Mr. Larkins experience at MMC.

Hey! So here is how i'm doing in bulleted points for easy reading:

• Taught my first math lesson today. It was probably very boring for the students but overall a successful-ish day of teaching. Taking a page out of Ralph with that one (but without the awkward inappropriate humor).
• Phys. Ed is awesome. I love the gym. Doing fitness testing this week and the kids are great, work hard, behave fairly well.
• The MMC students put on a play. I went to see it. It was phenomenal. I'd say that it compared favorably to a play by the Black Hole Theater (but these are high school kids!)
• Currently running a fundraiser for Winnipeg Harvest (Just finished today). Selling T-shirts from Hot 103 with all proceeds going to Harvest. Managed to sell 33 T-shirts! (10$ for each student/staff to buy one, with a generous former employee donating $330(hopefully!) to make up the difference since the shirts cost $20). So that means we were able to raise $660 for Wpg Harvest! Awesome!
• Also joined a group called the Key Club which has weekly meetings and runs various fundraisers/charitable events. I like it a lot, and they actually appreciate my help =).
• Finally Chris P. is also at MMC and from what I can see he is doing awesome!

Ok so my burning question for all of you is: Have you had an awkward moments not knowing whether to say "Mr., Mrs., Ms.," or just someone's first name?

I have, a lot. In the staff room say first name, in class or anytime students are around say Mr, Ms. Or Mrs. For me the worst thing was in class when there was a sub I was talking about a point my Cooperating Teacher had made the day before. I said "remember that Colin said ...." One of the students glared back at me and said "you mean MR. MCDONALD!". I felt really redicilous! But live and learn!

Best of luck to everyone with the 2nd half of their practicum!!! (that's right we are halfway there!!!).

PS: Pics of my beard/fun shave job will be hitting facebook soon, feel free to creep, comment, and/or like!

Justin 'jurassic lark' Larkins

Week Three Already?

Hi all!

The concert was last week, and it went really well! It was at Jubilee Place at MBCI and my piece was first on the program. The students watched me very well and everyone came in when they were supposed to, they looked sharp, and we made lovely music! It was much less nerve wracking than when I perform on my own. By the time the students perform, it's pretty much out of my hands, I am simply there to guide them, if they let me.

Now, I am on my own with the concert bands. My CT is observing and taking notes that we discuss at the end of the day. So, that means I have grade 9, grad 10 and grade 11-12 concert bands to myself! I chose the Overture to the Marriage of Figaro for the older groups and a piece called "Wind River Overture" for the 9's. I had my first rehearsals with them today, handed out their new music and preliminary worksheets that I had written out last night (musical themes that occur throughout that they can play in unison). The day was successful, except for the the 9's at the end of the day who gave me a run for my money. I will simply have to find ways to keep the class moving along at a quicker pace since they are ALWAYS going to be the last class of the day. I only have 6 more classes with each of them before the break.

As for Jazz Band, I'm still having to learn sooo much. For now, my CT has me learning valve trombone and sitting in with the students. Pretty hillarious. I think I hit three notes last week and attempted to improvise a solo (wow, it was NOT impressive). But, since their jazz concert is on the 8th, I'm not getting time in front of them. Just absorbing as much information as possible.

That's it for now, have a great week everyone!

Joanne

so far so good

So I had my first evaluation on Thursday. I was a couple of classes in to my unit so I was feeling pretty good. The students also knew I was being evaluated so I think that helped a bit. I know all of their names so I have no problem calling them out on anything. We were wrapping up a section on earthquakes and volcanoes so I had some solid videos to show them. The class went really well. No issues with video and everyone that showed up late (maybe 10 of them) was respectful of the rest of the class.

When I sat down with my advisor afterwards I got the comment 'you are ready to be teaching already, that was great' Obviously, I was pretty pumped on that comment. I know I still have a lot of work to do in order to be successful, but I am moving in the right direction. I'm still having a blast at the school, we just had an inservice. We were broken up into 5 different groups to discuss some teaching principles. My group got assessment. It was pretty funny to see a bunch of other teachers talking about assessment for the umpteenth time over the past few years. Our discussion didnt last too long. Afterwards I got to see more of the admin side of inservices. We met as departments and tried to find ways to get more developmental time and resources. NOTE: always ask for twice as much as what you want. you will probably only get half of what you ask for.

that's pretty much it for now. big day with basketball tryouts tomorrow and another evaluation the next day. keep having fun folks and we'll see you soon

A Day I Will Never Forget!!!

So I have finally found the time today to read through all the blogs and I was happy to read everyone's experiences so far. I do not feel so alone lol. So as many of you know I am at Dakota Collegiate, My first week was great. I am assigned with two art teachers for the entire block. Both teachers are so different so it has been a great learning experience observing their different teaching techniques and classroom managment plans. I am student teaching 3 classes, grade 10's, grade 12 (football boys who are there for the easy credit), and grade 9's. I was having a blast helping them on their painting and multi-media projects and going on field trips with them. One field trip we went on was to the park where we had a bond fire/bbq and some students were aloud to bring their artwork to burn it in the fire as a celebration of finishing a project that they struggled on. It was very interesting and almost spiritual lol.

All was good until my first evaluation day on Monday nov. 22nd, with my grade 12 boys (shaking my head). It was the first time I had introduced a lesson to an actual high school class ever! And no one else at my school wanted to go first so I took one for the team. So of course I was nervous, and my teachers warned me that my advisor was very traditional and did not understand how an art classroom worked, as they had trouble explaining it to him in past years. Now my grade 12 class is unqiue, alot of them have failed a couple times so they are 18/19 and I am only 2 or 3 years older than them. Some of them know my friends which is scary too. Alot of these ppl took this class for an easy credit, so there is no motivation and no respect for art in general. My teacher has completely given up on them since they dont want to work and never hand anything in. Alot of them come to class stoned out of their faces, So he lets them go get food to snack on during class and lets them chat up a storm because they manage to work a little more when they talk.

So Monday comes around and I introduce a plasticine project, my intro was shortened from 10 mins to 5 becuase they were just not paying attention and were talking or texting so by screaming for attention constantly I gave up after 5 minutes. So thats fine in art classroom because once they know what to do they are supposed to go and work, because art is not about lecturing for a long time. Well as soon as I gave them plasticine they were whipping it at eachother's faces behind my back, swaring constantly, grabbing food from the caf, and picking on eachother! At one point I thought two boys were going to stab eachother with pallette knives! No matter what I said to these 2 boys they just did not take me seriously. So i tried to control the situation the best I could and and for the most part all of them accomplished to finish 1/2 of their project because I would push each one of them to work. So my advisor tore me apart in my evaluation! I wanted to die inside while he was talking to me. He wanted me to be like Mr. Wayne and to crack the whip on these boys. He said at one point that he wanted to grab the 2 misbehaving boys out of the room and give them the lecture of a lifetime. So I felt terrible and I felt like I was going to fail the entire thing. I was too nice and not firm enouigh with them, because I didnt know how to!

