Let's begin...

“Ahhhh! I’m student teaching this semester.” This was my mental exclamation as the day drew closer for me to begin this wonderful journey. I say this was my mental exclamation because I thought that if I shared my feelings then some would try to make me feel at ease by telling me how not to feel. Instead, I wanted to feel however I was going to feel and work through those feelings. Even the sub-title to this very blog is in reference to what some have told me about their own student teaching experiences. There is a line in the movie, Adventures in Babysitting (a classic in my eyes) that states, “nobody leaves without singing the blues.” This is how student teaching was explained to me by a well meaning individual. I’d say I have done very well working through my feelings. Yet, make no mistake, at the days leading up to my first day as a student teacher there were certain points where a Kathy comic, in one of her overwhelmed moments, would have been an appropriate description.

Although in the days leading up to student teaching I was a ball of emotion, all that changed the first day. I was anxious but for different reasons. I was anxious to get to know the students. I was anxious about how I would reach them. I was anxious to see how I would learn from the mistakes and challenges that would arise. I wanted them to like me, but I now realize, thanks to authors Fay and Funk, that what I really want is for them to respect me.

This initial blog may be a bit longer than the ones that follow but I wanted to take a brief moment to introduce you to my educational home for the next several days and weeks. The principal, my ST, and the staff at Shelby County Area Technology Center have welcomed me and made me feel so at home.



The classroom; quiet and still before students arrive.



Below is a picture of my desk. I’ve been busy grading papers. I’ve even had one incident of explaining to a student why they received the grade they did. It went well. One of my most “teachery” moments so far, happened when a student pulled up a chair and we worked through a few problems together. When we had worked through a few, they said those thrilling words that educators love to hear, “Oh I get it now. Thanks!”  I was thrilled to just have a student approach me so early in this process then to top it with that….awesome!

Don't worry no one sits in that desk in front of mine.
No squished students on my watch!

The past two weeks ended with my ST being absent. That meant it was me and a sub…on a Friday…with class after class of Juniors and Seniors already talking about prom. So here comes the test. Their main teacher, my ST, was gone; how much could they get away with? How would I react? Love and Logic discusses the “savings account approach”. Giving the students the ability to make choices over things and that when it is time for the teacher to need to make a necessary decision (a withdrawal), there is less resistance because of the deposits made. Today there was a lot of chit-chat going on with little work being turned in. So I started with the heat. Did they want it on or off? Then, you can either choose to work alone or in groups of no more than 3. The talking eased up. These are just small deposits but they are necessary if I plan to have any successful withdrawals.