Week 7 - Overall Reflections

Ennis, Ireland 

So it's 7:30 a.m. and my last day as a student teacher! I cannot believe it's all over! It has been quite a journey through this semester, though. Right from the beginning in Pennsylvania, I knew the semester would be challenging, but I had always kept in mind the overall goal or outcome - to learn and grow as a person AND as an educator. And this is definitely what happened.

In the US I felt comfortable and confident right from the start. I had done my pre-student teaching in the same school and knew all of the teachers and a lot of the students. I also had one, fabulous mentor and was able to get immediate feedback. During my student teaching experience in the states I grew as an educator for sure. I was able to work on my classroom management and really developed a respect-filled relationship with each of my students. I feel that my lessons were well-planned and my delivery improved with the progression of the semester.
When I got to Ireland, it was truly when I needed to put all of my knowledge and studies to use. I was NOT comfortable because I was in a completely new environment and did not know a soul in my school. I had to start fresh - much like a "real" first year teacher. I was also placed in multiple classrooms for short blocks of time, so I was not able to develop as firm of a foundation with my students as I would have liked. However, throughout the experience I was able to work on my classroom management skills and disciplinary plan. It's something that I was still a bit shaky on from the beginning, but I received a lot of advice and techniques from my Irish colleagues!
Also, just being able to observe other teachers in a foreign country is helpful. Through these observations I was able to reflect on my own teaching pedagogy and compare and contrast how I would teach/handle the situations that arise in school.

Overall, this short term abroad experience was invaluable and I would definitely recommend it to any student teacher with an open mind and a curiosity of the world outside of the United States.
This experience allowed me to grow as a teacher (as mentioned above) and a person, as well. I have become so much more independent. Traveling around the country every weekend, relying/planning around bus schedules and routes, booking hotels/hostels/B&Bs, and exploring the landscape and talking with the people of Ireland has really made me a more confident and worldly person. I would never trade this experience for anything in the world and I feel so fortunate to have been able to do this!

Ok! Time for my last day! I'll be posting more pictures soon!