I have been at my first student teaching placement for two weeks now and so I just want to share a few things that might be entertaining. First, students at my placement school are not supposed to bring snacks outside at recess time. This surprised me and so I asked why.
Response: BEARS.
The following is a conversation I had with a male student.
Student: Miss Sykes, what does your husband look like?
Miss Sykes: I’m not married.
Student: oh, well what does your boyfriend look like?
Miss Sykes: I don’t have a boyfriend right now.
Student: well I find that hard to believe.
(Walks off to get stuff out of locker and get on the bus)
That conversation happened Friday as the bell rang. Shortly after getting back to the class room to talk to my associate teacher about the upcoming week where she would be gone 3 out of the 5 days, the fire alarm goes off. We follow the fire plan that we have already practiced 4 times this week and are out in the cold rain with no coats to wave at the students on the school buses. We then make our way to the front of the school where the substitute principal asks if we can be in and out in 30 seconds and my associate teacher replies with a yes. In we run, grab our stuff and head for home. We think that the daycare set the alarm off making snacks after school....
I would also like to know who it was that thought “open concept” schools were a good idea. It is sooooooo distracting to hear the other classes! Even when your class quiets down to do some learning all the sudden the other class is noisy and students at the back can’t hear the soft spoken answers of children at the front. Also teachers can’t plan “noisy activities” for their class to do because they will interrupt the other classes, and sometimes you need to let children be noisy.
Overall I think I’m learning a lot, especially about being flexible!
