What to do when you are done with your first observation

     So I am coming to the end of this semester's practicum hours, I have about 15 total left out of the 55 I started with, and I started thinking last week about how to properly thank the teachers who had let me into their classrooms.

     I have always believed that a hand written card is the best idea for thanking someone, because it isn't done much anymore. I feel that taking the time to actually write someone a card in comparison to just sending an email is just so much more personal.

So, I know what you are probably thinking if you read my last post. Am I really planning to write a thank you card to the teacher that I greatly disliked? Yes, I am, because that is the nice and professional thing to do. It doesn't matter if they were the worst teacher I have ever seen, they opened up the doors of their classroom to me, and allowed me to observe and for that I am grateful, because it is safe to say that I learned something there.

The cards that I chose took longer than I expected. The main teacher that I am observing is a male, and the other teachers I am observing are females, so I had to choose something that wasn't too girly, but I also wanted something that showed my personality.

These are the ones that I chose:

I honestly thought they were adorable. They are from Target an they are only about 4 dollars. I thought that they were perfect because while the envelope is kind of a feminine color, it looks like the square was written in chalk, and the actual card looks like a chalk board, with eraser marks and everything. I think that they are perfect for a teacher. 

I haven't written in them yet because I am not completely done with my practicum, but once I am, I will let you know the response. 

Marisa

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What to Wear to Practicum (Plus Size Teacher Options)

     So I realized after looking over my blog so far, that I have forgotten something that is kind of important. Clothes!!

     I always have the most fun when I am shopping for clothing for practicum, because I was always told to dress for the job that you want, not the job you're working or applying for. So when I am shopping for practicum clothes, in all honesty I am shopping for my teacher clothes.

     I'm going to let you know first that I dress better than some of the teachers that I have seen. I have always imagined the type of teacher that I would be, the type of clothing that I would wear, the way that I would run my class. I think that as future teachers, we all have.

     I have a love of shopping, so that in turn translates to a love of clothes (Of course). When I imagined how I would dress when I was teaching, I imagined business casual, I imagined heels (yes daily, I cannot reach the top of the board without them), I imagined statement necklaces. Then I went looking, and I found tops, and pants, and dresses (oh how I love dresses). I'm going to post some pictures of my outfits, as well as some other things that I purchased when I was looking for the clothes.

This dress is my favorite, It is a maroon color and it has a crochet overlay on it. I wear it with a black belt that came with it, and now that it's winter, I wear black tights under and some black heels.  I find that this dress is the most flattering on my shape because I am a fairly curvy girl, but it is not low cut at all, and it is a modest length, it goes to just at my knee. When I was looking for clothes I wanted to find things that would be comfortable while still dressy and modest. 

This top is for my more casual days, because as you are doing your practicum, you will find out that different schools expect different things from you. I am currently going to two different schools and one school has a much stricter dress code than the other. Neither of the schools require full business attire, you can wear jeans most days, but I have chosen not to wear jeans to the stricter school. This shirt is extremely comfortable, but I do have to wear an undershirt with it because it is slightly sheer.

This is probably my favorite shirt/sweater. It is a sweatshirt material, but it is short sleeved and has an embellished neckline that has rhinestones and pearls. I think that it is just adorable, and I always wear my hair up with this one just so you can see the entire neckline. I can wear it with both jeans and dress pants so I don't have to worry about having the right pants. My only complaint, which is minor, is that the sleeves aren't hemmed, they are just folded and sewn once, and It gets annoying because as you wear it and wash it, the folds roll and they're no longer uniform, but people don't really notice, it's more of a personal annoyance.

This collage is from my first day at the school I am currently doing my observations at that has the more strict dress code. I wore this under my mid-length coat because it is pretty cold at 620 in the morning. I like the print because it adds a little bit of my personality to the outfit, without it being plain black. 

This top is another one of my favorites and I typically wear it with a belt, but these pants are extremely fitted, so I decided to leave it loose, I got it at Dress Barn and it is a thick material without making me hot while wearing it. 

Now on to the fun stuff:

My bag. I love this bag, it makes me happy. I looked for a long time till I found the right bag to use. It is a genuine leather messenger bag. (way too expensive) It is extremely soft, and it holds a lot more than it looks like it does. My computer fits in the front compartment, which leaves the main compartment completely free for my binder, notes, planner, and whatever else I might need. It also has smaller pockets in the inside that hold my wallet, my phone, and my lipstick. The reason I was willing to spend so much money on a bag like this is so that it will last, I am planning to use this when I start teaching as well, and it just makes me happy every time I look at it. 

Make-up:

I like to keep my make-up fairly simple, I don't think that a teacher needs to be overdone, so I do my typical natural face makeup, and then the following lipstick. This lipstick is Fig by Bite Beauty, it is the perfect natural shade, and this lip liner by NYX matches it almost perfectly.

