If I Could Change One Thing...
If I could change one thing about my internship experience it would be that I traveled to a different school or taught a lower level class. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed my experience and it helped me decide whether I really wanted to be a high school math teacher or not. However, I have not broadened my horizons to other grades or subjects. I stuck with what I knew I wanted to do instead of trying something new. I was already familiar with my cooperating teacher, so I did not have to go through the awkward stage of developing a professional relationship. I also missed out on opportunities to network outside of Kempsville High school. My idea of little children is somewhat biased because of the children I have come in contact with so it would have been a good opportunity to try and relate to children much younger than me, rather than only a few years. I would have had more respect in a classroom of younger aged children as well. If I would have chosen a different subject, I could have started to second guess my decision to study mathematics. Even though that may not be the case, it is always good to step out of your immediate comfort zone and venture into the unexpected experience rather than go with the usual flow of things. I often questioned other Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow teacher cadets about their internship experiences and they often sounded more fun and enjoyable than mine. I had to take the internship more seriously than most because of the rigor of the class and the age of the students. We did not have story time on the rug or play spelling games or go to the computer lab and I wish I could have done more fun stuff with my internship.