It doesn't take long when you realize things are out of balance that things tend to balance themselves out. For me it was simple. Get the college classes over with and get back in the classroom....it took two days of being with my 6th grade class to get me back to being more like myself. Yup, there is nothing like college course work to take the life out of you. Although my ramblings from last blog weren't for not; I was right in noticing that I had been replacing school work with keeping in touch with people around me. Coming to this realization is great for me, but it comes with a sense of hesitation as I am about to embark on the journey that is the "student teacher". I will learn why teachers get so frustrated with the system they work inside of and why they feel so taken advantage of as workers in our society. Tonight I list out the top 10 things that I look forward to discovering during my days as a student teacher. Ladies and gents.....LETS BLOG!!
1) When do we get a chance to prepare? Teachers have 6 and a half hours of teaching each day and probably 30min - 1 hour of meetings on top of that. I know that I have spent three hours brushing up on my "rock cycle" knowledge this weekend while planning a lesson for Monday afternoon. I know that I'll also put in a couple hours planning for a math lesson on writing equations using variables. There is a 100% chance that I'll put in over 5 hours of work for two of the 6 classes on Monday. Then I will have to do the same for Tuesday....and Wed.....and Thurs.......oh yeah and Friday. I might as well think about reading and writing, maybe some Social Studies....and also art. Because we all know art projects take little to no planning.......right? This time is spent planning assuming everything will go just fine....then little Timmy scraps his arm and starts crying in the middle of class, or the secretary calls 10 people from your class back down to the lunchroom because they didn't clean up properly. 20 minutes I loose in the classroom......and people say teachers get paid too much? $30,000/year to work 80 hour weeks AND be told by society that I'm not doing good enough? Now I'm griping, but it doesn't seem fair.
2) How to create a classroom library. I definitely don't want a generic cart of books in my class with Beverly Cleary and the like. But I do want books kids like to read. I think I'll create a list of books students have already read (outside of school) and see which ones show up the most. Then I'll go get those books. Seems easy....but I doubt it will be.
3) Bored are you? I've always thought of myself as a laid back, and somewhat humorous and entertaining person. I've taught about 15 lessons so far to the students and it come across dry and boring.....it is weird, but somehow I need to discover how to bring myself into each and every lesson. I might just speak all day in the voice of Alex Trebek....maybe not.
4) Field Trips! Holy responsibility Batman. You take on millions of dollars in liability every time you take your kids outside the walls of your institution. Why on earth would anyone take that risk for a couple hours at the zoo, aquarium, or Old Country Buffet? What?
5) How much weight will I gain? Knowing the amount of hours I'm about to spend planning out lessons (notice I haven't mentioned grading yet?), it is clear I will be about 50 - 70% less active than what I had been up to that point. This should in fact have a direct impact on the amount of pounds I weight here on earth. I say 24 lb increase. I guess you'll just have to trust me on this.
6) How sick will I get? They say your first year in the classroom is the worst when it comes to illnesses, but I've been lucky thus far in that I have yet to gain any illness over the course of 8 months in the classroom. We'll see now that it comes to 8 hours a day in front of the little rowdiness makers. I guess that would give me more time to plan:)
7) Can I get 30 students to do what I want? This I can't wait to discover. So far it is hit and miss. If I can find something that I know they want (B-Ball game at recess) then it is easier. But when I'm struggling to keep their attention on a lesson that I spent hours putting together, the last thing on my mind is what can I hang over their heads".
8) How much music/video production will I be able to accomplish? I want to produce something that I can take with me to show that they had a great time and got something out of the time they spent with me as a teacher. School districts are pretty strict with what they allow and don't allow when it comes to capturing students on film in any way shape or form.
9) Will I eat lunch in the teacher's lounge? This is the age ol question for teachers. The conversation in the fabled lounge has a 97% chance of sounding intensely negative as the words "Shafted and screwed" seem to find their way into every sentence uttered within the confines of the room. It will be fun to walk in, hear this and simply start whistling Uncle Remus toons, but as of now I figure no one would notice.
