My Experience in Education Classes at Miami

All of the education classes I have taken at Miami so far, have been very beneficial in preparing me to become a teacher. All of my education classes have been relatively small, and right now, one of the classes I am currently enrolled in only has 11 students, including myself. In comparison to other education classes where there are generally 20 or more students, I've come to really like this smaller class. There’s more room for class discussion and everyone can share their opinion with this smaller class size. While this can also be done with larger class sizes, it’s harder for everyone to say what they are thinking/feeling because of time restrictions, and I think everyone in a class can benefit from hearing what their peers have to say.

The general education classes offered at Miami focus on the perception of schooling and teachers in today’s society. In these classes, we cover a lot of what teachers face in schools and the wide array of students we could teach. There’s also a heavy focus on federal laws and mandates that will, no doubt, have some effect on any future teacher, just as they do on current teachers. Covering all of this material is crucial to becoming a teacher because it’s important to know the climate that surrounds the field of education. Having an awareness about the issues and problems I could face as a future teacher is one of the many keys I need to become an effective teacher, and Miami is helping me achieve this goal by giving me some of the tools I need.

Some of my classes have required Service Learning, which is a great feature that Miami offers through some of their classes. Service Learning could mean several different things depending on the coordinating teacher, but in my experience, I have typically been tutoring students outside of the classroom. In my case, Service Learning has always taken place outside of my field of English, and I've generally been helping students with math. Despite not helping students with reading/writing, Service Learning was still a beneficial experience for me because I gained experience both in the classroom or helping a student outside of the classroom, one-on-one.