Easier Said Than Done

I know it's best to try to leave your school life at school.  But, it is really hard.  I find myself thinking about my students a lot of the time, wondering what they're doing and if they're safe.  Two weekends ago, I had a strange feeling something was wrong and found out on Monday that one of my students had gotten into a very bad car accident.  Events like this make it even more difficult not to think about your students and not to worry about them.  I guess it's about finding that balance so that you actually have a life.  Because your students and school can easily take it over completely.

Field Trips Galore

I am so happy that this Friday we will have our last field trip for a while.  For the past three Fridays, there has been either a field trip or no school.  So, we have had only four day weeks.  The kids are so excited by Thursday, though, that it feels like we only have three days.  Trying to play catch up with students who are below grade level takes time and we are behind on the standards.  If there's anything I've learned from this experience it's that everything takes longer than you think it's going to.  And, there's always something happening that limits your instructional time.

Job for ME?!

At our seminar today, we talked about interviewing skills.  For the first time, it really hit me...this is IT!  Everything I've been working towards is finally almost here.  I can't believe I'm going to graduate and have my own classroom.  I'm excited.  But, at the same time, I wish I could be a student teacher forever!  I love my cooperating teacher and my students.  They're going to have to kick me out.  I might even have to be escorted off the property :)

Monster Math Rules!

So, throughout this whole internship experience, I've been coming up with all these great ideas.  Only to find out that they weren't great at all.  I get super excited about some lesson I've designed, thinking the kids will love it.  And then, they hate it.  Well, not this time!  I created an activity that required students to add and multiply decimals.  They had to purchase different body parts and put them together to create the scariest possible monster.  Each body part cost a different amount and their complete monster had to have a total price tag of between $10 and $12.  The students loved it!  I got some really awesome, elaborate monsters.  Although, none of them were too scary.  I only did the activity with the algebra class because the other classes had only been working on multiplying and dividing decimals, not adding.  But, I let the other classes judge the contest.  Finally, success!!!

Deja Vu

One of my biggest frustrations in my career as a Chick-fil-A manager was a phenomenon I like to call back talking.  Not back talking as in people talking back to me.  But, back talking as in people talking in the back (part of the store) and behind other people's backs.  There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't hear employees talking bad about other employees, managers talking bad about other managers, employees talking bad about managers, or managers talking bad about employees.  I tried never to take part in those conversations.  Yet, sometimes I found myself in situations where I was almost forced to take part.

Well, today I experienced the middle school equivalent.  I guess there were some important people visiting the school today.  And, apparently, some teachers got told that they weren't doing certain things correctly and needed to make changes.  The timing of events must have been off.   The teachers felt like the only reason anything was said to them was because of the visitors and that the administrators just wanted to act like they were doing everything right.  So, I was sitting-in on an unofficial team meeting, essentially forced to listen to some teachers bad-mouthing a particular administrator for some things he/she said.  All I kept thinking was the same thing I used to think at my former job..."Do you have to say that HERE?"  I mean, of course people are going to get on other people's nerves.  And of course, sometimes you just need to vent.  But, do you really think it's appropriate to vent in the workplace?  Where the people you are bad-mouthing might be just right outside the door?

I hope I never fall into this whole mess.  Whatever happened to the old saying..."If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

Work Overload

I'm on the verge of having a nervous breakdown.  I take over Algebra I tomorrow, meaning I will officially be teaching all of my CT's classes.  Plus, I just found out that lesson plans will now be due on Thursdays for the following week.  So, essentially this means I have two sets of lesson plans to plan for two weeks as I have zero time after school to work on plans.  I was in Myrtle Beach yesterday to present at a conference on "encouragement in education" (supposed to look good on my resume)...well, I'm not feeling very encouraged.  It took me four plus hours to get home because of bad weather.  I have been working on plans nonstop this morning since 10 AM and I'm not even finished with half of the plans for Pre-Algebra.  Making those stupid SMARTBoard lessons takes FOREVER.  Not to mention all the worksheets, handouts, etc.  I don't know how I'm ever possibly going to get all of this done.

Getting into the Groove

So, last week was a million times better than the week before.  I think the kids are really starting to respect me as an authority figure.  I am teaching every class except for Algebra.  We have done lots of different hands on and group activities and I have been really pleased with their performance.  I have also taken over all of the grading for the classes I am teaching and have created all their tests, worksheets, homework, etc.  I'm starting to feel a little more like a real teacher.  The work load is intense, but seeing those light bulbs go off makes it all worth it.