Student Teaching

I realize that it has been a long time since I have blogged, and I have probably lost all, if I had any in the first place, of my blog readers, but I feel the need to update those who are interested about my student teaching experience, thus far. 

I am teaching 11th grade English at Olympus High. Now, I thought that teaching would be pretty hard, and in some aspects it is, but this experience has actually been pretty fun and not so bad as some of the horror stories I have heard from previous student teachers. My classes are, for the most part, well behaved... and they seem to like me as a teacher. Except for one class. This is my class from he... well, you get the point. Now, not all of them are little devils, but there are one or two who just love to cause problems, be loud, say inappropriate comments, write about gangs, violence, drugs, racial innuendos, and who just enjoy being a little brat. It is those students that make teaching hard. I have a student, whose name I will not disclose, but he is every teacher's nightmare. I feel bad for the kid because every teacher warns me to look out for him and that he is the worst person in the world. Yeah, he has done some awful things and is on the verge of being kicked out of the school for the second year in a row (don't as me how he got back in after last year) and for some reason I just feel bad for him. He tries every day to pus my buttons, and he got pretty close to winning a few classes ago, but I mostly just want the kid to know that I understand why he acts like this. 

A teacher told me that his mom is never home. She works in international business and I guess she is in China for weeks on end and leaves this kid at home with a nanny. Well, the nanny, I'm certain, has no control over this kid (he really is pretty mischievous) and so she probably just cleans the house and lets him get into whatever trouble he chooses. He has no responsibilities, no parents to guide him, and he hangs out with a bad crowd. I'm not really sure if he even has friends because he is socially weird and no one really talks to him in class. The problems he causes in class or more than just disruptions or making noise. He says and writes things that are against school policy and he is almost sociopathic in the way that he really doesn't care what happens to him or anyone else. I hope that in some way I can connect with him and let him know that I care about him. I can see that he really doesn't have many people in his life who pay attention to him and give him the love that every person needs, but I really do care about him and wish I could do something more to show him that he is a human being too. I think that if he gets transferred to Central it will just be the beginning of a new life behind bars for him. Hopefully he will get his act together before that happens. 

Other than this boy, most of my students really are good kids. They do their work, they are creative, and they add to discussion in class. We are starting The Crucible in a few weeks which I am very excited for. I am going to be getting the kids involved in a lot more group work and fun activities. I am really looking forward to that! I think that reading gets kids brains functioning and working a lot more than lecture, so hopefully they enjoy the Salem Witch Trials and much as I like researching about them! haha, we will see!