When I get asked this question, I know I'm a real teacher. It feels great to have the students calling me "Miss Kindt" and asking me questions. I don't let on that I feel more like their peer than adult. I'll keep pretending I know what I'm doing. :)
The first two days have been pretty great! Things have gone fairly smoothly, I've felt prepared and confident about my material, and I'm enjoying myself. I already have my favorite periods; here's a description.
Period 1: My least favorite. It is the first class of the day, and you can tell. There are 20 students, they are tired, and don't feel like participating in engaging, literary discussion. This class will be my biggest challenge. I'm still working on some way to get them more interested. What I do in 2nd and 7th period, won't work for them. Also, this is my first time teaching the material, so I'm a little more rusty with them. After I learn from my mistakes in first period, I correct them in the other two; so, they're my guinea pigs, unfortunately.
Period 2: My favorite. It's the smallest at 15 students, and there is good classroom chemistry. I have a couple of popular jokesters who work with me (I would hate to have them work against me) and a couple of thinkers who produce some good discussion. I feel that I can let down more with this class, and don't have to come across quite as teacherish. The atmosphere is definitely more relaxed. The other two classes have 20 students each. It's really amazing the difference 5 students can make.
Period 7: My rowdy group. Yes, it's the last period of the day, and they know it, and I know it, and we all know it. This group can get pretty crazy and hard to shush. This class also has the biggest group of students who like to push the edge, except that they aren't quite working with me yet. I hope to win them over after a few more days. The class has a lot of potential because enthusiasm is better than apathy, but I need to find a way to direct it.
Overall, I need to work on being a better discussion leader. I don't feel I'm quite able to connect the literature to the student's lives. Partly, I'm still adjusting to teaching and not confident/relaxed enough yet to reach them personally. Partly too, they are still testing me out, observing me, deciding whether to trust me or not.
I'm patiently waiting through these first few days; I think the outcome will be good. It doesn't necessarily help that most of my 12th grade students are not huge enthusists of "archaic" Hamlet. :)
Outside of school, I'm doing quite well. Things are getting a little chilly here; normally I'm in short sleeves by the afternoon, but today stayed pretty chilly. Julie and I intend on exploring the local countryside this Saturday. I hope it's a beautiful fall day! I'll probably not take my camera; she already knows I'm an avid photo-taker, and if I bring my camera, we'll have to keep stopping for that "perfect picture" because "the sun is just right," "that plant is in perfect bloom," and "look at the way the wind toys with tree." Like you can even see the wind in a picture.
Anyway, the reason I mention the weather is because it's quite chilly in the house. The Formans don't have centralized heating. I have a radiator, but it's "not time to turn that on yet," so I'm spending most evenings snuggling under blankets, drinking hot drinks, and curling up with my books. Ok...what's wrong with that? Today I talked to Jan about my lunches. This is lunch #17 of a ham and swiss sandwich. I'm not a huge fan of cold cuts, and ham and swiss is my least favorite. I asked her if I could take cut, raw vegetables to school with me. She, of course, was really obliging and said, "sure, whatever you want, let me know, and I'll get it for you." I didn't want to bother her by saying anything earlier (don't we all hate feeling like an imposition?), but I'm learning I need to ask for what I want, or else it doesn't help anyone. I also miss cooking (and American food) and appreciate how much work she puts into the dinners she makes, so I asked if I could cook one night a week. So now, I'm cooking Friday nights. I think my first dish will be Barry's noodle bake (my favorite casserole from back home...Mom, could you e-mail me the recipe? :) I'll try to take a picture for you!
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ha ha. I was reading this and thinking "I hope none of Laura's students read this blog. They would get very conceited." It seems like you're doing such a good job observing your students' reactions to you, so hopefully you'll be able to use that knowledge to foster better learning. I'm fully confident that you can. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd cooking? woo-hoo! I'm so glad you get the opportunity to use your culinary skills over there. Pick up some good German recipes while you're over there, so we can cook them sometime. (Romania?) :)
And... #17? Really? :P