Thinking ahead

I got to meet my future students today! But how I miss my former ones...

I was invited to go to my new school and spend the whole day there. The whole day on a Wednesday is really just a half day, and thank goodness because I was tired of sitting and taking everything in from a student's point of view. (Remember this, Rebekah, so you don't bore your students to death.) Not that the classes were 100% boring, but I observed three, and well, I could only follow what I could.

The first class was French 2 taught very traditionally, and very teacher-directed. I'm sort of like that too, which made me think that I have to vary it up a bit more. I'll be working with this woman a little. She was very kind and offered all kinds of help over the summer too. Her students (my future ones) were OK in French, but not terribly spectacular from what I could gather on this one day. They certainly need to work on their speaking and pronunciation, but that's always language teachers' biggest dilemna. Kids were great though and I'm sure I'll have no trouble with them.

For the next class time (50 minutes), I spoke with the above teacher and the man who teaches French 4. We talked about this and that. It was a nice way to get to know my future coworkers. I think I will have much to learn from this man because he has been doing upper level for a while and uses a lot of media and primary resources (like French newspapers, literary works, and internet recorded news).

Next was the Spanish teacher's class. All in Spanish. This guy is truly Spanish and his english is a bit tough to understand. He's very technologically advanced, and uses SO MUCH of it in class. Some things I definately want to learn from him, and others I find are a waste of time. Students don't always need to be entertained. THe last part of his lesson included the video of Mr. Bean at the restaurant with his steak tartar. A classic Mr. Bean episode that the kids thought was so weird. British humor, what can you say? He's the head of curriculum and also teaches Spanish AP, so I'll be working with him for that level.

Lunch was next. The cafeteria was really nice: round wooden tables and wooden chairs. It looked more like a real home-y diningroom. Today was chicken nugget day. Who hoo. I opted for the vegan nuggets, which weren't bad after all. The smell of all the entrees and steam kind of hit me, so I had a salad. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to go back for dessert, though it looked like chocolate. Since lunch is a freeby, I have a feeling I could put on more than a few pounds. Must be careful.

Lastly was a class with the teacher I'm replacing. It was a French 3 regular level. They were good and everything was in French. I'm going to have to work on that for next year. 100% French was not my habit, but I see how much it improves the learning process. Part of the lesson was to rap the refrain to a Manau song. Manau took me back to middle school. It's like listening to Coolio again. Hahah.

It was a long day, but I went away excited. I can't wait to personalize the room and decorate it to be more French. I'm eager to (#1 FIND) and unpack some boxes and files and get my head back into the game. Every so often, an idea comes to mind about what I can do and how I should start the year. The beginning is fun, but also the hardest, especially for me who doesn't know what they know and what their strengths and weaknesses are yet. I'm thinking of an oral presentation of "here's me" in French so that I can learn about them and make some notes about their fluency.