Final Day

Yes, I do realize this is not a picture. But I honestly don't care. This is what really summarizes my life at internship these past 3 weeks.

Let me lay it on the line for you, the last 3 weeks have been some the most enriching and exciting of my life. And during that time, I established myself as not only a comedian, but a valuable asset for the school. Also, I managed to garner the reputation for wearing a variety of novelty hats, and dressing up in costumes (George Washington, Leif Ericsson, etc.)


Some of the highlights of my internship were those times when I was able to run PE. It really gave me the ability to flex my executive skills, and it was a lot of fun to boot. Other times where I was able to lead and teach were when there were small math groups that came into the class to be tutored. Every Wednesday I got to teach a small group of kids math, which was not only great experience for a future career in teaching, but also rewarding in the fact I may have impacted a student's future.

Despite today being the kid's party day, the mood was somber. I had to leave the kids, and the kids had to watch me go. I'm gonna miss every one of them. Almost all of them gave me thank you/goodbye cards. I'm going to treasure them for a very long time.

I have had my fun, and I've left my mark on the school. I just hope that one day I can go back. Because I'm always going to remember those kids. And I'm always going to remember that school.

Day 13

Felice Simmonds
5th Grade Teacher
Park Village Elementary School
Room K205

1. Why did you decide to become a teacher?

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do in college. I decided I wanted to be “something” instead of just trying to find “something” so I pursued a teaching credential. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.


After college I worked in advertising for newspapers and in radio. I also worked as a copywriter in an advertising agency. These were all somewhat “glamorous” professions which offered me large expense accounts, private jets and high-powered clients. I found myself spending lots of time with people who meant nothing to me. It seemed so superficial.


I had a childhood friend who had also gotten her credential. She was teaching in Poway Unified, and she suggested I spend the day with her watching her teach because she thought I would love teaching. Needless to say, I never looked back.

2. Is becoming a teacher something that you really have to be passionate about?

Of course! Why would you choose to spend each day in front of a group of people when you were living a lie? It’s so obvious when a teacher is just perfunctory. When a teacher doesn’t care, kids don’t care, and there are MANY problems, including discipline associated with that.

3. What college courses would you recommend for prospective teachers?

I can’t say any specific course, but I will say that teachers are born to teach. You must have a presence that cannot be taught. The gift of being an exceptional teacher requires intellect, humor, command, acting skill, compassion, the ability to bring out the best in a student and many other intangibles.

4. What college did you attend?

I attended San Diego State University for undergraduate work and Azusa Pacific University for my Master’s Degree.

5. Are there some days where your job overloads you?

It’s strange to be in a profession where you feel you could always do more or you haven’t done enough. I could work every day until 8:00pm and on weekends and never get all the administrative and curricular work completed. There are always bulletin boards to change, countless meetings to attend and parents to meet with. But it’s always the kids that make it fun. Each day is special with them, so I do what I can to be competent in the paperwork portion of my job and focus on the importance of my student’s success.

6. Has your intern's time at the workplace been beneficial for the school?

I have loved having Evan here. I think he has seen a different side of my profession and its many demands. He has gained an understanding of the many components of peer interaction and team work, the many demands and interruptions in a teacher’s work day, and the amount of love and enthusiasm it requires to keep 34 students on tract and productive. He has helped with teaching small groups, organization of my classroom, and administrative work. He is currently assisting with our broadcast team. Due to budgetary constraints we have been unable to produce a show this year. He is willing to assist me in any way, and is extremely competent and intelligent. I will miss him (and so will my students) when he’s gone.

7. Do you believe that your intern's time here is good preparation for a future career in education?

7. I think so. If Evan ever did consider teaching as a profession I think he would emulate many of the strategies I use with my students. The kids obviously enjoy him very much. I think he sees teaching is all encompassing, and not just presenting material. And I think he likes that. He’d be a great teacher.

So today I had the kids come in early to film for the PB&J video. Again, it was nigh impossible to get them to settle down. My trusty mature student Diane helped calm them into a manageable state. I was genuinely surprised by the acting of one of the students, mainly because he didn't seem like an actor. To put it into words, he's one of those awkwardly funny guys. The guy who's funny in his ability to be nervous and shy. You know what I'm talking about.

Another highlight of my day came to me in an email, or to my mentor in an email who then told me by ear. Tomorrow is a kickball tournament between the 5th grade classes. Instantly my excitement level went up, because kickball is one of my favorite sports. I unfortunately, cannot play. But I do get to be the mascot, so be on the lookout for pictures of that tomorrow.

