off to a rocky start.....

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Off to a rocky start.... Current mood: determined

So my 30 hour observation for this semester started last week. Since I had a class cancelled I was able to go last monday at 2pm, which was the set time to go meet your teacher and set up a schedule if you were able to make it. I was surprised when the secretary of the school walked me into a class with tiny little bitty kids. They had placed me in Pre-K with 4 year olds! Don't get me wrong, I like little kids, but my major is Elementary Education, which covers grades 1-8. So my observation has to fall within my certification range. But I thought, what the hey, I will stick around until school gets out, it's only an hour, and it will be fun. And it was, I had a good time hanging out with the 4 year olds and chatting with the teacher. So at 3pm I went to the office and explained my dilemma and said I would normally come on tuesdays anyways, and could I come back the next day and have someone in my certification range. They said sure. I cam back the next morning and was again surprised when teh secretary led me to the special education class. Again, I don't mind Special Ed. kids, but that's not my certification. You have to major in Special Ed. to teach special ed. and I'm not. But the principal was gone for the afternoon and it was either I stay there or go home and wait for a new teacher. I stayed my 3 hours and hoped my teachers would let me count this time towards my observation even though I wasn't really placed yet (which they said was fine). I fell in love with this Special Ed. class! I really enjoyed it!! Special Ed. has changed a ton since I was in school. They now do what is called Inclusion. The experts have decided that keeping Special Ed. students away from "regular" students is harmful emotionally and socially, and is really hindering them. So now unless a kid just can't function in a regular classroom, all Special Ed. kids are mainstreamed into regular classrooms and will just have a plan in place that moderates what work that child can do. Sometimes they go out with a specialist for part of the day, etc. But they try to keep them in with their peers as much as possible. So this class that I was in last week was made up of the severely disabled or disturbed students that can't function all day in a class room. There were a couple that were autistic, one that had attachment disorder, etc. Several of them had to sit behind giant cardboard boxes (think fridge boxes) that enclosed their desks. It was very interesting to me. I may elaborate more on this experience in a later blog, but I'm getting off track here. So after my 3 hours in that classroom I went into the office and told the secretary that I would be back the next tuesday and asked if I could have a new teacher then, and she said that was fine. So I went in yesterday. A new secretary that I hadn't seen before (who was kinda scary and had a bite to her manner which made it seem like she was yelling at you even though she wasn't yelling at you) said "Your teacher isn't expecting you until friday." and I was like, I don't even know who my teacher is, and i said I would be here on tuesday. So she walked me into a classroom, of 4th graders (woo hoo!) and the teacher said "I get another one?" and the secretary said "You already have a UCO student?" and she said yes, that hers had come friday and would be back on friday (thus not expecting me until friday). So the secretary took me back to the office where she called the principal (who never seems to be there) and he said no, the teacher couldn't have 2 teacher candidates, but that he didn't know where to put me then, and to just go ahead and spend my time with the 4th grade teacher this week and they would fine me some place else. (seriously?!). So I went BACK to the 4th grade class, where they were lining up for lunch. The teacher said she had errands to run on lunch and the class wouldn't be back for an hour and that I was free to take a break and do whatever I wanted for that hour. She was right next door to the special ed. class I had worked in the week before, so I just went in there and worked for that hour. (I am absolutely in love with this little 1st grade girl named Katie, who is autistic, in there and was thrilled to get to be back in there!) So I had a great time again in Special Ed. for an hour, and then went back into the 4th grade class when they got back. They worked at thier desks while she & I chatted about teaching and her experiences and such for about 20 mins. and then they had to go practice for their upcoming play. So they were gone an hour while the teacher and I made copies and talked in the teacher's lounge for about 45 mins and then watched them practice for about 15 mins. and then went back to the class for the last 20 mins where we played a game. After my time was up I went to the office and asked if I would have a new teacher next week and they said yes. My UCO people had told me to call them if they didn't get me placed again this week, so I called them as I was pulling out of the school, and they wanted me to come in today and fill out a change of school form and get moved to a new school!! I really don't want to change schools. I like this school, I love the teachers I have met so far, all 3 of them have been wonderful and have given me great advice and insight. I want to be able to visit the Special. Ed class each week when I go, and I can't do that if I change schools! I went to my teacher today and said "Do I have to change?" like a little whiney kid. And she said it wasn't up to her, it was up to the placement woman who had told me on the phone yesterday that I needed to change, but that I should go explain that I really like the school and I want to stay and see what she says. So after class I went to her office and begged to stay at that school. She said ok, if they could get me placed by next week, but if they had any other problems that I was going to have to change schools. So fingers crossed that they find me a teacher to observe by next week!!! So my observation is off to a rather rocky start. But I bet I've learned more just by getting shifted around than I have when I spend the whole time in one classroom! The Special Ed. teacher was teacher of the year for several years in the school, and has taught for 30+ years and I liked her (she had some strange behaviors I thought, but I don't deal with the kids that she does on a daily basis, so maybe that's what they need, I don't know. Again I'll have to write a blog just about that some other time.) And the 4th grade teacher was awsome from what I gathered in conversation with her, since I didn't really observe her teaching. But she said how she stopped moving on in the math book when her students obviously weren't getting multiplication and how she spent 3 weeks on it while all of the other classes went on and started division and such, but how she thought it was silly to keep going when they didn't understand, and she took the time to make sure they knew what they were doing. Which is wonderful! Most times teachers are like "oh well," and keep going becuse they have to stay "on track". But I think it's more important to make sure the kids learn what they need to, and it's refreshing to see a teacher who agrees since they don't seem to exist much anywhere. She also said how she hated the Basal readers (the reading books rpvided by textbook companies with all teh short stories in them) and how if we want kids to hate reading we should use them, but that if we want them to get excited and interested in reading we should use real books, and she was working on just reading different books and doing projects based on the books. Which again, is exactly what we are being taught to do at UCO, yet 99% of teachers use the basal readers and kids are bored out of thier minds!! So I thought she was a great teacher, and I hope whomever I am placed with is like her and not the 'traditional' teacher. We shall see....