Week Two

Week Two

           

            The second week of taking over the classroom is now in the books.  This past week was quite eventful.  We had the excitement of Halloween on Thursday, and a MEAP celebration dance along with a fall festival on Friday.  To say the students were wound up a little bit nearing the end of the week would be an understatement.  All week the kids kept asking if we could take a minute to share what their Halloween costumes were going to be.  All week I kept telling them when we had time, and no later than on Halloween.  Well we didn’t find time before Halloween so on October 31 the students knew they would be sharing their costumes at some point, and they were frequently asking when that would be.  When we finally found the time to share costumes it was great to hear the excitement each student had in their voice and body language as they said what they would be wearing, and heard what all of their friends in class would have on that night.  They also had quite a laugh when I shared that I too would be dressing up and taking my little brothers Trick or Treating. 

            Halloween definitely poses a challenge for teachers.  The young students’ short attention spans become even shorter.  They only seem to want to focus on Halloween, costumes and Trick or Treating.  With our Fall Festival and a MEAP celebration dance being the following day it made Halloween even more difficult for the students’ ability to focus on the important subject matter we were still covering.  Both overly exciting schools days went quite well for the students and myself.  To make this possible I had to stay on top of classroom management.  I was firm with my behavior and work ethic expectations, but made sure I was also being fair – taking time to enjoy the excitement of the days this past week, as well as pushing my students to give me their best effort in everything they did.  Whenever I saw the class getting unruly I would use our classroom quieting tools immediately.  On Thursday and Friday I would even use those tools a little bit earlier than normal because I had a hunch it would take a little extra time to get my students back on track.  I was also thinking that if I let them get too loud and off task at any point on those two days I would never get them back where I needed them to be in order for them to learn.

            Being the teacher in control of the class on Halloween was a very beneficial experience.  It helped prepare me for other times when the students will be more excited than on the typical day such as holidays, when long breaks are coming up, field trips, etc.  On those kind of days I will need to utilize my best classroom management practices in order to make the day as productive as possible. 

Looking Ahead

           

            This next week will be my final week of having complete control over the teaching and planning for the class.  I wouldn't mind doing it for a longer period of time, but I think the way my mentor and I have planned out my student teaching is in the best interest of the students.  We started the year with me helping out where I could, and then I would take over one subject at a time as we continued toward my three week long takeover of everything.  When the three week long takeover ends I will still be teaching multiple subjects throughout the day, and my mentor and I will team teach the remaining subjects throughout the day.  I think it is important to make the transitions from my mentor teaching to me taking over (and vice versa) smooth rather than abrupt.  If the transitions are too abrupt the students will not understand the sudden change and might not be able to adapt quick enough to the different teaching methods.  By making the transitions smooth the students have a better chance to understand that both my mentor and myself are their teacher and require the same respect and work ethic from each of them.