Hello, Dolly

I think I need to clone myself. I've realized that I like giving one-on-one help to my students much more than I enjoy lecturing in front of a sea of mildly-interested faces. However, it's almost impossible to give quality attention to all of them. I loved helping them discover worlds of microscopic life this week, but it wasn't easy assisting all of them with their preparations, focusing, and identifications. I think the key next time is probably to set up stations through which they cycle during the period, with some stations that are "easier" and don't require teacher assistance. I still remember the frustrations of staring into the ocular lens of a microscope, wondering what the heck I was meant to be observing. So, I can empathize with their confusion and I love helping to erase it, but it definitely required more energy than I anticipated. It was freaky, too, to hear myself saying words that I remember hearing from a professor during a similar lab activity: "Oh, this is beautiful! It's the best prep I've seen all day!"

I also never fathomed how much can be accomplished within a 5-minute period. I ridiculously planned labs for two periods which are different preps, back to back. In the 5 minutes between classes I cleared materials from 4th, gathered papers, erased the board, found & reviewed my notes for 5th, brought out supplies for 5th, and answered about a bazillion student questions. Whew. The lesson here is to plan more wisely; if both ES & Bio are doing labs on the same day, I should organize the materials more efficiently and utilize other space in the room besides the front table. I know, it seems intuitive, but I often don't anticipate my mistakes; I have to experience them.

On a brighter note, even though my opening Powerpoint lecture induced several students to snooze, I was happy with one of my lessons on Friday. As for the students, their slumber could possibly have been temperature-induced, since the ones near the cracked window were wide awake (shivering, even) but those further away were struggling. At any rate, I hit at least four learning styles: visual, auditory, intrapersonal, and kinesthetic. Whether or not they actually internalized anything remains to be discovered, but at least I know I tried.

Another realization from this week is the importance of sleep (outside of school, that is). I have such a hard time exhibiting a "poker face" at any given time, but especiallly when I'm tired. I can't help it; I have a very low laughter threshold. And let's face it, adolescents are often just funny, whether it's their drama, apathy, or genuine wit. The minute I show even a hint of a smirk or smile when trying to portray some semblance of authority, students stop taking you seriously. I had to turn around and hide my face several times toward the end of the week. Sure, I want them to have fun and enjoy my class, but I don't want to come across as a shallow pushover, either.

I thought I was doing such a good job of staying organized, and then I realized I've misplaced the quizzes I gave on Friday. I'm hoping my mentor took them home by mistake. Hey, maybe he'll even grade them for me - ha! Doubtful. In the meantime, I shall endeavour to construct foolproof, meaningful, relevant, engaging lessons that will inspire even the most lackadaisical student to participate.