Oh what a day. It is with an incredible amount of excitement, as well as a sigh of relief, that I officially announce that Year 1 of my Teacher's Ed program is complete. This past month has easily been one of the busiest, most demanding time periods of my professional career so far. Join me as I recount the amazing April I experienced, some of my favorite moments, as well as some of the exciting things I have in the works for the summer! General Vanier PS PracticumApril 8th, 2016 was one of the most bittersweet days of my life. After eight long, demanding, fantastic, stressful, exhausting, life-changing weeks, my first evaluated practicum came to an end. The lessons I learned from this hands-on experience are invaluable. There truly is nothing like being in the classroom, planning your own lessons, seeing what the students respond to, and learning for yourself what works and what doesn't. The amount of growth I experienced in these eight long(short) weeks is astounding. I can honestly say that I am on my way to becoming a teacher.
At the end of the book, after the cut-out hearts in each page continued to get smaller and smaller, my AT talked about another feeling: pride. She told our class how proud she was of me for completing my classroom practicum and what a great teacher I will be one day. It was one of my favorite moments from the year. The entire class had signed the inside cover of the book, and in addition to that they had created their own book of memories, pictures and advice. To see the growth in these students' abilities from the beginning of the year to their culmination in the effort they put into this keepsake for me is such a special gift in and of itself. This is a memory I will cherish forever. Back to ClassAlthough practicum was over, the year was not, and on April 11th we all returned to the University of Ottawa campus to finish the final three weeks of the Year 1 program. I would be lying if I said I was looking forward to these last days of class - after being in the classroom everyday, going back to sitting in lectures and completing assignments was not exactly something I wanted to do. But, this is what was required of us, and so with one last push we made it through. Some of the highlights on the end of the year include a field trip to Ottawa Forest School, an Urban Trek through Ottawa's downtown streets and along the Ottawa River (photo below from that day), and finally our last day of class, where our fantastic PED3150 Professor baked us chocolate chip banana bread and told us all how proud she was of us and our accomplishments this year. I am so excited for Year 2 to begin, but Year 1 will definitely be tough to top. Teachers Teaching Teachers Symposium: |
AuthorJessica Coleman holds a Bachelor of Education as well as an Honours Bachelor of Social Sciences, both from the University of Ottawa. She is an Ontario College of Teachers certified teacher, currently working towards a Masters of Education degree at uOttaw, as well. Archives
September 2018
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