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?
Oh my gosh. I remember this day :O I think this was the same day when my supervisor came in and the whole time I thought she came in for the informal observation but it was formal! She had no lesson plan on the desk ready for her to follow along and I just wasted her time (that’s how I felt). I still did something but it wasn’t what I told my cooperating teacher at first because something had happened (I can’t remember) that I had to make last minute changes. After observing me, she went to observe you, came back to see me to reflect and set up another time to come in for a formal. It was right after school when I found out what happened to you. I guess we both just had a weird, off day.
ReplyDelete