Day 12

The following are three images that represent what is most significant to me at my internship.




-To the untrained eye, this is just an ordinary assortment of hats. But to me, it's a fun and interesting way I can grab the attention of the students. For every subject, I wear a different hat. There's the Royal Math Crown, the Viking Helmet of Exploration (social studies), the Tricorn of Literature, the Straw Hat of Physical Activity, and the Sombrero of Silent Reading. You can obviously tell I treasure these hats.



-What would school be without PE? Our school actually. But beyond that, PE is the time where my mentor let's me flex my executive abilities. By that I mean she lets me run the class. It may not seem like such a big deal, but I love being able to coach the kids in physical activity. It allows me to work on my refereeing skills as well.





-And of course, the thing that is most significant and of most value to me is the kids themselves. Without them, there would be no internship. Despite their constant ability to cause trouble, break rules, and be generally rowdy, there's no disputing the fact that the kids are what makes being a teacher so rewarding.



Today was a good day, and an early release day (booyah). I had the kids in the PB&J group meet before school with me to start filming a scene. I also learned that getting any group of kids to work with you is like attempting to catch particles of light in jar. Impossible. But after a great effort to calm them down by a mature student and myself, we got the scene done. The rest of the day was like every other day. Solving disputes, grading, making copies, running PE, and assisting my mentor in any way possible.

It's going to be rough going back to school. I'm gonna miss the kids, the classroom, my mentor. I just hope that I leave an impact on them, for the better.

Day 11

This week has brought with it new memories, and new challenges. First off, I started a new project that needs to be done by Friday, and I'm starting to worry that it won't be. The problem is that the kids who will be in the video will be in class, and it's tough to find time to do the filming. But I'm hopeful that it will get done.

One of the things that continues to worry me is that even though I know I've helped benefit the class, and have been told that I've done so, I don't have any tangible evidence to show for it. Normally I wouldn't really care, but because a POL requires physical evidence, I'm not so sure what to do. I got a suggestion that maybe I can have the kids write reviews for me. They can write about there experiences with me in the class, and how I have helped them personally, and the class as a whole. That way I can have some sort of evidence to support my claims.

Hopefully this last week of internship won't be as stressful as my mind is making it out to be. It would be a shame to end what has otherwise been a fantastic experience on such a bad note.

Day 10

Well, I don't have a picture since both my phone AND camera died on me. What are the odds.

But I figure I can sum up my day with this



Some of you naysayers might be thinking "Well gee Evan, that sure is a strange image to sum up your day". You would be right. But it does represent how much fun and how happy I am doing my internship. Everyday makes me wonder how I might run MY future classroom.


I'm planning on asking my mentor questions like these:

1. Why is it you became a teacher?

2. Are there some days that bring you to the brink while teaching?

3. How do you expect to cope with the upcoming budget cuts?

4. What courses do you recommend for college students aiming to become teachers?



So today was another laid back day, mostly due to the heavy rain. The kids were disappointed that they had to stay inside all day. But my mentor and I decided that if they worked diligently throughout the day, we would reward them by letting them watch Kung Fu Panda. Which, on a side note, is one of favorite of all time. Anyway, I also met with my team for the PBJ project. I had them pair up and create storyboards for the segments they came up with. My segment is called "Ask an Intern", where students submit questions to me about high school and things they are curious about dealing with their academic future. Sometimes the questions are just things they want to know. I'm expecting this to be a lot of fun when it rolls of the production line. Hopefully that will be before I have to present it.

Day 9

First off, it would be wise to note that my project has changed. Instead of doing the organizational system (which is already done really), I'm going to be facilitating the school's newscast, PB & J. Which stands for Penguin Broadcast Journalism. Normally one of the 5th grade teachers does it, but she's way too busy to even start it up. So they figured it would be good for me to put my technical and writing skills to the test. My mentor and another teacher picked out 4 students from each class to become part of the broadcasting team. The video needs to be 30-40 minutes long, and have 4 different segments. So far, we have brainstormed the topics we'd like to do, and are now in the planning stage of the process. I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this, while also developing management skills, and video editing and recording skills. This benefits the school because without me, there was no one else to do it. What used to be a monthly broadcast has degraded into a less then four times a year broadcast. I'm helping to give the kids an opportunity to flex their creative muscles and create something they can be proud of.

So today was a pretty laid back day. The kids had band class after lunch, but they do it in rotations, so only parts of the class were gone at a time. Because of that, the class was quieter then usual. A nice change of pace if you ask me. One thing that really surprised me though was that I learned that one of the students in my internship class thought I was actually 18 instead of 16 the last two weeks. I felt kind of old for a second.

