I was sick on Thursday, so I couldn’t present my microteaching lesson plan in my teaching class. I wasn’t happy with it, so at 2am the day that I’m supposed to present, I decide to redo the whole thing. Who knew stealing worksheets and making my own worksheets could be so fun?
This past Friday, Day 4 of the internship, was pretty uneventful. I continued my doing nothing.
Day 5, I was sick, and did not go into the school. Wasted day. Damn.
Day 6, was the first day that I actually felt good. My mentor teacher is STILL out, but he comes back for Day 7. Yay! We had a different sub again today, so I had to figure him out. Luckily, he was quiet and didn’t care a whole lot, so I did my own thing. We took the students to the library to do a heritage project, which was alright. Some of them worked on that, some of them worked on their research projects that they started on Day 1.
There’s this one student who isn’t understanding WHY he can’t just copy & paste from the internet. He tells me that all the other teachers let him do that, and they say it’s okay. I talked to the librarian about this, and what I should do. She told me that we should just let him do that for now, and when it comes to print the rough draft, we should sit down with him and have him explain his research in his own words, that way he can rewrite it. The thing is, I know this won’t fly with this kid. He’s another student that has obviously been pushed through the system, and frankly, it pisses me off. His spelling is second grade level AT BEST. He gives resistance, and the teachers back off and let him do his thing instead of staying on him. He better get ready because I won’t back off. I’m just not quite sure how to make him understand that he’s not really learning, and why he should care that he’s not learning.
I also worked with a few second graders who were in the library taking a math test. They were such little characters, and now they have me thinking if upper elementary is right for me. Luckily, I have plenty of time to figure this out. Just something for me to think about.
Today, as I was leaving the school, the sub caught up to me and said, “The students were so much better today with you here than they were yesterday. Thank you!” This made me feel fantastic, like I was finally getting through. It was a great feeling!
Successes of the days: Finally getting through to the students! They’re actually listening to me!
Challenges of the days: How do I get this student to listen to me, and really try? This baffles me.
The past two days have been really rough. The sub we had on Tuesday has been replaced by a retired veteran teacher, and he’s great; however, I’ve now been put on the back burner. On Tuesday, I ran the class. The past two days, I’ve done nothing. The teacher puts off this vibe that he doesn’t want me really doing anything. I’m exhausted, even after just three days, and my patience is already wearing thin for one of the students. I really want the regular teacher to be back now.
On a side note, we’re learning how to write lesson plans. I’m excited to be able to teach my students. I know it sounds like I don’t like this opportunity, but I really do. I’m so excited for everything I’m going to learn. I just wish I was learning it now.
Success of the days: I feel like I’m getting through to a few of the students.
Challenge of the days: I need to learn how to get this one student to start listening. I can see my frustration starting to show itself.
Day 1: My mentor teacher is out for the entire week, so I had to start my internship today with a substitute teacher. To say it was a rough day isn’t enough. I easily had more respect from the students than the sub did, but I still had trouble getting them under control. The three and a half hours flew by, and needless to say, I’m absolutely exhausted.
Success of the day: I realized I know the right questions to ask to get students thinking.
Challenge of the day: I need to come up with a better way of getting the student’s attention. Simply counting down from five isn’t enough.
Tomorrow, at approximately 9:30 am, I begin my journey to become a teacher. Tomorrow, I start my teaching internship. 3 hours a day, five days a week. I will be tutoring, writing and teaching lesson plans, disciplining when necessary. This will be the most challenging quarter so far in my college career, and I could not be more excited about it. My hope for this whole experience is to, every day, post something about what happened at my little elementary school. For privacy purposes, I will not disclose what school I am working at, who my mentor teacher is, or the real names of my students. All you need to know is I am working at an elementary school in Seattle with fifth graders. Tomorrow, my life beings.
(Source: theyuniversity, via carolineferguson)
(Source: barackobama, via iamlittlei)
Today, I had to do the hardest thing I’ve done in a while: I had to say goodbye to my fifth graders that I’ve been tutoring all year. I went into the tutoring experience feeling resentful that I had to do it. I didn’t think I’d learn a thing. I grew to love these kids, though. They’ve taught me so much more than I’ve taught them. Now all I can do is hope that they do well in middle school, and they don’t get lost along the way. These are my students, my kids. I’m going to miss them so much.
I need a beer.
(Source: kbkonnected, via )
Dear followers, teachers, and the Tumblr #education community,
My name is Ray Stoeser and I am a second year English teacher at Crockett Technical High School in Detroit, MI. This year I had the amazing opportunity to be the AP Language and Composition instructor…
