Observations: 11/9

 Every Tuesday morning is a mix of emotions and thoughts for me. I always second guess changing my major. I have yet to feel a peace one way or the other. This morning the fifth grade boys began their day by filling in maps of the United States with the state names and coloring different sections of states different colors. Miss L, the teachers aid, asked one of the students, "do you know what color green is?" I thought she was serious at first and I felt a little bad for the boy and got offended for him. But then she made a joke about singing the color song for him, so I relaxed a little. A little later Miss L said, "maybe you should label Maine, because I don't want you to get docked off." Sometimes I think the teachers care too much about the grade rather than the information being taught. One thing I found interesting is that Mrs. M and Miss L care less about the work being turned in in their classroom but more about how their students do on the work that gets turned into their regular teachers. Maybe they don't want to look like they aren't doing their job and helping the students out. A little later on, one of the boys came in and said he couldn't hear Mrs. M. She said that is was because he wasn't using his FM system. The boy claimed he didn't need it, but it was obvious that he did. I was wondering if maybe he was embarrassed by the devise. The same boy, we'll came him S, was rather tense the rest of the lesson. M, the only girl in the classroom at the time was being very encouraging to S telling him to calm down and that it would be okay. It was very sweet. Apparently this was a very unusual behavior for her. The third graders eventually came in for reading. They have this new ticket system that the teachers put into place. I think the goal for these tickets was to get the third graders to start listening and following directions better. They can earn tickets daily by bringing their planner and AR book or getting their planner signed by a parent. Also, if they pay attention during reading and are good, they can earn tickets. They can get tickets taken away by poor behavior, etc. These tickets can then earn the students prizes. Larger ticket amounts, equals larger prizes. One girl was reading an AR book that was too advanced for her apparently. The level exceeded what level of book she was supposed to be reading. The teacher said next time she needed to get a book that was at her level. To me, that is very irritating. I hated when teachers said that to me back when I read AR books. I felt so restricted and probably pretty annoyed as well. Some things about the AR system are not my favorite. I graded assignments for quite awhile. I realized I'm not a fan of having to give out low grades. It just isn't fun and I feel bad. Another reason why maybe I wouldn't make the best teacher. Although I'm doubting that any teacher enjoys giving out low grades to their students. A teacher just has to remember that the student earned the grade that they receive.