So The next day I called out their behaviour for 10 minutes! Me and my teacher just got so mad at them, it felt so good to vent. I told them I was being evaluated and they said to me (including to 2 bad boys) "Were so sorry miss G, we like you and we didnt know that you were being evaluated, we thought he was a foriegn exchange teacher who was just observing!" I was thinking WTF! Why didnt I tell the class before hand that he was comming to onserve me? So I told them that he was coming back in 2 days because he was concerned so they promised me they would be on their best behaviour. After the talk they felt bad, I could see it even in the two boys, I was honest with them and they respected me back. Thursday comes around and they were complete angels...... I only had to comment on a few sware words that slipped out, and kick out random ppl who walked into the class. My advisor was so happy that he saw improvment and I was saved. I do not have any more evaluations in that grade 12 class anymore so I know I will be great in the other 2 classes. But it was an experience that broke me, and I had to build myself back up... it was an experience that I learned from and will never forget.

Week 2 Update from Westgate

As I was in early to shoot with some students yesterday, the vice principal came in and told me that he's been hearing some complaints about me. I was quite shocked as he had a pretty serious look on his face. I responded "really" in a crack voice. In a serious face he said, "I hear that students are having TOO much fun in gym class" and quickly smiled after he said that. It took me a second to realize that he was joking around with me and once I figure it out, I smiled and replied "well, is that a bad thing?". As he went to leave the gym, he said "thanks for all the great stuff you've been doing here." It was really pretty cool to hear this. It helped me be a bit more confident going into my science lesson about the heart. Which by the way, I was prepping in the staff room before the class and 15 mins before I was to do the lesson, my advisor walks in. Lesson went well and got some good comments for my advisor and CT. During the lessons I quietly said to a girl sitting in the desk right in front of me "I'm a bit nervous". She whispers back to me "dont' be, you're doing fine". It made me smile and relax.

I've been going into shortly after 7 to work with potential basketball players on their shot because they want to make the team. It sucks that I'm going to most likely cut a few of them and they are the ones coming in and putting in the effort. One mom came up to me after practice last night and asked if her son had to come to all the practices if he son made the team. I didn't quite answer at first but said that anyone that makes the team will have to attend all practices because I didn't know who's mom she was. So I asked her who her son was and it was a kid who's runners were so old that he looked like he was skating when we ran lines. The mom said that he's getting new basketball shoes and that she's so pumped to see him out for something outside of school. I feel bad though because I'll be cutting her son next week and she'll probably go out and get him new shoes this weekend. As much as I'm excited about coaching, this is the part I hate the most. I love to see the enthusiam but when it comes down to it, I can't take everyone. Wish that there was more time in the day so I can do something for these kids that want to play but aren't good enough to make the team. So many kids call me Coach and are going out of their way to be nice to me. They really want to make the team and I know they won't think I'm as cool after I cut them. That will be interesting to see.

Justin, I must give you the credit that you deserve for this. I do your clapping thing in every class. And at the start of class, it takes about 3 or 4 claps but if I ever have to do it during class, it takes 2. Once people hear that first clap, they are kind of trained to be quiet by the time the 2nd one comes around. So thanks, I tell the teachers that I got it from you cuz I can't take the credit for such a brilliant technique. Thanks buddy.

Teaching has been pretty fun so far. I've been getting to know more and more students and they are starting to open up to me. When I get bored I start walking around the school and talk to students and teachers we are also wandering the school. I've found that once I talk to them outside of class, they tend to try harder in the next class I have them in. It's like because they know me more, they are more willing to try out my ideas. Today I spent more than 3 mins in the staff room after lunch. I haven't been in there much b/c I don't know too many other teachers. Today another student teacher was there so I decided to hang out a while longer than usual. There was about 7 of us in there and they were talking about first jobs and it was really neat hearing thier stories. So many I'll start to hang out there a bit more now.

So that's my week. Hopefully I'll get some time this weekend to get up the video tour of the school. Hope that everyone is doing well. Can't wait to see you guys again.

Mr C / Mr Catacutan / Coach / Mitch / Hey You

So walking through the library the other day and stop to admire a whole school photo. Notice in front there is this little chubby kindergarten kid with hand covering half his face to block the sun. For any of you counting it was me around 19 years ago. Wow time passes fast.

Well after a couple weeks of mostly watching my CT it is my turn to teach as I have the Grade 9 Trans math class for at least the week, probably starting some Grade 12 consumer and then will finish the year teaching a unit in Grade 11 Physics. As weird as it sounds I think the physics will be the easiest. I always find it is easier to teach the “smarter” students than the ones struggling in the class. It should be a lot of fun.

During the semester we have heard how teachers have to be professional in and out of the classroom I saw teachers come to school in the dirtiest clothes, weird looking costumes and their pajamas. Yes this week was spirit week and some of the teachers go all out. It is a good time. Also got to join the staff of both the colligate and elementary for their Christmas party and saw a different side to the staff.

Hope you are all enjoying your practicum as much as I am and looking forward to hearing more from each of you.

Keith

Just Another Video

Some Dancing at Westgate from Mitch Catacutan on Vimeo.

So here's what the fuss is all about at Westgate: this new guy is getting kids to dance!!! Here's proof. We did some jive one week and then I did a hip hop lesson where they picked cards that had dance moves on there (shopping cart, robot, grapevine, etc) and they had to come up with their own routine. Best class ever! They've been asking to keep on doing dance in class. Pretty exciting.

Mr C

*sigh*

So today was my second day on the job, I'm teaching phys ed every day until christmas, and social studies a couple times a week. I'm more excited to teach social studies now since the gym class I am assigned to teach has 37 students... WHYYYYY?? how am i supposed to teach lacrosse to 37 students!? about 35 of them hated it and said it would be better with contact. there were tons of subs in the game which goes against everything we learn in phys ed.

overall the students at my school are great. my social studies class is full of awesome students and we are currently doing a unit on diversity and pluralism... you mean.... yatta actually taught me something useful? im excited to start teaching social studies, and like i said my gym class is ridiculously over capacity. in my gym class i also have two deaf/hard of hearing students (who are among my best students as I have about 5 students who don't even bother to change or participate... why bother coming...) and one exchange student who does not speak a word of English.

