Reflection 12

My expedition as a student teacher has officially come to its’ end. This is a sad, yet
thrilling time. While I am looking forward to taking my next step as a future teacher, I will
heavily miss my students at the Ambridge Area High School. We have grown so much together,
and I am thankful for each and every one of them. These students have taught me so much about
myself as a teacher, and I cannot wait to discuss it more. We had our good times and our bad
times, and I would not change my experience for the world. Throughout this last reflection, I will
reflect on the valuable insights I have gained through out this experience, and I will discuss my
best teaching moment.
To begin, my student teaching has been nothing but a joyride. I had a few trials and
tribulations, but for this reflection, I would rather focus on the good moments. Throughout this
student teaching experience, I have learned so much about myself as a student teacher, and there
are many things I am going to take away from this experience. In regards to my teaching style, I
learned that I am able to connect with my students on a high level. I felt as if my students and I
quickly gravitated to each other and were able to develop strong relationships. This development
allowed both my students and I to feel more comfortable and confident with each other. This
ability of mine allowed for a much more relaxed, yet dynamic classroom environment. In
addition, I learned that I am the type of teacher who loves to ask questions and get students
involved. I do not want to be the type of teacher that lectures to their students 24/7. I want the
students to get up and interact with the material because I feel it benefits their learning.
Regarding my classroom management, this is an area which I felt I grew the most. At first, I
wanted to be the friendly, laid-back teacher, but I learned that there is a time a place for that.
Instead, I had to learn to separate myself from being seen as a friend to being seen as their
teacher. This was a hard concept for me to learn, however, it most definitely improved my
classroom management skills. Do not get me wrong, I am still that friendly, funny, chill teacher,
but I now conduct it in a way that is more professional. Regarding my student discipline, I feel
this area is all about respect. If I respect you, I expect you to respect me. This is something that I
quickly developed with my students, and I had no issues with discipline throughout my student
teaching. My best teaching moment would have to be when I played review games with my
students. I created games such as Math Baseball and Basketball, and the students loved it. What
made it the best moment was how much fun the students had with it. These students made me
laugh so hard at how competitive they were when it came to these games. It was truly so much
fun to be a part of. With this moment, I learned how to turn something as complex as math into
something that can be fun to even someone who despises math. Overall, this journey has been a
true blessing. I have gained so much knowledge on teaching, and specifically the way I teach. I
am extremely grateful for the opportunity I was given, and I am optimistic about my future as a
teacher.