Things I've learned this week:
- No amount of planning can really get rid of first day blank stares.
- The kids will match your energy--it's important to stay "up" even for the last period.
- First period kids are my guinea pigs...poor things.
- When I don't get enough sleep, I need more detailed scripting in my lessons. I can't think on my feet as well.
- Some mellow music--Enya, say, or piano solos--goes a long, long way toward keeping things quiet when kids are working.
- I need to go easier on my Humanities kids. A lot of them are 7th graders, and I keep forgetting how little that means they are. I don't want to say I'm overestimating them, but...I think I am. 9th graders, though? Man, they're smart! They're on the ball. What a huge difference two years makes.
- 40 kids is way, way, way too many. I have some classes of 40 and some of 23, and it's like I'm on two different planets. It's not even the same world.
I miss campus. I miss seeing people I know. I miss seeing people who aren't 14. I miss having friends. I miss feeling like I have any clue of what I'm doing--more than anything, I miss feeling competent. I miss not being the boss. I miss having downtime. I miss having a workspace to call my own. I miss being in more than one room all day. I miss the diversity of campus (even as limited as it is). I miss feeling smart and talking to so many smart people every day.
But man, there's good things too. My sponsoring teacher is awesome. Today was a hard day, but every morning I wake up I feel years older than the day before. In a good way. Like Dr. Crowe told us student teachers at our seminar on Monday (all of us looking scared spitless and wrung dry after our first week): "The stress, the exhaustion, the frustration, the fear--they're good for you. They make you grow into the person who you want to be."
- 40 kids is way, way, way too many. I have some classes of 40 and some of 23, and it's like I'm on two different planets. It's not even the same world.
I miss campus. I miss seeing people I know. I miss seeing people who aren't 14. I miss having friends. I miss feeling like I have any clue of what I'm doing--more than anything, I miss feeling competent. I miss not being the boss. I miss having downtime. I miss having a workspace to call my own. I miss being in more than one room all day. I miss the diversity of campus (even as limited as it is). I miss feeling smart and talking to so many smart people every day.
But man, there's good things too. My sponsoring teacher is awesome. Today was a hard day, but every morning I wake up I feel years older than the day before. In a good way. Like Dr. Crowe told us student teachers at our seminar on Monday (all of us looking scared spitless and wrung dry after our first week): "The stress, the exhaustion, the frustration, the fear--they're good for you. They make you grow into the person who you want to be."
3 comments:
For what it's worth, I miss you too. I keep thinking about our stretching class/lunch ritual last semester...
Amen! Thanks for your advice and inspiration! I'll have to try the music thing.
Go Catherine, Go!!!!
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