After being away for a week I was ready to be in the classroom. I think the week was just the right amount of time to get myself rejuvenated and caught up. Plus it was really nice to just spend a few days in my p.j.s rather than dressing up. One would think the students would also come back energetic as well and hyper, but it's really the exact opposite. They came in very sluggish and I got some funny looks this morning when I was energetically greeting them at the door. The morning seemed to start out sort of lethargic. But after gym they were back to their hyper selves. Even though they are more chatty, I enjoyed teaching them more with the higher energy level. It gave the lessons more substance. It made me think of comedians when they are on stage. It seems that once the crowed starts to interact more and respond to their material the more confidence they radiate and the better their skits are. Teachers are entertainers to an extent as well. Or as my C.T. says we are not just teachers, but we are public speakers. No one wants to listen to a boring speech by some monotone speaker. Kids today are constantly being stimulated by television, games, computers etc. The teacher's job then is to keep up with that level of entertainment in order to keep the students attention. This is something I, myself, am really trying to work on. I try to continually ask myself what would make the student care about what I am saying? And it the answer is because that's what the book tells me to teach then that is a sure sign I need to re-think what I'm teaching. Again that all relates back to making the lessons relate to that "real-world" application.

It was interesting attending the New student teaching orientation tonight. I didn't want to go at first because of all the other things I had to get done, and an hour of time taken away is quite a bit (when really it is about 2 hours considering the drive time to and from Coe and talking afterwords). In a way it was refreshing seeing peers that have the same concerns we had when we where in their position. It also brought to my attention how much I have really learned over the course of the semester. It's hard to tell them not to worry so much and that they would be fine (considering I was told the same things) when I can understand how they feel and what they are going through. It seemed better to tell them to embrace their nervousness and to remember how they feel now when it is complete.