I will update you guys again next week after I'm done teaching a couple classes of social studies and am observed by my advisor :/

Miss you all!

Ms. K / Special K

My First Class by Rob Goodman

So I taught my first full class today. Grade 10 geography. We started a new section on natural disasters and hazards. The class uses a smartboard, so I was able to put all my powerpoint slides up on the screen. NOTE #1: dont use too many animations or transitions with a smartboard if you want to walk around the class. You have to go back too often to click to the next point.

I decided to change the way my class took notes. I made it easier for them, or so I thought. The concept of taking information and putting it in a blank was lost on a lot of them. We worked through it and got ready to watch a video. NOTE #2: Redekopp was right, when you need stuff to work it won't. The computer crashed halfway through the video and we had to take an intermission to fix it.

Overall, I thought everything went really well. A lot more students were on time today and they were quiet for most of the class too.

I asked a student who wasnt in my class to remove his hat in the hallway. The response I got was "F*** you". I have to meet with his mom and him tomorrow morning so that he can apologize to me. Pretty funny.

That's all I've got, I'm teaching the rest of the week and into the next.

Peace
Mr. Goodman

Big day tomorrow!!

So tomorrow my faculty advisor is coming in to the gym and watching me teach. I am excited but nervous at the same time. We are doing a badminton unit right now which is definitely not my favorite sport and a lot of kids don't really enjoy it either so I'm going to try and make the class a little more fun and teach it my way. I am a little nervous because my CT has a very traditional way of teaching so I hope she will like the way I present the lesson. This is also the first time that I am actually teaching a whole class so that makes me nervous as well, the fact the my faculty advisor is watching me teach my first EVER class!!

Today my other CT is away so a sub is coming in but the funny thing is is that my CT gave control of the class to me. Since all my students are doing is writing a test it shouldn't be bad but it's funny that they bring a sub in for that...anyways, hearing everyone's experiences and stories is comforting because I know that I am not alone and we are all in this together!!

My First Concern....

Hey Everyone

I was evaluated today by my AA(academic advisor) on my first lesson of my basketball unit. The lesson went really well as I tried to reach out to the haters of basketball. Lots of them seemed quite puzzled when I told them that I hated basketball in phys ed seeing as I'm a basketball player and coach. They seemed to understand once I explained why. I told them that I won't try and make them a basketball player in 8 classes but I will try and get them to enjoy basketball in that time. So we did a bunch of games today that used basketball skills. At the end of class when I asked them if they had some fun, they all said that they did and I told them that I got them playing basketball without actually playing basketball. I told them that if they had fun today, then they will have fun this unit. After class, my AA thought that I did a great job and commended me for having her come in and check out my first planned lesson.

Due to popular demand and hearing from the other grades 9 class that I did dance with on Friday, I was asked to teach dance to the other half of the grade 9's. So of course I did it. It went just like the other lesson and afterwards when we had some extra time, I kept that music on and dance with almost everyone in the class. The boys once again wanted to learn how to do the flip and I showed them and had to flip most of them. The girls actually wanted in on this too and wanted to do some of the other complex moves. At the end, I put on some Usher and we danced the rest of the class away together pulling out some of our best moves. I hope to work with them again.

So down to the real stuff:
On Friday in the staff meeting, the teachers went around and asked about any student concerns. When a name pops up, the teacher that brings the students name up states the concern whether it's attendance or marks. Then asks to see if anyone else has that same sort of problem with that student. One of my basketball players from last year name came up (by my assistant coach too). The said that this student wasn't achieving as well as he thought that he would in his class, he's handed some stuff in late, and he just seems to be a bit depressed this year. When asked, some other teacher's had a similar concern that he does look a bit depressed. I was a bit shocked to hear this as I had seem him everyday and we hang out whenever we can. He's always asking me when we can get into the gym and work on his shot. He's planning to try out for the Provincial team b/c I had told him last year that he was good enough to play at that level. So even though he isn't playing for me this year as he's moved up to the varsity level, we went in twice last we at 7 am to shoot for an hour and bit before class starts. To me, it does not look like he's depressed at all. He's a bit of a quiet guy but I've been able to open him up a bit since I coached him last year.

So hearing this, I didn't mention my experience with him in the staff meeting but I did talk to my CT's back in the phys ed office. I had asked them if I was stepping my boundaries if I tried to reach out to him and find out what could be going on behind the scenes. Both of them said that it was worth a try seeing as he trusts me. So report cards came out today and my opening will be to ask him how his marks are and go from there. I know that he's had a girlfriend in the school for over a year now (which is long at that age I guess) and I haven't seen them together as much this year as I did last year. That may or may not be the case but I'm determined to see what's going on. I seem to bring out something different in him so hopefully I can help him out.

Good to hear

It's late, so I'll keep this short. To sum things up, I'm prepping the unit on Particle Theory to teach to two classes of grade 7's. Planning a unit is tough, and I'm constantly revamping lessons in an attempt to include meaningful and continual assessment while making things interesting for the students. I think I begin actually teaching the unit near the end of this week.

So far I've managed to teach 2 math classes, 3 half periods of science, and one full science class. I incorporated an Xtranormal skit I created as well as the Can Crushing demonstration. Once class actually clapped and about half of them personally thanked me for going through the trouble of making the class so fun! I was blown away. One thing I hadn't really considered for this grade level is that fact that they have VERY limited knowledge about scientific investigations or experimentation. Looks like I'll be teaching them a lot of these Essential Learning Outcomes in this unit, along with the SLO's. Very cool, but also a major challenge. If I do it well, they might actually enjoy science.

I've also agreed to coach the Grade 8 boys basketball team. I'm cautiously excited about this. Of course basketball is a passion of mine, so that part is clean cut. Unfortunately, several of the grade 8's at the school have pretty big attitudes. How do you make a boy into a man Mitch? Oh yeah! I guess we'll be doing a load of man-makers! I'm sure there won't be too many issues, and the ones that do arise will be good for my learning curve.

Later guys

My First Lesson........Dance

First off, thanks to everyone that's starting to post on here. I agree with George (Paul) Peirce that it is interesting to hear all our different experiences. I'm sure that by reading each other experiences, we can learn quite a bit from each other. So thanks for posting and keep em coming!

