As a result of this practicum experience, I feel I have grown immensely as teacher candidate and have a much better idea of what it will take to succeed as a teacher. I enjoyed working the 2nd grade students more than I expected. I may have underestimated what they could do, especially in the way of higher level thinking. They continually surprised me whenever I moved questioning beyond simple knowledge and understanding. I need to continue to make sure I create lessons that address higher level thinking because there is no question that the students are ready and willing to participate.

One of the most important things I took away from the experience was how badly many of these students need role models in their lives. Several of the students seemed to cling to me in almost an unhealthy way. I learned that both of those "clingy" students have problems at home. Several teachers at my practicum site commented on great it would be to have a male teacher around. The school had lost their male P.E. teacher the previous year so I temporarily filled a void at the school. As a male teacher I think I have a unique opportunity to positively affect the lives of these students, especially those who do not have a male role model at home.

Another important aspect of teaching that I need to improve upon is organization. Every teacher has a different system of organizing lessons and getting things done but this will be one of my primary goals during student teaching. I believe I wasted a lot of time by not being better organized in my lessons. I felt like I was always close to losing all of my materials because I did not have an efficient way of organizing. Part of it was not having a lot of space in the classroom as a student teacher, but I still could have organized my materials better.

I was very pleased with how the students responded to the lessons. I was very fortunate to be in the position to use my knowledge and connections in Korea to create an interesting unit of study for my students. It was certainly not a perfect unit. There were several things that I can improve upon as I move towards student teaching. I hope this experience is something that the students will remember for a very long time, just as I will. 

Overall I feel it was a successful practicum experience. I felt like I could manage the students fairly well, which was a concern coming in. I had a good mentor to observe in how she handles students and tries to create responsibility and accountability in the classroom. I look forward to working at my student teaching site.