Kelly B. in a Special Education Classroom

This week I was in the field twice. I attended child care and Sauganash Elementary School. Child Care was the same as it has been! I love seeing the kids and enjoy playing with each and every one of them. This week I went somewhere new and loved it! I went to Sauganash School and had so much fun. I worked with Mrs. Knorr, and MR. Kennedy. At first, I worked with Mr. Kennedy who had kindergartens, and first graders who all had disabilities. I got the chance to teach them about money. They were great kids! I didn’t want to leave. They were so sweet and listened so well. Even though they had disabilities, they were no different then any other young kid. They loved to smile and have fun, so I played games with them with the money so the lesson wasn’t so boring.

After their math lesson they went back to their regular class room to learn some more. I next worked with Mrs. Knorr. She teaches six, seventh, and eight graders, who all have disabilities. She has a very difficult and busy schedule. She has to make sure she has every lesson plan for every student and what they are learning in their current class rooms. I also got to see how she taught math. She sat at a table with the seventh graders and made it a visible lesson so the kids understood better. She pulled out blocks because she was teaching them about ratios. It was a great lesson!

Mrs. Knorr then showed me some of their notes and when they are in class with their peers, how the teacher makes it easier for them, but they also have to pay attention. In one boy’s notebook there was fill in the blank notes. If he had to write all the notes that his teacher had, he would have never been able to keep up. So she wrote most of the notes, and he just had to fill in key words. It was very unique to see how the teacher did this. I also thought it was very understanding and kind of her because she knows they do have disabilities and sometimes have hard times. Although these kids are very smart too, I got to learn a lot about they and I loved it. This placement was my favorite place to go!

Sara S. in Speech Pathology

This week at Speech Pathology I learned about myself that I am becoming more and more interested in this field. I also realized how much I loved working with the younger children at Speech because it is almost like a tutoring session and it is very upbeat and fun. One specific thing I enjoyed about my placement this week was that I was able to sit in on two sessions again. I worked with Carla again and I also worked with Marissa. The first session I went to was for Marissa’s patient who was a young boy. For Carla’s patient, it was another man who had a stroke and he has been going to therapy for a while so I was able to see how improved he was.

The natural roles and personality traits that I observed for myself in my placement this week were that I was very patient, understanding, excited, and helpful. These traits fit in with my placement because during my time with Marissa’s younger patient, I was able to help and join in their activities. This experience helped me grow as a person by realizing how mature and understanding you have to be with the younger kids and as a student by learning how to work with the kids to have them cooperate as much as they can. As a young adult nearing high school, this experience helped me grow by honestly narrowing down my choices with what I want to do and how I feel my personality would work with being a Speech Pathologist. By re-reading my essay I feel that I learned I am really interested in Speech Pathology especially in the pediatric field.

Luci C. in the Laboratory

In Practicum this week I was in the field. I went to the lab again but had to chance to experience I different section in the lab, the chemistry room. My experience was very cool because the lab tech I worked with showed me and taught me almost everything. During the week, we worked on college related stuff in the classroom. We talked about what college would fit us, and what qualities in a college will be perfect for us. I definitely learned a lot about a lab tech but I’m not sure if that career would totally fit me. I’m interested in that occupation but not entirely because I’m not that interested in chemistry.

One specific experience I really liked was when we started making our resumes in the classroom. I thought that was really cool and I was excited to start one for myself. I always wondered how to start one for myself and I always wanted too, I just didn’t know how or where to start. Something I didn’t really like this week was coming back early from the lab. I wish I got to switch to a different section of the laboratory instead of coming back to school.

This week I worked with a lab tech and her name was Diana. She has been working in that field for 30-40 years and you can tell she really loves what she’s doing. I asked her a lot of questions and she taught me a lot. She told me that she didn’t even go to college to be a lab tech, she wanted to be a business major and what made her change her mind was this pamphlet she found! I thought that was very interesting.

My experience helped me grow as a person because I feel like making a resume and going to a lab gets me to act more mature. It helps me grow as a student and a young adult because I’m starting to get more professional and serious about my future.

Kelly B. in Childcare

This week I was in the field, and I attended child care. I learned that I am able to connect with little kids. I am very good at remembering at all the kid’s names. I think I have a strong bind with all the kids there because I have been there three times. I also remember all of their names and as soon as I walk in they all run to me. I think once you spend time with the kids more than once they get use to you and they are not afraid to open themselves to you. They become very comfortable with you after a while. I think with this career you need a lot of patients. I think this because you are working with young children who do not understand everything yet. Also, with young children they like to make sure they get everything their way, but that’s where you need to teach them wrong from right otherwise they will never learn. I enjoyed being able to play and connect with the kids. I am able to see what toys and what activities they like to do best. For example one little boy loves to sing and read books, so I got to read a book with him and listen to him sing. I really enjoy myself when I am there, so I cannot say I did not like anything.

