first day!

So, I had my first day in the 4th grade today! I originally was supposed to have 5th grade, but last minute I was switched. The school I am teaching at is an Abbot School in Trenton. I was a little nervous at first going into the urban setting, but all my fears were extinguished the moment I walked into my classroom. The teacher told us right off the bat how strict she can be because the children need a lot of discipline, and that she may come across mean at first, but it’s tough love that the class needs. She also made us aware that there are only two students in the class that are on a 4th grade level, and everyone else is more near a 2nd or 3rd grade level. There are two autistic students in the class who get pulled out at various times during the day.

All the students were so smiley and so eager to learn and participated in activities. Me and my teaching partner we able to read our ‘All About Me’ books to the class, and they seemed to eat up all the information given to them! After journal writing and some other English work, the class moved across the hall to do Math. In math, almost all the students were struggling, but no one was afraid to ask for help. When helped, they were so thankful that we took the time one-on-one to explain and work with them. It was only the first day and I felt like I made such a difference. They thrived on the time focused on them, and they didn’t want me to walk away to help another student. The children in my class just really need to be loved and to have people not give up on their abilities.

I am reading The Freedom Writers Diaries for my Social Studies Methods class, and although that book dealt with high schoolers, I hope I can make an impact on these students. I have already connected with a few specific students and received many hugs and compliments in the short time that I was there today!

I know I will have a lot to write about during the semester, I hope I can keep up blogging about it to share with all of you. I’m trying to keep track of all the funny stories and anecdotes that happened today that I want to write about later, but as for now it’s 2pm and I haven’t eaten all day!