Over-excited Long Day
So i skipped work this morning to be all fresh for visiting the high school where I might do my 16 week internship. It took over half an hour to drive to Nooksack, which, apparently, is in the middle of three in the middle of nowhere towns. BEAUTIFUL drive though! If they can guarantee me those mountains every morning, I don't know what I'd do, but it'd be good!
The teacher was great, and the school atmosphere pleasant. It's a really small school, and it smells like cow poop outside. Ms. Jenson teaches 9th and 10th grade block English using the Workshop method, which is brilliant. They are looking for an intern who wants to follow the class, so I'd have two cooperating teachers and (eventually) teach every day to the same group of kids. They want someone who will use the Workshop method, which is super-cool because that is how I'd teach. In this method, the teacher keeps the students busy on a reading/writing cycle, with lots of independent work and student choice. Writing projects focus around different genres (they just did memoirs). The teacher only actually teaches in front of the class for about 10-20 minutes a period, and spends the rest of the time in consultation with students, floating around and making sure they are on track. Studies show that this is the most effective method for differentiating learning and student retention as the decision aspect allows them to work at their own level, practice, and progress over the year. These kids are lucky enough to have a block class, and the same teachers for 9th and 10th grade, which helps create meaningful relationships.
I met two interesting students today. Andrew is in 10th grade, gay, and believes it is his personal mission to write stories for "his people" to help them know that what they are going through is normal and OK. He's interested in religion, and would be more active in the GLBT community if he lived in a place that allowed that kind of thing. Lucky he has Ms. Jenson to talk to. He had lunch with her because he's working on the "Freedom Writers" project (you may have seen the movie?). I also met Trenton, who has lived in Sumas his whole life. He told me about the towns and the people there. As I watched the class though, I thought about my other experiences in my own high school, in Mt. Vernon and the middle school in Bellingham and have come to a conclusion: high school kids are high school kids. They still need the same things, are into the same stuff, and dress the same, no matter where they are.
It took me ages to drive back because I decided to wing it, and found myself in Ferndale. How I got that far north, I'm not sure.
Ultimately, I'm pissing myself scared I'm going to screw this up horribly and do a terrible job. And yet I feel like it's probably time to stop talking about teaching and start teaching. It at once seems like too huge a task and too much responsibility, while part of me considers it the job of a glorified secretary and babysitter (which is only kind of true). It's hard to have that passion to succeed when I know this isn't what I'm supposed to do with my life, and I secretly feel like I'm better than the job...so why am I freaked out? Change blows. Also, Ms. Jenson didn't agree to be my cooperating teacher, but wants me to come back next week and meet with the other teacher to be sure this would be a good match for everyone involved. Would I just be making it harder on myself to have two cooperating teachers? Maybe I should look for another school...but nothing else has presented itself, and the educational paradigm looks just right for me. Hmm.
Did a bit of school work, read Cassie's tarot (not the best news, but she knew that), then went to PAST. There was a long discussion about how to make our Pagan club less Wiccan and more Pagan. The problem is that our leaders all self-identify as Wiccan, and have been generally doing the teach-ins and the rituals as of late, and the new people aren't having their voices heard. We had a good brainstorm about it, but haven't come up with a permanent solution. We'll see how this goes.
Hung out with
f_o_a_d at work and totally mooched off her place of business, and with Narrissa (also mooching). I'll definately miss Narrissa when she's gone. But she's gotten me interested in OLOTEAS public rits (look out Lugh!!). The whole discussion thing at PAST just made it clear to me that I need to branch out more.
I had to walk home in the fuck-off cold wind and rain. I hear it's snowing down south. I wouldn't be surprised if it did here too, although that would be extremely bad for work.
Got news from Debby about the ATC Seminary. It looks like I won't be working on the online curriculum, like Bella alluded to at Sickle. Rather, I'll be taking over administrative duties. Which is good for E'bet, because she's got enough to do, though organizing other people isn't exactly my strong point (compared to, say, curriculum development, but maybe my ideas are too radical for what we are trying to do). I'm looking forward to the challenge, and am wondering how I can promote the school and set up a schedule (time for research!). Maybe I'll be able to teach my magic class after all. I suppose I'll be organizing the online schedule too. It's probably good that I'm not writing curriculum, actually, seeing as my student teaching starts in January.
