On Tuesday, Mr. Gmerek was out, so he had a sub in his room. I stayed in Gmerek's class through 3rd, 4th, and most of 5th Period because the sub had no idea how to help the students with their work. After 4th Period, the substitute actually just sat in Mr. Gmerek's desk for the remainder of the time, only speaking to the students initially to tell them what to work on for the period. Though I didn't teach a specific lesson or necessarily have any control over the classroom, I essentially directed the class that day, giving students the papers they needed throughout the period and assisting them with their work while the substitute was just on the computer. I used the whiteboard a lot more than usual since there was nothing already on there from Mr. Gmerek for the day. I enjoyed working with the students, and when I came back Thursday many of them said that they were lost on Wednesday without me. I've had a lot of them tell me in the past that I should be in their class more often, and that they benefit greatly from my help, but it was nice to actually see the difference for myself.
On Thursday, Mr. Gmerek was back, so I went to Mrs. Horne's room for 4th Period and stayed halfway through fifth to see her Precalculus class. It's a very drastic shift in students between Algebra II and Precalculus; the latter are much more focused and self-sufficient in their learning for the most part. Mrs. Horne also asked me if I could come in Monday because she will be at a wedding, and the students would be more familiar with me than a sub, so I'll be doing Observations that day now too. Overall, it's nice to feel useful and actually play a role in the students' learning during my Secondary Education observations this year. I felt very involved during my elementary observations last year, but my middle school ones were often pure observation without any real work on my part, so I definitely am enjoying myself this year.
On Thursday, Mr. Gmerek was back, so I went to Mrs. Horne's room for 4th Period and stayed halfway through fifth to see her Precalculus class. It's a very drastic shift in students between Algebra II and Precalculus; the latter are much more focused and self-sufficient in their learning for the most part. Mrs. Horne also asked me if I could come in Monday because she will be at a wedding, and the students would be more familiar with me than a sub, so I'll be doing Observations that day now too. Overall, it's nice to feel useful and actually play a role in the students' learning during my Secondary Education observations this year. I felt very involved during my elementary observations last year, but my middle school ones were often pure observation without any real work on my part, so I definitely am enjoying myself this year.