The past is a scary place, especially when it changes. This semester I am taking an Intro to Teaching class and I have to complete 15 hours of classroom observations. Today I had scheduled some time at the local elementary school. This school was built in my town after they demolished the one hundred year old school that I had gone to grade school in. This place is huge. I was intimidated right from my entry into the parking lot. I was going to spend three hours there this afternoon, but I got creeped out and was sort of lost so I rescheduled more time next week.
I was disappointed in my welcome. The principal was friendly and kind and the teacher was very nice, however, I was not given any kind of idea what I should do or were I should go. I was escorted up to a class and introduced to the teacher. I was then left alone after being told that the rest of the teachers would be notified of my visit and that I could 'wander' around to whatever classrooms I would like.
I felt like an intruder. The class I was in was nice although I don't remember classroom being that cluttered in my own days of school. The teacher made it pretty plain that once they finished the math section that I was being dismissed to another class. It was all so unstructured. There was a phone in the class and it rang twice interrupting the class for the teacher to conduct personal business. I thought that was unbelievable. I am in some kind of culture shock and I definitely don't want to go back. This place creeped me out. I don't know how teachers do it.
I really wish I would have been given better instructions than 'wander around and see what you can see'. Wouldn't a teacher like to know more than, perhaps some college student will wander into your class in the middle of your lecture and he might disrupt everything, or he might not. I don't think I will be going back to this school after I complete the five hours I need for this assignment.
God save all the teachers because I sure don't want to teach elementary school. Good on you if you do. You deserve a raise, a medal, and a lifetime supply of drugs courtesy of the government.
I was disappointed in my welcome. The principal was friendly and kind and the teacher was very nice, however, I was not given any kind of idea what I should do or were I should go. I was escorted up to a class and introduced to the teacher. I was then left alone after being told that the rest of the teachers would be notified of my visit and that I could 'wander' around to whatever classrooms I would like.
I felt like an intruder. The class I was in was nice although I don't remember classroom being that cluttered in my own days of school. The teacher made it pretty plain that once they finished the math section that I was being dismissed to another class. It was all so unstructured. There was a phone in the class and it rang twice interrupting the class for the teacher to conduct personal business. I thought that was unbelievable. I am in some kind of culture shock and I definitely don't want to go back. This place creeped me out. I don't know how teachers do it.
I really wish I would have been given better instructions than 'wander around and see what you can see'. Wouldn't a teacher like to know more than, perhaps some college student will wander into your class in the middle of your lecture and he might disrupt everything, or he might not. I don't think I will be going back to this school after I complete the five hours I need for this assignment.
God save all the teachers because I sure don't want to teach elementary school. Good on you if you do. You deserve a raise, a medal, and a lifetime supply of drugs courtesy of the government.
1 Comments:
Yet another reason why teachers, professors and any educator should have to work in the "real world" for at least five years before heading to an elementary school classroom, college lecture hall or a high school band room. It doesn't make sense to go from being taught to teaching without first applying what was taught in the real world first.
You, my friend, will make an excellent educator and I'm sure when you have a student teacher someday that they will have a completely different experience. I'd love to have the opportunity to take a history class with you as the professor.
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