Anyway, I got to teach math today to small groups of kids from other classes. Nothing big, but still fun nonetheless.

Every day brings with it more experience. I figure by the time I get done with this internship, I'll be well on my way to becoming a teacher myself.

Day 8

One of the things I have noticed about all the teachers and staff at the school is their ability to remain calm under any situation or frustration. No matter how disrespectful, mean, nasty, or downright annoying a student can get, they always play it cool. It shows a great deal of self control, something that I sometimes have to work on. Normally I can deal with anything the kids throw at me, but there is one kid who loves to give me a lot of disrespect. I find it incredibly difficult to not let him get under my skin.

Also, nearly every staff member has the amazing ability to remain happy, all the time. It slightly relates to their ability to remain calm, but what astounds me is that nothing can get to these people. They talk about how much money they're going to lost next year, and how 5th grade classrooms will be at 40 students next year, but they just laugh it off and put on a smile for their kids. If I learned that my class would be at 40 students, I would be flipping out. I would be yelling, screaming, and frustrated. But for these teachers? Not a problem. Either they truly do not feel sad or frustrated, or they hide it really good for the benefit of their kids. Either way, they do a smashing job of it.


Today was an exciting day, it was my first time giving a lesson in front of the entire class, not just small groups of kids. I had to give the a lesson on their spelling unit. It's funny because my mentor just put me right on the spot and said "Instead of me giving the lesson, how about you do it". 20 seconds of looking over the material later I was standing in front of them looking like a deer in the headlights. After I had warmed up to the experience though, it wasn't as nerve-wracking. Today was also the kid's short day, which means I got out at 1:40. Or to be more exact, I got out at 1:35. The reason for leaving 5 minutes early is to beat the rush of parents coming to pick up their kids.

It's becoming easier for me to get stuff done every day I'm in the class. Now that I've had a week or so to get settled, I have the ability to take initiative and figure out things I can do myself, without the help or guiding hand of my mentor. That's not to say I don't do things my mentor says of course, but now I know what needs to be done during the day, and how to do it.

Day 7

Project Description

Internship site: Park Village Elementary School

Department: 5th grade

Project Title: Organization to the Nth Degree

General Description: Cleaning up and creating and organizational system for my otherwise unorganized mentor.

Learning Objectives: Learning how a classroom should be maintained, how organization can increase workplace efficiency.

Organization/Company Objectives & Benefits: An organized classroom allows for much easier access of learning materials and provides a much better environment for the education of our youth.

Academic Skills: Knowledge of various 5th grade subjects.

Technical Skills: None that I can think of.

Collaboration—Skills and Opportunities: No idea what I'm supposed to put here.

Exhibition Plans: Powerpoint presentation, tour of the classroom.

Schedule & Timelines: I've already started. I work on it every time the kids are out of the classroom, or when there is not much for me to do.

The last week has been draining. Four days with a substitute has been incredibly difficult. The kids are twice as rowdy without my mentor being around, and since the substitute lacked the ability to really control the kids, it was up to me to crack down and take control of the situation. There were a select few in the class that gave me continuous problems throughout the week. By the end of the day on Friday, I'd managed to get them to understand the mistakes and problems they were causing, and make them realize that they were only bringing trouble to themselves. Hopefully when my mentor gets back Tuesday, the class will be much easier to handle.

It's very eye opening, this whole internship experience. I never could have imagined the draining effect on the body teaching has. It's extremely tiring on the mind, and the body. By the end of the day Friday, I was ready to keel over. After this 3 day weekend though, I'm sure I'll be refreshed and ready to go for next week.

Day 5

Today was another day where a substitute teacher came in. So today was also a day where I had to direct the class from behind the scenes. But I enjoy that. It gives me the ability to flex the skills I've learned so far from watching my mentor teach.
It was also math rotations today. That means that groups of kids from other classes come in and learn a brief lesson taught by yours truly. Well, normally Mrs. Simmonds (mentor) does it, but it gives me a chance to practice teaching on a smaller group of kids. It's a lot of fun. I get to do more one on one interaction with the kids who don't quite understand the material.
The last few days have been a real workout, mentally that is. It's a lot more work then I thought teaching a class. Or in my case, helping someone teach a class. I can't imagine the toll it must take on my mentor everyday. Well, I assume she's used to it by now. Seeing as how she's been teaching for however long now. But for a lightweight like me, just assisting someone teach is a real load on the mind. Grading is just simply the most awful thing I have to do. Tedious, boring, other synonyms for bad. It's more work for the teacher to grade then it is for the student to do the work. Ironic twist of fate.

