January 26-30

The third week of student teaching was another adjustment for me. However, my co-op made this adjustment seem effortlessly for both of us. I felt as if she was a good friend of mine after only one day of observing her and asking her questions. She answered every one of my questions directly and without hesitation. This, of course, is leading to what I found most valuable this week. It was said many times in the past, "Don't become friends with your students". I believed this to be true, but if I should not become friends with them should I act like I do not want to be friends with them? Of course not, so the answer is somewhere in the middle. My co-op, always ready with wisdom and advise, answered this question for me through the course of our conversations. She told me connections in the classroom are better when you show your students you "like" them. This was great advise! Although I always knew this, I never thought of it in this way because "liking" them falls between being friends with them and not being friends with them. This connection is now clearer for me. I did not pursue this career simply for a job. I already have a great job. I did pursue this because of the passion I have for business eduation. I want to excite my students about "real" business and not to look at it as an elective. So, in order for me to continue my dream as a business educator, the first thing I am going to do is to show I "like" them and I am half way there!

This past week was only an observation week for me. However, starting on Monday I will pick up two of my co-op's classes and will be on track with everyone else. So, in other words, since I did not teach in class this week, I do not have much to regret. The regrets will begin when I begin to speak. I did, however, begin to grade homework and pass the papers back out to the students. If I had to choose one thing I would change, I would have asked my co-op if I could take attendance. If I had taken attendance, both the students and I would have felt I was part of the class and I would become familiar with their names and faces.

There is one area I am concerned about. How do I become a different teacher for different students? Let me explain. Of the seven classes my co-op teaches, the students in six of these classes do exactly what they are supposed to do and my co-op is a happy teacher. But period eight is where the problems arise. In this class I see my co-op transform into a different teacher. Most of the students are disruptive and many refuse to work. My co-op becomes very frusterated. This is the only class she yells. I am not sure how I will react to period eight. When I begin teaching this class, should I change my attitude the first day and be more firm with period eight than the other classes? Or should I be the same teacher I was in the previous classes and react appropriately?