Two Weeks Down...

Week 2 of student teaching is over. Starting next week, I begin taking over subjects; a slow build up until I'm teaching everything. I'm starting with Phonics (it is scripted and very easy to slide in to). And in two weeks I'll be evaluated by my university advisor.

This week was exciting and tough all rolled into one (but isn't that the way life is?). I took on more responsibility, doing some teaching, moving students through the hallways to and from class, lunch, and specials. I learned that some students don't think that they do anything wrong, while others are so used to taking responsibility for their actions, that one more time is no big deal. I learned that, though I'm good with kids, there is skill to managing twenty individuals and creating a community with twenty different personalities. I learned that you can't change the order of calendar time or you throw off the whole class. And I learned that six and seven-year-olds forgive you when you do change calendar time...and usually hug you no matter what you do. I learned that skin color isn't that big of deal when you're in first grade, and that Barack Obama plans to take away all video games when he becomes president. I learned that parent helpers are a good thing and that a principal makes or breaks a school.





Here's a couple pictures of the classroom I'm in and the students I'm working with. We were finishing a small unit on civil rights leaders: Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and Caesar Chavez.

Thanks for all your prayers; I feel their impact. I love first grade.