Student Teaching - Week #8

by Rebecca Verhage - Walsh Elementary

This week in the seventh grade, we had a good week overall. However, there are always incidences. During the after-school program on Wednesday, I stayed to help some of the students during the first half hour when they work on homework. I really enjoy this time because I get to work with students on a one-on-one basis and offer the extra support some of the students need. Or, as is the case with one of the boys I helped, keep them on track during that homework time so that they have it finished to turn in the next day. Within the first ten minutes of after-school, two boys ended up taking the inhaler from a third student and taking a puff to see what it was like. Of course, this resulted in coughing, wheezing and laughing as they ran out the door for a drink of water. Now as you can probably imagine, the students involved tend to be the class clowns and are always pulling some sort of shenanigans. The after-school teacher was legitimately concerned about possible health issues this might have caused them, but my mind went a completely different direction. These boys push the limits wherever they can and I did not want them thinking that what they had just done was cool or appropriate in, or out of, school. I stopped them at the door and asked them what just happened. Laughing they told me that they took a puff from the other student’s inhaler and it made them start coughing. I stopped them right there and asked them if they realized what they just did. I told them that an inhaler was a prescription drug; it is a drug prescribed to a patient by a doctor so basically, them using his inhaler was them doing illegal drugs. I watched their faces go from carefree laughter to horror when they realized they had just broken the law.

Immediately one of the students begged, “Please don’t tell my dad,” and the other asked worriedly if they were going to be alright. I wanted to laugh at their concern, but obviously that wasn’t the right moment. They also got a stern lecture from their homeroom teacher and the boys had a detention the next day. The funny things is that as news of the incident spread, one of the other teachers admitted to having done the same thing at their age, which just goes to show it’s a middle school thing. But I don’t think there is ever any harm in making sure students understand that they should think about the consequences of their actions before they choose to pull something like that.

Another student was helping out in the classroom during recess this week and he made very shrewd insight. The students had just taken a vocabulary test, the grading of the quiz was very straightforward, and so my cooperating teacher asked one of the students from a different class if he would like to help her out by grading them. He is a little bit of a teacher’s pet so of course he agreed. After grading about five of them he made the comment, “Boy these kids act silly in class sometimes but they sure are smart.” I replied by saying that there are many smart kids in the class. However, it cracked me up because he was right. Two of the students’ papers he had just graded are students that test pretty high and as a result, tend to goof off quite a bit too when they do not feel challenged. It was interesting that his perception of those students did not equate them with being both smart and goofy but just the later. I think even as teachers we sometimes forget that, especially if the student has a hard time paying attention and answering questions in class. One thing I can say for these students, they sure keep life interesting and that is what I love about teaching this age group.

Enjoying gelatos after church

This Sunday was a lovely day to be walking outside. It’s been nice that the weather has stayed warm so long this year. The trains were busy because of the Chicago marathon as my roommate and I made our way to the West loop where we go to church. I am very grateful to have a roommate to go with me to church each Sunday, and we have enjoyed how welcomed and at home we felt there right away. The church is called City View Presbyterian, and it has become a tradition of ours to stop by Mariano's, a grocery store with a café, for dollar gelatos and a time to catch up after church. It’s nice to have a little time on Sundays to relax and reflect on the past week’s joys and struggles before diving into the week ahead. It’s crazy to think this week is about the half way mark of this program. It’s been a great experience and has flown by so far as I’m sure the rest of the time will as well.