Every teacher should have a bag of Hi-Chews in their desk, if it doesn’t go against their own personal teaching views.

When I first started my final practicum, I knew right away that I had lucked out with both my coaching teacher and the class. Nadine shared many of the same teaching philosophies and practices that I believed in. We both enjoy chocolate and candy. I know this seems like a small thing, but many teachers do not believe in using candy to motivate the students or to give prizes for accomplishments. However, I have found this practice to be very useful in both the high school and elementary settings. It was a relief to see her using this strategy on one of my first days.

The students loved Minecraft and I thought it was interesting that they had axolotls in the game because I would take the students on a field trip to see them in person at the end of my time with them.

One of my main focuses during my practicum was to establish relationships with the students. One way to do this is through getting to know the students, and finding out what their interests were. This class in particular, was very found of the game Minecraft, and the school had even purchased the educational program for it, which my coaching teacher showed me how to use.

UNBC vs. U of A, interestingly this was the Alma mater of my coaching teacher, so we were both cheering for different teams.

One of the first ways that I got to know the students and my coaching teacher was by accompanying them to a UNBC soccer game. This was a fun field trip and I got to know the students during this activity. It was also interesting to see other teacher candidates that were there from other schools as well. I also saw former colleges from other schools I had worked at during my time as a TTUC. It was a beautiful day, and I used this time to decide to plan a future field trip that I could take the class on that would be both enjoyable and education at the same time.     

It was a beautiful day. About five different schools attended.