With Great Challenges..

Last week turned out to be a very interesting week at NHS. Monday morning I woke up sick and got to really experience the difference between regular classes and student teaching. with normal classes, it's really no big deal to skip if you have a cold. With student teacher, that is a whole different story..you cannot skip just because you're a little sick. So I sucked it up and taught sick for 2 days. It went surprisingly well.

My class is still on Romeo and Juliet. Luckily, I'm slowly liking it more, but my poor students are suffering through it (and not silently). We read the play from the book for a few scenes and I gave them a character grid using the split-notetaking strategy in order to start learning characterization. They had to pick a main character and then find 5 examples that portrays a personality trait for that character. It could be anything that the character does, says, or thinks. It gave them a lens to see the scene through. Through a class discussion, they were all able to analyze the main characters.

The next 2 days I was with a sub. That was a terrible experience. My authority was taken from me. That's not how it is supposed to work, but I rolled with it the first day and then demanded respect from both the sub and the students the next day without verbally saying anything. It was such a challenge to do with the sub consistently trying to control all the discipline. I did it though; my students HAD to listen to me and learned that I'm the boss. We watched the play and they were instructed to complete their grid. I would periodically speak up or pause the movie to check for understanding and to regain attention. It was the olddd version of Romeo and Juliet so I had to consistently keep their attention. The language in the movie did not help me with that task. By Friday, I could keep 26/28 of the students' attention for the whole period. That is quite an accomplishment!

We also got a new administration team Friday. They are SO AWESOME. It is a great group and I am so pleased to be able to work under them. They are striving for many positive changes to the school. I talked a couple times with the principal and she is so nice and encouraging. Every morning they end announcements with, "make it a great day or not..the choice is up to you." I love reminding my students of that :D

Today, I was talking to a senior and he mentioned that I'm unlike most student teachers. He was telling me how he knows I'm going to be a great teacher and he learned more from talking to me in 5 minutes than he learns from most teachers. It was nothing content related, but that's ok. Sometimes these kids need life lessons more than grammar lessons. This is a great young man, but it meant so much to me to hear from a high school student that the level I care and my passion are evident in even short conversations. It will be a great memory to hold on to with the upcoming challenges. I have a lot to learn. Ms. Ellis isn't big on constructive criticism, but I'm more than able to see the flaws and areas for improvement myself. While I'm not the teacher I can be, I'm slowly becoming that teacher. With great challenges come great victories. And if these 3 weeks are any indication..this semester is going to be FULL of tremendous victories!