So it snowed last night...and for those of you that don't already know, we don't deal with snow too well in England. Or at least we don't where I come from in the south of England, apparently here in the north they're a little more accustomed to it and their schools and public transport don't descend into full blown armageddon. It was my school placement day today and when I looked out of the window I was already thinking about how nice it was going to be getting back into bed, but it seems schools are made of tougher stuff up here and it takes more than a little snow to divert them from everyday activity. The children on the other hand, not so much; mix a class full of 6-7 year olds with the first snow of the season and you have 30 or so over-excited and generally soaking wet little people. Needless to say getting them to focus on some work was going to be a challenge so I was more than a little impressed with the class teachers skillful handling of the situation. Instead of attempting to divert the children's attention she got them to do a story about what it would be like to experience snow for the first time. All in all it was a successful tactic and definitely something to remember for the future, if I ever manage to make it through my degree!
When I started my placement 4 weeks ago I was really nervous and the thought of teaching a lesson on my own was enough to bring me out in a cold sweat. I cant believe how much my feelings have changed in the 4 days I've spent with my class. I look forward to Thursdays each week and I have to admit that the little monsters are growing on me ridiculously fast! They're far from angels but I think that's half their charm! I already know it's going to be a sad day when I finish my placement in June, but right now that seems forever away so I'm content to just enjoy it for now and look forward to when I'll be spending a solid 4 weeks with them in June, actually teaching!
At the moment I'm mentally and physically preparing myself to venture out into the frozen wasteland that lies beyond the safe confines of my flat. Rest assured that I would not being going out tonight unless it was completely necessary, but it is. It's my flatmates birthday today and going out to celebrate is not optional and I am now dutifully getting ready to venture out into the sub-zero temperatures that await. It's becoming clear to me why the 'quick blog' I intended to post has grown so much in length, however I feel that I am only delaying the inevitable and that I should probably just surrender now and hope that copious amounts of alcohol will improve the outlook!
Another somewhat mundane post, but I can feel a good rant coming soon and a night out almost always gives me something to rant about so watch this space!
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Thank you for your comments on my blog. They really help me know people are listening, that my story is getting out.
ReplyDeleteI checked your blog out, I see you are a teacher. That takes a special person, I ended up teaching for about a year, (purely by accident) kids who were in 6-8th grades.
They were the EC kids, which here means "troubled" either behaviorly or some learning disabilities. Mainly behavior, after a year I could not do it anymore. And it make me want to put my kids back in private school beore they hit that grade level but money would not allow it.
thank you for your service to our children. Teachers can truly make or break school for a student, I feel it is the parents job to keep the child on track, but a good teacher can really help that be more successful.
good luck to you, I wll keep a check on your blog.