Teaching Blue Jays: Week 2

 Week two of student teaching is already here and gone. As I said last week, these first few weeks are about trying to take my passion and fit it in to the school setting. As I reflect, I can't believe how far I have come in that school setting since Monday. I am at the point where I am becoming comfortable with the daily routine of the classroom, and I am still very fortunate to be where I am.

Monday was an in-service day; my first as a teacher. The morning was focused on the first interventions teachers can take with academically struggling students before actions like remedial courses are taken. The afternoon was spent watching a video of a speech by Manny Scott, one of the original students whom the movie "Freedom Writers" was based on. Both were timely topics for me to hear.

The rest of the week, I assisted Mr Turner and Mr Brown in all the classes I will be taking over. The most notable of these was performing shop demonstrations and assisting students. Mr Brown and I agree that this type of interaction is building valuable report with the students. I am starting to see relationships with students and other teachers develop, after talking about the importance of it for three years, and it is a joy to experience.

Working with Freshman creed speakers before school

I continue to teach the full year ag 1 classes. We are moving through the careers unit, currently taking about cost of living and how it should effect your search. I developed a Problem Based Learning activity for them, where they are given a scenario, calculate living expences by researching real-life numbers, and compare it to income. That is the most engaged I have ever seen a class. I know that the topic was interesting by it's self, but I saw a dramatic behavior in some particular students from the previous day. It gives me drive to create new and exciting lessons for them in the future!

Next week, I will start with Ag 2 in their fasteners unit. The "ag power lab" room, which is a separate workshop next to Mr Brown's room, is where my desk is, and I am trying to make it in to "my" room. It was designed to be able to facilitate classroom instruction, but it has not been done yet. I will start my time with Ag 2 experimenting to try and make that space my own. Also to note, I have been assisting with the creed and small engines CDE teams before and during school, and I will be making the field trip to the area cde competition for s.g.e. and others this Friday. I'll keep you posted on how it all goes!

In summery of week 2, I am starting to feel at home here at Central Columbia. There have been no changes to my philosophy so far, mostly just reinforcement. I feel like I am being eased in to my position perfectly, and while I'm itching to take more on, I know it will come. I am trying to put out the best quality I can right now, so that quality of instruction, not quantity, becomes engraved in my mind as the norm. I can't wait for what is to come in week 3!