So my first lesson I taught was dance. It was to the grade 9 class who I was telling people when I was there for our shadow day, these guys broke out and danced to Single Ladies. I knew right away that these guys would be fun. My CT for that class (one of four) is really fun as well, she gets into the games, she puts on her ipod, and had more energy and enthusiasm than I do. This makes working with her fun so when she said that she was thinking of trying out some dance with these kids, I jumped at the chance to teach them some basics of what I know. She loved the idea and said go ahead.

We had started off the day by playing some dancing warm up game which involved some booty shaking and some back to back dancing. I didn't quite get the moves at first (or the song they were singing) but i got them enough so that I could participate. Then I gave them a short intro into myself and how I thought that I was alright dancer (gave them a little sample of my limited Repertoire of moves). Then showed them a clip of Jen and her friend, Thor, dancing and finally the video that Jen and I made. Afterwards one of the students said "Mr C, you such compared to that guy". We all had a good laugh over it and it brought me to my point, even thought I wasn't that good, it was still fun to try something out. Dancing is a skill that can be learned like any other skill. When asked, they thought that it would be pretty cool to look like Jen and Thor so off we went to learn.

The lesson didn't go as smoothly as planned. We only learned about four moves: inside/outside turn, left arm slide and two handed arm slide. It wasn't pretty nor perfectly technical but they enjoyed it. With ten mins lefts, I just let my ipod play and they just danced with some of them switching partners to show different moves they came up with. I actually took the teacher and danced with her for a bit. The boys afterwards asked me to show them how to do the flip that Jean did to me in the video so I showed them and they all tried it out. Even the teacher got flipped once. It was cool. Later on after lunch I saw most of those 9's in the hallway and they said that they had a great time learning and asked if we would do more the next day. I told them to ask Miss Fast and we'll go from there.

Later on in our staff meeting, the 3 teacher candidates were introduced by our CTs. After I was introduced one of my CTs yelled out that I'm getting kids to dance and then 3 teachers then said "so you're the guy that all the kids were talking about this afternoon". It turns out that it was a bit hit and the students were talking about it. Also, Miss Fast said that the other half of the grade 9 class was asking here if they were going to learn dance too. Hearing this, she asked if I could come teach the other class on Monday during my prep period. Hopefully this will go a bit smoother. So I made a pretty good impression on my first actually class. Now I have to prep for my basketball unit and see if I can reach those who hate basketball. My advisor will be there too. Piece of cake.

Anyways, I'm out so enjoy your second week everyone. It sounds like we're going to start getting into some teaching of lessons so I can't wait to hear how your lessons go. Peace of now.

One week down...how many more to go?

Well, my first week at Gordon Bell was interesting in ways i never could have imagined! The kids are unmotivated, they always late that is if they decide to show up, and see nothing wrong with swearing when and where they want!

My first day started well enough but ended with me splitting up two grade 8 girls in the middle of class. They decided it was the appropriate place to pound each other over a facebook comment.

Yesterday the same group ended off my day by attacking one kid with the chalk pastels(which are quite expensive), and practically left him crying! The saddest part is that once you sit down and have conversations with many of them you find out that their stories and ways of behaving make sense. Most of us couldn't begin to imagine the kinds of homes they are coming from and the turmoil they have experienced on a personal level in just a few short years. It breaks your heart!

Despite all this the staff has been really great and that helps especially because they know what it feels like, and are able to give advice on how to deal with certain situations.

As exhausted as i feel right now, i am determined to carry this out in the best way possible and have to develop a different approach to deal with this particular group of kids. I'm not sure what that is yet, but hopefully the week ahead will be better and at least now i know what i'm up against!

I'm really glad to hear the rest of you are all having such amazing experiences in your schools. I know you'll all continue to do amazing!

wild wild west!

So I am at a school right near my house in the west end, General Wolfe. I personally did not attend the school but many of my friends are in the graduating class pictures on the walls. The school is slightly strange, being an open concept school and later having renovations, the floor plan of the small building is a bit peculiar. Their are about 460 students at the school and probably less than 35-40 who are Caucasian. I am actually quite used to this from growing up and attending school in the area. The staff are all very nice and is happy to have student teachers in the building.

Being one of the tallest people in the building I am referred to affectionately as "Paul" Pierce... the NBA player, I don't mind this because EVERYONE now knows who I am, or at least my last name. On wed this week I supervised and joined in on the schools break dance club, that's right break dance... I am going to supervise from now on and believe it or not I'm not bad, I can now say that I have participated in an actual break dance battle.

The gym is very "real" small, often with 2 classes combined (30-40 students) not a whole lot of planning, and not great equipment. I constantly battle with safety issues in the gym which are overlooked by the other gym teachers, but don't exactly know how to remedy the problem. My CT was punched in the face on tuesday while seperating 2 students who were fighting... Dispite this I actually really like the time I spend in the gym.

I spend a lot of my time with a science teacher as well, she is great. The students unfortunatly for the most part are not interested in the class and show it. There are lots of classroom management issues, so things move real slowly. I am going to start teaching in both gym and science next week which I am looking forward to. I want to break routine in both classes and do my own thing, so i know i will be busy coming up with lesson plans.

I am doing great and from the sounds of it, so is everyone else. I think it is interesting that everyone is having such different experiences.

no tears, no blood, no vomit

Hi all!

what a lovely first week! and I can proudly say that I taught a whole day on my own (my CT was at a funeral and they didn't hire a sub), and in my weakest subject, jazz band! I don't know how much they learned from me, but there weren't any classroom management issues, we ran through their charts fairly successfully, and I still had a smile on my face at the end of the day! The concert is next week and I'm conducting the grade 9's on one piece, for the rest of it, I'll be back in the percussion sections helping out. After the concert, I really hope to get some time observing other classes, perhaps one that Konrad is teaching down the hall!

have a wonderful weekend everyone, you certainly deserve it!

Joanne

Fisrt week is done

Hey all how was the first week. Four more to go. I'm teaching classes Monday and Tuesday and I'm really looking forwards to Mondays class. Tuesdays not so much, the kids in Mondays class are attentive respectful and quiet. They are desperate for some kind of engagement from the teacher and I think I can ram a packed lesson on them without any hiccups. The kids in my grade 9 class which I'm teaching meiosis to on Tuesday afternoon are the opposite. Good kids over all but extremely rowdy. I have been advised to be boring, and direct teach for the whole period by a very liberal co-operating teacher. This group is very talented at hijacking classed and bringing leaning to a grinding halt. If any of you have some classroom management tricks up you sleeve, I could really use them. I'm really liking this experience, but I'm having trouble finding my place in the class room, especially a specific one. I wrote a lesson plan, made powerpoint and came up with a few cool things for the class to do relating the chemistry they are learning to current environmental issues. The teacher seems exited to let me teach. But doesn't even want to see any of my lesson planing for their class.??????? Any feedback guys? I hope You are all doing well and having a lot of fun. cause I am. hope to see you all soon.