Some personality traits that come into play when I am there is smiling. With children you always have to have a smile with them and be friendly. If you come off as a bad vibe to them they will not feel comfortable with you. So, always be kind, friendly, and open. I think this experience has helped me grown as a person because now when I baby sit I have a new outlook on it. I know more things and can be more relaxed and friendly when I do baby sit. This experience has been great!

Katie H. at the Retirement Center

This week in practicum I went to the Resurrection Retirement Center to observe the work of the activities director as well as experience working with the elderly. I was nervous and excited to go to the retirement center because it was my first placement there. I really enjoyed my experience. When I arrived, each employee was very friendly and helpful in finding where I was supposed to go. When I met up with Rita, she told me a little about her career as she led me to the computer lab. She then instructed me to help and teach the elderly about any computer questions they have. I really loved working with the elderly because they were so kind and grateful for the help I gave them. It was rewarding to see the bright smiles on their faces. But I least enjoyed that I was not able to talk with Rita very much about her career and what her specific duties are. I wish I had more time with her!

On Wednesday, we stayed in the classroom and learned about resumes. We also began to create our own. I really enjoyed this because we learned about something that will soon be very useful to us. Also, by beginning a resume we are preparing for our future careers and finding all of the important details to put on a resume. Reflecting on the last week, I really enjoyed my experience at the retirement center. Also, I enjoyed learning about what to put on a resume. These events helped me prepare for life as a student nearing the end of high school. They have taught me what is important to say on a resume as well as brought up another career option for my future. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to visit the Retirement Center.

Elena H. in Surgery

This week in practicum I was privileged enough to experience a BRAIN BIOPSY! This was the most interesting, fun, and exciting thing I have ever done. The entire experience just swept me off my feet and I really had the best time. I was in the field, in the O.R., with Linda Kane. She was so great at answering all of my questions, and I really appreciated all of her help. I learned that seeing a scalp cup open and all that blood (eek!) didn’t really phase me at all. I also learned tons about anesthesiology.

I learned that any type of medical field is a lot of schooling but for anesthesiology you can be a nurse anesthetist and work under a anesthesiologist. The thing that I obviously enjoyed the most was the brain biopsy and having the surgeon talk to me about what he was doing during the biopsy and showing me the inside the patients brain. He showed me how to pinpoint a tumor, where this person’s previous tumor was, and important parts of the brain. This week there was not a thing that I did not enjoy.

Class today was fun and I enjoyed writing my own resume. I worked with Linda Kane, as stated above. She was really informative, welcoming, helpful, and pleasant to shadow. I really enjoyed everything about my placement and the helping hand from her. Natural roles that I think come into play are lifelong learner, right hand person, and leader. I think those three natural roles will really allow me to excel in the medical field. This experience truly helped me grow as a young adult nearing high school graduation, because as each placement goes by, I become more and more aware of just what I wouldn’t mind doing for the rest of my life. As I re-read my essay, I feel very accomplished. All of the things that seemed impossible are now coming within reach and I couldn’t be happier.

Alicia G. at the Edison Park Chamber of Commerce

This week in Practicum we were in the field as well as in the classroom. In the classroom we made personal resumes and in the field I visited the career of Chamber of Commerce for the third time. I learned that Chamber of Commerce is a lot of researching deals, talking on the phone, and being good at making deals. I realized that I would enjoy a career that is more hands on rather than a career in which is most of the time behind a desk using a computer and phone all day.

One thing I enjoyed the most in my recent placement was helping her figure out things that could be modified at Edison Park Fest. We worked on this particular event which was cool because I have attended this event before.

The natural roles and personality traits I observed in this career are the ability to stay organized, being social, and having patience. Organization comes into play when organizing all the papers, receipts, and given information for each event that is being planned. Being social comes into play when there is constant interaction with other people in business in which you work with to make each event successful. And patience comes into play when having to constantly deal with different attitudes, complaints, and businesses when planning and running events. I believe my traits and roles do fit this career and that I would be good in working with people every day.

This made me grow as a person because I realized that Chamber could be a possible career for me. I grew as a student in the sense that I learned more about a career and an option that I could possibly live out in a future career. Lastly, this experience allowed me to grow as a young adult nearing high school graduation because it allowed me to know what career I could possible possess in the future.
After reading my weekly refection I feel like this week was a successful one.