Today my cooperating teacher, Jessica, was absent for the morning. She is the union rep for our school and so had a meeting to attend. Her student teacher from last winter semester was here as our classroom substitute. She's totally fabulous to work with because she knows all about all of the classroom routines and stuff since she became completely comfortable with them last year. She knows just what Jessica expects and likes and dislikes and how to manage the kids. Wonderful... easy morning, right? WRONG!
Jessica asked me yesterday if I would like to lead our math lesson for the morning and then transition and lead word study. I, of course, said "sure," (because when do you ever say no to a reasonable request from your cooperating teacher?) and then started to get nervous. She had the lesson marked in the math master's book for me to look at and I was able to teach right from the book. After two weeks of the word study routine both the students and I know exactly what to do there. It should've been easy and gone off without a hitch... but it didn't. Partly because the kids were all jazzed up because there was a substitute and partly because I've never officially led the entire class in a lesson before.
Things were unfamiliar for them and they were needing some comfort from their well-loved teacher, I guess. They were bananas. It was so frustrating and I just felt defeated in my attempt to gain control of the group. Laura, the sub, suggested I use the microphone system for the room, which helped a bit but I was just so discouraged that I would even need it! That might sound silly... but I don't usually need any voice amplification when trying to get the attention of kids. But then again, shouting at the top of my voice is not exactly encouraged in the classroom.
Anyway, I survived and so did the kids. Things were just a bit difficult while in the midst of the lessons. I ran long on time and the kids had to go back and finish work they should've had completed while I was teaching later on in the day.
Laura was super nice and said I did great... and I guess things weren't SO bad. I just had higher hopes. I suppose the more I develop my relationship with the class the more they'll grow to respect me and the easier it will be for them to follow my directions. I just don't want to be that inept teacher that everyone talks about, you know?
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Things in general
This last week has been awesome. I had a workshop on Tuesday that explained all of my requirements for student teaching for the rest of the semester... just what I've needed and been waiting for! I left the WISD that day feeling relieved and much more confident, which was awesome.
My workshop ended just in time for me to scuttle across the driveway and work the 3 hour shift at HCrizzle's aftercare. I've missed being there! More than my co-workers and the kids, I've missed feeling comfortable in what I'm doing. Student teaching's been going extremely well (more about that in a bit as I continue the week's update) but I still feel uncomfortable enough that I've been having some anxiety symptoms popping up in my life (jaw clenching, migraines, etc.). So, it was nice to be back in the swing of something I'm completely comfortable with for an afternoon. I think working that afternoon in aftercare was the shot in the arm I needed to assert myself a bit more in my classroom at Thurston too.
My birthday was on Thursday. My class sang me happy birthday and I got to wear a lei all day and choose a pencil and eraser from the birthday box! :) The kids presented me with a card they'd all signed on Tuesday when I was at my workshop. It was awesome. After school I went right to Kevin's to open presents from all those Korpals. We stopped by my apartment to take care of the Lu and then went to dinner at the Olive Garden. While perhaps not the best Italian food ever and obviously a chain restaurant (which I guess means it sucks... :)) the Olive Garden is where we've gone every year for the last... uh... 5 years(?) for my birthday. I love the tradition of going there and getting the same dish... it's just familiar and comfortable. It also makes for an extremely relaxing birthday experience. I got some great gifts and just had a wonderful time.
Yesterday was the best day of student teaching yet. I got to do some real individualized instruction and my students accomplished so much in one day! It seemed like every strategy I tried worked perfectly yesterday and I was so excited. I'm getting to know the kids so much better now and I really feel like they're my class as well as my cooperating teacher's which is so great.
I'm working on my unit all weekend and starting to prepare for my first observation on the 22nd. My unit is on Habitats. I'm so stinkin' excited to do well this semester and I'm starting to feel confident that I will.
In other news:
I got a tub of composting worms from Barbara Naess. They are currently hard at work making fabulous dirt that I will use next year for planting things! How exciting is that?! I think they're also going to make an appearance in my classroom... :)
Remember that student teacher friend I made my first week? She's been placed at Thurston by my supervisor too along with the other girl that's down the hall a ways. We're "required" to meet at lunch and discuss how things are going so we all have some support system in place for when things are difficult. Anyway, my new friend turns out to be a wealth of information when it comes to wedding planning and Kevin and I have added a caterer she recommended to our list of people to check out. She promised to bring in her planning book for me to peruse and get even more ideas!
