The past week and a half has been something of a roller
coaster in the classroom. Things were going pretty smoothly up until I received
a text while watching the Super Bowl two Sundays ago. While watching the game,
I got word that my CT’s husband broke his leg and was going to require surgery. My CT was to be in and out
of the classroom over the course of that following week. I was not too
concerned with this, as I had a pretty good grasp on what the students were supposed
to be doing those next couple of days. The freshman would be completing a small
tableau assignment over Romeo and Juliet and the seniors would just be watching
the end of Hamlet and taking a test. No biggie.
My CT was in and out of the classroom over the course of
that week as planned, and her husband had surgery that Thursday. Things were
supposed to go back to normal the following week when I had schedule to begin
my first unit of teaching with the freshman. Unfortunately, I received word
that Friday that there had been some complications after the surgery and that
her husband was back to struggling pretty severely that weekend. This resulted
in me having to become the guy in the classroom over the next week.
While I do not wish the circumstances that brought it about
upon anybody, I do feel as though the following week allowed for a tremendous amount
of experience. I could no longer look to my CT to help me put out fires either
with the students or with other faculty members as issues came up. I had to
become firmer in my expectations as I did not have her leering over the
classroom ready to have my back if any of the students got out of hand. I
recall one student mentioning that I had gotten “stricter” since my CT had left
the classroom.
That being said, I feel as though this allowed for a great
opportunity to further my relationships with the students. It put me in a
position where I had to be the one in charge and they began looking to me as
such. We were still able to joke around and have a good time, but when I
expected them to get serious and focus on their work, I noticed that the
outcome was much better than it had been in the weeks prior.
I am also fortunate that I was as prepared for the week as I
was. All of my lesson plans were in order and ready to go. While I may have had
a couple missteps along the way (and who isn’t at this point) I feel that each
of my lessons for the freshman class ran pretty smoothly. It is exciting to see
them actually enjoying the book and being willing to read it while in class.
While these first few lessons have been fairly introductory into the text, it
has me excited to lead them through some of the more complex lessons that I have
planned further down the road.
I am curious to see how things go when my CT returns next
week. I hope the students will now feel as though there are two teachers in the
classroom, not their teacher and some other guy telling them bits of
information that they don’t care to hear from time to time.
Scott,
ReplyDeleteMy CT handed over all responsibilities on the 22nd of January to me. This included everything from setting up labs to making lesson plans for both me and her 1st year teacher that she mentors. I thought this was so unfair because as far as I knew I was the only one with this much responsibility so early on.
As it turns out, am very grateful for how demanding my CT turned out to be. I feel so prepared when it comes to lesson planning and other classroom things. I am not so comfortable with classroom management, but I'll get there sooner or later.
My CT's husband is having surgery this Wednesday, and for the three days of this week I will be taking over all of her classes!! I'm pretty nervous, but I know I'll learn a lot.
How did you manage your classroom with a sub? Were the kids more or less the same when your CT was gone?
I would not wish that on anyone either. On the other hand, it was a good chance for you to see what you are made of and it sounds like you passed the test. Congratulations! Sometimes its just easier when you are thrown into the deep end and you have no other options then to sink or swim. I don't know about you but sometimes I actually function better that way. I know that is not always true for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI do hope your week goes well. Good Luck!!!
My CT is busy attending meetings on Junior/Senior curriculum for next year, so I've been on my own several times this year as well. The first time this occurred was actually my first day of teaching the juniors, which resulted in some discipline issues with a student because they were so accustomed to my CT stepping in if they crossed the line. Even though I regret that those issues arose, it was necessary for the students to see that I could hold my own.
ReplyDeleteMy other thought is: Do you have a substitute in with you each day? I have and the very first day was not good...before school even started, she was calling district officials to check the cell phone policy which she immediately informed each of my classes of...It's insane how quickly it turned a normal, happy class into a war-zone. As a result, I really took charge with the next substitute in order to keep the classroom in its normal state. I just wondered if having a substitute with you has been any kind of challenge since they don't always seem to respect our student-teacher status?
Scott,
ReplyDeleteI think it is very interesting how students respond to different adults in the room, as well as different expectations. When you have high expectations for students, they will meet them.
Developing relationships is one of the most important things to do in the classroom, we all know that =) These students will remember you if you try to connect to them. You have to teach them so much more than just Romeo and Juliet, you have to teach how life really is, and you have to show them that you are human. You have to step up the game when your CT is gone, because all eyes are on you.
That is what I am facing with my freshmen, I took the advice from the teacher on the panel that we saw in class and am going to introduce myself on the first day of the unit and let them know what my expectations are. Show your students that you care about them and they will try to meet your standards.
It sounds like your students really are responding to you in the classroom, keep it up Scott!
---Whitney