If I may speak for the whole group, I think we are all feeling a little less stressed here than we were in our first placement. This is because we are living the laid back Spanish lifestyle, of course! One thing that is very different here is the amount of time the teachers spend in school. A few of us decided we wanted to get to school earlier in the mornings so we could have time to plan and such before the students got there. Turns out, if you got to school before 8:20 (school starts at 9:00), you probably wouldn’t see very many teachers at all. Same goes for staying late. Most of us leave at 5:30 everyday (school gets out at 4:00), and we are usually the only ones left. Teachers have time during the day to plan due to other things the students participate in during the school day, and most of the same year group teachers plan together. Everything is so casual that there doesn’t seem to be as much pressure as we are used to. The curriculum is so open and you do not have to teach from a textbook. You plan your lessons based on the objectives and what you want the students to get out of it. There is no such thing as planning out more than a week in advance because everything is spring boarded off of the students’ understanding. Our teachers are not feeling stressed so we are not feeling stressed! It’s amazing!
Until next time,
Sara Schroeder
Hey there Gustie student teachers! Glad to hear that things are going well for you. Just wondering if you can bottle up some of that stress-free aura and ship it on over here to SPHS? I think we could all learn a few things from our European colleagues!!
ReplyDeletePaul Peterson, Saint Peter High School
It's fun to read about your experiences. I LOVE the fact that teacher planning is based on student needs!!! What a thought. Our weather is turning gray and cold, so enjoy the beautiful ocean and warm days while you can. Stay flexible and wring the most out of this experience.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn O'Grady
It would be interesting if our No Child Left Behind creators and advocates understood the concept of teaching to the needs of the kids rather than to the number of workbook pages required to "cover the material". I'm glad you are getting the opportunity to see how an educational system can do what is right for students.
ReplyDeleteThinking about you all,
Jill