My field placement was at Wilfred Hunt Elementary school in the Arts Education classroom. This was an amazing experience for me because I got the opportunity to learn a lot about how the Art programs in schools differ from other programs such as math or French. I learned that teaching Arts Education in an elementary school is a fun, but hard thing to do. You have to be flexible with your schedule because the activities you plan may take longer than you plan for and your lesson may lead you to do an activity or teach something that was not planned. Also, it is important to have a relationship with your students. Having a relationship with your students will make them feel safer in the school environment. While at my placement, the teacher I worked with showed me an activity the entire school did. This activity was to mark the safe areas in the school with green marker and to mark the unsafe areas with red. These areas were not meant as dangerous or not dangerous areas, but areas where they students felt safe from bullying and where they did not. The teacher pointed out that the areas that were marked safe on almost all of the sheets were where teachers were always present. This shows that there is a relationship between the teachers and the students because the students feel as if the teachers protect them.
Another important lesson I learned is that in the Arts, you cannot be afraid to feel uncomfortable in front of your students. As I observed the teacher, I noticed that she was not scared to dance along with the students or call herself crazy, she connected with the students by making them laugh and making them feel comfortable with whatever activity they were doing by taking part in it herself.
During my placement, I got the chance to sit in and observe a substitute teacher. I noticed how the children’s behaviour changed compared to when they have their actual teacher. The children are more rowdy and think that they can get away with not participating. Being in the classroom with a sub was a good experience for me. I saw how he handled the children and he gave me some advice for my future years in the Education program.
After going through my placement, I am left to wonder how teachers do not get more recognition for what they do. They don’t only teach, they run extra-curricular activities, take care of students, make sure students are safe, listen to the students and their parents, they plan lessons knowing that it might not go the way they want it to, and they spend hours on end outside of the school hours to work with children or correct assignments.
Overall, my placement was a very great experience. The children were amazing and I am excited for the years to come in the Education program.
Miss Miskolczi 