Day 8

One of the things I have noticed about all the teachers and staff at the school is their ability to remain calm under any situation or frustration. No matter how disrespectful, mean, nasty, or downright annoying a student can get, they always play it cool. It shows a great deal of self control, something that I sometimes have to work on. Normally I can deal with anything the kids throw at me, but there is one kid who loves to give me a lot of disrespect. I find it incredibly difficult to not let him get under my skin.

Also, nearly every staff member has the amazing ability to remain happy, all the time. It slightly relates to their ability to remain calm, but what astounds me is that nothing can get to these people. They talk about how much money they're going to lost next year, and how 5th grade classrooms will be at 40 students next year, but they just laugh it off and put on a smile for their kids. If I learned that my class would be at 40 students, I would be flipping out. I would be yelling, screaming, and frustrated. But for these teachers? Not a problem. Either they truly do not feel sad or frustrated, or they hide it really good for the benefit of their kids. Either way, they do a smashing job of it.


Today was an exciting day, it was my first time giving a lesson in front of the entire class, not just small groups of kids. I had to give the a lesson on their spelling unit. It's funny because my mentor just put me right on the spot and said "Instead of me giving the lesson, how about you do it". 20 seconds of looking over the material later I was standing in front of them looking like a deer in the headlights. After I had warmed up to the experience though, it wasn't as nerve-wracking. Today was also the kid's short day, which means I got out at 1:40. Or to be more exact, I got out at 1:35. The reason for leaving 5 minutes early is to beat the rush of parents coming to pick up their kids.

It's becoming easier for me to get stuff done every day I'm in the class. Now that I've had a week or so to get settled, I have the ability to take initiative and figure out things I can do myself, without the help or guiding hand of my mentor. That's not to say I don't do things my mentor says of course, but now I know what needs to be done during the day, and how to do it.