Today has been a good day, and by good I mean great, and by great I mean the kind of day that almost makes the past 3 weeks disappear and gives me hope I can get through these 15 weeks and maybe enjoy them. Almost. Seriously though, I'm running off the least amount of sleep I've had yet before going into a day of teaching (4 hours) but today I led my own activity, and it was awesome. The activity is called Dos Verdades y Una Mentira (2 Truths and a Lie), technically its not my own activity but it's the first time it had been done in the class. And it was totally unplanned. We were doing skits and ended with 25 minutes and some courage that had not come into play, boiled up inside of me and led me to ask my CT if I could lead a game. Of course as soon as she said yes, my body started shake (as it does whenever I'm in front of groups) and I thought "oh crap, what have I done?" But all of a sudden I was calling "Clase!" and using a teacher voice and directing the students in the game, which they enjoy. Suddenly I was no longer Amber confused-maybe-student-teaching, I became "Senorita Winterton" Spanish teacher extraordinaire! And the kids seemed to really enjoy it! I love this activity because it allows the students to 1. use the language they know and 2. talk about themselves (which middle schoolers love). (An explanation of the game will be given at the bottom!)
Another thing that made today great is that I interaced with my two advanced classes. Two of the classes I will have to teach are advanced, and those little kids scare me to death. Are they terrible students you ask? Are they difficult to control you say? Nope, neither. They are the most perfect classes of students I've ever seen, burning with a desire to learn more Spanish, fervently challenging each other with their knowledge, and constantly demanding better of themselves. These are the "a 93 is a low A which is practically a B which is practically failing" kids. But today my CT asked me to help them edit their papers which are due next week and I decided, if nothing else, I will be confident, maybe not always right (definitely not always right), but confident nonetheless. Turns out the little buggers are kind of scared of me too, but they are a fun group. Again this goes back to my observation that middle schoolers are just bigger first graders, they are sweet and unique and hilarious, it just takes time.
It's been a long week of going back and forth, lots of tears and conversations with everyone and anyone. But today made it seem okay. I'm not naive to think I will feel like this everyday, but I will hope and know that kind of joy does exist in where I'm at right now. For four years I've never really understood why I chose Spanish Ed...sure I enjoy Spanish, and liked the option of teaching k-12, but I could never really pin point where that decision came from...but I also completely believe that God has a plan for me and that plan includes me being here right now. So for now folks, I'm riding it out.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The First Entry
Well this will be short, just a quick thought to get my blog on the map. I've been student teaching (rather student observing) for the past 3 weeks now, however it feels longer and shorter at the same time (if that's possible). I realize now how little I actually observed last semeser, I mean I came to School X and did all and more of my observations, I wrote notes furiously and spoke with the teacher...but I guess it doesn't begin to really seem important until you are counting down the weeks til you actually take over these students. Scary thought, right?
Some observations I've made from the past 3 weeks:
1.) Teachers have a lot of work to do. And I mean a lot. I thought I knew and had an idea, and I know I was told about all these things, but once you actually see what it means to create 3 different lesson plans for 3 different preps that spread across 6 classes every day, plus the creating and grading that goes along with activities, the meetings after school, the hours, and the paperwork...PLUS if your teacher does extra clubs or mentors or is a team leader...you begin to see why maybe your teacher got frustrated with your class sometimes or didn't grade your test for the next day.
2.) Middle schoolers are children that look like teenagers and attempt to act that way, and dealing and understanding them is a lot easier once you view them that way. I always thought I would just absolutely hate teaching middle school. I was a YMCA counselor for several summers and the week we had middle schoolers I would go home and cry every day. But they really are just children, eager to learn but desperately trying to look cool. When you get one on one with any of them though they desire praise and understanding. I've found I rather like middle schoolers, at least in these classes.
3.) I don't know if I belong here.
More on that another time.
Some observations I've made from the past 3 weeks:
1.) Teachers have a lot of work to do. And I mean a lot. I thought I knew and had an idea, and I know I was told about all these things, but once you actually see what it means to create 3 different lesson plans for 3 different preps that spread across 6 classes every day, plus the creating and grading that goes along with activities, the meetings after school, the hours, and the paperwork...PLUS if your teacher does extra clubs or mentors or is a team leader...you begin to see why maybe your teacher got frustrated with your class sometimes or didn't grade your test for the next day.
2.) Middle schoolers are children that look like teenagers and attempt to act that way, and dealing and understanding them is a lot easier once you view them that way. I always thought I would just absolutely hate teaching middle school. I was a YMCA counselor for several summers and the week we had middle schoolers I would go home and cry every day. But they really are just children, eager to learn but desperately trying to look cool. When you get one on one with any of them though they desire praise and understanding. I've found I rather like middle schoolers, at least in these classes.
3.) I don't know if I belong here.
More on that another time.
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