Strenghts Finder Comments

When I took the Strengths Finder test I agree with my results and I feel that if I use my strengths in the classroom I will become a better teacher.

My first strength is belief which is definitely true for me.  My Christian values are firmly within me and I feel that my life has purpose.  When teaching my belief makes a world of difference.  It allows me to love every child and show God's love to them through my actions.  In teaching I want to make things exciting and create a variety of learning experiences because I believe God has gifted everyone with the ability to learn as well as unique talents.  My belief is a part of me and because of this it will be seen in every step of my teaching because I cannot separate from it.

My second strength is achiever which means I am a hard worker.  I love the feeling of having a productive day and I will go the extra mile to do what I can to succeed.  In the classroom this is a strength that I can use to plan and put into practice everything I have learned about teaching.  It also helps me not give up on a child because I believe that I can accomplish what needs to be done to help and support a child.  This could also be a negative however, when I crowd my schedule with so many things to do that I become a Martha and forget to sit and listen and become a Mary.  Busyness is definitely one of the problems I have and it is easy to get rundown and overextend myself to the point that my relationships suffer, with God, with family, and with friends.  It will be all about me finding a balance between doing and resting.

The third strength is developer.  I do look the potential in other, particularly in children.  I always seem to find a positive where most people see only the negative.  I encourage that small part of good that I see rather than dwelling constantly on the bad.  I think that this will be a great asset as a teacher.  I know that every student is a child of God who is special in many ways.  All I have to do is keep my eyes open and then water the little seed that is positive in a child.  This is one thing that I love to do and I can't wait to be that encourager that a child needs.

Fourth is responsibility.  This is definitely me.  I have actually been called of fun-sucker by my siblings because I am always conscious of being responsible.  I am committed to my values and I do take ownership for what I say and do, often more so than I should be.  This is obviously a negative for me in some ways, because at times it's like a chain that keeps me from just letting go and expressing myself in a completely free way.  It will come in handy when I am a teacher because I will look out for safety, mean what I say, and have more of a set structure.  However, I need to remember to relax and just laugh and have fun with the students sometimes without being stiff.

My fifth strength is harmony.  This describes me so well because I absolutely hate conflict.  I am a peace-maker who does not do well dealing with tension whether it is a big or small issue.  As a teacher, I am happy that I will create a peaceful and calming atmosphere...but there are always going to be times of conflict and I need to deal with it in appropriate ways rather than getting upset or crying (which I tend to do in my own relationships a lot when there is tension or conflict!)...this is just something which I need to work on because I don't want any tiny conflict to through me off!

I am happy that I took this test again because it gives me words that completely fit who I am and my personality.  While I see the positives of each trait, I also see where a certain trait could trip me up and cause me problems in teaching.  It also makes me happy that I love each of these things about myself (although it needs to be balanced!)

My thoughts

So far I have really loved my student teaching experience.  My teacher is wonderful and very helpful.  We also have a class of only 12 students in the morning and only 7-8 stay through the afternoon, which makes it an ideal place to begin teaching!  Although the class is small, there is a lot of diversity among students in SES, ethnicity, and development.  One child came into Kindergarten reading while several cannot write their names and do not recognize any letters.  We have students that speak German, Spanish, or Telugu in their homes, but all are also fluent in English.  One of our girls has special needs and gets some extra help for a short amount of time each week.

I have loved watch my teacher interact with the class.  One memorable moment came when a girl was very upset at lunch because her chair was different from everybody else's.  The teacher saw just how big of a deal it was to this girl and went over and told her how special she was because she got to sit in the princess chair!  The girl was still insisting it was terrible and she was upset and so the teacher asked the other students if someone wanted to have a chance to sit in the special princess chair for the day.  One of the other girls was so excited to sit there so they switched seats!  I was amazed at the teacher's ability to diffuse the situation while making everyone happy...I would have just said that's the chair you have so sit in it for today.  It reminds me that some things can be a major deal to children that adults may not get, but we shouldn't so easily dismiss how a child is feeling.

I am also benefiting greatly from watching the teacher's discipline style.  I have always been able to get the children who listen to listen to me ;) but the difficult or disrespectful child has always been a struggle for me.  I've found that it is okay to use different tones and corrections with different children.  There is one boy in class who has to be told regularly that he cannot talk back to the teacher and he needs to talk nicely to his friends.  With lots of practice and help from my much more experienced teachers I have begun to develop a way of disciplining that I am comfortable with and the students respect.

In general I am just so grateful to have a class where I feel free to observe and learn but also practice what I'm learning.  I feel so prepared to teach my unit next week and really be in charge of the classroom all day long because so much care has been taken to give me the needed practice time!