Guest Speaker Mrs. L

I was happy to hear Mrs. L advise us in her presentation not to have preconceived notions of where we wanted to teach or to have narrow visions. Originally, I was certain that I would never want to teach middle school and that I wouldn't like it. I was convinced that I would work well in any other setting, but absolutely not middle school. Last semester I spent my practicum experience at a middle school and I absolutely loved it and would be thrilled to teach at that level. I do believe it is important to be open minded, which Mrs. L first mentioned in her presentation.

Another point that I hadn't taken into consideration very much, partly because I haven't had my practicum experience at the elementary level yet, was the importance of management and control. As Mrs. L had told our class, we aren't just going to be teachers of art, but teachers of children. At the elementary level, you find yourself teaching many skills, not just art related ones. Mrs. L said you have to be a teacher of social skills, organization skills, problem solving skills, reading and writing skills, math and science skills. Some students will walk into your class and you may need to tell them which end to hold a paint brush or how to use a scissors. I think this is very important and plan to keep it in mind during my practicum experience. She emphasized that you need to meet the students social needs before you can meet the academic needs.