Days 11-14 of Student Teaching

A lot has happened this week so I decided to combine it all into one post so I don't have to write four more.

Day 11 Tuesday: When I got to school we found out that there had been a fire over the weekend. Luckily the fire department came and put it out. They had to break the glass on the doors to get in. It was in the art room and that whole hallway smelled like smoke. It was lucky that the art room was all that was damaged.

In the Adult Roles class since it was my first day, the teacher taught the first period and I taught the third period. It was a lesson about Love and Infatuation. The students wrote on a paper heart their definitions of love which I was very impressed with. High Schoolers think I lot deeper on the topic of love then I thought. We talked about the different kinds of love also and I showed movie clips of the different kinds. They really liked the movie clips. All in all it was fun.

Day 12 Wednesday: Today I taught in the Fashion Strategies class. I was doing a lesson on embellishing and recycling clothing. I talked about all of the different ways you can change clothes and then I showed some examples. I added sequins to jean pockets, ribbon to jeans, buttons to a shirt, etc. I think they liked getting a few ideas. The rest of the period I had them working on embellishing their own clothing. When they were up getting their supplies it was the most chaotic time and my supervisor from BYU walked in the door. I was already done with my lesson part so I explained to her that they were just working on a project. She just watched as I interacted with the students. On her comments she said that the students respond well to me. I took that as a compliment and I feel good that the students get along with me. I just wished she would have come during my lesson.

Day 13 Thursday: This was the day that I was worried about. The day that I would teach the topic of STD's to High School students in the Adult Roles class. At the beginning of class I had them do their quiz, quote, etc. Then I had a plan on how to introduce STD's. While they were taking their quiz, I put Glo-germ powder on my hand. I got up in front of the class and said, one of the most important things in dating is to be able to introduce yourself to others. It is also very important when you meet the parents to give a firm handshake. Then I went around and introduced myself to 3 students and told them to introduce themselves to eachother. Little did they know but they were spreading the Glo-germ powder along. After a few minutes I said you didn't know this but I had an STD on my hands and I just spread it to all of you. They all were like gross, disgusting. I said I want to see who was infected by this STD. I brought up a black light and they all came up and saw the powder under the light that had gotten on their hands. There was one student before class that I told not to shake anyone's hand so she was the only one not infected. I said the only person that wasn't infected in class was ___________. This is because this student practiced abstinence. That is the only way you can avoid STD's. Anyways...they liked that object lesson and then I just continued on with the lesson. I'm proud of myself because my face didn't even turn red once.

Day 14 Friday: I taught in Fashion Strategies. They continued on their embellishing project and we talked about vocabulary, etc. There was a lockdown drill which was kind of scary to me. I hope I don't have to be in a real lockdown---that would scare me. I'm always glad on Fridays because it means I have a few days to have a break before starting again the next week.

It was an overall good week. Teaching is becoming more enjoyable. It is rewarding at times and very tough at times. I guess it's kind of like being a parent--sometimes your kids are good, sometimes bad.

Baby Keller is Here!!!!

After a long time of waiting....Amber (my sister) had her baby around 1:30 this morning!!! His name is Keller Davis Peck. He weighs 9 lbs. 12 oz and is 21 inches long. We went to see him today and we're excited to have another nephew! Happy Birthday Keller! Here are some pictures:

9th Day of Student Teaching

On Friday when I taught I decided I needed to change my lesson a bit to be able to catch the student's attention. I was supposed to teach about the fashion cycle and fashion details. I decided that I was going to bring in samples of clothing to fit into each category I was talking about. I packed up a box of mine and Scott's clothes for examples. I also decided I needed to talk about things that they would relate to. I also brought some candy just in case I needed some extra motivation. Anyways... I got to class and I set everything up. I talked to all of the students trying to start up conversation. When I was starting they were talking and I didn't have their attention. I decided I needed to say something and lay down my expectations. I said, "I need your attention up here. There are times when it's my turn to talk and then when it's your turn to talk. Right now it is my time, soon it will be yours. I'm your teacher right now and I expect to receive the respect that you would give to any other teacher." They quieted right down and were very pleasant the rest of the period. They seemed to enjoy my class and participated. I didn't have any troubles that day. It just goes to show that when you notice things aren't working, you make a change and things will get better. I'm learning a lot student teaching and for the first time I really felt like a teacher and it was fun!

7th Day of Student Teaching

I was nervous all day today to teach for the first time in 4th period. I had everything planned really well and knew exactly what I was going to do. I even got a tv to show a video clip from The Devil Wears Prada. I was so excited about my lesson. Anyways, I gave my lesson and I just got stares. I had a lot of chances for class involvment but I guess by 4th period High School kids are a little out of it. I need to figure out how to get more participation and interaction. Maybe it was because it was the first day and they are not used to me yet. My lesson went well but I enjoy it more when I don't have to answer my own questions:) Better luck next time! I'm very tired and still have lesson plans to work on...

American Idol Time!

