Hi Veena!
Thanks for your rich account of your PPT Review Quiz. My apologies for a slow response, time keeps rushing by--a feeling you must be very familiar with!
Interesting and sad that distracting behaviour never drew any response from your AT--that leaves you more or less on your own...
I really like the way you seem to be focusing on UNDERSTANDING the concepts and I'm very pleased that you had a class that was fun to be in. I'm sure today has been different! There are no secrets to creating a mood of focus, but it always takes planning and concentration on the part of the teacher!!
Have you had a chance to ask these students why they are taking math in grade 12, given that they don't have to? (So many students taking courses at the college level can't wait to stop at grade 11). Might be an interesting topic when you need a change of pace!
Hope your weekend was at least somewhat restful!
Tom
1 comment:
Thank you so much for your response, Tom. I really appreciate it, and found it quite comforting after another hard day!
It is sad that my associate cannot offer advice on classroom management that I have been longing (and explicitly asking)for, and shrugs off the really bad days with a "they walked in with a certain restlessness, there was nothing you could do," when I'd really like to widen my scope of strategies to use as various needs arise.
As for the kids, today I asked why they took college math (thanks for the advice!) and it seems many need it for the future college programs they are looking at getting into, and some of them have been "forced into it" by their guidance counsellor.
My associate said he usually skips the careers section that all 12 college courses, including math, are supposed to include, but I'd really like to do something with it, at least for my last week here (encouraged by my faculty liaison, who provided a much-needed visit to me at the school). I just would really like for them to understand what they need of math and problem solving to get where they'd like to go after leaving school.
I've grown really fond of the students. Even the hissing sneering girls in the front. I think it's the fact that as a teacher (or student teacher, even) you walk into a class with the motivation to be caring, motivating, and fair, and in that light, every student becomes quite precious.
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