Chapter XV: Rush

It's been a hard week. Let's see if I can sum up each day without writing a novel in one chapter:

February 8, 2010, Monday
Monday: Volunteer @ Oaks Elementary (my son's school)

I tutored two children who enjoy playing reading learning games with me. That was fun and I can't be more proud of these kids. They're coming along.

Did the final touches for two papers due tonight. Although my papers are relatively easy to do, organizing my ideas and putting them into thoughts that I want to convey to my readers is another story. I got that done...finally!

Prepared for my practicum supervisor's visit by putting together a notebook. It's only a few pages, but I think I have it down pat.

Monday night: Essentials of Teaching Class
My EOT class seems to be getting progressively difficult. I love this class because of the group discussions we get into. It is definitely more in-depth and more about the technicalities of teaching, hence the difficulty. I do find it most enjoyable and satisfying learning more and more about what goes on inside a (insert any word: fabulous, great, winning)teacher's head. This is what we're being trained for. It has a lot to do with making sure our children do not fall behind.

Tuesday, February 9 2010: Practicum @ Roosevelt and Practicum Supervisor Visit
Went in to Roosevelt feeling nervous about my meeting with my program supervisor. Mrs. Dearly's anxious about this week herself. On top of meeting with me and my prac. sup., the thought of Winter Break starting this Friday can be quite overwhelming. I admire how she's able to stay on top of things considering a hectic week. The vibe inside the classroom is quite eventful. The activity level seems to be a bit higher than previous visits. No, the children were not out of control. It's just that everything seems to be rushed because we need to get things done. Even for myself.

My prac. sup.'s visit was a positive one. Boy, she couldn't have come at a better time -- I'm being sarcastic here. Due to the energy level in the classroom (and in the building, too!), imagine my stress when the children lined up during transition-time AND my prac. sup. was standing in the hallway next to me. Mrs. Dearly was still inside the classroom while I was up at the front of the line. The students typically wait for her until she comes to the front. Somehow, one of the kids thought that it would be funny that he start the line by moving himself by a few inches. Next thing I knew, the line started to move WITHOUT their teacher. The boy up front saw my expression and gave me this big smile. Yeah, I wasn't too happy. I wasn't going to yell at him -- it's not in my nature to yell. I simply walked up to him, looked at him quite sternly, and told him in a low voice to stop and wait for Mrs. Dearly in a very serious tone.

Mrs. Dearly was right: nip it right in the bud or things will start to fall apart. Even though my prac. sup. is not familiar with the routine -- whether the lined-up children were allowed to move with or without their teacher -- I knew that she knew I did the right thing when she squeezed and patted my shoulder and gave me an encouraging smile. It felt good to be positively acknowledged. My meeting with my sup. went really well. She did remind me a few times that she will be up for a visit when I do an actual lesson in front Mrs. Dearly's class.

February 10, 2010 IT Class
Ew. I love this class but it's very -- what should I say -- detail-oriented. One little mistake on an assignment and you have to re-do the entire thing. There were two re-dos that I had to fix up, which puts me behind the rest of the class. We are allowed to resubmit our assignments during class. Because this is done electronically, things can go wrong. And LUCKY ME, I so happen to be one of those where things got messed up -- totally not my fault. I was pulling my hair off trying to figure out why my submissions kept saying "resubmit" after doing do-overs. It was finally solved and thank goodness, it's not my fault. My teacher gave me the okay to go ahead and continue with what I've got.

February 11, 2010 Volunteer at Oaks; Practicum at Roosevelt

My practicum supervisor wanted me to observe real closely the differences between being a parent volunteer in one school and a practicum teacher at another. Today was a perfect day. Most schools are celeberating Valentine's Day and teachers are preparing for mid-winter break. Today's the last day of school before the kids are out on a short vacation. They'll be back on the 17th.

My first stop was at Oakes. I helped the children pass out their cards and treats. They had ice cream. The children were to bring their own toppings and share it with their classmates. These are first-graders mind you, so all sorts of fun stuff were brought into the class: gummy worms, different kinds of cookies, m&ms, and much more. I couldn't stop laughing to myself because the kids will say to me, "Check out my ice cream sundae!" Yeah, more like "topping" sundae -- the ice cream was completely buried underneath all that topping (yay for mom; thanks, Mrs. Windell).

Like I said about Tuesday (2/9), the energy level was pretty high at Roosevelt. It was much higher today. Probably because the children are re-arranging their desks and cleaning them out. The classroom was a total disaster! I really have to admire Mrs. Dearly for not making a point to help them out. The mess is their responsibility. She has made the decision that the children, when they're done cleaning up, can have their Valentine treats. It was a superb deal because the children rushed to get things done. When they were -- and the room was (almost) completely spotless -- they happily had their treats while *I* read them a book (my supposed FIRST real lesson to the class!). It was a simple Valentine's Day book. It was soooo nice to have 21 children sit in front of me while I read. It was only one time that I had to call out on a kid who wasn't paying attention; and it was only once that I gave him a reminder. It felt great! For 20 minutes I read and asked the class questions. I do officially mark this day, MY FIRST LESSON TO AN ACTUAL CLASS. :D :D :D

Friday/Saturday February 12-13

We have tons of paper due in the upcoming weeks for my classes. We don't have class on 2/17 which gives us more time to work on papers, but for some reason I was stuck on one of them. I've been pounding my head against the wall trying to figure it out. With the help of my classmate -- this is a group project -- I'm starting to get it. Alas, however, I finally figured it out and I think it turned out alright. For this same class, my preliminary lesson plan is due (next week), a video response for my Social Order class, and a power point presentation for my IT class. I've never had this much homework since being at WWU. But...as someone woould've put it, "you've got what you paid for".

I have found out that many good teachers come from this school. Like Harvard is for lawyers, Western Washington University is th-e one for teachers. (Okay....I'm biased) I also have found out that WWU is more academically inclined than sports and frats (I read their opinion/review forum). It is a great feeling to know that my money isn't being wasted on anything not pertaining to my education. WWU have their own sub-college for teachers called "Woodring College" which I want to visit one day. It is a beautiful campus. I think it'll be great if my cohort could get together for a field trip to the college as a way to say "thanks" for everything they've done for us, most particularly, the teachers who must travel between Bellingham and Everett to teach us.

It IS a good idea.... ;)