The calm.

So, I have just completed my first full week of student teaching. The previous week I had a day off for a career fair, but this week I was there all 5 days, teaching 3-5 periods a day, usually around 4. I ran lessons, I disciplined kids, I learned a lot.

I'm now on spring break, which is very nice. I'm going to try to go on a little vacation to Portland at some point, but aside from that, I intend to lay low as much as possible and recouperate, maybe get some lesson planning done for the next two months. I've already planned two units out, and am working on the other two for science, whereas with math I'm a bit lost. I've planned a few lessons out, but due to my background and familiarity with science education, it's not nearly as easy.

My cooperating teacher has been giving me a lot of really good advice, and I've been doing my best to take it. The honeymoon phase has ended, and many of the kids seem rather neutral towards me, rather than the polite, pleasant youths I had gotten to know. I'm now witnessing all the different ways kids try to screw with teachers, which is... Exhausting. In fact, everything about teaching is exhausting at this stage. It's a very tiring job- I come home, and I just want to sleep. Some days I have a chance to, other days I go to meetings and make it home after 7. Still, there's a sense of purpose to it all, and a real want to make the educational experience as positive as possible for the kids- if it isn't, it'll be harder for everybody.

I have learned a lot of lessons, but I'll keep them off till another time. Right now, I'm just glad I survived my first week, and while I need this vacation, I really can't wait to get back into it. Also, I have recently found a goldmine of cool science videos and stuff, which, if I have time to filter through, I might post here. For those of you familiar with SA (somethingawful), they have a science thread on GBS. It's pretty cool.

Also, reading The World is Open and Uncovering Student Ideas in Science. Good stuff.

-P.