10) Will I be the teacher I saw myself being two years ago? This is a touch one as I saw myself teaching students how to be happy in the life they find themselves living right now. I have become learned in the politics, the curriculum, and the bureaucracy of teaching, and it isn't pretty as teachers truly are treated with little respect by the districts that support them and the parents that depend on them. I recognize all of this going into it so I can only do my best to stick to my guns and make sure I'm doing what I want to be doing in the classroom. Afterall, that's what I'm planning to teach my students!!
1) When do we get a chance to prepare? Teachers have 6 and a half hours of teaching each day and probably 30min - 1 hour of meetings on top of that. I know that I have spent three hours brushing up on my "rock cycle" knowledge this weekend while planning a lesson for Monday afternoon. I know that I'll also put in a couple hours planning for a math lesson on writing equations using variables. There is a 100% chance that I'll put in over 5 hours of work for two of the 6 classes on Monday. Then I will have to do the same for Tuesday....and Wed.....and Thurs.......oh yeah and Friday. I might as well think about reading and writing, maybe some Social Studies....and also art. Because we all know art projects take little to no planning.......right? This time is spent planning assuming everything will go just fine....then little Timmy scraps his arm and starts crying in the middle of class, or the secretary calls 10 people from your class back down to the lunchroom because they didn't clean up properly. 20 minutes I loose in the classroom......and people say teachers get paid too much? $30,000/year to work 80 hour weeks AND be told by society that I'm not doing good enough? Now I'm griping, but it doesn't seem fair.
2) How to create a classroom library. I definitely don't want a generic cart of books in my class with Beverly Cleary and the like. But I do want books kids like to read. I think I'll create a list of books students have already read (outside of school) and see which ones show up the most. Then I'll go get those books. Seems easy....but I doubt it will be.
3) Bored are you? I've always thought of myself as a laid back, and somewhat humorous and entertaining person. I've taught about 15 lessons so far to the students and it come across dry and boring.....it is weird, but somehow I need to discover how to bring myself into each and every lesson. I might just speak all day in the voice of Alex Trebek....maybe not.
4) Field Trips! Holy responsibility Batman. You take on millions of dollars in liability every time you take your kids outside the walls of your institution. Why on earth would anyone take that risk for a couple hours at the zoo, aquarium, or Old Country Buffet? What?
6) How sick will I get? They say your first year in the classroom is the worst when it comes to illnesses, but I've been lucky thus far in that I have yet to gain any illness over the course of 8 months in the classroom. We'll see now that it comes to 8 hours a day in front of the little rowdiness makers. I guess that would give me more time to plan:)
7) Can I get 30 students to do what I want? This I can't wait to discover. So far it is hit and miss. If I can find something that I know they want (B-Ball game at recess) then it is easier. But when I'm struggling to keep their attention on a lesson that I spent hours putting together, the last thing on my mind is what can I hang over their heads".
8) How much music/video production will I be able to accomplish? I want to produce something that I can take with me to show that they had a great time and got something out of the time they spent with me as a teacher. School districts are pretty strict with what they allow and don't allow when it comes to capturing students on film in any way shape or form.
9) Will I eat lunch in the teacher's lounge? This is the age ol question for teachers. The conversation in the fabled lounge has a 97% chance of sounding intensely negative as the words "Shafted and screwed" seem to find their way into every sentence uttered within the confines of the room. It will be fun to walk in, hear this and simply start whistling Uncle Remus toons, but as of now I figure no one would notice.
10) Will I be the teacher I saw myself being two years ago? This is a touch one as I saw myself teaching students how to be happy in the life they find themselves living right now. I have become learned in the politics, the curriculum, and the bureaucracy of teaching, and it isn't pretty as teachers truly are treated with little respect by the districts that support them and the parents that depend on them. I recognize all of this going into it so I can only do my best to stick to my guns and make sure I'm doing what I want to be doing in the classroom. Afterall, that's what I'm planning to teach my students!!
Joke of the day:
Teacher: I told you to stand at the end of the line?
Pupil: I tried, but there was someone already there!
Pupil: I tried, but there was someone already there!
Cheerio
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