The first month of school has felt like two months to me. It is definitely a different feeling than I’m used to. Getting up early everyday and teaching can be rather exhausting. Add on top the other classes that we have to take for the credential program and work, and it gets even worse. I am hanging in there and it is getting easier for my body to do. I remember getting home every day for the first couple weeks and just going straight to bed to take a nap. I can now make it through a day without napping.
As far as I can tell, the teachers I’ve observed all have well planned lessons. I have never seen a teacher look for something to do next. They all go from one thing to the next. How they organize there lesson plans is different for all the teachers. Some have an agenda written on the board, others have some kind of PowerPoint presentation or other computer program that guides the class, and others just seem to know what is supposed to some next. A history teacher I saw, Mr. *****, really just seemed to know exactly what came next. When it came time to lecture, he asked where they were in the notes and then just picked up exactly where he left off the day before and kept lecturing right till the end of class. It was, by no means, a boring lecture. The students all seemed very interested in what he had to say. It almost seems like the lecture part of class would just be continuous from day one all the way to the end of the unit.
Among all the teachers, there are very different classroom management techniques. Mr. *** had an interesting technique of just calling a student out in the middle of class. Mr. *** seemed somewhat old fashioned. One of the students yawned in his class and didn’t cover his mouth. Mr. *** interrupted what another student was saying just to tell the student that it was inappropriate. I personally don’t think that the situation was handled correctly, but I didn’t say anything to him.
A few teachers I observed, including Mr. ***** and Mr. *******, kept the students engaged. They didn’t really have any behavioral problems because they could keep the kids engaged. I hope that this works for me. Being a music teacher, I feel that a well-planned lesson is the best kind of classroom management.
I feel like I am getting a handle on teaching, for the most part. I am learning to be stern in some cases and light in others. Sometimes, when I’m teaching, I can get a little too focused on just teaching and forget to smile a little. Then, at the other end of the spectrum, sometimes a student does something they shouldn’t and I don’t mention it. I feel both of these things are already starting to change. The other day, there was a kid I told that if they don’t start practicing their guitar in the guitar class, that they will fail the class. He ended up leaving the class instead. Sometimes, you have to be harsh, and sometimes you have to smile.
I am very proud that I have learned all the names in the Band at Chico High. There are 80 kids in the class and I know every one of their names. Now, I just need to work on getting the rest of my classes.
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