My last day at Woodglen was so phenomenal! I had no idea how much my teacher and students appreciated me! I don't mean to sound like i have an inflated ego but I received the most wonderful present and if I was at all technologically inclined I would post it. The kids each made a card with a picture they drew of themselves on it. Some of them even put these adorable messages on the back. One girl even put that I was her best friend. Another teacher informed me that when this girl got on the bus she was crying hysterically. My teacher even gave me a beautiful basket of her favorite flowers-gardenias. Considering I am not the warmest of personalities it was touching to see this kind of genuine affection.
The only bad was one of the more difficult students not listening to me and then trying to blame me. This might have worked had it not been that she disobeyed in front of another teacher who comes specifically to monitor her behavior.
I thank God that I know I did good there, not just academically or even as a teacher. I'm just so glad I did well as a human being. I'm never one to be warm and fuzzy but when I think on his day and my experiences I gush like Jessie Rock. (Love you Jessie)
Monday, March 12, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Thought I posted this on 2/2
That awkward moment when you do a great lesson...and no one's there to see it.
So I wake up throughout the night in a panic over my first lesson observation. My brain is in high gear trying to remember anything and everything i could ever need for this lesson. I look over my planning and my routine and think and think and think. The moment arrives. My teacher isn't here yet. I decide its best to begin on schedule.
The children all sit ready for me to read the story. So far so good, five minutes pass and so far no teacher. But the book is interesting, the children are listening. We help each other to pronounce the many difficult Japanese words throughout the story. The book is long and difficult but the students stay focused the whole time.
It's all over. The story is read, the questions asked and answered. The students are now doing their worksheets. My part is over. I feel relieved and satisfied, all except for one thing....my teacher who will observe and grade me has yet to show up. Both teachers in the room are ecstatic with the lesson. They congratulate me and smile. I feel wonderful minus the piece of my brain screaming "WHAAAAAT!". The students are dismissed to gather their snack. They return to the room along with someone slightly taller. My observing teacher. I look at her incredulously. She stares at me and asks what's wrong. "The lesson's over". I reply. She looks at me confused and replies "10:30?" and I reply harder "No, 10:00!". The lesson is rescheduled the teacher I work with and my supervising teacher talk quickly and all ends well.
Except for me because I can only think that this lesson was spectacular and it wasn't observed. I feel like I just did three back flips waiting for the applause and all I'm left with is my heavy breathing after something so exhausting. Yes i know, one of life's lessons, that things don't always work out. But could they not work at less inconvenient times next time?
So I wake up throughout the night in a panic over my first lesson observation. My brain is in high gear trying to remember anything and everything i could ever need for this lesson. I look over my planning and my routine and think and think and think. The moment arrives. My teacher isn't here yet. I decide its best to begin on schedule.
The children all sit ready for me to read the story. So far so good, five minutes pass and so far no teacher. But the book is interesting, the children are listening. We help each other to pronounce the many difficult Japanese words throughout the story. The book is long and difficult but the students stay focused the whole time.
It's all over. The story is read, the questions asked and answered. The students are now doing their worksheets. My part is over. I feel relieved and satisfied, all except for one thing....my teacher who will observe and grade me has yet to show up. Both teachers in the room are ecstatic with the lesson. They congratulate me and smile. I feel wonderful minus the piece of my brain screaming "WHAAAAAT!". The students are dismissed to gather their snack. They return to the room along with someone slightly taller. My observing teacher. I look at her incredulously. She stares at me and asks what's wrong. "The lesson's over". I reply. She looks at me confused and replies "10:30?" and I reply harder "No, 10:00!". The lesson is rescheduled the teacher I work with and my supervising teacher talk quickly and all ends well.
Except for me because I can only think that this lesson was spectacular and it wasn't observed. I feel like I just did three back flips waiting for the applause and all I'm left with is my heavy breathing after something so exhausting. Yes i know, one of life's lessons, that things don't always work out. But could they not work at less inconvenient times next time?
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
My Birthday!
So today is my birthday! Yay! It's also my last week here at Woodglen which makes things interesting. While tonight I may have a movie and festivities to look forward to my birthday here in the classroom was pretty sweet too. I went and got Dunkin Donuts for myself as a breakfast birthday present (it's better than those breakfast bars). Little did I know however that my teacher would get me a coffee as well! She comes in with a nice gourmet coffee and I have to try and hide and then dispose of the one I bought for myself.