Life's good sometimes, you know?
My workshop ended just in time for me to scuttle across the driveway and work the 3 hour shift at HCrizzle's aftercare. I've missed being there! More than my co-workers and the kids, I've missed feeling comfortable in what I'm doing. Student teaching's been going extremely well (more about that in a bit as I continue the week's update) but I still feel uncomfortable enough that I've been having some anxiety symptoms popping up in my life (jaw clenching, migraines, etc.). So, it was nice to be back in the swing of something I'm completely comfortable with for an afternoon. I think working that afternoon in aftercare was the shot in the arm I needed to assert myself a bit more in my classroom at Thurston too.
My birthday was on Thursday. My class sang me happy birthday and I got to wear a lei all day and choose a pencil and eraser from the birthday box! :) The kids presented me with a card they'd all signed on Tuesday when I was at my workshop. It was awesome. After school I went right to Kevin's to open presents from all those Korpals. We stopped by my apartment to take care of the Lu and then went to dinner at the Olive Garden. While perhaps not the best Italian food ever and obviously a chain restaurant (which I guess means it sucks... :)) the Olive Garden is where we've gone every year for the last... uh... 5 years(?) for my birthday. I love the tradition of going there and getting the same dish... it's just familiar and comfortable. It also makes for an extremely relaxing birthday experience. I got some great gifts and just had a wonderful time.
Yesterday was the best day of student teaching yet. I got to do some real individualized instruction and my students accomplished so much in one day! It seemed like every strategy I tried worked perfectly yesterday and I was so excited. I'm getting to know the kids so much better now and I really feel like they're my class as well as my cooperating teacher's which is so great.
I'm working on my unit all weekend and starting to prepare for my first observation on the 22nd. My unit is on Habitats. I'm so stinkin' excited to do well this semester and I'm starting to feel confident that I will.
In other news:
I got a tub of composting worms from Barbara Naess. They are currently hard at work making fabulous dirt that I will use next year for planting things! How exciting is that?! I think they're also going to make an appearance in my classroom... :)
Remember that student teacher friend I made my first week? She's been placed at Thurston by my supervisor too along with the other girl that's down the hall a ways. We're "required" to meet at lunch and discuss how things are going so we all have some support system in place for when things are difficult. Anyway, my new friend turns out to be a wealth of information when it comes to wedding planning and Kevin and I have added a caterer she recommended to our list of people to check out. She promised to bring in her planning book for me to peruse and get even more ideas!
Life's good sometimes, you know?
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Day 1
I am happy to report that I have survived my first day of student teaching! Holy cows, friends... I'm so glad that things aren't as scary as I was making them out to be in my mind. I did a tiny bit of talking to the class as a whole and a bit more talking one on one with a few of the kids. Things basically revolved around rules and procedures which is what I expected for the first day.
The class is super cute and I think I've gotten all of their names down already. There are a few kids that will certainly be a challenge to work with and given some information about their homes provided by their previous teachers, their parents will also be a challenge. One child in particular showed his true colors for mischief almost all day today: poking his neighbors, talking during directions, slumping in his seat, tapping his pencil, taking pencils from other students, getting up and wandering around the room, etc., etc., etc. (they don't sound like serious issues but of course all of those things can be very distracting and disruptive when done at inappropriate times) This was a bit surprising as most students are usually uncomfortable being little stinkers on the first day before they know how the teacher will react to their bad behavior... my new friend doesn't seem to have those inhibitions. We shall see what happens there.
The day went by very fast but I was so ready for the end when it came. Today was flippin hot outside and our building doesn't have any AC (except in the office). That was a bit rough but since that was my biggest complaint of the day I think things are going to go really well. I'm feeling more relaxed and I'm so thankful that my cooperating teacher is easing me in to the more prominent role I will have a bit later on in the semester.
Another exciting thing: there's another student teacher in the classroom across the hall that I kind of made friends with at lunch. I don't know if she knows my name but she was super nice and we had a fun talk about how the day was going so far and our EMU experiences. Further conversation revealed that we're both getting married next year and are trying to get wedding planning done AND that we're both having our receptions at the Milan Community Center! Holy cows, right?
