Final Remarks

My experience at Corona del Sol this semester has been great. To fully immerse yourself in a teaching environment when most of our lives have been spent as strictly students definitely opens your eyes. I realize the necessity of accurate communication, basal knowledge in order to advance, and a fundamental understanding of the material being taught.

During my time here, I have learned a great deal. I see how fragmented some high school curricula can be, and the necessity of its revision. With humanities, it often seems as though too much information is being presented, and that breadth is being favored over depth. I know that Ms. Dempsey plans to change this for the future, and it is her years of experience with the classroom that led her to this realization. I also learned how important it is that a teacher truly understands the material they are teaching. When I taught my lesson, I had a plan laid-out for it, but followed it as a mere guide and led the discussion according to the student’s responses and my own knowledge on the material. I wasn’t learning what I was teaching, but knew what I was teaching.

I’ve grown a great deal from this experience too. I understand how difficult it can be to be a teacher, but how rewarding the results can be when one is capable of positively impacting a student’s life. I also see that this should be a necessary aspect of any teaching career, for if you are not trying to help your students grow as humans, you are wasting a great amount of time.

My experience was definitely positive. Ms. Dempsey is an incredible teacher and person, and she has helped me integrate my college education into her high school classroom. The students in her humanities classes are also pretty amazing. Humanities requires an application from juniors who wish to take it as seniors. As a result, the students are sincerely interested in the material and pursue knowledge and understanding beyond simply grades. I know that my experience in this classroom will definitely influence me if I do choose to go into teaching.