Accomplishment of Goals

I feel that I have done an alright job at completing my goals. They all turned out to be harder than I expected. Looking back through my researcher journal, I noticed that I worked towards my goals, but never succeeded in completing them as much as I wanted to. I got to know some students, but I still do not know some of their names. I think this is because I only see each class once a week because I go Tuesday mornings and Wednesday afternoons. My tutor year, I went 2 days a week and saw the students twice a week, so I was able to get to know them a little better. I know that during my Intern year I will be able to get to know all of my students and I will feel a lot more comfortable while teaching them. I feel like I have tried to learn names, but it is just really hard considering the amount of time I see them each week. Also, I have not been able to go to as many extra-curricular activities as I wanted to. I had so much stuff going on for my classes and my job, I just did not have the time. I was really disappointed that I was not able to complete this goal. My last goal was about classroom/behavior management. There is only one class that gives me trouble when I teach. Sure, every class has their moments of being rowdy, but two of the classes are very well behaved. The class that gives me the hardest time also give the other teachers a hard time, so it is not just me. I think it is worse with me, however, because I am not there as often as the others. I will have to continuously tell them to stop talking when I am talking. They will listen, but 10 minutes later is gets loud again. Overall, I feel that I have done a good job at managing my classroom, especially since I have not had any classes learning about it.

Goals For This Semester

This semester I have set some goals for myself to complete in the classroom. I felt I could do more in the classroom, considering I am there more often than I was when I was a tutor. I wanted to feel more connected to the students. Sometimes, I think students do not see Benedum students as acutal teachers, so there may be a lack of respect. I have not noticed this a lot this semester, but I wanted to be sure that I would show them that I was there to help and I needed to be treated like a teacher in the classroom. I wanted to get to know the students on a personal level and learn all of their names. I know this is a hard thing to do, but I wanted to try. I also wanted to attend extracurricular activities, which would help me be more connected to them. I remember when I was their age, I was happy to see teachers go to the sporting events, especially the ones I participated in. One last goal I had was to work on my classroom management skills. This is a major thing I am currently concerned about. When young teachers enter a classroom for the first time, the students can see that the teacher is nervous and they he or she is not much older than them, especially in a high school classroom. I wanted to be sure I could get their respect in order to operate a smooth classroom.