Pedagogy Reflection- Pandemic & War but still made it through

During my last lesson in school, I thought about emotions.

Most students participated, to my surprise. It was a topic they never learned before; that’s why I was surprised that they participated. Afterward, each student was given a plastic plate, and they had to write what they were feeling, and then they had to draw it. It was so lovely seeing everyone’s enthusiasm during the activity. After everyone finished drawing, everyone covered their faces with their plates, and I asked Adva to take a picture of the student with their plates on their faces.

This year I enjoyed working and teaching in Elementry school. I liked the cooperating teacher. I have learned so much from her.

I wish I was more in the school. But unfortunately, that was the only way to because of the corona.

I never thought I would have to teach through zoom, but I did; I learned how to teach through zoom, which had its pros and cons. I prefer to teach in the classroom because I can interact with the students and feel them more when we are face-to-face. Regarding next year I am a bit excited. I don’t know what to expect. Teaching older students might be a bit challenging, but I hope to overcome all the challenges and enjoy teaching in high school.

I don’t feel that there is a topic we haven’t discussed.

I feel we covered many different areas of teaching, problems that come up, and ways to deal with problems. At times we even discussed off-topic concerns I had. I loved having the opportunity to discuss the different issues that came up during my time in school. For instance, when I shared in class, that I felt I was being taken “advantage” of by a student’s aid—a student with learning disabilities. I thought I was not trained yet to work with the specific type of student, especially not knowing his exact condition. So, I liked that I was able to discuss with my classmates and you, how to behave in this type of situation; it was nice to hear everyone’s input.

I found lesson planning to be one of the essential things for me as a future teacher. Having some extra activities for students who finish their assignments early is necessary to avoid unnecessary interruptions. For example, it is important to have some educational games in English or any additional activities to keep those students who finish earlier busy. In addition, as teachers, we must have an appropriate assignment for the struggling students to feel they are part of the class, and for them to do something rather than sitting and doing nothing.

It is hard for me to say which lectures were beneficial for me. However, almost all the lectures were helpful and important for my classmates and me as future teachers. Some of the lectures may not have been relevant at the moment, but I am sure they will be in the future. The pedagogy lessons were amazing for me because I was able to share my experiences with you and my classmates and receive advice or feedback on what I was doing in my classroom.

It was defiantly a crazy year, starting with the pandemic and then the war. There was never a dull moment, but this year showed all of us how resilient we could be. Despite everything we went through, it was still a great year. I have discovered so much about myself and my abilities that I never knew I had in me. I have to admit that learning through zoom wasn’t that bad for me. It was convenient since I have kids. Zoom allowed me to do things in between like chores, no spending time in traffic.
Thank you for a great year, a year full of knowledge, fun laughter, and support. May the next year will be better for all of us.