Time Flies

These aren't supposed to be used as "diary posts" but it seriously amazes me to think that I am wrapping up my junior year of college. The expression "time flies when you're having fun" is one of the most accurate quotes I can use to describe my past three years in college. Although there were absolutely points throughout each semester where I wanted to rip my eyes out and drop out of school school completely, I will never forget how much fun I had and the memories I have created. When I first came to college I thought I had most of my four years already planned out; I was going to major in education and math, play lacrosse, get good grades, and get involved. Although this is almost exactly what I have done, I could have never predicted how much it would impact my life.

I came to college having no intention of joining a sorority, because I was going to be playing lacrosse and my team was going to be like my own little sorority. For two years this held true. However, I lived with a girl who was in Delta Phi Epsilon, and each year I realized I wanted to be a part of it more and more. When I finally joined my first semester junior year, I seriously had no idea how much of an impact it would have on me. The friends I've made and the person I have become has amazed even me.

As this semester comes to an end, I'm ending a chapter sooner than I had anticipated. No, I am not graduating college, but things will be different next semester. For the first time I am living off campus and have decided to commute from home. My roommate, who has grown to be my best friend and my sister will not be there every night to talk to. It sounds like something small, but you truly don't realize how much you appreciate something until it's gone. My roommate and I will absolutely keep in touch and still see each other, but nothing can compare to the past 3 years I've lived with her. It is crazy to think that next year I will be starting my senior year of college. Time has absolutely flown by, but when I stop and look back, I am extremely happy and proud of everything I've done.

Emotional Development

Depending on what school district you're teaching in, teachers are going to have a variety of different types of emotional development they are going to have to address. If they are teaching in an upper class or suburban area, then they need to be prepared to address the needs of students who might not see their parents too much or children who are very used to always getting their way. In this environment, it is likely that there will be kids who come from very wealthy backgrounds. Nevertheless their home life might be difficult and they let their emotions go at school. It is possible that some of these students almost never see their parents because they are always away on busy or doing some type of work, so instead they are raised by a nanny. This could take an emotional toll on some of your students, and it could cause them to release their emotions at school. As the teacher you need to be prepared how to handle this, maybe give the student time to themselves if they need to step out of the classroom, or just letting them know that you, the teacher, will be there for them the entire school year. A similar scenario goes for students who are used to getting their way all the time at home. As a teacher you need to make sure the classroom is a community, and that everyone realizes no one is better than anyone else in that classroom. There will be students who get angry because they did not get their way. The teacher needs to give the same consequences to all students, and make sure the students understand that everything you are deciding to do is in the best interest of everyone in the class.

If teaching in a low class, urban school district the emotional needs might different. It is possible that these students are coming from single- family homes where they might not see their parent much either because they're always out working. Unfortunately, these families usually can't afford nannies, and children start staying home by themselves at a very young age. This could have an emotional toll on some students, because they aren't comfortable with their home life, or they're seeing things at home that they are too young to be seeing. It is important that, in the classroom, the teacher makes the children feel safe. The students need to understand that in this classroom they can't be hurt and they are equal to everyone else. Each student gets treated exactly the same and no one student is better than another.

Teachers need to be ready to address the different levels of emotional development the students are going to bring into the classroom. The best thing the teacher can do is let the students know that their classroom is a community and that they are all equal. This will help the students feel comfortable about coming to school and being in your class

Behaviorism At Its Finest

In a number of my undergraduate education courses at Southern I have been asked to answer the question which developmental model do you think works best, which developmental model would you use in your classroom, etc. Each time this questioned is answered the majority of the class, including myself, all say some type of constructivism is best, because it treats students as individuals and helps them develop their learning with each other and the teacher. In a constructivist classroom, the teacher figures out what the students know, and construct the new material in a way that would add on to their students' knowledge. The students also work together in a classroom to learn new perspectives; by working in groups students have the opportunity to learn a new perspective on certain subjects that they might not have considered had they not talked with their peers.

Although most people would agree this is the ideal scenario for a classroom, most schools don't focus on this approach. Instead we see behaviorism. A clear motto of the behaviorist approach is teach it, learn it, test it; and that's how students are supposed to learn. When we talk and discuss this in class, everyone says this isn't useful because kids aren't learning to know the content. They're learning to know it for a test and move on to the next subject. So why use this in school? In today's society in schools, tests are the most important aspect of the school; not how the students learn. Our teacher's main purpose is to test so our test scores go up and our school does well. It's a shame that most teachers know the behaviorist approach isn't ideal for our students, but it's the way we continue to teach. It is evident that something needs to be done in order to change the way our students learn. Schools should focus more on the best learning style for the students instead of what make the school look best.

Classroom Management

Classroom management is essential to having a successful classroom environment. Starting classroom management early in the school year is the only way to keep the classroom running smoothly. This means that rules that are established in the beginning of the school year need to be followed through with. In other words, if someone does not follow the rules, then necessary action needs to be taken to make sure it doesn't happen again. If students learn early on that there won't be consequences for breaking the rules, then they will continue to break the rules. This will lead to chaos in the classroom and no classroom management. The rules that are created in the beginning of the school year should be a classroom effort. In other words, the students should all help create the rules that they expect in the classroom. This is useful and beneficial, because it holds the kids responsible for the rules they helped create. It also means that they should definitely be following the rules because they helped to create them and said that's what they expect in the classroom.

One of the rules that should strictly be enforced is the sense that your classroom is a community. Students will feel much more comfortable and perform better if they feel safe and happy in the class room setting. The classroom becomes the childrens' family when they are away from home. It is extremely important all students feel like they are in a safe community and that they are all treated equally.

Within the classroom, it's necessary to be fair and equal to all students. As the teacher, you need to be fair to all students. It is also important to be consistent in all aspects in the classroom. This gives the students the chance to know what to expect, and if they do something wrong they know what their consequences will be before the teacher even talks to them. In these situations, the students will be less willing to break and rules and everyone will be happy and comfortable.

Who Knew?

When I was 8 years old I moved from a catholic school in Norwalk, CT to a public school in Monroe, CT. When I moved to Monroe, I knew no one besides my neighbor who I met on the first day at the bus stop. We instantly became friends, and I wanted to do everything she did because I wanted to make friends and hangout with her more. Through my neighbor I became involved in soccer and the story takes off from there.

Once I started playing soccer I never wanted to stop. Growing up I was always very competitive and soccer was the perfect way for me to act on it. All my coaches were impressed with how quick I picked it up, and right away told my mom she should have me try out for travel. When I tried out my whole world changed. I became a part of a girls that, to this day, are my biggest sports family. Soccer became my life, and I played it throughout high school.

Thanks to soccer, I became a great athlete and got involved in other sports too. My freshmen year of high school I tried out for my schools lacrosse team. We did not have any feeder programs growing up, so high school was the first time most girls ever picked up a lacrosse stick. Once I worked out the kinks and started to understand the game I fell in love. I can't say I loved it as much as soccer, but it was definitely second. As high school went on, I continued to become better and stronger in lacrosse, while, due to unfortunate circumstances, I had to stop playing soccer. Although I was devastated I could no longer play soccer, I could now put all that energy into lacrosse. 

In my senior year during lacrosse season I was recruited to play on the Women's Lacrosse Team at Southern Connecticut State University. Looking back even to the beginning of high school, I never would have thought that I would be playing lacrosse in college; I always said that I would be playing soccer. Although I still miss soccer and wish I could play, I could not be happier to play lacrosse at Southern. I owe everything I learned about sports and teams to soccer, and looking back, I would never be the athlete I am today if I never played.