Later on I had the weekly morning meeting with my students. This is a public school which means that chocolate and sweets are now the devil because obviously the school is making them fat and not all the stuff they eat at home. Anyway i would not under any circumstances bring in a fruit or veggie platter. I therefore decided it would be nice to make all of the kids a present as it would be like a goodbye gift as well. I made them each individualized bookmarks. The kids were ecstatic! They loved them, they compared them, and inevitably one kids lost hers before lunch. All in all though I'd say it was a pretty successful day! Happy Birthday to me!!
Later on I had the weekly morning meeting with my students. This is a public school which means that chocolate and sweets are now the devil because obviously the school is making them fat and not all the stuff they eat at home. Anyway i would not under any circumstances bring in a fruit or veggie platter. I therefore decided it would be nice to make all of the kids a present as it would be like a goodbye gift as well. I made them each individualized bookmarks. The kids were ecstatic! They loved them, they compared them, and inevitably one kids lost hers before lunch. All in all though I'd say it was a pretty successful day! Happy Birthday to me!!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
I know, I know
So I realize I'm a little late getting out of the gate, but as my title says, I'm getting there. I'll start off with a funny learning experience since this is the only way I can do this blogging thing without hating it or myself. So everyday at lunch I have started the practice of reading a folktale to the kids. It keeps them quiet and gets my nerd reader self excited to have others read. I always pick the story and try to read it beforehand so as to avoid mishaps. As most of you know folktales and fairy tales weren't always the Disney version and my book has the classic versions of the stories. However most of the stories have avoided any gruesome details or odd phrases third graders don't need to hear.
Feeling secure in the book I therefore got relaxed in my judgement. Mistake number one. I also allowed one of the students to pick a story to read. Mistake number two. She picked the story of Bluebeard. In the back of my mind i remembered something sketchy about the story but couldn't recall exactly so I figured it couldn't be too bad. The story tells of a creepy rich old man with a Bluebeard who can't find a wife because he's creepy, ugly, and no one knows what happened to his previous wives. The pretty young girl next door gives him the benefit of the doubt and marries him. When he goes away on business she has the run of the house but Bluebeard warns her not to open a particular door. We stopped reading just as she was about to open the door. That night i found a video of the story which told that behind the door was Bluebeard's wives all turned to stone statues and that the young girl is saved before Bluebeard can do anything to his new wife and she lives happily ever after. Sounds innocent enough for eight year old's right?......
I reread were we left off the next day. I then quickly turn the page dramatically and glance at the sentences to come. There are no stone statues in this version. Instead, there is blood on the floor, blood on the walls and ceilings. The wives are corpses chained to the wall.... So what do I do as I stand there stupidly you may wonder? I let my English storytelling brain kick into overdrive as I quickly scream "and behind the door was...Bluebeard's previous wives! They had all been turned into stone statues!" I then spent the rest of the story making up half the lines in the old fashioned language of the story cutting out details too vulgar for the kids to hear or my teacher to see me presenting to the kids.
Long story...well long...never ever listen to your brain when it has one of those "well, what could happen" moments or else you'd best brush up on how Germans told their stories in the 1800's.
Feeling secure in the book I therefore got relaxed in my judgement. Mistake number one. I also allowed one of the students to pick a story to read. Mistake number two. She picked the story of Bluebeard. In the back of my mind i remembered something sketchy about the story but couldn't recall exactly so I figured it couldn't be too bad. The story tells of a creepy rich old man with a Bluebeard who can't find a wife because he's creepy, ugly, and no one knows what happened to his previous wives. The pretty young girl next door gives him the benefit of the doubt and marries him. When he goes away on business she has the run of the house but Bluebeard warns her not to open a particular door. We stopped reading just as she was about to open the door. That night i found a video of the story which told that behind the door was Bluebeard's wives all turned to stone statues and that the young girl is saved before Bluebeard can do anything to his new wife and she lives happily ever after. Sounds innocent enough for eight year old's right?......
I reread were we left off the next day. I then quickly turn the page dramatically and glance at the sentences to come. There are no stone statues in this version. Instead, there is blood on the floor, blood on the walls and ceilings. The wives are corpses chained to the wall.... So what do I do as I stand there stupidly you may wonder? I let my English storytelling brain kick into overdrive as I quickly scream "and behind the door was...Bluebeard's previous wives! They had all been turned into stone statues!" I then spent the rest of the story making up half the lines in the old fashioned language of the story cutting out details too vulgar for the kids to hear or my teacher to see me presenting to the kids.
Long story...well long...never ever listen to your brain when it has one of those "well, what could happen" moments or else you'd best brush up on how Germans told their stories in the 1800's.
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