Internship Journal #1

Anna Kutschke

I really enjoyed my first week being in my kindergarten classroom. It was really cool to
see what the routines of the classroom were. One thing that I noticed during my first couple of
days in the classroom was how smoothly things were run, even though it was kindergarten. As
soon as when the children came into the room at the beginning of the day, they were given
something to do. The teacher gives them what she calls, “morning work”, that allows them to go
through their routine of putting away snow pants, hanging up backpacks, and picking their lunch
orders without the teacher rushing to start the day when the kids finish. When they finish they
can immediately start their morning work/activities. The teacher also incorporates morning
singing and dancing (with occasional sign language) to allow her students to move around so that
they can pay attention better. There is a lot of asking and replying between the teacher and the
whole class.
Routines may potentially erode the atmosphere and the classroom community if there’s
no space for tweaking. Students do well with routine, but not all students are the same. That
being said, there needs to be some leeway to change around a routine for a student if that’s what
fits them the best.
These routines can contribute to social justice because everyone is involved and can add
their own ideas to the table. They can be involved in doing whatever type of morning work suits
them best, and come at it from different views and perspectives. They are also free to join in on
tasks such as sign language during singing if they so choose. Many of them are inclined to
because they’re in kindergarten but if they weren’t, the option is still there. That’s what makes a
lot of these routines from that class so great. They are participation, but not always mandatory.
It’s just something for the students to do if they find that they have the jitters or can’t focus.
The physical arrangement seems to help a lot with the learning. Students are constantly
moving from the tables to the rug and back again. On top of that, students are allowed to rotate
with each other to see who needs the “wobbly” stools that day and who doesn’t. There are many
different places for the students to sit when listening to the teacher if they need to. That helps
them all get comfortable so that they can focus on the teacher. When the students are
comfortable and able to focus, that makes it all the more easier on the teacher to teach well.
What I’ve gathered so far, the teacher really cares about the students and their
well-beings. She believes that not all students are the same, and that it takes different methods to
help them along. Some children may want the wobbly chair, others may not. One student she
allowed to sit out some of the routine activities, but then hammered down a little bit more on
actual assignments because she knew that for some of the activities he liked to be alone. The
different places that the students were allowed to sit at and the different ways she approached
teaching her kids really showed me that she cares about and tries to think of each of her students.
 As I had mentioned before, my teacher really pays attention to how her kids learn. She’s
pulled me aside a few times to mention a certain student and describe to me her approach on how
to teach them. I described in the last paragraph about the one student she allows to sit out for
some activities, but there is also another student that she mentioned. She said that the other
student just needs to have certain things explained to her just one-on-one, and then she can really
focus and do the activity on her own. So the teacher tries her best to see how each of her students
operates, then teaches to their learning abilities.
Froyen and Iverson agree with routine, saying that what makes routine important is,
“coordinated and integrated functions [that] contribute to effective management” (Froyen &
Iverson, 1999, p. 48). What they believe is that routine is important to help the teaching. It’s the
teacher’s job to create an open learning environment for their students. When it comes to
environment, Froyen and Iverson believe that environment has to do with managing different
types of relationships, (“school-home, teacher-student, and student-student”) (1999, p. 70). The
student is affected by all of these relationships, so at least knowing what’s going on with each of
them can be beneficial to both the teacher and the learner.
I see myself as a learner in this setting. It’s my job to observe, and try to pick our what
works, and what doesn’t. From that, then I can decide in the future what I would like to
incorporate or try in my own classroom. I really liked my first week so far and am very excited
to see what’s to come!

References:

Froyen, L. A., Iverson, A. M. (1999). Schoolwide and classroom management: the reflective
educator-leader (3rd ed). New Jersey: Prentice

Hall, Inc.

