Week 2

Again, I am looking back at last semester. I brought my camera in for student portraits (part of a project they have been working on for the past months) and I’d say most were excited to have their picture taken and wanted to see it but the excitement ended there. Last semester my students would ask about what I take pictures of or maybe their parent or a relative has a nice camera, or even how they want to have one for Christmas. I don’t know if I’m trying too hard to critically think about it all but maybe the lack of personal connection with this class is allowing for a more meaningful drive to focus of learning. A few of the students are especially hard to deal with as they excel in most subjects but are either distracted or continue to chat with students around them; students that need all the silent work time available. I must keep asking one student to stop talking and work by himself and he genuinely seems to feel disappointed in himself for getting in trouble. I feel like in the future these could be some of the students which will cause the most frustration, I just want to say “Dude! You’re a good kid and student just FOCUS!” It doesn’t take as long as I’d assume to learn the best approach to control each student and thusly assist with any learning struggles they experience. We have read aloud every day which makes finding a wide variety of engaging books challenging. The library here seems to get new books every couple days which is quite helpful. I’ve chosen many books simply by the cover art and I believe three days in a row I’ve read a rhyming book. This has been the first experience that I feel the need to start reading the books prior to reading in front of the class. During math board time, I experience the most struggles controlling the class. One student will spark a metaphoric fire which keeps growing until most the class is inattentive. On a bright note after only a week I feel as though I can, with slight confidence, use a variety of tactics to help certain students with their work, especially the more challenging students. Our CT sometimes appears shocked when we say student A or B has been especially difficult but our short term with new faces compared to her months with the class exhibits the bond formed over time. Friday rolls around and I find myself without Abbey so the fast-paced activity I have planned will be slightly more challenging. I definitely noticed an increase in hyper activity which caused for much more rule restating and commands to stay focused but I was fairly proud how well it progress and finished. Even during the activity, I was thinking of adjustments which could be made. After I thought of other options as well however I don’t know if anything besides more experience in the classroom or with the same students will work as well. Although it was a lot of work it was the first time I had multiple students approach me eagerly wishing to play again next week. That bright note was multiplied because I got to choose the student of the month. It was especially exciting because the award is given in front of the school during their monthly assemblies.