Final Reflection

I just had my last meeting with my class yesterday and concluded my Junior Achievement experience.

I enjoyed doing the sixth lesson plan with my students than the previous two. The fourth and fifth lesson plans were the most tedious and complicated lessons in the Economics for Success (8th Grade) packet. However, this last lesson plan was a relief for me and my students. The instructions were easy: just hand out Risk Scenario cards to each group and have the students role play the scene. It was fun to watch the students work together and show their creativity to the rest of the class. In one of the scenes, one of the characters gets in a car wreck. So to play this scene out, one of the students got on a chair and "crashed" by falling out of the chair and on to the floor. It was really funny to watch. Although, the students and I were bummed out that we couldn't have all of the groups role play, because time ran out. I should have managed time better earlier in the class while I was going over the purpose of insurance with the kids. The students had so many questions about insurance (probably because many of them will be 16 in the next two to three years and will be driving cars soon).

Looking back on this Junior Achievement experience, I really enjoyed doing it because I learned a lot about myself and how to reach kids in the classroom. I initially took Economics 349: Economics for Teachers at the suggestion of my adviser Dr. Putko. She told me it was a brand new class and that it would fulfill the upper division Economics section of the Social Science - Single Subject Teaching course requirements. I walked into Professor Imazeki's classroom without knowing what to expect. As soon as I read the syllabus and saw the JA requirements that said I had to volunteer teaching a class at a school far away, I thought about dropping the class and taking something else. I eventually want to go on to become a teacher, but at the time I didn't feel like I was ready to start teaching a class on my own. Plus, my sister and I shared a car so it would be difficult arranging our schedules. After thinking about dropping Professor Imazeki's class, my conscience chimed in. If I want to go on to teach in the Social Sciences, that means I might have to teach Economics. So I thought to myself, "What the heck? Just give it a try." I was worried about driving to a school far away because of my class schedule and having to share the car with my sister. Thankfully, my JA mentor helped me find a school that wasn't too distant with a really helpful teacher and a wonder group of bright kids. Overall, the experience was very rewarding because I learned more about myself and teaching kids.

One thing I learned about myself is that I'm am too nice most of the time. My physical presence is strong because I am much bigger and stronger than all of the students. But as soon as I start talking and answering students questions, the kids start to realize that I am a non-confrontational type of person and they continue to chit-chat at their desks while I am still talking. My teacher that I worked with suggested ways that I could work on my decorum while teaching in the classroom. It's always good to be nice and courteous to people, especially your students. But it's also OK to be assertive too, because the students have to be courteous to the teacher too. I think I will be a much better teacher once I am able to improve on my assertiveness, while at the same time being a nice person too.