Reflection 6 - Field Experience

I was extremely nervous at first and my head had a hundred thoughts running through it. "What is my class going to be like? What is my teacher going to be like? What if my partner and I don't work well together? What if our lessons turn out terribly? What if I dislike this so much it makes me not want to be a teacher?"  A lot of crazy thoughts, I know, but I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing field was.

We had an incredible cooperating teacher who took incredible care of us.  She gave us dozens of insider tips and tricks that she had accumulated over the 25 years of teaching she has under her belt.  She was flexible and was up for anything we wanted to do, but gave us suggestions, too.  She incorporated the arts into her classroom, which we noticed from day one.  The class had their Utah program coming up, and our cooperating teacher taught her students the Virginia Reel, and the LOVED it. They square danced for the following week and the kids had loads of fun each and every time they danced it. Along with the dancing, the Utah program incorporated many songs, which not only engaged the kids, but it was a great tool in teaching them about Utah's history.  They had fun with it and more importantly, they really remembered all the information they sang about.

For one of our lessons, my partner and I did a process drama.  We got a picture book on the Pony Express and  made little activities for the kids to do while we read it.  They had so much fun during that lesson and it allowed them to be little actors and actresses and to use their bodies and learn kinesthetically.

Throughout this journey of field and this first semester in the education program, I've learned and value of the arts in the classroom.  A classroom without the arts in it is a sad and deprived one. I have learned that art in the classroom isn't just coloring, like some people think.  There are so many elements and principles to each of the arts - visual arts, dance, music, and theater.  In this class, we have been given countless examples and ideas of how we can mix the arts into our future classrooms, ideas and examples that can be applied to a variety of grades, a variety of subjects, and a variety of contexts.  I plan on using music a lot in my future classroom, by finding songs that can teach a subject, by perhaps creating and singing my own songs to teach with, and even by playing classical music in the background while my students do their work. I adore the process drama idea.  I had never heard of it before this class, and I think it's great.  It's nice because you can find any picture book about any subject and do a process drama.  I can easily see myself using process dramas in my future teaching.  I have always been a fan of color in general, and I plan to have a very colorful, inviting classroom.  I plan to keep up on the creative arts by attending attending music and dance and theater presentation, art galleries, etc., so that I can be in the know about the new advances in the art world.  That way I can better incorporate the arts into my classroom.

I truly believe that the arts have many, many uses in the classroom and that they are extremely beneficial for the teacher and the student.  The arts will play a big part in my teaching career.