Until next time!
Suzy
Tuesday, 9 May 2017
Third Year Teaching Placement: Day Seven
Today I was randomly overcome with the flu so I felt quite ill for the whole day, stuffy nose, sore throat, exhaustion and all that fun stuff. First period was applied grade 9 English and that was actually alright, the kids were good for the most part and those two troublemaking girls came halfway through the class. We just focused on reading the novel and answering questions. After that was grade 12 and I basically talked to Brandon the whole time and did some of my own coursework which was nice. After that was lunch, and I actually got to stay in the classroom with access to the Chromebook for the whole period because my teacher was doing a teachers versus students trivia competition. I was able to video chat Brandon and do some more course work. After that was grade 12 english where I just worked on my own homework again, and since I did not feel too good I went home early.
Until next time!
Suzy
Until next time!
Suzy
Third Year Teaching Placement: Day Six
I forgot to write on this day whoops, but I had a good day at school and time went by fast. In the grade 10 class we did some quiet time for essay writing where I just read the paper with Mrs. Anderson and man did I feel like an adult. We were reading the Toronto Star at our desks and discussing what was in the paper haha. After that she had a little activity planned where they had to make a graffiti word based on an ideology and I drew a little graffiti example on the board which was fun. I got to walk around the classroom and see what the students were doing and offer help. In the next grade 11 class, we continued the book and answered some questions then it was already lunch. Lunch was pretty chill, don't really remember since it was a while ago. After that we had grade 10 again and I drew another example of graffiti and I really enjoy writing on the chalkboard. That's all I can remember!
Until next time!
Suzy
Until next time!
Suzy
Friday, 5 May 2017
Third Year Teaching Placement: Day Five
Today is the last day of the week! I'm so happy that we've come to the end of the first week after a long one. Today we started with grade 12s and it was a work period so I just went on the Chromebook and looked up content for my grade 9 lesson next next week on how to read graphic texts. I also got to talk to Brandon on Facebook secretly so that was such a pleasant surprise. After that was a grade 9 applied class which was hectic. I helped some students with their paragraphs and there were these 2 girls that were so unfocused and unmotivated. They're probably going to fail the class but I tried my best to make them interested in what they were doing but because they both distracted each other and were playing with each other the whole class it was not very productive. More like me doing all the work and squeezing some information out of them so it isn't entirely me writing everything down. I also noticed a hickey on one of the girl's neck so that shows a lot about what kind of students I was helping...
During lunch it was quite pleasant, I felt more included now that I was able to contribute a little conversation about those girls I worked with and the ongoing concern about them from the perspectives of the other teachers. After lunch we had Prep where Mrs. Anderson and I talked mostly about Queen's and how it was different from when she went and when I went. I researched a little bit more for my graphic text lesson and then after that was grade 12s which was a chill work period again. I finalized my lesson plans 4/5 of them and had Mrs. Anderson review them for some feedback. I start 3/5 lessons next Wednesday which is crazy! That's like teaching an entire day.
During lunch it was quite pleasant, I felt more included now that I was able to contribute a little conversation about those girls I worked with and the ongoing concern about them from the perspectives of the other teachers. After lunch we had Prep where Mrs. Anderson and I talked mostly about Queen's and how it was different from when she went and when I went. I researched a little bit more for my graphic text lesson and then after that was grade 12s which was a chill work period again. I finalized my lesson plans 4/5 of them and had Mrs. Anderson review them for some feedback. I start 3/5 lessons next Wednesday which is crazy! That's like teaching an entire day.
Until next time!
Suzy
Thursday, 4 May 2017
Third Year Teaching Placement: Day Four
It's almost the end of the week and I cannot be happier! Today was a pretty good day, started the day off with a grade 10 class where we just took up questions and read the book as usual but I just read this other book that the teacher gave me. It's a really aesthetic and cool book because it goes through the whole history of literature and major novels of each time period and I saw texts like Madame Bovary, Fleurs du Mal, Jane Eyre, etc in there which was cool to see. After that I helped out the Spanish club with their tostada sales which was fun. I recognized many students from last year and a few came to say 'hello' to me which was cute. There were different stations for the various ingredients that were going to go into the tostadas and I just "supervised" and tried to help organize that but many of them were very independent. I also went to supervise this teacher's class for the last 15 minutes, I don't know if I was allowed to but I did anyway. I just let them have free time to be honest and just scrolled the laptop for articles haha.
