Week 5 Reflection Blog

I found this week's discussion topics to be very interesting. I enjoyed reading everyone's response to the two prompts. It seems like most people in the class felt that laying out the rules and conducting a "getting to know you" exercise was pretty standard for the first day. I did read one post that stated that he would immediately start teaching on the first day. I thought this was definitely a different way to begin the school year, but he was right, I am sure he would have the student's attention. I know that on my first day of teaching, I was very nervous. Looking back, I think I would have prepared more and taken the time to run through the rules of my class. I am glad that this class is engaging me in the subject of preparation. I realize now that I need to take the time to fully prepare for the first day. I also know that the first day and week really impact how the rest of the school year will go.

In regards to the prompt about the definition of “discipline,” everyone either took one stance or the other. People either thought that “discipline” was a negative thing and that it referred to inflicting punishment on students or people thought that “discipline” was connected to managing one’s own behavior. I liked the prompt because it provided an arena for discussing the way to define discipline in the classroom.

In general this week went pretty well. The only thing that stressed me out was the fear that assignment 1 was due today. I panicked for a moment because I thought I somehow missed the fact that it was due today, but thankfully it is not due until next week! I am still getting used to online classes and worry at times that I will miss something very important.

Website Recommendation
http://feaweb.org/
This week I had to join the FEA (Florida Education Association) which cost $31.00 in order to obtain liability insurance. I needed liability insurance to go into Leon County Schools and in order to participate in my student teaching internship. I thought this website might be of some use to those of you looking to find a way to purchase liability insurance.