Going Unnoticed

April 5, 2007
Well, it looks like our actions got some attention. Frankly, bringing the vice-principal to our class barely phased the students. Some even made fun of him behind his back while he was lecturing them. But when the Science department chair person finally realized how serious the situation is, he decided to make some changes.

One important note to make here is that, when I was inquiring at schools to do student teaching, the vice-principal at this school was excited to tell me about a new "pilot" Earth Science class that would be great for me to get involved with. That was the major selling point that helped me decide to come here. What they meant by "pilot", though, was that they were pooling all their lowest-performing students with the worst discipline issues into one class! That is where I ended up.

So, it finally occurred to some people that if they really wanted measurable and accurate results from a "pilot" program, they probably shouldn't have a student teacher in charge. While my master teacher felt equally frustrated and didn't think he would be doing much better, I felt I was doing the students a disservice by not being strict enough to keep them in line. I believe this collection of students could potentially break any teacher, given enough time. My other master teacher said, "It's one thing to jump into the deep end, but this is like having your head held underwater at the same time."

So this turn of events was actually a relief to me, and I will be able to focus more on the Environmental Science class that is more respectful and conducive to learning. The end of my student teaching is approaching rapidly, and I hope to end on a strong note. Things are looking up!