Goals Post

First off, I would like to point out that setting goals for myself in this format is something I have never experienced before! I have, of course, set goals for myself mentally. For classes, I have never written a goal out and followed it during the semester. I think that this idea is so great!  I believe that in doing this we our goals will become more obtainable as we are forced to be reminded of them. My goal was to have communication with the ELL students become easier. 

There are several ways that I can attain this goal. I also think, after spending a few weeks in this class, that there is a way to narrow my goal because this one is very broad. I think one way to narrow my goal would be to get to know the students struggles once I am able to communicate with them.  I want these students to feel as though they can trust me and come to me with any problems that they may have.  I fee that this is not only important with ELL students but with any classroom that a teacher enters. You never know what kinds of things are going on at home until they come out. When they do you want to make sure that your students can trust you enough! One of the actions that I wrote on my goals sheet was that I need to found out how my ELL students communicate best. I feel that this is one of the first and most important steps to take.  By finding the way they communicate best I will be showing the students that I care about their needs specifically.  I hope that, in turn, this would make them feel more comfortable with me which would then at some point allow the students to open up to me and share their problems.

I very much hope that I can achieve both of these goals this semester! I know that working with ELL students is a struggle and does not come easy to anyone unless you speak the student’s native language.  I hope to  work with these students very closely to find out  what interests they have, how the feel about different subject areas in school, and even learn a little bit of a new language!  I feel that as teachers we are bred to always be up for a challenge! I feel that something like this may be more challenging than some, especially for those of us who have not much, or any, experience in this field.  I for one have had little to none outside of what has been required for school. Any diversity hours I collected have been valid, but the students in the rooms that I worked in all spoke English. At first, I have to admit, I was very nervous and apprehensive about working with ELL students because I was so unsure of what to expect from it. Now, I think the fact that I am unsure is what makes the experience so great!  I am really looking forward to see what this semester has in store for me. I came across a  short scholastic article that talks about three simple ways you can help your ELL students succeed in your class. I have attached the article link below!

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/supporting-english-language-learners-technology

EXCEEDS:  I have exceed the word count and attached a article for my classmates.