I taught art after school with YR today for the first time in, wow, months. In December, I was ready to quit that gig and move on to other things. No matter how much fun art is, teaching the same lesson twelve times a week wears on a person.
But I forgot about all that and had fun teaching today. It was a small group (REM: send class summary to boss and the person I subbed for!!), nine students from 4th through 6th grade, at one of the more well-to-do schools in my locality. Another thing I forgot was that students from wealthier schools have some very different campus routines. For one thing, there are these nice benches outside of every classroom with direct access to an uncovered area. I got to the school early, despite getting lost on my way there, and had a decent ten minutes of sitting out on that bench, face to the sun and protecting myself from getting rickets. It was nice. I need to sit out in the sun, staring off into space more often.
There were many things similar though. Students can still be unmotivated. Students can still be exceedingly annoying and attention seeking. Students can still be struggling with family issues and a stressful home life that no child deserves. Students still have their own agendas that they want to push. Students are still forced by their helicopter parents to go to something to learn stuff that they really doesn't interest them very much. And yes, there are helicopter parents at low SES schools as well.
But it was a good teaching day because a) students had fun while learning stuff, b) I had fun while on a teaching job, c) the product made by students was pretty outstanding, despite the lack of time and such that always seems to occur with intermediate to upper grades in art class, and most importantly of all d) students RESPONDED POSITIVELY TO MY TEACHING AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT! I can actually do this! The previous eight weeks were just an anomaly! I CAN command the attention and respect of students in the intermediate grades!! Granted, I can't do it all, yet. But at least I can.
What I can't do is express the level of relief that spells for me.
Next worry: a source of income from now until September. I really really really need to make some cash, and a decent amount too, not the bits here and there teaching art. I applied to sub, and to tutor just tonight. I was stupid and slow in applying to another subbing thing and missed my opportunity there. Will look for more tomorrow. And apparently, there is such a thing as "freelance writing the reading comprehension pieces on standardized tests." I want to go there, but am not sure how. Will also look into it tomorrow.
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