I have come a long way throughout this internship experience. The things I have learned and the skills I have been able to develop in order to be a more effective teacher would have not been possible at all without this experience or my mentors. With their continuous support and efforts to help me learn the skills they already possess, I have been able to get to the level in which I now stand today. I am now comfortable coming up to students in all my classes without them calling me over to help them and give them feedback as well as positive reinforcements. The students now constantly call me over for help or advice and I can really see their trust in my knowledge. I am now more aware and have a clearer understanding of what it really takes to be an effective teacher. I have learned that planning and thinking ahead plays a major role in being an effective teacher. In addition, I have learned that first impressions and presentation set the stage for how your students will respond to you as an instructor.
Today, as I walk down the hallways of Freeport High School, students greet me “Hi Mrs. Fortuna, how are you?” or “Good morning Mrs. Fortuna” and I am immediately smile. Some of them come up to me in the halls and share with me art work they have been working on from home and just ask me for any advice I can give them. It just fills me with such a great feeling that I cannot even explain to see that I have been able to build such a great relationship with my students. To see how they respect and value my opinions means so much to me and it truly shows me that I have been doing the right thing. I know that this isn’t it though. With experience comes learning, and I have far more of both to get through!
