WEEK FIVE- Weekly Journal

This week was a great week because I had a lot more responsibility because Mme. Mercer has been away due to the fact that she has strep throat. I found out that good time management is important at my placement because you have to be prepared for all the lessons on time. If you don't finish writing quizzes and preparing activites, then you cannot successfully run a classroom. You also need to be able to fit a whole lesson into a scheduled time slot that cannot be too short or too long to maintain order. You also need to be able to set a good example for the students in the class so that they are prepared for the future and pick up good work habits. To have good time mangement you have to limit yourself in certain areas in order to complete the everyday activities. Sometimes lunch must be cut down so as to finish photocopying or writing a quiz. A good sense of time really helps as well because then you can gage what has to be taught by the time that you have to do it. This way you do not run over the shceduled time and teach everything that you have to get through. My time management skills have improved greatly during these past few weeks, and this has also helped me in my everyday life because I do not procrastinate nearly as often as I used to.
I sometimes feel tension at work when there is trouble within the classroom. Sometimes Mme. Mercer has to be stern and you can tell that the students are ashamed of their actions. I also feel tension when there are issues between students, such as when they argue or taunt each other. I usually step in to calm everyone down so that no feelings are hurt. The great thing about my co-op is that I do not usually feel stressed there; it is more of a place that I can go to enjoy myself as well as be productive. I think that I have yet to feel stressed or under pressure at my placement because I like doing tasks and keeping busy. The only time I have ever felt even close to stressed was when a supply teacher was present and the students did not respect her at all. It took a lot of time, energy and effort to gain order. Teamwork is important at my placement all the time because the teachers have to work together to coordinate their lessons and control certain students. I also have to work well with an E.A., Mrs. Hutchinson because we both take groups to the library. We work together to help the students understand their work. Mme. Mercer and I also work together to plan lessons. I feel like a good team member when I talk to other teachers about suggestions and problems I may have, because then I am communicating with them to better my performance. Communicating with fellow teachers helps to assure them and myself that I know what I am doing. I also feel like a good team member when I actually help the students. Overall, this was a good week for me because I really took on a lot of responsibility and a bigger role in the classroom due to Mme. Mercer's absence. I had to tell the subtitutes what to do and introduce them to the class' routines. I enjoyed the challenge and I learned a lot about myself an how far I've come since my first day at my placement. I have become so much more confident and self-assured.