Being in the partnership program is a great experience. Looking back to last semester I felt that I was successful and had a lot of fun. I was able to have my own group of kids and teach them about science and reading. The kids were super creative and fun to work with. This semester was very different from last semester. This semester was very hard and confusing. It was difficult to read the teacher and I didn't know what to expect each time I entered the classroom. I wasn't assigned any children and wasn't given a whole lot of direction. From my experience at the middle school, my view of teaching has changed. I realize that i don't want to be a teacher who lectures all the time or who gets after kids all the time. Children need encouragement just as much as they need discipline. They need someone to believe in them and help them through school. As a teacher I want to be someone who facilitates learning. I want to be a teacher that believes in my students and brings out the very best in them. I have learned that i teaching, children don't want to be talked down to, they want to be encouraged and brought up. I want to create a fun and inviting atmosphere for my students to learn.   

When having a practicum experience in this classroom I would advise the student to expect the unexpected. This teacher is very unpredictable and quite frankly hard to read. She's also very temperamental and isn't afraid to speak her mind. However, she is really good with kids. You will encounter a lot of isolation if you don't speak up, communicate and get involved. This teacher doesn't tell you what you need to do in the classroom. She doesn't give direction very well, you have to figure it out yourself. Sometimes she's in a good mood and other times she's in a not so good mood. The thing that is lacking the most is direction. Personally I like having a sense of my responsibilities when entering a classroom. This teacher does not assign a lot of responsibility you have to jump in and get involved yourself. I really believe that she cares about her class and her students. She's makes me nervous a lot but, she can be very fun as well.    

Even if you haven't seen the Eureka math program in action or heard your cooperating teacher speak about it, give you opinion about standardized curriculum programs and whether they benefit students and teachers.

In my opinion standardized curriculum programs are very good at helping students to excel in math. The programs I've seen offer a lot of differentiated instruction. a lot of students have different ways of solving a math problem and the program is helping and facilitating those learning strategies. they benefit the students but, I'm not so sure they benefit the teachers. A lot of the math strategies we've been learning in class goes completely against what I've been taught in schools. its new and its challenging and a little bit of fun. But, I feel as though we are expecting the impossible from teachers, I feel like asking teachers to differentiate instruction to the point where every single child is being catered to is a lot of work. And honestly I would definitely want to be paid what I'm worth for that kind of instruction. Now this may seem very controversial and very against the normal way of teaching. However I've been in classrooms where the teacher reviews the concepts and hands her kids a math worksheet. I've been in classrooms where instruction has a very one way approach to it and a lot of the time its effective. Now I understand children learn in different ways and I'm not saying differentiating instruction doesn't work I'm just saying if i work hard all day and then come in on the weekends and spend hours in my classroom, I want to be paid what I'm worth. The only thing I don't like about the teaching field is the fact that quite frankly we aren't paid what were worth. Now i knew going into teaching I am doing it because I love kids and that is essentially why I'm still here. because I want to see kids learn and grow. I want to see their faces light up when they get it. Thats the joy. 

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   This week was good. I learned a lot about testing and about how the kids do there testing. i found it very interesting that the kids test on iPads. this must be some new form of technology. When we tested in high school it was all pencil and paper tests. This seems to be a much better way of testing. Usually when the students are testing the teachers walk around the room and observe, they also answer any questions related to testing. 

I think that the way we interact with the students is the most important thing that needs to be evaluated this semester. I have taught a lesson and it went rather well although I did have some hiccups. I believe that punctuality is a very important thing, because when you get a job as a teacher your expected to show up on time. However, the dress code for practicum should be a little more relaxed. The reason I say this is because, when I shadow teachers they are wearing jeans loose fitting tops and t-shirts while practicum students are adhering to a very rigid and strict dress code. It seems like a double standard. Now, I’m not saying we all should walk around in our pajamas or in very revealing clothing but I think we need to lighten up a bit on the dress code. Maybe have a casual Thursdays where we can wear dress shorts or something more comfortable other than khaki pants and polo’s. But I know for ladies it’s much harder to wear something more comfortable without it being revealing. Now, I’m not saying that to be a sexist it’s just a fact of life. These are my personal feelings about the dress code.  

I have noticed that my cooperating teacher is combining real life experiences into her curriculum. When my teacher is teaching she is always looking for ways to integrate real world experiences into her curriculum. I haven’t seen a lot of math or science based evidence in her literature class. She mainly focuses on the content areas. On Thursday we did a lesson on the five senses it was a really detailed and cool lesson plan about recognizing the five senses. My cooperating teacher incorporated a lot of English and literature strategies when doing this lesson. I have yet to see evidence of science or math based principles.

I have not seen any Math manipulatives being used in my classroom. I am in an English classroom and that is probably the reason i haven't seen any math manipulatives. I think because its an english class students are focused more on reading and writing than on math. I would use math manipulatives in my future classroom because they are a very helpful  for when kids count and add. Manipulatives also allow for fun activities and cool stuff that you can play with.