For the first half of my student teaching placement, I was placed in Ms. Ervin's transitional kindergarten classroom. This placement allowed me to see that teaching is not a job for the faint of heart, but is truly what I am destined to do. Through challenges that brought down my confidence for a while, I never lost my passion for being an educator. Every experience is a learning opportunity.  

One major challenge was that there were several students who only spoke Spanish. The language barrier in the classroom, among other outside circumstances, resulted in behavior challenges. At many points, I felt like I was giving everything, but nothing I was doing to help these students was working for them, which caused me to feel defeated. But, once I began to speak to them in (very broken) Spanish the best I could, get down on their level and encourage them, include them in helping me out with tasks, and show them who I am in order to gain their trust, it began to work out better. I learned that you cannot control a child's life outside of home, have the power to control how you treat them and the memories you make with them. 

In the second half of my student teaching semester, I was placed in Ms. Leshchiner's third grade classroom. Working with her and her students was a wonderful experience. I learned so much about classroom and behavior management skills that I will apply into my own future classroom.