Finally my hair:

I have been curling my hair almost every day because I left my flat iron in California the last time that I went home. But I have my hair highlighted and low-lighted, and while it is high-maintenance, I think that it is worth it. 

I hope that this was helpful for you guys, I really enjoyed creating this post. 

Marisa

P.S. If you want to see more practicum outfits follow me on Instagram. I post pictures daily. @marisa1256

What to Expect on your First Day...

     So I waited a few weeks to write this so that I could be sure that I had an understanding of what to expect, and I am really glad that I have.
Today I went to my second school where I was doing practicum, and it really opened my eyes to the difference in teachers and how they react to students doing observations in their classrooms.

     I had an amazing experience with my first practicum teacher, he was open to me starting right away in his class, on my first day he told me that if I wanted to teach a lesson at any point to just let him know, and he continues to give me random little tips that he thinks of while teaching. In his class, I participate in the teaching, even if it is just something as simple as collecting the papers, reading the text out loud, and writing things on the board. It still gives me the exposure to being in front of the classroom. I have really enjoyed being in his classroom because he teaches two grades in his first and second hours, which allows for me to see the difference in the classroom behavior and the relationship between teacher and student in the different grade levels. Additionally, he lets me sit in the front of the class, so I am seeing the students reactions to his teaching styles, and I can have the perspective of a teacher, rather than that of a student.

     Today I went to a different teacher, and the difference was almost shocking.
   
     Keep in mind, both of these schools are Title 1, and they are only about a 20 minute drive away from each other.

     The teacher at the second school showed up late, almost five minutes after the bell. She made the excuse of really bad traffic, and I would have just nodded and agreed if the students hadn't been commenting on how she is always late while we waited for her. I went to introduce myself to her, and she instantly said, "Oh, you're an observation student, you can sit in the back of the room."

     She didn't point out a specific chair or anything, so I chose the least intrusive one which was against the back wall between two tables. She went on to teach the class like normal, like I wasn't even there. There was no introduction, no copy of the handouts that she was passing around, no helpful tips of the trade.

     Then her team-teacher walked in. Halfway through the second period. She didn't see me in the back, so she was surprised when the first teacher pointed me out saying "We have an observer."
That teacher instantly got excited and said that she would let me grade papers, which I was excited about because the two classes were exactly the same, so I had been sitting in the second period just watching, because all of the notes were already taken.

     The first teacher then proceeded to argue with her about what I was there for.
-Not for grading papers
-It's a good learning experience, to see what she'll be in for.
-Not for imputing grades
-She'll need to do it eventually
-Not for teaching a lesson
-She is going to school to be a teacher right?

     I just decided to leave it, and I went back to my seat. The second teacher eventually brought my a small stack of papers to grade, and I had some fun doing that but it didn't have the same amount of excitement.

     I think that the point I am trying to make is that you're not only going to have great teachers to watch, and you're not only going to have terrible ones. What I took from this experience was that if you find a teacher that you like, keep that teacher in mind so that when you need to do practicum in the future, you already have someone that you like. If you find a teacher that you don't like, keep them in mind as well. Keep them in mind so that you know the type of teacher that you do not like.

     I think that it is important to know the type of teacher that you like and don't like so you can decide on the type of teacher that you want to be.

I hope that this helped you, and that it puts things into perspective for you.

Until next time,
Marisa

How to Find Practicum (Observation) classrooms

Hey!

So one thing that many, if not all, education majors have to do is observe a classroom for so many hours for different courses that they are taking. This semester alone I have about 55 hours that I have to be in a classroom, broken up between 3 different types of classrooms.

I mentioned in my last post that I moved to Arizona from California to go to school, so it is safe to say I don't have any personal connections to the schools out here, so, how did I go about placing myself at different schools for my practicum hours?

Your first bet is your adviser, it is basically their job to place you at a specific school and ensure that you complete your required number of hours. At my school, they're called TEDs, and they're pretty much useless. They take weeks on end to place you at a school, they ignore your phone calls and your emails, or they "don't receive them" (Sorry but, I heard your voice on the voicemail greeting every time that I left a message, so I know I was calling the right person). If you get a good adviser who places you quickly and doesn't give you a hassle about things that don't matter to your major, great, use them and hope for the best. However, I have heard more bad stories than good.

