Today is Friday! I can't believe that the week is already over! This morning I met with the principal of Collingwood an she is FABULOUS! I told her that I was having a little trouble filling out my time-table for today and she sat with me, talked about who I should see, and filled not only today's blocks, but next weeks as well! I now have a variety of subjects and teachers to go and observe...it's like this big weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
It couldn't blog last night because I went to both a Junior and Senior Girl's Volleyball game last night - I sat on the sidelines and helped as much as I could. The senior girls (grades 11/12) didn't need my help as much as the juniors did, but that didn't matter - it was quite the experience. I made friends with the coaches and was invited to come to their practices during next week. Extra-curricular activities and school sports are VERY important in this school and staff who coach/are a part of these activities are treated like Gods. Anyways, here's what I observed yesterday:
I focused on class management yesterday. I only observed three classes yesterday - French 12, SS 10, and Eng 11; it was still a full day because in last block I observed the teacher-librarians give a presentation/lesson on cyber-bullying to grade 8's and 9's.
I was warned prior to going to SS 10 that the class was rowdy and needed a lot of attention. I prepared myself for the worst (ex. kids hanging from the ceiling); but what I got was simply a lot of talking, moving around and typical interruptions. The teacher was forced to constantly stop class to address two kids in particular. She never lost her temper, nor did she ever raise her voice above normal. Because this teacher had been having problems since day 1, she imposed a new seating plan, started the class with a pop-quiz to get them settled and then moved into her lesson. She was constantly interrupted because certain students would talk across the room, turn their chairs to face the back of class, and wonder around the room. And so, I pose this question to you all, "how would YOU address a student who was constantly standing and moving around, talking out in class, and physically lying across the desks as he completed the independent practice worksheet?"
English 11 - now that was a class for class management. There are 9 kids in the class, four boys, five girls; 1 IEP and 1, how shall I say this, 1 difficult child. The teacher was INCREDIBLE! I really liked his teaching style and the way he conducted his class and will be returning to it later today and next week. Anyway, for the most part the student were well-behaved and the teacher kept control. However, when it came to cell phones he used a three-strikes, I take it policy. The difficult child had his phone taken away within the first 10 minutes of class and then spent the remaining 55 minutes trying to negotiate, compromise and con his way into getting his phone back. I like to think of myself as a pretty patient person, but I'm almost positive I would have lost it, thrown him out, done something; so I asked the teacher how he managed to keep his cool and he simply said, "He's only hurting himself, and by giving into that temptation and throwing him out, he's getting the attention he wants. So really, all you need to do is isolate him enough that he finally starts working and doesn't pull others down with him." I felt so inspired. I couldn't believe it.
Until Next Time,
LC
No comments:
Post a Comment