First Day

Now that the weather and road conditions have improved I was able to go in for my first day of student teaching there.

School starts at 7:05 and I arrived at 6:45 and has a block schedule, which is new to me. The classes are 1 hour and 35 minutes long. However, only the first block takes the entire amount of time. This is a gifted class, and I have already been impressed by the students. The next two blocks are split in two and shared with an English class. So, halfway through the class the students change rooms and subjects. The students in these classes are on the opposite end of the spectrum from the gifted students. These are students who need more direction and smaller class sizes (each class is around 15 students).

All of the students seem nice and welcoming. I am going to get into the teaching aspect much faster this time around. Tomorrow I will give the lesson for the 4th split class. I was able to bring the lesson home tonight to review it and will see it taught three times before taking my turn. So, I am pretty confident that I will be able to handle it.

Maybe Next Week

Well, I "missed" my entire first week of student teaching due to the ice storm. Most of the ice on the main roads has melted, however, many neighborhoods still have icy roads, and you can't have kids waiting for buses in icy conditions. Gwinnett County has also stated that many campuses are still dealing with ice, especially on ramps and stairs.I have enjoyed my week off, so I am not really sure whether I am upset or happy about missing my first week.

Ice covered snow, yesterday in our front yard.

First Day?

Tomorrow is supposed to be my first day student teaching, however, I doubt that schools will be open tomorrow as the forecast is calling for snow and ice. Some metro area schools have already canceled school tomorrow, but Gwinnett County has not.

So, I am still preparing for my first day being tomorrow. After a little over a month off, my supplies are scattered and I am very disorganized. I am also preparing some lunches in an effort to eat healthy lunches.

I wanted bananas, but apparently so does everyone else when it is supposed to snow!

I am excited, but nervous about starting my student teaching at a new school. I will be expected to jump in and start teaching faster. I will be teaching more often - really as much as I am able, so that I can get the most experience possible. And, I will have more classes and therefore more students. PHS does a block schedule, so it looks like I will have three classes, a planning period, and something called PRIDE. I will also have to adjust from 7th graders to 11th graders, and am very interested in how different their abilities are. 

So, I'm keeping an eye on the weather and school closings. Either way, I will have a first day some time this week!

First Day

My first day student teaching was a lot of fun!
I arrived early and waited with a group of other student teachers in the front office. I had hoped to be in my classroom before the students arrived so that I could talk with my mentor teacher. Unfortunately, that didn't happen because the administrators wanted to wait for everyone to arrive. About six other student teachers had not shown up by the time classes started.

I was taken to the 7th grade hall by the 7th grade Administrator. He gave me a quick tour of the area and dropped me off with my mentor Mr. Dorray. He was very nice even though he had no idea that I was coming. Luckily he seems very laid back and happy to have me. Through the day he introduced me to most of the other teachers in the 7th grade hall, and I got the idea that having a student teacher was a desirable thing. Many other teachers expressed their wish to have a student teacher.

I was able to sit in on three classes, one planning period and lunch. Each class is a different group of kids, and each one had a different feel. The first class was the most relaxed, the second was a little more strict (which may have been due to the fact that lunch split the class in two sections), and the third class was the most focused and participated the best. All of the students were really nice, eager to say hi to me and seemed excited to have me there.

I am not going to put in all the details so that I have something to write about on other days, but if anyone has any questions - just post them!

I think I am going to have a lot of fun and my student teaching will be a success!

Expectations

Tomorrow is my first day student teaching. I will be at Sweetwater Middle School in Lawrenceville. I do not know a lot of details so far, but I am very excited. The school day starts at 9:20 am so I plan to be there about half an hour before then.

I attended an orientation at GSU that was supposed to help me prepare. However, I am not sure I gained a lot of information from the orientation. I did find out the name of my mentor teacher, and looked him up on Sweetwater's website. I found out that he teaches 7th grade which, according to the Gwinnett County website, teaches "contemporary and traditional issues affecting Africa, South and East Asia, and the Middle East. Students look at early civilizations and major developments in the regions studied."

I am not really sure what my expectations are. I know that I will not be teaching on my own. By the end of the semester I will have taught at least four lessons by myself. I may teach more, it just depends on what my mentor teacher wants me to do. I have heard that middle school children are tricky. They are still growing and their hormones are going crazy. I have experience with high school age children so I hope that will have helped to prepare me to work with a classroom full of children.

Cross your fingers for me! I will post again tomorrow about my first day.