Musings on the observation of a student teacher, one semester later...
So today I had the opportunity to sub for a high school math class that had a student teacher. This, of course, lead to some thoughtful musings as someone who was recently a student teacher, and had a few mixed experiences when a sub was in the classroom as opposed to my co-op.
( So for all of you curious types who care to read... )
( So for all of you curious types who care to read... )
You're, um, not as insanely bad at confronting people on their shit as I am though, so you should be better at it than me once you get more experience under your belt. For my part, although I have improved and I can even occasionally deliver a good smack-down, there are days where I definitely feel that for all the work I put into it I am STILL too much of a doormat. I really should be working in a Montessori school or one of those crazy democratic-run schools, because the problem with being the kind of authoritarian public school forces you to be if you want any respect at all is that it goes completely against everything I believe in... but that's life as a public school teacher. Ideals? bah. You want a job? Teach to the test.
Ok, that was a bit more rambly than it needed to be. The point is, even people with way more experience than me have days where they comes to lunch and complains about their crazy kids not respecting them. Shit goes with the territory. I think dealing with it is as much getting a thick skin about it as it is figuring out your strategies and approach.
Oh, and they drive me crazy and IEP meetings are usually pretty lame, but I love my special ed kids. There's some real gems in that crowd-- kids who work so damn hard with so little your heart practically breaks wishing they had all the talents of the lazy smartasses in the back of the room.
Reply
I can see how classroom management is a never-ending concern for even the most experienced teachers, especially with new classes and students every year. I'd like to believe there is an assertive method that can work almost all of the time, but I certainly haven't figured it out yet. Especially since it is unnatural for me to be authoritarian. While subbing has been good for more disciplined classroom management it still feels terribly out of character for me. My awkward, fumbling attempts at control during student teaching, despite the disasters, fit my personality much more.
Bleh. Sorry if that's a little strange sounding. Still recovering from the interview.
You teach in inclusion classrooms, right? I really enjoyed that experience during student teaching, despite the meetings and paperwork. Does your district have an inclusion policy, or do they have certain teachers or certain classes that are inclusion-based?
Reply
Being authoritarian is lame. Stupid kids making it necessary. I think we're coming from a similar place on that one.
Four of my six sections are inclusion this year, in the past it's been three. (I now teach both the World and US inclusion, which used to each have 3 sections but with teacher cuts/larger classes they've been squashed to 2 each.) We have an inclusion policy--most places do these days, with updated IDEA laws and all. So I have a special ed coteacher, who is a lovely person and tries my crazy new ideas (and comes up with her own) and we take turns "being mean" as neither of us likes doing it, heh. Of course, if you get a shitty coteacher or bad support from your district, inclusion can be hell.
Still, I like it enough that I smile and shake my head when people in my department ask how I'm "holding up" with all those inclusion classes.
Reply
Leave a comment