Enjoy!
Overall, this week went very smoothly, I learned a lot, and
again enjoyed the flexibility that this internship brings. I have gotten down a
schedule and am learning how to get from school to school by heart. I have a
lot of fun with my students, and overall really enjoy this style of teaching!
I think one
of the reasons this job is so much less stressful, compared to my last two
internships, is because I am the one who keeps myself accountable for my own
actions. In a sense, it really is a blessing to not have a mentor because I can
make decisions for myself. While I learned so much from both of my mentors in
my past two internships, and am extremely grateful for them, it is nice to have
a little bit more flexibility to make last-minute decisions and not feel guilty
for changing the lesson plan. This internship has definitely given me a taste
of freedom, even just two weeks in, and I am glad to have it during my third
and final placement.
I continue
to learn each and everyday on the job. One of the main lessons I’ve learned
these past two weeks is what you are taught in university about how a classroom
functions, and what happens behind the scenes, and how administrators are big,
bad wolves is very different from what I have perceived to happen in “the real
world”. For example, I didn’t learn in the university setting how to deal with
a child who grabs your face when he’s excited. I didn’t learn that deaf high
schoolers like to work one-on-one with teachers and other professionals because
it gives them a time to easily communicate with someone who understands their
first language. I didn’t learn that classroom teachers of CDC students will
sometimes have a child have a toilet-related accident while the teacher is
holding the child. I didn’t learn that if you have a question about something,
there probably is a specialist who can answer your question in her sleep
because she knows the answer so well. Each day is a learning experience; I
learn not only about my position as an itinerant teacher, but I learn about my
students as well. I find myself really engaging and connecting with my students
during our 30 or 45 minutes we share together.
Lastly, I
really enjoy the flexibility this internship brings! One day, I finished with
my students a little earlier than usual, and didn’t have very much paperwork to
do back at Central Office, so I decided to use my time wisely and go gather
materials. I went to the Knox County Public Library and began to peruse the
shelves for a book about the Civil War, and architecture, and turkeys; all for
my students. I asked the children’s librarian if they had any books for kids
that had pictures of signers in the books. She showed me a section, and then
asked if she could help with anything else. I ended up picking her brain and
getting materials and books from her for about thirty minutes! For the
remainder of the week I was very excited to teach my students because I had
useful and valuable resources that were connected to 1) their interests and 2)
what they were learning in the classroom. Had I been a classroom teacher, I
really don’t think I would have had time in my day to go to the library and
talk with the librarian, and in turn find some great materials for my students.
It is this type of “unusual” activities that I really enjoy about this
internship/job.
I feel like this hearing specialist
position is something that resonates with me. I feel like I am able to use some
of my passion for books and English and apply it to almost anything my students
are learning. I also feel like I can apply my personal educational background
of being homeschooled with this internship because I am able to do many
hands-on things with my students. Most of all, I love the flexibility to
educate these students—most of whom has severe deficits in reading, writing,
and language/communication—in a way that supports my personal philosophy of
education. I feel much more comfortable working with students one-on-one
because I believe each student is an individual who learns in his/her own way.
I was really overwhelmed at MHS trying to educate 18-24 individual students per
class period. I was taught in a one-on-one setting from my mom, and of course
you teach how you were taught, so it makes sense that I am more comfortable,
and happier, to teach my students one-on-one. I am seriously considering a
future career as a hearing specialist, as opposed to a classroom teacher, which
I had pretty much scratched off my list of possible future jobs.
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