What is up 1c?

Just wanted to wish everyone luck if their advisor is coming in next week. I get evaluated on monday the 22nd so i am nervous! I told my kids there would be a visitor so to be extra good and one girl asked "if were good does that mean you get to stay forever?" and then i said yes and bribed them with cookies so i will have some sugar high kids running around the class Monday

Next week i teach one home ec class aside from my three social studies classes and we are making pretzels whoop whoop!! I feel like i am doing alot of teaching already but that's OK my kids are awesome and we always end up talking about snowmobiling now that there is snow!

But good luck to everyone we are awesome teachers!!

Things are looking up in math class

So today in math class I stepped up and did the assignment wrap up (basically just answering any questions the students had about the assignment by doing them on the white board). It was a lot of fun to get involved. The gym is still where I am most comfortable and where my heart is but I'm starting to see that being in an actual classroom setting is not so bad either.

Anyways still loving the practicum thus far, but I am hoping for tomorrow to be a snow day!!!! (can anyone say 3 day weekend!! haha).

Hope you are all enjoying your practicum!!!

Justin

And So It Begins...

So I'm back in high school yet with some different results. Number 1, I am definitely the second smartest person in the room most of the time (sometimes smartest). Number 2, I am at the same school I spent 3 years as a kid, well the same building different school. Kinda bringing back some memories.

I got a great CT. He is fairly young and not too far out of U of M himself (yes we talk about the profs we have had in common) yet he seems very competent with his teaching abilities and I have learned a lot in the 4 days there so far.

Couple things that I've found weird so far is the return to the same schedule everyday. I know that each day the same classes will be at the same time and the only thing different is where I spend my prep period which has been in a couple of different classes observing other teachers and trying to be of some assistance if I am able to (today's biology class I was a bit out to lunch and so stayed in the back and watched). The other weird thing is being called Mr. Barkman/Mr. B/hey what's your name again. I always thought that it wouldn't be weird when the time came but it defiantly takes some getting use to.

I'll be teaching a grade 12 consumer class starting next week and then the week after will be leading a grade 9 trans math class. Teaching students long division and fractions is a bit of a stretch as it is tough bringing the knowledge I have down to the level that they can understand (no disrespect to the students on this one). Loving being a part of the classes.

Hoping all you have an awesome time in your schools (according to the rest of this blog this is already happening) and looking forward to getting together again.

Keith

Oh yeah, loving the short commute. It takes less time to get to my classroom than the walk to the university, not counting the 40 minute drive.

First week update!

It sounds like pretty much everyone has been having a great time, and I am no exception. I have a wonderful group of Grade 7s for AP science (they do the 7 curriculum and part of the 8 curriculum in preparation for finishing science 40S classes at the end of grade 11, from which they progress to the first-year university stuff in 12). Starting Monday I will do a whole unit with them (essentially take over the class until the 17th of December). Even though they only have science 4 days a cycle, I see them at least once a day because they also have math with my CT (with which I have been helping them). Additionally I see 8s and 9s for both AP science and AP math (the 9s do the 20S curriculum in both, having finished grade 9 subjects in grade 8), but have only had an observational role with them so far; it's likely I'll teach them each at least a couple times before the practicum ends to broaden my experience. And today I was asked, out of the blue, to teach a grade 5 science enrichment class (which they have once per cycle). That was slightly more chaotic; I have a theory that chaos in the classroom generally decreases until grade 6 or 7 depending on the group of kids, and then shoots way up for 8, decreasing again until 12.

But the kids are, for the most part, in partial violation of Redekopp's First Law. As I am at a private school teaching the advanced middle-schoolers, I have the most academically-inclined students at a school where they are all pretty much academically-inclined. Furthermore, my CT has created an environment of very high expectations and a great deal of freedom, which only the 8s abuse, and only a few of them (but they probably can't help it at this stage, and are still great, highly-motivated kids). I sometimes forget that my grade 7s are only 12.

Today, in the grade 7s elective period (they have at least 5-6 choices for 3, 3-month blocks), I helped 6 kids race carbon dioxide-powered rocket cars, which they built and painted, down the hallway. This particular elective is in lieu of shop class and seems like a brilliant idea to get them learning basic carpentry skills...in December, a new group will get the CO2-rocket-car challenge, and this group will disperse to performing arts, cooking, debating, art, etc., depending on what they opted for at the beginning of the year. And I ran my first science lab with the AP 7s earlier in the day (their first time ever using bunsen burners...no accidents! YAY!).

So far, I have received a lot of positive feedback and useful comments from my CT; I am having my first assessment visit from the Faculty Advisor on Tuesday, so I am going to spend a little extra time planning that particular lesson...up until today, I have spent only minimal time scripting (although my prep time has been more significant). I'll post again in ~ 1 week; happy teaching everyone!

Hey Guys!

Thanks for the reminder Mitch!

So i am at Lockport Junior High teaching grade 8 social studies and i love it! I have 3 classes of grade 8's that i teach and it is keeping me very busy! The staff and students have been really great to me. Some kids are a little energetic and dont like to listen but i deal with them as it goes. I am really nervous to see how the class is Mon-Weds cause my CT is gone away...should be interesting. Today i watched the movie Ice Age three times today.

As for next week, Monday my advisor comes to watch me teach so i am pretty nervous but i am sure it will ok.

But thats all i got for now MITCHELL!!

Take care guys!

Ashley Kutcher

First day of teaching.

Hey my fellow teacher canidates.

