First Day in Class
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 9:00AM Robin 
Today was my first day in the classroom. It was…interesting. My teaching hours go from 8 am until 1 pm. Had I been writing this summary after my 12 pm class, I’d be glowing with pride and excitement about how amazing this experience is going to be and how incredibly lovely all the students are.
And I still am…but it’s tempered by the awful experience in my last class. I have never before encountered such an unruly, disrespectful group of children (all educators and parents, feel free to laugh at will). I remember when I was in school (for the few years I wasn’t homeschooled) whenever we had a guest speaker or someone new in the classroom we were all on our best behavior – and that was certainly the case for my first four classes – but the fifth class didn’t get the memo.
They were so rude and disruptive that I finally just stopped my lesson, told the teacher that she should take over, and sat down at the side of the classroom. She proceeded to yell at them for a few minutes, but considering how little control she had over them for first 50 minutes of the class, I doubt it made any real change.
All that aside, the rest of the experience was positively wonderful. Some of the classes were more shy than others, but all participated and tried their best. I really look forward to working with them through the course of these three months and teaching them all I can.
Tonight I’m going to try and put together some presentations about information specific to their lessons, to try and tie in some new information to what’s presented in their textbooks.
For one class I’ll be working on something about the public transportation system in Washington DC. They’ve been studying London’s Underground system, so we’ll talk about the Metro. For another class I’ll be putting something together on the American education system: how ages are separated, the various grades, different types of schools, etc. For another I’ll be putting something together on leisure activities in the US.
The other teachers also seem very nice, though only a few speak any English. Most of what they call “support teachers” have a decent grasp, so it’s nice to make small talk with them. Support teachers work with special needs kids outside of the classroom. I met two of those kids today (though I don’t remember their names). One was on the Autism spectrum; he is highly functioning and participates in some classes. Another is extremely developmentally disabled and has private lessons with individual teachers. I’m not overly familiar with the way special needs programs work in schools in the US, but so far the individual attention afforded each child appears to be extraordinary here in Italy.
Another thing I found pleasant about the school was the technological access. Each classroom has its own computer with internet access and an interactive multimedia board. While I was telling each class about where I was from and various things about American states, I could use Google maps and just drag my finger across the board to move things around. Very cool!
Also, in the morning around 10am some very lovely ladies make all the teachers and assistants coffee from a moka. It is divine. One of the ladies is apparently very well known for her cooking and is currently compiling her own cookbook. I hope I get a peek at it. I’d love to see some traditional Italian recipes.
Tomorrow is another round of classes, though only four this time. Hopefully I manage my sleep a little better. I fell asleep last night before I could chat with the husband, and then woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 5 am. I obviously didn’t want to be awake an hour before I even needed to get up, so I went back to sleep. Then when I woke up at 6:30 I was groggy and entirely uninterested at getting out of bed. Let’s hope we don’t repeat that tomorrow.
And let’s hope my four classes tomorrow are as wonderful as my first four classes today.
Reader Comments (3)
Even if the teacher isn't firm, you can be. If they are being loud and unruly, one thing that works is to just stop and whisper. They will quiet down to see what you are whispering about. Another is to just stop and wait, looking at your watch pointedly and at the door. If the teacher yells all the time, they are used to that and probably just tune it out. Good luck! Be positive. They could be a whole new class today.
I'm glad you finally got to get started on your teaching adventure. You will need plenty of rest as it can be draining - even when dealing with a "Good" class. In addition to Natalie's advise I would see if you can pick out one or two students, maybe even one of the most unruly to assist you. If you can get them to help/participate and make them feel important they won't disrupt your class anymore.
Once, I actually stood on the desk and dropped several heavy books onto the floor. It scared the students to death. They were not unruly again and actually quite afraid of what I might do next. This was as a 19 year old student teacher in a room full of "below average" history students. I like Natalie's whispering idea, too.