Practicum Week 11/13 (Recap)

I wish I had something to share from my classroom this week but I do not.

Picture taken from Google Images

The reason why is because I have pink eye or conjunctivitis. Can you believe it? I couldn't at first.

I have never officially had pink eye before in my life and who knew it was super contagious.

Did you know that?  I did not and I am always learning something new.  Also, if you do get it, you need to stay home.  And that is what has happened to me this week.

Apparently, pink eye is very common in children and so contagious that if you touch your eye and then touch another object, another person touching that same object can get pink eye instantly.

Speaking of illnesses and being healthy, I thought I would talk briefly about what can happen to you physically during practicum and I'm just speaking from my experience.

1. You can and most probably will get sick in some way.  It might come in the form of headaches, an acute cold, sore throat, cough, fatigue, etc... 

I got all of them and more throughout the practicum in little spurts.  For me personally, I got sick the second week of school and developed a cough/cold/headache all in one.  Adjusting to a new school environment can be stressing on the body and especially when you are not use to schools that are much much older.

2. You cannot entirely predict when the illnesses will happen.  

I did not anticipate getting pink eye and especially on the 11th week of my practicum.  What's even more frustrating is that I did not anticipate having to stay home for the entire week!  I was deeply disappointed about the situation a couple of days ago but I learned to accept it as it is and to just take care of myself.

3. If you are sick, then you need to stay home or take a mental health day. 

I never really thought about the impact that each one of us can have on others and especially when you're teaching children.  What I learned from my practicum experience is that if you are not well, then you need to take the time off to get better so that you do not pass on the illness to your students and/or colleagues and so that you do not continue getting worse.   It was really hard for me to accept the fact that I am sick and I'm learning to be okay with it.

For every teacher that I have encountered, they have always told me to take care of myself!  It's true.

Do really get the rest when you need it and plan things like units, lessons, and activities ahead of time.

It will help you in the long run. :)

Don't forget to get a doctor's note if you know you will be away for awhile.  You never know if your sickness can turn into something bigger.

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On a lighter note, I anticipate to be back Monday. Yay! :) I am so excited to see my students and my colleagues!  I miss them a lot.

I also found out that Fin's Friends will be visiting our school and our classroom next week.  My SA won a free visit from Fin the mascot to visit us!  I am so excited and will be sharing more about that next week's post.

Photo taken from: http://canucks.nhl.com/

I also got mentioned by UBCTeacherEd's twitter account and that was really exciting for me because this blog has never been mentioned before so this is my first mention!  Thanks so much!

Thank you to everyone's positive support thus far! :) I really appreciate it.  Blogging about my practicum experience has been a lot of fun for me thus far and I'm really enjoying the process.

Picture taken from Google Images

Just found out from my FA that I will not have to make up time for missing a week of practicum.  So there's only 2 more weeks of practicum left so far! Oh my goodness! I have a bunch of mixed feelings because I will miss my students, SA, FA, colleagues, and school so much but I will also be graduating and be able to apply for jobs very soon! I have a lot to catch up on but all are exciting things (i.e., finishing up with report cards, unit plans, art projects, assessments, final reports, applying for TOCing).

Wish me luck!  Until next week! :)