Internship Journal #2:

Anna Kutschke

It was a really great second week for me at my school. Even though I was only there for a
couple days again, I began to understand and take in the class’s daily schedule and routine. There
were quite a few things and ideas that I enjoyed learning about that the teacher incorporated into
her teachings. It’s a christian school, so it was very easy for Mrs. T to add the Bible and christian
ideology into her lessons. However, she brought up a good point to me: she said that she didn’t
want to just throw in a few christian ideas here and there, she wanted it to be the root of her
teaching, and even involve what’s outside of the classroom. This reminds of the What If
Learning website that mentioned the exact same thing. Many times, teachers in private schools
will have an easy time being able to say things about the bible, but a harder time actually making
their words and actions meaningful to the students and the outside world. Mrs. T was able to do
the opposite of that. She is working with a group from Canada that is called “Teaching
Transformation”. Their goal is to actively be involved in the community around the school, and
at the same time teach meaningful christian topics to their students in the classroom.
The project that Mrs. T’s classroom is doing is that they are collecting and recycling old
crayons that will be turned into new crayons for children’s hospitals. They are actively showing
God’s love in the world, not just discussing it in class. I think that’s a very important thing to
remember if I’m going to ever be a private school teacher. I need to be able to not only teach
about God’s work, but also show my students and others as well.
There are a couple of things that I saw in my classroom that I am curious about. I would
like to know what my teacher did at the start of the year to really get to know what her students
and their parents are like. What types of activities did she have her children doing? Do the
parents get involved much with school activities? How involved are they with their children’s
schooling? What types of parents do the students have?
I’m also curious about what types of extra work/help some students will get during the
day. Multiple times while I’m in the classroom, students will filter in and out of it going
somewhere for help. I would be curious to see what that help looks like, and what their actually
getting help on. I would also like to know how it’s decided on who gets help at all.
So far, I haven’t seen really any issues in education that are playing out in my classroom.
Some of the teachers were discussing how they were behind, but I’m not sure why or how much.
I do know that my teacher discussed how this class struggles especially in computer lab, so they
are more behind than last year’s class, but I’m not sure what type of schedule they are on. I
haven’t really heard anything about standardized testing for them either, even though they are
only in kindergarten. So really, the only thing that I can think of that may be an issue in
education is that some of the kindergarten classes are behind, and mine is in computer lab.
After this week, I gained a new vigor in teaching with a purpose both in the classroom
and out of it (in the community). I was really inspired by Mrs. T and her drive to do more than
just teach God’s message on the sidelines and not actually do anything. She mentioned how it
was easy to be nervous to do something like that with kindergartners, but the fact is, not doing
something like that project just because it’s difficult doesn’t show a good example to her kids, or
teach them messages she’s trying to put across. Because of this program that I learned from her
this past week, I’m extremely excited to see what types of opportunities like that I can do for my
own class.

References:
Theology: Faith. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2018, from
http://www.whatiflearning.com/big-picture/theology-faith/

Internship Journal #3:

