I cannot believe I am now typing my first day of my long practicum. I have been waiting to start this adventure for so long, and here I am finally! 😀 For the past month, I have been working so hard on my inquiry project and lesson plans that I barely document my experience during my short practicum. Oh well, hopefully this time I am able to keep track of how things go. I cannot wait to share my stories and reflect upon them when I have time.

My first official lesson during my long practicum.

I was so nervous in the morning because…
1. I forgot my adaptor.
2. I tried to figure out how to get the screen set up for probably 5 minutes.
3. I was so scared that I would mispronounce my students’ names.
4. I did not know what to expect from the class.

I spent the beginning 30 minutes of the morning (8:00-8:30) reading over my lesson plan. I created this lesson in December, so it had been a while since then. My SA came into rescue at around 8:20, so she was out hunting the adaptor for me (I asked another teacher for it, but she said that I should be able to get one from my SA). I told my SA that it would be fine to start the lesson without the adaptor, and she insisted to look for it.

Anyway, I started the class by calling out the names. I tried to remember the pronunciation that my SA taught me and from the class observation. Many students were surprised by how accurate I could pronounce. They were like “wow..she got it”. The inside me was smirking. 😉 Since I could not show them the Grease trailer, I went straight into the content – the setting of The Outsiders: 1960s. We discussed the fashion, the interests, pop culture and slang. This class was so energetic that they just kept on giving me ideas. It was great to see they were so excited to answer even though some of them might sound silly. For example, I asked them what was a heater. They were like “a heater?” “a fire-lighter?” “a hot person?”. It was great to see their creative juices working in their brains. Then, we compared all those areas from back then to nowadays. It was interesting how many students thought the pop culture back then was much better than nowadays. They gave interesting answers to explain their thought processes. I wish I had it recorded down, so I would remember some of their lines.

After I finished my whole lesson, there was still around 20 minutes left. I really under-planned. In my mind, I thought that would take a lot longer. This was a good experience since now I know I might have to over plan a little bit to make sure students were really making use of their time to do their assignments. With that great amount of time, I decided to have them write a little introduction and their expectation for this class. It was fascinating to read their thoughts and the way they introduced themselves. It really showed they were still a bunch of innocent kids. They told me about their birthdays and the school/grade they are currently in (duh! of course I know about them). Many of them also indicated how they did not want to have homework or tests. A lot of them mentioned they wanted the class to be fun, which I would try my best to achieve that. One of the quieter students wrote to me and said that I was a kind and loving teacher. She looks forward to “be close to [me]”. My heart instantly melted. That was definitely the highlight of my day.

The second class was about the same. Before the students came in, I wanted to have a sip of my water. Then I found out that I left the water bottle in my dad’s car. Oh well. I guess I was just a little forgetful today. There was this kid who was labelled as “problematic” by my SA. Do not get me wrong – he does have his behaviour issues. BUT, he is so curious, and I know he has many good ideas. He asked me about an interesting question: how would people treat me if I went back to the 1960s? “because I was not white”. It was hard to really give him an accurate answer, but that question just blew my mind. I am sure he will be really interested in the novel. 🙂 I cannot wait to help him discover the incredible talents and skills that he has. This class was quieter than the previous class, which I did not like as much. I think I just need the right hook to get them engage. I do not know what it will be, but I will keep trying.

The fourth class was quite interesting too. When I walked in, some students waved and said hi to me. I felt very welcomed. And then this one student walked in and said, “Miss Lui, I missed you” in Chinese. Even though he could have spoken in English, I did feel very happy. I know I am making an impact on the students. I cannot wait to help these ELL kids to become successful. Friday will be the first step – I hope they will show up in the after-school program. I can only wish.

It was great to be teaching. I felt a little bit overwhelmed. I know I just need to get used to it. Everything is going to be okay. 🙂