Tanzer

Name: Cynthia Tanzer

Guiding Question: Do I want to be a Teacher?

(optional) Use this space to list possible activities, tasks, experiences. Remember everything you do should help you answer your Guiding Question.

(Required) This plan is a “best guess” as to what you and your mentor think you will be doing. It is not meant to be a hard and fast schedule for your Exploration. The plan should illustrate how you intend to complete a minimum of 80 hours.


 * = Date ||= Location/Activity ||= Number of Hours ||
 * = 5/9 ||= WFS Kindergarten Orientation ||= 7 ||
 * = 5/10-End of Exploration ||= Working with Kindergarteners by developing their writing, mathematics, and other useful skills ||= 7 hrs per day, must attend at least 12 days ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80+ ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80+ ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80+ ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80+ ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80+ ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80+ ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80+ ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80+ ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80+ ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80+ ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80+ ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80+ ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80+ ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80+ ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80+ ||

Journal:

 * **5/11**- First day at Kindergarten! Only one girl was shy. Surprisingly, she's become so attached to me despite initial greetings. I observed Jane during the morning period, in which the kids read "tricky papers" which are meant to enhance a child's reading skills. Jane explained to me the different reading levels of the children in the class, and a coding system in which you write if a child could read independently or needed some help. After lunch, the kids went to music class followed by art class, so the whole afternoon was free. Jane and I sat down to have a meeting talking about my goals for this project. 7 Hours total.


 * **5/12**- Today the kids had their concert. Some kids were nervous in the morning, but once I told them they should be excited rather than nervous, they felt better. Parents came to the classroom after the concert to socialize and see their childrens' progress throughout the year. I organized the folders we gave to parents containing pictures, journals, and the "monster" tests they took throughout the year. These monster tests are spelling tests that contain pretty much the same words. This test was taken 3 times: in October, March, and May (the 11th, so I saw them take this test). I would see the progress kids would have; even if they couldn't spell the word "monster" right, the kids would still have so much individual improvement from writing the first letter of each word in October to their best guess using magic spelling in May. After the concert was worktime, a period of time where kids can be building blocks to arts and crafts. The girls have taken to playing hospital and making fake casts for their arms. They always want me to sign their casts... multiple times. They made me bandaids out of tape. Since I signed their casts, they wanted to sign my bandaids. Tess made me a paper bracelet during this time too. Lily had a fake camera, so I told her I had a real camera! I took pictures of most of the girls and Ishmael. During lunch, I sat with the girls and they became inseparable from me. They all wanted to hold my hand, so I would have girls grabbing my hand and my arm. They went to the library after lunch and everybody wanted to sit next to me, so rather, Jane and I thought it would be best to take a break. Its amazing how much these kids can get attached to someone after two days! (Reminder to self: post up pictures here) Total 14 hours.


 * **5/20- Journal #1:** I succeeded in going through Orientation to the classroom. The first day involved getting used to correcting tricky papers, including learning the coding system for explaining if the child succeeded in completing the tricky papers independently. The first day was a day 7 on the schedule, and the kindergarteners had their afternoon spent in other classes. This time was used to have a meeting between me, Jane, and Hadley. In this meeting, we discussed my goals for the exploration. I really wanted to observe a diverse group of students who learn differently and at different paces. Right from the start, I was exposed to such students. Over the next week, I had to take breaks for studying for Biology. I felt awful I couldn't be present in the classroom, but my time off wasn't spent wastefully. Upon my return on Thursday, the children screamed CINDY!!! followed by a gigantic hug from most of them. It was great to feel welcomed in the class even though I had only been present for 3 days. This week, I was present for 19.5 hours (7 hours on Monday and Friday and 5.5 hours on Thursday), giving me a **total of 33.5 hours**. I feel like being a teacher is still a great possibility. I enjoy spending my time with the children, and love correcting their papers. My experience has been awesome, and I feel that when I miss a day, I miss so much development. I'm both happy and pained that the children miss me while I'm absent. I love that they love my presence, but I hate that I miss their experiences on these days. Luckily, I'm done with IB so I can be here everyday. I'm concerned over my ability to act upon conflict. I need to see how to give discipline to the students without being too mean. I strive to be a good role model as well, which has been more successful than the prior.


 * **Week of 5/27- Journal #2 (written later due to circumstances):** Last week was a tough one due to my dog being hospitalized. I could barely focus and needed to take off on both Wednesday and Friday because I needed to hear his ultrasound and surgery results as soon as possible. Luckily he'll recover. Anyway, we spent the week learning about frogs. We had tadpoles, many of which grew into frogs. Upon Jane's request, I called Ashland Nature Center, inquiring about the possibility for a field trip. We ended up going on Friday, but due to my dog, I was not present. Last week, I was present for 21 hours, giving me a **total of 54.5 hours**. I can say that the days that I was present were a blast, and I really enjoy working with the kids. I read a bilingual book for them, one side being in English and the other in Japanese. It showed different animals and the sounds they make, so I thought it would be fun to show them how the same animals make different noises in Japanese. They understood the concept because of their Spanish Class. I'm still concerned about how to resolve conflict, but I'm getting better at intervening when needed.


 * **6/6- Journal #3:** As I'm sitting here writing this final journal entry, I am congested and so tired. So many germs were spread around during this exploration. But if you ask me the most important question, "was it worth it?" the answer is a definite YES!!!! These kids are so amazing, and I'm so glad to have helped them grow as students. I was thinking about the best way to provide the best way for people to see into these amazing kindergarten minds, and I ended up taking videos of everyone introducing themselves. I'll make a little montage of those videos for my presentation. I ended with a total of **89.5 hours**, and plan to return for one final day on Thursday. I just can't imagine saying goodbye to these kids! Well I wonder what they'll be like when they're my age. This whole exploration has completed the circle for my time here at WFS, finishing where I started. Mr. Fahey finally found out who I was (he never could recognize me until now), I saw Lynese at the front desk one time, and Mrs. Scott greets me almost every day. I hope I can convey my enthusiasm and love for these amazing kindergarteners in my POL!