A Day Off.. January 27, 2009

Due to the fact that I am a student teacher now, every time schools are canceled because of weather I get the day off. Today was one of those days. My role at school is “teacher”. It was made apparent to me that until May I am to do whatever the teacher does and to go wherever she goes. I started teaching one lesson during the day this week and found it to be both exciting and liberating! It is soo nice to be able to work with the kids and teach them instead of sit and observe. A requirement of my experience is to have the following week planned out in advance. Instead of being excited about the day off, the thought of trying to fit what I scheduled to cover today into another day is now occupying my mind. I am glad to have the day off. My day was incredibly productive and I was able to plan next week in advance. However, there is also a catch. I find myself thinking as a teacher does. This makes sense…I am a teacher. I am just thinking outloud-I find the change in thought fascinating! I am no longer thinking about schoolwork that can be done anytime. I am responsible for covering a certain amount of material in a certain amount of time during a school day. I also need to teach it in such a way that the minds of these students can understand what they need to. I am thinking like a teacher not only because I want to, but because I need to in order to further the education of the students that are put under my care and instruction.

I find the whole process of student teaching incredibly interesting. I am going through this process because I need to in order to get a teaching license.  I am also going through this to learn how to be a better teacher and see how I can improve my teaching skills. But as I am learning, the students are learning from me. The students I am teaching are learning from me, and at the same time, I am learning from both them and situations I am in. So even though this process is crucial, the world still goes on and these students are still expected to learn, and the very things I am learning HOW to teach, they are learning for the first time.

If I put too much thought in the gravity of my role as a teacher, it would make me go crazy!! LOL but if I don’t put enough thought into the responsibility I have for their education, I will not be a successful teacher.

Being a teacher, or rather a teacher in training, is occupying my thoughts moreso now than it ever has before.

A Possible Harm from Crime Shows? January 18, 2009

First of all, I must make it clear that I am not against crime shows…in fact, I LOVE them! My favorite crime show is CSI Las Vegas. I was thinking about the impact it could possibly have on our society, though. How much of what real life investigators put into the show makes killers smarter? To counteract with the previous question, don’t real life investigators draw from their past experiences  with cases when they contribute to an episode’s story? If that’s the case, people would not be learning anything new.

To My Readers… January 18, 2009

So…here is my first shot at this whole blog thing. My sister was my inspiration. I had checked out her blog a few times and had the ingenious idea of starting my own. I figured this idea was both fitting of my personality and exciting! I love to share my thoughts and feelings with others.

I am going to be a teacher soon and it’s as though all of a sudden I am making many important decisions about what I should do, what is important to me, what defines me, what I should fill my time with, and how I can be most productive. The latter item in this list is something I am constantly struggling with…I am very much a procrastinator!  And even though I have paid for my horrible habit with bad grades, sleepness nights, and many times of frustration, I never seem to learn. I think, however, what I am expecting is to turn a complete 180 degrees. Getting rid of a habit takes some time and patience. By the way, if any one of you has some good ideas about time management feel free to share them with me!!