Student Teaching: Day 2 (Semester 7)

I arrived at 7:00 right when my mentor pulled in and I got a parking spot. It was just another school day yesterday. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. I did less observing this time and talked to the children more. Like during the pre-math test I walked around making sure the students were on the correct page and number as the teacher. I did the same thing when the students were working on seat work. 

Also I read the story to the students and it went find. I do not know why I always get nervous about that and after the story I shared my poster with them. It was a great transition for the teacher to share with the students her interest bag, which they are going to make one too. 

During the morning time my cohort professor stopped by and said that I looked very professional. That pleased me immensely to hear her say that. Apparently she did not have nice things to say to the other girls throughout our cohort, so 

Right after the student were dismissed, the principal said he wanted to see all the interns. He introduced us to our PDS Coordinator who I meet last semester and we all had a chat about the collective hours and to make sure that we always note down everything that we attend outside of the normal school hours. They also talked about the service learning project and how they can help us with that too. 

After talking to the principal and coordinator, my mentor told me that she plans to set aside stories that she wants my to read to the students while she is making her plans for the upcoming week. Then when I was leaving I had her sign my attendance slip and she filled in the time for when I was leaving with an extra half an hour. That was so nice of her. 

I just got back from my first class of the semester today. It is an assessment class and I had this professor last semester and she is amazing at explaining all of the assignments. We have something called a screening part that is most of our points and she has us already getting started on it. I need to pick a child and send a permission slip home that needs to be signed. That could take sometime if they don't bring it back or they say no, so then you have to find another student. 

I know some other the girls in the class look at everything and just get so overwhelmed, but I don't. I know that will can do it all along with the other assignments from our other classes. Many other people did the same work load as us and they graduated with no problems. I think this is going to be a good semester with my mentor.  

Another Work Update

Lastly, I just want to say I am sorry that Wednesday's post was late and that is because of some work drama and long story short, I put my two weeks notice in today. I can't wait for my last day on Sept. 11, though I will dearly miss the kids. Its sad that it is ending the way it is, but I can not work anymore hours then I gave them. Nothing is going to stop me from graduating this last year and going on to my real career. I also did cut all my hair off, about 10 inches of my hair, so now for the first time I have shoulder length hair instead of hair down to my waist. 

Student Teaching: Day 1 (Semester 7)

Today was a good day. I mostly just observed the students to learn about them and their names. My mentor already has their names down, so I need to catch up. When I came in she had some things she wanted me to do through out the day while I observed, which took me most of the time to complete. 

I ripped out all of the lessons for chapter one in the math books and stapled them together and separated the homework, lessons, and vocabulary cards from each other. Then I had to print a bunch of things that took a lot of time because the printer wasn't working, then it was, but then it got a paper jam. That was not fun. 

I got to the school at 7:15, but I need to get there earlier because all the parking spaces were taken, so I had to park in the neighborhood. I want to get to the school at 7:00 like I did last semester because I had no trouble during that time. 

We had a practice fire drill for first grade where my mentor showed what the students need to do if they would hear that sound and where to go. We practiced walking outside twice. On Friday, the whole school is going to do one together. It was good for me to be there because I never know what could happen while there.

After the students left, my mentor discussed that she wanted me to read a book to the students tomorrow after lunch and then I will present my poster to them afterwards. She is going to read The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn before lunch and then I will read the next book. She let me take the book home to look at. 

Update about work:

So there were no new co workers, though we did finally get a new director. She seems really nice and young. It was only her first day there, so maybe she will get tougher because I don't see her working there for long if she doesn't toughen up. Parents and teachers will walk all over her if that's how she really is. 

Semester 7 Begins

Another semester is already here and it's my senior year. I can not believe that college is almost over. It feels like yesterday I was just at my high school graduation and in just a few months I will be at my college graduation. 

The semester begins on Wednesday, but we will be going straight to placement school on Wednesday and Thursday. My first class will be on Friday and have I mentioned that I will have to deal with traffic again this semester. My class on Friday ends at 3:40, so I don't think I will be arriving back home until close to 5 instead of 4:20. 

