Today was: Good

An average day all around, really. I did find out, however, that one of my favorite kids (I know I'm not supposed to have favorites, but...) has moved. Actually, it's a student that I've spoken about here before - the girl who didn't think much of her abilities in the first couple of weeks of school, but soon started coming out of her shell. She was the one who didn't think that she could draw at all but a few weeks ago was drawing with chalk all over the playground. She was great, and I'm really going to miss her. The encouraging thing, as I told Miles, is that she definitely made progress in even the short amount of time that she was in our classroom.

One of my fellow Student Teachers from SFSU walked into my class mid-way through the morning. She said that her kids were at recess and that she had the class on her own today - I guess her teacher was assessing their students OUT of the classroom, and there wasn't a substitute teacher in the room with her. I casually mentioned that this is INCREDIBLY ILLEGAL [there has to be an authorized teacher in the room at all times - Student Teachers don't qualify as authorized teachers], but secretly wished that I could be given the same opportunity. At my seminar last Thursday night a lot of the other Student Teachers were saying that their teachers left them with the class all the time - Miles has NEVER left me alone with the kids and I feel like it would do me good to be so completely put in charge. As it is right now, it's kind of like being in Driver's Education and having to drive a car that has a second brake on the passenger side - so, you get to turn the wheel and all, but you know that your instructor ULTIMATELY still has the power. Now, I'm not SO self-conscious (for a change) to think that it is because Miles doesn't trust me. Really, I think he's reluctant to give up the class because he has control issues. It's his classroom and he does things the way that he wants them done - I can't fault him for this because I know that when I have my own classroom I'm going to want things just so. WELL, this is all very coincidental because after school today Miles said, "I've got a big favor to ask you. Can you come in on Friday afternoon and take over the class for the last hour of the day?" His sister is getting married this weekend (I guess his family lives around Yosemite) and he wants to get an early start getting out of town. He says that he's going to ask this one woman at school to be the "official" person to take over the class, but I should have the place all to myself. The parents are away and I've got a set of keys to the car in the garage...

On the subject of being self-conscious: "Look out, kids, there's a new book in the Listening Center! It's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, and, because Miles couldn't find a copy of it on audiotape, it's read by ME!" After school today, I was given a rickety tape recorder, a porcelin bell to tinkle between pages ["When you hear THIS noise (tinkle tinkle tinkle), turn the page!"], and then told to give it my all. I sat there for a good 10 minutes with my finger on the Play/Record buttons, hoping that Miles would leave the room... He didn't, and I got through it with my dignity firmly intact. When I finished, Miles said, "You're going to be glad you did that because when the kids hear YOUR voice on the tape they'll think it's the COOLEST thing in the world." Hey, I do what I can for the kids.

I don't think I've mentioned that we got a new student [boy] early last week, and a new student [girl] late last week. The girl is PAINFULLY shy, and I'm not sure that she can even spell/write her own name. The boy, on the other hand, seems to be acclimating quickly - I suppose this is because he was put in the bi-lingual 1st grade class and it was decided that he should do kindergarten again in English [long story, and I'm not really clear on the details]. He is actually the second kid in the class to repeat kindergarten - we have one girl who had Miles last year. Last week, the school nurse (who, ridiculously, is only on-site ONCE A WEEK) came into the room after school and asked Miles how this little girl was doing with her glasses. Miles said, "Well, I know that it was decided late last year that she should have glasses, but her parents never got around to getting her any, and now she's living with her grandmother and she doesn't seem to be getting on it either." It just makes you want to go up to her parents and grandmother and politely scream, "Maybe your grand/daughter is doing poorly in school BECAUSE SHE CAN'T SEE WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON!" Parents are going to be the death of me, I just know it.

Alright, stop reading this and GO WATCH THIS... NOW!