Mollycoddled

C'mon, you have to admit you want to say that word. Go on, try it. I've been attempting to incorporate it into my conversations ever since I heard it uttered by the prince himself. And yes, I know I haven't blogged in quite awhile, but that doesn't mean I've failed to be reflective.

It's hard to believe this semester is almost over (especially with several huge assignments I've yet to complete). I've been pretty happy so far with my student teaching placement; I couldn't have asked for a more laid back mentor. I just hope he isn't too casual and nonchalant with his constructive criticism next semester - I know I'm going to need all the help I can get.

I don't know if I've planned too many lessons using analogies (synectics, another great word) or what, but during a recent run I was struck with the similarities between preparing for a race and my MAT experience thus far. Ok, I suppose I need to break it down. Training for a marathon takes time, advice from others, tons of energy, a disciplined schedule, and plenty of pre-planning. Yet on race day, an element of the unknown still lingers, even if you've done everything right. Anything can happen, and there's usually some degree of ambiguity regarding the final outcome(unless you've run a bazillion marathons, which I obviously have not).

And now for the cheesy analogy: As for preparation for teaching, I have certainly done my best to pay attention in class (most of the time), complete my work, listen to others, give my best effort, and plan (micromanaging is only a slight obsession). However, the skeptic in me is all too aware of the element of uncertainty. I don't doubt that I won't be a bad teacher (whoa, way too many negatives ... I think I said that right); I'm just not entirely sure that I'll be a good one. I don't even want just to be good; I want to do well, thanks to my perfectionist tendencies. I guess that's the point of reflection ~ re-evaluating yourself periodically with others in order to improve continually.

Tomorrow should be fun ~ I'm only teaching one class, but my mentor calls it "the dreaded 4th period." I don't know who dreads it more, the teacher or his students. :) The past few weeks he has resorted to writing notes, silently, on overhead transparencies while the students copy them. Students were even asking him, "are you gonna talk about this?" and others commented, "some of us don't learn visually!" and "you get paid to teach us!" I think I've planned a decent lesson, but anything could happen. It's kind of fun, the component of potential surprise, but I think I will definitely have to learn how to be flexible. And how to stifle my laughter. Just how important is the "don't laugh until Christmas" rule? I think I broke that one the first week of my observation. If that's any indication of my success as a teacher, I'm in for a rough ride. At least I'll be "laughing all the way." (So festive, I know)

Open mouth ... insert foot

I'm very fond of words, and you would think I'd have found a better filter by now for those words that emerge from my own mouth. The UNC-TV people were at our methods class tonight (our room is nifty), with equipment & whatnot. I happened to ask Camera Lady why they were visiting, and she told me it was for a program they produce. In my signature style, I verbally processed this information and said, "Oh, good. No one watches public television anyway." Hopefully I'll have learned better responses by the time I'm a teacher. She handled it quite well, I'm happy to report.

B's wedding was beautiful & fun. Aside from a sprained ankle (bride's mother) and misplacing several important bouquets (including the flower girl's basket, which upset the child considerably), there were no major catastrophes. And despite my regrets over agreeing to watch the M girls this weekend, they were worth it. I wish I could find a way to bottle all their praise & positive attention for moments when I really need it. They're sweeties ... even if L. does have the disturbing habits of decapitating her Lego people (hey, it could've been me!) and dumping the contents of her unwanted dinner down the front of her shirt. Lovely. And people wonder why I want to teach high school students instead of elementary kids. :)

Yawn...

Wow. What a day. Came back from my first official (although I am quite unofficial) teacher's conference with ridiculous amounts of free stuff. Now, if only one of these CD-ROMs would generate my 7 remaining lesson plans for me. ;)

Had an interesting discussion in one of the seminars. The speaker gave us the dreaded opportunity to "discuss this with your neighbor" (who is actually not a neighbor but a complete stranger, of course), and asked us to talk about what defines inquiry. So I dutifully chatted with my "neighbor" as instructed (I'm such a compliant student, I know) and later found out she is an MAT graduate, science cohort, who completed the program last year. Charming, isn't it? Anyway, the speaker's last point regarding what constitutes an effective teaching method was ... the buzz word from my summer classes: reflection. Nice to know we're being taught the latest & greatest ideas.

B's wedding is off to a nice start. Rehearsal dinner had a curious Irish & Canadian flair. I guess that proves America truly is a melting pot, which really is just a nice way of saying we're all mutts. :) The young Canadians at our table were all appalled that we pay $100-$300 per month to "insure" our health. They claim that everyone is treated identically at their hospitals/health care facilities, and of course it's all free. You lucky little socialists :) You see, in America, education is the great equalizer, not health care. And such an effective one. I mean, come on, the entire world regards Americans for our intelligence, right? *cough*

And with that, I promptly return to my studies which prepare me to ... teach.

If it's not one thing ...

... it's your mother! Ok, so that's not true, but I've never forgotten it. Anyway, I broke the unspoken rule today & laughed at the students. They kept interjecting Dr. H's lecture with comments & questions, mostly related, but V. offered at one point, "I already knew that b/c I took this class last year, before I got kicked out." So of course, someone asked her, "Why'd you get kicked out?" Her response, verbatim (I kid you not), "I almost cut someone's testicles off!"

Dr. H says he's already titled the book he will write when he retires: I Don't Have to Make it Up; I'm a Teacher. Appropriate, I'm discovering.

