Week #4: Where oh Where has my host teacher gone?

Because of unplanned sickness and planned travel, Mr. Conrad was absent three days last week. Things went surprisingly well.

Highlights:

I am learning the value of being over-prepared. I worked hard to improve the Powerpoint that Barb and John used last year -- adding pictures and elaborating on the text/concepts. I think the students were fairly interested (though the subject is Puritans, so any interest is appreciated) and I'm glad that I put in the extra work for the lesson.

Teaching finally feels real! Everything is suddenly my responsibility, from accessing prior knowledge, to instructing and assessing progress. I've had snippets of this experience across the past two years, but never felt the responsibility with such...weight. It feels good. A little scary, but good.

I need to work on clarity of directions. Like I mentioned before, a lesson last week kind of bombed because I confused the kids. Then this week I mentioned "the blog" to a class that was unfamiliar with the concept and a student said (with playful frustration), "Stop saying things we don't understand." Though she was joking, I know it's something I need to work on. I jump around sometimes, too fluidly. I need to be more cognizant of the students that really need a concrete structure (especially in my collaborative classes).

Speaking of collaboration, I wish that I had more time to work with Ms. Sambol and Ms. Cappellini. They are both leaving at the end of the week. I feel like they are running errands and not teaching. However, in our planning meetings, they say things like, "Don't throw us to the wolves." I'm trying to find the balance between being the dominant teacher and giving them content with which they aren't familiar.

Mr. Conrad mentioned the importance of reviewing your technology, and I'm glad I listened to him. I had several computer/technology malfunctions that could have thrown my lessons off significantly.

I feel about 75% successful most of the time. Passing, anyway. :) Learning, for sure.

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Week 4, Four Words: I can do this?
Things I'm excited about: writing instruction
Things I want to work on: secretarial organization. Keeping track of that stuff gives students a sense of your responsibility, and the structure of the class. I just need to be on top of it. Period.