Walking into Feinstein Middle School for the first time last week was a new experience in itself. Walking through the hallways I noticed the colorful displays, walls lined with lockers, and young looking students carrying binders (or trapper-kepers) bigger than their bodies.
When I got to the room where my first Cooperating Teacher was teaching, I was surprised to find that she (and the teacher she job shares with) work off of a cart and travel from classroom to classroom. Mind boggling. How are they suppose to have their objectives written on the board, bell ringer prepared, or technology set up before a lesson? It's impossible.
The students meet every other day (their schedule is broken up into odd and even days). here lies the problem, there has only been one FULL week of school all year! Mrs. Bilotti hadn't seen her students in almost a week, and she said that this was not uncommon. Similarly, Mrs. Martineau would not see her students for another five days. This has posed a problem with sticking to the curriculum and getting things done in a timely manner.
It will be interesting to see how this feels from the teacher perspective as I begin to take over the class with my teaching partner, Lucy, within the next week or so. I am sure that it will be both frustrating and challenging, but a obstacle that will add another notch to my belt!
Sounds like a big challenge for both you and Lucy as well as your cooperating teachers! But you're really good at handling pressure and stressful situations. Like you said, it's just more experiences to add to your practice that will help you along the way. (especially in student teaching!)
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