First Grade

Well, today marked my second day (on the 16th day of the tenth month) in my second placement in the first grade class. Hehe--how do you like all those ordinal numbers? :) Already, in working with the first grade class, I have found it to be quite--um--different (?) slash challenging (?) compared to fifth grade. OF COURSE, I expected it to be different, but I guess I somehow figured first graders would have good behavior mostly--just because they are sometimes known for just wanting to please the teacher and follow directions. In my internship, though, it was the fifth grade class that was good, and the first graders who are having a bit of difficulty with behavior. Right now, I'm thinking that teaching grades two through five is more for me. (I've worked with second and third graders in the past, so I know what they're like.) I'm leaning toward the upper grades though--third through fifth.

Don't get me wrong---the first graders are very cute, and some of the things they say are just amazing for their age, but with the lack of self-control, the baby-like needs, etc. ---it is not the ideal age group for me. I realize, however, that a lot of that depends on the teacher's discipline and classroom management, but it also depends on the individual child's maturity level at such a young age. Also, it seems to me that with the upper grades, since the kids are more mature and know more, there is an opportunity for more in-depth activities and higher expectations behavior-wise.

I am enjoying my time with the first graders--even though I am seeing and experiencing quite a few behavior issues. Ijust have come to the realization that I wouldn't want to teach them full-time for an entire school year. A few of the students are quite a handful! :) I'm not sure about my supervising teacher's methods of discipline yet....It seems like she's constantly correcting the kids, which takes time away from the others who are behaving well, but I'll see as time goes on what the real core of the problem is. My supervising teacher (Mrs. Preshong) said that the two days I've seen them have been bad days for the students and that they normally aren't acting like they did when I saw them, so I hope they'll be better next week when I come. It could be that they were just acting out for attention, since I was a new guest in the classroom. Who knows? Only time will tell.

Mrs. Preshong is very nice, and I am enjoying working with her. She is not as organized as Mrs. Abel (my first placement supervising teacher) is, so that's a bit different. But I think she is a good teacher overall, and she cares a great deal about her students, and that shows.

I look forward to learning more from this experience--even though I now know that teaching first grade full-time is not my cup of tea for the future.