Blog 5 part 2 My Reflecton on My Journey/SPSE 6712

Hello to all once again!

Well, my coursework for SPSE 6712 is now coming to a close. I have to say this class was one of the most rewarding classes for me not only as a teacher but as a human being. I work a full time job at an insurance company (hate it) and after leaving the students on Friday mornings sometimes I would literally cry because I would have to go back to work. I wanted to stay at the school so bad. I acted like my daughter used to act when she was a toddler while having to leave Chuck E. Cheeses. She is now in college.

I have 4 more classes to complete before I receive my M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction with a Focus in ESL. I also have 2 classes to take in order to obtain my licensure. My original plan was to have my licensure this Spring, but due to unforeseen circumstances that I take full responsibility for, my game plan had to change, but I refuse to give up. I have come this far, and by granny I WILL achieve my goal.

My experience working with ESL students has been such a wonderful experience in my life. The students that I have been working with have taught me so much. I can't even put into words what all they have taught me. My mentor teacher has been such a wonderful mentor as well. Because I do not have my own classroom YET, I was graciously allowed to observe and participate in my mentor teachers classroom activities and I am so grateful to her and the school for allowing me to be a part of what they do. Working with ELL's have convinced me that this is what I want to do with my life and at the risk of sounding cliche' I know that I will make a positive difference in someones life. I can't wait.

I created a Wiki page last Spring and continued building the Wiki throughout my courses in the summer. Again I do not have my own classroom so I wasn't able to use my Wiki with the students that I have worked with because the ELLs that I worked with are LEP's grade K-3 and my Wiki was geared toward high school ELL's. I did however show my Wiki to my mentor teacher and she really liked it. She is going to try to create one for her 3rd graders. I use my Wiki all the time to go back to as a reference. Sometimes I look at what I constructed and I am amazed at all the things that I had done. It really has helped me tremendously when I need an idea or need to review certain strategies. I can't wait to use it or one like it in a classroom setting. It was hard to construct the Wiki at first and sometimes there were glitches with the server, but the people at Wiki are very helpful and very quick to respond to any problem you may have.

Some advice that I have for others that intend to add on the ESL endorsement to their license or pursue a M.Ed in C&I with an ESL focus are as follows:

1. Know who your advisor is. This is very important. Make sure you know your advisor because as you progress through your program, you might run into problems or have questions. If you don't communicate with your advisor you will be asking the wrong people the wrong questions and you might have to change your "game plan".
2. Read the resources in your modules. Sometimes you will feel lost, but if you look at the examples or resources provided for you in D2L, you will be able to complete the assignments correctly.
3. Participate in the discussions. I am very guilty of letting one or two discussion assignments pass me by. These are easy grades and if you miss too many of them, you will again have to change your "game plan" in reaching your goal.
4. Be flexible, open minded, patient, and a reflective decision maker. I know I sound like a broken record here but these factors can make or break a teacher no matter what subject they teach.
5. Know your ESL standards for the state of Tennessee. Save the web page to your favorites. Believe it or not, this helps out so much when you are trying to find the standards for lesson plans. Sometimes the standards are hard to locate in a hurry.
6. Explore the Wiki Pages of your classmates. This is a great resource for advice, lesson plans, and ESL websites.

These are only 6 pieces of advise that I am going to list. I have so much more advice to give, but I listed the ones that I feel are most important.

Below is a link to my Wiki if you want to take a gander.
http://hemrickseslwiki.wikispaces.com/

If you have any suggestions or comments for my Wiki, please feel free to leave me a comment either on my Wiki page or on this blog.

Its been a great semester and I can't wait to see what lies ahead.

Thanks for reading,

Georgia Hemrick

MTSU Honor Statement:
This assignment/assessment was solely written by me. In no way have I
plagiarized (represented the work of another as my own) or otherwise violated
the copyright laws and academic conventions of fair use. I know that violations
of this policy may result in my being dismissed from Middle Tennessee State
University and/or appropriate legal action being taken against me.
Signed
Georgia Hemrick Dec 1, 2010