Hands-On

Day Five- May 14, 2001 8am-3:30

Coffee and go, coffee and go, coffee and go! It's been working so far, why stop now? I was alert and ready this morning for my last day of the week. It's both exciting and sad because I am doing so well and I hate to think that I only have one week left. The 7th graders this morning played around with another visual aid/learning tool called "Hands-on equalities" It is a way for kids to see a problem in front of them and be able to manipulate it with their hands rather than their brains. It's quite the tool when dealing with different types of learning styles.

When the advanced 7th grade class came in I was very excited to teach them my calculus lesson, but Mr Sperling postponed it another day because they needed to get one more day of quadratics, CTS, and discriminants. The challenging lesson will be given completely by me on monday, then we will give them a packet to help them review for the "red test." The 8th graders continue to work on their cartoon projects and seem to be a very diligent job on them. There are still some students struggling to grasp the concept of time management, but they are slowly starting to understand the importance of the project. After class I needed to run home and grab my time sheet so that I could get it signed by Mr. Sperling. While out I decided to grab a bite to eat with some friends, which was a nice change of pace from work.

When I got back the 8th grade honors section was ready to get some work done. We talked more about the quadratic formula and the discriminant and gave them a packet to work on over the weekend. They weren't to happy about the packet, but more practice could do them some good. During our last block of the day Mr Sperling and I sat down to talk about next week. So far, for the most part, I have been observing and helping out when needed. I think that one goal we should have for the end of next week is for me to plan a lesson for not just one of the classes, but all of them. This will help me really understand the prep-work that goes into each class, not just one.

Next week will be a more stressful one for sure, but I hope I can pull it together and create some good classes for these students. I feel so accepted at the school by both teachers and students that I don't feel nervous or uncomfortable being there. That is really something to brag about because without the support of everyone at the school this project could be so much harder. They are making teaching seem really pleasant, even though I can see right through them!!!! I'm just kidding of course. Teaching is quickly making its nest in my heart. Every day I help a student further understand a concept I get this tingle inside. As lame as it sounds to those who don't teach, those who do know exactly what I'm talking about.

Which one is me?