Observations in Newark 6

Today Mr. N was out and he let me know this the day before. He said that Ms. P knew what was going on and would fill me and the sub in. Well I got stuck in traffic and got there late and the sub got there even later than I did. Mr. N didn’t leave any lesson plans to guide us along in period 1 so we just gave them a study hall. During the prep periods Ms. P came in and filled us in with what they were doing. She is there periods 4, 6, and 7 so it helped when I ended up teaching period 8 by myself. They were finishing their projects and filling out a study guide for their test on Monday.

            Period 4 has the “swizzle stick”. This fella says things to get a reaction out of the teacher and I figured that so when he started making terrorist jokes because of my beard, (nothing I haven’t heard before) I ignored him and he eventually stopped. Period 4 is the class that’s usually behind and they had a case of the Fridays and refused to do their work but we were able to motivate them to a degree to just complete some of the study guide.

            Period 6 was a great example of how when a class is ahead, they do their work and are much more well-behaved. There are a few characters in the class but nothing mean or directed towards anyone. Well, actually one student said Mr. N should take a different job so me and Ms. P could teach them because they “actually learn from us”. That was a nice confidence booster. Period 7 is a rowdy bunch and is male dominated. It was during this class where I felt myself blending with the students more and more. Period 8 was all mine because the sub just sat on his phone all day and played games. Ms. P said that that’s fairly common, so I’m going to apply to become a sub in Newark so that if either of them are out again I can fill in and not waste the city’s money. The students in period 8 were on task for the most part when they were working on their posters but when it came time for the study guide they didn’t care. I kept reminding them about their test on Monday and motivating them be reminding them on how well they did on their last test. It helped a little but they were checked out for the most part.

            At the end of the day I was talking to Ms. P about how the day went and the different dynamics of each class. She noticed that I’m fitting in much better with the students after only being here for 6 Fridays. She also reminded me to not get offended by anything they say because of the homes the grew up in and the influences that they have on their life. It seemed like she was much more understanding with the students while Mr. N was much harder on them and exerted his coercive power much more. I’m listening to the students and being more like I have been because they seem to like the mutual respect and the simplicity in which I present the material.