I have a student teacher this semester. She is a wonderful woman in her 50's who has traveled the world and then decided to go back and finish her degree. She is a sweetheart and will make a great teacher. However, she is very soft spoken and fifth grade boys can be a handful. And today they were two handfulls!!
For me the hard part of a student teacher is when to step in and when to allow her to handle it. She has been with me for a month now and today she was really sick. I ended up convincing her to run to the doctor. She did and came back. Unfortunately, the 10 and 11 year old sharks started to circle. Isn't it funny how kids know when you're sick and they'll push every button you've got. Today I let her try and work her way out of it. It didn't go so well.
Tomorrow will be a new day. I hope my student teacher feels better and is ready to start a fresh.
4 comments:
I'm sorry the kids did that to her. For some reason that never happened to me when I was sick as a classroom teacher... maybe because they knew I was contagious.
And yes, tomorrow IS a new day.
Ditto Stacey's comment--but I teach older students and they were hacking and coughing along with me!
Oh boy...fifth grade boys!!! I feel awful for your student teacher, but that's an age when they can literally smell the opportunity (I'm sticking with your image of sharks!) to get the upper hand - and when they know they can, game's over. With that age group in particular, you need someone who can exert control - which doesn't mean yelling at the kids at all, but making it clear that you're in control. I hope she feels better...and that she finds herself placed in kindergarten or first grade where her gentle touch will be a real asset.
Praying for a better day for your student teacher and you!
Post a Comment