Life in the city as a Student Teacher
Ms. E, Ms. K, and me
I am a secondary Spanish student teacher at Kenwood Academy. These past few weeks have been so much fun for me at Kenwood. October 31st was Halloween. My cooperating teacher and I dressed up as Day of the Dead (a Mexican holiday) skeletons. How fun!! Even though the students are older than elementary school students, they LOVED IT!!! This started the week off with a bang.
As a high school teacher, I am able to connect with the students more on the same level. Day of the Dead is a holiday celebrated in Mexico where they celebrate death. During this two day holiday, the students spent an entire class period reflecting on people they have lost. It was amazing how seriously they took it and how thoughtful they were of others.
At this point in the semester I am comfortable with my students, and my students are comfortable with me. I believe that students have the best learning environment when they feel comfortable. It was evident in the last test that they took. The pride I felt in my student’s accomplishments gives me motivation to continue being the best teacher I can be.
Life in the city outside of Student Teaching
November 11 was citizenship day at Chicago Semester. We all volunteered at different places. I volunteered to chaperone a field trip to the bowling alley. :D It was a lot of fun, and I won!! WOO!! The children were all Hispanic, so I was able to practice my Spanish as well.
Saturday night, I went with some teachers from Kenwood to Quartinos, a delicious Italian restaurant. The food was great, and if you go with a large group of people, each person can order something different and everyone can share. Afterwards we all went to La Salle Power Company to dance. Teachers can have fun too!!
Since I had never been in Chicago before, I was excited to experience the holiday season downtown. I went to see the Festival of Lights. So many people were downtown in the cold, it was amazing! The lights were unlike anything I’ve seen before; I could see why so many people come to see it.
To celebrate an early Thanksgiving, I attended a family dinner of a friend that I met early on this semester. As I was settling in to Chicago, she was able to show me the ways of the city. Since she is from Chicago, she invited me to come for a home cooked meal. The food was delicious and it was nice change of pace.
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