I Will Survive! Linky Party
Karla over at Life in Special Education is having a linky party to share some of the crazy things that happen to teachers while offering advice to new teachers. Make sure to head over to her site and link up.
My first year teaching was 5th grade math and science. In NC, 5th grade science teachers are the lucky ones who get to teach the first round of Human Growth and Development. I was at a brand new school and there was no plan for what to do - who was to teach it? me or the PE teacher? bring in a speaker? take a field trip? I was a first year teacher and had not been trained to do this (UNC failed me on this in the School of Ed). I knew if left up to me I would slip up and use some unallowed slang language for body parts...plus I would stutter and turn BRIGHT red. Luckily we brought in a speaker from the health department. She's a great lady. The science teacher (aka ME) got to supervise. We split up the boys and the girls and had two days of lessons. The lessons were complete with students repeating names of body parts, watching videos, 3D models, and LOTS of uncomfortable glances back at me.
After the lessons, I had a young boy come up to me and said "Have you seen that episode of Seinfield about shrinkage?" Immediately I begin to tense up...OMG! All I could muster was "Ummm.." "Well isn't that what we learned about when the testicles shrink up closer to the body?" "Umm...yes you're right. Good connection. Have a seat." Whew...crisis adverted!
Leave it up to the same young man to go to the bathroom in the middle of state standardized tests at the end of year and come back with a tick "down there." Luckily his mom was in the building proctoring and got to handle this. He was always full of laughs! When he graduated from the school this year (school is grades 4-8) he asked if I remembered when he got to dress up and act like me. Of course I did...
My first year teaching was 5th grade math and science. In NC, 5th grade science teachers are the lucky ones who get to teach the first round of Human Growth and Development. I was at a brand new school and there was no plan for what to do - who was to teach it? me or the PE teacher? bring in a speaker? take a field trip? I was a first year teacher and had not been trained to do this (UNC failed me on this in the School of Ed). I knew if left up to me I would slip up and use some unallowed slang language for body parts...plus I would stutter and turn BRIGHT red. Luckily we brought in a speaker from the health department. She's a great lady. The science teacher (aka ME) got to supervise. We split up the boys and the girls and had two days of lessons. The lessons were complete with students repeating names of body parts, watching videos, 3D models, and LOTS of uncomfortable glances back at me.
After the lessons, I had a young boy come up to me and said "Have you seen that episode of Seinfield about shrinkage?" Immediately I begin to tense up...OMG! All I could muster was "Ummm.." "Well isn't that what we learned about when the testicles shrink up closer to the body?" "Umm...yes you're right. Good connection. Have a seat." Whew...crisis adverted!
Leave it up to the same young man to go to the bathroom in the middle of state standardized tests at the end of year and come back with a tick "down there." Luckily his mom was in the building proctoring and got to handle this. He was always full of laughs! When he graduated from the school this year (school is grades 4-8) he asked if I remembered when he got to dress up and act like me. Of course I did...
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| Here he is pretending to be his amazing teacher. :) |
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