PSIII Reflection – TQS 1

Now that I am nearing the end of my practicum, I think looking back one of my greatest
successes has been building strong relationships with all of my students. This is something that is
of the utmost importance in my mind. Why would a student choose to listen to someone that they
don’t believe has their best interest in mind? I want my students to know I always care about
them and want nothing more than for them to succeed. I can sincerely say that I do believe that
this is something that all of students this semester know about me.

When it comes to the relationships that I have developed with students, there are a couple
that come to mind. The first of these students that I can think if one of the most enthusiastic and
kind kids I have ever met. Coming in, I was told that he sometimes has difficulties keeping his
thoughts to himself and often would yell out things in class. Not that he wanted to be disruptive
of course; he would just be so excited to share. I didn’t take long for me to notice this either and I
would be lying if I said I didn’t require a lot of patience some days. I also found out quickly that
this student was always very passionate about working on math and I think the fact that I taught
most of the math lessons naturally drew us together. I tried my best to always make time for his
questions and thoughts and would often chat with him one on one after giving instructions so that
I could make sure all of his questions were answered. He didn’t always know how to properly
get my attention, sometimes yelling out for me from across the room in the middle of a lesson by
me or my teacher mentor, but he certainly felt comfortable coming to me whenever he needed
something. He needed a lot of reassurances to make sure he was on the right track and he would
often look across the room at me when my teacher mentor was teaching to seek it. I would give
him a little head nod or a thumbs up or a smile through my mask and this would satisfy him and
he could go back to paying attention. Through this relationship we formed, I was able to see him
have great success in a variety of subjects as long as he got that reassurance from me that he was
doing alright.

Another student that I think of when it comes to building a relationship was somewhat
opposite from the first, in that when I arrived he was not too fond of math. He would struggle to
get work done and would be fine if he got just a passing grade on his assignments. Out of all the
students in my class, I saw the most growth from him over the course of my practicum. I sat with
him one on one, especially in math until he figured out whatever he was working on. He could
often do it and just needed a little guidance and the confidence that he was capable. As we
moved through topics in math, I found his confidence growing and growing. I remember one day
as the whole class was working on a problem he called me over to his desk excitedly. He proudly
told me that he had figured it out and asked me if I could call on him when we reconvened as a
class to discuss the problem. I don’t think I had ever seen him volunteer to share his process
before this point so I of course told him I’d be glad to call on him. I will never forget the look of
pride on his face when he got to explain to the class how he found his answer. From this point
forward, I saw a changed student. More and more he was telling me how he liked math now and
often asked me to call on him for answers. With this newfound confidence, he also started to
really excel going from getting mostly 2s to consistently getting 3s and banging down the doors
on 4 territory. He would go into math class excited to learn and would even continue to work on
math into his break or lunchtime to make sure he got it all done. I saw this drive to succeed
transfer into other subjects as well. He became more focused than ever, asking frequently if his
work was deserving of a higher grade and more often than not is was. I am incredibly proud of
the growth that he made and I told him many times how impressed I was with him, which I think
further boosted his confidence

Of course, I also built strong relationships with all of my other students as well. I really
tried to take an interest in their lives and learn about them as human beings and not just as
students. I think these strong bonds that I build lead them to feel comfortable around me and
willing to ask me whatever they needed without fear of my judgement. I tend to keep things
pretty lighthearted and spent a lot of time joking around with my students. Sometimes all it
would take was making eye contact with a student and we would both start laughing for no real
reason. They also realized that when I got serious it was time to stop joking around and get down
to work and I think they were able to appreciate this balance that I brought to the classroom. The
toughest part of the practicum is certainly leaving these students behind. I know I am going to
miss them dearly and I think they will miss me as well. I am so proud of them as a class and
every success I got to see in my time with them and know they have bright futures ahead of
them.