Emily Gonzales

Into to Teaching

Field Experience Report Part 1

April 1, 2020

Field Experience Report Part I:

When I was observing my teacher and her class I was able to ask not only her but other teachers

as well about their personal experiences with teaching. I learned many new ideas and got familiar with

the life of a modern teacher. I learned that when giving to their students, they are giving them not only

their creativity but their time and energy. In return they get the accomplishment of helping mold a child

to become a productive citizen. It is the knowledge they are able to give to their students to be able to

shape a young human into an American citizen that will one day make their mark on the world in their

own unique way.

When asking what is it they liked the most about teaching most agreed that building relationship

s with their kids is what they love the most. To be able to inspire the young people in a community to

set goals and to achieve those goals even if they might be too hard at the beginning to accomplish. But

in doing all of this and pushing that motivation, it is building those needed relationships with teacher

and student. What may be a bother to the teachers is the standardized testing. Having constant

timelines, contracts to curriculum, and not being able to teach what their kids NEED at their age and

grade level. An other thing that I learned that is a huge bother is the lack of parent involvement. Parents

who do not recognize the importance of a child’s education to change their life for the better.

After asking a couple teachers what has changed for them over the years, my favorite answer

that I also found to be a bit emotional for me was “you can not save them all.” When this teacher first

got started teaching, she was so excited about it. She felt like she was going to go out into the world

and change all 27 lives in her classroom each year. What changed over the years is that she can NOT
save every child. “We do not have superpowers” she explained. We can not always meet every child’s

needs and change every one. My favorite comment that she did make was “as long as I can reach ONE

child’s life a year, I knew I did my job. And I did it right.” I completely agreed with her when she said

that. She then went on to say “You can lose sleep and beat yourself up everyday to strive for the kids

but at the end of the day one child is saved and it was not my job to except it.” As much as I want to

change as many lives as I can with my teaching career, this conversation with this certain teacher was a

good eye opener. I feel that no matter what comes ahead I need to remind myself that it is okay and that

I still am reaching and changing many lives along my career as a teacher, just not them all and that is

okay.

Some motivations for some teachers have changed. This answer comes mainly from those

teachers who have been teaching for a long period of time and seemed to be more frustrated by it. What

causes the main lack of motivation not for some is the money. Money affects their creativity in good

and bad ways. It really makes the teachers feel very limited with their lesson plans. Some can go

around it and find a project that is in budget while others lack because they have a bit more of higher

expectations for their students and the work that they turn in. The ability to have antiquate funding and

resources having to change depending on where you work.

I was able to talk to a teacher who has been teaching for over 25 years and went from teaching

in a classroom to an admin, back to the classroom. When asking her about her expectations, she made it

clear that admins have VERY high expectations for new coming teachers fresh out of college. They

expect the motivation to be there and for them to have more creativity to offer them and their school.

They also have expectations on state officials to do more with funding resources, and teacher’s pay. As

a classroom teacher, they expect to have the right people in charge, having the right staff around them

to be able to do their job and do it right. As well as being rewarded or recognized for the sacrifices

some/most teachers make for their school and students every year for their job.
 These teachers have learned that they do not live in LaLa Land and that kids walking through

their doors are not all the same. Not every child is have the same story. They have to learn to meet their

specific needs and understand that not every child is not going to college. This conversation did sound

harsh but it was completely true once I listened and took my notes. Not every child will attend college,

but being able to teach them a set of skills to provide for themselves and their future families is what us

as educators should help do. As an educator, we have the ability to develop children to be successful

with life skills. We can not expect every child to be the exact same. One teacher mentioned “you can

not fit a square piece into a round hole.” These teachers have learned over the years it takes creativity,

out of the box, and building relationships. It takes learning and knowing that child’s background,

families, and needs. This is not a job that is going to make you rich, there is not a lot of “thank you’s”

you must be in it for the RIGHT reasons.

I feel like the teachers I have been around or encountered before all have the same outcome.

You MUST be in this career for the right reasons. You will not always get the credit you deserve and I

find that okay. I am in this to make a difference on our young. It was not much of a surprise more of a

confirmation when asking teachers about college in their students futures. I understood that they could

all agree that not every child of their was not going/ meant for college. Hearing this answer, I

completely agreed in so many ways. From my own experience growing up and watching my own

classmates I found that some were just not meant to have college in their lives and that was okay. I feel

that my motivation is still here and has increased. I learned that I am not going to mark and reach every

single child I have each year but as long as I reach ONE I will know that I did my job right. After

spending time with these teachers and getting to know them and their classrooms I feel that my

teaching career is going to have many ups and many downs. But after seeing such a community within

their school I feel that I will have that where ever I may end up when I start my teaching career. It is

okay to ask your priers for advice and creativity.