Blog Post 7

I will be graduating in about a year and a half and I have a lot more work to do before I can become the teacher I am striving to be. But, I am well on my way and more advanced than I thought I would ever be. I still have a few weaknesses that I need to work on like technology and social anxiety. When I started college two years ago I was very intimidated by everything. Just being on campus was very stressful but I knew I had push through it. I knew going in that I was not as 'tech savvy' as I should have been and needed a little work on my writing skills. After being in college for two years, my writing skills have improved tremendously, so I know with a lot of practice, I can do the same thing with technology.

I know it might sound strange, but having social anxiety only affects me in college being around a lot of adults. When I am around children I feel totally different than what I do when I am in a room full of adults. I guess I'm just better with children. Which brings me to the strengths I naturally have that will help me be an excellent teacher. I am very passionate about everything I do. I am caring, kind, giving, and absolutely love the presence of children! It does not hurt that I am also very patient and understanding. Everyone is not perfect and I know I may have some flaws to work out before I graduate and begin my career, but I do have the drive and motivation to become the person/educator I want to be.

I really appreciated the videos we had to watch this week for this blog post. I love seeing children at that age learn and be confident in what they're doing. This class has opened my eyes to so much that I had no idea about. It amazes me that first graders can use ipads, and use them well, to help with their learning skills. My favorite video was about the ipad reading center. Having the ipad reading center really helps children learn to read more effectively. In the video, the little boy records himself reading aloud. After recording he is able to play back the video and read along to make sure there were no mistakes made. This is exciting to young students because they are able to play with technology and get to watch and listen to projects that they have created. These videos demonstrate how advanced children are this day in age and it is mind blowing to see how many different ways they are able to learn. When I was in elementary school, lessons were taught with a dry erase/chalk board, books, pencils, and paper. Projects were occasional and definitely took place after we have already learned the lesson. I can still remember how exciting it felt to be able to create projects, so it makes sense that children these days excel more with project based learning. I am so thrilled that I chose Elementary Education as my major. I am excited to continue to learn and put what I already know to work!