It can't be the last day of my internship, can it?!

Today was officially my last day of student teaching at Fairmont Senior High School. It was so bittersweet! I got lots of hugs and well wishes from the students and lots of congrats from the teachers, but I felt a little sad while all of this was going on. I realized today that I am a teacher and that I have found what I'm good at. Being away from the classroom only makes me realize how much I truly do enjoy it.
In the beginning, I sort of just fell into teaching because I couldn't make it through the classes that I needed in order to become a doctor, which is what I really wanted to do. However, I am so glad that it didn't work out that way because I'm definitely not cut out for those crazy long hours, sleepless nights, and crazy insurance rates! In being a teacher I can be myself. I can show students who I am and what I love. I can make a difference in the world by simply changing a student's outlook on a topic, certain issue, or even life. I think my job as a teacher is much more important than I ever realized. I have the ability to instill values and morals in children, which is something our society desperately needs.
I've learned so much over the past 16 weeks and I'm so thankful for my wonderful mentor teacher. She really took me under her wing and taught me the things I will need in order to be a successful teacher. She taught me real life things that I'll certainly take with me when I get my own classroom.
It really is hard to believe that my internship is over. In the beginning I thought it would never end, and now here I am completely finished. It has been a great experience and I'll always remember it.

Thank goodness it's Friday!!

Today marks the very last Friday that I’ll have to attend school as an intern! I have already given full reign back to my mentor teacher; that’s pretty much all this week was about. She is once again the full-time teacher and I am simply an aid. I help out around the room with passing out papers, grading, getting things set up, and answering a few small questions, but she is the one who has the full teaching load.

It’s weird, but my students still give me the same level of respect that they did when I was teaching them. It seems that they still see me as their teacher even though they know that I’m not now. In the beginning of the year, my students didn’t really feel comfortable around me. They wouldn’t talk to me about things other than English and they wouldn’t really interact with me. However, now having taught since the beginning of school, they interact with me all the time! It is amazing how much of a transformation has occurred and I’m so glad that I got to witness it firsthand!

Speaking of student interactions, I’ve actually received my first present from a student this week! This really sweet girl in my second period class brought me a present on Tuesday. She walked right up to me and put it in my hand with a smile on her face. (This is very important because this little girl hardly ever smiles!) I looked at her with surprise on my face and opened the bag she’d given me. Inside were a scented candle and a bottle of lotion both from Bath and Body Works. I told her how much I loved the scent that she’d given me and that it was actually my favorite and she just continued to smile! I hugged her and told her that I really appreciated it! Not only was this a great experience for me, but I think for her as well. She really opened up to me this semester as I tried to push her out of her shell. It has really shown me that even just helping one student makes it all worth it!

The last day before Thanksgiving Break!

It is finally here! Thanksgiving break is upon us and I can almost taste the turkey! It is now 1:24 on Friday, November 22, 2013 and I am only 1 hour and 6 minutes shy of a much-needed break from school! It is hard to believe that I’ve made it through my internship and I must say that it has been one crazy whirlwind of ups and downs. I was able to make it through, however, and with flying colors I might add! I have learned so much since the first day of school and I’m even a little sad that it’s over.

 The next two weeks of my internship will consist of my helping transition students back into Mrs. Adams’ teaching. I will be assisting my mentor and trying to give her full reign of the class once again. It seems weird that I’ll have to show students that she’s the teacher again when it took so much effort to get them to see me as the teacher.

Throughout the past few months, I have learned quite a lot about being a teacher. The most important thing that I’ve learned is that you have to be yourself when you’re in front of any classroom. Students can pick up on your vibes and when you’re not being yourself, they know it! I think that my students got to know me just as well as I got to know them and I’m so happy about it.

Another thing that I’ve learned is that you have to be able to deal with lots of things on the fly. This means that you cannot plan for absolutely everything! Things are going to come up that you can’t control and as the teacher you simply have to be able to deal with it without freaking out. Interruptions are going to happen and you’re not always going to be able to teach what you’ve planned. It happens and you just need to be flexible.

Overall, teaching this semester was a fun-filled learning experience and I wouldn’t have changed anything about it. I’m so glad that my students were so accepting of me and that my mentor teacher took the time to work with me. The staff at FSHS was extremely helpful with anything that I needed. I couldn’t have asked for a better semester of student teaching!

Preparing to phase out...

