Week 4

To be an exceptional leader is to also be an exceptional follower. How can someone expect to lead well if they do not know what followers require? Sure, anyone can read articles and obtain knowledge about how to be a good leader. But reading about leadership will never amount to experiencing something for oneself. So, instead of me trying to lead my way as a new teacher, I want to be a follower of a good leader. I want to know what any concerns are and how to approach them. I want to set an example to my students that it is okay to not always be in charge, that others should have a chance at leadership as well. With this, I will demonstrate leadership. As NCPTS states, we are leaders in the classroom. I will always be a leader in my classroom. The way I dress, the way I talk, and all that I do will be observed by someone. I need to always represent good, moral character in the schools, out in public, anywhere I go. People expect teachers to set an example for their children therefore I will set a respectable example of myself for where I work and graduated. I aspire to be more than a teacher. I aspire to be a role model in my community. 

It is unfortunate to say I went through this week with nerves every day. Even now, as everything is settled I still feel myself overwhelmed. Not by school, not by people, but our current weather climate. I even made my twin sister Heather come home, family means everything to me. I learned that I need to prepare myself mentally for the challenge I am about to put myself through. When I took the fifth grade math test, I was embarrassed by how many problems I missed. My thinking started scrambling for the right way to go about this, so starting Saturday I will spend my day creating a step-by-step plan to be successful. In this I will create formal and informal math assessments for the content I am working on. 

I am most proud of the work I am putting into my ecosystem. I felt a lot of doubt around me that there was no way I would succeed. My fish are doing well and are active, their names are Doodle, Strudel and Nemo. I have never successfully planted anything, I do not have a talent for landscape so I focused my talents for indoors. My plants are growing well and fast and I'm so ecstatic of the progress I've made keeping my ecosystem managed. I have also made sure to check on it everyday and note all that is happening. 

The most satisfaction I had this week was not in Science Methods. I have done well in psychology which I look forward to studying. I also worked with edTPA this week, doing little at a time to not be overwhelming. I am familiar with edTPA, but have never worked on a full lesson with this outline. I have much more understanding and relief with this template. 

My actions will be drilling myself down to prove I am worth being in this program. First I will write better assessments, hopefully with feedback, then I'm going to create a comfortable environment I can dedicate my time to. I am realizing the areas that need improvement, that's why I'm going to do this. I know I will be a wonderful teacher.

This week I brought vegetables for anyone to use for their ecosystem. These will provide nutrients and food for insects present. Next week I will continue to work on group projects and show I am an asset to any team.

I learned about how hurricanes form this week. I can successfully answer questions like: ow do hurricanes form? How do hurricanes get their name? Why do hurricanes rotate the way they do? I like learning new things I did not realize I didn't know. This follows right into NCPTS by teachers know the content they teach.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1S9JGaGqppMEuW8uVJ8wNrUNtBlaqeME-s7Hbhxj412U/edit?usp=sharing

The link above is chapter two's hyperdoc link that Kelly W., Chris S., and I completed. We talked about science inquiry skills and science investigation skills like observation, explaining, documenting, experimenting and more. To answer some questions, my most memorable science project was in eighth grade we had to collect around fifty different types of bugs and classify them. It was hard, but going on trails with friends was a great experience. In the picture with the butterfly I believe the butterfly is helping itself to a nice meal, or pollinating. Lastly, I believe one big disadvantage of engineering is how quickly we are polluting our air and destroying natural resources.

This tweet by McGrawHill Education
gives great advice to not only be confident,
but have a successful year.
My favorite part about this article is when
it is stated to go backwards.
Backwards as in start where they're going,
then begin with this in mind.

I love this tweet of teachers giving
new teachers words of encouragement.
Being a first-year teacher can be hard,
but knowing your fellow teachers are
cheering you on will make you feel better.
When I'm a first year teacher, I know I
would very much appreciate this.
When I'm an experienced teacher, I will
help support all new teachers.

Last but not least is another phrase from Amy

Fast. Just as we praise and encourage our

students, it is important that teachers could

use praise and encouragement as well.

We have a tough job that we love, we need

an environment in which we can always remember that love.