Day 4

 Happy Friday everyone! Today just happened to be the second day my cooperating teacher was out with the stomach flu. Having the stomach flu is most unfortunate, but she is recovering nicely and the good news is she will be back in school on Monday! Mrs. Bilton, Ms. Barbers trusty CTA was present today, so that made management of the classroom a lot easier, especially since it was only my fourth day---keeping in mind the early dismissal, the three hour delay, and the two days without my cooperating teacher. You cannot make events such as these up, but I learned a lot from it. My adaption skills are becoming stronger every day! 


During first period we watched a movie called, Victory is Your Duty. This video explained what it was like to be a boxer in Cuba and how much pressure was bestowed on these young boys to be the absolute best. The students even had the opportunity to see that the successful boxers do not live a life of fortune. Instead, they live a life of fame and poverty. This devastated the students because that is not the life style they grew up hearing about. When the video was over, the students discussed which government they would like to live in, if they had the choice. Listening to their answers paved the way for new perspectives, and made everyone think about who they are, and to be grateful for everything we have. 

 For the next 3 periods, the students went to the science fair and presented their projects to students from their neighboring schools, Brookside and Mohansic. The students were not only thrilled to see their old teachers but they were ecstatic to show their peers how hard they worked on each experiment. After the science fair, each class spoke about their experience, both positive and negative about the science fair. Overall there were great reviews and I even had the chance to sneak in a few pictures of the little ones and their amazing projects! After the debriefing the students went to lunch and recess. 

After recess all of the students came into the classroom with Mrs. Bilton and I. At this time I read the first two chapters of the book, Word After Word After Word. The students loved it and enjoyed thinking about how written word can change the path of their life. I hope we get to finish that book, because I also enjoyed reading it. I also led a discussion with the students about the book and had them produce higher level thinking answers by asking them thought provoking questions. At the end of 7th period, I had the students pack up, and then we went to the library to refresh our memory of plot. The students watched an episode of phenious and ferb (I have to check the spelling) and recorded the plot using the correct terminology. Overall the students did a swell job and impressed me. When they finished  explaining the plot, they were also given permission to check out another book for recreational reading. Today was also a spirit day, everyone in the school wore a green shirt to show their Yorktown spirit! It was actually a great turn out, and fun to participate in. I survived two days without my cooperating teacher, everything is going to be just fine!

Teacher tips:

1. Have the students leave a bathroom pass on their desk when they go to the bathroom. Keep the bathroom passes on the back of the door.

2. Do not be afraid to be stern with the students. Remember you know what is best for sculpting their minds.

The weekend

January 27, 2014

I'm not sure what Monday will bring, but I love surprises and I'm excited to be student teaching! Have a safe and happy weekend!

Quote of the day:

"The miracle is this: the more we share, the more we have." ~Leonard Nimoy