It is so hard to believe that I am almost finished with my semester of student teaching! It seems like just yesterday I was writing my first lesson plan for my 9th graders; I really don't know where the time went! Throughout my time with Mrs. Adams I have learned a great deal about teaching, students, and even myself. I think that my favorite thing I've learned from her is that you've got to work hard in order to get what you want and that is just what I have been doing.

This week marks my last week of full-time teaching. This means that next week, I'll only be responsible for two class periods and co-teaching the rest with Mrs. Adams. I wrote my last lesson plan this week and it was so bittersweet. I was, on one hand, glad to be finished writing lesson plans, but on the other hand a bit sad that I won't be spending a whole lot of time with either my students or my mentor anymore. After Thanksgiving break I will be completely phased out and I'll just be observing and helping out wherever I can.

Though I am looking forward to finishing up this semester and moving on, I am going to miss the everyday routine of going to school. I have found that I really do enjoy being a teacher and I'm so happy that I've chosen it as my profession. I have really blossomed this semester into the teacher that I want to be. I know that I've still got room to grow, but I truly think that I'm on the right track!

2 novels at once!

Last Friday wrapped up my 3 week teaching span of having to teach 2 completely different novels at the same time! I was teaching The Hobbit to my regular ninth grade English classes and The Hound of the Baskervilles to my ninth grade English Honors classes. Fortunately, the Honors classes have wrapped up their novel because it was only 15 chapters long and they took their final test on Friday. The other classes still have about 2 weeks until we finish The Hobbit, but I think I can better focus on just one novel rather than two.

Teaching two novels at the same time really wasn't as hard as I thought that it would be. The thing that took the most time was reading the novels along with the students because I had never read either one until now. I had to read with students, which was a chapter a night, so that I could keep up with what I was supposed to teach them the next day in class. The hardest thing for me was trying to remember what happened in which novel, so I had to take a lot of notes in order to keep my facts straight. I think I did a really good job with the two novels though because my Honors students took their test on Friday and most of them got A's or B's, so I'm pretty proud of myself.

Having done this during my student teaching really shows me that I can do anything when I put my mind to it. I had to read these novels on top of all of the other work that I've had to do as well. It shows me that putting effort into something really does work and the students' test scores have provided that evidence. This was a great learning experience for me and I'm glad that my mentor teacher made me do it. She always seems to know just what it is that I need to learn and she always pushes me to do things I think I can't.

The Eve of Halloween

I’m not sure if there was something strange in the air today, but it seemed that every student in each of my classes had eaten two bowls of sugar before they got to school. They were all extremely hyper and nobody wanted to listen today. In fact, I had to keep a student after class in order to discuss his attitude. This particular student has been giving me attitude for 3 days in a row about every little thing I say. When I tell him to do something, he sasses me and asks why he should complete my assignments. Well, today was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I had had enough of his attitude and I told him just that when he stayed after class. I asked him what his problem was and he certainly didn’t have an answer for that question! I told him that he needs to do what I say when I say it and without any attitude. I also told him that he needs to mind his own business because he is always so concerned with what other students are doing.

 

Having to discipline this student made me feel bad. I do not like being confrontational and I had to today. I didn’t want to be mean to him, but I had to get my point across that I’m not taking his attitude anymore. I simply don’t know what was with him today, but hopefully he’s over it come tomorrow.

Keeping up with the craziness

Things at my PDS have been so hectic that I find myself not knowing which way I’m going most days! Amidst the teaching, I’ve got to deal with distraction after distraction with students going here and there and having to miss class for this or that; it is crazy. I find it very hard to keep up with who’s going where and why they’re missing class from day to day. However, I’ve found that the chaos is okay and it is something that I’m going to have to deal with from this point on. I am starting to find serenity in the chaos as odd as that may seem and if there’s ever a day without an interruption, I feel a bit lost!

With all the craziness, things are getting a bit more intense because I am teaching two novels at the same time. I am teaching The Hobbit to my regular English 9 classes and The Hound of the Baskervilles to my English 9 Honors classes. It has been going pretty well since my mentor teacher has been helping me out a bit and I think we’re doing a great job because the students seem interested in the novels. We are allowing students to watch the videos along with the reading so as to reinforce the ideas and concepts; it seems to be working well. Having never read either of these books, teaching them certainly has proven to be a challenge, but I think I’m doing well and I really am trying my best. I am reading along with the students and I think that makes it a learning experience for all of us.

