Happy Endings at my Happy Place :)

Although the last few weeks at the PLC were a little frustrating, my experience as a whole was one that I will never forget. I learned so much there from the teachers and the students. I felt so out of my comfort zone when I first started at the PLC, and learned what it feels like to have confidence in myself. I had to tell myself everyday when I left to keep trying and to believe in myself. Because I started going to the PLC last semester my experience has been over the course of the school year, and I am really glad that it was. I have learned how to explain things in a million different ways, and even when I feel like I am totally clear, the student may be completely in the dark. I learned that you don't have to be serious 100% of the time to get respect from a student. I  learned from the PLC and the books I read this semester, that every student has a story and every student wants love and respect from their teachers/ tutors. I think I was able to give both of those to Tangela, and I think over the course of the year I have been able to impart on her not only strategies to succeed in an academic setting, but in life as well. She taught me to never give up on a student. There were a lot of times I was so frustrated, but I know that the rewards I felt from this experience completely overshadow my frustrations. When I walked in the first day and I was supposed to help Tangela with an essay and her first statement to me was "I know what a paragraph is, but I just don't really know how to put one together" I thought there was no way that little old me could help this student who was so behind, but guess what- I did. I have never felt so proud and can't wait to continue helping other students grow and learn in the future. Tangela taught me a lot about outside circumstances effecting the way a student performs at school. I had a lot of sympathy for Tangela, but I knew that she just needed more encouragement in the school setting, so I provided it. Mr. Piazza taught me by example to stay calm, collected, and that you can have control of a classroom without ever raising your voice in a mean way. I cannot wait to student teach next year, and have a classroom of my own the following year! I plan to use all that I've learned at the PLC in my future classroom. :) I learned so much at my happy place!