There are some other things I wanted to discuss about last we that I did not get to because I didn't remember them until afterwards. I got to decide the seating arrangement for in the classroom, which was really exciting, though she could always change it. I won't know until I go in Wednesday and besides I will not know for sure where I put everybody. Just a few of them. 

I thought I shared this before, but I forgot to talk about it, but my mentor gave me my own desk in the classroom. I am very grateful to have my own place in the room. Just went searching for the photo that I took and it's not there. I am pretty sure that I took it though. I guess I did not since it's not there. 

Today I go back to work after being out for a week. I wonder how everything is going to be. Most of the kids in the one class will be gone for kindergarten since school begins for most of them today. There might be some new people working there now and even more so more people might have left or will be leaving. That makes me nervous because I do not want anybody to leave. 

Professional Duty Day 4

Today was the last day for me to work in the classroom before school starts, though I wasn't in the classroom for most of the day. I believe on Monday's post that I mentioned that my mentor had to take her son to his freshmen orientation for High School, so I helped out in my old mentor's classroom. 

At 8 was the kindergarten orientation, so I got to see lots of the new parents and students. I was not in the classroom, but at a table doing a few things near the kindergarten rooms. I organized the new guided reading books, broke apart the new sight words and vocabulary cards, and cut out some laminated items for my old mentor teacher. I did see the parents whose son was going into kindergarten from my daycare center. 

Around 9ish the principal thanked the parents for coming, so by 9:30 a meeting started about a new program the teachers needed to learn about in the county. I sorted out the materials for my old mentor while the others went to the meeting. Going through all of that took me almost the whole time they were at the meeting which ended at 12:30. 

After that I did a few more little things, but she didn't need anything else and all of the kindergarten teachers were going out to lunch. I went back down to my mentor's classroom and noticed that the parents I talked to yesterday kid was going to be in the classroom. I moved down the book bins and personal reading book bins, so that everything will stay in alphabetized order. 

Then mostly I had to wait an hour until she got there at 1:30ish. Oh I did get to see them fix the Smart board while waiting, but she forgot her laptop so we couldn't do anything with it. At my lunch while waiting and swept up the bugs. 

This week has been amazing and hopefully we will had a wonderful school year. My mentor seems really nice and helpful, so I think everything will go well. I am really going to miss working on the classroom and can not wait to design my own. 

Professional Duty Days 2-3

Tuesday 

(Day 2)

Again I got to the school a little before my mentor at 7:30. As soon as she came in she already had ideas about what she wanted me to do. It involved; cutting out pieces for the classroom jobs and more book labels, placing the months for the birthday board, place the alphabet letters on the word wall.

Then after finishing that it was time to go to the smart board session at 9. It was a joke. You could see on all of the teachers faces that they were more confused walking out and one teacher even said that to me and my mentor. That ended around 10:30 and we were going to play around with the smart board after eating, but the principal couldn't find the remote and pens for the board. 

Hopefully, when I get in tomorrow they will be there, so we can learn more about the board. I plan on watching some introduction videos about it on Youtube to get prepared because I want to teach some lessons using it. 

The county is getting new reading materials, so we had to go through all of that which was a ton of reading books, big books, lots of different cards, textbooks,and many other items. I had the task of breaks the cards apart, which took up a lot of time. 

Lastly, my cohort professor stopped by. Didn't really say much to her, though her and my mentor talked a little. She asked how everything was going. Also my mentor has been really great about explaining everything to me like with the read materials. 

Wednesday

(Day 3)

It was harder to get up today and I even got up later then the other days because she said that as long as I am there before 9 then I am good. Of course I didn't come in that late, though I did get to the school around 7:45ish and I still got there just a little bit before my mentor. 

Today we finally got to mess around with the smart board, but something is wrong with the screen alignment which messes up when you touch it. That made it difficult to work with. Messed with that for a bit.

Then she had to leave to take her daughter to a play date and then she also had to stop to get her son some lunch that was at the school. I cut out a bunch of stuff that we laminated earlier which most of the stuff was for my old mentor teacher. 

