Ups and downs

"How's teaching going?" 

I smile as I try to answer. It depends on the day, and sometimes the hour or even the minute you ask me. Student teaching is challenging. It's demanding. But it's also rewarding in its own crazy way. 

Here's a glance at yesterday...

1st hour--Prep with the math teacher. Learned that an issue from yesterday--a guardian who didn't think I should have given a student a detention because it would discourage him--was resolved. The teacher and principal both backed me, and after talking with the student the guardian agreed.

2nd hour--11th grade English. I collected study guides over four chapters in Frankenstein. We went to a computer lab and students completed a creative writing assignment they began yesterday, along with a short worksheet about the myth of Prometheus. I gave one student an alternative assignment due to personal issues.

3rd hour--8th grade math. I supervised as representatives from each group of students wrote the answer to an assigned volume problem from yesterday on the board. Then I passed out a worksheet and managed to work individually with a few students to correct their quizzes from last week. The student who received the detention yesterday was cooperative and had done his homework.

Lunch--in honor of Darwin the discussion in the teachers' lounge was unusually animated and focused on evolution. Two teachers proclaimed their disgust with anyone who believed in a literal six-day creation despite the abounding facts and logic that support evolution. I wasn't offended, though I was amused. At one point I turned to the woman sitting next to me and said, "I believe in the literal creation."

4th hour--11th grade English. I repeated the lesson from 2nd hour. At the start of the hour I met with four students, who were excused for a special band event, to explain their assignments. The printer in the computer lab broke several weeks ago and hasn't been replaced yet, so the students weren't able to print their assignments. I told them to save their document, print it at another time and turn it in on Friday. The girl who has been snobby, because she decided  several weeks ago that she doesn't like me, was polite and respectful today. 

5th hour--Prep. I organized papers and began writing the formal lesson plan for math tomorrow. The math teacher called to ask if I could watch her class while she made a phone call. It took longer than I expected and three of the students were absolutely rotten. I wrote down their names and mentioned it to the teacher when she returned. We will have to deal with it tomorrow.

6th hour--Publications. My host teacher supervised the yearbook staff today. After finishing the math lesson plan for tomorrow, I graded assignments and read creative writing pieces. Some of the students mimicked the language of Frankenstein and their pieces were fun to read. I also entered grades in the computer. Then I glanced over my lesson plans for Friday, organized my materials and decided to leave the rest of the grading for another time and not take any papers home with me.