I had my homeroom by myself today and am no longer scared of being in control of them. They know how to behave, though I do have to raise my voice occasionally to initially get their attention. I feel more comfortable talking to them about things and calling them out on mischief. I had a list of names, so I simply called them out, but like yesterday, I added a question. Today I asked about their summer plans. The majority of them were going to France, the lucky ducks. It must be so nice to be so close to cool countries and go there for the summer. Italy and Greece were also destination spots for two or three. A few were actually going to America. Not Georgia of course, but New York, Los Angeles, and one kid was moving to Boston. These are some well travelled kids. I told them how our summer lasted three months, and they were quite outraged. The boys asked which restaurant I had tried last night, and were once again outraged when I informed them I did not eat out last night. It is clear they intend to check up on these things. I told them some restaurants to eat in America and told them that unfortunately they could not experience Chick-fil-A because they weren't going to the south. This was after the bell, so I had other students in there and a girl told me she had tried Chick-fil-A and she thought it was disgusting. Oh my goodness. No. I can't believe she said that! I'm still in shock.
Heading to geography, I was pretty sure about my agenda for today. Help with S.'s coursework right? Actually no. Today I was given a break and was able to work with all of the students and bounce around. Today the students worked on their data presentation and analysis. First off, I went to the other classroom of Year 10 students to see if they needed help. Most of them didn't so I proofread their work thus far. I was quite impressed. The classes were beginning to go on break so I had some free time.
Note: The students usually go to Starbucks or the grocery store and load up on sugar during this time. The past two days, I have told myself I did not need Starbucks. Well, today, I decided to treat myself. The super nice teacher lady was also going, so we walked together. Update: I have finally found out her name! So happy! And she is just so sweet. I'm really thankful for her. The point of this digression is to tell you that the Mocha Cookie Crumble at Starbucks may be the best drink in the entire world. That is all.
After break I went back to my original classroom. Before the break I was talking to the teachers and my teacher discovered her students did not know how to make graphs in Excel and she didn't either. (I feel as though at age 15, I already knew these things.) So she turns to me and ask if I did, and of course I do, so it was decided that I would teach the class how. Another challenge. I had to teach. In front of students. I know how to make graphs and such, but I had not done so in forever, so I had to quickly collect my thoughts and remember how. Another note: I had noticed that the students do not type with all their fingers, as we are taught to in middle school. It's pretty much expected that you type on the computer properly, and even better if you don't look at the keys when you type. These students type with anywhere from two to five fingers. I asked about this, and was told they have taken computer classes, but it isn't stressed as much. So interesting.
Back to the challenge. If you must know, I was successful. I went over the steps with the computer screen projected onto the board and I for the most part they understood. After that moment I was known as the girl who knew how to work computers. So for the next two hours, I bounced from student to student answering questions about graphs and helping them set them up. I was really able to build relationships with several of them, which I love. They asked if I had been to Taco Bell and were under the impression it was a great place to eat. I quickly set them straight. Often times I did go to S. to make sure he was getting along fine and help him with a few points. This is what I love, building those relationships with this age student.
At lunch I met a teacher who was from Connecticut and had lived in the UK for thirty years. She was quite lovely and we talked about my study abroad program and why she was here. She also gave me advice on things to do and see.
Afterwards, I had continued helping with the graphs and was then left in charge for a bit while our teacher went to get lunch. I had them under control until a student from the other room came in with one slice of cake. You cannot come into a classroom with one slice of cake when there are twenty kids who want it. Then it all broke down. I tried to fight this kid and get him out, but that resulted in me being sprinkled with cake crumbs. Crumbs that went down the front of my dress, sending the boys into hysterics. Oh good gracious. After that fiasco, I did manage to bring back the calm. Fun fact: This school is 70% boys, which means 30% girls. That's so crazy! No wonder all my classes have boys.
After all this I went back to the other classroom to help out again. When I returned, one of my students said, "Miss, where did you go?" So I told him to the other classroom. His response: "No. You can't go in there! We need you in here!" I think it is safe to say they officially like me. So yeah! That was the important points of my day! I hope I can stick with group and get to know them better!
Tomorrow we ride the London Eye! So excited!
Week Four: Day Three: Internship 7
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