"What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches." 

~Karl Menninger

It is difficult to put all that I have learned throughout the past year into words.  This experience has impacted my life in so many ways.  I joined this program as a college student with the dream of becoming a teacher, and left as an actual teacher.  I feel very blessed to have been paired with talented, caring, and effective mentor teachers and liaisons.  I have learned so much from them about planning, instruction, classroom environment, and professional responsibilities. I believe choosing to join the Pekin PDS was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

While I personally felt that I made a difference in the lives of my sixth graders, my beliefs were confirmed during my last week when they shared examples of how I impacted their lives. I was told that I am supportive, creative, encouraging, and a caring role model.  One of the biggest compliments I received was when a student stated that "When someone is having a bad day, Miss Wiese always comes to the rescue!"  These encouraging words made my day because in my school experiences, I have not always remembered everything I learned, but I have never forgotten how my teachers made me feel.

As the school year drew to a close, I looked back on my experiences with fond memories.  This year has been an incredible journey and I hope the students in my classroom learned as much from me as I did from them.  I will truly miss each and every one of them.  While I am sad that my time here has ended, I feel confident that the students I have worked with are ready to move on in their learning career as I begin my teaching career.