Daily Reflection #1

Daily Reflection # 1

Date: August 14, 2012

Today was my first day in my practicing teaching at CDPRE in UPRH. I was very nervous to face the

students from kindergarten. My first experience at the center went smoothly. All the members of this

center welcome me to the Center and they were excited of having me teaching English at CDPRE.

My cooperative teacher is Mrs. Margarita Rodríguez she is a very professional. I observe that Mrs.

Rodríguez possess an excellent group control. Also she is very good with the students. Definitely teach

kindergarten is a challenging task because even thought some of the students came from some head start

but still they need some structure. You have to be telling to the student constantly how to act. This grade

needs a lot of repetition.

The teacher was administrating a diagnostic test she call the student one by one to administrate the test

then she send the students to the different centers. I went to the language center and read a Spanish book

because they didn’t have any in English. I start asking friends for English stories for little kids and find

some that tomorrow I will use.

I realize I can’t be really soft to them because they can manipulate you if see you go soft with them. It is

important found a balance in how to treat them nice but with respect. Also I have to work hard to learn

their names and matched with their faces. This is very important because if you know their names they

tend to think twice before misbehave. In other hand in this grade is easy to catch their attention and make

them to pay attention using stickers.

I’m really excited and can’t wait to see how is going to be my day tomorrow at the CDPRE. I really hope

to make some positive impact in these students. My main goal is to not only facilitate learning in my

students and they learn English. I want my student to become good citizens, learn values and to practice

them.



Today I felt less nervous than yesterday. I like the CDPRE and their personnel; they make you

feel welcome and always ready to help you in whatever you may need. The students are happy

to see me in the morning when they arrive to the school. They introduce me to the parents as the

English teacher.

Today during the routine Mrs. Rodríguez integrate me to her class doing the date in English. I

greed the students in English then proceed to write the date on the board and read it aloud to

them and the students repeat after me. Also during the routine when the teacher was doing the

vowels she ask me to tell the students the vowels in English and they repeat it after me. It felt

good being in the other side but also is a huge responsibility. The teacher is introducing the

letters of the alphabet little by little after they heard the alphabet song. They introduce the letter

C and I tell the students the sound of the letters a, b and c in English; they repeat after me.

Right know my big concern is not to pass the practice and graduate my big concern is to be a

great teacher to my students. I want to be able to facilitate learning that they came eagerly to

learn every day.

Today I went and interview Mrs. Diaz the secretary about the personnel, the students to be able

of realize my nucleus study. She was very helpful.



Today was a good day; definitely the students at this level are tender. They show love and are

amaze for little things. The challenging part is keep them interested and for you be able of this

you have to be energetic. In the morning one of the parents of the students went to sign the

register notebook that is in the entrance of the room; she tells the teacher that the student didn’t

want to come in and she is in the main gate. I took the initiative and go to the gate to convince

her to go inside the classroom. I ask the student why she didn’t want to go to the classroom this

morning and she told me that her sister dint have class that day and she want to stay with her. I

told her to go inside to play with her friends and I notice the day before she enjoy playing at the

computer so I told her to go so she can play latter at the computer. I feel good when she decide

to go inside the classroom and took my hand.

That day I help the teacher to administer diagnostic test, then I realize I have to practice in how

to write the number two so my students don’t get confuse. I’m learning the names of my

students and matching the faces.

Daily Reflection #4


Today was an emotional day one of the students was going to leave to the United States to go to

the doctor. Everybody pray so he will back soon. The teacher start the day with the routine

which is really important at this stage they need to create structure and they learn through

repetition. The students receive news about a classmate that was operated and all of them are

happy to know everything went right and starting the next week their friend will be back. The

teacher explain to the students that everybody have to be carefully when playing with Carlitos so

the student dint get hurt.

Students keep asking to me Mrs. when you are going to start to give us class. Also I notice one

of the students is really shy. I’m really concern and I ask to the teacher if she is always like that.

The teacher told me that the father says that in their house she is the opposite. But she is too way

quiet, she don’t interact with the others kids unless they talk to her. The teacher asks to a

classmate to invite her to play. When I saw my student smile and playing with the others I feel

so happy. I was concerned about this student so I seek for information and I found out that the

mother left her with the father and grandmother.



Today was the first time I observe a regular class. The teacher is really good with the students.

She start the class with a brainstorming and she make a parenthesis to explain to the teacher

candidates what she was doing and why. She told us that that was a brainstorming and this was

to explore what the students know and always that a teacher start a theme should do that. Then

the teacher proceeds with the class. The students were eager to participate the teacher make

meaningful the new theme school and community. She brings a poster with a school and the

pictures of them inside the school.

I like the experience with the students I know that my experience will be good. The teacher and

all the personnel are always happy to help me. I know I will learn a lot from my cooperative

teacher. I really like my teacher she is really professional and you see she love her profession.



I start to experimenting how tiring is being a teacher. You have to get up early and when you go

home you keep working to wake up early again. But also I experience the joy of watching the

students learning. They continue with the theme school and community. I love one of the

activities the teacher carry on she teach the left and right side. She also presents new vocabulary

to them with a picture. Then she divides some in the right side of the classroom and other to the

left side. Then she divides the board in two sides the students have to put the picture in the right

or left side depending for which side they pick it up.

She provide to the students a handout with fishes they have to paint with green crayon the fishes

going to the left side and with blue crayon the one going to the right side.


August 24, 2012

Today was the first day after the tropical storm Isaac. The Kindergarten Teacher was absent

because she was ill. I stay with the pre-school teacher that only has one student that day. The

coordinator of the center tells me to stay and work in any work pending that I may have. I did

that until the lunch when the grandmother of the student when and pick him up. Today I have the

opportunity of observe how the schools personnel do during irregular days. The teacher provides

the student with handouts to him to practice meantime she was organizing records and files. I

help the student to realize this task.

