2014-2015 Internship

This year I am interning in Paige Henderson's 5th grade class at North Ridge Elementary. I had Mrs. Henderson as my 5th grade teacher so it is amazing to be able to be her student again but in a whole new light. Mrs. Henderson is great about making me feel at home. What is hers is mine and vise-versa. She shares her classroom, ideas, experiences, and heart with me everyday. Mrs. Henderson is also does everything she can to assure that I experience what a teacher would.  Every now and then I will have a student who wants me to be their friend instead of their teacher, but Mrs. Henderson makes sure that I maintain my authority so I get the full teacher experience. When I first walked into her classroom I was a bit intimidated just because it was so out of my comfort zone. I was use to being the student, the class clown, I wasn't use to being an academic leader in Mrs. Henderson's class. This wasn't the only aspect that intimidated me, first, the kids were younger then I was use to, second, the classroom felt smaller, and third, they were doing math, my least favorite subject. But even with it being so different, it didn't take me long to fall in love. After introducing myself we jumped into the lesson. Every student included me and wanted me to be involved. I absolutely love how needed/wanted I was. Though, I was needed and wanted to an extent last year, the older kids weren't as vocal about their feelings toward me. My 5th graders on the other hand, daily either ask my not to leave or thank me for coming. After the lesson (which was fun and interactive, like it is almost everyday) the students worked in partners and I worked with a group who needed extra help. After math we move on to either reading or science and shortly after the intro it's time for me to leave. I am surprised at how much I love my 5th graders and the atmosphere and the curriculum, but mostly, I am beyond thankful for the opportunity. I have been blessed with a willing site school teacher and a sweet class. My students help each other and are quick learners and almost always have a good attitude. I couldn't have asked for a better class to work with for my senior year. I can't wait for the rest of the year so I can continue to build relationships and continue to show them how fun education can be!

Here are my kiddos!

Click here to view Mrs. Henderson's website!

TAFE Region XI Competitive Events Day

Region was the same as last year in that it was stressful and very fun, but different since we were only there for the day. I began my day riding with Mrs. Stevens to do some last minute prep for my group project. I competed in four different events. I started competing with service project, then I moved on to my high pressure public speaking competition, then I took the ELF test, and last but not least I competed in the job interview competition. Though I thought the public speaking competition would bring the most grief, it didn't. Surprisingly, my speech went smoothly and without nerves. However, my job interview on the other hand went completely opposite of how I envisioned. My first interview, though it went south, I was grateful for the learning opportunity. I feel as though I only did so well in my final interview because I took my first interview and reflected as much as I could. I learned the atmosphere and what to expect. I also learned what they were expecting from me, which was the most important. If I happen to make the next round, I will continually remind myself that the judges are just people and usually they are volunteers. The main thing that I will do, that I did in my final interview which helped me, is to instead of viewing each question as an opportunity to impress with an answer or to distract myself by thinking to hard of what I prepared for if they asked me this, I will tell myself to be honest and transparent. If I do that, my passion for the career shines through and my answers are more genuine. I think I psyched myself out by thinking they would ask me extremely hard questions, when really since I am so prepared and have so much experience, I know the answers.  The best part of region competition for me was redeeming myself in my second interview. Even if I don't advance, I will still be content because I did all I could and it was a world of difference in comparison to my first interview. Yes, going to state is ideal, but it was more of a personal accomplishment, so for that alone I am happy. 

If this interests you and you would like to learn more about TAFE, click here.