First Week at Seneca High

WHEN:
Sept. 6, 2006 from 9:30-11:00 – First meeting with Ms. Jones
Sept. 7, 2006 from 8:00-10:30 – First observations in the classroom, US History

WHAT:
The first classroom observations were very entertaining. In a sense that I immediately remembered it was not too long ago that I myself was sitting in the student desks as oppose to the teacher desk. This feeling was increased after Ms. Jones explained to the students that they would be learning a lot about pirates during class because their peers had researched the topic, and randomly a student yelled, “AAARRRGGGH!” With tears gathering in the creases of my eyes, I was forced to hold back the laughter because that was a perfect example of something I would have done in high school.

A more serious incident occurred when a girl told a guy who had been bothering her all morning to “shut the f*** up!” Ms. Jones immediately escorted her out of the room and sent her to the office with a write up slip.

During the time that Ms. Jones was out talking to the student who was to be written up, another student commented on his lack of time to do work, due to the fact that he had to work three nights during the week. He did not care about the American Revolution and did not have time to complete all of his assignments.

SO WHAT:
For me these three different incidents tie together in that teaching in a classroom of different personalities is a challenge. These three events happened within a 20 minute time period. It was an automatic reminder that a teacher must keep a positive attitude in unpredictable surroundings. He or she must think and react in a way that will set an example for the students in the classroom, usually addressing things quickly while managing to keep the rest of the class on task. Also, this class will probably present the most challenges because 7 of the 19 students require special needs assistance.

NOW WHAT:
This experience has taught me the importance of maintaining a positive, healthy attitude in the classroom while standing firm in my discipline and classroom management policies and in general, keeping a sense of humor…there is always a need for comic relief during the workday. “ARRGGGH!”

CONNECTIONS:
I now agree with Dr. Gillis’ comment that a teacher is schizophrenic to a certain degree in the classroom. So many things are happening all at once that a teacher is forced to remain on his or her toes at all times. Whether giving instruction or monitoring students’ work in progress there are so many other things that a teacher must be aware of: students’ interactions with each other and with the teacher, their actions, moods, behaviors, speech, etc. Another dynamic that gets played into all of this is keeping the students on track whether they feel like doing the work or not. When reflecting on the statistics for South Carolina schools in regard to drop out rates, poverty rates and the like it is a major challenge to influence and constantly encourage students to do their best when they do not love something such as a subject that the teacher is presenting to the class. Even with challenges, I constantly noticed Ms. Jones praising her students who usually do not do so well for making excellent posters for their presentations and showing them their high scores for a job well done. It was amazing to see how instant praise even for small things made the students smile. That was a treat indeed.