Week 1

Jan. 11, 2011

Today was my first official day at CHS. I already feel so welcomed by the staff and I am eager to feel more comfortable in the school. I need to make the effort to get to know the school better. It is big and I have gotten turned around a few times already.

I know I am going to learn so much from my cooperating teaching, John*, this semester! He is a great teacher and it is great to watch him teach this week and take notes. The students respect him and he doesn’t really have any problems with discipline. One of the hardest things in a language classroom is getting the students to use the L2. He tries his best to force them to use the language so that they are working with it and practicing.

Confidence is going to be a big semester long goal for me. I am hoping to work on that and gain more confidence in myself as a teacher. I need to feel comfortable with the students and being in front of a class.

*I have changed the first name of my cooperating teacher in order to protect his privacy.

Jan. 14, 2011

This first week was a short week because of the orientation on campus and a snow day I was only at CHS for three days. I am getting to know my CT, John, better and getting a feel for how he runs his classroom. During his prep periods and in the morning when he is planning he vocalizes his thought process so I can see what he is thinking and why he is doing what he is doing. I am glad that he does it because it is helpful for me!

I graded some quizzes for Spanish 2 with John this week and learned how to enter grades into their online grading system. It seems pretty easy to use. I was pretty shocked at how poorly the students did on the short 10-question quiz we gave them. I thought we had covered the vocabulary in class and we told them there was going to be a quiz and the topic of it. John said he does not think they studied and even with the extra snow day to prepare they did not take advantage of the extra time.

During 7^th period (which is the fourth time we have Spanish 2) I lead a short review activity after watching John model it 3 times. I think it will be nice to ease my way into the classroom by slowly taking over and doing activities together. It will help me feel more comfortable and build my confidence.

I also handed out a short introduction letter out to parents today about myself. I was able to provide them with my school email (I feel like a real teacher!) and some information about my studies and experience abroad.