Day One: Challenge Accepted
Today was my first day being submerged into a high school classroom setting. My stomach was turned upside down at first. I was so nervous.When I first walked into the school an overwhelming feeling came over me when I looked around. I thought to myself, "in less than a year, this will be my everyday reality". I had to ask the teachers in the hall where Mrs. Mimi's office was. They were friendly and directed m3 in the right path. She greeted me with a warm welcome and we got right to business. She needed me to finish up my background paperwork, which didn't take long. Then she asked me "well are you ready to volunteer today, or do you need to come back the next week"? I responded fast with " I'm ready to start today".
We began walking through the halls and she asked me what class I would want to be in. I told her that I plan on becoming an English teacher. She walked me over to Mrs. Johns door. When I walked inside heads turned and eyes were on me. Mrs. Mimi introduced me to the class. I walked into the classroom and the overwhelming feeling came back. However, Mrs. Johns made that feeling disappeared fast. The students started up their computers and were working individually. Mrs. Johns started informing me all about the school and how her classes work. She told me that today she needed to do individual reports with the students to let them know if they were on track. While she was talking to the students I began walking around the classroom.
None of the students were really paying attention to me. So I took it upon myself to get involved. I floated around the room and observed what some of the students were working on. Some were working on Spanish while other were doing English assignments. None of the students addressed me. However. I'm determined next time to get some one on one time with a student if possible. Soon enough the bell rang and the teacher began dismissing the students. I decided to stay a little bit longer through the next period. The class was an online based seminar again. Since they were all busy with getting informed by Mrs. Johns about being on track. I decided it was an okay time for me to leave.
Overall, I was really satisfied with the first day at Classic City high school. I remembered from the orientation of the first class that many of these students wouldn't reach out to you in the very start. I figured the more that I come to volunteer the more comfortable they will be with me within their learning environment. I believe that this semester will really open my eyes to how running a classroom will be when I have my own. I am excited to watch these students grow as the semester continues.
