My Creativity at STEP..

I've come a long way baby

On my way out the door to substitute for a special education class, I said to myself..."I've come a long way baby..."

It was only January of 2007 that I sat in a room with my advisor and fellow student teachers. As each of us opened our student teaching journal and syllabus, we all had an overwhelming feeling linked with excitement as we started the beginning of our teaching career. We were to student teach that spring semester. For me, this meant I would work with 23 students in a third grade class and add classes one at a time, until I gained full responsibility of teaching. I knew it would be a great semester, but would be a lot of work. I did enjoy being with my students and I learned much.

So, what made me think I've come a "long way" from almost two years ago was... a) in my senior year of college, I was so worried about impending interviews and now I've already been on three...and one coming up on Tuesday! b) I had no clue how to put together my resume or portfolio, and now I have both of those completed and they have accompanied me to my interviews. c) I was very nervous when my cooperating teacher or the principal would observe me, but I have had so many people observe me and now I can focus on teaching the students and not who's watching me and critiquing my every move. d) I didn't know how or when I'd get my teaching job or experience in teaching, but since graduation I have learned so much about pedagogy, teaching reading, comprehension strategies, classroom managment/discipline.......and more...

I've learned to keep pressing on, to keep persevering and stay "in the school system." I know I am called to teaching and have confidence that I will be a great teacher. I know this because I am able to quickly establish rapport with students, I enjoy helping students see their potential, encourage children to act maturely and responsibly, reward positive behavior and consistently implement fair consequences. I genuinely care for my students and want them to do well. I believe this affects their work ethic and behavior.

When I say "my students" I mean my students during substitute teaching. Even though I do not have a permanent position right now, I still treat these students as if they were my own students. This works because when I subbed for a school in E.Hartford for 1.5 weeks, I enjoyed my time with the students. One of my students said, "Miss Brown....are you too old for recess??" I think it's awesome how I have the opportunity to build positive relationships with students and recess is a great time for that. Yes, I was taught how to throw a football by a friend in college and this comes in handy at recess. :) The kids are quite surprised that a "girl"...especially a "teacher" can throw so well. hehe

Teaching is so rewarding. I love when kids (during an argument) say, "I'm going to be the mature one and stop arguing", after I've instructed them to stand up and be the mature one. It is exciting to see them making the right decision that will not only effect them in the classroom but in their daily life, now and in the future!

How I got here

When I started college at 18 in South Carolina at Columbia International University, I started a journey to become a teacher and to influence children's lives for the better, and to impart knowledge. Despite the many times I wanted to quit in school, I graduated on May 2007. When I came back to CT (Sorry...not a Southern Belle!) I was planning on starting grad school to become certified and get my master's degree.

Since I took education classes at CIU and even did student teaching in third grade (which was awesome!) I sent my records to the Board of Education in CT. The BOE sent me a renewable certification, as long as I passed the Praxis II test. I signed up and took the two long, tests...which were two hours each! Exhausting to say the least. But it was worth it and rewarding as I found out a few weeks later that I had passed. The BOE sent me my official certification!!!!

By the time I got my certification, the school year had already started (October) and I started substitute teaching. After about two weeks, I was offered two jobs at Washington School in Manchester. I started working as a Title I tutor in the 6 grade. I worked with a teacher who gave me three reading groups and full responsibility of teaching students comprehension strategies in order to have comprehension while reading. We studied strategies like summarizing, inferencing, finding the main idea, sequencing and predicting. Students read interesting books such as The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Crispin.

I also worked as an after school teacher for the 5th and 2nd grades at Washington. While I kept up these two part time jobs, I was taking classes at Eastern CT State University, studying Teaching Reading and Children's Literature. I plan on going back to finish my master's degree in the near future.

Because there was a sixth grade school built in Manchester, the Title I Tutor position at Washington Elementary became no longer available. In Fall 2008 I decided to start substitute teaching again, as to get my name out in the "education world." Many teachers need to substitute/long term substitute before they obtain their full time dream job. This is my plan!