Full Circle Moment

I had a lovely full circle moment today.  I had just finished going to see the Hunger Games for the second time--love it!  (Btw, new favorite thing is going to see movies by myself, it's so relaxing)-when I realized I was walking right past Su Casa.  Su Casa is the Mexican restaurant I went to on my birthday three years ago with Bailey and Blair on my first ever visit to Chicago.  That was the trip when I first said that I would live in Chicago some day.  And here I was three exact years later, walking by this restaurant having lived in Chicago for 9 months and having completed a year of graduate school.  I stopped and took a picture because you have to appreciate moments like these.

#anything is possible.  (that hashtag is for Sara).  ;)  Dream Big.

Reflections

As you all know, I always like to take time to stop and reflect when something has just ended or I've had a meaningful experience.

Today was my last day as a practicum student/teacher's aide at Swift School.  I worked in the 4th grade classroom every Tuesday and sometimes Thursday with the best classroom of students and the best teacher I probably will ever work with.  This year was my last chance to work in a classroom and directly with a large group of students since I'm heading into my work that is directly in the field of school psychology.

I have to say that my time at Swift was an absolute pleasure.  I remember the first day I arrived, it was so quiet in the room and all the kids were working so diligently on their morning work--I kept waiting all morning and afternoon for some kid to misbehave or someone to go off task, and it never happened.  (I had already been working at another school on the southwest side so this was a VERY VERY pleasant change of pace).  And you know what?  It didn't happen ALL YEAR.

The teacher is absolutely amazing.  If we had more teachers half as talented and wonderful as her, we would be so much further ahead in our educational system.  I learned so much from watching her teach.  I seriously would be wanting to go get my teaching certificate right now if I wasn't already doing school psychology.  She made it look so easy.  I loved how she used positive reinforcement and never ever let something go--there was total and complete accountability so little problems never escalated into big problems.

The kids are the nicest kids in the world.  They are all so kind to each other.  I never once heard one say "shut up," to another and that has become a pervasive problem in some schools.  They love to play with each other at recess and don't leave anyone out.  They say "Thank you," not "What else do you have for me?"  Breath of fresh air.

Today they threw me a party since it was my last day.  I brought them in notes and cookies.  They brought me cupcakes, a Swift t-shirt, and wrote me letters and drew me pictures.  We played games and also had popcorn.  I took some pictures with them too.  They made my year so much better and I can't wait to help more kids, but I wish I could work with this bunch again.  Everyone should be relieved to know that these kids are out there and are helping to make the world a better place.

Things I learned or continued to practice through my experiences at Swift this year:
--at an IEP meeting, talk to the parent and always summarize what is going on in language they can understand.
--also, keep the teacher informed on the technical jargon you're using.  Don't assume everyone knows all about the terms you learned in grad school.
--Listen to the teacher, the teacher knows the student better than anyone.
--talk to the kids genuinely and show your interest--have fun with them
--I learned tons of classroom management strategies--the homework chart, the group contingency stars on the board system, the quiet but fun classroom indoor recess games, the bag of sticks for choosing students to participate in class, the huge sticky pad to log things they learned in each lesson (the notes were then plastered on the walls), total and complete accountability--silent lunch for unsigned planner, unfinished homework, small misbehaviors.

I feel blessed I got to meet this group of students and work with such an amazing teacher.