After that I helped out all throughout lunch, and by help I mean supervise. That pretty much lasted throughout the entire lunch, and I also got a free tostada which was nice. After that we had grade 9s and I just went to the back of the room and used the internet for my own online course which I was so glad about. I was quite productive, and I'm almost done the readings. After that was Prep where I just continued to work on my own readings again and did a little bit of lesson planning that I will do next week. I'm actually going to teach an entire day which is honestly crazy, like 3 classes. But that will put my count to 3/5 so it will make it go by faster.
After that I helped out all throughout lunch, and by help I mean supervise. That pretty much lasted throughout the entire lunch, and I also got a free tostada which was nice. After that we had grade 9s and I just went to the back of the room and used the internet for my own online course which I was so glad about. I was quite productive, and I'm almost done the readings. After that was Prep where I just continued to work on my own readings again and did a little bit of lesson planning that I will do next week. I'm actually going to teach an entire day which is honestly crazy, like 3 classes. But that will put my count to 3/5 so it will make it go by faster.
Until next time!
Suzy
Wednesday, 3 May 2017
Third Year Teaching Placement: Day Three
Today was not a bad day, we started with grade 9 in the morning which was nice. We did the usual routine of taking up questions and reading the book out loud. Towards the last half of the class I was able to help a girl work on her paragraph which she seemed to be struggling with. So we had to compare "The First Stone" to text, world, or self and I was trying to help her come up with an example. It was so rewarding to see her open up to me and reveal how her connection to the book was her involvement in fights. And she even told me that she doesn't feel like she fits in at school and that she wants to go back to Oshawa even though it's not the best place to live. I guess it is really difficult for her to feel like an outsider and stick out so much at a predominantly Asian school as someone who isn't Asian.
Next period was grade 12 and I don't really remember too well what happened. But probably similar fashion of reading the novel and answering questions, I remember talking with various people about their university choices for next year and all that fun stuff which was enjoyable. Then for lunch it was back to the staff room and it was not so bad today, and then after that we had grade 12 again and I just talked to students for most of the class about university again. Then for the last period it was Prep and I was so incredibly sleepy but I had to read some articles that I might want to teach next week and that was interesting. We'll see how tomorrow goes! Almost the end of the week!
Next period was grade 12 and I don't really remember too well what happened. But probably similar fashion of reading the novel and answering questions, I remember talking with various people about their university choices for next year and all that fun stuff which was enjoyable. Then for lunch it was back to the staff room and it was not so bad today, and then after that we had grade 12 again and I just talked to students for most of the class about university again. Then for the last period it was Prep and I was so incredibly sleepy but I had to read some articles that I might want to teach next week and that was interesting. We'll see how tomorrow goes! Almost the end of the week!
Until next time!
Suzy
Tuesday, 2 May 2017
Third Year Teaching Placement: Day Two
Today was not a bad day, much better than yesterday I think. Maybe got off on the wrong foot but now I'm slowly slowly slowly getting into the swing of things. So during period one we had grade 9 English and after taking up homework questions and reading the novel, I was able to help the students with their summative in class essays. In particular, I helped this one girl who honestly reeked of smoke but I just knew that if I didn't help her with her essay, she wouldn't do it. I basically guided her through her entire essay structure and I could tell that she didn't regularly attend class and might be struggling because of her lack of understanding of what was going on. Nonetheless I tried to help her gain traction for her summative and have a general idea of what to do. I also helped this other student who I later learned was one of the weaker students in the class which was really nice actually. After that was a grade 10 class and it was similar format, answer questions then read the novel. Finally it was lunch time and it was a little awkward once again in the staff room because they talk about subjects that I cannot contribute to, however, I left early to talk with my last year teachers which I found really enjoyable. I kind of felt like crying for some reason when they asked me how everything was, maybe because I know that deep down I didn't really enjoy my first day and wasn't very optimistic about this placement compared to the great experience I had last year.
Also, with Brandon being so far away on exchange and for such a long period of time, it made me reflect that we're almost where we were at exactly one year ago. After lunch we had prep, where I just worked on my lesson plan about "coming of age." I figured out an activity and a general idea of what to present but nothing totally confirmed yet. After that was last period which was grade 9 again which followed a similar format of reading the novel and answering questions, this time I was able to help a lot more students with their summative assignment because well most students seemed very independent but there were the odd few who finally needed my help! I helped this girl who seemed like she struggled with English and also there was this guy who thought he was all that even though his work was average. He was incredibly confident in his ability and I knew that that smart mouth of his would get into trouble one day and sure enough it did when he told me that his coaches did not like him. It takes a lot of patience and understanding with these students because you never know what kind of background everyone comes from so you need to try your best to be a positive example in the 75 minutes you see them each day. I think that I will work on changing my attitude towards my placement and although it isn't giving me the experience I desire, I can create a better experience through changing my outlook and relying on God more rather than others.
