This week the first 2 days of class we worked on our flower sheet. We discovered our values and career choices. We also read an article about a girl who is 100% devoted to furthering her education, she wakes up early in the morning to prepare herself for school and then take care of her brother. I admire her strong pursuing for an education and although I doubt I will ever be as motivated as she is (mainly because I am NOT a morning person) I do hope that I can be inspired further by her.
This week I also went to Parkview middle school for the last time. As usual I start off with Ms. Mammas and listen to the boys read aloud from their book. I really enjoy Mammas teaching style, she makes sure that they understand what they are reading and that if they were asked about it; they could give a detailed answer. She also makes sure that they are always following along, and paying attention to the different words in each chapter.
After Ms. Mammas I go and observe Mr. Neihause, who may just be one of the coolest teachers I've ever met. He really gets on a level with the kids where they feel that they can joke and talk with him and not be scared. This week he was giving presentations to different classes regarding the assassination of JFK. He gives the kids a slight background on what was going on in the world at the time and then starts talking about his paper which he wrote in college regarding this topic.
Listening to him tell these kids and seeing them all captivated by what he was saying was probably the best part of this week. These kids hung on every word he said and there was one boy who already knew so much about the topic and was just full of counter arguments and opinions on the story. We all also learned that for those who play Call of Duty Black Ops, when paying attention to the different missions and what is going on; you're actually learning about history. A few of the questions Neihause asked, the boys knew because they did a mission in Black Ops and historical names and locations are used in the game, this came as a surprise to Neihause. The only thing I can say I did not enjoy this week was not being able to stick around and see the second half of Mr. Neihause's presentation with the video footage and other clips, I was actually intrigued by his presentation. I hope that one day I will too be able to have an audience of kids who want to hear and discuss what I am talking about.
I really enjoyed being at Parkview and the teachers that I have met there are all very kind and patient with their kids. I feel that I can learn from them in different situations and aspire to be more like them. Being at Parkview has helped me see how I would work in a younger school environment, as well as working with kids who are not up to grade level but on the right track to being there. I now see that besides the main definition of what I thought would be considered special education, there is now this type of education for kids who are just not where they should be, and I would not mind being a teacher for these kids as well.
