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2. What qualities or characteristics did you see in the people around you that you want to develop in yourself? Why? A majority of the people that I am surrounded by, are 9/10 year olds. These kids are really care free and laugh about the little things like the words poop or fart, which are characteristics that I wish I had. I also love how they have crazy ideas and they rarely doubt themselves. My mentor knows how to handle 26 fourth graders. They all love her and respect her which I think is an important quality to have as a teacher. If your students don’t respect you then it’s hard to be their teacher. 3. How did your view of life beyond high school change or develop during your time as an intern? During this time, it became really apparent that this is what it will feel like after high school. I won’t see my friends everyday, sit in lectures all the time and not go through this daily routine. This experience makes me excited for the future due to this sort of independence and relationships I’ve developed. 4. How might internship influence the direction of your life? This internship influenced my career path a lot. I think I will pursue either film making or working with children when I’m older. 5. How did communication and/or collaboration at work influence your understanding of professional working environments? Communication helps me work easily with others and collaboration helps me gain a better understand of everyones ideas. Being in a teaching environment, communication is key because kids need different ways to understand a concept or idea. So as someone who is suppose to help them understand that concept or idea, I have to communicate it in different ways. For example, some students didn't know what a semi truck was so I had to compare one to a transformer so they can better grasp the idea of a semi truck. 1. How did you make a meaningful contribution to your workplace?
Through out this internship, I developed relationships with numerous kids. Over the course of a month, I took on numerous tasks. Since the beginning I took on a book club with a couple of children. We started to read the book, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, everyday and in the book club we would discuss questions and read aloud with each other. For homework the kids would have to write a 2-3 sentence summary and either write a question, make a connection or choose two vocabulary words to look up. Every Tuesday and Thursday, I would stay a hour after school to tutor two kids. During the hours, I would help them with their math skills. The problems they didn't understand, they would have to make flashcards and we would go over them. Also they would each take turns reading out loud to help them with their reading/articulation/pronunciation skills. For the school project, I took on a group that would create the Go Fund Me page to raise money for the skate project. My job was to take a group of kids and make a movie that would be linked to the actual page. I collaborated with the kids to see what sort of ideas they had for the project. 2. How was your work as an intern meaningful to your education? This experience was amazing! I'm glad I got to step outside of high school for a little to learn what independence means. "If you do what you love, you never have to work another day," is so true to me because it was so much fun and always exciting. 3. How was your work significant or meaningful for you beyond school and your specific internship site? This internship allowed me to develop a closer relationship to my mentor because I haven't seen her in a few years and create one with all these students. I hope I made an impact on these kids life by bringing joy and teaching them new things. It was also significant because I got to see what it has to take to be a teacher at HTH. It's not as simple as it looks and requires a lot of thinking and planning. The projects that these teachers come up with is amazing and to see the students bring them to life is even better. 4. How did your project(s) go from an idea or inspiration to a final product?Share out the process & be sure to upload evidence(s) of this work. In the beginning I was worried about the sort of project I was gunna do. I knew that I wanted to make a movie to show the sort of tasks I did but because my mentor just launched a new project, it would be both beneficial for her class and me. It took a lot of work like filming and editing. I needed time and lots of memory space. It was fun to direct kids and help see my ideas come alive through these children. 5. What did you learn about yourself through working on the internship project(s)? I learned that I love working with children and it didn't even feel like I was working. I definitely developed a tolerance to loud noises and built up my patience. I honestly can't believe it's been almost a month of internship! I really don't want it to end. I've learned a lot and have definitely bonded with these kids in a way I could not imagine.
I've definitely learned a lot about how teachers work and what their thought process is behind the projects they do. In this internship, i've learned that when everything is fast paced it makes the day go by so quickly. A regular day at HTHI, the classes and days feel so long and repetitive. Here at HTE, the kids get 2 breaks which really help them get out their energy and the schedule can change depending on the day. My teachers can definitely replicate the sort of environment that I'm in. I've definitely learned how to be more patient. These kids love to talk in long sentences and I don't want to cut them off because they get so excited about the things we work on. They're so eager to share their thoughts and ideas with everyone else. I've also learned that getting mad and being a strict teacher is no fun. The teachers here at HTE are really different compared to the teachers that I had in elementary school. During my elementary days, students weren't allowed to fidget with anything, teachers never took into consideration the life students have outside of school, and even the health/mental problems children have. At my internship, students are allowed to fidget with an item that will help them concentrate and listen to music during work-time. It's just different from when I was in elementary school. I read and commented on Lizzy's, Alexis' and Alicia's.
