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Journal 5

March 29, 2021 

Journal 5 is the start of my new journey at Alamo Heights High School. I started at this school on March 15th, and I am participating in 4 class periods of ceramics classes, and 2 class periods of  art 1. I love that I get to be back in a ceramics class and be working with clay again, It has been such a joy to be able to work with kids that love the medium that I love. High school was a big change for me, coming from the elementary school. For one, the students are basically the size of grown adults, so that was a change, and also the students are very smart in terms of understanding complex art terms. This week, I started my lesson unit on mixed media sculpture in my ceramics classes. We are working on mixing different materials like yarn and wire into their sculpture, and it’s going to need a lot of planning from the students. I notice one thing about my high school is a lot of them show up late to class, and a many of them turn in their homework late. So my goal for this unit is really trying to give them clear expectations of when things are due, and to understand that they have a responsibility for school. I am also learning a lot of relationships, and how important those are to build classroom management. If you don’t have relationships with high school students, then you classroom management and classroom could be chaotic. I love the part of high school where students really get to work on their own work, and it can be this type of student choice classroom. It is wonderful and refreshing to see, my mentor teacher really has the students understand what things they need to complete for the class, and a lot of time students start working even before class starts. I am learning a lot of loading kilns, and glazes, and I get to practice on the wheel like everyday. Each class has about 3 to 4 students that are online, so during class my mentor teachers teaches them at the same time she is teaching her students in person. I had some practice with this last week, and I am ready to work with the students more in the future. It is a learning curve, but my mentor teacher has to routine that students know what is expected of them. Overall, I am loving my new placement, and I am feeling like high school is more of my place. 

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This weeks art piece is made of clay and I am focusing on my growth as a teacher. I have been reading a couple books and one of them is called Teach, Breathe, Learn. And it is about mindfulness in the classroom. I made this vase a symbol of me growing as a teaching and adapting mindfulness into my future classroom. 

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