Q: What was the most rewarding work activity you performed this week?
The most rewarding activity for me happened at the end of the day of our last day at Willard. We were wrapping our "synthesis day" (connecting all our 6 weeks of lessons) and we asked the kids to respond to the question: "what is something you learned during your time with Rivers and Revolutions that you are going to take-away?" The responses that all 80 kids had filled me with pure joy and pride. When it finally hit me that teaching them had made a true impact on their lives/part of their educational experience I was stunned in amazement -- a feeling I'll never forget.
Q: What have you learned about how you handle stressful work situations?
The way I have learned to deal with stressful work situations is to "roll with the punches" (advise my supervisor, Micheal Goodwin gifted me) and to always remain positive. In the beginning when teaching at Willard, I struggled with this a bit. I wanted every lesson that I planned to be perfect, yet I learned very quickly that there is no much thing as a perfect lesson -- there will always be a couple of minor set backs. However, like I mentioned before, I have learned to remain positive, and not let little 'trips' throw me off!
Q: What skills have you acquired at this point that makes you think you will be successful in a position in this industry?
Patience, communication, and working well with others are the skills I have acquired through my internship and what I believe will lead me to be successful in any position of an education industry. I acquired the skill of patience when put in the position as the main teacher in a 5th grade class, I learned quickly how much patience one must have when trying to get the attention of twenty-five 5th graders at any given time. I learned the importance of good communication with my co-workers, my supervisors, and my teachers to ensure that everything was running smoothly during a day of teaching, as well as getting feedback from my supervisors after a particular lesson has been taught. Working along side the stewards of RR's cohort 14 the importance of collaboration and group-work has been very clear. I always want to hear their thoughts on lesson plans, what they think could be changed, or what new ideas they might have -- anything they might think that could better the overall lesson plan!