Hilliard Darby Class of 2019
My Capstone Experience
For my senior capstone, I mentored with two classroom teachers at the Hilliard Preschool. I chose this for my capstone because I love working with young children and I wanted to learn more about what it is like to teach in a classroom with students who are only three and four years old.
ExpectationsBefore my experience, I thought that I would be mostly observing my mentors, watching what they do, and learning what their typical day looks like (as typical as it can be when working with preschoolers).
I felt that I would gain more experience working with young students and how to interact with them while still helping them grow and learn new things. I really wanted to learn about the role of preschool teachers, what their responsibilities are, and how working in a preschool with young children is different than working with older children (other than the obvious curriculum differences). During my experience, I was able to meet and work with two preschool classroom teachers and four classroom assistants, as well as an occupational therapist and a speech/language therapist. I thought that I would benefit from my involvement by gaining more experience with young children and learning how to be a role model and set good examples for those younger than me. |
ReflectionAfter my experience, I learned that there is much more to being a preschool classroom teacher than meets the eye, and a lot of work goes into their job that most people might not notice or pay attention to.
This experience has affected me as a person as I have become a young professional. For example, I learned how to write a formal cover letter and make a resume that makes a good first impression on other professionals. I have changed as a result of this experience as I have become more independent and I learned how to communicate with other adults in a professional manner, which is something I had never done before. I see the world differently now because I learned that what you put in to something is what you get out of it, and the outcome of an event is completely dependent on your response to the situation. This was a meaningful experience because I had the opportunity to interact with all kinds of students, I connected with them, and I was able to have an impact on their lives (as small as it might have been). A new skill I gained from this experience is how to better manage my time, as I learned how to be efficient and productive in many different settings so that I had time for everything I needed to do throughout the day. If I had to start my experience over, I would start my experience sooner so that I could spend more time at the preschool and ask more questions in order to get the most out of my experience. |