I am finally home!
The last two days of volunteering were just as exciting and exhausting as the first day! I spent these 2 days in the other Primary 2 classroom and I got to work with groups on reading and math again! It was so fun! One specific experience was on Tuesday afternoon when I helped two students who needed more support on math. I used felt manipulatives but they didn’t seem to help the students and at a certain point they were both too squirrely to try and focus. While this was frustrating, it also helped me remember that this will happen and it doesn’t have to be the biggest deal when it does.
I enjoyed the last two days working with the students and really liked what I saw in the classrooms! One particular thing I liked was how each of the classrooms created a classroom charter at the beginning of the year and I saw teachers reference that on multiple occassions to remind students to be respectful of each other. I would consider creating this with my class as it allows students to assume more responsibility and become more invested in maintaining the positive classroom environment.
As last week was the end of TAB I was busy with the last assignments, but I also got to see a little bit more of Edinburgh which was exciting. TAB was both enjoyable and exhausting and while right now I am relieved to be home, I’m sure I will miss it more within the next few weeks. I wish I had more time volunteering in the classrooms, however I think it also worked out as it was challenging to stay on top of work even when I was just doing classes abroad. This was quite an experience with both good and bad times. I am so grateful to the school, classroom teachers and students that I got to meet and learn from and I will carry this experience forward with me. Scotland was even more magical than I expected and the people were so kind which made all the difference in this experience. I feel more excited about the prospect of teaching abroad once I graduate but for now I am just looking forward to my third pracitcum!
Thank you for following along on the journey!
Chloe