Also, with Brandon being so far away on exchange and for such a long period of time, it made me reflect that we're almost where we were at exactly one year ago. After lunch we had prep, where I just worked on my lesson plan about "coming of age." I figured out an activity and a general idea of what to present but nothing totally confirmed yet. After that was last period which was grade 9 again which followed a similar format of reading the novel and answering questions, this time I was able to help a lot more students with their summative assignment because well most students seemed very independent but there were the odd few who finally needed my help! I helped this girl who seemed like she struggled with English and also there was this guy who thought he was all that even though his work was average. He was incredibly confident in his ability and I knew that that smart mouth of his would get into trouble one day and sure enough it did when he told me that his coaches did not like him. It takes a lot of patience and understanding with these students because you never know what kind of background everyone comes from so you need to try your best to be a positive example in the 75 minutes you see them each day. I think that I will work on changing my attitude towards my placement and although it isn't giving me the experience I desire, I can create a better experience through changing my outlook and relying on God more rather than others.
Until next time!
Suzy
Monday, 1 May 2017
Third Year Teaching Placement: Day One
Today was my first day of my third year teaching placement and I found it kind of disappointing actually. So the night before I had the hardest time falling asleep because I was so nervous/excited/unsure about what the next day had to offer. Some of it had to do with my host teacher not emailing me about what time to get to school, where to meet her in the morning, what to bring, etc. The morning of, I woke up, got ready, made myself some breakfast and then headed out the door. On my commute to the high school, I forgot which bus stop to get off so I mistakenly got off a stop earlier and had to walk the rest of the way which was kind of a bummer.
Upon my arrival, I went into the main office and talked with the secretary who thought I looked familiar, and she was indeed correct because I met her last year. She called down my host teacher and then I met her and followed her to the English office. It was exactly how I remembered it to be and all. She gave me a little manilla folder of all the resources for the classes, and I felt sort of unprepared going into these classes without having read the books prior. During the first period, I introduced myself and then sat to the side of the classroom to observe. It was a grade 12 class and they were reading the novel "Station Eleven" which is a post apocalyptic sort of novel. She just took up some questions and then read 2 chapters out loud. This happened in the next grade 9 class as well, and I found it to be a bit boring. This sort of teaching is what they tell you in teachers school not to do, just worksheets and then read it out loud. However, in that grade 9 class there was a kid named Brandon who you could tell was the problem student. He was never focused, and during the beginning of the class his hair gel spilled all over his backpack and I had to help him clean it up. I was later told that he comes from a single parent household, lived in a group home for a month, and has been called by the CAS several times.
After that class, we had lunch which was sort of nice because I was getting hungry by then and we went to the staff room to eat. I don't really enjoy going because I feel like it's weird and awkward and I can never really contribute to the conversation because they talk about subjects that I don't feel like I can offer any comments on. After lunch was prep where I just sat at my little desk and read the novel "Station Eleven" and attempted not to fall asleep. During the last period I did basically the same thing sit in the back, read my own book, and have her take up questions and read out loud. I hope tomorrow is more enjoyable. 14 more days to go.
Upon my arrival, I went into the main office and talked with the secretary who thought I looked familiar, and she was indeed correct because I met her last year. She called down my host teacher and then I met her and followed her to the English office. It was exactly how I remembered it to be and all. She gave me a little manilla folder of all the resources for the classes, and I felt sort of unprepared going into these classes without having read the books prior. During the first period, I introduced myself and then sat to the side of the classroom to observe. It was a grade 12 class and they were reading the novel "Station Eleven" which is a post apocalyptic sort of novel. She just took up some questions and then read 2 chapters out loud. This happened in the next grade 9 class as well, and I found it to be a bit boring. This sort of teaching is what they tell you in teachers school not to do, just worksheets and then read it out loud. However, in that grade 9 class there was a kid named Brandon who you could tell was the problem student. He was never focused, and during the beginning of the class his hair gel spilled all over his backpack and I had to help him clean it up. I was later told that he comes from a single parent household, lived in a group home for a month, and has been called by the CAS several times.
After that class, we had lunch which was sort of nice because I was getting hungry by then and we went to the staff room to eat. I don't really enjoy going because I feel like it's weird and awkward and I can never really contribute to the conversation because they talk about subjects that I don't feel like I can offer any comments on. After lunch was prep where I just sat at my little desk and read the novel "Station Eleven" and attempted not to fall asleep. During the last period I did basically the same thing sit in the back, read my own book, and have her take up questions and read out loud. I hope tomorrow is more enjoyable. 14 more days to go.
Until next time!
Suzy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
