Wow, week ten already? How has this happened so fast? It's been a great ten weeks thus far though. Week ten was a really great week. This week I was teaching all but one of the morning subjects and this coming week I will be teaching all of the morning subjects. Monday was a normal day in which I was able to teach my normal subjects. I have been pretty happy with how teaching has been going lately. The students seem to be respecting me more as they get to know me more, they come to me with many more concerns and questions than they used to and they overall just seem more comfortable with me. One thing that I do need to work on is to transition them from seeing me as the kind of cool college kid who does a little teaching and a lot of helping, to a more teacher figure. I think that this needs to happen because currently my image with the kids is pretty casual just because I started out having a lot of time to talk to them and to see what interested them, which was good at the time because I needed to build relationships with them.
Tuesday was the day where we had a bunch of snow, but we still had school. My teacher who lives an hour away did not come into school because she did not want to risk the drive (a good idea considering I was almost in two accidents). Because of this we had a substitute and I was able to teach the entire day. I really enjoyed teaching the entire day, I was able to take a lot more control of the classroom and try to implement some of my thinking in the class. The kids also did really well! They focused so well and really worked together well, I was so proud of their work and what they did together. But teaching all day was a really great experience and I enjoyed it, I'm secretly hoping that my student teaching placement will have some job opportunities coming up in the next few months because I think it is a great school and I really admire how the school is run overall.
Later in the week, on Thursday we had a bit of a problem with our service dog, Logan. Logan has been doing pretty poor in his job responsibilities lately. He has been wandering around the room, trying to get kids' food, and really just not paying attention to the student he is supposed to be working with. Anyways, my teacher was joking around with a student because he was whining and Logan came over and nipped the student, which is obviously the last thing that a service dog should do. He didn't draw blood, but he did leave a mark. Logan is now going to be leaving for awhile to get re-trained, but thankfully the students' parents handled the incident well because this is something that cannot happen. The next day we had Logan's trainer come in and observe him and the decision to re-train him was made. So this was a side of having a service dog in the classroom that is usually not talked about and usually (hopefully) doesn't happen. But it's something that nevertheless we had to talk about. But overall it was a great week of teaching and I am really grateful for the opportunities I had to teach, considering that I was able to teach for an entire day as well as the mornings of many other days in the classroom.
-Nate
Nate, I guess the snow storm was a blessing in a way since you got to teach full-time that day. I also think it's a good thing when the cooperating teacher leaves you alone for long stretches so you can really get the idea of what it is like to be the one in charge. Remember to that when you get your first job, you will be the one in charge from the beginning, so you will want to establish the teacher-student relationship right from the start. That doesn't mean you can't get to know them and be friendly, but you definitely can't be the cool college kid.
ReplyDeleteHi Nathan,
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you were able to teach all day when your teacher stayed home. You had to think on your feet, always a good lesson. I was sorry to hear you had trouble with the service dog, Logan. I wonder if the other children will feel comfortable around him when he returns or if the family will get a new dog.
Has your teacher mentioned anything about openings? Just in case, ask the principal to observe you later on in this placement. It never hurts to put yourself out there. It might also be a good idea to ask for a mock interview.
Remember to send me a copy of your lesson plan Thursday evening before 10. I'll see you Friday.
Mrs. Hysell