Am I the only one who is tired pretty much all the time?  Probably not, but I am kind of a baby in that my body (and temperament) requires a lot of sleep (something like 8 or 9 hours is about perfect, and rarely attained), and this burning the candle at both ends business is kind of new to me.  If that sounds like complaining, let me say that I’m not sure I really even have an opinion on the matter just yet; in some ways I feel like I’m being incredibly productive and that all of this work is terribly exciting and rewarding.  Other times I nap for fifteen minutes and cover the corner of my pillow in drool.

And so I will fault my adjustment issues and newfound fatigue for the fact that I’ve been an unfaithful journaler, moving from days to weeks in the counter.  Such an excuse rests on two premises: 1) you’re paying attention in the first place, and 2) such an excuse is completely acceptable, as if, after a transcontinental flight, you invited me to dinner, and I, after waking up in my mashed potatoes, apologized, saying, “oh, man, how embarrassing, this jet lag is awful.”  In my scenario, you might reply, “I can only imagine.  More Shiraz?”

Really, it’s the internet, and a blog at that: the whole thing is my scenario.  I mean, we might as well be playing Dungeons and Dragons for Christ’s sake (this language, the disjointed thoughts – the result of sleep deprivation and preparation for a Salinger unit, or a byproduct of this evening’s drinking?  And do you mean to tell me that Salinger never drank while writing?)

And so we move on, because we can.  Please note that most of what follows was scribbled into a notebook immediately after engaging in some sort of activity with students, and the writing style reflects as much.

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Student Teaching: 9.10.07

3rd Hour English 10

Question: How the hell do I get them to stop talking?

I wrote that after presenting a list of vocabulary.  I thought I’d help the kids out and make copies of the words and their definitions, and while that was all nice and altruistic (one of the words!) of me, it was ultimately a bad move given that, with list in hand, the students had absolutely nothing to do but talk to one another.  I had removed any reason they might have otherwise had to listen to me, and this fact was not lost on them.  Or me.

Sixth Hour English 10

This time the students were copying the words and their definitions from an overhead the cooperating teacher had prepared on the computer, and this active component really helped things to go more smoothly than they had 3rd hour.

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Student Teaching 09.11.07

3rd Hour English 12 – Vocabulary Review

This actually went pretty well.  Question: Is it bad that only a few students answer, or are these just the ones who are prepared?  Do I need to call on specific students to set the precedent: I might get called on so I better know my stuff?

My cooperating teacher had to interrupt at one point to call someone out for making a negative comment.  I’d missed the comment entirely, but as the student was reprimanded, I couldn’t help but feel as though a little of the blame lay with me, as if this was something I should have headed off somehow.

4th Hour English 10  – Vocab Review

Seems to be getting better.  Same questions as above.  Cooperating teacher says a good solution is to tell certain students to hold off and give someone else a chance (if they’ve been dominating the discussion).

6th Hour English 10 – Vocab Review

Tried asking student who knew every word to give others a chance; he seemed offended but it worked.  Others (i.e. those not named for famous Harlem Renaissance poets) were able to contribute.  Students listened well, too, and responded to correction/redirection.

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Student Teaching 9.12.07

3rd Hour English 12

Slowly increasing my presence in front of the students, and my level of assertion with behavior management.  Seems to be steadily improving; more of a rapport/respect.  Of course 3rd hour = less rowdy.

4th Hour English 10

Felt much more comfortable.  Cooperating teacher talked to me about letting kids talk too much during my vocab review/journal prompt 3rd hour, despite my efforts to step it up.  So this hour I tried to step it up more and it seemed to work.  By the time I had done 9 of the 10 vocabulary words, everybody knew which word was left, so I made it into an extra credit deal for anybody who could define it in their own words.

6th Hour English 12

I had to stop a lot to get through the vocab list, but they seemed to get that, didn’t give me a lot of static, but rather respect.  Or something like it.  It seems to come more naturally every time I do it, and more fun.  Did the extra credit thing again and it worked well – cool to see so many students racing to flip through their notebooks to get the answer.