I tried leading a discussion in Schultz's English 11 on Monday. I didn't do the one that I put together because there wasn't enough time, so I tried my hand at leading a discussion based on a worksheet that Schultz wrote, with her support of course.
I felt like I was trying to play basketball with a team full of pros, standing on the sidelines waving my hands around hoping for someone to pass me the ball. My discussion didn't go so well.
During second hour I decided that Monday had to be my last day at Jefferson. I enjoyed my time there, but I began to think that I'd pretty much done everything I could possibly do. At least that was until Schultz dropped a pile of papers for me to correct for mechanics and grammar, which is what I spent the rest of my day doing. It was pretty awful, so I'm really glad that Schultz offered it to me. It was actually a good way to see just how much work a teacher has outside of the classroom.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
3rd Hour, Day Eight
Today lunch was nothing more than a place for teachers to sit and bitch about how much teaching sucks and also about how they are under-appreciated, which I am sure that they are, but come on guys, it's got to get old after a while.
At the beginning of 3rd hour Jamie went through a very good tutorial that showed how to write the comparative essay very well. I heard her say a lot of the same things she said during second hour in the lab, so I imagine that the idea to give it came then. I think it was a good idea to wait instead of trying to stop everything in the lab during second hour, which is what I probably would have done.
After third hour, Jamie told me that I could hit the road, which I didn't need to hear twice. I'm starting to feel like I have done enough at Jefferson and that I'm starting to overstay my welcome.
At the beginning of 3rd hour Jamie went through a very good tutorial that showed how to write the comparative essay very well. I heard her say a lot of the same things she said during second hour in the lab, so I imagine that the idea to give it came then. I think it was a good idea to wait instead of trying to stop everything in the lab during second hour, which is what I probably would have done.
After third hour, Jamie told me that I could hit the road, which I didn't need to hear twice. I'm starting to feel like I have done enough at Jefferson and that I'm starting to overstay my welcome.
2nd Hour, Day Eight
Again into the computer lab, working on the comparative essay. I felt really bad for the kids for having to do a harder paper than they should have and for Jamie for making the mistake and then having to deal with it.
Some of the girls got really bitchy and the guys showed their frustration by not doing any work at all. I think that I actually managed to help some of the kids understand their assignment and get the ball rolling on their papers. But it was Friday and Jamie didn't let them go to the coffeehouse that they have once a week so the kids were antsy and rowdy, lining up at the door like cattle.
Some of the girls got really bitchy and the guys showed their frustration by not doing any work at all. I think that I actually managed to help some of the kids understand their assignment and get the ball rolling on their papers. But it was Friday and Jamie didn't let them go to the coffeehouse that they have once a week so the kids were antsy and rowdy, lining up at the door like cattle.
1st Hour, Day Eight
The Skills kids were in the computer lab working on their papers again. I didn't get to help as much as I did on Thursday so I felt kind of worthless. Instead, I worked on Death of a Salesman and managed to help a few kids, which is good.
Louis, the kid I know from the playground, brought a roll of stamps to school with him today and actually stuck them on the on the screens of two computers. How stupid is that?! That's something that you'd expect out of a six year old, not a sixteen year old. Teaching these kids takes lots of patience.
Louis, the kid I know from the playground, brought a roll of stamps to school with him today and actually stuck them on the on the screens of two computers. How stupid is that?! That's something that you'd expect out of a six year old, not a sixteen year old. Teaching these kids takes lots of patience.
4th Hour, Day Seven
I spent 4th hour in another computer lab with Schultz's class. As they finished their papers, I worked on my plan for the discussion. At first I felt like I had to be able to make stunning and eye-opening revelations and so I had a very hard time writing the questions. But when I decided to scale my expectations of myself back a bit, I found myself having a much easier time with it all. I'm not an expert on the text right now, but if I give it one more read and the movie a watch I think I'll be good.
3rd Hour, Day Seven
Jamie taught the comparative analysis essay assignment again. I think that she did a much better job of explaining it the second time around, especially the bit with the secondary sources.
We took the kids into the computer lab and had them work on the essay. They seemed to be working a lot harder than the second hour group did with their fancy laptops, except for that one kid watching family guy.
We took the kids into the computer lab and had them work on the essay. They seemed to be working a lot harder than the second hour group did with their fancy laptops, except for that one kid watching family guy.
2nd Hour, Day Seven
During 2nd hour, Jamie had her students start work on the comparative analysis essay that that Schultz's kids were working on on Wednesday.
There's a big difference between the way that Schultz and Jamie are working this essay. Schultz's students are only using primary sources, but Jamie told her kids to use at least two critical essay, which I think only makes the assignment unnecessarily hard. This assignment could totally be done with the primary sources only, but teaching them how to find the journals and stuff will help them down the line, especially if they ever take a college lit course. I never used an online journal finder thing until I was a freshman in college, so these guys will be way ahead of me.
There's a big difference between the way that Schultz and Jamie are working this essay. Schultz's students are only using primary sources, but Jamie told her kids to use at least two critical essay, which I think only makes the assignment unnecessarily hard. This assignment could totally be done with the primary sources only, but teaching them how to find the journals and stuff will help them down the line, especially if they ever take a college lit course. I never used an online journal finder thing until I was a freshman in college, so these guys will be way ahead of me.
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