 

End of the 9 weeks rant!

The end of the first 9 weeks is rapidly approaching; it ends on Monday. I cannot believe that I’ve been teaching full-time now for 5 entire weeks and I’ve only got about 5 weeks left! With the end of the first 9 weeks grading period comes a lot of stress! I have students constantly asking me to make up work and it has begun to get frustrating! My mentor teacher and I have a strict policy that students are not to make up work during class, but rather they should come before school, at lunch, or after school. Well, our students don’t really like giving up their free time to complete missed work, so they rarely ever show up. However, they expect us to let them make their work up during class which, in essence, would put them even further behind because they’d be missing another day. I have reminded students several times that they need to do their work at the scheduled time and it seems like every new day, someone asks me to make up work during class. I have become frustrated with the situation and I’m not quite sure what should to be done. On one hand, I don’t want to fail students for missing work, but on the other, they should be responsible enough to come make their things up when we tell them to do so. I can honestly say that teachers have a lot more to deal with than I ever thought possible. I don’t know how they put up with some of the things they have to put up with! I only hope that I can figure it all out before I have my own classroom.

Good with the Bad

This week at school has been pretty tough. Two students from surrounding counties passed away this week and students at my school are taking it pretty hard. Fairmont Senior has instated 2 days this week for students to wear school colors of both Clay Batelle and Harrison County Schools in memory of the two students who passed away. The students at my school have really been showing some great support and wearing those school’s colors on the given days. However, it has come up more than once in my classes about how sad it is and how hard it is to deal with something so awful. We’ve had to have conversations with students about this tragic happening and I’ve had to try to show students that be it hard, we must move on. I think it is wonderful that my students and my school are so supportive of people that they really didn’t even know. It is so strange how communities come together in such a time when tragedy strikes, even when they’re miles apart.

Aside from the tragedy, I’m finding myself totally consumed by teaching. I have lesson plans to write, papers to grade, questions to prepare, powerpoints to create, papers to copy, and I could go on and on. However, amidst the hustle and bustle, I find that I’m loving teaching more and more each day. I really like being with students and I love being in front of the classroom teaching them. I like the conversations we have and the success that they’re showing. I also like the fact that they see me as their teacher. They don’t treat me as just a student-teacher, they actually respect me (well, most of them) and they do what I ask of them. I’m really glad that things are going well and I can’t believe that we’ve already passed midterm. I can and will finish my student teaching on a strong note and I look forward to continuing my progress.

Keeping up!

This marks the third week of my full-time teaching. So far it has been very exhausting, scary, nerve-wracking, and fun all at the same time. I have found myself being more tired than usual because I get less sleep than I should since I’m planning for all 5 classes and trying to keep up with students’ grades and new assignments. I’ve learned that it is really hard to keep up with 120 students on a daily basis! I have also been scared throughout my teaching because I’ve been very afraid of messing up! However, my mentor teacher assures me that I’m doing okay. Teaching is also nerve-wracking because when I put a lot of effort into a lesson, I suppose I expect the same from my students. However, this isn’t always the case and I find myself wanting to pull my hair out sometimes. Teaching these past 3 weeks has certainly been fun as well. I’ve had fun getting to know the students, teaching some great material, and letting them get to know me. Teaching has made me feel purposeful.

Keeping up with so many students is the thing I find most difficult. When students are absent, it is so hard to track them down to make up work. It is also hard to remember what we did and didn’t do in class on any particular day when students ask me for their work. It is so hard to remember all of their names from class to class and sometimes I find myself calling students’ names from 1^st period during 3^rd period. I can say, however, that all of this chaos is slowly starting to make sense to me. I’m finding myself becoming more organized and more experienced. I love that I’ve chosen to teach; now I simply have to learn the ropes, which is certainly not an easy task!

2nd week of full-time teaching

This is the middle of my second week of full-time teaching. Everything seems to be going pretty well! I am adjusting to the fact that 5 classes is a lot more to keep up with than only 2 classes! However, I think I'm doing a pretty good job. I've already learned all of the students' names and faces (which was no easy task!). I've also gotten to about the middle of my inquiry project. I've done 3 out of the 4 strategies and I'm about to start the cycle again. So, things are in full swing!

