What I've Been Up To---and other things you don't care about.

Does getting a job, going through three interviews, dressing professionally, and teaching for ten days make you a teacher?

Dang, I hope so--then I could be considered something other than a "Sales Associate."  I could print business cards with:

Amanda McConnell
Teacher Extraordinaire

At this VERY moment, I'm in one of the labs.  My students are working on their short story finals.  At least one boy--excuse me--young man, is going to be writing about a zombie epidemic.  He scooted his chair over here to ask, "Miss McConnell, can you have someone die?"

I said, "Of course you can."

"Well, can it be gory?"

"Oh yeah," I said.  I smiled.  "Definitely."

He seemed to pretty happy about that, and is now talking about his ideas with the guys around him.

I teach two senior classes, two junior classes, and one sophomore class.  The seniors have as much enthusiasm as a patient at a dentist office, so I'm not sure how to read them.  Fun fact, I have some repeat students from last year (I did half of my student teaching at this very school).  At first they gave me some strange looks, wondering where they'd seen my mug before.  Now it's just nice because I remember their names.  Juniors are my favorite class so far; they, for the most part, like to interact with me, even if I have to yell at them to shut up once in awhile. I can't help but grin when they tell me they are having more fun in my class than the normal teacher's class.  I haven't been universally accepted, but if the worst thing I do while I'm here is make students participate, then I think I'm doing a good job.

My sophomores are a different story... Well, let's just say it's not my favorite class.

Students have for some reason opened up to me.  That's not something that has to do with me.  I'm a big goof in most of classes; I guess my main strategy throughout this experience has been honesty.  They know when I forget something; they laugh when I crack jokes about the lesson or myself.  Maybe that's endeared me to some of them, I'm not sure.  A dash of sarcasm hasn't hurt my cause either.

What has surprised me the most is the fact that I'm no longer nervous, for the most part, in front of a group of thirty students.  I worry that I will have enough material for a whole ninety minutes, but I don't worry about them hating me.  Go figure.  Maybe I have more confidence in myself than I have previously thought...

... Okay yeah, that's not right.  Probably divine intervention.  Some sort of deus ex machina thing.

I'll leave you with this little interaction I had one of the first lessons here:

"I want you to, on your piece of paper, write three of your personal character traits.  So, for my three I'm going to write on the board that I am.... an introvert.....  an animal lover.... and stubborn."  Here I explained why those things applied to me.  "Now, write your three traits and explain them to me in a beefy paragraph."

One student raised his hand.

"What I mean by a beefy paragraph is that it's five to eight sentences."

Groans and moans.

"C'mon, people.  This is simple.  I'm giving you plenty of time."

I sat down at my desk after making sure everyone was writing.  One student in front of my desk looked up at me.

"Are you sure you're an introvert?" he asked.

"Kid, what you don't know is this is all an act."

M&y