Final Week of Student Teaching

 

 This past week, this last week, of student teaching was phenomenal.  I have truly made efforts to connect with every single one of my students and share with them that I believe in them.  I recall from one of the internship seminars for student teaching that an administrator shared that during an interview sometimes teachers would respond “no” to the question “Do you care for/ like kids?”  There is not a doubt in my mind that my answer would be a BOLD “YES!”  It is because I care about youth so much and students, regardless of their background, that I am willing to constantly learn and adapt material so I can be a better educator and role model for them!  This past week I have received several letters from students that were honestly so warm and sincere that I know that I made an impact.  I really hope that the students know that they made an impact on me and are my inspiration to become better and to persevere through any obstacle.

As I said good byes this past week I find myself not wanting to leave.  Shippensburg was a perfect fit for me as a student teacher.  I made connections with the secretaries, the awesome janitor Ms. Paula said she would cry if I left, students said they wanted to keep me and I wasn’t allowed to leave unless I promised to come back, at a local florist a teacher said she hopes I come back, and the principal gave me a hug goodbye.  I feel like Shippensburg High School can now be added to the list of places I call home.  In addition to all of those connections I know someone who I will miss tremendously and who has definitely shaped me to become a better leader is Mrs. Kelly Bier.  She is an impressive teacher and a realistic person.  She has helped me to grow so much this semester and has strived to give me the full teaching experience.  This was through running errands, keeping a budget, checking the plants, developing lists, conducting a meeting, interacting with alumni, communicating with parents, setting up field trips, using people at the school for resources, interacting with teachers throughout the south-central region, planning FFA functions, engaging in faculty meetings, developing new types of assessments and forms of instruction within the classroom, adapting lessons for home-boundstudents for over an entire marking period, and the list goes on.  It is obvious to me that Mrs. Bier is an exemplary teacher and it was a pleasure to work with her.  She has been my favorite teacher throughout my college career and I will miss her dearly.

In addition to this being my last week of student teaching, Thursday night was also the chapter banquet.  The officers and Mrs. Bier and I worked really hard to showcase a stellar banquet.  The students made beautiful centerpieces that involved the horticulture class and students with wood working skills, they had their opening ceremonies parts memorized, they recognized influential leaders and they even surprised me by presenting me with the Honorary Shippensburg Chapter degree.  These students are amazing leaders and I wish more than anything to see their progress as they advance through high school.  For my last day of student teaching we had a special lunch with sandwiches and ice-cream cake and one student said “Ms. Moser, you need to reflect and share with us your stories.”  I didn’t even have the words to come to me to describe just how blessed I was to work with each and every one of them. 

I painted this tea pot as a thank you for the best cooperating teacher

As my student teaching experience comes to a close it is obvious that I care about students and I want to be an educator!