Extracurricular activity Essay

My freshman year of high school was scary. Two rival middles schools coming together to make one freshman class did not seem like the best idea, the classes were harder, and the stress levels were higher. In eighth grade I was so excited to be in high school, but once I got there I could not wait for that year to be over. Then I realized I still had three more long school years ahead of me. Don’t get me wrong, I had plenty of fun times freshman year. I met so many new people and made a lot of new friends. The majority of my friends then are still my friends now. But I was ready to grow up. I think every teenager thinks like this at one point or throughout every year of high school. Most teenagers are ready to move from home and start a new and more independent life in college during most years of high school. I know that I thought this way for quite sometime. I thought that life in college would be a million times more eventful than life in high school. Sophomore and junior year were also similar to freshman year. Friendships became stronger, classes were continuing to get more difficult, and even though I involved myself more in extracurricular activities, I was ready to get out of town and start college more than ever. I had picked out my dream school and already had so many plans for my freshman year of college. But instead of time speeding up like I wished it would, it felt like it was slowing down. Summer going into senior year I began getting bored with the town and I felt like I was always saying â€Å"there is nothing to do here.† I thought I needed more adventure and was becoming tired of just going through the motions. Although I felt like that then, a few weeks into senior year my mindset had completely changed. Even though senior year has been the toughest year yet, my class has created a culture. There is so many things that define us as a class and set us apart from everyone else. From traditions started at football games, to the things that we do as a group, we have created our own culture and identity. I have realized that even though I have wanted the past three years to fly by, all I want is for this year to slow down. My friends and I have all created extremely close bonds and we have become almost like a family. I feel like throughout the past three years I have taken a lot of things for granted and have not really appreciated all the memories I have had that came from good experiences. I have learned not to take any special moments for granted because I could look back on these days and remember all of the good times and how much I enjoyed my senior year. At times I regret wanting to grow up so fast because I know now that these are some of the best times of my life and I wish I would have appreciated them before. Although I do regret that, I’m thankful I get to spend this year with every single one of my closest friends. I still have a long time to make memories, but as the saying goes, â€Å"time flies when you’re having fun.†

Personal Philosophy of Classroom Management Essay

Classroom Management is an essential element in implementing a successful learning environment for students. A teacher who implements a classroom management plan will control student’s misbehavior so that all students will be focused on the lessons being taught in the classroom. Below is an annotated list of points that I believe in concerning my view of classroom management. 1. How teacher should act: * Enthusiastic- A teacher should show enthusiasm when she is teaching the lessons. The teacher needs to show that she is excited about teaching the lessons so that the students will stay interested in listening and understanding the subject area content. * Respectful- The teacher should treat students with respect and also demand respect. She should never use fowl language, inappropriate behavior, share too much personal information or act in ways that are not ethical. * Role Model- A teacher should act as a role model to her students. The teacher should not do anything that would jeopardize her career as a teacher that would make her students look down upon her. She also must live a life that students look up to so they will remember that teacher forever. * Patiently- A teacher must exhibit patience in class. Every student learns at different paces and at different levels. A teacher must be willing to be patient if the students are not grasping the information. She should explain the information to the students until they finally understand the lesson 2. How students are expected to behave: * Respectful- Students are to be respectful towards the teacher and to each other. Students should show respect to the teacher by not talking when the teacher is instructing the class. The students should show respect to each other by not hitting each other, making fun of another, or taking one’s personal belongings. * On Task-Students should stay on task in class. Students should be focused on the teacher’s lessons and instructions. They should not be wandering off getting off task. If the students are off task, they will not understand the lessons or remember what happened in class. Also the teacher will have to go back and teach the lesson again which can cause the teacher to be off target teaching the curriculum and it will result in student’s receiving poor test scores. * Appropriately Well Behaved- Students should be well behaved in class. It is important for students to understand the importance of good behavior. If students are well behaved in the classroom, the teacher can spend more time instructing the students than time spent on behavioral issues. In a well behaved classroom, students are able to learn effectively. * Academically Prepared- Students are to come to school academically prepared. The students should complete their homework assignment each day in order to make sure they understand the subjects that are being taught. They should always come prepared to listen to the subject matter, offer their opinions, and ask god questions in class. 3. What the classroom might look and feel like: * Engaging- The classroom should look and feel engaging to the student. In the classroom, the teacher can arrange the classroom that promotes student interaction and group collaboration. Students should be seated in a circle or horseshoe shape that maximizes the amount of eye contact students can have with each other. * Clean and Organized Classroom- A teacher’s classroom should be clean and organized. The school supplies should be neatly organized and in a safe place where students can safely access the supplies. * Filled with student’s work- The classroom should be filled with student’s work on projects. The students will feel comfortable and engaged if what they are learning in class will be showcased in the classroom. The student can look around the room and be reminded to always do their best on their assignments. This also sends a message to students that their work and learning is important. * Student Centered – The classroom should be focused on the students. In the student centered classroom, you will find workstations that promote group activities such as puzzles or brainteasers that promote student collaboration. 4. How the teacher helps students conduct themselves properly: * Demonstrating the Rules- The teacher should teach, review, and practice rules form beginning of school till the end of school. The teacher should also let students demonstrate good behaviors and bad behaviors so that students will understand how to follow the rules and to have good behavior in class. * Reinforce positive behavior with Incentives- A teacher can help students conduct themselves properly by providing incentives through positive behavior. A student who exhibits positive behavior weekly will pick a price out of the treasure chest. This will result in students with bad behavior to act better if they see students winning cool prizes. * Student and Parent Contracts- To ensure students are behaving properly, student and parent contracts are sent home for parents and students to sign. This contract outlines what is expected from the student’s behavior, academics, and the parent’s commitment in the child’s education. This will be very helpful in helping the students have good behavior in class. * Character Education Mini Lessons tied to Curriculum- Teachers can tie in the classroom rules and good behavioral skills as mini-lessons. Before teaching the lessons, the teacher can discuss how to treat others, how to walk quietly in the halls, and do not talk while others are talking. By having these mini lessons on how students should behave will remind them of how to have good behavior in class. 5. What the teacher should do about misbehavior: * Cues- Teachers uses a cue or a simple verbal reprimand to redirect a student’s focus which eliminates the inappropriate behavior. A teacher can also praise the efforts of students with good behavior which can reduce the misbehavior among the other students. * Consequences such as loss of recess- If a student keeps misbehaving, the teacher can use the consequence of loss recess. The majority of students like to go to recess. If the student knows their punishment by loss of recess due to their misbehavior, their behavior will improve. * Private conference with student- If the student still misbehaves, the teacher will need to talk with the student. The teacher will inform the student that his or her misbehavior will not be tolerated in class and his or her parents will be contacted if the misbehavior continues. * Contact parent- A teacher should contact the parents if the student keeps misbehaving in class. If the teacher lets the parents know how their child behaves in class, then the parents can also talk to the child and discipline them at home. 6. How students should be taught and what is expected of them: * Post rules in the classroom- Teachers can post rules in the classroom so that students can be reminded each day of how to properly behave in class. Also the teacher can give quizzes to students about the poster rules throughout the year. * Clear articulation and communication in the syllabus- Teachers should communicate clearly about what is expected of student’s assignments and their behavior in class. For example, informing students to always do their best on their work or their handwriting must be neat on all of their assignments should be clearly communicated. Creating a syllabus will also inform students of when their assignments are due.