Intro to the Teaching Profession [EDUC 261]
Intro to the Teaching Profession is another one of my major-specific courses. My reason for including a highlight from the course on this blog is that I was fortunate enough to be able to take an Honors section of yet another non-Gen. Ed. course.
Intro to the Teaching Profession was a unique course because it had my first in-classroom experience embedded into it. Teacher candidates at many other colleges do not get their first in-classroom experience until their junior or even senior year. At Longwood, however, I was able to complete my One-Week Practicum I as a freshman.
I was very fortunate in that I was placed into my first-choice school, West Elementary,** for my Practicum I. I spent time observing a veteran first grade teacher who worked with a team of three other first grade teachers. The other three teachers had each been teaching for five or fewer years, and watching Mrs. Anderson* help them whenever they had questions or concerns was an experience I truly value. It was comforting to see how fervently new teachers are encouraged and aided by veteran teachers. I can only hope that one day I am able to work in a place a where I have access to a support system as strong as the one I witnessed at West Elementary.
When I returned to class after completing my Practicum hours, I was able to discuss my experience with my fellow classmates. My Intro to the Teaching Profession course was also unique in that I was one of only seven students enrolled. The tiny class size allowed my classmates, my professor, and I to have comfortable, causal, conversational, and efficient classes. We spent a good portion of each class telling stories about our experiences not only with our Practicums but also about our experiences as students ourselves. Listening to my classmates’ stories helped me to gain many new perspectives. I attended a small, private school from Kindergarten all the way until I graduated with a class of only twenty-nine students. I missed out on several experiences that were “normal” to the rest of my classmates, and being able to learn from them will help me tremendously as I continue with my pursuit of a teaching career.
To learn more about what I learned during my 30-hour Practicum I, take a look at my Practicum I journals below.