In teaching full-time, I feel that I am learning quite a lot. I now see why so many teachers get overwhelmed because it is easy to do! With grades, lesson plans, assignments, and so many other things it can be easy to become overwhelmed. I think the main thing is that you have to remind yourself to take one day at a time. That's what I've been doing and it seems to be working out pretty well for me.

I can feel myself progressing and I am so excited about that. I remember during my tutor year thinking that I would never feel confident enough to command a whole classroom and now I'm doing 5 a day! My teacher demeanor is right where it should be. Students know that I'm the teacher, but that they can still joke around and be comfortable with me. I try to maintain my mentor teacher's classroom atmosphere and rules as much as I can; however, it is sometimes difficult when we have two different teaching styles. I am doing my best though and I think she knows that.

I've had a lot of fun these past two weeks and I hope that the fun continues. I really like my students and I can see that they have so much potential. I also really like my mentor teacher and I think that helps make the days go by easier. I'm really looking forward to continuing my teaching and my progression and I can't wait to see how good I am in the end of my student teaching!

First week of full-time

I have made it through my first week of full-time teaching without losing my mind! I think that is considered success. I am now teaching 5 classes of 9^th graders. I have 2 English 9 classes and 3 English 9 Honors classes. So far, it has been hectic; however, it has been a great learning experience. I’ve gotten to know most of the students’ names and I’m becoming familiar with their skills. Thus far, I’ve had students complete tests, quizzes, writing assignments, artistic assignments, and a research project. This has been mostly with the English 9 classes because this week is the first week that I’ve taught English 9 Honors.

My action research is in full swing and I’ve already completed 2 out of my 4 vocabulary strategies. I’ve come across some new ideas along the way and have decided to also focus on review within my vocabulary strategy. With the first set of 4 strategies, students will be able to review before the quiz. When the second set of strategies rolls around, students will not be using review before their quiz. I have noticed that students really liked working with flash cards and they really did study together when I asked them to. I noticed a change in their behavior during this strategy and I hope to see even more. I am interested to see what happens with the study!

Within my first week of full-time teaching, I’ve started to feel like the teacher inside of me has come out. My mentor teacher tells me that I’m a natural and I’m so excited that she feels that way! I feel like I have pretty good control of the classes and I’m working on the content that I need to deliver. At this point, I feel that my skills are improving and I’m hoping that they continue to! I am excited for the rest of the year!

Getting ready to go full-time.

This week marks my last week of only teaching 2 classes. This coming Monday I will officially be into my full-time teaching and I'm sure it will be hectic for the first couple of days. I am picking up 3 English 9 Honors classes, so that'll mean I'm teaching 5 classes total. I am feeling pretty comfortable with the regular English 9 classes, but my anxiety is certainly kicking in for the Honors classes. I'm nervous about the rigorous pace of the Honors classes. I do, however, think I can manage.

Within my two weeks of only teaching 2 classes, I've began to see just how much work goes into teaching! Aside from planning lessons, I have to create all of the materials that I want to use (unless my mentor has them on file), grade papers, keep up with my action research, and still find time to breathe. It is becoming a bit overwhelming and I can feel myself becoming exhausted. However, I feel that this learning experience is so beneficial. I've already learned so much this semester and it's only the 4th week of school! My mentor teacher has really shown me how to deal with issues that I was afraid I wouldn't be able to deal with. She's really opened her classroom and her resources to me and I cannot thank her enough. She has imparted some great advice and I truly appreciate that!

These past few weeks have shown me that I have already progressed in my abilities as a teacher. Just today I surprised myself with my progress. In 2nd period I have a student who has an IEP. He's very bright, but cannot stay organized and never wants to write anything down. I'm not sure of his exact disability, but he seems to me like he may be autistic. Anyways, he didn't want to do the assignment that I'd given him which was to write a creative story about a setting that he'd already chosen randomly out of a hat. His setting was the frozen tundra. He sat at his desk and did nothing when I gave students time in class to complete the writing. So, I went up to him and asked him what the problem was. He told me that he had no idea what to write about. I know that he's super into videogames so I suggested he write about that. He wasn't satisfied with that. He didn't have any details of the game. So, I opened the laptop and told him to find some information. He looked on the internet for a while and then when I checked in on him, he'd told me that he could now perform the task at hand. Of course class was about over, so I told him that he'd have to complete it for homework. Whether he does or not, I'm not sure. He usually doesn't turn anything in when it's supposed to be homework. However, I felt that I had really helped him relate to his interests within my assignment. I tried to reach out to him and I think he saw what I was trying to do and hopefully he respects me for it. The progression in myself is evident because last semester, I would not have known what to do in such a situation!