This week has been a very good one for me, because I was actually able to stay for the
whole duration and get a feel for the normal routine of the class. There are some things that I
noticed from the class that really struck me. For one thing, the Mrs. T allows students to stay in
the room by themselves for longer periods of time than I thought possible for kindergartners.
They were able to have this responsibility that I wasn’t expecting to be given to them. I actually
really liked this, because it seemed that the students were all for having their own
responsibilities. They liked it when they did a job well, and strived to do it well when given
responsibility.
Another aspect that I noticed my classroom did well were assessing themselves, along
with helping others for assessment. This is something we read from Woolfolk a while back. I
noticed that both formative and summative types of assessment were used for and by students.
The formative assessments were usually done in the beginning of a class that entailed asking
questions on the rug in the back of the room. This was helpful in my opinion because then the
teacher knew where everyone was, and the students had an opportunity to ask questions if need
be. The summative assessments came in many different variations, and that’s why I appreciated
them so much. Students were allowed to “coach” each other and help one another if some were
struggling. An example of this is in the computer lab. A student may ask another student next to
them to help them figure something out, so the other student will give helpful hints to guide them
the right direction. The student doesn’t give a direct answer, yet they’re still helping their
classmate. This is a great way for the student helping and the student who needs help to learn
more about their topic.
All in all, what I’m beginning to pick up from this school is that everyone is responsible
for not only themselves, but for each other too. My classroom is working on answering the
question of how they can be God’s hands and feet in the world, and I think that they’re doing a
good job of not just saying, but doing it. They are really getting involved with helping their
teacher by doing the right thing, along with helping each other do the right thing as well. It was
fun to see how much responsibility kindergartners can already accomplish, and I’m very excited
to see what else is in store for this class.
References:
Woolfolk, A. (2017). ​Educational Psychology (13th​ ​ ed.). ​Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson.
Internship Journal #5:
This past week has been my favorite week yet at my placement. I have been able to really
extend my teaching because I have gotten to know the kids and teacher so well. I really feel like
I’m a normal part of the classroom now which is really good. I was put in charge of multiple
groups this week for up to an hour with just me and the students. My teacher allowed for me to
practice on my own, and when we had time to discuss how it was going, she gave me tips on
how to improve.
I really try to comprehend my teacher’s strategies and use them for my own because
she’s a really good teacher. The students really love and respect her, and the feelings from her to
them are mutual. This is a really cool thing to see. It shows me how possible it is for teacher and
student to truly form a bond with one another. My class is having an art show on April 19th that
I’m planning on attending. This stems off of their crayon project that my teacher is having them
do. To reiterate, the project involves the students collecting used and unwanted crayons, sorting
them by color, then shipping them off to a company that reshapes the crayons (whether it makes
them bigger or more curved) to allow kids in hospitals to be able to use and color with them. The
company also removes the paper around the crayons because that’s what hold the most bacteria.
My teacher told me that this time around DeVos Children’s Hospital will be getting the crayons
this time around, really bringing it close to home. The art show will hopefully create enough
donations from family to ship the crayons to the company. So I’m seeing some really cool things
in my classroom and I love it!
After class last Monday, I had to really think about if and how technology impacts my
students at all during their school day. As kindergartners, they don’t use computers very often in
the school, and when they do, they have to go to a computer lab located in the library. They don’t
get to be there for a very long time, and I’m pretty sure they only go once or twice a week, but
when they are there, I think it’s very good for them. Once again, my teacher does an excellent
job in incorporating the big ideas of the Triple E Framework in her computer lessons.
My teacher allows for the students to use the Extend (2011) part of the framework by
making her computer assignments unique. This can also lead into the Enhancement (2011)
portion. The first thing that the students do when they go to the computer lab is do a picture
search. They have to columns, one for each of the two letters they’ve been working on, and
pictures scattered around. They have to find a certain amount of pictures that start with each
letter before they can print it out and move on. I think that this is a really great way to help
students learn because a) They can’t necessarily do this in a classroom and b) It allows for a
different way of learning the letters because they are using visuals (pictures) and sounds by
speaking out loud when saying the words. They are really able to use a lot of their senses when
doing this assignment. Since they are able to use all of these senses, and they have headphones
for other activities so that they can hear the words as well, the technology portion of their school
day is also Engaging (2011). They like when they can finally understand the letters and sounds
that they make, so they really stay focused on the task at hand.
 All in all, my past week at the school was great! I learned a lot of new teaching
techniques, and have been given plenty of opportunities to try them out myself. I’m very excited
to teach my unit soon!

References:
Kolb, L. (2011). In Triple E Framework. Retrieved March 16, 2018, from
https://www.tripleeframework.com

