Conclusion

I know I had days where I was easily frustrated with the way things were run in Mr. Maudsley's classroom, but overall I'm thankful I had the experience. I definitely will take a few learned lessons with me into my future classroom. 

First off, I'll keep in mind to try to be patient with all of my students no matter what their situation is. Whether they are struggling or trying their hardest I need to remember that not everybody learns at the same pace and losing my cool is not the correct solution. I never explicitly lost my cool at Classic City but I definitely got worked up and frustrated with students that I wasn't even individually working with. I need to remember that they may have their own issues going on in their life and maybe school is the place where they take it all out. 

I have also learned that as a teacher, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. In other words, I initially judged Emma by the way she dressed and I shouldn't have. I thought that because she wore holey jeans, had orange hair, and multiple piercings that she would not be an easy student to work with. Little did I know, Emma is one of the most respectful and sweet young girls I have ever worked with. Her motivation will get her far in life and it didn't take long for her personality to shine through.

The last and probably most important lessons I learned was that I will not give up on students, whether they are A students or failing students. I witnessed several times where Mr. Maudsley would overlook those chatty students when they were the ones who needed the most help. Although it may be easier to have the problem students play on the computer and chat quietly with their neighbors because it means they won't interrupt your lesson, they are not getting anything in return from you. There were so many instances where I was just as fed up with their behavior as Mr. Maudley's, but I have to remember that these students have a future and without them succeeding in school, they don't have a great chance to fulfill it like I know they want to.

Mr. Maudley is probably one of, if not the, coolest teachers I've ever had the pleasure of working with before. He teaches these students hours upon hours a day, five days a week. I am so impressed by his ability to take each class with a blank slate and as a new start. There were times when I wanted to tell certain students to leave the classroom, but he always handled the situations calmly and in a cool manner. I absolutely loved watching Emma's relationship with him grow and just the love that Mr. Maudsley has for these students truly does inspire me to be the best teacher I can be.