Strengths and Weaknesses

In my Final Portfolio for Student Teaching, I had to talk about my strengths and weaknesses. The following is part of what I put in my Final Portfolio. I just thought it was fair to make it a topic to share.

Some of my strengths seem to come from my personality. I am very upbeat and vivacious in the classroom. I have found that the students respond to a lively teacher compared to one that is tired and boring. I get excited and that makes my students get excited. Another strength is the potter’s wheel. I only got to instruct this one time while student teaching, but the students I taught, have a better understanding and could probably recite to you pointers to remember when throwing on the wheel.  I am a very dependable person. Countless times Mrs. Nicholson was gone, sick, or had something she had to do and missed school. I was always there ready to step up to the plate, take charge, and do what she needed me to do. In that way I guess I am also a very responsible person. I do, to the best of my ability, what is expected of me. I am a very flexible person. (go with the flow). Constantly adapting to my surroundings. Another strength I’d like to mention is my creativity. I’m constantly coming up with new ideas, and different ways to look at things.  This helps in brainstorming and continuing to make projects better. Students also LOVE using their imagination, and I LOVE hearing what they come up with. Thinking out of the box is a great tool to have! And lastly, my willingness to better myself is always something that helps me become better at teaching.

            I do have aspects of teaching where I’m still growing and need more experience in. One of those areas is art history. I will never know all the artists in the world, but I need to continue to memorize the important time periods and as many artists as I can to better my knowledge of art, and to be more prepared to teach my students. Another weakness I have is that I tend to take things personally. At the middle school age, students constantly say things they don’t mean or they act up. It sometimes gets to me. I need to remember that it’s not me they are angry with, it’s other things in their life that upset them. Also, towards the end of my student teaching, I found that sometimes I have to be the bad guy. I can’t always be so lenient and go with the flow. Sometimes, the teacher HAS to put down her foot, and say ENOUGH!

Awesome Children's Art Books

When Pigasso met Mootisse

 This book is fun because it shows differences in art technique and opinion. Even though they didn't paint they same way in the end they both decided that their differences are what made them unique!


Hello, Red Fox

I liked this book because it uses color to trick the eye. You look at one color long enough and then look at a blank page to see a different color. This book is good if you're doing a color lesson.

Student Teaching

 Student Teaching was swell. I loved my mentor teacher and I already miss her dearly. I am grateful to her and all she's done for me. We worked great as a team. I am proud to call her my friend. I have learned more about being a teacher from her than I did in my 4 1/2 years of college. Thank you Mrs. Nicholson!
 I am confident that Middle School is the age level that I'm meant to be. At least for now. I also have to admit that I LOVE sixth grade. Everyday was a learning experience. Always discovering something I hadn't known before. Learning what works in the classroom and what doesn't. Experimenting ideas and frequently making mistakes that I learned from. Making lesson plans and trying them out on my students. Then tweaking them to make them better. Everything has room for growth and we are all constantly learning everyday. If I'm not learning...then I'm not doing my job. Teaching is something you have to do to learn to become better. It's like when someone wants to learn to swim. You can take classes on swimming and act out the motions outside of the water. But until you get into the water yourself, you can not know how to swim. Just like teaching. You can take classes on becoming a teacher and practice with others, but until you do it yourself (and jump in the water) you can not learn all you need to know. I feel confident in what I've learned and experience to go be the teacher I know I can be.