Monday, Monday

     Another Monday come and gone. Each day really seems to go by more quickly as I pick up more subjects. About the only thing slowing the day down is the scratchy throat I have, and the water bottle I did not have today. Having to stop for a bit to close my mouth and let the dryness subside can really throw me of kilter when I’m in front of the class trying to make a point. While on the topic of being in front of the class, I’ve been finding out I’m not very comfortable when writing on the board, especially the smartboard. I really can’t stand the feeling of having my back turned to the class because I feel like it takes the class and my self out of any flow we might be in. Also, I have terrible handwriting, especially on the smartboard. And when it comes to board writing, writing on the smartboard is a whole other level of uncomfortable because it is really low, and I am really tall. Also, you have to figure out how to write without blocking the kids from seeing and having your shadow cover up where you are writing. Luckily, I try to keep the situations that require me having to write out information to a minimum.

     It’s still hard trying to get the timing right in social studies. I had every intention of getting finished a couple minutes early today so that we would be able to have a ticket-out-the-door. I ended up taking it right to the bell again. I hate that I haven’t been leaving time for summary/closure. I’ve found that they are able to recall the more important points or the overall importance of a topic if we are able to have a good closure session.

     One thing that has been quite bothersome that was really prevalent today is the lack of effort from the new student who arrived about a month ago. He has the typical “too cool for school” attitude, but for the past few days, it’s like he’s been trying to intentionally throw it in everyone’s face. He maybe completes one assignment per day if you combine the little bit he willingly participates in from each subject. I try to focus a lot of attention on him in all types of group or individual settings, but as soon as whomever is working with him walks away, he quits. He’s perfectly capable of handling the work and he doesn’t have a short attention span. It seems to be more or less a refusal. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of what makes him tick and not tick.