Random thoughts about my last two days...

-I was off my game on Monday it's as simple as that. We were reviewing for the test we had today, and every time it was my turn to explain a particular term or concept, it seemed as if I took FOREVER to get to the point. I found myself being very redundant and dull to the point where, as I was talking in front of the class, a little voice came on in the back of my mind and was like, "what are you even saying right now?" Man, was I off. And the worst part about it is that I didn't even get much of a shot at redemption today because we were testing all day. So it appears that "How Mr. Galvin got his groove back" will have to wait until next week.

-There was this kid in one of my classes today that was obviously cheating and I didn't know what to do about it. I was helping with some of the slower readers by reading the test to them, and as I was reading one of the questions I could totally see him whispering with the girl next to him. My teacher "move" was to just walk over there and stand by him as I was talking, but it was pretty weak attempt. As soon as I walked away he was cheating again. I should have at least moved him to another seat in the room, but instead I looked to my mentor--who was busy typing something on the computer--like a frightened child. In the end, the kid got away with cheating because I didn't have the cojones to do anything about it. Now I worry that I'm getting a reputation as a pushover student teacher. The same type of pushover student teacher that I took advantage of all the time back in the day, how's that for some bad karma?

-Technologically speaking, I haven't had a chance to do much more than operate a few power point slides on a projector just yet. Although I guess I did have the pleasure of running scantron tests through the machine today--something I've always dreamed of doing and never thought I'd see the day that it happened. The thing looks like a 1970s sewing machine to me, and there's even this old-school looking tarp that goes over it when not in use--presumably because if any dust particles get caught inside the gears the thing would explode. Despite its primitive features, the scantron is a fine piece of machinery. It took a total of 8 minutes to grade like 200 tests, so props to that.

-It's pretty cool to experience passing time between classes as a teacher now. The kids are all running around pushing each other and just being teenagers, then I'll walk past another faculty member and we'll acknowledge each other even if we haven't met before. I guess that's what teachers do, give that little nod or smile to the other teacher as if to say, "yup, we're on the same team here." Of course, the kids are the exact opposite. I passed a group of kids today just as one of them cursed, and right away they all looked at me to see if I heard it....which I did. But again, being the pushover student teacher that doesn't want any trouble, I pretended like I didn't.

-Because it is simply not in my "reach" to pack a lunch for school, I have been eating the cafeteria food at John Glenn every time I'm there and I have no regrets. The food is surprisingly tolerable, the price is only $3, and I get to drink CHOCOLATE MILK every day. When's the last time you had a chocolate milk?!?

-I've had a few kids say "Hi Mr. Galvin" in the halls to me so far, and each time has made me feel sweet. I think I like getting that kind of respect and I wonder if I could get them to start calling me "sir" now and again, just to change it up a little bit.


-Seriously, chocolate milk is so sweet. And I love the little carton. It takes me back, man.

At Last, The Classroom!!

So I don't know about everyone else in the cohort, but throughout the summer I was finding myself very eager/anxious to get in the classroom, get the kids in there, and try this whole teaching thing out once and for all.
Well, today I got my chance to do just that. We were discussing immigration to the US in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and I was given the task of explaining how and why people from Asia came here during that time. It's not like I teaching an entire lesson, but it was just me up there, running the show for a solid 15 minutes. If anyone has ever seen the movie "Old School" where Will Ferrel's character is debating with that bald dude from CNN and he blacks out for a few minutes while he's talking, that's pretty much what happened to me in first hour. But the cool thing about it was, I got to give the same "schpeel" five hours in a row, so by the end I really felt like I knew what I was doing. One class even had follow-up questions afterwards, I was amazed to wrap up what I was saying and see three or four hands in the air! To be honest, there were also a few heads down on the desks, but I wasn't letting that rain on my parade.
In short, I'm really excited to be in the classroom now. I'm really feeling positive vibes about this whole becoming a teacher thing, and while I realize the other shoe may not have dropped yet, I'm walking on air for now!