By Kelsey Cooper, BA ’14 (Education)
It is hard to believe I am currently finishing up my year-long internship at Donelson Hills Elementary School (Waterford, Mich.) in a fourth grade classroom. The past eight months have flown by. My internship has been a learning and growing experience. This year, I have felt a range of emotions: nervous, excited, overwhelmed, inspired. As challenging as this year was though, I am finishing this year feeling confident about my future and more prepared than ever to lead my own classroom next year. The support I received from my fellow interns, field instructor, mentor teacher and professors made it all possible.
I went into the internship expecting that it would be demanding. I was excited to be in the classroom interacting with students on a daily basis and putting to use all the strategies and ideas I had learned over the past four years. This year has been difficult at times, but with the support and resources I had, I never felt I could not do it. As the year comes to a close and I look back, seeing the growth I have made makes all the hard work worth it. The internship has pushed my limits, but everyday when I see the light bulb go on in a student’s mind and all of their smiles, it reminds me why I love being a teacher and drives me to push myself to be a better teacher.
Cooper in the classroom with her students at Donelson Hills Elementary in November 2014.
The internship also taught me things you can only truly learn by being immersed in a classroom setting on a daily basis. The two most significant things I learned and improved upon were flexibility and management. We always talk about these in our teacher education courses, but I never fully realized the significance until I was in the classroom. You quickly learn things rarely go as planned and I added many new techniques to my repertoire of management strategies.
The year-long internship allowed me ample time to form relationships with students from all walks of life, become involved in the school community and after-school programs and reflect on and improve my teaching. Michigan State University’s teacher education courses aided me in creating integrative, kinesthetic, visual and verbal lessons to engage all learners and abilities. Michigan State University’s College of Education has provided me the support and resources I need to be a strong leader and an effective teacher. As I finish up my internship and begin my job search, I feel prepared and ready to teach in any environment. Go Green!