This week for my CFE I took over class on Wednesday, had a snow day Thursday and my final evaluation visit on Friday, and overall I would like to say that as stressed out as I am about everything else in my life my CFE still brings me a ton of joy, even when it adds to the stress. Anyway like I said Wednesday I took over class, but not in the way you might be thinking, you see Ms. Rabbitt told me that she was going to be absent so she left me with work to give the students and told me to help them with it because she knew there would be questions. She actually gave me a copy of the packet and I went through it the day before to see what kind of questions they might ask. She also asked me to go and check in on her second hour class as well if my teacher would allow me to because she had no idea who her sub was going to be, so I told her I would try to and it ended up that I could so I finally got to meet the second hour class. As soon as I said hello to them I knew straight off that the class was slightly different, but they seemed to welcome me with open arms once I told them who I was which was very nice. The group was smaller and quieter than the third hour students I am use to, but I was already prepared for that due to switching classes for my CFE, my own school experience as a student and what Ms. Rabbitt told me about the other class. Both groups were exceptional in their own ways. The only bad part was having to lay down the law with the third hour, they kept complaining about the packets and one kid actually was so annoyed with the packet the question of finishing the entire book instead arose, which I replied that if the class wanted to do that I expected an essay summarizing the book in return for not doing the packet, not a very pleasing substitute let me tell you. The day went pretty well though for the most part. Now I would summarize the evaluation, but since you already know there is not much of a point. But one thing about it that I would like to summarize about the experience is that for me the second time around was less nerve racking than the first. Also for this weeks entry I was asked to choose an insane rule at Disney that sticks out to me and if I think they are fair, while shocking fact I actually know all of Disney's insane rules for employees and actually I believe that they are all fair because Disney is not just a company it is a brand and if you don't fit the look it could ruin the experience for customers. Disney is also not the only company that has insane rules, places such as Hollister & Co. and American Eagle have them as well, it is all part of branding. Now that I have said that though I do believe I was asked to choose a rule that stuck out to me so I will. A rule that stuck out to me in the list I was given to choose from was the rule about always being in character. This rule sticks out to me because not only can it be applied to working at Disney or on stage it can also be applied in practically every job there is. Now when I was working for Mr. Gwozdz I remember how he told me that it was important to have two personas, one that you show to your students and one that you have outside of the workplace. When he first told me this I was honestly very confused by what he meant, but the more time I have had to think on this I have started to understand it. You have to have a separate life from your job because if you don't your job will slowly start to consume you and you will no longer have a personal life. You need to keep work and personal things separate. Now this does not mean that they can't intermix this just means you have to know where to draw the line and this is a rule that I am starting to apply in my CFE. Yes I want to have a relationship with the students, but I also need to know where to draw the line.
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This past week my CFE was only two days long due to the winter break on Monday and Tuesday and me leaving for Winterfest in Gatlinburg, Tennessee on Thursday afternoon thus I missed Friday, but let me tell you, those two days were crazy. Due to the tri being over soon and only being halfway through To Kill a Mockingbird Ms. Rabbit and I talked about what to do because they still have to write a paper and do a project. I am not sure if she has come up with anything yet, I know personally I'm still trying to figure out something, but for now we have decided to show the movie and summarize the book. So we started the movie and finished the chapter we were reading. Since we are watching a movie we asked the students to not use their phones, actually we asked the kids to stop using their phones altogether because they have been abusing the phone rules, and I caught them on their phones. That's right I caught them on their phones. We were having a class discussion and some of them that sit in the back of the room thought that it was a good time to use their phones, little did they know that I do know that no one just looks at their desk and just starts poking it. So whilst the discussion was going on I casually walked to the back of the room and they put their phones away. Also later whilst we watched the movie and Ms. Rabbit stepped out to speak with Mr. Frost I noticed all the kids pull out their phones so I made them put them away. I don't know what it is, but it seems like rules are constantly being ignored, so before the class period ended on Thursday and I left to Tennessee I had a few words to share with them. I told them how hurt I was that they disrespected Ms. Rabbit by pulling their phones out the second she left even though I'm still there and although I'm just the TA I had hoped they would still respect me enough to follow all the same rules Ms. Rabbit has when I am left with them. Then I said I was sorry to leave on that note and the bell rang. That was pretty much my week.
This week I also got my letter of recommendation back from Ms. Rabbit and I got to say I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful boss. Both of my bosses have been wonderful, but things have really changed this tri. The one thing that I think changed the most is me. I am more outgoing than I was and I get to work with the students more. I am really enjoying my CFE despite the hard days, I love the students and Ms. Rabbit, they are all super. This week for my CFE I did something a little different. Well not only one thing, but a few different things. This week Ms. Rabbit had to leave early for a meeting so I was left in charge for the last few minutes of class, which has happened before so that is not new. However this time when I was left with them to make sure they followed the rules and did their work until the bell rang I noticed that a couple of the students were cheating off of each other so I talked to the students, told them how disappointed I was and that I would be reporting the situation to Ms. Rabbit who would then handle the situation however she seemed fit because I am just the T.A. not the teacher. So I had my first cheating situation, I also had my first one on one with a student. Recently a student has been sick so Ms. Rabbit asked me to take them to take the quiz they missed outside of the classroom so that they weren't distracted by the rest of the class, so I took the student and gave them the quiz. I also got to talk the students this week about my personal life a little bit so that they could understand what a court reporter is and the importance of their job. You see we are reading To Kill a Mockingbird and right before break we just started the trial and in the trial a court reporter is referenced, so I mentioned to Ms. Rabbit how I personally connected with the court reporter since my own mother is a transcriptionist and she asked me to talk the students about what one is due to my personal connection. It was great getting to talk the students like how Ms. Rabbit does trying to show the students how literature can relate to everyone. This week was a great week for my CFE. So for this weeks blog post I was asked to watch a video and tell you 8 things that make me happy. This is not an easy request for me to fulfill because happiness is hard for me, but none the less I will strive my best.
So these are the 8 things that make me happy. Strange? Yes. But I don't care they make me happy. P.S. My S.O. counts in the friend section before you ask. This week during my CFE I had my first phone call with a parent...oh yeah and we watched a movie. But for me the truly exciting part was my first phone call with a parent. The story as to why I was on the phone is long one so I will skip over it and just summarize the event as truly interesting. I was in the commons with the student and the parent wanted to talk to me and I thought I had completely butchered the conversation, but according to Ms. Leslie the wonderful lady that works in the commons and overheard the phone call I did a great job of handling the situation. It was so nice to hear I did a great job because the past few weeks for me have not been going super well outside of my CFE and I really try to keep my CFE life and personal life apart, so if someone outside of my CFE says that I am doing a great job I must be. All of that only makes me more excited to become a teacher. So along with everything else going on I have been asked to write yet another letter to my employer to thank them, which is something I will very gladly do because Ms. Rabbit is amazing (as was Mr. Gwozdz. I haven't forgotten all he has taught me.), but before I can finish my letter and hand it to my employer I have a few questions. What date should I ask to have a reply by? Do I have to get my letter proof read before I hand it to my employer? These are just some questions that have been running through my mind. If you could answer these that would be great. Thanks. |
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