JAKE'S PORTFOLIO
Internship Reflection
Here at the Dayton Regional STEM School, we are required to complete a 72 hour internship. It is a requirement to graduate, as well as an opportunity to experience possible future careers.
I completed my internship with Mr. Slone, a teacher at the Dayton Regional STEM School. I decided to intern with Mr. Slone during STEMmersion, a two-week course where students pick a topic of interest and take a class about it for two weeks at the end of the school year. This was the perfect opportunity to work with kids of many different ages and personalities. I was interested to see how it was to be in education as well as just child care. I thought that this would be a good opportunity for me because I was not really sure what I wanted to do in the future, making it hard to come up with an internship. I have always gotten along with many ages of kids, as well as I am good at solving situations in a responsible matter.
During my internship, we took a trip to Disney World with students. I had the responsibility of being in charge of a group of 4 boys. I made sure they were walking at a good pace, keeping up with the group, and other needs that arose along the trip. The biggest struggle I had during my internship was getting students to listen. When I completed my internship, I just finished 11th grade. This made the student view me as a classmate or friend, instead of an intern. This made it difficult because they would not listen to me when I told them to do something. I overcame a lot of these struggles my enforcing the fact that I was not a friend. Students would ask me to take pictures with them or other things that friends do but would be unprofessional for a teacher to do. Another struggle I had was to keep the students interested in the education program we participated in at Disney world. To try to overcome this challenge, I made myself involved in the activities and made them seem enjoyable. This seemed to work because the students got more excited about the lessons and paid more attention.
While completing my internship, I was faced with a lot of situations and conflict resolution problems. This was very difficult for me because I struggled to have the attitude and punishment necessary to solve some of these situations. For example, while in Disney World, one of my students started blaming another student for stealing his sunglasses. I struggled because I had no experience with what to do. For example, I wasn’t sure how to respond to the student, and confront the allegations. This causes the situation to escalate, resulting in more problems. I addressed this problem my confronting everyone. I made sure everyone was on the same page so the problems didn’t keep occurring on the trip.
It was difficult to choose a location for my internship since I was unsure of what I wanted to do in the future. I am happy that I chose to complete my internship in a school environment with students. Before my internship, I thought it might be fun to teach students, or at least work with students in one way or another. I thought it would also be easy and students would do as you said. Unfortunately, I found out that the school environment is not a place for me to work. I was exposed to so many different situations and problems that teachers face every day and I do not enjoy them. I don’t regret completing my internship at a school because it allowed me to learn early on that it wasn’t made for me. Although I may not have been doing tasks that I enjoyed completely, I believe it is better to learn what I like or don’t like now, before I have to commit to classes in college.
Day 1: May 16, 2018
8:15- 3:15
This was the first day of my internship. I spent the first half of the day teaching small groups about sound waves. Every hour I had three groups of about 10 kids. This was a nice experience to teach lessons and get to know the students in a smaller environment. During the afternoon, I got kids where they needed to be and helped organize paperwork.
Day 2: May 17, 2018
8:15- 3:15
The first half of my second day was spent helping students come up with ideas for their project. I asked them what kinds of things they were interested in and helped them come up with ideas. During the second half of the day, I helped organize meal vouchers for our trip. I had to be very careful because if I messed up, a student wouldn’t be able to eat.
Day 3: May 18, 2018
8:15- 3:15
I spent the first half of the day helping students finalize everything for the trip. I made sure they had books and material prepared for the trip, as well as they, had their packing list done. I spent the second half of the day making sure everyone had the bags and notebooks for the trip, as well as making sure we had all medicine for students.
Day 4: May 19, 2018
All Day
I arrived at the airport at four in the morning. My responsibility at the airport was to watch the group of about 8 kids I was responsible for, as well as make sure they get through the lines at the airport. I spent a lot of time just ushering students through the crowded airport. When we landed, I did the same thing at the next airport. I made sure everyone got on the bus with his or her luggage. We had our first lesson in the morning. During the lesson, I had to make sure the students were respectful and paid attention. After the lesson, I was just in charge of keeping everyone together.
Day 5: May 20, 2018
All Day
We started off the second day of the trip with another lesson. My responsibility was to make sure all the kids paid attention and were respectful. By the second day, students started to listen to me better, they showed more respect. After the lesson, I was in charge of keeping everyone together.
Day 6: May 21, 2018
All Day
This was the day we had to get on a bus to go to the Kennedy Space Center. This was s different experience because it wasn’t a guided lesson. Students picked what they wanted to do. This day was difficult for me because students could not agree on what they wanted to do, making it hard to decide where to go. I overcame that by doing a little bit of everything. I was responsible for making sure students got their meals as well.
Day 7: May 22, 2018
All Day
This was a free day where student chose what they wanted to do. This was an easy day because it was slow paced and more enjoyable for students. I made sure we all stayed together and got our meals for the day.
Day 8: May 23, 2018
All Day
This was our longest day because we had a lesson in the morning, and we planned to stay all the way to the end of the day for fireworks. It was hot this day so we had to take it slow so that the students didn’t get too tired. The fireworks were the hardest part of the trip because it was so crowded. I was in charge of keeping every student together and leading the group through the crowded in a single file line.
Day 9: May 24, 2018
All Day
This was a free day for the students again. I was in charge of keeping the student together and getting their meals. By this point in the trip, the students were exhausted, which in return resulted in them being calmer.
Day 10: May 25, 2018
All Day
This was the day we departed. My responsibilities all morning were to make sure rooms were clean and everyone was packed and had all their belongings. Then, I was in charge of getting everyone through the airport while staying together. This was my last day.