The 10 things I learned from my college teacher prep program : A Reflection

As of Friday, December 13th, I am now no longer a student teacher. After dozens of semesters, thousands of dollars, and countless stressed out sleepless nights, I can apply for certification and become a professional educator. My last day was wonderful, I'll make a post about it in the next few days, but I wanted to write a little something in the meantime.

The seminar that is tied to student teaching requires a reflection on our time at the college and our journey through teacher certification. At first I was really excited to write about my experience, but then I was given a rubric with various points I had to touch on in order to receive a good grade on the paper. So, in the end, it wasn't a true reflection of my time there and what I learned.

Instead, I decided to share what I learned with the rest of you. Maybe they will help some of you have more realistic expectations than I did, or maybe it can give you a little laugh, but here it is...

The 10 things I learned from my college teacher prep program :

All teacher prep programs are a bit different, so what I say may not specifically apply to you and your journey, but hopefully you can relate...

Student Teaching Signs

Being a teacher you start making signs for everything. Here are some of mine!

Just a sign to show new students where our finished artwork folders are for each period.

A simple sign for no-name papers. The elementary art teacher has a fun saying on her's, "No name, no fame." I love it, but it was a little too immature for high school students. 

After we started painting I tested out this student grade "acrylic." Why is acrylic in quotes? Because I am 99% sure this stuff is tempra. No way is this acrylic! It covers NOTHING. So I though I better let the student know.

This sign is one of my favorites. Now that we are painting we only have primary colors available, and students constantly ask how to make brown. These are just some of the many options. I explained that everything opposite on the color wheel will make a brown, but these were some of my favorites.

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I got 99 problems but setting up paint palletes ain't one!

 How do you set up paint palettes for each class of 25 high school students? Find out how and read more about my painting adventures in student teaching under the cut!

Student teaching update and ATC examples

It’s been a while since I have posted my own content, and it feels good to be back.

Student teaching is almost over! It’s both a happy moment and a sad one. I am happy to find a full time teaching position that will actually pay me, but I am going to miss my current students like crazy. They’ll be fine without me, but I’ll feel sad knowing they are making art and I won’t be able to see it.

These are some example ATC (artist trading cards) I made for an assignment. I gave each student a blank card and asked them to create an ART in honor of the artist Vincent van Gogh. My examples above are for Salvador Dali and Claude Monet.

The students had to use at least 2 different mediums on their cards (collage, paint, pen, etc). and the finished works of art were really interesting!

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PokéPaints

Making fun paint colors and names kept me sane during boring days in the classroom. The students got a kick out of them too. Full disclosure, I haven't played Pokémon since the original gold and silver on Gameboy Color. (I had a bright yellow one!) I only know the newer stuff because my sister and my boyfriend both play.  ♥ etsy ♥ facebook ♥ deviantart ♥ sometimes foodie ♥