Diary reflection

✅Hello. Here you will have some of the experiences and reflections that called my attention during my teaching process.

Experience in Jose Joaquin Florez before changing school.

 

📌During my process in the institution Jose Joaquin Florez I had some good experiences to highlight, mainly during the previous semester in practicum 1. Unfortunately, as a teacher of the students (instead observing them) I do not have many experiences.  I can mention one moment in which I give them the first class. Some students had doubts respect my behavior, and they started to act differently from the classes that I observed. I noticed that situation, and after some minutes I asked them why they were so quite (because they used to talk a lot) and it was curious that one of the students told me that they were scared because of my facial expressions and my behavior. That answer made me laugh and I started to talk in Spanish to make the conversation more comfortable explaining them more about myself. I told them my likes and my hobbies, and they did the same again, (In previous observations I asked them their likes and dislikes). After that conversation of 10 minutes approximately, they started to feel more conformable with me, and to participate more in the activities in that class and the following one. Unfortunately, a day before giving the third class, the institution came back to presential classes, and I had to leave that school to a new one. 

👉I have experience similar cases in another situations, in previous semesters in some presentations I did in some institutions, the students looked scared or showed me a lot of respect, something that I appreciate, but when that behavior start to affect the class development or turn the classes to uncomfortable or boring lessons, I start to think and self-reflect about how to change my expressions or my way to teach.  

Experience in Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra

📌One of the most curious experiences I had in that school was with the students of the grade 8-1. To contextualize, after all problems with permissions I had the previous days with the institution, my assessor told me that everything was ready for me to start my process. That was on Monday the 20^th of September, and I was assigned to the grade 8-1. So, to do my reading class as fast as possible in those days, I wanted to know the students as soon as possible. And in that specific day, my tutor gave me the schedule, and the students had class that Monday, just after the meeting I had with her. So, I asked her for the link, and she gave it to me. After an activity she was doing with them, I introduced myself and the tutor told them I was going to be their teacher for some weeks.

 

👉But the funny or curious situation happened with one of the students, because after I turned my camera on, he asked me in a very casual and euphoric tone “-Profe ¿y usted es bravo? Tiene cara de bravo”.  After that I just could laugh and told them that despite, I look serious, I am not. But my tutor commented something similar telling to the students and to me, “I thought the same, teacher Felipe has a serious expression, but I have talked with him, and he is not”. That moment was curious and funny for me, not only because of the questions and the situation, but also because I have lived similar situations before. 

🎃After that, I had to change of group to 8-2 because one of the pre-service teachers who is in the same institution asked me the favor to change our groups because he had some problems with his schedule. It was a pity, but that was a good experience to have that moment with the students of the grade 8-1.  

Something similar occurred in 8-2. The students asked me a similar question respect my behavior, and I answered them the same, and they started to talk more in that particular class.

📎Unfortunately, not everything went as good as the beginning. After some lessons, the students started to miss a lot of classes, (normally there were between 10 and 15 students per class), In some classes I had 2 students connected and the class became very uncomfortable for me and the plan I had for those classes. there was a lot of silence, and I did not know how to deal with that. After the classes, the teacher told me It was out of or hands to deal with students’ assistance, but I had to use the WhatsApp group to tell them the assignments and the time to deliver them. But unfortunately, in synchronic meetings their assistance was very poor. 

 

📕Unfortunately, the strike and the problems with the schools did not allow me to teach and experiment as much classes as I would like. This pandemic situation is affecting a lot our experience in official institutions and to manage a real classroom in a real context.

📌But as a personal opinion, I consider that these experiences are good to exemplify to the students in future presential classes the importance of personal contact and the development of activities more ludic and comfortable for them, (something that in some cases is not appreciated by the students.