Omgosh, I absolutely love the school. I'm trying to learn everyones name and get involved. Everyone is so helpful but most of all, I love my grade 9s and 11s. They are so smart and have such interesting questions! We got into really great discussions and I even made them feel happy about their wrong answers. I asked them what do you think would have more chromosomes a chicken or a human and a bunch said the same or less, one person said more. I said, "the answer is more! But I liked how you used your previous knowledge to come up with a new hypothesis or new reasoning. I would have guessed the same thing. Generally complex things have more to them...Humans are more complex creatures and I would have also thought we would have more information than a chicken. You used what knew to answer the questions.. and essentially that's what scientists do! They make predictions and try and try again so thank you for taking chances. That was a very intelligent answer. So funny, the student was like yup and looked around nodding proudly. Today couldn't have gone better. They were so engaged, more so than usual. And I almost puked in the washroom beforehand but as soon as I got up there counted in my head and took a breath and talked about the questions they had last class. We got so deep into it. There was a lot of improv when I wanted to clarify things. And I got a "oohhhh I get it" and that felt wonderful! They asked some questions that I didn't know because it was so advanced like if we fused chromosome 2 in chimps can they become humans... and I was like "I don't know you, you tell me. I don't think anyone knows. Hopefully you can find out if we can. your all future scientists there are so much to find out". And even the normally bored students were engaged. I was like" I know some of you sit in class staring at the clock and thinking when is this going to be over... looking at the time" One student was like "that's so me" and I said "Scientists study the cell because you gotta look at the big picture. Alot of cancer emerge because a LACK of control of the cell cycle. So these things are important! Biology is the study of life so tie the units to your life. Improve the way you learn when your on the brain unit... We're still discovering things about the cell function and DNA we need fresh, bright minds.." One student went "we need samer" XD (his name) It was the keener in the class. Oh I loved it. I might have taken forever to work on these slides and read but that one hour of teaching made it all worth it. :D Probably the smoothest, best presentation I ever had. I was nervous 2% of the times. It's so different presenting to young students eager to learn than your peers for marks.

My grade 11s, had a bio technology activity to mimic restriction enzymes and some students had difficulties but I helped them and they were appreciative. One student complained about the instructions but really, a lot of students got it and a lot of students seeked for help. So dealing with the grumpy students aren't so bad because you have so many other students that appreciate you.

So a few ideas for when you present a powerpoint, it's so much better having one point at a time. These grade 9s don't really know how to take notes so I give them one point and I elaborate on it... make them think. The more I talk about something and slow down the more they understand. I definitely don't zip through anything like I normally would. I answer everything with a description, a picture, or analogy. That seems to work best!

My collaborating teachers are great! I'm sticking around to observe a few parent teacher conferences. I observed a faculty staff meeting. I'm getting involved in a bunch of things. Being a teacher is so much work, but so fun. plus even when I'm not teaching I love my subject, I don't mind reading biology and learning.

Anyway I got so passionate I couldn't stop raving about it.

Anyway, tell me about you! How's it going?
Thanks for everything, hope everyday was like today..

Jennifer

Mr.Ross / Mr.R

Hey guys I just wanted to check in and say that my life is great. I have 3 great co-operating teachers and the units that are in are my areas of expertise. whew, no content worries for me. Although I did have to dance with my gr 11 biology class today, we did the boot scooting boogie. yes it had something to do with the curriculum....Its a long shot but it fit. I have been helping out in the class up to this point but will start to teach full classes next week. I hope you guys are all doing as well as I am. If all the stars align I might see some of you this weekend. If not have fun.....wisely.

K.Ross

First week

Hey everyone,

So this week has been pretty good so far. Before today I had done a lot of just observing in the classroom and hadn't been in charge yet but that all changed today. Was told about a minute before class started that I would be in charge of the class for the last 45 minutes. My CT taught a quick lesson and then had to leave and left the rest to me and gave me a stack of assignments to mark. I honestly couldn't have been more excited but turns out that one of my students has a severe case ADD and apparently his meds don't help too much. Boy did I experience that today, he was all over the walls and I had to settle him down numerous times (I only found out after class that he has been diagnosed with ADD). The principle said that he peaked in a couple times and said that it looked like I had things under control so that was good to hear. Anyways I don't really start any teaching till next week but I am excited about it. I have 2 phys ed classes, grade 9 and 12, grade 9 math and grade 11 essential math so I'm pretty happy with those classes. Look forward to hearing all your stories!!!!

-Mr. Dueck

Mr C ...

Untitled from Mitch Catacutan on Vimeo.

Hey Everyone

First and foremost, I miss you guys so I'm really looking forward to seeing you guys for the Grey Cup party and our Christmas party. I could probably write a page or two on here but I'll show you a clip from a grade 8 phys ed class. They aren't in my schedule but I just show up a couple of days a rotation (they have a 6 day rotation) and hang out. Today the girls were swimming so it was just the grade 8 boys. There was about 30 of them. I warmed them up from 4 corner soccer (idea from our group presentations last wed) and then we got right into floor hockey. At times they are had to get quiet and sit still but you say floor hockey and they go nuts. I enjoyed watched these kids go at it and saw some great goals. Yesterday I got beat really bad by a kid that scored 6 goals in a 3 mins game. Pretty cool to watch the other 5 goals haha. Next week I start to teach a grade 10 class 4 out of 6 days and my CT said that he wanted me to do a basketball unit......um.....fine, I'll do it. It just so happens that try outs start next week too. Beautiful.

PS A bit nervous to teach science but will start next week with the heart for grade 8's. Ah well no better place to learn.

Mr. Puff

Hey gang,

Middle school is an interesting place. The grade 7's are an interesting bunch to say the least. They seem a bit awkward and quite reluctant to abandon their grade 6 mindset of staying in one classroom all day long. Regardless of that observation, most of the students are amazing, and I can't wait to get to know them all better. We have 4 classes of kids come through our room for math and two of those for both math and science. I've been able to memorize about half of the 130 kids names already as I've made it a bit of a focal point in the first few days. I often get the "How did you know my name?" question when I call on them. It confirms that I'm doing something right, because I think it makes them feel important, and worthwhile.

My CT has 10 years experience, and is wonderful. She's gradually handing over responsibilities in the classroom beyond merely helping students who are working on assignments. I've introduced a couple of activities to various classes and been completely responsible for the classroom on several occasions. Actually, my CT was away for part of the morning and a substitute was brought in. After a brief conversation with her (a retired high school teacher), she asked me to teach the lesson instead. Of course, I was super excited, but hadn't prepared the lesson myself. I was worried about classroom management with a sub and a "student teacher" in the room. As it turns out, the students were excellent. I taught the 2nd and 3rd math classes and loved every minute of it. I think the kids might actually have learned something as well. Very cool experience.

I'm slated to teach the second unit of science (The Particle Theory of Matter), starting next week. I'll have my work cut out for me since they've never done any type of experimentation or scientific investigation. I'll also be coaching the grade 8 boys basketball team, starting in December. I'm obviously stoked about all of this. It's all happening so quickly, and I'm just trying to enjoy every minute of it.

It's great to read all of the blogs, so keep 'em coming everyone!

settling in

Hey folks, here's a quick update

Still getting settled in at Churchill. It's a pretty good school, only about 550 kids or so. I'll be teaching classes next week, grade 10 geography and grade 11 history. I'm also sitting in on grade 9 social studies and a technical education class involving garageband. Everyone is pretty cool.