Project title: Organization to the Nth Degree

Project description: Mrs. Simmond's room is a mess. Attempting to find anything is difficult and ultimately futile. She cannot seem to find the time to clean up between a class full of kids, and a home to take care of. But here comes the intern, fully fueled and ready to work hard for zero pay. What does he do? Why, clean up and organize everything that's what. Not only will this brave intern clean up the room, he will also establish a system to keep said room organized. Sounds like a pretty swell fellow if you ask me.

Project schedule: Any period where there is free time to be spent on this is used. No strict schedule in place.

Materials & Equipment needed: Labeler, computer (possibly)

Project documentation: Pictures, a powerpoint should go along nicely with this as well.

Day 4

Everyday I'm using academic skills I've acquired to help further the learning of the children in the classroom. Whether this be through tutoring, or such as today, helping the substitute get her bearings and learn the intricacies of my mentor's classroom.

Speaking of which, today was a real test of my abilities and skills. My mentor was gone today and had a substitute instead. I took it upon myself to help her direct the class, and make sure everything was going smoothly. Today was PE day, so instead of having her figure out what she wanted to do with the kids, I rallied them all together and took them to the field for a game of soccer. While it may not seem like much, this substitute had no idea what she needed to do for PE day. So my knowledge and experience really helped her out.

I'm collaborating with my mentor now to see what form of organizational system we can come up with for her once I leave. Let's face it, even if I clean up and organize everything, she'll just go back to being messy and unorganized if she doesn't have a system in place to continue the organization. It's in it's early stages right now, so by the end of the week I should have something that works.

I'm planning on taking before and after pictures for all the places I clean up and organize. Not only that, but I plan on showcasing the things I've put in place to help keep the organizational system in place.

If I manage to get the entire place organized, and put a system in place to keep it organized, it will help boost the efficiency of the classroom by leaps and bounds. My mentor won't have to cut time out of her day to look for things to continue the lesson, it will be easily accessible. Not only that, but maybe the other teachers will look to my mentor's classroom as an example for their own classrooms, and create their own organizational systems. Thereby increasing the efficiency of their classrooms. My project could possibly spread across the entire school. It's wishful thinking, but hey, I can dream can't I?

Project(s) Ideas

One of the things I've come up with for a project (in all honesty, the only thing) is getting my mentor's classroom completely organized. All loose and unnecessary papers gone, all binders and lesson plans clearly labeled. All file cabinets organized and ready to go whenever something is needed. Currently, my mentor's room is an organizational nightmare. Papers everywhere, file cabinets stuffed with useless and outdated lesson plans and work sheets, binders shoved into one single cabinet. It's horrible.

So today, I started on what would be my organizational crusade by tackling the bloated file cabinet. I started organizing it at 10 o clock, and by the end of the day I had wound up with two trash bags and a recycling can full of old folders and papers. It was mind boggling how much useless stuff she still had. I've organized almost the entire cabinet, separating each drawer by subject, and grouping similar folders in to the larger sliding folders inside the drawer. So for the social studies cabinet, there is a large folder containing all the smaller folders that deal with the age of exploration.

Doing this project would help me develop several skills that I think are not necessarily touched upon in regular school life. First off, I would learn the importance of good old fashioned, by the sweat of your brow work. Cleaning up a classroom is a lot harder (both practically and physically) then one would imagine. Second, I can then use the organizational prowess gained by hours of practice, and apply it to school and home life. I would say "Well I've already organized a whole classroom, my school binder shouldn't be a problem".

And last but not least, doing this will be extremely beneficial to my mentor. She has always had a problem finding things, even when I was in her class 6 years ago. Now that I can really see the condition of her room, it's really no wonder why. Doing this will allow her class to run much more smoothly, because she won't have to take large chunks out of her day looking for things that she needs, improving both the efficiency and learning quality of her classroom.

While it may seem like just another menial task that any boneheaded kid could do, this takes a very large commitment and the ability to recognize what is needed, and what is junk. I'm pretty dead set on doing this for my mentor.

Day 2

The first thing I did when I arrived at my internship was clearly state what I wanted to be doing. I wanted to tutor kids when possible, and be a versatile tool when it came to running the classroom. So far, my expectations have been met, and surpassed. My mentor actively uses me to take care of tasks that, while important, tend to take a lot of time and take away from the time she has to spend with her students.

