
adults and teenagers, but with kids this was my very first time. To be prepare
for the challenge I researched a lot about how to manage kids because not being
able to control them was my biggest concern. When I finally started my
practicum, I realized that I was right because classroom management was my biggest
weakness. My mentor teacher told me that this is a matter of experience because
you need to practice a lot to be able to react to certain situations. I think
this is true because later on, after several lessons taught, I improved a lot
in this area. When you start the practice you have a lot of misconceptions, but
it is not until you experienced by yourself that you learn how it really works.
I was very cautions when I started
the practicum. First, I did observations for a couple of weeks. Then, I was
only assisting the teacher for another couple of weeks. So, it was until four
weeks later that I lead my first lesson. I was very nervous, but I knew exactly
what I needed to do because I took enough time to analyze kids’ behaviors and
their learning styles. My mentor teacher told me once that every group is like
a little person because it has its own personality, and this is so true because
you have to consider each group’s characteristics when designing an activity.
Most of my kids were very kinesthetic, so most of my activities were based on
this approach. I also had to include the book on my activities as much as I
could because they needed to cover all topics from there as a School’s
requirement, but I found the way to make the process to be fun. I think that my
activities were a good complement to the topics being studied. I believe that
kids found my lessons fresh, innovated, fun, and different from what they are
used to with their teacher, which it was what I wanted. My main purpose with
them was to make them love the language just because it is fun to learn a
second language. I did not want them to make an effort to learn something; I
just wanted them to enjoy it.
As a professional this practice was
a very nurturing experience because I had the chance to apply all the knowledge
that I had acquire along the major. I also had the opportunity to gain new
knowledge with all the experiences that I went through. For example, I even
learned very simple things like not letting a kid to choose what sticker he/she
wants because otherwise the rest of the class would like to change it as well.
Thanks to this practice, I also
grew as a person, since I increased my self-confidence and I developed my
creative skills. Now, I have the confidence to look for a formal job as a
teacher, and continue studying to be better every date.
Finally, I would like to say that my
last week of teaching at this school was very sad because I really wanted to
continue working with them, but I know that I did a very good job, so I leave
being proud for that. I am very satisfied with the job done, and I really hope
to continue growing in this field.
