Day 22

Today started off with an emotional moment as one of our AP students received an email from the University of Texas, the college she’s hoping to attend. She asked if she could call the school and we allowed it. Shortly afterwards, she returned and explained that she was denied from the engineering program, the program she was hoping to attend. She began crying and tried to hide her face and apologize. My cooperating teacher and I tried to console her and help her figure out what to do next. By the end of the class, we had come up with a Plan B, but it was unpleasant to go through. This student also scored a 4 at the V.A.S.E. competition recently, (the highest score possible,) but didn’t make it to the State Level. It’s hard for me to witness heartbreak in my students and I want to do all that I can to help them.

For some reason, today seemed to run much more smoothly than the previous days. While I did take time to pre-cut a lot of paper and to pre-cut a lot of clay so that I was not trying to do so in the classes, I did end up having to cut during classes anyway. Still, the classes were much quieter, less rowdy, and students were generally in their seats. Even my cooperating teacher was surprised and remarked at how orderly and quiet the classes were being. I made sure to inform the students of the proper cleaning procedures and the order of tasks they need to complete. I continuously circled the room to help students and monitor the class, and I just feel like it was a successful day. I didn’t even need to use my bell to get the students’ attention today. My cooperating teacher echoed my thoughts, telling me that I’m doing well and that she has no further critique for me at the moment.

Today I was given the chance to address a student about naming his prints an inappropriate title. While I was taking the dry prints out from the drying racks and stacking them on the appropriate class shelves, I noticed that one of the prints was labeled “Raw AF.” I was pretty sure I knew what the “AF” stood for and when I mentioned something to my cooperating teacher the AP students in the room agreed with me, confirming what I thought it meant. My cooperating teacher told me to set the prints aside and address the student about it in person. When that class came about, she asked if I would like her to address the student or if I would like to. I decided to address the student and when I asked him what his title meant, he confirmed that it was inappropriate. I asked him to retitle his prints or lose credit in the class and was happy when he renamed them “Raw.”

Although I am completely exhausted and my feet are incredibly sore from standing all day, I am happy with the day. I feel that the classes ran smoothly, students finished a lot of work and made a lot of progress, and I had a better handle on the classes. I felt more comfortable, more confident, and more successful. I hope that this trend continues, though I do hope that I feel less tired at the end of the day. I am looking forward to next week.

Also, today after school I have been invited to participate in a parent-teacher conference. My cooperating teacher does not know what the meeting is about and the student is generally well-behaved, well-liked in the class, and not failing the class. We aren’t sure what to expect. Because the meeting is after school and I don’t know how long it will run and because my daily report is due after school, I am writing my report now during my 6th period off-period. I am certain, however, that I will gain valuable knowledge from this meeting as I will be able to see how my cooperating teacher interacts with parents and holds meetings and see how parents interact with teachers. I am also hoping to be a valuable asset to the meeting, possibly able to add to the conversation. I am eager to see what I learn.

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