My first full week in middle school

I must say that this week has been an eye opening experience. I have a supervising teacher that does not seem to like children very much or at least not very many of them. One of the things that I find interesting is how these kids know that. I had the opportunity to share my first week with a student teacher and to watch the way the children respond to her and the way they responded to my supervising teacher. These kids believe that the student teacher wants them to succeed and they believe that she cares about them. They want to work for her and do well. Students that do not even bother to turn in work are now turning their work in and getting A's. It is amazing!! You always hear that the kids will succeed and do great things for those who want them to and just the opposite will happen if you show no interest. To see this right in front of you is something else. The student teacher left on Friday and the kids are upset. I am hoping that they respond to me as well as they did to her. As far as instructional strategies are concerned, the supervising teacher is pretty much a lecture, notes, worksheets, and test kind of instructor. I have seen her use a graphic organizer once in her discussion of WV in the Civil War. She has supplied detailed notes to the students but makes them give them back at the end of class. The notes seem to be for students to use when they are working on their assignments in class. The Golden Horseshoe is coming up and the teacher seems to be very focused on that. I have witnessed the supervising teacher use similarities and differences in classroom discussions and she used a comparison essay question on the last test. There seems to be homework a several times per week and it is usually worksheets that the students do not finish in class. The readings this week focus on effort and recognition. I would love to see these kids put forth more effort. I feel bad for saying this but I do not see the teacher giving them any recognition that is positive, at least the kids who really need it. They have already said that they are aware that the teacher does not care whether they do well so why bother. It is incredibly frustrating but at the same time it reinforces what I want to do. Teachers can and do make a difference in the lives of children. Sometimes a positive attitude, a smile, and a listening ear is all it takes. On a final note, I had my first lockdown this week. That was a tad intimidating because the drug dog actually came into the room that I was in. I am not normally nervous around German Shepards but this dog looked mean. We never had drug dogs come into school when I was growing up. My how times have changed.
Until next time,
Anisa