I must say… I have no complaints of the school year so far. I’m learning so much from not just my cooperating teacher, but from other teachers in the building. I’m doing my best to engage myself in the classroom so that I’m being useful/helpful for the whole learning experience for the students. The last two weeks…there were couple days or so where I took charge of the classroom while the cooperating teacher got held up at meetings. It was so helpful to have one of the Instructional Assistants in the class with me. I can’t thank her enough for all her help. Hehe.
Even with the help, I ran into few instances where I had trouble getting the kids’ attention to learning. This was especially true on picture day. I knew the kids were all excited about picture day and whatnot, but I so wished on that day that I had the guidance of my cooperating teacher. I’ve always known that my weakest point was classroom management. I’ve asked experienced teachers, read on different strategies, and sought advice from my peers. It’s a work in progress, in my opinion. I don’t think I’m so bad that I have the class out of control. That would be extreme, but I noticed that there were few times during the day when I saw that I was losing the kids slowly. I’m hoping by the end of my practicum, I would have made immense improvement in that department. Yeap yeap.
In any case, those few times when I’ve taken over for my cooperating teacher, I experience first hand how difficult and trying it is to keep the kids focused on the task on hand. I also think the 4th graders in the class are well-behaved for the most part…Some were also very helpful – volunteering to answer questions or pass out things to the class or make sure their neighbors were paying attention.
I was a bit drained after those few days and a little bit discouraged as well. Asking myself a lot of questions and thinking if I had chosen the right path and whatnot. It helps that I have incredibly supportive friends who are either teachers or are in the same boat as me. They helped me get through those tough days. I was able to get up the next morning and make my way to school again.
I’m also learning how hard teaching math could be… I thought that was one subject I would be okay in because I’ve always loved math and good at math. It’s one thing to be able to do it myself and another to explain and teach. I have so much to learn – am wondering if just a semester of practicum will be enough. Hmmmm-
Ready! Set! Nolza! 