haiku! gesundheit...

only 5 more weeks and I'll have my credential! Well, I suppose I could fail my CPR class and that would hold things up a bit, but I've inflated the lungs on those dummies so many times they know what flavor of gum I chew...

3rd grade is a crack-up; I really do have to turn away sometimes to keep from laughing at the pouting lips or dramatic attempts at self-control when their world comes crashing down with a wrong answer (or when they have to go to the bathroom). I love the serious, concerned concentration faces too, especially when their fingers are moving rapidly adding up 6 x 7.

Did a good lesson with goldfish crackers and adding fractions, very few fish were eaten and/or pulverized before their time. Next up is Haiku, which I've never done or studied or understood (regrettably, I'm not a big poetry fan), and I'll be observed and probably videotaped for good ol' California's requirements.

Dang, just realized that means I need to lose 10 lbs by Thursday!

a week to reflect

Ok, 1/2 way there -- finished with the 5th graders and on to 3rd grade! Should be a piece of cake, right? C'mon, how hard can cute little 8 year olds be?

I did most of my first semester observation time with a 3rd grade class, and actually spent a lot of additional time with them since the teacher was very receptive of the additional help, and I felt it was an opportunity to see how a classroom was managed over the course of 3+ months. I also got to sub for my new Master Teacher right before the break so I could meet the students and get a feel for the classroom -- 13 boys and 6 girls!

So how to sum up my time in 5th grade? Hmmm...

First and foremost, I think I learned a ton, both from doing things and from watching the teacher/student dynamics on a full time basis. I was just reading an article over at TheApple.com on how the instructor's behavior has a direct, observable correlation to student behavior, and I could see that first hand between my MT and the class. And since my MT stayed very much involved in the teaching, I could see how my manner and technique (read: lack of experience and a clue as to what I was doing) caused sometimes quite different behaviors from the class than hers did.

I also have a stronger feel now for how I would want my classroom to operate, and part of my retail management past definitely kicked in: if it ain't productive, don't do it. If something isn't resulting in profit-- the students learning -- then why do it? I also know I'm sure as heck not spending hours collecting and recording and researching and re-collecting and re-recording, etc, etc, whether homework has been turned in or not! Even 3rd graders need to be responsible for their own work, and I'm not a big believer in homework anyway...

Oops, Mrs. Bunny just called me to "get my ass downstairs and hide some eggs!" Sheesh, hope she's not surprised when all her candy has bites missing...

Hearing vs. Listening

Maybe it was because it was Friday. Maybe because it was the Friday they got to do dance practice and mini-society. Maybe it was because it was the Friday they got to dance and mini-society and it's 1 week until Spring Break. Maybe it was because it was the Friday yada yada yada and I was the Sub and they all had Cap'n Crunch with brown sugar and chocolate syrup for breakfast and haven't had a Q-tip near their ears in several weeks... whatever the hell it was, they were not listening!!!!!!!!

I had to pull 2 tests and 6 other collections of misc. materials off students desks despite letting them know at least 3 different ways, including having 2 of them answer the question "what should you have on your desk?" And now that I'm grading the assessments, I see a lot of them missed/forgot/ignored the very first instruction I gave them! That's okay, I kept 'em in at recess and gave them a lecture lesson my sons have heard a few times on the difference between hearing and listening.

Good thing I practiced, 'cause the boys needed it again this morning!

I AM in charge here!

That, class, was much better. Thank you.

On my own again today, except for the sub getting paid to watch me for signs of helplessness...

it's apparent, either due to my teaching style (if I'm allowed to have one yet) or my lack of experience, that I allow the class to get a bit more talkative than MT and her former student teacher/today's sub are accustomed to; I encourage discussion once in awhile, not just hands in the air, and I think it takes time to train a class to adjust volumes to the right level and learn to have more open discussions. In the meantime, I have a sub shushing "my" class as I'm attempting to have a conversation. grrrr...

My struggle has been more with the clock than the chatting, so in my outline/notes for the day has times listed in BOLD RED when each topic and event is supposed to start, end, be at the 1/2 way point, 2 minute warning, 30 seconds late, etc, etc. It worked out almost perfect today, the only subject that got squeezed a little short was Math, and who really needs math these days anyway...

the blue-footed what?!?!?!?

So is this a joke you veteran teachers like to pull on the rookies, sort of like sending an employee to find the "room stretcher" or sending the scouts out on a midnight snipe hunt? I had the struggling readers, complete with mini-gang member and adhd not-stop talker girl, for a small reading group: no problem. Ah, but you couldn't let it be that easy. I had the struggling readers, complete with mini-gang boy and adhd non-stop talker girl, for a small reading group ON A STORY ABOUT THE BLUE-FOOTED BOOBY AND ITS MATING HABITS: problem.

Thanks.

Those jelly-like blobs convulsing with giggles on the floor distracting everyone else in the 5th grade? Yep, my reading group.

Ummm... anyone have a copy of Katie's Trunk I can borrow?

I'm teaching it on Tuesday, but 2 libraries and 4 bookstores later, I haven't read it yet.

It looks like I'm in charge of most of the Language Arts; not really "in charge" since we're following the HoutMiff program and Master Teacher's years and years of prior lesson notes, but she is letting me do most of the teaching. Morning activity, main lesson, grammar group, spelling tests...

I also have several bulletin boards to do... is this in my job description?

odds and ends from the first "full" week:

1. I think I'm going to love teaching.
2. Oh man, do I wish I was getting paid for this.
3. 5th graders really, really should brush their teeth well every morning before school. Twice.
4. How big is the crate the Math materials come in? There's a several edition volume for the teacher, a reference book, a skill book, a worksheet book...
5. There could be two clocks on every wall and my Flava Flav edition watch on my wrist and I still would have no idea what time it is...
6a. There is a brief occurance of pure stillness, a moment as close to peace and calm one can find this side of the Pearly Gates, every afternoon at 2:51 as the last student leaves the classroom.
6b. There is a similar moment of stillness every morning, in that last second before the bell rings, but instead of peace it is filled with anticipation-- the same sense of anticipation I assume one feels right before a Great White shark attacks. Or more precisely, 30 Great White sharks attack.