Second Day at Peekskill Middle School

September sixth was an exciting day as it was my second day but the first day for the students. As I prepared myself during prep first period, I just kept telling myself that I could not give an impression of nervousness or fear otherwise, the students would eat me alive. The bell rang at 8 :30 and class began at 8:32. There were some students who remembered me from my observation last semester. That was a warm feeling. Most of the day consisted of handing out paperwork, looking at the grading policy, and expecatations of the class. There was a story that we handed out to the the students. It was titled "Few words that changed a life" and it was the story of a man Malkom Dalkoff who was a shy student in class but after an assignment given by his English teacher, was handed back to him with the words, "This is good writing," his confidence changed. These four words changed his life and he was able to pass his confidence and advice on to the others important in his life. It was teh perfect story for for the beginning of the year. Afterwards I held a discussion with the class. Sometimes it felt like pulling teeth while other times the students were write on the ball with answers. Many of them shout out during class so I am trying to implement hand raising, because I dislike calling out. I just think it is a good habit to get into. Sometimes the students gave their opinion and it was not the answer I was looking for but I encouraged and praised their participation and guided them with questions so that they could figure out the correct answer. The classes are not monotanous because they are so short and there is an abudance of information and classwork that needs to get done by the end of the period. Some students are more rowdy than others of course and need more talking to but it is easier to be stern in the beginning and lax towards the end then vice versa. There were a number of teachers who told me not to smile but its so hard for me not to return one from a student. I guess that takes practice =) Lunch just consists of a middle school cafeteria that is not pleasant to the nose and is probably the least favorite of my places to be. The rest of the school day was the same with paperwork and class discussion. Ninth period seems to be the most distracted as they are coming back from lunch and are ansy to leave for the day. This as well as the inclusion class might be my challenges for the year. All staff and faculty had to walk thier classes out for dismissal to make sure everyone got out safely and orderly. I had a great first day and looked forward to Friday. September 7th.