Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Let's look at the first 3 days

Here's some highlights from my first 3 days of student teaching:
- 1 of my students OD'd on E this past weekend, the second time this year
- I sensed something sort of off and found out this same student comes to class always stoned
- Bad words spelled wrong are funny "fuke you"
- 1 of the 8th grade girls who gave me a difficult time all the time last year in every class I subbed in came back to visit with her BABY who was now 3 months old.
- Linda is driving me insane. A 30 minute lunch without her is not enough.
- Linda seems to forget I have any classroom experience at all. Yes, I know how to run a photocopier.
- Linda is my master teacher. The principal was alright with that, he even put me with Linda. He gave me a choice, but Linda was the clear cut choice over the other teacher I could work with. Even knowing my mom and her are best friends. He says she is the best English teacher in the district and knows that she will be the utmost professional in every aspect. I know I'll learn alot.
- I am bored after about the first 2 periods after hearing the lesson. Linda sensed that today, and I think is willing to let me start teaching at least 1-2 periods. She still wants to.
- Linda wanted to "ease" me into actually teaching, but since I have my first observation by the principal, AP, and my supervisor at the college she is going to let me teach maybe as early as next Tuesday.
- Pressing Linda for control. When both of my parents student taught from day 1 the teachers threw both of them in asking them to mimic and make each lesson their own as they taught it. Linda doesn't seem to get that. I took control in the last 2 periods today. The first time I took control Linda was a little slow getting started, and in her 6th period she was dealing with a new student, so I just jumped right in. Linda said after school she can see that I have control issues, like her.
- I know that if I don't have some sort of control after the first week the students will start to view me as a teacher's aide, which I don't want. There needs to be a balance.

Linda does drive me crazy, but I am excited to work with Linda in that I feel one of the areas where I can grow the most is lesson planning and creating activities for each lesson, and I know this is one of Linda's greatest strengths.

2 comments:

Just said...

Mike I wish you well on your Student Teaching .. and glad you got pair with Linda! I like your ideal of putting your lesson plan on the net! Being I have a fourteen year old ... wish his teachers would of done this !

SCalRF said...

Good luck Mike . . . having thought of teaching for a long time I have considered going for a teaching credential. Not sure if I want to put up with teaching high schoolers though. It'll be interesting to hear about your experiences.