Just A Reminder...

This is a reminder to myself...with every job, there are good days and bad days. For me, the good days are becoming more common and bad days are becoming a rare occurrence. I hate the fact that my students are actually starting to see me as a real person and not just their teacher and in three weeks I have to say goodbye. I got to meet some of their parents on Wednesday night (it was a combination of an open house and parent teacher conferences...neither of which really exist in KCK). I was genuinely happy to meet their parents and talk to them about their kids. The parents that showed up were beyond supportive of their kids and all they want is for their children to be successful in life...same as any other parent. I've gotten so used to the idea as long as a student passes my class (not necessarily with an A) that it's good enough. How wrong was I! I told one student's mom, "Well she's got a 73% so she's passing, so that's good" and the mom responded with "Well in our house, a C is not passing." Inside I was cheering! This is what these kids need...a supportive parent, or someone....anyone, at home. At 2:20 I don't have any more control over what those kids do. When they're at home they need someone pushing them to do their homework and study. It doesn't matter if I tell them to study when they get...let's be real, they're 14 and 15 years old...they won't study. In a nutshell...it was nice to see supportive parents.

Let's get even happier and talk about last Friday. I got to go to my first Wyandotte football game! The best part was getting to see students I knew play in the game. One of my students, that I've made a really nice connection with, had an amazing game! It was the greatest feeling to walk into school on Monday, give him a high five and tell him he was awesome in the game. Every time I think about how amazing some of these kids are it kills me to know that I'm going to have to leave them in less than a month.

In the meantime...I'm going to enjoy the time I have left...and be thankful when all of the stress is over!

Well...We'll Call it Halfway

So at the end of this week I will officially be halfway through with my first semester of student teaching...time has FLOWN! I feel like I'm just starting to build meaningful relationships with these kids and pretty soon I'm going to have to leave...but I'll worry about that later.

I had my evaluation by my university supervisor on Monday...let's just say I don't think she quite gets my situation. She wants me to put on all of these bells and whistles with the kids and teach the way educational books tell you how to teach. NEWSFLASH: That WILL NOT work with these kids! I know my students, and what she's telling me to do WILL NOT work for them. But...I learned from the experts when it comes to dealing with bureaucratic crap (my parents) and I just sat there, nodded my head and said okay. When she comes in for her second visit I'll make sure those bells and whistles are there...since her recommendation is 35% of my final grade for student teaching, but what I do when she's not around frankly isn't her concern.

On a different, and better, note...my kids are finally figuring it out! They are finally realizing what it takes to do well in school and that they are going to have put some effort in to pass the class. I'm getting some really good quality work from my students and I can tell they are really, really trying. The content is not easy...but they're doing their best. I'm giving them my test tomorrow and I'm really anxious and excited to see how they do! In the meantime...here's some pictures (finally)!

Here's a 3D model of an animal cell that one of my students made...so creative!

A couple views of my classroom and the view of the garden outside my windows. Also, there's another 3D model of an animal cell that a student made using food...love it!

The Teaching Begins: Rough Starts and Rough Stories

So I started teaching Monday...it was rough. I didn't realize how much classroom management I would have to utilize to keep control of the class. I came home defeated and asked my parents for advice (by the way...I don't think I could get through this without my parents...they literally saved me). So, per my dad's advice, I made a compromise with them on Tuesday. There are two bells...one that starts class and one that ends class. The compromise is that I get one bell and the students get one bell. The chose the one that ends class (obviously the one I wanted them to choose) so I got the first bell. That means that they get to leave when the bell rings to end class, regardless of what we're doing, but when the bell rings to start class, they're in their seats, doing their bell work quietly. So far so good! I set the tone for the entire week and I'm finally starting to get the hang of this teaching thing (especially the classroom management part).

I'm still struggling with the fact that most of the kids don't have some of their basic needs met. They may go without a meal, or clean clothes. Today, during fourth block (this is the one class my mentor teaches that I'm not going to teach...a Care of Athletes class) and there's this young man in the class who is incredibly talented at baseball. I was sitting next to my mentor when he started talking about his family's money problems because his dad is out of work and his mom went from working two jobs to working one job. He has a baseball tryout this weekend and he told me his parents are dropping him off at the tryout and then they're going to a barbecue with their friends...they're leaving their son at an important tryout to spend time with their friends. He went on to tell me more things that I'm not going to share...but just listening to him completely broke my heart. Here's a kid that is beyond talented...has a chance to play in the pros and he's not getting the support from his parents that he should be. I keep going back and forth on my opinion of teaching in an urban district. On the negative...budget cuts, bureaucracy, and test scores. On the positive...I have the chance to impact a kid's life in a unique way. I'm torn. Maybe by October I'll be more opinionated...but for now I guess all I can do is give my students as much support I can.