Which Prize Is Better?

**Entry # 10**: Last Wednesday, I walked in my classroom feeling discouraged. I was feeling like I wasn’t capable of being a great teacher. The minute I walked in, the kids asked “Ms. Miranda! Where were you? What took you so long?” I told them “I had to go somewhere real quick.” They started to get curious of what I did in the morning until I told them “There was an award’s ceremony in my school.” “Did you get an award?” they asked. “No” I said and then I added “But it’s ok” and smiled. All of a sudden, Sierra the athletic, brilliant girl in my class pointed at me and said “YOU ARE A GREAT TEACHER MS. MIRANDA!” Other students began agreeing with her saying “Yea! You’re gonna be a great teacher!” Followed by “I’m gonna miss you when you leave Ms. Miranda. I don’t want you to go!”  

I was astonished.

I tried not to cry. But I knew right then and there that God was using my own students to affirm who I am or who I can be. I will be a great teacher, not a perfect teacher because there is no such thing as one, but a great teacher. 

Lessons Learned:

1. You cannot let people or circumstances determine who you are or what you are capable of doing. 

2. Student teaching has been an experience of growth, making mistakes, learning, laughing, loving and getting to know yourself, your teaching style, your weaknesses and your strengths. 

3. We all have weaknesses. We just have to accept them since we are just human, but not as a means of bringing condemnation upon ourselves, but instead to remember that that is why we all need God, who is perfect.

3. Hearing a student(s) tell you that you are a great teacher is a better prize than just a piece of paper.

What’s The Yelling For?

**Entry #9**: There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t hear a teacher yelling at their students. Our neighbors are one 1st grade class, one 3rd grade class and one 4th grade class. The rest are in the other wing of the building. Every single day I hear the 1st and 4th grade teacher scream at their students. Are their students that bad with their behavior? Or did the teachers lost every ounce of patience within them? Ironically, one of St. Paul’s values is “Courtesy”, where part of that description is to model Christian behavior. Well, does this apply to teachers as well? I mean, if so which I am guessing it is, then I am not really seeing that in those classrooms. I understand that kids will always be kids and misbehave here and there but if it causes you to scream every single day, then that’s a problem. I don’t know what exactly goes on in those classrooms but screaming will not make anything better as it is clearly seen that these teachers do it every day. If those students keep on misbehaving, then I think that those teachers need to change their strategy of classroom management or “punishment.” It even got to the point where the 1st grade teacher had to call out one day because she wasn’t feeling well; “She couldn’t take it anymore.” I think her nerves were being affected with all the chaos that constantly goes on in her class. I feel bad but at the same time I ask myself “What happened to the passion for teaching?”

Lesson Learned:
1. As future teachers, let us not forget the passion of teaching that we have now. Many years from now, we may come across different obstacles and carry more responsibilities but let us not lose the passion and fire for teaching, modeling, and most importantly for impacting a child’s life!

Teachers Are Like a Mother

**Blog Entry #8**: I will never forget the day when I saw Mrs. Hogarty’s "sweet side” come out. Couple of weeks ago, I went to go pick up the kids from music class. The kids were lining up. Girls on one line, boys in another. All of a sudden, one of the kids tells me “Ms. Miranda, Rodney is crying!” I turned around to look for him and there he was, crying. My heart broke. I couldn’t see this autistic child cry! I asked him what had happened but he wouldn’t say a word to me. Finally, one of the students told me “I think he’s crying because he got in trouble by the music teacher.” I thought to myself “The music teacher? He is a very nice, patient man. I don’t know. Maybe he’s crying because it was too noisy as they played their recorder? (Some autistic students cannot deal with too much noise).” Long story short. We got back to the class and kept asking what really happened. Rodney got in trouble by the music teacher and was told to go sit or stand by the corner. I told Mrs. Hogarty and she got upset. “I’m going to find out what really happened because I will not allow anyone make any of my kids cry!” She pulled Rodney close to her, gave him a hug and sent him to get a drink of water. She talked to the music teacher and denied what he had done to Rodney.

It wasn’t a coincidence that more than one student said the same thing. Both Mrs. Hogarty and I believed the students more than the teacher.

Lessons Learned:
1. No matter how annoyed your students may get you, you will always love them and be a mother at heart (at least for me).
2. There will be times where you have to use discernment and wisdom to find out the truth.
3. Compassionate teachers are fighters at heart, always willing to fight for their students and wanting the best for them too.

I want to stand up for my students. Do you?

YOU GET WHAT YOU GET AND YOU DON’T GET UPSET!

**Blog Entry # 7**: “You get what you get and you don’t get upset” is one common-use phrase that we can all apply to in our lives.... or do we really? Well it sure will stick with me for a long time, especially when working with kids.

Unlike most public schools, St. Paul’s has limited resources, technology being one of them. Before going to St. Paul’s I expected that the classroom I was going to be in was going to have a smart board and a whole bunch of things. I still remember the first day when I sat in my desk located in the back and asked myself “How am I going to incorporate technology into my lessons!?!?” I was almost freaking out because there was a smart board in the class but no projector. There is only one technician lady in school who is there Tuesdays and Thursdays and with her permission and assistance, her laptop and projector had to be borrowed and brought into the classroom to connect it to the smart board. “All that hassle just to use the smart board. I am not even good with connecting cables and setting up and the whole shebang” I thought to my self.

But then it hit me. 

“What about the schools in other countries who don’t have the riches like we do? Who don’t have a smart board in the classroom? How do teachers make it more fun for the students?” I immediately pictured a teacher teaching a life science class outside using whatever is useful such as rocks, grass, leaves, sticks, trees etc.

Lessons Learned: 
1. Yes it is important to use technology to its advantage since we have access it.
2. We can still teach and have fun without technology.
3. Stop complaining and work with what you have.
4. You get what you get and you don’t get upset.

