The fall semester of 2019 included many learning experiences, one of which was my first practicum. For this practicum I was placed in a grade 2/3 split class. Prior to this experience I had never worked with students of this age, so I had no clue what to expect. And, honestly, up until working with students that young I always considered myself someone who would be better suited to work with older students, of the intermediate level, perhaps. This perception of myself has since been discarded and that is largely due to the experiences I had with the students in that grade 2/3 classroom. Of course, during my first practicum I got my first taste of formally teaching students, but more importantly I got opportunities to get to know the students personally, build relationships with them, and let them teach me a little about the value of a career in teaching. Former teachers of mine often told me that being a teacher is the most rewarding career due to the relationships you build, and I could appreciate that, but I did not truly understand that rewarding feeling until I had the opportunity to experience it first hand. I felt it throughout the duration of my first practicum, but on the final day of my time in that 2/3 split, just before the dismissal bell, my teacher mentor and her students presented me with a homemade thank you card, which is picture below.
Inside this card were handwritten messages from each student telling me what they enjoyed most about having me in their classroom, or words of encouragement to keep in mind during my future endeavours. Students’ names were written on the inside, so I did not include a picture of it for privacy reasons, but reading those messages was heartwarming and I will cherish that card as a reminder of how valuable the relationships formed with students can be. Although my first practicum was short, and I have much longer ones to complete on the horizon, I consider it an invaluable experience that granted me the opportunity to experience the challenges and rewards of being an educator.