1. How did today differ from how I expected it to be?
2. What are the high points of the day?
3. What are the low points of the day?
4. What is one experience that caused me to grow today?
5. What am I excited about for tomorrow?
1. Today was much better with my teacher back in the classroom, as I anticipated. It was even a little bit better overall than I expected after such a late night last night. I had much more positive interaction with students than negative, which is more than I was expecting.
2. So, a student inadvertently told me that he liked me today. He did so in an interesting way: there is a teacher's aid in some of my classes to help with students who have behavioral disorders. She is very confrontational and this student is extremely vocal about his dislike for her. He often talks back aloud to try and get a rise out of her, which is usually effective. Today, she had told him to do something and in response he said, loudly, "I HATE white people!" After he said this out loud while I was kneeling next to him trying to get him back on task, he instantly turned to me and said, "I'm definitely not talking about you, Miss, not about you." I tried not to react and said, "I appreciate that, but you should probably start taking notes...." It may be terrible, but I was thrilled that he even thought to say anything to me. He could have easily just let me think that he hates me too, but he felt like he needed to be clear that he didn't hate me! Hooray!...?
Also, I made a very teachery, non-hilarious joke and totally got a couple students to laugh. They were doing an activity on a blue piece of paper. When they finished, the teacher said they should turn it over and do another activity on the back. Some students wanted a new piece because their markers had soaked through. They asked me if they could have one, and I said that they should try to make it work on the back, because blue trees are very rare, you see, and we have to do our best to conserve these blue trees. Both students that were on the receiving end of this gem smiled and laughed graciously. BONUS, they did their work on the back side of the paper like I asked. Bam.
3. I've caught a cold. It was really only a matter of time what with spending all day in an overcrowded 6th grade class and the amount of high-fives I'm giving to kids who not only wipe their noses on their hands in front of me, but whom I've also seen pet stray dogs that wander up to the school. I've been diligent with washing hands and hand sanitizer, but nothing boosts the immune system like actually having the virus, right? Right?!
4. I grew today when I had to explain to a student why he should do the classwork even though he thought it was way too "babyish" and easy for him. He was excellent during silent reading time, but would continue reading his book when the class was supposed to be taking notes. I asked why he wasn't doing what he was supposed to and amidst all the whining and "uggghhhh"s, he said that this was way too easy for him and they'd already done it in 3rd grade. So I thought about how to go about it. If it was too easy, how do I handle it? When I was in school, I did things that seemed stupid because I knew that I still needed to get a good grade on my report card. Plus, I liked feeling smart, of course. But this guy, he needed a better reason.
So I told him he had to prove it to me. If he wanted to do hard stuff, he had to prove to me and the teacher that he could do this stuff. He said some more "ugghghghgs" so I tried an example. I said, "If I told you I had a million dollars, would you believe me?" and he said, "Yeah right." So I countered with "What would I have to do to get you to believe me?" and he said, "You'd have to show me all the stuff you bought and act like you were super rich." Bingo. He didn't instantly do his work, and he was still reluctant to do anything, but I could tell that he got what I said and if I keep reminding him, maybe it will be enough for him to prove that he's ready to try harder stuff. Because I would be THRILLED to provide such stuff.
5. I am excited for it to be Friday! It has been a really rewarding week, and I am in no way "working for the weekend" (you just sang the song, didn't you?) but I am ready to have a couple days off to recover from this kid-cold and I'm also ready to start my year-long partnership with my teacher! I can feel that this is going to be a really great experience for both of us!
2. What are the high points of the day?
3. What are the low points of the day?
4. What is one experience that caused me to grow today?
5. What am I excited about for tomorrow?
1. Today was much better with my teacher back in the classroom, as I anticipated. It was even a little bit better overall than I expected after such a late night last night. I had much more positive interaction with students than negative, which is more than I was expecting.
2. So, a student inadvertently told me that he liked me today. He did so in an interesting way: there is a teacher's aid in some of my classes to help with students who have behavioral disorders. She is very confrontational and this student is extremely vocal about his dislike for her. He often talks back aloud to try and get a rise out of her, which is usually effective. Today, she had told him to do something and in response he said, loudly, "I HATE white people!" After he said this out loud while I was kneeling next to him trying to get him back on task, he instantly turned to me and said, "I'm definitely not talking about you, Miss, not about you." I tried not to react and said, "I appreciate that, but you should probably start taking notes...." It may be terrible, but I was thrilled that he even thought to say anything to me. He could have easily just let me think that he hates me too, but he felt like he needed to be clear that he didn't hate me! Hooray!...?
Also, I made a very teachery, non-hilarious joke and totally got a couple students to laugh. They were doing an activity on a blue piece of paper. When they finished, the teacher said they should turn it over and do another activity on the back. Some students wanted a new piece because their markers had soaked through. They asked me if they could have one, and I said that they should try to make it work on the back, because blue trees are very rare, you see, and we have to do our best to conserve these blue trees. Both students that were on the receiving end of this gem smiled and laughed graciously. BONUS, they did their work on the back side of the paper like I asked. Bam.
3. I've caught a cold. It was really only a matter of time what with spending all day in an overcrowded 6th grade class and the amount of high-fives I'm giving to kids who not only wipe their noses on their hands in front of me, but whom I've also seen pet stray dogs that wander up to the school. I've been diligent with washing hands and hand sanitizer, but nothing boosts the immune system like actually having the virus, right? Right?!
4. I grew today when I had to explain to a student why he should do the classwork even though he thought it was way too "babyish" and easy for him. He was excellent during silent reading time, but would continue reading his book when the class was supposed to be taking notes. I asked why he wasn't doing what he was supposed to and amidst all the whining and "uggghhhh"s, he said that this was way too easy for him and they'd already done it in 3rd grade. So I thought about how to go about it. If it was too easy, how do I handle it? When I was in school, I did things that seemed stupid because I knew that I still needed to get a good grade on my report card. Plus, I liked feeling smart, of course. But this guy, he needed a better reason.
So I told him he had to prove it to me. If he wanted to do hard stuff, he had to prove to me and the teacher that he could do this stuff. He said some more "ugghghghgs" so I tried an example. I said, "If I told you I had a million dollars, would you believe me?" and he said, "Yeah right." So I countered with "What would I have to do to get you to believe me?" and he said, "You'd have to show me all the stuff you bought and act like you were super rich." Bingo. He didn't instantly do his work, and he was still reluctant to do anything, but I could tell that he got what I said and if I keep reminding him, maybe it will be enough for him to prove that he's ready to try harder stuff. Because I would be THRILLED to provide such stuff.
5. I am excited for it to be Friday! It has been a really rewarding week, and I am in no way "working for the weekend" (you just sang the song, didn't you?) but I am ready to have a couple days off to recover from this kid-cold and I'm also ready to start my year-long partnership with my teacher! I can feel that this is going to be a really great experience for both of us!
love your stories! good stuff! I think you missed the boat. need to be a writer instead! Fran's Dad
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