Let’s make the best out of what we have. If we look at the positive side of any situation, things will e ok. Let’s but take things for granted!


By the way, I have used the smart board and promethean board with no problem. The technician taught me how to set it up and I can make it work! Yay for me =D lol.

It Was So Beautiful, I Teared!

**Blog Entry #6**: Recess Time! The kids went outside to play. Mrs. Hogarty and I were on duty as we watched them run around and have a good time. My eyes monitored around to make sure the kids were playing safe. And then boom! I saw something so beautiful. Remember the boy Rodney I wrote about in my other post (autistic child, shuts down, doesn't socialize much, wanders around in his own little world, he sometimes doesn't eat lunch and during recess he walks around the grass all by himself while everyone else plays)? He was running around with a big smile on his face as a group of his classmates were chasing him around the grass! They were screaming "Rodney!", with smiles on their face! When they grabbed him they hugged him and almost tackled him. They just loved playing with him! I couldn't help but tear up and told Mrs. Hogarty to look! She joined me in watching this pleasant view and she smiled as well. It was so uplifting to see him interact with his classmates. For so long he just walked around the grass all  by himself every single day. This was something else! And the greatest thing is that his classmates know about his special condition so they themselves were getting a kick out of it too! When we went back to the class, the students were doing work and Rodney began to talk to the boy behind him and giggled. My desk is placed in the back of the class so I was watching everything that was happening. What happened to the other Rodney? He just opened up even more! To see him interact with his classmates is such a blessing to me because I know that his social skills are improving. This is something that his special education teacher was working on in his previous school. The funny thing was that whenever I caught Rodney looking at me, he rolled his eyes and smirked as if he was trying to hold his smile and be serious at the same time. Ah! I love him! Rodney barely speaks throughout the days. I don't know why, but whenever I teach a lesson, he tends to talk. He would either shout something out, speak his mind, or interact with his classmate. I'm not saying that I deserve the credit for his openness but it is just something I picked up.

Lessons learned:
1. There is still hope.
2. We are called to shine His light. It will make people smile and shine as well!
3. Witnessing a student bloom like a flower is the most beautiful thing ever! (that may sound corny but that's the truth!)

I cannot wait to witness this even more with my future students!

I will never forget that day....

Kindergarten vs. Second Grade?

Blog Entry #5: As the faculty in St. Paul were getting to know me and how my first placement went, some questions began to stand out to me “So which grade do you like better? Kindergarten or 2nd grade?”; “Do you want to teach little kids like Pre-k or the older kids?” My response was “I like both. But I think I would lean more on 1st or 2nd grade. I don’t mind Pre-k either. At first I wanted Kindergarten but I realized that maybe it’s just not for me. But in the future, I’ll take whatever door is open.”

Reflecting on these questions, I realized that what I first wanted or what I first thought would fit me, maybe it doesn’t anymore. Kindergarten (my 1st placement) was a big eye-opener. It was definitely a challenge and left me very exhausted. Very. I asked myself “Do I really want to teach Kindergarten?” I mean, regardless of what grade level, there are always good and bad things about it. There will always be a challenge. Teaching is not a piece of cake. It is fun, meaningful and tiring. But when you have the passion to do it, you will disregard the rest and still move forward. With kindergarteners you can have so much fun and they can soak in what you teach, They are like sponges. With second graders, you can communicate with them more, and you have the curriculum with you (teacher’s book, students’ textbooks, workbooks, worksheets etc.) I like both grades but I think I will lean more on 1st or 2nd grade and Pre-K. But hey! There is a lot of competition out there in the teaching field. Sometimes, you gotta take whatever they have. You see a door that is open? Take it! I’m up for the challenge. Who says that growing up will be easy right?

Not Everyone is Going to Like You :O

Blog Entry #4: The other day, Mrs. Hogarty mentioned to me that she was tired of parents talking behind her back. Turns out that for so long, the faculty in the school have known her as the one who "will get your student straightened out" because of her character. Whenever another student from any grade will misbehave, they would sent that student to her classroom. Apparently, this reached the ears of many parents and began talking negative things about her. It got to the point where she even heard the parents talk about her in the parking lot. Ever since, she decided that she will be no ones babysitter. No more students are allowed in her classroom.

It’s understandable that as a parent, one will be disappointed to know that your child’s teacher is the “mean lady who screams at you”. But at the same time, there should be no reason for further judgement upon her. Now, I am not saying that I agree with her raising her voice all the time at the students because I honestly think it is unnecessary. I’m just saying that the parents only know her based from rumors. But if they were to sit down in the classroom and witness the times where she shows the students that she cares and when she throws in some jokes here and there and the kids get a kick out of it, they would realize that Mrs. Hogarty is not the teacher who they think she is based from rumors (God only knows what they really say).

My response to her was “Mrs. Hogarty, people will always talk bad about anyone. Those parents do not know who you are in the classroom like I do. I must admit, I was “iffy” about your teaching style and being strong with the kids until I realized that discipline is necessary and it’s not like you are always like this. You have a kind heart and you show it. I see the way the kids enjoy having you especially when you joke around with them and make them laugh. You show balance by being firm yet loving with the kids and that is good. If a teacher is too nice and not firm, then the students will step all over him/her.” After that we had a good, rest of a conversation. Then I realized that I caught myself using my strengths “developer"- seeing the potential in others, and "positivity”- generous with praise, always on the lookout for positive in the situation.

Lesson learned: 
1. People may not like you or your teaching style and talk behind your back. Learn to deal with them. At the end, what people say about you does not determine who you are, but what matters is who God says you are. 

2. Don’t give people a reason to talk negative about you either.
3.  Your teaching style will vary depending on the group of kids you have every year.