Progress...

This week has been my first week of teaching the regular English 9 classes. It has gone well so far in that I haven’t lost my sanity to anxiety! I’ve been prepared for each lesson and have turned in my lesson plans well ahead of schedule for approval from my mentor teacher. I feel that the students are beginning to warm up to me in my 2^nd period, however, my 7^th period seems like they could care less. They won’t talk to me when I ask them questions and I literally have to call them by name to get any sort of response out of them. It is frustrating, but I’m learning to deal with it by planning for less talking in the activities I do.

I’m really enjoying my relationship with my mentor teacher as well. At first I was a bit skeptical if things were going to work out, but they are working fabulously and I’m so glad that I get to work with such an inspiring and knowledgeable lady. I can feel myself shaping into the teacher that I want to be and I think Mrs. Adams is certainly helping me push that along.

My teaching is getting better, but I know it still needs work. I really need to focus on being able to think quickly on my feet. Students are very questioning of me because they want to know what I know and sometimes I feel overwhelmed by that simple fact. Sometimes I really have to stop myself and take a step back to realize that I am an adult to these students. I am someone they look up to and that’s hard to wrap my head around given the fact that I’m just a student myself at this point. I do feel that the ability to see myself as a teacher and an adult will come with experience and time and I am very excited about that. I can feel myself progressing and I’m very anxious to see how it all turns out by the end of my student teaching.

Teaching the unplanned lesson...

Today proved to be a special kind of day; I had to teach without any preparation! My mentor teacher had to attend a meeting during 7th period and she needed someone to cover her class. Who better to cover it than me? Not like I was doing anything anyway. I would have been simply observing her teach. So, I took the job and I think it went well. I had already sat through this class several times so I knew most of the students and the ones I didn't know I could sort of guess their faces.

I began class by doing the bell ringer, which is the same thing that my mentor teacher does each day. I then took attendance and told the students that I'd be teaching today because Mrs. Adams had a meeting to go to. They were a bit talkative at first and I guess they thought that because she wasn't there that I was going to be more laid back. Well, I tried to maintain the same authority that she does in the room by following all of her same rules. I told the students to begin working on their bell ringer and to stop talking. They did as I said and then we started to review for the vocabulary quiz that they'll take tomorrow. I called on students to read through the definitions and I talked about examples.

Then we moved on to the story. We were in the middle of The Most Dangerous Game and we were listening to it on a cd. I played through the story and stopped several times to ask questions. I think it went pretty well. I just realized that the students don't really want to do a lot of talking to me, so I'm going to have to figure out how to make them talk and feel like they are safe to do so.

The only issue that I really had was with 2 boys who were talking while I was talking. I simply asked them if they had a problem. They said no and I told them to just stop talking and they did so. The rest of the class went pretty well after that. I feel that I did a pretty good job for having no time to plan! I do see some places where my practice is lacking, however. I need to gain my confidence with these students. I remember feeling the same way last year, but it went away after teaching for a few days. I feel that the same thing will happen this year, at least I hope. Another area is trying to remember to call on students rather than having them shout answers. I'm so used to less structured classes that this one will take some getting used to. I do think there's room for improvement and I intend to improve whole heartedly!

Starting the year!

Today was my first day with students at FSHS. It was pretty hectic all day and I got to see how teachers really cope with all of those "first day firsts." I am with a new mentor teacher this year so I've got a bit of learning to do before I can begin teaching in her classroom. Today I basically observed her doing her first day routine, but I feel that it was a good experience because I've never been a teacher on the first day of school until now! We've decided that I'll observe her teaching for the first couple of weeks so that I can get a grasp on how she does things. The fact that I have a new mentor teacher only adds to my nervousness and anxiety about the internship, but I'm sure that it will work out in the end. In fact, my new mentor has already given me some great advice and I think working with her will prove to be a great experience that will surely follow me in my teaching for the rest of my career.
This is also my first time working with freshman and so far it seems okay. The students were pretty timid today and quite shy. Who can blame them on their very first day of high school?! I'm going to work with my mentor to bring these students out of their shells and into the classroom by showing them that they're safe in our room. I've got some really great ideas for the semester and I'm really looking forward to implementing them into the classroom!
Here's to a great year!