Daily Reflection #8

August 27, 2012

Today was my first solo teaching experience in the other side of the classroom. I was very

nervous, literally my hands were shaking and wet. Every time that I speak my voice was

shaking. That day I bring a CD with song for the routine, when I put it didn’t want to work. I try

to use my laptop but the connection didn’t work. I was very upset, then watching them talking

with the other students. I was frustrated; I can feel tears in my eyes.

The teacher talk to me, assuring me that feeling that way was normal. She assures me that with

practice I will get better.

Daily Reflection #9

August 28, 2012

Today I still felling nervous I think this feeling will never go away. This group is very

challenging we are running out of ways of how to improve their behavior in class. I feel

frustrated most of the time because the majority of the class challenges the authority. We try all

kinds of alternatives to modify behavior without changes. Actually a negative change has been

happening; the ones that use to behave well are copying the bad behavior. We have our hands

full.

You spent almost all day calling for attention, even the simple activity takes forever because

their behave an not paying attention. They are suppose by now have develop some structure and

this haven’t happen yet.


August 29, 2012

Today I was absent because I was sick. I send the lesson plan for the day to the cooperative

teacher by e mail.


August 30, 2012

Today I still absent at the practice center because I have gastritis. I send the lesson plan by e mail

to the cooperative teacher.


August 31, 2012

Today my students were happy to see me again after being sick. The class when better and they

show me what they have learned in English with Mrs. Margarita. Today we practice the school

items, they were proud to show me what they have learned during mi absent. My big concern

with this group is the discipline. They are showing a behavior not normal for the age they are.

We have try changing the seating position, giving sticker to the ones do a good job, positive

reinforcement when they realize an activity or behave in the desire way but nothing works.

Mrs. Margarita informs us that they were supposed by now get use to the routine and behave

different. She gathers all the parents in the afternoon when they came to pick up their kids to

inform of the behavior that was happening. She asks for their cooperation with their kids.


September 4, 2012

Today I felt frustrated because is really hard to control this group. I never thought that kids at

this age where that challenging. The teacher is an excellent teacher she is doing the best she can

with this group. In all the years she is being teaching never she encounter a group like this.

Today one of the students grabs another by the neck. Really we don’t know what else to do. The

teacher was in a meeting today with the social worker, the director, and the psychologist trying to

find a way to stop this bad behavioral.


September 6, 2012

Today was a good day. The student where actively participating. We were naming the school

items. I still confronting problem with my student’s behavior. They keep interrupting, talking to

each other, interrupting the class to ask permission to go and drink water or go to the bathroom.

The student likes the songs that I use during the routine. They keep singing the song Hello

during the class.

The student work very good in their activities book and identify the school items and color it

with the right color.

Daily Reflection #15

September 7, 2012

Every day I am thinking how to deal with the discipline. I go to bed all nervous thinking what

I’m going to do when my practice supervisor go to observe me delivering the English class,

because of the discipline problem we are having in the class. It is hard to control the group

without abandon the teaching so the others students don’t get affected. Today I try proximity

when the other teacher candidate where delivering her class. When I sit down next to the student

he stop talking and I ask him to pay attention to the teacher. The bad thing was that all others

students want me to sit next to them. This didn’t work as I expect.


September 10, 2012

Today I was excited because I prepared a Prezi presentation to review the material that will be

tested during this week. I really thought that my students will enjoy today’s class because Prezi

is a really interactive program. Also I used a lot of famous cartoon characters when using

examples of the primary and secondary colors.

Today I was expecting to be the best class I was excited preparing the presentation and when

delivered the student didn’t where motivated as I expect it.


September 11, 2012

Today was a good day I plan an activity where I will divide the group in four small groups. One

group the team leader will be Mrs. Margarita, the leader of the other group will be Mrs. Idalys,

the other group will be with Mrs. Miraida and the last group with the student from “estudio y

trabajo” that work there. Each leader will choose one student then they will seek for a school

object that I ask for and bring it forward before the others do. They love it and enjoy it. Today

was a good day for me. I was happy to see them enjoying and participating in the class.


September 12, 2012

Today in the English class my student where able to do an experiment mixing the primary colors

to obtain the secondary colors. They love it. They were all excited for being using painting and

seeing how when you mix the red and blue you obtain purple; blue and yellow to obtain green;

red and yellow to obtain orange. Their faces were awesome to watch.


September 13, 2012

Today I took the student outside of the classroom so the student can identify, name and point out

objects that have the color previously study in class. They were excited and identify the colors.

After this activity we step in again to the classroom where I send them to the tables to work.

They have to color in the handouts provided for me using crayons. We practice again the skills

to be tested tomorrow.


September 14, 2012

Today I administer my first test to my students. This group in particular we are having a serious

discipline problem. Today was very difficult to me to go item by item explaining. It was hard to

deliver the instruction to the students even though Mrs. Rodriguez was with me saying the

instruction in Spanish also. The students keep using colors they were no supposed to use.

Today the student’s behavior was worse than ever. Today the teacher talk to the student let them

know that this behavior has to stop and is now. She calls the students the students that behave

well in the classroom to make a line. Tell the rest of the class that they need to follow their

example. The teacher sends the rest of the class to the tables and continues the class with the rest

of the class. Then we put a sticker in the forehead of the students that behave good in class and

put their names in a big poster with a huge start next to the name. Only this students where a

loud of go and play outside after lunch.

Documents

Daily Reflection #1