Day 5 at St. Florence: Getting into the Flow of Things

today i got to work with the special ed. teacher instead of the usual grade 1s. she is in charge of the spring concert this Thursday so much of today was spent decorating the gym with all the art projects each class made to display for their parents, putting up posters and signs and generally using up rolls of tape. there were some very creative pieces. the grade 4 class made crayon/pastel tshirts (cut out from paper) with Earth Day slogans and pictures on them. i put them up on the wall with some fishing line and clothes pins, and from a distance, it looks really cool. i can't imagine how some of this stuff gets done without student teachers and assistants year round. elementary teachers have so much to do in hardly any time. high school teachers get one period free for prep, on top of lunch -- the teachers here talk about such prep periods with a mixture of awe and envy. the only time these teachers seem to have is before class, recesses, lunch and when the students are in music or french.

anyways, today was also my first lesson. i was drafted into teaching a special ed. class science. we did flight, so for the last ten minutes of the day, we made paper airplanes and helicopters; tomfoolery was had by all.

working with a different teacher is quite the experience. the grade 1 teacher (wife of my program coordinator) has been teaching 30 years, so most of her stuff is routine and organized. this teacher, though statuesque, was confused by the new student teacher today as being a student. she is the type to say, "do whatever you want, you'll be fine," which is sort of the way i am. she's very nice and encouraging and puts the radio on during class. she tried to find Flow 93.5 this morning but got Barry White instead; i think Barry White (listen) for breakfast is a great way to start the day.

i got a pretty good dose of routine and organization last week and last year, so putting up decorations and throwing stuff around the room was a welcome reprieve.