I've definitely noticed that it is trickier to have a more student-centered approach. It is harder to maintain control if the teacher is not keeping the kids in line. A lot of kids are absent quite often as well. Sometimes they just get up and leave, but they usually just dont show up. Planning is pretty important at this level as well. Classes at the end of the day are filled with kids that just want to go home. It's much harder to keep them on task if they are excited to leave.

I'm balancing my time between Churchill and the U of W where I am coaching JV girls. My time is going to disappear pretty quickly once everything gets goin full steam. I'm looking forward to the challenge and to hear more of your stories.

rob

Miss seeing all your smiling faces!/my experience thus far

Howdy Ho Senior 1C'rs

So basically Miles Mac is awesome. I like the teachers there, I like the students there, everyone is really friendly so it's been good. I'm teaching PE for 2 periods then grade 11 applied math.

PE is a lot of fun. I'm lovin' it, it doesn't even really feel like work.

Math has been not quite as fun. I also feel less comfortable. Maybe because it's my minor, maybe because I feel that Mason taught me absolutely nothing, or maybe because it just isn't for me, we will see if things get better and if I learn to type without using run on sentences like this one haha.

Outside of the class I was able to help officiate intramural dodgeball one day, and have been contributing my hard earned cash to fundraisers around the school. They are doing a play but i doubt I will have enough time to attend it as much as I would like to go.

I am being very honest/open with these so please don't take them to heart just trying to keep everyone updated on what's up with me haha.

You are all the best, good luck with your practicum y'all!

Can't wait to see everyone again!

Justin

First two days complete and couldn't feel more at home! My CTs are so amazing, all seven of them are giving me the ins and outs of absolutely everything. I feel like it's almost cheating because i don't even have to ask them anything, they're just spitting out their knowledge, and I'm soaking every bit of it up.

For this term I have been assigned to teach Grade 12 Bio and Grade 10 and 12 Phys Ed, in slots A, B, and C, respectively. Slots D and E are reserved for me to either prep and/or to use it as further observing, including going to sit in on different subjects.

I have one story so far....Not funny or anything and not even involving student, well not directly at least. So.... I showed up at the gym around 7:30 and had and hour to kill. Luckily there was something going on in there for me to watch, even though it was track it still kept me entertained as students were falling while practicing getting out of the blocks. As I was watching, just like Mitch, I noticed something about one of the sprinters running form and proceeded to tell the coach. She and I had a discussion about this and that, but as we parted she says "See you next Tuesday, 7:15!". Right out of left field and now I'm a track coach.

Mr.H
(Formerly known as Mr.Hardman. CTs thought it less problematic for the students to call me Mr.H.)

First Day - Mitchy Mitch

Alright everyone, today went much better than last Monday. It turns out that my schedule had it so that I had 3 days were I was only responsible for one 35 min class. So today I spent most of the morning looking through my CT's schedule's and thinking about what other classess I want to pick up. I ended picking up another phys ed class and talked to my assistant coach and found a history class that fit in as well. I'll be looking into grabbing a math class cuz my CT (1 of 4) also teachers math as well. So now it looks like I'm in classes for half a day and the other half will be spent on preping lesson plans (and practice plans and videos).
So I have the following classes so far:
PE-10's, 9's, 7's
Science - 8 and maybe 9
History - 11's
Math - 9's
The ones I picked up are just obeserving. Chances are that I'll probably ask to do something in their anyways. Maybe I'll make a video or something.

There was a bit of a buzz today around the school as the JV boys vball team found out that they didn't get a wild card for provincials as they lost last Wednesday to Dakota (Jean and Liana have some bragging rights over me till basketball). Anyways this meant now that JV basketball can start anytime soon. So today, I had so many people come up me today wondering when I was starting basketball. It wasn't just potential players, it was teachers and other students that are excited for their friends. So that was fun just being around it. I was just looking in the gym before school ended and wondered where our championship banner from last year will go up. I think that I'll ask my student to call me Coach, instead of Mr Catacutan, although most call me Mr C. It's growing on me a bit. But I think that coach will do as most of my players already call me that in the hallways.

Other than that, I was in the gym during last period shooting around and listening to my ipod on the speakers and after school the grade 8 vballs teams came down for practice. I ended up hitting and setting for the girls as their coach was no where to be found. Once the coach came and got things started, she saw that I was in there and said that I could stay if I wanted. I wasn't really planning on it. So I watched the first 10 mins as they were working on free balls and noticed a few teaching points that the coach didn't mention that might have helped. So I just couldn't help myself so I walked over, told her what I thought, she told the girls, and then they started to get the concept. They still couldn't pass a ball on serve receive though (nothing I could say would help haha- i'm just joking that's rude of me. I apologize to those girls.) So I just couldn't help myself so I just stayed and eventually the coach asked me if I knew a drill that would help out with a certain tactic. I explained one I knew and we tried it out and it went well. I ended up being there till 530 without even thinking about it. Man times flies when you're having fun.

Hope that everyone else's day went well. I'm sure it did and I sure hope that everyone posts on here. Really interested to hear what everyone has to say. I should have a video on here soon. Already have plans with an old player to film during his spare and my prep. Peace for now.

Coach C

on my own

Great first official day! Got to do warm-ups with all three concert bands, then run a bit of the rehearsal as well. Choir is still just observing time. Tomorrow is jazz band, which I have pretty much no experience with. I listen to jazz, and that's it. And I am running the jazz band rehearsals on Thursday because mycooperating teacher will be away at a funeral. Time to pull up the big girl pants and go for it. Maybe they'll be fine if I just count them in and let em go.

Can't wait to read how the rest of you are doing!

Take care,

Joanne

T-15 hours!

Hey y'all! Just a quick post to say how very excited I am at this moment. My practicum posting is a dream...I will be teaching my minor, General Science this time around, primarily in a Grade 7 AP Science class (yes, at Gray Academy they start to differentiate those who are good at Science/Math/English in Grade 7, although come Grade 12, nobody in the advanced class is obligated to write the Advanced Placement exams). My CT is great; he challenges the kids while keeping a very fun, open, student-centred classroom dynamic. And of course, the kids are amazing - they are motivated and highly intelligent (at lease in the verbal/written/mathematical sense, perhaps others). I am looking forward to challenging them in ways they may not have been challenged before, and getting them excited about the things I am teaching. In another classroom, those may be idealistic, totally impractical goals, but here I think they are quite possible.

