It took a few calls before I was offered a job at a secondary school. While I have been enjoying the challenge of Elementary I really wanted to spend some time with older kids. It didn't matter what subject was being offered and I ended up with English and socials with a day plan of students working independently. It's at a school I hope to return to as a full time teacher and I know many staff and have a good rapport with students too.
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Covering for a resource teacher in Elementary school today. The resource teacher left detailed instructions and materials on their desk and the school seemed to be well run with a mix of push in and pull out support. RTI time with five students was focused on long o sound and one boy thought it was funny to identify the pictures as "pee" and "poo". Silly behaviour from him and others in the group ignored his potty humour to complete the task, asking for help when they weren't sure what the picture was representing, "woe" for example was a difficult one. Classes where I pushed into were busy with students engaged in the lessons. I pulled out an ISP student and went through alphabet flashcards with them as their English speaking skills were extremely limited. Students played "bench ball" in gym which is a version of dodge ball where when you are hit you stand on a bench on the opposing team side and if you catch a ball from your team you release all the captured teammates.
I originally had accepted a position at a secondary school teaching French and careers. When I received a call for a specialist appointment and they could take me the next day I jumped at the chance as I have been waiting for 7 months for the appointment. So arriving at the middle school for the afternoon I found out the teacher I was in for had a prep and the office assigned me to help in another class. The grade 8 students were working independently which gave me the opportunity to have a conversation with the other TTOC and learn about their experiences. They have worked for 11 years as a TTOC as they also teach music (piano) afterschool. Currently they only work in the afternoon so their day is more manageable with the other work.
The final period of the day I covered a grade 6 class social studies and there was a CYCW as well as a couple other teachers in the room. One student asked me early on in the block what my "mean teacher voice" sounded like which is a very odd question. I found out the class had a rotating door of teachers and have a history of TTOCs who have snapped at the class. I kept my cool and tried to be a patient and calm presence for the class. While it seemed like many were distracted and not paying attention to the lesson, I quizzed them at the end of the day and many were able to talk about what was discussed in the class. I hope that class improves for the regular teacher and I am glad I only had one block with them! Resource at an Elementary and specialty school. The first student I was supposed to support was not trusting of new people and ignored me completely when I tried talking to them. Fortunately they would engaged with the classroom teacher and were supported in class and the resource teacher noted that could be the case. I did both push in and pull out support and provided breaks for students even at one time playing ball hockey outside with a couple students.
Foods at a middle school. Students had projects to work on either developing a menu for a fictitious restaurant or researching a food borne illness. Students were well behaved and on task. The school is under renovations which is distracting but it seems like everyone is working through it. I helped in a humanities class one block, keeping students on task while the teacher taught the lesson and facilitated discussion.
Resource and LA at an Elementary school. The challenge today was the new principal (his first day at that school), no administrative assistant, and many SEAs who were absent. There were many complex needs at the school and I did not feel prepared to support staff and students. I needed time to read over safety plans (if there were any) and IEPs which I was not provided. Granted I spoke with other teachers and everyone was very helpful, I should have asked for the paperwork to better prepare myself.
Wow, what a day! The principal oriented me to the class in the morning and told me about a couple of challenging students and how to manage them. This class had a variety of needs from ELL to behaviour and everything in between. The day was a busy one and I don't feel I was very successful with the class but still made it through the day. I could not imagine teaching full time in situations like that.
I took a risk when I accepted the job at Secondary as it was for the morning only. I was excited to teach Science 9 and Chemistry 12 and hoped they would be able to find me work for the afternoon. It's lovely when a teacher requests me and knows my skillset so I am able to actually teach a class and fully support the students. Having my laptop is critical nowadays to be able to do this work. In the afternoon I covered a guitar class and helped out in resource.
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Tanya KerrThe first six years of teaching were spent as a TTOC. Now returning to this role after many years of either being a full time teacher or in a released position in the union. Archives
April 2024
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