Week Two at Westhill Academy at Blodgett School

I've was left alone with a teacher's aid the on Tuesday impromptu. It went better than I expected, especially since the TA was so scared she begged me not to leave when I had to.

Today, I took over class management for two periods, one of which the teacher was gone for. It's OK; definitely challenging with these girls. The thing is classroom management is an ALL the time thing in this school, not just for me but for everyone. It's even a part of the curriculum. You have to balance getting these kids to listen, understand and do a task and by the way, as an ELA teacher, you are lucky if they can competently read and write English. I haven't decided how I feel about all this.

This assignment is basically teaching reading and writing as well as life skills to 8th graders. Certainly ripe with a chance to really help someone, but it is not the English teacher job you picture when you start your program. My teacher told a co-worker today that she really needs a reading teacher's education, and she is someone who has spent ten years and LOVES being an urban middle school teacher. Time will tell which is more "me".

Finally met my supervising professor from Oswego yesterday. He's OK, but wants us to do all sorts of extra stuff to prepare us for the "real world" and informed us we probably wouldn't be able to find jobs. Tell me something I don't know!