Side note: Throughout high school, my classmates and I were judgmental of the students from this school. I went to Spring Valley High School, and we were rivals when it came to sports. Anywho. Here is what I wrote while in Mr. S's class today.
I have enjoyed being in Mr. S's classroom today. It is still strange to hear him refer to me as 'Ms. Hayes', but I do not think I will have any problem coming around to it. However, I am proud to say I was very engaged with Mr. S and the students! My nervous feelings dissipated within ten minutes of walking through the door. I also have not been afraid to participate in discussion with the classes. Speaking of discussions, I have to say that I like Mr. S's discussion based lessons. He starts out with a quote. Today, it was Ayn Rand: "The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me." From there, he has a question that the students must write down because he does pop quizzes on the bell-ringers often. His question centered today on a scandal in Czechoslovakia where women who are running for Parliament created a revealing calendar to attract voters. Mr. S asked, "Is it fair or foul?" After the class discussed their answers and a few boys gawked at the photographs with sheepish grins, Mr. S asked the girls, "Would you do this if it meant you would win?" I must admit I was not that surprised that most girls said phrases such as "If you've got it, flaunt it!" or "Sex sells, baby!" In fact, I had already guessed the girls in the classroom that would say these things, and I was generally right. However, it truly brought a smile to my face to hear a few girls say things like, "I wouldn't have to do that. I could earn their vote with my brains." How nice to hear a self-respecting seventeen year old girl say that about herself that early in the morning! Throughout my morning though, I was actually more shocked to learn how big of a 'sexting' scandal Cabell Midland is having! Yeah, sure... When I was in school, a few girls were open about sending pictures, and even more lied and did it anyways, but did we use naked pictures of our classmates to humiliate and even bully them? Maybe some did. If so, I didn't hear about. Hmm... Anyhow. I am very interested in this matter, so be sure to looked for a post soon about 'sexting' interventions for schools and teachers. I am going to do some research on the topic in my free time. Overall, I had a kickass first day in Mr. S's classroom. I am not only inspired by how his room is decorated, but I am also encouraged that there still are great teachers such as him in this country.I once heard that a good teacher is measured by deciding whether you would want this teacher for child. While I cannot say it for sure, I am quite positive that one day when I have kids, I will want them to learn from Mr. S. Cannot wait to see where else my thirty-five hours of student observation takes me. :)I cannot wait to get this blog up and running... stay tuned! Thanks for reading.
