As of now, I take care of the attendance, helping the students when they have questions, marking their vocabulary tests, creating some rubrics and tests/quizzes with aid, etc. Soon I will be doing some organizational tasks with Ms.Bech and I will set up a new bulletin board display at the back of the room for "To Kill a Mocking Bird".
Two things that I would like to initiate or create would be teaching a lesson myself one day when I am more prepared about a topic I am confident about and I would like to initiate an intellectual conversation with the class with intentions of getting them to think! I'd probably bring up a controversial question/topic and have them discuss/debate it among themselves then write a response about their feelings on it.
Also, with having a split class, it can be quite interesting! There's much to do, because the Academic do not do the same things as the Enriched do at times. I wouldn't say it's double the work, because it isn't, but it's great to be able to have a chance of interacting with the kids and not have to be discussing one topic all the time! This week, they finished up reading Shakespeare, one moment I was in The Tempest , the next I was in The Twelfth Night! It's good fun.QUESTION: Does anyone else have a student teacher in their classroom? We just got one, it's getting quite crowded, but it's good that there's extra help for the kids! A bit strange though, now I somewhat feel like there's more or less somewhat of no point for me to be there, but I suppose I'm wrong, because I have my continuous duties regardless of an extra individual!
:)
Hey Yadgar,
ReplyDeleteI selected your blog because our experiences so far seem to be pretty similar... plus you wrote a lot of so I've got lots of stuff to write back. =]
I think our classes have a lot in common: my class is also pretty big (29 students, but like you, one never shows up), we've been doing similar tasks and I also have a student teacher. I don't have a split class and I definitely think that is a challenge as a student, peer tutor or teacher. I was in enriched english in grade nine... and the split-ness of the class was not my favourite aspect, but a peer tutor would definitely be a great help.
At first I too was wondering how it would be to have a student teacher + teacher + peer tutor. I was kind of worried, but it's much better than I thought. Mr. Drummond, my student teacher, seems pretty nice. I guess it's most important to make sure we still feel useful (which you said you did and I do, too), because otherwise the class would become tiresome. I think it's also important to give the student teachers a positive view of us as peer tutors who represent the senior half of the school, and to help them out in any way we can, just as we would our host teachers. I hope everything goes smoothly when Mr. Drummond starts teaching... 29 ninth graders is a lot to handle, I'd be worried for my first day!
Best wishes&good luck,
Angela
Thank you, Angela!
ReplyDeleteThat's great that our classes have so much in common, then we can compare and contrast as time goes on. As they say, Three is Company! I believe it will go well, my student teacher's name is Ms. O'Toole (Or Mrs. I cannot remember)!
I'd be worried on my first day as well, but it's good that the host teacher and us peer tutors are available since we know the students well enough to provide assistance when necessary. I was pretty nervous my first week, but now it's more comfortable!
Good luck to you too!
Yadgar,
ReplyDeleteYou include lots of good stuff in your post! Do you find it different working with the Academic versus the Enriched students? Both you and Angela mention that you had initial concerns about having a student teacher join the class. Make sure that you keep talking with your host teacher so that she knows the types of responsibilities that interest you. I think that as along as the teacher is organized, the more the merrier. The students in the class will have more support - which is always a good thing. Keep up the good work.
J. Harris
I actually don't find a difference between the two! In my opinion, it's all just mixed up. Some students could excel greatly in Enriched, yet they are in Academic, vice versa.
ReplyDeleteAs of now, I believe having the student teacher is excellent. I enjoy her company and we all get along quite well, and like mentioned, there is extra help for the students!
-Yad