For my final practicum, I was place at Nukko Lake Elementary School in a grade 6/7 class. When this opportunity came up, I was feeling like I would be challenging myself. Going into the program, I was sure that I only wanted to teach primary but throughout the program we were always told to try to challenge ourselves and try teaching grades that we wouldn’t typically gravitate towards. I had met the grade 6/7 teacher at Nukko Lake during my observations and knew that if I ever were to do my practicum in an intermediate class that I would want her as my coaching teacher. It worked out that someone still needed to be placed there and was asked if this would interest me knowing that I only wanted primary age. I thought I would take the opportunity as it would give me a range of experiences for my practicum and figured if I never tried teaching intermediate how would I know if I really liked it? So, I decided I would take the opportunity and see what grade 6/7 was all about. The week before my practicum started, I went to the classroom to meet the students and a couple of the students came up to me and introduced themselves and shook my hand. I thought that was such a kind gesture as a kid and made me feel very welcomed and also made me chuckle a bit as I wasn’t expecting that from grade 6/7 students.
My first week of practicum finally came around and I can say that it was extremely stressful and overwhelming. I was very sick the week before practicum so I wasn’t able to prepare many things for the first week and felt like I was behind before I even started. But, I did figure it out and ended up teaching some fun lessons so the kids were able to get familiar with me and my teaching style. I quickly connected with the kids and I really enjoyed being in the classroom. The most stressful part was planning full days and lessons. The content that we have to teach grade 6/7 is a lot different than what I was used to, so I had to review and really make sure I understood what I was teaching before teaching it to the students. About half way through, I feel like I gained more confidence in myself and realized that I was capable and able to adapt. I feel like it was around the 6 week mark that I really started feeling comfortable and that I connected with my coaching teacher on a deeper level. My coaching teacher was and still is such a great mentor and I know we will have a friendship throughout my career. I feel very thankful to have had her as a guide and I really learned to many valuable things that will help me in my practice.
I can say, I have never experienced this level of stress for the amount of time that I did, but it was all so worth it. My coaching teacher always told the kids that the 10 week practicum is the one that usually has the biggest impact and she was definitely right. I already miss the kids and the school. It is amazing how much of a connection and an impact you can make in such a short period of time and that is something I have definitely taken away from this practicum and will remember throughout my career. On the last day, my coaching teacher and the kids gifted me a “BC Teachers Survival Guide” with funny advice that the students wrote for me. It was such an emotional day for myself and the kids and I never realized how much of an impact I had. I will never forget this experience, the school, and the students I taught and I will always hold them so close to my heart.