Dr. M came to visit me last Friday and I must say I was as bit apprehensive and anxious. Our school had been closed for two days that week due to the flooding and I was sure I was going to crack under pressure or the kids would since their neighborhoods had been affected. Anyway Dr. M. made it on that Friday and business went on as usual. Things were going okay and my class was transitioning as normal until we began the powerpoint of Report Writing. To make matters worst, it covered writing a Narrative Report using Passive and Active voice so it was more of an English lesson than a CTAE one. Man this lesson was so boring until I almost dozed off. Well shortly after the second slide kids started "dropping like flies". I had about 4 students sleeping after being called on the carpet and others were slowly joining them. If that wasn't bad enough, an unrelated student (from another class) knocked on my door asking to use my microwave..I know right!!!???? Anywho, I went immediately into damage control and instructed my entire class to stand to their feet and do the Hokey-Pokey in an event to wake them up. Did they do it? Not really. Did Dr. M and I do it? Of course we did. Did they (students) wake-up?.yeah with the weight of a detention hanging over their heads. Eventually we got on with the lesson and things picked up.
My point of sharing this story is to say, please do not make the mistakes that I did. For starters I got overwhelmed with the thought of Dr. M. coming and prepared way too much work for my students (something I have a tendency to do on occasion). What I didn't mention was the class went from a gallery walk into a boring presentation. I set my kids up for the "okey-doke" and almost lost them in the end. Dr. M.'s visit allowed me to see the err of my way and he offered me some great suggestions. I now know that when there is a subject that is hard to teach or is more of a content area opposed to a hands-on I will allow my students to teach parts of the sessions to keep them active and alert. I will also consult and collaborate with other departments for assistance as well.
Thanks again Dr. M.!
GIRRRRLLLL my goodness but you made it through if we don't make mistakes how can we get better at what we do. I am proud of you keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteHi, AJ - as you know I enjoyed my visit and especially the way you responded to your class. You were attentive to their behavior and made proper modifications as you went along - all signs of a good teacher! Keep up the great work!
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