September 12th, 2012

Today I found myself saying, "It's only Wednesday?!?" I have a feeling there will be many weeks like this during my teaching career. Things are still going well, although my bedtime has gone from 11pm to around 10:15pm. Must get my zzzz's! :)

I am continuing to bond with my students. Yesterday, we had a guest speaker from the Health Department visit my Parenting and Child Development Course, and provide an informational, fun, presentation about STI's. The students were very engaged and surprised when I sat in the middle of the classroom with them and was actively participating in the activities. I am still learning about my curriculum and what information I need to be able to teach my future students, therefore engaging with guest speakers and any lesson my host teacher puts together, is important.

Today, I took over my Parenting and Child Development Course and I really enjoyed hearing the feedback my students provided from the questions I asked them. They seem to enjoy the content of the course, which helps me enjoy creating fun lesson plans and presenting the material to them.
Yesterday, we received a new student three weeks into school. I wasn't sure what to do or if I needed to quickly catch her up on the three weeks of work and material she missed, but my host teacher told me to just continue like she has been in the class since day one. Today, she participated the most and seemed to have prior knowledge on the subject of Teen Sexuality and STI's. I was impressed and I know she will be a good addition to my fourth period family!

In my Parenting and Child Development Course, I have three 'special population' students, which are individuals with learning disabilities. I tend to worry about them while I am teaching a lesson because only one of them asks for assistance with the tasks I assign. I pray the other two are understanding what I am teaching. I would like to put more effort into checking in on them when I am walking around the room while my students are doing activities.

I am struggling to bond with my Early Childhood Education students. This may be because I haven't been able to teach many lessons with this group. I am hoping that when I pick up the Early Childhood Education Course, I will be able to get to know these girls better!

Until next time....
Jodi Leanne*