Student Teaching!

Oh my! I have already been student teaching for about 3 weeks now. I can't believe how fast it is going! I only have about 6 more weeks left at this placement before I move on to the next one so I need to get blogging.

I'm currently placed at the 7th grade center in Owasso teaching on level math. This means we have no honors classes. Let me just say right of the bat that this is a weird thing for me. Throughout all of my secondary schooling I was in all honors classes. It's just a completely different group of people. I don't know how else to put it. They are just different. And perfect. I love my students so much.

Out of the six classes that I teach, two of them are inclusion classes. That means that in one of them, a large chunk of the students are learning disabled, and in another one of them, a large chunk of the students are English Language Learners. It has been such a blessing I think for me to see how classes like that work. More and more these days classes are becoming inclusion classes and up until now I have had no experience with it. I really am enjoying seeing the differences between those two classes and the other classes.

It's amazing to me how many of these students have already impacted me and my life. There is one young girl whose mom passes away within the past year. When I found this out I was blown away. She is one of the happiest, cheeriest seventh graders I know. Their resiliency is incredible. I also have so many students who are living with grandparents or other family members besides their parents. It makes me so sad to see this. Children need their parents. Especially in junior high when they think that they don't. One of the saddest stories that I have come across so far is a little girl who has been removed from her home by dhs. She came from an abusive household and she has scars all of her face, arms, and legs. It breaks my heart that someone could do that to their own kids.

There are also happy stories. There are so many students who just love school. They have a passion for learning already and they are willing and ready to do whatever task you put before them. There are students who are running for student council after failing for the past two years because they have such determination. There are students who I see walking up to kids sitting by themselves and they talk to them. It's just a really nice thing to see.

While I know you aren't supposed to have favorites, I do. There is one kid in probably ever hour that I am drawn to. First hour it's Abby. Granted, her dad is my boss at Cracker Barrel so I already have a slight connection with her, but I mostly like that she is so quiet but the second you ask her a question she shoots right up to the board to do the answer. Second hour her name is Bailee. She sits right by my desk and is just such a sweet student. I have never seen her be anything but nice to anyone, and that's a hard thing for seventh graders to do. Fourth hour is Wyatt. I have no reason other than his middle name is Wildcat. Yes, that's what his parents call him. Fifth hour is hard. I think every student in that hour is my favorite. I can probably narrow it down to Marco. He just says the funniest things. I asked him to come up to the board to do a problem and he did the problem but he got it wrong. I asked someone else to come up and help him to get it right. Marco immediately said, "I just wanted someone else to get a chance to come up here." And that is a pretty regular phrase from him. He also solved 6 cubed in about ten seconds. Sixth hour would definitely go to Thatcher. Very preppy but extremely well mannered and smart. And finally seventh  hour. Delsy. She reminds me so much of a tv character on one of the shows I watch, but I am praying that she won't take that same path haha. She is never afraid to ask questions, which is perfect for my hesitant teaching. It really helps me to know where the rest of the class is.

I have spoken way too much about so many things that no one who reads this will care about. But I really am enjoying this time with these students so I don't want to forget any of it. =)

On a different note. 74 days till my wedding!!

-Kristina