Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Student Teaching= Exhaustion

Last week, on Wednesday, I started my student teaching. Let me tell you about it. Lots of people think teachers have easy jobs, that they just sit behind their desks and tell people to do work, and then grade it. That's not how it is. I've been getting up before 6 am, which is way early for me, and I haven't left the school before 4, and school get's out at 2:15. Even days( periods 2,4, 6& 8) aren't bad, because I only teach 1 class. But Odd days are crazy! I teach 3 classes of World Civilizations to sophomores and juniors. Period 1 is hard because everyone is tired and dozing off, so class has to be engaging. Period 3, oh man. This class is totally full, 35 students, 10 of which are special education students. There are 4 adults in the class, and it still seems overwhelming. Then is planning and lunch. And then comes 7th period. Holy cow. That class is enough to make anyone want to pull their hair out. The class if full of students who are extremely chatty, and it's right after lunch and the last class of the day. Remember how in high school right after lunch you were still on a sugar high from all the stuff you had just eaten, and remember how the last half hour or so of school was spent counting down until the end of the day? now imagine that all in the same period. Yeah, it's pretty much barley controlled chaos. But amid all the craziness I love it! The kids are sweet, they're funny, they're brats, they're slackers, they're over-achievers. I love them already. I'm so excited to have my own classes with kids that will come to me and ask questions, not to my mentor teacher. The new semester starts next Tuesday, and the class will be all mine. I can't even begin to describe how excited i am to start. The subject may not be my favorite, but teaching is.I may come home totally and completely exhausted, but it's worth it. This semester is going to be the hardest semester I've ever had, but it's going to be the very best!