I am so excited for American Idol! This is the time I look forward to every year. I love picking a favorite and following them the whole way through. Last year I chose David Cook from the beginning and he won, so I'm excited to predict this year! I know Scott is excited too that it will be on our TV each week... It started tonight and there were some good people, and of course some bad people, but no predictions yet. Amber beat me with writing about American Idol...

6th day of Student Teaching

Sorry, I haven't written about the other days of student teaching...I skipped a few. There wasn't anything particular interesting about those days so I didn't include it.

I've been loving student teaching this week with no snow and the 30 minute commute. I am hoping that snow holds off for a bit. This morning when I was driving when I got off the exit and onto the side roads I realized that my headlights were out, and I didn't have any lights. It was very hard to see. I had to drive partway with my brights on because they actually worked. In the two classes I was observing today we had a guest speaker from UEN. He talked about internet scams, phishing, online networking, predators, etc. He showed a few videos of teenagers talking to people online that weren't who they really were and showed what happened when they met in real life. The students were really creeped out which wasn't the purpose but they needed to learn to be safe on the internet. It creeped me out too and I can see why growing up my parents didn't let us have free reign of the internet and had rules. Thanks Mom and Dad!

When I got home I had Scott check out my headlights and they worked for him! We tried a few times to make sure they were working right and they are. I guess that's good that we don't have to do anything to fix them. It's annoying though when you see a problem and then it's fine for everyone else. I know I wasn't crazy!

2nd Day of Student Teaching

Today was my second day of student teaching. I went to sleep last night at 8:30 because I was so exhausted from the first day of student teaching. I got up again at 5:00 AM--it's very hard getting up. I get ready while Scott is still sleeping and then wake him up when I leave. It's sad that we don't get up at the same time and go to campus together now... The roads were better today so it only took 40 minutes... instead of an hour. I got to the school and there was going to be a substitute teacher in the classes I was observing today. It got to be time for school to start and the substitute wasn't there. Someone from the office came and opened the door. She asked if I could get things started. I got up in front of the class and said, "Hi, I'm Mrs. Stevenson, I'm going to be your student teacher. You have a sub today but she isn't here yet so we are going to start." I called roll and got them started on their assignment. I didn't do much with them but it was still scary. For the first time I kind of felt like a teacher. It was an exciting feeling. Anyways...the sub came and we went on the rest of the day. I came home and I was exhausted...still am. I'm not as tired as yesterday though. It was a good day. Teachers have a hard job, I'm appreciating my teachers a lot more now.

Student Teaching

Today was my first day of student teaching. I had to wake up at 5 in the morning and I left by 6 to drive to Lone Peak High School in Highland, UT. I drove through a lot of snow driving 30 miles per hour. It took an hour to get there! I got there at 7:00 AM. We got a tour of the school, and met with the principal with all the student teachers. While we were getting the tour they said not to get upset if they accidentally ask us for a hall pass next semester. Someone then said especially you, pointing to me. I look just as old as the high school students if not younger. This is going to be hard. This week is just observation and lesson planning. My first 2 periods were Interior Design. Then I had a prep period where I just hung out in the Interior Design room. My fourth period was Fashion Strategies where they took the state test but it was actually a clothing class. Fashion Strategies is taught fourth period starting next week. By the end of the day I had a headache because of the constant noise. That's something I'm going to have to get used to as a teacher. I then headed home and I was so thankful that the roads had been cleared off so it only took me 30 minutes getting home:) I start officially teaching on Monday in the Fashion Strategies class. I am very excited!

It's already 2009!

I always thought that 2009 was so far away. Scott and I were talking about this the other day. This is the big year where I would do student teaching, we both will graduate from college, Scott will be in Medical School and I'll be in my first year of teaching for reals. This is the year that I always thought would never come. Now that it is here it is kind of scary. We are growing up and are going to be in the real world more than we are now. It's kind of makes me nervous graduating because there is a lot coming up for us. It's scary being an adult and starting to search for a career instead of just a job. This is going to be a huge year for us. It's going to be hard, but it will be exciting. I'm excited to see what 2009 has in store for us!

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve was really fun! We spent it with my family in Kaysville. We had some really good food, played games, watched a movie, etc. My dad made Japanese food, we had cream puffs, shrimp, shirley temples, etc. It was all really good. Taesya and Canon (niece and nephew) were so funny to watch. Taesya was working with Scott on a puzzle. She would try so hard to find where the pieces went on the puzzle. Scott would find where a piece went and said to her, I think it goes here. She would put it in and be so excited that she put it in the right place. She would cheer after each one. They made a good puzzle team. Canon was doing a puzzle with Cody and would do the exact same thing, except he was louder and more enthusiastic! They are funny little kids! We also played a new kind of Yahtzee game. I'm not sure what's it's called but it was very fun. Everyone rolls their dice at the same time to get the yahtzee or full house or whatever. It was really fun-Our team won! We eventually watched The Dark Knight which we fell asleep in. We are not used to staying up so late. We woke up to see the ball drop and welcome in the New Year. It was a great night to bring in the New Year!