I'm alive! Really, I am!
I can't believe how busy I am with student teaching! I'm already one month into it, and I really don't want it to end. Middle school is much better than I thought, but at this school, the discipline is pretty tough and consistent, which I think is a big factor.
My classes are all unique and have their own personalities. First, third, and seventh hour are all eighth grade and all different. First hour is dead quiet and slow with their project, while third hour is independent and moving right along, and seventh hour is hyper to get outta there! The first project for eighth grade was to create a graffiti name design and put it on some sort of background where graffiti might appear. A lot of them went with the standard red brick wall, which was what I did, but I have a few creative ones who put theirs on fences or train cars.
Second and fourth hours are seventh grade, and they're moving rapidly, too. These two classes are my most enthusiastic. Their first project was a name design in which they turn aspects of their hobbies or interests into letters and write their first name. Some of them are finished and have begun the next project of working with graphite. I took in some of my pencil sketches to show them and they were so excited! It's like they thought I was just an art teacher and not an artist! It seems that they like to see my work more than examples from the masters or way back in history.
Sixth hour is sixth grade and they are energetic because they are coming from something called FIT, I'm not sure what it is, but my host teacher said it just winds them up! Their first project was a name design in which they wrote their name using yarn and glue on wax paper. The name can be peeled off and then magnets are attached to the back so they can hang it up at home or in their lockers. Sixth grade is actually my favorite group except for one student, we'll call him 'A' because that's what his name begins with and he is a pain in my a**. He is severely emotionally impaired, but has been mainstreamed because of current trends in education. He will interrupt my instruction or come up to me during a demonstration because he wants something. He will raise his hand and yell "ooh, ohh, Miss B! I need help! Miss B!" when I'm clearly helping others. Friday he got so made at me that I wouldn't stop teaching and help him that he threw a pair of scissors. I mean, he chucked a pair of scissors. I sent him down to the Asst. Principal and he just started sobbing, like full fledged balling and temper tantrum. He wouldn't go down unless I took him down there, so I did. My other students were actually afraid of him! He's not allowed back if anything like that happens again.
My classes are all unique and have their own personalities. First, third, and seventh hour are all eighth grade and all different. First hour is dead quiet and slow with their project, while third hour is independent and moving right along, and seventh hour is hyper to get outta there! The first project for eighth grade was to create a graffiti name design and put it on some sort of background where graffiti might appear. A lot of them went with the standard red brick wall, which was what I did, but I have a few creative ones who put theirs on fences or train cars.
Second and fourth hours are seventh grade, and they're moving rapidly, too. These two classes are my most enthusiastic. Their first project was a name design in which they turn aspects of their hobbies or interests into letters and write their first name. Some of them are finished and have begun the next project of working with graphite. I took in some of my pencil sketches to show them and they were so excited! It's like they thought I was just an art teacher and not an artist! It seems that they like to see my work more than examples from the masters or way back in history.
Sixth hour is sixth grade and they are energetic because they are coming from something called FIT, I'm not sure what it is, but my host teacher said it just winds them up! Their first project was a name design in which they wrote their name using yarn and glue on wax paper. The name can be peeled off and then magnets are attached to the back so they can hang it up at home or in their lockers. Sixth grade is actually my favorite group except for one student, we'll call him 'A' because that's what his name begins with and he is a pain in my a**. He is severely emotionally impaired, but has been mainstreamed because of current trends in education. He will interrupt my instruction or come up to me during a demonstration because he wants something. He will raise his hand and yell "ooh, ohh, Miss B! I need help! Miss B!" when I'm clearly helping others. Friday he got so made at me that I wouldn't stop teaching and help him that he threw a pair of scissors. I mean, he chucked a pair of scissors. I sent him down to the Asst. Principal and he just started sobbing, like full fledged balling and temper tantrum. He wouldn't go down unless I took him down there, so I did. My other students were actually afraid of him! He's not allowed back if anything like that happens again.