2nd Grade - Blog Post #1

My class began with 27 students, but now has 25. One student has transferred to another school, another has left the country for an extended amount of time to visit family. I was shocked to see a class of close to 30, I have heard about the rising class sizes, but I've heard of classes still in the low 20's. Now with just 25 students it even feels a little more manageable than the original 27, those two students made a big difference. Of the original 27 students, 2 students are actually diagnosed with special needs and have IEPs, but about half of the class have different behavioral issues of some sort. A good chunk of the day is spent with the teacher having to stop and correct students, and you can tell she has figured out every child's little lies and issues and does not put up with it. She continues to tell me one warning and they're done because they know better by now. They see a new adult in the classroom and definitely try to push their limits with me, but with guidance from my co-teacher I have tried my best to stand firm and not allow them to get away with much. Some days it is difficult to be so stern because I would like to be a fun and compassionate teacher, but I know with this particular group if you let your guard down even once 1. nothing would get accomplished and 2. they would see you as a weak link and try to take advantage of you. Although this class is on the difficult side, you can tell a many of the students really are trying their best to be good but are just easily distracted. For the most part they own up to the things they do wrong and accept their punishment, which I know can sometimes be the most difficult part for a 2nd grader. My co-teacher is great, and although she has hard some complications with her class you can tell the students really respect her. The daily schedule is very routine; morning meeting, math, snack, reading/writing. I have been able to help out in math and writing stations by being given groups of students to work one on one with and/or teach new activities to. I look forward to picking up even more responsibility in these last few weeks in the classroom as my field experience comes to an end.