Internship Journal 6:
This past week was actually a very good one for me to experience. We had multiple
breakdowns in the classroom, and it was pretty trying at some points. I really appreciated that
happening in hindsight because up until that point, I really only saw smooth-sailing classroom
management. It was very interesting to watch how the teacher handled the problems faced by the
students, and worked through them together. She did a very nice job in following the ideas and
standards presented in the article by Pargellis, asking questions such as, “How do educators help
these children find their voice--a voice that will speak to the truth of who they are, their longings,
their woes, their inadequacies, their hopes, their sins, their identity as children of God of infinite
worth? How do we create learning environments where students feel safe enough to be
vulnerable and strong enough to take risks?” (Pargellis, pg. 34) I think that these questions to ask
ourselves as we teach a classroom are not only very important, but they are a way to show
Christ’s love to our students. By wondering how to help our students find their voice, we are
acting as God’s hands and feet in the education world.
My teacher would be sure to listen to the child that was having the problem, and try to go
from there. Three big examples stand out to me that involved three different students. One of the
students, a young boy, tends to have episodes of shutting down. I still don’t quite know why
sometimes, but when he does he doesn’t respond to anyone and puts his head down until he’s
ready to come back and join the class. My teacher does an excellent job of gauging how he feels,
and reacting accordingly. She may try and have discussions with him separate from the class and
ask how he’s doing. Sometimes, the issue is that he didn’t have breakfast in the morning, and so
she gives him a granola bar and he’s better for the rest of the day. She wouldn’t have known that
if she didn’t stop to think and ask her student what was going on.
There’s another student who has episodes, but they are different than the first boy’s.
Instead, she has crying episodes that are loud and very argumentative. My teacher will react
calmly. First, before anything else, she asks what they’re thinking and what’s wrong, then she
goes from there. This method of listening to the student allows for them to communicate what’s
bothering them, and then to brainstorm ways to help solve the problem. This usually works for
both of those students, even if it takes a little while.
 The third instance with the third student is much different from the other two. She’s a
very upbeat child and usually doesn’t have many problems. However, this week she was caught
stealing candy from the teacher’s desk daily and distributing it to her classmates. The teacher
was upset that the student seemingly took advantage of her trust, but she still managed to talk
about it with her student without blatantly being angry and punishing her right off the bat. I think
that this is an excellent way to go about it. By talking about the situation and explaining why it
wasn’t a good thing, the student was probably able to better grasp the weight of the situation and
realize that it wasn’t right.
The article has a paragraph that I believe sums up the last situation quite nicely,
“Children are taught about reconciliation and conflict resolution. They learn about and witness
confession (owning up to wrongdoing or silent assent to it). They learn how to say sorry for a
specific behavior and the need to hear the words ‘I forgive you’ so that both persons can be free
to work towards healing the relationship and reestablishing trust. When children are taught this at
a young age, we find that they are more willing to acknowledge their own wrongs and to make
things right”. (Pargellis, pg. 35)
That’s exactly what I think it looks like to be God’s hands and feet in the classroom.
After seeing and experiencing my teacher talking it out with the students and allowing them to
express themselves in this way, I got to see first hand the benefits of that. I’m excited to learn
more about this and to have opportunities to try it as well.

References:
Pargellis, S. (2010). Finding a Voice in Truth-Telling and Reconciliation. ​Helping Children Find
Their Voice in Hard Circumstances,​ 34-36. Retrieved April 20, 2018.

Anna Kutschke
5-4-18
Internship Journal 7
This has been quite the week for me. Out of all of the previous weeks, this is the one
where I really branched out, tried new things for my teaching, and really put myself out there as
a teacher. I taught my fifth and final lesson on Tuesday, and I have to say, I think it went really
well. I was teaching the final story of Israel’s exile, and they were finally returning to Jerusalem
to rebuild the temple. I actually had my students pretend that we were going to follow the route
of the Israelites from Babylon to Jerusalem. The classroom served as Babylon. We “packed our
backpacks” and put what we thought the Israelites needed to rebuild the temple into them
(hammers, nails, saws, etc.). I then took them out to the playground where we rebuilt the temple.
The students were very much into the whole thing and really had a blast pretending to travel and
build the temple. They were engaged the whole time I was talking, and were able to answer the
discussion questions I had presented at the end of the lesson to make sure they knew what they
had just learned. It was a very exciting lesson for me because I hadn’t done anything that
different yet with my teaching, so that was a lot of fun.
One thing that was kind of fun to try and implement on our way outside were some ideas
from Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS). The school itself isn’t directly involved
with this since it’s a private school, however, we are still able to discuss with our students the
rules of the school. When we started walking through the hallways, we had to be respectful of
the other classrooms in session, and weren’t allowed to be very loud until we were outside.
That’s a basic rule that the entire school follows: be respectful of others. So, even during the
lesson, I was also able to help the students remember some of the basic rules of the school, so
that was good.
I know that in the text of Oakes, Lipton, Anderson, and Stillman, it says that teaching can
be transformative. I saw that transformation in more ways than one. I saw it in the students with
how they treated one another (through my teacher’s program of Teaching for Transformation),
and even through myself after working with this class. In working with this class, I was able to
discover what it looks like to teach as Christ’s hands and feet. It looks like patience,
perseverance, understanding, and unconditional love to each and every one of my students, and
to allow them to bring their own skills to the classroom. I’m very happy that I got to have this
amazing experience this semester.

References

Michigan Department of Education. (2010). School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions &

Supports. Lansing, MI.

Oakes, J., Lipton, M., Anderson, L., & Stillman, J. (2013). Teaching to Change the World.