Hello Miss!

I started observing my classes this week. I’ve got my work cut out for me! It really depends on the teacher how well the students behave; because I’ve seen total chaos with one teacher and quiet little angels with other teachers. Unfortunately, the majority of the kids I have to teach come from classrooms that I would consider chaotic. They’re loud, they don’t sit down, they don’t stop talking when the teacher tries to give instructions, they don’t raise their hand to speak, they answer their phone during class, and the worst is when they play music from their phone or bring their guitars or recorders and start playing during class! I’m going to post my rules along with pictures and go over them the first day.
That’s another thing that will be interesting…The students here are used to hearing Spanish in English class, most instructions are given in Spanish, and hummm last I checked I was still having trouble forming sentences in Spanish. Well, technically, it shouldn’t be a problem because we are only supposed to speak English in the classroom. I figure I’ll prepare how to say all my instructions in Spanish as a last minute resort. And if they ask me questions in Spanish that I don’t understand, I’ll just have my dictionary/Google translate close by.
It’s nice that I get my own room and the students come to me. It’s the other way around here, students stay in the same room and teachers come to them. But it seems counterproductive because students are stuck in the same level for all their courses and teachers have to rush around and waste class time each period setting up for essentially the same lesson. I’ve got six different lessons to prepare each week because I teach 4 different grades (5-8th) and two of my classes meet twice a week.
On the bright side, the students have really seemed to take well to me! I feel like I’m famous every time I step out to find my next class. Everyone stops, looks up at me sheepishly, and offers an enthusiastic, “Hello Miss!” I even got my first apple today. It’s legit, I’m officially a teacher here if I’m getting apples. One more week of observation and they throw me in without a paddle…or materials…or access to a printer… I’m going to have to be very creative!