back to high school

so...i've started student teaching. yes, i realize that i technically started six days ago, but i've been busy. unfortunately, i get the feeling that i'm not going to have the time to update as much as i'd like this semester.

anyway. teaching. yeah. so far i've liked it. granted, i've done nothing more difficult than taking attendence in 8th grade homeroom, but still. it could be worse. i've done a lot of observing. i spent two days going to all different types of classes all over the school. math, science, english, etc. unfortunately (or possibly fortunately, depending on your opinion) i did not get to observe the classroom with the six foot biting lizard in it. this would be the same classroom that used to house the python. until it got loose in the school one day. snakes are no longer allowed in school. (i want to think it's because the python ate a kid.)

i spent most of the first day making notes on which boys to watch out for in class, so they don't run over me. i consider that very important information. we eat lunch in the custodians room with three custodians, the guidance counselor, special education teachers, and a few other random teachers. i like it. they're a fun group. my co-op says that she doesn't like eating in the teachers' lounge because they tend to be very negative. next week, they're all making wings and bringing them in for everybody for lunch.

day two was an adventure. one of my kids crashed his car into a bus. he slid on black ice on a bridge and was pinned between the bus and the side of the bridge. it's a wonder he survived, because the front of the bus went over his hood. not only was he fine, but he was in 9th period. i feel that if i had been involved in a car wreck like that, i would have just taken the day off.

thursday, day three, was the day that some of my 8th graders learned that rosa parks is my mother. i was observing somewhere else, and my 4/5 period couldn't remember my name:
kid #1: "what is her name?"
co-op: "miss parks"
kid #1: "like rosa parks?"
co-op: "yeah"
kid #1: "is rosa parks her mom?"
co-op: ...pause..."yes. yes she is."
(insert much whispering)
kid #1: "is she really her mom?"
kid #2: "yeah, she was really old. wouldn't she be more her grandmother?"
co-op: "no, she was her mom."
(much more whispering)
the thing that bothers me about this whole exchange was that the thing that bothered them about her being my mother was that she was too old...never mind the tiny little fact that she's black and i'm white. this was also the day that someone let an axe bomb off in the hallway. the whole school reeked.

friday i observed everywhere but my own classroom. the highlight was seeing the squirrel in a sombrero on the tv of the spanish class and the four foot long taco hanging from the ceiling.

i think i'm going to enjoy this semester. i love my kids. the 8th graders are adorable, and so far, the senior boys have managed to be completely terrified of me. my first day, they told my co-op that i was young enough that they could date me. (great...i attract the jailbait set.) yet they still can't work up the nerve to talk to me. at least that means that for the time being, i shouldn't have too many problems with discipline. i'm just scared of what happens when they finally get used to me.

finally - the joy of grading papers:
Q. Who heads each branch of government?
A. George Washington

Q. What is federalism?
A. power between old and young people

Q. What were the first and last states to ratify the consitution?
Kid #1. first state: Paul Revere.
Kid #2. last state: Paul Revere
(we have now stated paul revere.)

Q. What are the three branches of government.
A. legislative, judicial, and olive

And some quotes...

- "The Bill of Writes"

- "Rhode Island was the last state to ratify the constitution because they had other things going on."

- "I give a lot of credit to the president because he has to put up with mean people."