January 30th, 2020

Today we had another Character Education Assembly. Today, I presented an award to a

student. The Character Education Assembly focuses on one of the six categories of a positive
character, respect, fairness, responsibility, caring, citizenship, and trustworthiness, every other
month. This month was responsibility. For these assemblies, two students are chosen from each
class grades K – 4 that represent these qualities and characteristics. To learn about responsibility,
earlier in the month, we held a discussion about this word and what it means. Furthermore, the
guidance counselor also came in and continued the conversation more in depth to show the
importance and influence of this factor, responsibility. Throughout the conversations, we
discussed how students need to be responsible in different settings like home and school and how
these responsibilities can be different or similar. Throughout the whole month of January, my
mentor teacher and I concentrated on implementing factors of responsibility within the classroom
and school. For example, lessons, activities, posters, and games. Additionally, throughout
January and within the classroom, my mentor teacher and I also began to look and examine
students’ actions to observe if they are demonstrating responsibility. By the end of the month,
my mentor teacher and I picked two students who consistently demonstrated their responsibility
by completing and handing in their homework, who are self-regulating, and maintained their
self-control. Throughout these assemblies, parents of the award winners come as well; therefore,
I needed to communicate this exciting news with the parents and invite them to watch their child
receive the award.
Additionally, presenting the award was a really interesting and exciting experience as it
allowed me to feel a part of the community. Throughout the month, I was able to observe how
the Character Education Assemblies benefited the students because it allowed them to take pride
in themselves and be honored for their abilities and actions. Moreover, I observed how these
assemblies influence the students’ behavior. Throughout the month, students were more aware of
their actions and if/how they were responsible. Overall, students become more mindful,
conscious, and knowledgeable about their behavior and how it affected and influenced someone
else.
In conclusion, I am appreciative for this opportunity as it allowed me to continue to
deepen my teaching development and professional responsibility.

Reflection:

