My Student Teaching Experience

Lots of firsts this week

Students working in pairs to find pronouns, subjects, and verbs

SUMMARY
First student to give herself a haircut while I am teaching, first time to realize I had just been talking to a student that was asleep (with his eyes open), and first parent phone call.  I'll explain.

Haircut:  When I was explaining the directions for the lesson activity (that required scissors) one of the first grade students was cutting her hair.  I noticed the students odd demeanor and upon closer inspection found a pile of hair on the floor at her feet.  When asked why she did it she said she want short hair.  Mr. Pacer had me take her scissors and we sent a letter home to her parents explaining her new hairdo.

Sleeper:  This student has been sleeping alot in class for the first couple of days this week.  I turned the lights off to show a short video about Benjamin Banneker in Social Studies class and this student was in dreamland almost immediately.  I can't blame him, it was about a surveyor from a hundred years ago.  I was constantly waking him up during the video.  When I turned the lights on I was happy to see that he was sitting up.  After I explained the directions for the activity and told the students to begin I noticed that he was not beginning the activity.  I walked over and whispered in his ear that he needs to be working on his assignment.  I explained why it is important to listen to instructions and take advantage of the time we give him in class to get his work done.  When I stood up he was still not working on his lesson.  I walked back over and he had a blank look on his face.  HE WAS ASLEEP WITH HIS EYES OPEN!  I shook him and he finally woke up.

Parent call:  I changed a student's like because he was distracting the class multiple times by being silly when I called on him to answer questions.  When I changed the student's light he was surprised.  I asked him what he did wrong when I gave him the paper and he said he was being silly.  I said you are right and I told him that I had to call him down twice.  At the end of the day we discussed his behavior when we filled out the yellow sheet.  We were on the same page.  Almost immediately after returning home from school his father called me asking why his son's light was changed.  He said his son didn't know he did anything wrong.  I explained everything and he was fine with it.  It's amazing the things that get lost in translation between school and home.

INSIGHT
When it rains, it pours.