I Learn Therefore I Teach

Today was my first Friday of my first week of my internship.

I am having a blast! Like most 20-somethings, I was not a fan of high school when I was IN high school. Now that I've come out the other side (and almost am on the other side of college), it's my favorite place to be in the whole world. The environment for learning is so RICH at this school and my opportunities for becoming a better teacher present themselves every hours. I don't want to say too much about it here because I feel that would need to be in a different blog altogether, one about student teaching and nothing else, but I just wanted to communicate that I am feeling like I am in the right place more than I ever have.

Things that I've learned so far:

- In my 9:00 class, I am exhausted. Drink coffee BEFOREhand. It's free in the office, go for it.

- Dressing like a teacher is so much fun, and cheap at GoodWill (I'll have to post a photo of one of my outfits. I'm pretty proud of them to be honest since apparently I "have no fashion sense" according to my sister). Last year I was able to go my entire time at the high school for a curriculum and instruction class without wearing the same outfit twice.

-Learn which students you can be sarcastic with BEFORE you are sarcastic with them.

- Always look at browser tabs when you are helping a student on their netbook. They StumbleUpon.

- Comfortable shoes are super important

- Include students in ALL lectures and discussions. Ask questions or have them repeat instructions to ensure they aren't zoning and also that they are learning.

- When doing group instruction through the netbooks, make sure everyone is in the same place before moving on.

This school is really unique because it implemented a netbook initiative where each student receives a netbook upon entrance to the school and they are used very heavily in every course. It's really sweet and awesome most of the time, but the rest of the time they're just a pain in the ass. Instant distraction plus technological failures make it difficult to teach with them, which is why I came up with a classroom management solution for them when I teach:

- "Hand check!"