Teacher Education Experience

As I begin my journey into elementary education I will be volunteering time at a local elementary school. I have chosen to split my time between two different third grade classes. I have chosen third grade as it has always been my desire to teach third grade. The first school I plan to do hours at will be at Lakeview Elementary in Provo, Utah. This is the school that I went to and it is near to my heart. The teacher I will be assisting is Shane Rowley. He is by far the favorite teacher I have ever had, and he has been a big inspiration in my desire to become a teacher myself. 

Lakeview is located on the west side of Provo and is in the adjoining neighborhood to the new Provo High School. This neighborhood is a mixture of older homes and new subdivisions. Most of the homes in this area are single family homes. This is a Portuguese immersion school, so students do come from other areas in the Alpine School District as part of the student population. The classes are larger in size and there are 4 third grade classrooms.

The second school I wish to do service at is Cedar Valley Elementary. Located in Alpine School District, this school offers a different perspective as it is in the small town of Cedar Fort, Utah. This town has a population of less than 500 people and is fairly isolated on the west side of Utah Lake. There is only one third grade class at this school and it consists of 13 students. The teacher I would be working with there is Tanja Peterson.

I am excited to participate in a service learning activity at two fairly different schools as I feel that it will help me gain a better understanding of needs teachers have--from an overcrowded school with a mixed population to a small school in a very close knit community. Each of these schools will offer different experiences and challenges. Additionally, I look forward to working with teachers in the same year as the subject matter they need to present will be similar, but it will give me a perspective of different ways to go about teaching, a skill that can prove useful in cases where my teaching style may need to be adapted to fit the needs of different students. 

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