Day one of student teaching was extraordinary. Today was the name game, and from this day forward, the students of Mrs. Parsons's Language Arts classes will continually have to interchange "Mrs" and "Miss" - which I have realized only comes out as one ambiguous slurring of the two in order to address both Mrs. Parsons and myself. The unfortunate part of the humble beggining of student teaching is having to learn the names of roughly 90 different students. I believe that the most prominent sign of initial respect is to dignify someone by calling them by the right name. The classes had a good time taking advantage of my ignorance on day one. Tom became Carl and Lisa was Lyndsay. Thank God for seating charts. As a future educator, I would like to say my name memory is above average, but that is about to be put to the test.
My activity for each class was to have them tell me their name and a fun fact about themselves. I debated several other options when considering my extreme loathing of this repititve activity in my college classes. I came to realize that middle schoolers actually love to talk about themselves, and given the opportunity, this bunch is extremely original. "I love tornadoes." "I am training to be an MMA fighter." "I can put my legs over my head." That last one had a fresh example. I assured the class I would have their names down as quickly as possible but will infinitely remember all their quirks.
The next step was protocall in allowing the class to ask me anything they wanted (censored, of course). I was surprised at each class's ability to keep it PG-rated, but they inevitably had me laughing each period. My likability with one student was measured by my taste in professional soccer teams, many wanted to know what college was like, and another was eager to gauge my taste for Choco Tacos.
The day went smoothly, but my body will take some adapting to my routine time change. I am required to arrive at 730am and stay until 330pm. To respect my body's thirst for a run each morning, my day begins far before the sun breaks. This morning, I awoke to a blistery, idyllic snowfall. The disguised resistance training through the snow halted my run a bit short (imagine runing through deep, dry sand). However, the run woke me up enough to make it to lunch (I now long to publish a novel on the politics of the teacher's lounge).
I drive home exhausted, but thrilled with the wonderful experience I am fortunate enough to embrace. I reflect after my long day with a call to Mom and a Drake Diner dinner with one of my favorite people in the world. It doesn't take me long to realize that the fostering of our own health and most important relationships in our lives is the best gift we can give ourselves. Paul Zak, a neuroeconomics pioneer would say "8 hugs a day. You'll be happier, and the world will be a better place."
Watch here: http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_zak_trust_morality_and_oxytocin.html
Happy Trails.
2 comments:
Cheese fries at the Drake Diner
What was your answer to the Choco Taco question? And, when the student asked that question, did you immediately think of Bimbo?
Love this post. The name game is great, super pumped to hear more on this and your goal to learn all the names.
Good job waking up early to run!! Lucy likes the snow.
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