Day 2. Shesh January 4th 2011

What a day, it would have been so great if the school was organzied, because they just threw me with any teacher, and didn't warn the teacher at all. Which made everything a little more awkaward for me. This was a very long day. Periods 1 3 6 7 8 I am with 11 and 12th grade teacher Ms. Mcfadden, during her breaks I am with Mrs. Spizzorali, Period 2 4 5. Well today was really a simple day, yet I also learned new things as a student as well. Period one was a continuation of "Rip Van Winkle" Checking homework from yesterday. This class I have to say is very well behaved. I remember how it was when I was in high school no one payed attention and yelling was always happening. As the lesson was progressing on the Study Sheet I realized I can use the questions for my Bloom's Taxonomy report and started assessing which questions best fitted where. Second period teacher Mrs. Spitzz as the students call her teachers 9th and 10th grade. The students always have the homework on white bored in the back of the room and is the first thing to be written down as the stuents come into the classroom. This class was extremely active, but it could be that they are freshman and freshman still tend to be on the grammar school level, because for a few moments she seemed to have lost control then turned off the lights. She had a very nice powerpoint, and I have notice that there are smart boards in the classroom but not used all the time. They are going to be reading ' Anthem' by Ayn Rand, which I never heard of. The presentation was on Objectivity which is the authors philosophy. Its a short 110 page book. I never heard of this author and I was curious so she gave me a copy of the book to read. It took me at least 2 hours to read. It was very short, and extremely interesting. The freshman are really going to enjoy this book I feel. I would like to teach this book, there are so many topics of discussion I thought of while reading it its unbelieveable. Period 3 there was a lock down drill and a fire Drill period 4 which was in the Main building I was in the annex building. Usually they dont do firedrills during lunch periods so it was a little strange. Someone said that the wiring malfunctioned. Period 4 was Level B sophonmores. The teachers told me the class was working on 'Lord of the Flies' which I had read in 8th grade as a replacement for a book report. She said that this class has no motivation at all. They don't read, they don't hand it papers or homework, some dont even hand in test that were given in class. 50 % of the class is failing and the students dont seem to care. I admit 'Lord of the Flies' is not abook I would recommend because it is difficult to follow and understand, but maybe if i were to teach it I would want to motivate it to make the students want to get into it more. Think ahead to rewards like a Jepordy game quiz, hand out simple worksheets for extra credit. As they to present or get into groups and present a part of the book and explain why they had choose it or give an essay about being stuck on an island how would they govern so they dont start to go crazy? If the kids arent motivated find a new way to motivate them. After that the day went slow, Period 6 and 7 are Seniors, and I must say that they arent the most well-behaved class. She repeatedly had to ask students to be quiet and turn around. They are finishing up the Story Macbeth and are soon, and have already completed most of a study worksheet that was handed out. A lot of the work sheet is fill in the blacks and questions. Like whats the famous whitches lines and which three things do the whichs show Macbeth and what do they mean. A lot of the classes at the end of the day are small. It would be nice to put them in a circle but they are so staggered across the room... 4 on one side in a cornor 7 in the back no one upfront. That really makes a difficult class to teach. I would either want them in a circle or all up towards the front of the classroom to make the learning and teaching easier for everyone, but watching the powerpoints and stuff makes me look forward to actually having my own classroom and doing things MY way one day. I hope student teaching isn't going to be as horrible as this observation was planned. =[ I might have to do it at a different school where I would feel comfortable not knowing any teachers.