Reflection Journals
Below are "journal entries" reflecting on lessons I learned during my time at Robious Middle School. Journal #1 was written after working with Mrs. Couillard's sixth grade class for two months, and Ms. Moore's seventh grade class for one month. Journal #2 is my reflection upon reading Col. James Moschgat's "A Janitor's Ten Lessons in Leadership," and the five lessons my internship has taught me.
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Journal #1 March 8, 2012
Four years ago, when I marched out of those doors for the last time, with my nose slightly turned up, I vowed never to return. As that girl, letting the heavy, metal doors slam behind me without even a glance over my shoulder, I would have never thought that one day I would find myself walking the halls of Robious Middle School yet again. Just thinking about ever having to return to middle school made my skin crawl. The drama, the hormones, the horror.
My middle school experience was one I wish to forget, but it remains vivid in my memory. My only thought, as the first day of my internship grew closer, was that I was going to watch others go through the middle school experience I had. My heart ached for the students and I was uncertain that student teaching in a middle school was what I wanted to do for my senior year internship. Despite having no interest in teaching whatsoever, I decided to do it, but was preparing for the worst. I told myself over and over I would only have to go twenty times to fulfill my required sixty hours, and then after that I would be done. On the very first day my worries melted away with the single touch of a small, gentle hand on my arm. “I don’t |
think there’s a single person in the room I hate. We all love each other,” one of the sixth graders said to me as everyone sat in a circle around Mrs. Couillard’s classroom during Crew. I could not believe what I had just heard. With just a few simple words I was much more at ease and I began to think maybe teaching would not be so bad after all.
That has been proven true. I figured out quickly that the best way to make the most of this experience is to take risks. I have since picked up a seventh grade classroom and I just started teaching lessons. Am I worried I am depriving these children of a quality education? Yes, but that is a chance I will have to take. I have adopted each class as my own in my heart, though I still do not want to become a teacher. In just the two months I have been going to Robious, my respect for teachers has skyrocketed. The dedication teachers have for their students is far beyond anything I could have ever imagined. From my internship I hope to take away the passion, patience, and kindness I see exhibited from Mrs. Couillard and Mrs. Moore and be able to apply those qualities to whatever I decide to pursue in life. |
A Janitor's Ten Lessons in Leadership April 26, 2012
A leadership program cannot make leaders; only share the success stories and skills of people we recognized as leaders, and hope the students learn from the lessons. Unfortunately, leadership skills are not developed in a classroom setting; instead, the students develop too much pride. Students feel superior because they have been educated to be a leader, but leadership skills are learned through life experience. The cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy believed themselves to be better than Mr. Crawford because he was only a janitor, not realizing that he was one of the greatest leaders during World War II. Their hubris causes them to treat Mr. Crawford poorly, until they realize he was a Medal of Honor recipient. A good leader should recognize, that even though they have been educated to be the best, there are better leaders in the world who have never been educated in a leadership institution. Not only that, but a good leader should set themselves equal to their followers. If leaders consider themselves to be better than everyone else, they distance themselves from their followers. The divide causes the leaders to be unable to represent the followers’ beliefs. When leaders set themselves equal to their followers, they are more effective and respected leaders. Mr. Crawford never sets himself above the cadets. He never reprimands them for leaving a mess for a Medal of Honor recipient to clean up, and when the cadets discover whom he really is, they respect him.
As I read, I noticed that I already try and apply Mr. Crawford’s lessons to life, especially in my internship. Middle School is a rough time, and the worst part of all is the labels assigned to everyone. Peers judges each other, assigning clique labels and establishing harsh divides no one dares cross. Being labeled a nerd or weird doesn’t feel good. The students are already judged enough by their peers, so they should never feel judged by their teachers. I think of all of my students as equals, no one better than the others. Because one student doesn’t understand the lesson doesn’t mean they’re dumb, and they shouldn’t be labeled that way. I should never be quick to underestimate someone’s abilities because of how they talk, dress, or act in class. I love each and every one of my students for their unique qualities. If I had labeled each student as weird before I took the time to know him or her, I wouldn’t have the relationship with him or her that I do. If I hadn’t taken the time I wouldn’t have known that Thomas loves fish or that Mac knows everything about how refrigerators work, all things we can talk about when there’s a little down time. Each day when the kids come back from lunch, they all run up to me, telling me about the most recent thing in their life or something new that they learned. I love |
being able to talk with them and have them be eager to talk to me. I’m not just an unbiased person to talk to, but I’m courteous to all the students. I am always just as polite to them, as they are expected to be to me as a teacher. I say please and thank you and help them clean up after science labs. If I acted as though I was better than all of them, things would be very different. I have fun saying hello to everyone as I pass by in the halls and sending smiles their way if it’s too loud to hear. Despite not wanting to be a teacher or work in a middle school, I’d do my internship again and again because I love each and everyone of my students. Not labeling, getting to know each student, and being courteous is how I’ve made the best of my time at Robious Middle School.
My five lessons I’ve learned from my internship are... 1. Always wear a smile. Whether you’re having a bad day or not, your problems are never everyone else’s problems. It could be that faking a smile is what you need to actually feel better. 2. Enthusiasm makes a difference. A student will only be as interested in something as you are. Yawning and looking bored would only make them hate the lesson as much as you do, and the purpose of teaching is to make them learn something. Wear a smile and always mention how cool science is, because enthusiasm is contagious. 3. Always act like there is no place you’d rather be. Odds are there are a million places the students want to be than school. Acting like you don’t want to be there either will only encourage the students to think like that. Be in the moment and engaging, making others think you want to be there, even if you really don’t. 4. Never underestimate anyone. As soon as a teacher or a peer rules someone out as dumb, why should they try? The purpose of teaching is to make kids feel good about what they know, and want to learn things they don’t know. Some kids excel in some areas, but not others. You can never anticipate what a student will say in class, especially in a CBG class. Each student is intelligent in his or her own way and when they show it, it should never be surprising. 5. Maintain focus. When a leader, and especially a teacher, is unfocused, so are the students. No matter how hard the students (followers) try, always stay focused. The better focused everyone is, the faster goals can be accomplished. |