Exhausted.For the past three weeks, I come home from student teaching and sit. I literally just sit on my couch and sit. Doing nothing but sitting and thinking of what kind of caffeine there might be in my house. In every way possible did I underestimate how exhausting standing for 8 hours a day, planning, teaching, grading papers and being a very awake individual can be. Don’t get me wrong – I love it. But I legitimately question how anyone taught before the advent of Redbull.
Someone else mentioned this, but beyond exhaustion – it’s so weird getting used to not seeing daylight for 8 hours. We’re in an older building, and our classroom is sans-windows. Not to mention that old buildings = wack heating systems. I’ve found that layers of clothing is the only way to function for that long.On the bright side – this week I taught my first solo lessons and was observed by my University Supervisor. Luckily, everything went awesomely AND the behavior problems with my problem student were a non-issue. She responded beautifully with positive attention, and has actually been incredibly well behaved ever since. I’ve made a point of going out of my way to say hello to her everyday and ask how she’s doing, and she’s started opening up a lot more while simultaneously behaving better. Proactive behavior management has definitely been effective in these past few weeks!