tutroing reflection #5

This week I was lucky enough to be put into a totally new and different atmosphere. Mr. Jones was showing a movie for the entire class time so he prearranged for me to be in a science class with Mrs. Green for the hour. I haven’t taken a science class in three years, so I was a little apprehensive about how affective I could be in helping out the class. What I didn’t expect was how different the relationship is between teachers and students.

 I am so glad that my first experience working with a teacher has been a positive one. I never realized how affective my teacher is at reaching the students. The level of respect that he has compared to Mrs. Green was obvious within the first five minutes. She was repeating the same rules over and over again without any results. She never raised her voice, she never asserted any type of authority and the children played her the entire hour. I don’t understand how one woman can stand up in front of the class and keep her cool while being disrespected all hour. This relationship dwindled all the way down to me. Her relationship is so bad that she didn’t have the sense to introduce me to her students and many of the kids spent the hour looking back asking me what I was doing there. It really made my learning experience very difficult; due to the fact that I was too busy answering off beat questions. Kids are curious, when there is a new adult in the room they want to know who I am and what I am doing inside their classroom. I sat in the classroom observing her teaching style and for 10 minutes I helped one girl finish up her assignment. I was happy to leave the class and go back over to my students.

I really thought that I wasn’t comfortable with my student, but being away from them this week made me appreciate my situation and my class a lot more. I truly appreciate the environment that Mr. Jones had created for me inside of his classroom. He trusts my education and my abilities enough to work right along side him, instead of putting my in the corner until the last five minutes. Because of him I am more confidant in my abilities to work with kids and really see my work in progress. I am glad that I was given an opportunity to work with another teacher to see that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.