When I run out of things to do, I search around for things that can be improved or that look incomplete. If I see a stack a projects yet to be posted on the wall, I take initiative and ask my mentor if those need to be put up. Many times she has said "Yes, but I haven't gotten around to it". That's my cue to start doing that job. Also, if I want to do something such as give a spelling test, I ask if that would be possible. My mentor loves it when I ask and take initiative, so most of the time she'll gladly give me what I ask for.

My mentor is a very messy person. She has always been like that, even since I was in her class 6 years ago. I've taken steps to help her get organized, such as cleaning up her desk, organizing papers, and filing away things in the appropriate folders. I'm now considering creating an organizational system for her as my internship project.

If I were to branch off into other classrooms and other parts of the school, not just my mentor's classroom, I'm sure I could find even more things and experiences for myself. If I just broaden my gaze, I could easily find someone in need of some assistance.

Day 1

This wall of projects really struck me because I remember doing the exact same project when I was a 5th grader. It was nice to bring up memories of when I used to be in that classroom.

(Photo will be put up after I know whether or not these kids are cleared to be put up on the Internet)

Here is two students that I got to tutor after lunch had ended. Today, I was teaching them about coordinates and how to plot them on a coordinate plane.

(Photo will be put up after I know whether or not these kids are cleared to be put up on the Internet)

This is my mentor and former 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Simmonds. As you can see, she doesn't wear anything really fancy or dressy when she's teaching. She prefers something more comfortable and resistant to the grubby hands of the kids she teaches.



A lot of my work involves doing little chores that my mentor would normally have to do, taking time out of her teaching schedule. Since I'm around, she can concentrate more on teaching, while I can take care of the little things she needs to do. Here we see another wall of projects that I stapled up for display.

(Photo will be put up after I know whether or not these kids are cleared to be put up on the Internet)

This is the classroom in which I work. It's on the second story of a large complex with multiple classrooms in it. This is where I spend the majority of my day.


Today I also asked a series of questions to my mentor based on the continuing economic recession and how it affects the school. The following are her responses.

Q: How do schools help create awareness of the economic slump?
A: Lack of funding and budgetary cuts are present in every aspect of our school day. Hopefully the community reads the newspapers and listens to the messages sent by our district superintendent and the governor. In the classroom, it's like the "elephant in the room" that we don't really talk about. We don't have custodial services any more so we clean our room. Kids vacuum the room and clean the boards and empty the trash. They know they need to bring supplies from home because we don't even have money for Kleenex. Fundraising events are more important then ever. Teachers make it a practice not let kids feel the pinch, and buy supplies for classrooms on their own. If someone is involved with the school or our Park Village community, it's obvious that teachers and support staff have lost jobs and programs have been cut. There are fewer field trips, assemblies, library hours, supplies, and special programs.

Q: Are students ever taught or told anything about the recession?
A: If we are reading Scholastic News and a current event surfaces regarding the topic, we'll discuss the recession. Otherwise, we won't. It's obvious many families have been affected. Parents have had to move out of the area to find work. One parent may drive to Los Angeles every day to work. Business owners have lost their businesses. Others have lost their homes and move to apartments. Families in our relatively affluent area are suffering.

Q: How does the recession affect the schools budget?
A: We can't begin to do what we did for kids in the past. Fewer teachers, bigger classes, library services cut, reading specialists cut, custodians cut, secretaries cut, administrators cut, computer lab technician cut, and our facilities are looking run down and equipment is in need of repair. But of course, there's no one to fix anything.

Q: Have class sizes been increased due to lack of funding?
A: Yes, and it will be worse next year. Class size reduction will no longer be in place for any grade level. I understand fifth grade classes will be at 38 next year. The district must cut another $12 million from the $20 millions cut last year.


Today was a really great first day of internship. This morning, after I got myself ready, I hopped out the door and rode down to the school on my Ripstick. It takes me maybe 5-10 minutes to get down to the school from my house. So I get there at about 8:50, and class starts at 9. My first task is to hang some projects on the wall. While I'm doing that, BAM! Earthquake drill. I get to be the lucky guy who carries the emergency pack. So after about 20 minutes of waiting on the field, we come back up and I get to grade some tests. Then the class goes down to the computer lab and starts to type up a paper they've been working on. It's was my job to help kids correctly format their papers and help them with any technical problems they might have had. After they had done that, it was just about lunch time. So I headed back up to my house and whipped up a philly cheese steak. I came back to the school and taught three groups of kids how to correctly plot and connect points on a coordinate plane. The rest of the day involved me taking things down off the walls and putting new projects up. All in all, it was a fun day. I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of internship.