At the end of the day we figured out what I am going to be doing tomorrow since she is not getting in until 1:30 - 2. I will be helping the kindergarten teachers because tomorrow is their orientation. Then at 9:30 there is a meeting which I may or may not be going to since the meeting is not beneficial unless I teach in that county. Right now, I think I will not be going and may just be sorting through all of the kindergartner's materials. 

Oh. I saw some parents from my daycare at the school today registering their child for first grade, so there is a chance that he may be in my classroom. I talked to them and then introduced my mentor to them and come to find out that the mom knows her. What a small world. 

Professional Duty Day 1

I'm just going to explain everything that happened today.

I got to the elementary school at 7:30 and went to the office and talked to one of secretaries, who miss heard the teacher I was with and took me to the wrong room first. Then she gave me the right direction on where to go. I don't think I mentioned this last semester, but part of the school was closed off for construction. Now it is open, so my mentor has a "new" classroom. The bad thing is that you can't put anything on the walls, cabinets, or doors.  

Around 8 ish, all staff had a meeting with the principal who went over quit a bit of stuff. He also introduce us interns, which he also said that there was another intern from a different university. I believe that went on until 10:30- 11. Didn't really keep track of time. Oh, then before the meeting my mentor came in about 10 minutes after me. I just waited those few minutes looking around in her classroom. 

After the meeting, we went back to the classroom to continue working. I'm just going to list everything that I did below:

- Cut out book labels

- Taped book labels to paint sticks

- Placed labels in library

- Listed missing book labels

- Placed math signs

- Changed math board title

- Placed spelling counters into bags

- Arrange the desks

During the meeting one of the teachers gave us some big books that he was getting rid off and I got a school planner. Also there is small thousand leggers in the classroom, which is creepy since I have a huge one somewhere in the house. There are a few students from the kindergarten class that I know. Two of them will be interesting to see again and how they are doing. 

My mentor was thinking about having no assigned seats, but after talking to one of the special education teacher she changed her mind. That would have been really unique to see how it would have worked. I have never thought about doing that. My mentor is really nice and I learned that she doesn't live that far from me and her kids go to schools that I went to. She's pretty chill and relax, so I know that working with her will be good.

I left around 3:50, though she said I could leave at 2:45 since that is the end of the teachers day, though I stayed to finish the math board and then helped her figure out the arrangement of the desks. 

We still have a lot to do this week in the classroom plus there are some sessions that we need to attend like the smart board one tomorrow which is not mandatory, but it's her first time working a with smart board. I'm looking forward to that one. Then she told me that on Thursday she is not getting in until 1:30 and she is not sure what I am going to do yet, though I will be at the elementary school. Thursday is the important session day about the new system or something, so I might have to take notes for her. 

Getting Prepared

It's that time again already, though I was already getting ready for the semester a week ago. I got my To Do Binder as ready as I could. I keep checking blackboard to see if my professors have posted the syllabus and schedules. As soon as they do then I will print them out.  

I emailed by mentor about the professional duty days next week on Monday. I asked her a few questions like what to wear, about how long will we be there, and where to meet her. She responded back that night answering all of my questions and more. 

I'm excited and nervous about meeting her Monday. She said that she was there last week quite a few times, but there is still plenty of stuff she still needs to get done. Also I just realized that there will be a Smart Board in the classroom, I'm pretty sure there is, and this will be great to use. There wasn't one is the Kindergarten classroom, so I'm excited to implement it into my lessons. 

This morning I went to the school county orientation, which is kind of annoying because my placement school is not even in that county. My cohort professor makes us go just in case we get switched to those county schools next semester. Nothing of any real importance was discussed, since it was information we have heard many times before. 

Also my plan for how I am going to be blogging this semester (I may have already said this in another post, but I can not remember). For just next week my blog posts will be about the professional duty days, so on Monday and Wednesday the posts will be later in the day because I will come home and then write about what I did and then will post. Fridays will be earlier in the morning. Then for during the semester on Wednesdays and Fridays the posts will be later in the day too. Especially Wednesdays because i work afterwards. 

Documentaries: The Lottery

Warning: May Contain Spoilers

About:

In a country where 58% of African American 4th graders are functionally illiterate, The Lottery uncovers the failures of the traditional public school system and reveals that hundreds of thousands of parents attempt to flee the system every year. The Lottery follows four of these families from Harlem and the Bronx who have entered their children in a charter school lottery. Out of thousands of hopefuls, only a small minority will win the chance of a better future.

