My name is Rachel Walton, and I am in the Childhood General and Special Education program at Bank Street. This is the first online course I have ever taken, and I am very excited and a bit nervous about the experience.
I fell into teaching accidentally. An undergraduate professor I had asked if I would be interested in visiting her son's class for some research I was doing on language acquisition. I walked into Carolyn Bridge's fourth grade classroom and fell in love. I spent the next year volunteering before I became a student teacher in her classroom.
My college did not offer full certification, so I joined Teach for America after graduation. I taught a CTT class at P.S. 70 in the Bronx. I then moved to Miami-Dade, where I taught a self-contained class for severe emotionally and behaviorally classified students in the Little Haiti section of Dade County. Realizing that I needed more education in order to fully support my students and develop my practice, I returned to New York to attend Bank Street.
As I mentioned before, I am both excited and nervous about this course. I have deeply enjoyed social studies as both a student and a teacher. I found that all of the students I have taught have been drawn to social studies, and it served as a pivotal part of my day. I am excited to expand my knowledge in this area and to be able to bring new perspectives, strategies and curriculums to my students.
Warmly,
Rachel
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteYour experience with students who struggle will help you in this course. Keep them clearly in your mind as you select and develop learning experiences. Ask, would they like this? Can they do this? What do I need to teach them before they can do this?
I look forward to working with you.
KK