Anyway: I'm feeling optimistic for the new year and am excited to be gaining more experience with more kids and another great teacher. Hooray!
The class is super cute and I think I've gotten all of their names down already. There are a few kids that will certainly be a challenge to work with and given some information about their homes provided by their previous teachers, their parents will also be a challenge. One child in particular showed his true colors for mischief almost all day today: poking his neighbors, talking during directions, slumping in his seat, tapping his pencil, taking pencils from other students, getting up and wandering around the room, etc., etc., etc. (they don't sound like serious issues but of course all of those things can be very distracting and disruptive when done at inappropriate times) This was a bit surprising as most students are usually uncomfortable being little stinkers on the first day before they know how the teacher will react to their bad behavior... my new friend doesn't seem to have those inhibitions. We shall see what happens there.
The day went by very fast but I was so ready for the end when it came. Today was flippin hot outside and our building doesn't have any AC (except in the office). That was a bit rough but since that was my biggest complaint of the day I think things are going to go really well. I'm feeling more relaxed and I'm so thankful that my cooperating teacher is easing me in to the more prominent role I will have a bit later on in the semester.
Another exciting thing: there's another student teacher in the classroom across the hall that I kind of made friends with at lunch. I don't know if she knows my name but she was super nice and we had a fun talk about how the day was going so far and our EMU experiences. Further conversation revealed that we're both getting married next year and are trying to get wedding planning done AND that we're both having our receptions at the Milan Community Center! Holy cows, right?
Anyway: I'm feeling optimistic for the new year and am excited to be gaining more experience with more kids and another great teacher. Hooray!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Cool Things
Just wanted to share some cool stuff I've seen lately.
My sister sent me this video. Pretty stinkin' cool. It made Kevin want a lion for a pet real bad.
Christian the Lion
Shellee showed me pictures of these crazy watermelons! Japanese farmers are geniuses. (the article is the first link)
Square Watermelon pictures
After the "What What" craze, Amy J. told me about this video. It has become HCreek's unofficial theme song for the summer. "How's your loony bun?" is frequently heard over the walkies and Ty is now known as Benny Lava.
Benny Lava
Ashley and Aaron had this video posted on their blog and I pretty much loved it. I sent it to some people on my email list and then while introducing a video assignment in my technology class, my professor showed it to me again. It's great.
Where is Matt?
I was shown these in my technology class also. They blew my mind. They also definitely present a challenge for teachers in the "techno age."
Cyber-Bullying #1 #2
This is just sweet.
Creeping Oobleck
My sister sent me this video. Pretty stinkin' cool. It made Kevin want a lion for a pet real bad.
Christian the Lion
Shellee showed me pictures of these crazy watermelons! Japanese farmers are geniuses. (the article is the first link)
Square Watermelon pictures
After the "What What" craze, Amy J. told me about this video. It has become HCreek's unofficial theme song for the summer. "How's your loony bun?" is frequently heard over the walkies and Ty is now known as Benny Lava.
Benny Lava
Ashley and Aaron had this video posted on their blog and I pretty much loved it. I sent it to some people on my email list and then while introducing a video assignment in my technology class, my professor showed it to me again. It's great.
Where is Matt?
I was shown these in my technology class also. They blew my mind. They also definitely present a challenge for teachers in the "techno age."
Cyber-Bullying #1 #2
This is just sweet.
Creeping Oobleck
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Gotta Love Pirates
Most people I'm close to know that I love history more than the average goose. Those same people also know that I'm beyond in love with treasure hunts and was thrilled with the recent movie blockbusters National Treasure and National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Since treasure normally accompanies unscrupulous, greedy peoples and their exploits, I also happen to love pirates. Just a few of those fun, goofy interests everybody has, right?
As it so happens the Detroit Science Center is currently featuring an awesome exhibit called Shipwreck! all about the many shipwrecks around the world that have been found by the Odyssey Marine Exploration organization. The exhibit showcased many of the findings from the various shipwrecks and provided ample stories of the histories of the ships and how they sank. It was an awesome window into the past and I came away from it with a much greater appreciation for the difficulty of transferring people and goods across big waters and how the world has developed over time.