Cited From: thelotteryfilm.com

I didn't know much about charter schools before watching this film. I still don't know exactly how I feel about them, though it was interesting to see different parents thoughts on them. They don't seem like a horrible idea, so I don't understand why so many people were against the move of the charter to a bigger school to have more students. I wanted to cry when I saw some of the parents faces during the lottery because you could feel/see how much they wanted it for thier child. 

This film is available on Hulu for free. 

My Placement School

I have finally received the news about which elementary school I will be teaching at this semester and I'm excited to say that it will be the same school I was at last semester. Also I will be in a first grade classroom, Anne will be in second, and the other two girls will be in third. I wanted first or second and I got it. Yes!

This makes me incredibly happy to be back at the same place because I am familiar with it. Three other girls will also be going to this school and one of them is Anne again. I haven't heard from the other two girls and I wonder how they feel about interning at this school. It's a good school and they will enjoy it I'm sure. 

I am hoping that by going to this school, since it gets out so early that my mentor won't stay there to late and I will be able to get to work by 5. I will close the building, of course. Then I will work just those two days, so not on Friday or Monday. 

Hopefully everything will work out. It's getting really crazy and stressful at work, so I know they are going to try and push me to work as much as I can. I am putting my foot down and not budging. My main focus is school and if work is going to be difficult, then I will make it easy and say goodbye. 

Here is my Placement School Schedule:

Aug 18-21 are the Professional Duty Days

Then every Wednesday and Thursday-

Aug 27-28

Sep 3-4, 10-11, 17-18, 24

Oct 1-2, 8-9, 15-16, 22-23, 29-30

Nov 5-6, 12-13, 19-20

Dec 1-5 is the Full Week of Teaching

Dec 10 is the last day

Those days could change because of the weather (crossing my fingers for not too much snow). I just read an article saying that in my state we are expecting a lot of snow, even more compared to last winter which was a ton. First day of classes begin Aug 27, though we will be at our schools on both days, so my first real class is on Friday. 

By the way, in the email my cohort professor sent us, we already have 4 things of homework due on our first day of class with her which is Sep. 2. Yikes!

Two Weeks Left

It just dawned on me last Friday, that I only had two weeks left of summer break. Well now, less then two weeks. Where did this summer go?

This summer went by so fast, though to be fair my summer was a month shorter from having to take summer classes in June. I feel like I haven't been in the pool enough and that my tan is not as dark as I would like it to be. Maybe the first few weeks won't be so crazy and that I can relax at the pool a little more. That's only if the weekend is good for it. Most of these weekend were cloudy or rainy, which prevented me from going out.

I have been trying to figure out my work schedule with my school schedule. I have to work at least two times a week in order to now be consider a sub. If I was a sub, then they could send me to any of the child care centers and I don't want to go to any of the other ones. I'm thinking if I don't stay to late at my placement school then I might be able to work an hour and a half on Wednesdays and Thursdays. If not then I will most likely work the hour and a half on Friday after class and then work Monday before my 5 o'clock class.

It will all just depend on which placement school I am assigned too and how late my mentor will want me to stay. I am hoping the first two weeks of school that work will let me work just on Friday until I can get everything straightened out. If they can not be flexible with me then I will just quit and just worry about my classes for a chance.

I don't want it to come down to that, but this coming semester is already going to be stressful enough that I do not need to worry about other things. Besides I have saved plenty of money over the five years that I have been working there, so that won't be an issue for me.

Is it bad that I kind of want my boss to be difficult, so then I can just quit?

Lastly, I have been preparing for the upcoming semester. I added Semester 6 to all of my Student Teaching Posts and to my Lesson Plans. Printed out my new signs (decided to go with pastel colors this time) for on my drawer organizer and put my schedule into my calendar. Also sold some more of my textbooks, though I still have quite a few left that I need to sell. 

By the way, this will be my last just Wednesday post. Starting this upcoming Monday I will be posting three days a week again on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.