I'm learning that I tend to make matters worse for myself, when life is already busy enough. I already have B's wedding this weekend, another bride's shower, 2 projects due, copious readings, and some other engagement I've already forgotten but is seemingly critical. Yet I somehow allowed myself to be suckered into bringing baked goods to the shower (flattery does get you somewhere), watching the M. girls over the weekend (guilt...another foolproof tactic), and squeezing in quality reunion time with folks in town for the wedding. As usual, my typical response is hysterical laughter. Especially when I see it all in print.

I did manage to think of an idea for my 144 presentation. My prof will hate it; she's already told us that she thinks these programs are ineffective and unproductive. So much for giving teachers what they want to hear/read/see. At this point, I've no time to think of something better. Je suis désolé, mais il suffira!

Earwax, possibly? Or temporary narcolepsy?

Ok, so tonight in methods class we all taught a discrepant event, which was fun for the most part. Watching each other play with fire, blow air, & generally make a mess is a nice change from the normal routine (which isn't so bad, as classes go this semester).

Anyway, I had the ambiguous advantage/curse of being one of the last to present. So, I'd had time to listen to the evaluator's comments, mentally revise my approach, etc. I went through my ordeal, felt like I asked the appropriate questions, elicited ample audience participation, and used a relevant example from real life. Felt like my cute little dancing grapes went over fairly well, and illustrated polar/nonpolar molecules beautifully. Prof's analysis was, "that's a nice twist, I've seen that done with raisins." And then, "I really wish you had asked us to predict what was going to happen." I'm all for constructive criticism, but I was doing some serious mental head-scratching & replaying the last 10 minutes. Ummm, I did ask you those very questions? Hello? Where were you?

Another student commented on the demo as we transitioned to the next one, and he seemed to agree that I had asked those questions. Maybe I just didn't allow enough wait time. Quite possible, since I have issues with patience anyway. Grrrrrr. Anyway, I'm just concerned that the prof, who gives out grades, wasn't listening very well, since he didn't even think I had asked the questions. Grades aren't everything I guess.

In retrospect, several classmates gave me positive feedback, including one who said, "Yeah, I actually understood the science behind yours!" Isn't that the point of teaching? In actuality, they are the ones whom the demos will benefit, so I should just get a grip (and some perspective). Helping out future science teachers is more advantageous to a decent grade in the long run I suppose.

But still... was he listening?!

Acceptable

That's the rating I'd have to give my weekend thus far, if it was customary to rate such things. Hmmmm. Anyway, it was a perfect day to run, so I thoroughly enjoyed it ... even charged up some hills (1st time since the 1/2 marathon).

Cleaned for awhile, just enough to regain sanity without losing it again. Note to self: M's notes that read: "I'll be home in time to clean!" really translate into something like: "I'll be home in time to watch ER while chowing down on fast food!"

A. stopped by to show off her new haircut, so I had a nice chat w/her ... assured her that I'd leave phone on during my evening's outing, in case she needed rescuing from hers. Saw The Incredibles, which makes ... 4 (5 actually, but who's counting) flicks I've seen before J. (How ya like me NOW? Eh?) Ran into a student near the cinema; she actually recognized me and seemed happy about it. Heartwarming, I know.

What else? Had a facial with the girls, visited with my sis, who surprisingly refrained from assessing my health this time. Apparently my most pressing concern to date is a new haircut. An "update", as she so eloquently puts it. She also rushed to counteract my laments over recently-discovered wrinkles with, "Chill out, those are dermatocreases!" Right, of course. As if.

Hosted a small party which seemed fun. M commented, "You're a great hostess!" Coming from the banquets manager of a finer restaurant, I'll take that as a compliment. And far preferable to the disdainful "You're just another Martha Stewart, aren't you?" which I heard recently. (Yes, well, at least I'm not in jail.)

Made progress on my unit plan, including a Powerpoint packed with gory pictures of infectious disease. Couldn't bring myself to include the STD shots... the goal is to teach, not to induce vomiting. Was rather tempting though.

Left on the agenda: celebrate K's b-day, finish unit plan, elucidate microteaching assignment (say what?), read, write a "scholarly paper" (as if our other papers are unscholarly, haha) to accompany unit plan. I should probably ring my brother, but his availability undoubtedly decreases as the weekend closes. Ah well. As The Stones would say, "you can't always get what you want."

Overall, I can't complain. The lingering aroma of apple cider confirms this opinion. :) I love fall.

Here goes nothing. . .

So, Dr. H handed me the reins & let me teach this week, and as usual, my typical default reaction in retrospect is laughter.

Wow. I think the students see me as some kind of pushover substitute, and consequently they try to get away with as much as possible. Of course, it didn't help any that they were all riled up about the election's results . . . but they seemed to be engaged in my "Making Babies" lab once prodded. Teaching 5th period outside (!) was an unexpected challenge, thanks to a pipe of raw sewage that conveniently exploded outside our classroom. . . go figure! I'm so glad 6th period is smaller, and therefore more manageable. Although I had 2 marriage proposals and one baby named after me, I could be stretching it a bit, but I think real learning may have occurred? Yeah, right. Whatever.

I realized that some of his students have already missed more than 20 days of school, which means that they won't be allowed to advance to the next grade. Or graduate, even. (All of this would assume that they pass the class to begin with, which would take considerable effort on their part.) Therefore, their apparent lack of interest in science is somewhat understandable.

On a completely unrelated note, my Palm continues its annoying habit of spontaneously wiping all memory. . . and always, of course, at the least opportune moments. So much for my attempt to remove paper from my life. Grrrrrr.