Reading through their blog makes me super happy. I'm glad my friends and I are enjoying internship even though we are separated! I've definitely learned that the internship you choose is super important. It's crucial to be in an environment that you love and can learn lots in. Even thought I'm literally just a street down from school, the environment is wildly different. I am absolutely in love with my internship and I have such a great mentor.
A normal school day at High Tech High International consists of sitting down for hours in class with almost minimal events and interactions. The difference between high schoolers and elementary school kids is the attitude, motivation and commitment that they have for a project. Their is an overwhelming amount of positive attitude, motivation and commitment that these 4th graders have compared to high schoolers. When I was in school, a normal day consists of feeling tired and somewhat sad that I have to be there but when I walk into my internship, into Mrs. Alli's 4th grade class, I feel a sense of happiness beaming from all these kids. My overall attitude and happiness levels have risen from being in the environment I'm in. In HTE, I think the teachers (especially Mrs. Alli) aim the projects towards what she knows the kids will love and learn a lot from. In high school, it's aimed towards how it fits towards the class and hopefully students will find some sort of interest along the way. The project that Mrs. Alli came up with incorporates tons of learning factors but still is a simple yet great project. Students will learn about the engineering/physics of skateboards, fundraising skills, collaboration skills and the final project is something they can keep or donate to an organization. Through this internship, I got to see the amount of work and energy it takes to be a teacher. When you're a student you don't realize how hard it is to come up with something for students to like and you have to hope that they will take great interest in. Being a teacher is more than just teaching a lesson plan, it's understanding your students and making sure that they know you're also here to listen to them. I think this internship has definitely steered my career path into something that has to do with kids. These kids have taught me that having fun at school and being excited about a project is possible. My interactions are different compared to being at school. I don't get to see any teenagers and I'm surrounded by people really young and older than me. But overall, I am loving my internship!!! Since Mrs. Alli launched her new skateboard project, I will be making a documentary on the process. I will document the thought process, the actual building and the finished skateboard. The skateboard project consists of refurbishing old skateboards and making them new. They will also be sending skateboards to an organization called: Skateistan. The kids are really excited about building skateboards and customizing them but they also have to fundraise money for the project. One kid was so excited he made a gofundme page and has raised over 200$ in less than 24 hours.
I have made a backdrop (pictured below) that I can use when I interview the students about their thoughts and feelings they have. So far, the kids have come up with ideas on how they can fundraise and who they can contact for money. I love the excitement the students have about this project! It's inspiring to see their creativity flow and how they are all coming together to create such an awesome project. Today Colleen visited and helped me paint a clearer picture on the type of project I will be creating for internship. My plan is to make a documentary about the new project Mrs. Alli has started about skateboards.
My hours are 9am-3:40pm every Monday and Friday. On Tuesday's and Thursday's it's 10am-4:45pm and after school I will be tutoring students. Wednesday's are 9am-12:40pm. My environment is crazy and there is never a complete minute of silence but I quickly have adapted to it. Once you walk in, to the left there is a sitting area sectioned off by multiple book shelves. Most of the area is filled by desks and chairs. In the back of the room, there's a carpet where the students sit to read, play games and do morning meetings. In the photo's below you can see the classroom and even the engineering room. I successfully made it to Friday! This morning I came in at 10am and when I got there, I was greeted with happy faces as they all said, "Hi Miss Taylor!" I have definitely been favored by a group of girls, as they always want me to sit with them during class and lunch. I absolutely adore them. I learned today that little kids love to talk! And all at the same time. If I'm sitting with one group, another group will ask me questions from across the room. Today these kids definitely opened up to me and I got to learn more about their likes and dislikes. We ended today with GaGa at Middle Media and they all desperately wanted me to play. I'm excited to see how my relationships with these students will develop and to see by the end of the month, which new ones I have made.
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Taylor PedroI am a junior at High Tech High International, this year it is part of our core curriculum for each student to take part in an internship. This blog serves to show my internship process and the skills I have developed along the way. I will be working with 4th graders at High Tech Elementary.
Internship dates are from January 6th-29th. |