Warm Up Reflection:


As a first year social science teacher at a low income school, I spent a lot of this year trying to "master" both my classroom management and teaching style.  Admittedly, some days/ units were better than others, but overall I think that I was very successfully in my first year.  I felt that my students were always respectful, and I was able to build a good report that lasted till the end of the year.  One of my greatest success thus far cam when I was teaching my unit on Ancient Rome. I had been out of the classroom on medical leave for a month previous to this unit, and I came back a little weary about what I would find in my classroom (both behavior wise and knowledge base wise).  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that must students were VERY well behaved, and they were very engaged with the unit on Rome.  I think the reason the students enjoyed this civilization so much is because it is my FAVORITE unit to teach.  Having spent a year abroad in Rome, I have a multitude of outside resources, pictures, trinkets, knowledge, and stories about the worlds greatest civilization.  It is my belief that because I was so knowledgeable/ excited about the unit, my kids followed my lead and enjoyed the unit as well.

As far as my goals for this masters program, I am looking forward to becoming an "expert" on a topic, subject, or project that I am extremely passionate about.  Sometimes as a teacher I feel like I know a little about a lot of things, and I am excited to have the opportunity to look at a particular "subject" more closely.  By the end of this program, I want to be able to share my knowledge or findings with other teachers/ professionals who may not have the time to research the "topic" on their own, but are still interested about learning about it.