Saturday, April 18, 2009

Week 13: Room for Improvement

Being in the classroom as a volunteer, it is easier to see the context of the whole organization. A reoccurring problem within our classroom I think would come from not being able to be prepared as well / as organized as could be. It's safe to say that preparation goes along way in any situation. It is constantly busy at our school, which makes it difficult to prepare weeks in advance for lessons. Lessons are often prepared the same day. It is a system well-adapted to, but I think it would help stress and energy levels immensely if more time was put into preparation. Because the school year is so busy, it seems more reasonable to prepare for each lesson during the summer, sorting out weeks and making sure materials are available. Being so deep into the school year, it isn't practical to expect out-of-class time to be spent on preparing, because most or all of this time is already occupied with other obligations.

*The problem is not at all serious, it is just one I think if tended to, could aid in stress relief and smoother days in the classroom. My mentor teacher is a great teacher, I was just told to focus on something that may help her. It seems impossible to be over-prepared for something, especially lessons.*

2 comments:

  1. Sarah,
    On the topic of stress relief, i think the main issue here is nerves. Working in a resturant i can tell you confidence can solve a lot of issues, for example, sometimes the food doesn't always look like it should, so, pretend that it what it is supposed to look like! Pretending your in control when your not is a great skill to have. Being in a classroom is similar to doing events, what i am doing, in the sense that no matter how prepared you might be, there are always going to be circumstances that occur that you are not able to control. Which is good sometimes, and sometimes they aren't. Hope this helps.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Sarah,
    My name is Joey Palazzolo, and one of my concentrations is Sociology. I believe I can add insight for the issue within your classroom of not being prepared as well or as organized as it could be. Having teachers in my family and also doing a teaching internship I understand how preparing lessons can be hectic. I really like your idea of preparing a lesson plan during the summer for each and every week of the actual school year. That may sound like you are planning way ahead of time but I bet it would save you a lot of time and make you feel much more organized. Even though you said it seems that you could be over-prepared for something, I believe that you could always cut a lesson plan short. I know from my studies in Sociology for the younger crowd visual devices are used like bright colors on a white board and objects to hand out in class. A shorter lesson plan may be better as well since these children have very short attention spans. Good luck with the rest of your internship! It sounds like you are doing great!

    ReplyDelete