Another option would be for you to look for your placement yourself. This is actually what I did, mixed with the next suggestion I will provide you with. To find placement yourself, you first need to figure out what school district that you want to be in, and if they will deal with students directly, because if they will only go through an adviser, then you know you have to wait for your adviser. If they do deal with students directly, then just call a school that fits your criteria and talk to a principal or assistant principal and let them know that you are a student at your university, and you have to complete (for example) 30 hours of practicum in an English course. Make sure that you are professional and respectful during this phone call, even if you are just leaving a message, because this is the first impression that you give a school, and in some cases this could be the school that you do your student teaching at, or potentially get a job at. If the school is willing to have you, then the principal may have you contact the teachers, or they may contact them for you to see who would be willing to have you observe their class. If you find someone, then you set up your start date and you are good to go.

Option number three is the one that you will probably see/use the most often, especially if you are from out of state. This would be to ask friends (*gasp*). Really though, you will make friends with people who are of your same major in the first few years of schooling you have, before you start practicum. These are the people you need to hold onto for dear life. They can give you names and even allow for you to use theirs in your email or phone call. This way you already have a reference of sorts, because the name of the teacher that they give you will most likely be one that knows them. Once you have the name, and possibly the contact info, you will contact the teacher directly. (If you are not given the contact info by your friend, most school's have teachers emails on the school website). The next step would be to email or call the teacher directly, but again, make sure that you are professional and respectful, you may even want someone else to read over it for you so that you know that it isn't too casual, this should be taken as seriously as a job application. This teacher could be your future mentor teacher during student teaching.

What option did I choose?

I went the friend route, I needed 30 hours of practicum for an English course (anyone feeling a little de ja vu?) and I knew which Arizona school district that I wanted to be at so I kept track of the people that I knew who mentioned going to that school district. Then, when the time for me to do practicum came, I went to them and asked them about possible suggestions. Most education majors are more than willing to help other education majors out, so don't be afraid to ask. I was actually suggested an amazing teacher for my first practicum course.

Another option may be that the professor of a specific course might set up your practicum for you. This happened to me in one of my classes. If the criteria is extremely specific, and they know of a school that will take an entire class, then they may just set up the hours for you. This is great because then it's one less thing for you to have to worry about.

I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful, if so make sure to look back next week for more. \

Marisa

Where to Begin?

I guess I should start by saying that I didn't always want to be a teacher. Wait, that's not right. I always wanted to be a teacher, but I had everyone telling me that it was important to make a lot of money, and that is one thing that teachers do not do.
So I started as a Psychology major, with a focus on child psychology. I was hoping to work with teenagers, because that was the age I was when I thought my life was out of control, and all I needed then was someone who would listen.

I sat in my psych classes, and I listened to the professors, and I did well. But it wasn't fun to me. To be honest, it was boring.

I made friends with a girl in one of my classes and she asked me why I was majoring in psych, and I explained to her exactly what I just explained to all of you. Then I explained how I was considering switching to teaching, because it was in my heart, I had always dreamed of being a teacher and I loved working with kids, and teenagers.

This girl, who I barely knew at the time, looked me dead in the eye and said, "You're going to be a teacher."

I almost laughed, what did she know? We had been in the class for only a little over a week. I asked her how she knew this and she explained that my entire demeanor changed when I talked about teaching, I was more animated, and my eyes lit up.

I thought about it for the rest of the class period, and I realized that she was right. I changed my major that week to Education, the school I was going to didn't have an emphasis program, it was just the local community college so the credits you were taking didn't really count toward your certification, but each one that I took reaffirmed my desire to teach.

I soon realized that if I wanted to graduate before I turned 25, I would need to change schools. This is where the trouble began.

I was sitting on a stable 55 units at the end of my second year at community college. However, most of the public universities in California, where I am from, don't accept transfers with less than 60 units.

This discouraged me, so one night I was looking up schools in California that do accept less than 60 unit transfers when a commercial came on. It was for a school in Arizona that one of my friends had gone to but didn't like. My step dad mentioned applying there and after talking it over with them, I decided to try. My friend and I were in very different places in our lives, she was three years younger than me, and had a boyfriend waiting in California for her, I think that is why she didn't like it. (She ended up coming home and was pregnant less than four months later, but that's another story.)
I applied and got accepted, as a transfer. A lot, but not all, of my credits transferred over, so I only had to take 4 more general ed courses before I was in my major specific courses.

Now I am in my 3rd semester away from graduation and starting my Practicum hours. If you don't know what practicum hours are, don't worry. I had never heard of them either. Basically you have to observe different types of classrooms for a specific number of hours in each class. So for a Special Ed class, you have to have so many hours in an inclusive classroom, and so many hours in a self contained classroom.

That is just an example from one of the classes that I am taking this semester. I plan to use this blog to document what it is like to do practicum, what you should wear, what you may experience. I looked all over the Internet for something that told me what to expect from practicum and I couldn't find anything. Not even a YouTube video. So I decided to make it.

I hope that this is something that other Ed Majors would be interested in. Let me know if there are any specific questions that you have.

Marisa.