The Character Education Assemblies are a great resource provided by the school to
promote positive mindset, interactions, and overall behavior. These assemblies provide students,
teachers, and educators with a chance to deepen their school community. Moreover, these
assemblies provided me with the opportunity to grow and improve my professional development
and responsibility. Additionally, the Character Education assemblies provide an experience for
students to understand how to effectively express and discuss their emotions and thoughts in
order to have a productive and meaningful discussion. In general, I found this experience and
these assemblies overall to be unique and significant as I was able to improve and deepen my
skills and abilities as a teacher.
When using the Danielson’s Framework for Teaching to reflect and evaluate any themes
within my journal entry, I was able to observe my participation throughout the four domains.
 Throughout my reflection, I was able to participate within Domain 1: Planning and
Preparation. Specifically, I was able to demonstrate my ability throughout the component 1b:
Demonstrating Knowledge of Students. In order to accurately present this award to a student, I
needed to know my field placements’ students’ skills, knowledge, interests, and personality. In
other words, I needed to adequately understand my students and have already created beneficial
relationships to make the award count and have value to the students. Additionally, throughout
January, my mentor teacher and I focused our classroom environment, lessons, and activities on
responsibility (the characteristic this month) to go with the school’s theme. These lessons and
activities allowed me to continue to participate and further my experience throughout the other
five components within Domain 1. My mentor teacher and I also concentrated on the theme of
responsibility to provide opportunities for students to learn about and demonstrate this type of
behavior. In general, the Character Education assemblies provided me with a beneficial
experience that demonstrated the importance of collaboration and communication for both
students and teachers.
Furthermore, when focusing on Domain 2: The Classroom Environment, I am able to
observe how my journal entry demonstrates my participation throughout the diverse components.
My evaluation of my journal entry displays my ability to participate within 2c: Managing
Classroom Procedures. Throughout the classroom, we allowed students opportunities to become
more responsible by allowing them to obtain certain materials and complete certain transitions
independently. Moreover, it was important for students to feel proud of their accomplishments
and understand the importance of these characteristics for the Character Education assemblies.
My journal entry also demonstrates my participation throughout 2d: Managing Student Behavior.
These Character Education assemblies provide an opportunity for students to learn about positive
and important characteristics. Moreover, they help students to understand what type of actions
and behaviors are helpful, encouraging, and supportive. Throughout my student teaching
experience and within January, I was able to observe students change and alter their actions
based on the discussions we had and the videos we watched. These assemblies provided a unique
way for students to manage their own behaviors as well as teachers manage the students’
behaviors. Lastly, a final component that I participated in throughout this journal entry is 2e:
Organizing Physical Space. Within the classroom, my mentor teacher and I hung posters around
the room that focused on responsibility and accountability. Organizing these posters around the
room helped to reinforce this month’s characteristics and also helped to provide students more
intrinsic motivation as they were working for their own independent goals of responsibility. In
general, I was able to use the classroom environment as a resource and reinforcement to further
and deepen the students’ understanding about the content.
Throughout Domain 3, I was able to continue to demonstrate my teaching experience
within the different components. Within Domain 3, my journal entry reflects my ability to
participate in 3a: Communicating with Students. I communicated and discussed the content of
responsibility and what it means to be a responsible citizen and student with my field placement
students. Another component demonstrated throughout my journal entry is 3c: Engaging the
Students. Throughout the month of January, my mentor teacher and I often used the theme of
responsibility to create activities and assignments to engage students. For example, the students
and I would have discussions about the characteristics of responsibility and then, have students
create interactive plays about these traits. For this journal entry, none of the other components
were really utilized or applied. In general, this experience allowed to observe how the school
curriculum impacts and influences the classroom, students, and teachers.
 Lastly, throughout my reflection, I observed and analyzed my incorporation of Domain 4
to help provide an engaging and equitable classroom environment. Specifically, my journal entry
demonstrates my participation in 4b: Maintaining Accurate Records. I needed to observe and
record the students actions as they demonstrated their responsibility in order to present a fair
award. Moreover, these records will allow me to observe which students are actively trying to
improve their behavior and which students are not. Within my journal entry, I also analyzed my
participation in the component 4c: Communicating with Families. Families of the awarded
students are invited to watch the assembly and watch their child receive their award. Therefore,
this provided me with an opportunity to practice this communication and discuss with the
students’ families the positive news. Furthermore, I was able to explain to parents why the
students were receiving the awards and the positive actions the students’ completed throughout
the month of January. Additionally, I was able to evaluate my participation throughout the
component 4d: Participating in a Professional Community and 4e: Growing and Developing
Professionally because I was able to continue to grow and develop my connections with other
teachers and school faculty throughout the assembly. Specifically, I was able to communicate
with other teachers and discuss diverse ways to incorporate this month’s characteristic into the
classroom. Finally, I was able to observe my incorporation in 4f: Showing Professionalism. I was
able to demonstrate this feature by respectfully calling the students’ name on stage for them to
receive their award as well as dress and act appropriately. Additionally, by continuing to always
display my overall respect to the students and staff. In general, I am very appreciative of my
student teaching experience as it has allowed me to expand, deepen, and further my teaching
practices, knowledge, and skills. Overall, this experience and reflection allowed me to analyze
how participating in school events is beneficial for both the teacher and the students.
The students’ learning was affected by the Character Education assembly because it
provided an interactive experience for students to learn about different positive traits in order to
be an effective member of society. Moreover, the students were able to learn about emotions,
feelings, and how these factors may affect other people through lessons, activities, discussions,
and videos. Furthermore, throughout this experience, one thing I have learned is the importance
of understanding students and communicating with other teachers and parents. I was able to
discuss with other teachers about prior Character Education assemblies and how these assemblies
can overall impact the school. Additionally, this experience provided me an opportunity to talk
with parents in an informal manner about their children. A goal I have set for myself as a result
of this experience and learning is to participate in more school events to continue to develop and
grow my professional responsibility. By participating in more school events, it will allow me to
make new beneficial and important connections and relationships.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed this experience as it pushed me out my comfort zone. This
opportunity allowed me to understand the importance of school events in creating a welcoming
and encouraging school environment and climate. Additionally, this experience allowed me to
reflect and analyze my teaching practices and skills to provide opportunities for me to grow,
develop, and learn. Furthermore, this opportunity allowed me to continue to learn how to
effectively participate in a community. In general, my student teaching experience has been a
very eye-opening and beneficial. Overall, I have been able to really grow and enhance my
teaching practices, skills, and philosophy to ensure I provide all learners with equitable and
responsive learning experiences. I am very grateful for this opportunity.