Class Today..

I felt like in class today we had a lot of stuff thrown at us that made me feel a little more relaxed about this whole shadowing teachers thing. For one, I really had no idea exactly what kind of observations we needed to make. Now that we went over certain things, such as writing down strictly what we observe first, I feel a lot better. This way, I have some kind of evidence to back up what I'm interpreting from the actions. Watching the video of the board meeting showed me what things I need to look for, such as seating arrangements, eye contact, attire, etc.

I'm excited about going to First Avenue school next week. The only things I"m really worried about are the logistics of getting there, such as parking, if I'll make it in time, whatever. I really hope I get to shadow a teacher that I can enjoy working with. The more comfortable I feel with the teacher, the more I'm going to ask and ultimately learn.

I'm really passionate about being a teacher, but I never realized how low on the totem pole teachers are. I had no idea that there were so many layers of people above teachers. It's kind of scary to think about how many people I'll need to go through if I feel something needs to change in the curriculum or anything like that. Reading about all the failed attempt for education reform also made feel a little discouraged... why is it that there are so many good ideas brought up, but the way they are implemented is terrible. The fact that my job security could be based on how well my students work in a standardized testing environment is a very scary thing to think about. I really want to find out more about the "No Child Left Behind" act later on in the semester. See everyone next week!