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Oct. 13th, 2006 05:46 pmSo, what have I been doing?
I've been settling into working at the school. Seriously, elementary students are so sweet. Not just in the coming up for hugs sort of way, but in the doing what they're told by authority figures sort of way. Now, if only I could convince myself I'm an authority figure. It would make convincing them so much easier.
When I first looked at my schedule, it seemed I would mostly be working on reading with a small group of students, and that is pretty much true. But I'm also spending some time pulling kids out just to finish up any work they need to finish up, or pulling out the kid in fifth grade who can't read and reading his science homework to him. And there's the half hour of math class, most of which is spend with the same kids over and over. I swear, there's this one kid who sometimes I think she only asks for help for the attention, and sometimes I'm convinced that she really and truly has no idea how to add one digit numbers well (she's a third grader). Thursday they played Math Basketball. The teacher divided them into teams, then had each kid come up individually. He had flashcards (11-1= __; 14-6=__) and if they got the answer in five seconds he let them take a shot at the small hoop with the nerf(ish) basketball. It was awesome.
The kids at the Teen Center still intimidate me. Most of them are in junior high, so it's not a size thing, and most of them know they're supposed to listen to me and even if it's by the skin of my teeth and the boon of being able to hide behind the computer, I am holding on to my authority status. The problem is I really have no idea how to connect with them or even how to play with them. I just kindof wander around trying to figure out what to do, where other people pull out origami books or play pool. It's kind of sad.
Fridays are meetings, which are kind of stupid but also kind of helpful. Damn I hate it when that happens. And one of the kids I love working with, who, of all things, enjoys reading even though its hard for him, is moving. Wah.
But I like my job. I really do. I'm starting to think that this may be something I could do and even enjoy. It's really interesting to be see the problems some of the teachers have too. I mean, a couple of teachers send kids out into the hall with nothing to do, which I hate, but then I realize that it really is so hard to keep control of a class with 23 kids, especially when some of them are too bored to listen and some can't keep up with the material, and so on and so on.
My roommate has made it his personal mission to find an alcoholic drink that I actually like. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this yet. Mostly I think I'm amused.
So, I'm exhausted, and a little lonely with no one who really knows me or cares personally about me around, but I'm also settling in and doing some good stuff.
I've been settling into working at the school. Seriously, elementary students are so sweet. Not just in the coming up for hugs sort of way, but in the doing what they're told by authority figures sort of way. Now, if only I could convince myself I'm an authority figure. It would make convincing them so much easier.
When I first looked at my schedule, it seemed I would mostly be working on reading with a small group of students, and that is pretty much true. But I'm also spending some time pulling kids out just to finish up any work they need to finish up, or pulling out the kid in fifth grade who can't read and reading his science homework to him. And there's the half hour of math class, most of which is spend with the same kids over and over. I swear, there's this one kid who sometimes I think she only asks for help for the attention, and sometimes I'm convinced that she really and truly has no idea how to add one digit numbers well (she's a third grader). Thursday they played Math Basketball. The teacher divided them into teams, then had each kid come up individually. He had flashcards (11-1= __; 14-6=__) and if they got the answer in five seconds he let them take a shot at the small hoop with the nerf(ish) basketball. It was awesome.
The kids at the Teen Center still intimidate me. Most of them are in junior high, so it's not a size thing, and most of them know they're supposed to listen to me and even if it's by the skin of my teeth and the boon of being able to hide behind the computer, I am holding on to my authority status. The problem is I really have no idea how to connect with them or even how to play with them. I just kindof wander around trying to figure out what to do, where other people pull out origami books or play pool. It's kind of sad.
Fridays are meetings, which are kind of stupid but also kind of helpful. Damn I hate it when that happens. And one of the kids I love working with, who, of all things, enjoys reading even though its hard for him, is moving. Wah.
But I like my job. I really do. I'm starting to think that this may be something I could do and even enjoy. It's really interesting to be see the problems some of the teachers have too. I mean, a couple of teachers send kids out into the hall with nothing to do, which I hate, but then I realize that it really is so hard to keep control of a class with 23 kids, especially when some of them are too bored to listen and some can't keep up with the material, and so on and so on.
My roommate has made it his personal mission to find an alcoholic drink that I actually like. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this yet. Mostly I think I'm amused.
So, I'm exhausted, and a little lonely with no one who really knows me or cares personally about me around, but I'm also settling in and doing some good stuff.
