Week 7

My goals from last week were to plan in advance and to incorporate song.  I was able to accomplish both, and this week I'll still be trying to continue incorporating song/music.  My goals for this week are to hone the routines that my teacher uses to teach reading.  I feel like they're very effective and I'd like to continue them.  I have time to practice these routines because I'll be teaching all day Monday and Tuesday.  My cooperating teacher will be at a conference both days.

One word I would use to describe this week would be expectations.  I feel I've had to adjust my expectations.  I've been so blessed in the past to work with people who have become friends.  I think the one thing that's good about working with someone who's simply a colleaugue is that I pretty much am left on my own to figure things out myself.  I've enjoyed learning from teachers and gleaning whatever I can from their experience.  Being left on my own and without support allows me to see what I bring to the table.   I think more of who I am comes out, as opposed to me modeling someone else's strategies. 

The best part of my week was when me & my cooperating teacher accidentally taught a lesson together.  She had to leave the room right when she was going to start a Social Studies lesson.  I could sense she was not putting a lot of faith in my teaching abilities.  It'd been a rough start.  She asked me if I could just start reading the story in the book with the kids.  She walked out and I started to find the page and started questioning the kids about the title, the pictures they saw on the page, and then started reading with them.  She walked in at the tail end of my questioning.  When I finished reading the first page, she started interjecting with her lesson.  She was smiling and nodded to me to continue.  I stopped in the middle to point out something we'd been talking about that had been confirmed in the book.  She was still smiling in the back.  Anyway, she started talking again and then a teacher came in the room and interrupted her.  They continued talking, so I called the kids attention and finished up the lesson.  It was an awesome moment because I felt that moment was from God.  I was able to completely think on my feet, and I felt that I had gained a little credibility with my cooperating teacher.  I'm thankful that this happened because I felt like my gifts were activated, and Ir ealized that I could do this.  I learned that so many times my weakness is worry and I tend to overanalyze and make things more complicated than they are.  This lesson was spur of the moment, yet it was meaningful, standards based, and helped me to feel that this is definitely something I enjoy doing!

I haven't had time to collaborate with colleagues yet.  We were supposed to have a first grade meeting on Friday, but it got cancelled because the principal was dealing with some private concerns.  I feel like collaboration is definitely essential.  It is by no means a time waster.  For myself, sometimes I've had the best ideas or creativity spark from building on other's contributions and shared experiences. 

I haven't had any personal parental interactions.  I've witnessed the interactions my cooperating teacher has with her parents.  I'll be participating in the school's conferences both days on Nov 5, 6 so I should be able to see the kinds of concerns that come up.  I think the relationship a teacher has with the parents is crucial.  I think clear expectations and mutual respect are important.

I don't really need feedback or advice right now.  Just continued prayers.  November is pretty much my full time month, and I'm excited.  I had a moment with the kids on Friday where I got my teacher voice back.  I've been so impacted by fear and anxiety, and I've found that if I'm teaching a new skill the kids need my support and confidence to feel confident.  I was up teaching a math skill, saw some eyes glazing over, and I switched the tone of my voice to add more rises and falls, and their faces started to light up.  I have to remember, my acting skills and tone of voice need to be things I pay closer attention to.