With a student-teacher (teacher candidate) taking more and more responsibilities in the classroom, the regular teacher (That's me!) has opportunities to create new lessons and activities to use in the future. At the same time, I have a responsibility to help Miss Fitzgerald improve in her teaching abilities and techniques. Her improvement and vision has already improved.
While I have enjoyed a limited time to create and discover, I have also been called upon to help in other ways:
While I have enjoyed a limited time to create and discover, I have also been called upon to help in other ways:
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On Tuesday, we invited another fourth grade class to ours for the purpose of sharing our morning routine and our use of iPads, also allowing the other teacher to attend a conference elsewhere in the building.
At the same time, a couple of former students skipped down from the fifth grade to spend a few minutes with me as their positive behavior reward.
During this time, Principal Bozarth alerted me that we had a third grade classroom without a substitute teacher. I took the advantage to introduce some of our methods to the third graders for half of the day and get to know some of the students who might be in my class come this fall.
After a short lunch, I read our current book of choice aloud to my own class before handing them back over to Miss Fitzgerald for Reading instruction.
Passing through the office, I was summoned into the principal's office to review my own "system" (again, an opportunity to reflect on and evaluate my current focus for improvement and its effectiveness, or ineffectiveness).
Dismissal duty went well, when our presence was requested for the last parent conference we needed to have (resulting in 100% conference participation for the second time this year!).
After a good conversation with Miss Fitzgerald about our plans for a substitute teacher for tomorrow (when we will both be out of the room for separate reasons).
Upon my arrival at home, I was confronted with a summons for jury duty, some forms to fill out for my children for the upcoming school year, and a request for summer presentations for the sixth annual Technology Summit with the Southwest Center for Educational Excellence.
I have these things to do, in addition to recording some grades for third quarter report cards, evaluating Miss Fitzgerald's performance in the classroom, making a nomination for a media award for Lisa Olliges' report about Joplin Schools (which featured our class), and taking some time to dig deeper into some of my own creative plans for coming activities and future classes.
And then there is testing:
Spring Break is coming. Whew.
At the same time, a couple of former students skipped down from the fifth grade to spend a few minutes with me as their positive behavior reward.
During this time, Principal Bozarth alerted me that we had a third grade classroom without a substitute teacher. I took the advantage to introduce some of our methods to the third graders for half of the day and get to know some of the students who might be in my class come this fall.
After a short lunch, I read our current book of choice aloud to my own class before handing them back over to Miss Fitzgerald for Reading instruction.
Passing through the office, I was summoned into the principal's office to review my own "system" (again, an opportunity to reflect on and evaluate my current focus for improvement and its effectiveness, or ineffectiveness).
Dismissal duty went well, when our presence was requested for the last parent conference we needed to have (resulting in 100% conference participation for the second time this year!).
After a good conversation with Miss Fitzgerald about our plans for a substitute teacher for tomorrow (when we will both be out of the room for separate reasons).
Upon my arrival at home, I was confronted with a summons for jury duty, some forms to fill out for my children for the upcoming school year, and a request for summer presentations for the sixth annual Technology Summit with the Southwest Center for Educational Excellence.
I have these things to do, in addition to recording some grades for third quarter report cards, evaluating Miss Fitzgerald's performance in the classroom, making a nomination for a media award for Lisa Olliges' report about Joplin Schools (which featured our class), and taking some time to dig deeper into some of my own creative plans for coming activities and future classes.
And then there is testing:
- next week's three NWEA tests (in Math, Language, and Reading)
- next month's NAEP test
- April's state MAP test (in Math and Communication)
Spring Break is coming. Whew.