The teacher was great, and the school atmosphere pleasant. It's a really small school, and it smells like cow poop outside. Ms. Jenson teaches 9th and 10th grade block English using the Workshop method, which is brilliant. They are looking for an intern who wants to follow the class, so I'd have two cooperating teachers and (eventually) teach every day to the same group of kids. They want someone who will use the Workshop method, which is super-cool because that is how I'd teach. In this method, the teacher keeps the students busy on a reading/writing cycle, with lots of independent work and student choice. Writing projects focus around different genres (they just did memoirs). The teacher only actually teaches in front of the class for about 10-20 minutes a period, and spends the rest of the time in consultation with students, floating around and making sure they are on track. Studies show that this is the most effective method for differentiating learning and student retention as the decision aspect allows them to work at their own level, practice, and progress over the year. These kids are lucky enough to have a block class, and the same teachers for 9th and 10th grade, which helps create meaningful relationships.
I met two interesting students today. Andrew is in 10th grade, gay, and believes it is his personal mission to write stories for "his people" to help them know that what they are going through is normal and OK. He's interested in religion, and would be more active in the GLBT community if he lived in a place that allowed that kind of thing. Lucky he has Ms. Jenson to talk to. He had lunch with her because he's working on the "Freedom Writers" project (you may have seen the movie?). I also met Trenton, who has lived in Sumas his whole life. He told me about the towns and the people there. As I watched the class though, I thought about my other experiences in my own high school, in Mt. Vernon and the middle school in Bellingham and have come to a conclusion: high school kids are high school kids. They still need the same things, are into the same stuff, and dress the same, no matter where they are.
It took me ages to drive back because I decided to wing it, and found myself in Ferndale. How I got that far north, I'm not sure.
Ultimately, I'm pissing myself scared I'm going to screw this up horribly and do a terrible job. And yet I feel like it's probably time to stop talking about teaching and start teaching. It at once seems like too huge a task and too much responsibility, while part of me considers it the job of a glorified secretary and babysitter (which is only kind of true). It's hard to have that passion to succeed when I know this isn't what I'm supposed to do with my life, and I secretly feel like I'm better than the job...so why am I freaked out? Change blows. Also, Ms. Jenson didn't agree to be my cooperating teacher, but wants me to come back next week and meet with the other teacher to be sure this would be a good match for everyone involved. Would I just be making it harder on myself to have two cooperating teachers? Maybe I should look for another school...but nothing else has presented itself, and the educational paradigm looks just right for me. Hmm.
Did a bit of school work, read Cassie's tarot (not the best news, but she knew that), then went to PAST. There was a long discussion about how to make our Pagan club less Wiccan and more Pagan. The problem is that our leaders all self-identify as Wiccan, and have been generally doing the teach-ins and the rituals as of late, and the new people aren't having their voices heard. We had a good brainstorm about it, but haven't come up with a permanent solution. We'll see how this goes.
Hung out with
f_o_a_d at work and totally mooched off her place of business, and with Narrissa (also mooching). I'll definately miss Narrissa when she's gone. But she's gotten me interested in OLOTEAS public rits (look out Lugh!!). The whole discussion thing at PAST just made it clear to me that I need to branch out more.
I had to walk home in the fuck-off cold wind and rain. I hear it's snowing down south. I wouldn't be surprised if it did here too, although that would be extremely bad for work.
Got news from Debby about the ATC Seminary. It looks like I won't be working on the online curriculum, like Bella alluded to at Sickle. Rather, I'll be taking over administrative duties. Which is good for E'bet, because she's got enough to do, though organizing other people isn't exactly my strong point (compared to, say, curriculum development, but maybe my ideas are too radical for what we are trying to do). I'm looking forward to the challenge, and am wondering how I can promote the school and set up a schedule (time for research!). Maybe I'll be able to teach my magic class after all. I suppose I'll be organizing the online schedule too. It's probably good that I'm not writing curriculum, actually, seeing as my student teaching starts in January.