Closure/Reflection 3

     Prior to this class, I have never used a blog. This has been a nice experience. I have enjoyed all of my readings and I feel like I have learned a lot from participating in this class.  I think that like the adolescents compare themselves to their peers to motivate, measure, and sometimes model behavior, we as adults do the same.  I have had the opportunity to gain insight from each of my classmates and through reading their blogs I feel as though I know them.  We are all different and wonderful; and we all share a common goal, to become the best teachers ever!

      The Parks book was very insightful and funny at times. This book covers such a broad spectrum of topics that are beneficial to not only new teachers but to all teachers. I find myself skimming through the pages as I contemplate my classroom environment. I know that this book is a resource that I will definitely use again.

      The field observations were good for me; it allowed me to focus on adolescents beyond the classroom. It was interesting to find the many connections between the Brighton book and the adolescents I observed, there were truly some ‘Aha…’ moments. The Brighton book was the focus of our wiki spaces and it was always a good read, but sometimes it was challenging to put it into my own words. 

       The blogs were individual projects and the wiki pages were group projects. I think both were important in showing us that there will be times when we will have to work alone and there will be times when we can lean on our colleagues for support or guidance.