Good luck everyone, keep in touch.

Chris

Oh My!

My first day at Gordon Bell was interesting to say the least! I am teaching Art to all grades (7-12), and my CT is a great lady. I started the day off pretty excited about teaching my major and getting my hands in the paint again, but learned quickly that there is going to be little time for that. My day was mainly spent catching up kids that had missed the last week of classes and reminding them that "f*#@" is not proper English! Needless to say they are a rough crowd but thankfully they decided to go easy on me on my first day. Let's hope it stays that way!

The staff is friendly enough but it was pretty obvious that they were not prepared for us. At this point the only person I have met is my CT, the lead teacher and the computer guy. Pretty sad! At least they showed me where the bathroom and the lunchroom were!?!(no sarcasm intended) I'm trying to stay positive about it and will take next week to venture out and find out more about what kinds of things are going on in the school.

Wish me luck, I think i'm going to need it!

Springfield Middle School

Hey gang,

I had a fantastic day at Springfield middle school in Oakbank yesterday. My CT teaches Grade 7 Science and Math. I was a bit bummed at first because I was initially told I would be teaching grade 8 and because my CT teaches 3:1 math:science (I'm BIO/CHEM). As it works out, she's fantastic, and has really opened up her classroom to me. Besides, I'll have the chance to grow a bit in terms of teachables by venturing into the math curriculum. The most nerve-wracking part of the day was introducing myself to the students (since I hadn't really rehearsed that at all).

It was really interesting to realize that students at this grade level have home rooms, but rotate through various classrooms to get their exposure to the various subjects. Like Mitch, it was strange having students call me Mr. Puff, and the kids got a kick out of it, but I'm sure it'll be fine. I got a bit of a boost from the collective energy of the teaching staff, the personalities of the individual students, and the realization that my teachable (science) makes up exactly 25% of my CT's courseload.

My day was subsequently improved when I was told I could pop in and teach lessons in other teacher's classrooms when I felt compelled to do so. Things got even better when the principal met my suggestion about coaching with great enthusiasm.

All things considered, I think I'm really going to enjoy the kids at this age. They seem inquisitive, energetic, and entertaining. See everyone on Friday in T&T!! Exam time!

The first day

Yippee! I am only doing my major teachable this fall! had a great day yesterday, took out kids to work with (flutes, obviously), and chose my piece that I will conduct in the concert on November 24th. Lots of prep to do on that. Jazz band begins next week for me, should be nerve wracking, but a TON of fun. I'm being thrown to the wolves, but that's what I asked for.

Keep on Keepin on.

Joanne

Day One

Hey Everyone

Not too much to report today. Westgate wasn't as prepared for me as I was told. They didn't have a schedule for me nor did they have a science teacher ready for me today so I was introduced to one that I might be working with. It looks like out of 6 periods, I'll have 3 in which I'll be in class and have 3 to myself to prep, observe another class, nap, etc. One of my assistant coaches teaches social studies so I might observe and teach in that class as well just for fun (without having to deal with yatta work muahahaha). My CT's are 2 people who I know from last year from my coaching. One coaches the varisty boys team and the other coaches the varisty girls team.

One of my CT's told me to take off my tie today cuz I was making everyone else in the school look bad. She always jokes about me wearing a tie in the school from last year coaching. Most teacher dress pretty casually and I actually saw one of them in shorts and sandals (also sporting a nice handle bar stash for movember). Many teachers came up to me asking if I was coaching basketball again this year and are excited to see how we can compete this year as we've moved up to AAAA this year.

Here's my funny story for the day: every since we did our tableau in P & P, I've been more aware of that type of situation. So this morning some girls asked me if I had a girl friend so I said yes (even though I don't) and they asked me what her name was so I said that her name was Victoria (sounds kinda sexy no?). So the girls giggled and I went on my way. Later on that day another group of girls caught me in the hallway and asked me if I had a girlfriend. Once again I had said yes and they asked me what her name was. At the time I couldn't remember what I had said in the morning so I had said that her name was Susan. One of the girls then yelled out: "this morning you said that her name was Victoria!". She had called my bluff. I then tried to explain that it was a nickname that I had for her and they asked how I got Susan from Victoria. At that point, I saw one of my players that I coached last year up the hallway so I yelled at him and ran over to him. It was kind of funny afterwards b/c they probably weren't hitting on me but I just wanted to try and keep my distance by saying that I had a girlfriend. I'll have to come up with a good story incase they ask me again next week.

It looks like I'll be starting my bball team sometime next week as they should be done playoffs this week or the latest on Monday. Many players did double takes when they saw me in the hallways today. Like myself, they were happy to see a familiar face.

For the most part, today was kind of boring. I didn't really like being called "Mr Catacutan". I think that I would be rather called Coach Catacutan but I'll try it out. Mr Catacutan just sounds like my dad just entered the room. See y'all on Wednesday.

Peace

Day one!

So I also got both of my teachables. I am teaching Phys Ed every day from next week until christmas at St. James, coaching a soccer team in the spring, and I am observing Social Studies with the option to teach if I choose. Sadly the unit plan actually helped me for social studies as our next unit is Diversity and Pluralism! sweeeet.... and the soccer team I am coaching plays only 5 games a season... and has never won before. haha wish me luck! By time I am done with them they will have won 5/5 of their games and be going to provincials. no big deal. My school is pretty tiny as it has a population of about 500 but the school looks massive because it is attached to a middle school.... I think my graduating class was near 500 at river east!
Hope everyone had fun today!

Day One

Hey folks,

Hope everyone had a good start to the practicum. I got both my teachables and my CT's are pretty cool. Word.

Hey guys I thought I would get this blog started but David beat me to it. As I expect you all are, I'm getting nervous about my first day at school. I'm at least ten years older than any students there so I don't think that I will be mistaken for one of them. But it will be my first day at a new career and the students impressions of me will most likely have a larger effect on my future than I would like to think. Just so you all know I'm at TCI (transcona collegiate institute) with Joanne. I think we should all post where we are going so that we have a point of reference on all of the complaining we are likely to do on this blog. I miss you guys already, what a great last edu psy class today. I'm sad that we are not going to be together for a few months but I'm looking forwards to all of the great experiences you will bring to our next set of classes together. so go out there and get some. You will all be great teachers because you all care. just remember making mistakes is part of learning. so please make lots of small ones and learn from them. Just avoid the really big ones that will prevent you from coming back to us next semester.

Thanks for all of your time and effort in class this semester, you are the best class I have had in 9 years of university

you guys are the awesome and good luck at your schools!

K.