Strict. Terrified. No PowerPoint, overhead? What do you think happened to the old English teacher, Ms. C? Can I possibly lecture for 50 whole minutes? In front of the headmaster, no less? How much do I need to know about student backgrounds in order to reach them the most effectively?
Mr. G – “You have 100% to start with in my class – its like a paycheck – you can lower it if you want to, based on how much work you do or don’t do.”
On the first day, we attended the welcome-back, Monday traditional ceremony at the beginning of the day. The middle and high school students sat shivering on concrete benches outside while a female color guard brought up the Mexican and American flags. All students saluted in a parallel fashion as the Mexican anthem played (a few teachers sang), and 1 or 2 Americans saluted and sang as the American anthem was played.
After a brief tour, Ashley and I sat in on Mr. G’s 11th and 12th grade classes, which Ashley will be working with, and the Headmaster 11th grade periods, which I will be teaching. We introduced ourselves and enjoyed their curiosity. The bus home and then the metro weren’t nearly as intimidating as previous trips, since a couple of the teachers kindly (and patiently!) showed us around. We looked at 2 apartments on the way back to the hotel, but decided to sleep on it before rushing into a decision.
On Tuesday, Mr. S asked me to let him know what novels I’d like to teach with American Literature so that they can order the books and have them available to students in 4-5 weeks. I’ve been working on my list – so far I’m thinking about Stephen Crane’s short story, “Maggie, a Girl of the Streets,” Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, and Margaret Atwood’s “Happy Endings.” After walking through the school library, Robert Louis Stevenson sounds adventurous and maybe and maybe Great Gatsby? I haven’t read all of the classics, and while I would definitely read a book before I taught it and do preparatory research, I’m still nervous about branching outside of a textbook and the texts I covered in my own education. However, there’s no time like the present to learn.
Its very intimidating to think about teaching in front of the headmaster of all the campuses – however, I’ll be trained to think and teach like an administrator, so hopefully I will be better prepared to work with them in the future and have a better, inside understanding of their expectations. For now, I’m extremely grateful for the time to sit and observe. From my seat in the back of the classroom I get to know the students. With a copy of the roll in my hand, I watch the girls passing notes and a make a mental note to keep an eye on them. I see the boy who’s bored and needs more challenges, the couple playing footsie under the table, and begin to understand why the girl in the middle has an IEP. Will I be able to project loud enough, command attention? Mr. S’s naturally commanding voice booms and echoes in the small room.
I have a copy of Mr. S’s lesson plans for the week, a copy of the American Literature textbook, and a copy of the yearly plan for each grade level. However, because the previous English teacher did not return any of my inquiring emails from last semester (I didn’t know she resigned), I still need the necessities – a grade book, markers, a whole punch. Mr. G said that there is a whole street of supply stores downtown – we just have to figure out where and how to get there. I have a whole list of questions and want to sit down with Mr. S to plan out the semester, to understand his expectations. I need to know how much authority I have, what he expects of me. Unfortunately, because he’s the headmaster he’s only on this campus the second half of the day. I need to consolidate my questions and be prepared to only get 5 minutes with him.
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