I had one day at school that caused me to think back to when I was in middle school and what I knew about sex. I suppose I was much more educated than most since my parents made me go to a class on puberty and sex at my church in sixth grade; it was definitely an unromanticised view of things (sex =married and babies) I remember starting to talk about changing bodies in fifth grade health which continued throughout middle school and culminated in eighth grade when I vaguely remember sitting in a portable listening to the football coach talk about sex. By time I was in high school sex ed. was a course that left me baffled as I watched girls around me get pregnant, fail the class, and put their kids in the portable nursery behind the school.

You might ask "Why all of this talk about sex; it's choir not sex ed." Well, on out way back from lunch a teacher stopped to talk to Ms. Foster about one of the students in our eighth grade choir. not going into much detail, she talked about how the student was having a hard time, misssing a lot of school, and that her friends were starting to start rumors. At this point it sounded like the girl had a terminal illness, but one Ms. Foster and I were back in the classroom she told me that the girl is four months pregnant. I had no idea. Ms. Foster explained that she had been a behavior problem in the past, but that she has been unusually docile this year. I should say so; she must be in shock or trying not to draw a lot of attention to herself. Ms. Foster said that it is unusual to have/hear about pregnant girls in the Seneca schools. I was surprised by that. At Sumter High, we had a rule in the choir handbook that said you couldn't perform if you were pregnant (safety reasons); it was sad that it became normalized.

Tuesday Sept 5, 2006

Three things stuck out about today.  First, honors choir all got lunch

detention for not being on task today.  They could choose to serve today

or Wednesday.  When lunch came around, the lunch detention woman sent them

all to us (during our 7th grade class) because they did not have enough

room for them.  So the honors choir sat on the floor for most of the

period. 

The next thing that stayed with me was us asking the classes about their

labor day weekend.  It was interesting to hear how many of them when to

see or had family over, went to the lake, and went to church.  I think

that most of the students that talked mentioned that they went to church

on Sunday.  The last sixth grade class was cute and asked what I had done

over the weekend, so I got to tell them about going to the apple festival.

 It was definitely a nice way to connect to the students. 

Wednesday

I was put in charge of playing the dictations today in each class.

It was a good experience.  Each time I did it I felt more comfortable in

my timing how long to wait between playing the measures.  The students are

still getting the hang of it, especially the ones in band/strings and

choir since they have not done as many as the other students, but for the

most part, they are catching on well.  Having my seating chart at hand

helped tremendously in calling on students who were volunteering to answer

questions.  It's so much nicer to say their name, but if I have a brain

fart I address them as sir and mamma and that seems to go over well with

them. 

My battle for the day was with the copy machine.  I had to spend a good 15

minute trying to figure out what/where the paper was jammed and another

few minutes figuring out that a little metal piece way inside the machine

should be up instead of where it was.  
 

Tomorrow I am going to stick around after school and go to a bit

of the football game. 

Thursday Sept. 7, 2006

We got booted out of our classroom so that it could be painted.  We had been told that they would paint during the next holiday, but it seems that we are the only ones that got that message.  Class was moved to a conference room which was interesting since we have rather large classes.  There was a lot of standing and some sitting on the floor.  For the most part, the classes behaved well.  We have to cart them from the choir room to the conference room each class. 

Lunches will not be as entertaining back at Furman I am sure.  The teachers are always playing practical jokes on one another (hiding keys, papers, etc...).  Well, today Mr. Warlick hands me a bag of pretzels and say "here you go."  I very willingly took them from him thinking that he didn't want them since he had shared a pretzel or two with me before.  I was enjoying the pretzels when I heard "Katie, you have my pretzels."  They were Mr. Warsaws.  It was really quite funny, especially since he is the head joker around the school.  I told him thanks and we all enjoyed a good laugh.  Moral of the story, don't give me food; I will eat it. 

Friday September 8, 2006

It was a good last day of early experience.  I tried to enjoy every bit of teacher work possible (bulletin boarding, copying, labeling chocolate boxes, working with the students, etc…).  

We gave the classes their first dictation test.  The honors choir did very well.  The other class did fairly well.  I am sure that by the time I return in March they will be professionals.  Ms. Foster and I ran into some students that are at the high school now, and they were telling her how helpful it had been to have sight-singing in middle school.  That was reassuring for us to hear.

Most of the students did not realize that it was my last day, and they were genuinely sad me not coming back full time until March.  Ms. Foster printed off a poster for them to sign for me, and I had it laminated after school.  I think I will hang it on my closet door with the pictures of each class.  That way I can open my closet and see their happy faces and keep their names fresh.  I am going to miss my “little boogers.” 

The football game was a lot of fun.  The kids were happy to see Ms. Foster and me there.  We were almost late though since the chocolate shipment for fundraising arrived an hour late. 

Now the hall is alive with the smell of paint, chocolate, and air freshener.  It is an interesting smell to say the least.  The students were all very excited about receiving their candy to sell.  Speaking of candy to sell, I have a box in my apt. to sell, so if anyone reading this wants some they're a dollar a bar!  They were also very excited about the first dance of the year.  There was a great deal of primping before they were dismissed to go to the dance. 

Overview of Early Experience

I am really going to miss being at Seneca Middle every day.  I enjoy seeing the students, being involved in the classroom atmosphere, and interacting with the teachers.  I may have said this before in a reflection or maybe just to someone in passing, but I am happy that I am sad about not being their everyday.  It helps to affirm that this is something that I want to do. 

I think Early Experience is a fabulous part of the curriculum.  I would hate to have to go to my student teaching school in the spring with no knowledge of how the school and classroom work and most of all, the students.  Getting to know and be familiar with the students has been wonderful.  It is nice to know that we (the students, Ms. Foster, and I) are all looking forward to the spring.  I am sure I will be even more excited about going back as my methods classes go on and I become better equipped to take charge in a classroom situation.  These past five weeks have allowed me to see the picky things that have to be done at the beginning of the year.  I have seen letters home, substitutes, tests, fundraisers, concert uniforms issued, etc…and I have gotten to experience it hands on. 

I am also thankful that I was placed in Seneca.  Yes, the drive is a little bit pricey, but the quality of the experience is wonderful and I got an extra week with them since Seneca started a week earlier than Greenville.  I will look forward to getting my ten hours there in the fall and going back for the events that they have planned.  I do not want to drop off of the face of the earth now that early experience is over.