Last Monday, I went to my first Practicum experience of the semester at Dennis M. Kenney Middle School in Hannibal. Previously, I hadn’t had much of an idea where Hannibal is located, but it is very close to Oswego; in fact, it’s really only about ten minutes away. Just as you’re leaving Hannibal, in fact, you can see the towers on campus. So far, I am having a great experience. As soon as I entered the building, students were there to greet me, and they were incredibly friendly. They introduced themselves and asked for my name, shook my hand, and then showed me where the main office is. Everyone at the main office was really friendly and helpful, as well, which has not always been the case at every Practicum site that I have ever attended. At most of the schools at which I have done field placements, a lot of students are loud and rude, and people in the main office treat you like an invader, but this is simply not the case at Kenney Middle School.
My Host Teacher’s name is Nicole Arnold, and she is great. She seems to have a very positive relationship with her students. One student, in fact, showed Ms. Arnold a photo of something (if I am not mistaken) when she entered the classroom, and Ms. Arnold greets students as they enter the classroom. She, like I intend to do, focuses a lot on good writing habits and grammar. She, also as I intend to do, gives her students something to write about every day, and I consider this important, because so many students’ abilities to write falter by the time they are students in high school because they are not asked to practice it on a regular basis. While I was there, I corrected a few papers, looking for grammar errors and so forth, and I noticed that Ms. Arnold has a really good-sized library of books by her desk, which I also think is really important. So far, I am very much enjoying my experience, but because I have to leave approximately one hour early, I will sometimes be going twice a week instead of just once. I will be updating with developments as often as I can.