Hello all and welcome to my blog! Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Katie Olson and I am a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. My majors are Spanish and secondary education and my minors are ESL (English as a second language) and international studies. During my time at UW-Stevens Point, I studied abroad for a semester in Spain, co-founded a club, and worked three different jobs on campus. I was an Admissions tour guide, the ESL Orientation and Activities Assistant, and the lead recruitment intern in the International Programs Office. I like to be busy, clearly. This spring semester, however, I will be busy in a very different way.
From Jan. 23 to June 6, I will be teaching Spanish at Belleville High School in Belleville, Wisconsin. And I could not be more excited!! Belleville is a small town south of Madison. The whole district (K-12) has about 1,000 students. This is going to be quite a change from my own high school experience. Coming from the suburbs of Chicago, I graduated with more than 500 students at a high school of about 2,500. But I can’t wait for the change! My placement at Belleville is actually an internship placement, so I will have more responsibility than the average student teacher. This means I will have two of my very own classes. I will work with my cooperating teacher for a seventh and eighth grade class, a Spanish III class, an advisory, and a study hall period. Aside from that, I will be planning for and teaching two Spanish I classes. I couldn’t be more thrilled! I am beyond excited to introduce these students to a new language and culture.
Aside from this, I am part of the pilot EdTPA group for spring 2015. For those of you unfamiliar with the EdTPA, it is a new assessment for student teachers and their ability to plan for instruction, teach and assess students. For me, it is not required that I pass with a certain score yet (hence the pilot program). But for some of you reading this, you will have to pass this in the future. Hopefully I can give you some insight to the process.
I am so eager to start my placement at Belleville and to share my experience with you. I’m sure my blog will offer you some wonderful entertainment as I make my way through the semester. But I hope I can also offer you some tips and advice for those of you getting ready to start your own student teaching experience. I would also love to hear from those of you who take the time to read; don’t be shy, email me! Thanks for taking the time to read, I can’t wait to share my next adventure with you!
Talk to you soon!
–Katie
Katie Olson is majoring in Spanish and secondary education at UW-Stevens Point. She is also an ESL peer mentor, student ambassador and lead recruitment intern for International Programs at UWSP.