Description of Placements
School
I was placed at
Horizon Elementary School in Madison, AL for my student teaching
internship. The interim principal of Horizon Elementary School
during my placement was Mrs. Theresia Mullen. Horizon Elementary
has a student enrollment of 712 students and it consists of classrooms
serving Pre-K through Sixth grade students. Horizon Elementary's school
moto is "The Path to the Furture Starts at Horizon." The mission of all
of the faculty, staff, and administration at horizon is "to develop within
all students
the
foundation to become
life-long learners. Our cooperative, dedicated faculty and staff will
accomplish this in partnership with the home and the community by
providing challenging learning experiences in a safe, nurturing
environment."
My
First
Placement
The first part of
the semester I was assigned to Mrs. Jennifer Lee's fourth grade
classroom. As I began, I was very apprehensive and nervous, but as the
days went on and I got to know Mrs. Lee and the students, I felt right
at home. The classroom was filled with love, support, respect, and
engaging learning experiences. The students respected one another and
Mrs. Lee and she did the same. I was able to give, and also gain, this
respect throughout my eight weeks in the classroom. During my time in
Mrs. Lee's room I learned more than I ever thought possible about the
lives of students, their learning styles, behavior management, and
positive instruction and assessment. As my time in Mrs. Lee's room came
to a close, it was a bittersweet feeling. I had learned so much and was
sad to leave all of the wonderful memories I had made, but I was
excited about learning even more about the primary grades in my second
placement.
The second part of the
semester I had the opportunity to student teach in Mrs. Jean Butler's
Kindergarten classroom. I was just as nervous about my first day in
Mrs. Butler's classroom as I had been about my first day of student
teaching, but as I enetered the classroom the students accepted me and
made me feel welcome. When I began student teaching in Kindergarten, I
was so used to fourth grade that I did not know how to react. As I
began to learn about the students, I began to feel more comfortable. By
the end of my assignment, I felt as though I was part of the
Kindergarten family. As I left of my last day, it was just as
bittersweet as the day I left fourth grade. I felt refreshed and
excited about all I had learned. Being able to experience such
different environments and different age levels was a great experience
for me.The students wished me good luck and
goodbye and I was excited about beginning my new career and using all I
had learned.