The bonus of going to the museum to see Shipwreck! was that our admission to the exhibit included admission to the rest of the museum too! It was a really fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon. (Plus we got to see actual things from shipwrecks hundreds of years old!!!!! holy cows!!!)
Steering the ship!!
AARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
oh no! Kevin got shot!
Real life loot!!
As it so happens the Detroit Science Center is currently featuring an awesome exhibit called Shipwreck! all about the many shipwrecks around the world that have been found by the Odyssey Marine Exploration organization. The exhibit showcased many of the findings from the various shipwrecks and provided ample stories of the histories of the ships and how they sank. It was an awesome window into the past and I came away from it with a much greater appreciation for the difficulty of transferring people and goods across big waters and how the world has developed over time.
The bonus of going to the museum to see Shipwreck! was that our admission to the exhibit included admission to the rest of the museum too! It was a really fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon. (Plus we got to see actual things from shipwrecks hundreds of years old!!!!! holy cows!!!)
Steering the ship!!
AARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
oh no! Kevin got shot!
Real life loot!!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
on the topic of tolerance
Recently I have been involved in a small family squabble regarding the expression of opinions and how to respect them. This squabble became very heated but has been mostly resolved. Related to the subject of the squabble was the question of religion and religious tolerance. (I like the word acceptance a bit more as tolerance seems to imply someone is putting up with something rather than really being OK with it.)
I personally feel very confident in my faith (and have for most of my life) but there are members of my family that do not subscribe to organized religion and have differing beliefs from my own. I do not personally have a problem with this in any way, shape, or form but my parents, being rather uptight and set in their ways (for lack of a better term), certainly do. Upon disagreement regarding any religious topic my mother feels a renewed sense of urgency in praying for souls. She has been that way for as long as I can remember and by now I have grown used to her religious rhetoric and cannot be bothered by it. I love my family: they're the only one I have! And I have become comfortable with our differences and similarities and how to negotiate them (for the most part).
I have realized that just because some things work for me does not necessarily mean that they work for others. This has been difficult for me to come to terms with (as I have always been taught that there is a "right" and "wrong" way) and I truthfully still struggle with this idea.
On the topic of religion there is one principle that I feel is at the center of my faith and every other also. It is not always easy for me to remember, being imperfect as I am. But on the whole I do try to stick to this idea. -->
Norman Rockwell is pretty stinkin' awesome. His pictures wonderfully illustrate humanity as it is and, ideally, as it could be. This picture is one that I've loved for a very long time and I think fits very well with this post.
People are people no matter where you go. We should all strive to remember that everyone is valuable (even though they may not agree with our beliefs/opinions and may drive us up a wall) and has something to offer. Kindness and understanding is necessary to achieve cooperation and peace.
I'm working on being nicer: I am not always successful and there are people that have an extraordinary talent for getting the worst out of me. But I'm trying.
I personally feel very confident in my faith (and have for most of my life) but there are members of my family that do not subscribe to organized religion and have differing beliefs from my own. I do not personally have a problem with this in any way, shape, or form but my parents, being rather uptight and set in their ways (for lack of a better term), certainly do. Upon disagreement regarding any religious topic my mother feels a renewed sense of urgency in praying for souls. She has been that way for as long as I can remember and by now I have grown used to her religious rhetoric and cannot be bothered by it. I love my family: they're the only one I have! And I have become comfortable with our differences and similarities and how to negotiate them (for the most part).
I have realized that just because some things work for me does not necessarily mean that they work for others. This has been difficult for me to come to terms with (as I have always been taught that there is a "right" and "wrong" way) and I truthfully still struggle with this idea.
On the topic of religion there is one principle that I feel is at the center of my faith and every other also. It is not always easy for me to remember, being imperfect as I am. But on the whole I do try to stick to this idea. -->
Norman Rockwell is pretty stinkin' awesome. His pictures wonderfully illustrate humanity as it is and, ideally, as it could be. This picture is one that I've loved for a very long time and I think fits very well with this post.
People are people no matter where you go. We should all strive to remember that everyone is valuable (even though they may not agree with our beliefs/opinions and may drive us up a wall) and has something to offer. Kindness and understanding is necessary to achieve cooperation and peace.
I'm working on being nicer: I am not always successful and there are people that have an extraordinary talent for getting the worst out of me. But I'm trying.
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