Friday, February 6, 2009

Day One

First day as a student teacher, first staff meeting, first unintentional (I hope) insult from a student... and so it begins!

From 1st impressions, including the Principal scaring the bejeebers out of me, I think this will be a good fit for me-- the school and especially my classroom is well run, well behaved, and focused on doing the best for and getting the best from the students. My Master Teacher is a crack-up, serious and caring at the same time, making sure her students have what they need to succeed and insuring they each take the personal responsibility to do so. She's given me several "homework" assignments for this weekend, lessons to do next week in Math and Language Arts plus a classroom clean-up project, so she's not wasting any time getting me involved (glad school's out Monday, gotta an extra day to work on everything)...

The Principal met me bright and early and impressed upon me the Two Rules to Succeed: never e-mail-- the more real, live conversations you can have with people the farther you'll go, and never, ever be alone with any student. I'm paraphrasing; he made both statements with much more intensity and emphasis than I can convey.

As for the student slam, when asked to welcome me and say how they'll help me or say something nice about me, one boy said my forehead sure was nice and shiny...

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

I got one!

Or, more accurately, one got me-- I have a school to go to for student teaching!

I was beginning to feel like the last (rejected) puppy at the pound, my classmates had assignments and I was just sitting by the phone, waiting, hoping, jumping to answer the second it rang (sorry I hung up on you, Ma) -- I had depressing flashbacks to those pitiful High School years when she said she would call, but never did...

But I did get the call. I feel like I've been drafted, way down low in one of the final rounds, but at least some team is willing to take a chance on me... now I need to work hard, learn from the veterans, practice my skills and make sure the coaches notice my talent and determination. Who knows, I might just make the team next fall...

So: 5th grade! Real live students! Lesson plans! A tie! Oh no, there's the first thing to stress over decide: what should I wear tomorrow?