The First Day

All weekend I worried about how I would make it through my student teaching. I felt nauseous and overwhelmed. These feelings were not calmed during the initial meeting with my University Supervisor on Monday morning. As Monday comes to a conclusion, it's finally time to wake up for the "First" day of my "Last" semester in college. I get up, get a cup of coffee, get dressed, and head off to school. As I pulled into the parking lot, I felt so many different feelings. I was sleepy, nervous, anxious, and simply terrified entered into the school.

I walked into the classroom confident but still a little worried about the tasks ahead. I talked to my mentor teacher briefly before the first students arrived. Immediately I was asked, "Are you Mr. Marcquez?" Excitedly I stated that I was and I began to take notice of the morning routines such as hanging their bookbags and completing the morning math problems. I really liked the types of questions asked since they were early practice for showing the class the types of questions that will be asked on CRCT.

After morning meeting, I watched as my mentor teacher taught math. He surprisingly asked me if I was ready and I replied yes. It feels great to know that my mentor teacher wants me to take note on how he starts a lesson as well as other things throughout instruction. I took special note on the start of his lesson. I also payed close attention to how he moved around the room constantly throughout the lesson, allowed students to come to the board, and how he checked the clock to keep the schedule he set for the lesson.

One thing that stuck with me the entire day was the way my mentor teacher gave instruction. It seemed as though he broke up hour lessons into many lessons. This was amazing because it seemed to always keep the children engaged in what was going on. I also noticed that he did not stop every time the children would talk or interrupt instruction. This allowed him to maintain his schedule also.

Overall, today was incredible. The nerves are gone, although I still wonder about lesson planning and my two-week unit plan. I also am concerned about the talkativeness of my class. My mentor teacher does not set strict rules in the belief that children are naturally impulsive; some more than others. I wonder how I will set my atmosphere. But I guess I can worry about all that later. For now, I'll just enjoy having a great first day of student teaching!