My Reflection- SLO

Throughout the year, I switched my internship twice. The first time I switched was because I wasn't allowed to intern with a pediatrician, so I had to completely switch my focus to general medicine. Half-way through the year, I had to leave the general medicine office, because I was traveling far from my house and when I got there I just sat around. I finally ended up at Chestnut Mountain Creative School of Inquiry. The most important thing I gained from the two mentorships I attended, is just to listen and be patient. With the general medicine office, I had to listen to a couple of patients and analyze what may be wrong with them. When the doctor and I left the room and went to the back, he asked me what I thought of the patient and I would have to tell him not only what I heard but also what I saw. At the CMCSI, I have to watch the students and pay attention to them as I teach or my mentor, Amy Carpenter, would teach. I was constantly moving at the elementary school. I always had a task to accomplish and the staff made me feel like I belonged.

At the CMCSI, I always asked if there was anything I could take care of for Mrs. Carpenter or even the other teachers on my side of the hallway. Although to some it may have seemed like busy work, I was just glad I wasn't sitting around with nothing to do. My mentorship has prepared me for the future by helping me learn, everything isn't what it seems. Stuff happens and it causes things to change and there isn't much we can do about it. I realized that LOVE working with children and I want to change my focus to teaching. It's not always peachy working with children but they are so full of joy and love that you wouldn't want it any other way.

My first piece of advice to future students is to go with your heart. Don't be afraid of asking for what you really want, or what you're really interested in. My second tid-bit of information is to make sure you research your intended career area, ask questions like "What is it I'm going to be doing on a daily basis?","When is your busiest times?", and things of that nature so you aren't going in completely blind. I truly enjoyed my mentorship when I figured out where I was supposed to be. I can see some of my student out and public and they run up to me yelling " MS. JOHNSON!!" and it sincerely makes my heart smile.

Best of luck next year!!

Teacher working with Students. Digital image. SRI International. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.sri.com/work/projects/bridging-professional-development>.

3/16 weekly assignment

In the video, provided by my teacher, the speaker gives her viewers a life lesson in public speaking. She gives amazing techniques to practice and use while publicly speaking. Her first lesson was to be prepared, to know the information we are presenting on backwards and forwards. We need to know, as presenters, how we are going to present the information step by step. Next, she talks about physicality and posture. It is bad to stand too erect or slouched over. Relax while you are speaking, you look more confident while presenting and its more believable. The final point was to make sure you have the audiences attention.

I will incorporate this useful information in many ways. To start off, I will prepare by practicing the presentation on my family members or anyone who's willing to listen. I will also write down my ideas and put them in logical order, just as the speaker in the video suggested. I will hook the audience with my intro, give them supporting evidence , and end with a powerful conclusion. As I practice my presentation, I will watch my posture and movements to make sure I am not moving or distracting the audience in any way. As I present my project to my relevant group, I will throw in a few jokes or punch lines to keep their attention and give them a laugh. I can use the tips given to me today, while public speaking throughout my life.

Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tShavGuo0_E 

1/12 Interview with Mrs. Amy Carpenter

My essential question for my end of the year project is: How does the child's psychological development affect their ability to learn and interact in school?  

So I have a few questions regarding the topic:

1.     How many years have you been teaching? 17 years

2.     What made you decide you want to teach?  I have known I wanted to teach since I was in third grade and always played school with a classroom set up in my basement. 

3.     Why’d you decide to teach second grade? Second graders love to learn and want to please their teacher.  This age of children are definitely sponges that listen to everything their teachers say.  This is also a critical age that students usually show a lot of growth in reading and are bridging from “Learning to Read to Read to Learn”. I enjoy getting to be a part of this time in a child’s life.

4.     With knowing the student and their situations at home, do you see children with harder lifestyles struggle more in class? Many times these children do not come prepared for school.  Also, they may not practice reading, math facts, etc. at home.  They do not get the extra practice needed and others do.  Also, these children may come emotionally needy or the complete opposite and are withdrawn.  These children may have difficulty trusting and it is my goal to build trust with these boys and girls.  My classroom students know it is a safe environment and they are loved. 

5.     Do those certain children need more help developing psychologically?  Some of these students do suffer from anxiety, insecurity, and/or may act out for attention.  These students usually need more reassurance and help building his/her self-confidence.  I try to always build friendships, trust, and respect in my classroom to help students always feel safe in my classroom.

6.     How do those children’s grade differ from those who have a simpler life at home? With all the “baggage” the children may bring to school, often these children may not always care about putting forth the effort they are capable of in his/her classwork.  The lack of motivation and effort may cause their grades to suffer

7.     The students that are behind in those crucial developmental stages, are they less prepared for school? Some of these students aren’t prepared for school and may not be able to put complete focus on school.  There is no telling what some boys and girls have dealt with in the morning before school and/or the night before. All the extra “baggage” can cause these children to be less prepared for school.

8.     Referring to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, can you tell when a student’s basic needs are not being met? If so, what are your steps as a teacher to correct or help the situation?  I cannot always tell if a student’s needs are being met, but if I do I will act.  I always report to our school counselor any concerns that I may see or that students tell me.  We will do anything we can to offer the family help and resources they may need. 

9.      How quickly can a student who is ahead developmentally, fall behind do to a event happening in the child’s life, such as death in the family or parent’s divorcing?   These students may suffer from lack of motivation and may not even care about school causing him/her to fall quickly behind.  It is my job while I have these students to help them get through the unfortunate events that they shouldn’t have to deal with as such a young student.

3/2 HMP Assignment

 If I wanted to follow in the career path of my mentor,  I would need to complete college and because teaching is a competitive field now, I would probably want to get my masters. I will intern with a teacher at an elementary school in college, which is what I am doing now, even though I am in high school, but because of HMP, I am a step ahead.
I really enjoy reading to the children. I think that would be my favorite part of my internship. I also enjoy helping them when they have a problem and even hearing about their weekend. Some of the less fulfilling activities would be when I have to get onto a student for being too loud or distractive. I am willing to do anything for my mentor, like cut papers or grade papers, even though they aren't the most exciting tasks to fulfill.

Week 2/2

These past couple of weeks I have began researching my essential question: How does the child's life at home affect their psychological ability in school? I have been researching and asking my mentor questions about children she has had the experience to deal with. I have began reading and researching articles on the internet. I have set up a website for my presentation.

1/5 Blog Assignment

My passion for neurology and the brain is whats driving my research. I also love working with children . Although i switched my internship, they both revolve around my essential question.
"Why should I integrate psychology with the practice of medicine" is the essential question I came up with. Other than the website, I envision myself creating a model or publishing a brochure on my topic. To inquire more about my topic, I will conduct real interviews with my mentor and even psychologists in my area . 

Week 11/17 My essential question

My Essential Question: 

Why should I integrate psychology with the practice of medicine? 

I selected this as my essential question because , as my mentor informed me, he uses a lot of psychology in his practice. The fact that he is using something other than the study of medicine to figure out what is wrong with a patient fascinates me. It excites me to know the answer of what I can expect as a doctor. I will have to know a lot of information about many subjects. It will prepare me for college. Especially because I want to be a pediatric neurologist, the use of psychology can help me. I do feel that the question accurately reflects my desire that I have to find out more about the topic.