Tutor Time...

I haven't written in a while....I am starting to feel overwhelmed and the end of semester fatigue is setting in about nine weeks too early! I did get my wireless network set back up so I can post while my daughter plays on other computer.

I went to my first tutor/teacher helper session yesterday, lets just say it was eye opening. I went into the classroom and the first words that came to mind when I saw the teacher were "tired and frazzled." I spent two hours thinking about all the things I don't want to do when I become a teacher. For example, the desks were arranged in a U shape and the problem kid was away from all the other kids in the back of the classroom. I mean like he wasn't even in the U with the other kids! He reminded me of a little nomad in another country. He was far enough away from the teacher so she could ignore him and she did! To keep the kids quiet, she did a lot of "Shhhhh" over and over. At first I though she might have some kind of tic or she was possibly leaking air but no she was trying to quiet the kids down to no avail. Finally, before she gave out instructions, she handed out math manipulatives (this is teacher talk for small counting blocks) and then told the class not to play with them. These are 2nd graders, that's like giving a drunk a beer and telling him, "Don't drink that." So of course they played with the blocks while she was trying to give instruction and shushing them. Then she is wondering why they aren't getting the instruction right. This woman is not a rookie teacher, she been teaching for 15 years and has a doctorate in something! Unreal...I have 18 more hours of this.

O.K.-word verification gets turn on. I posted and then had to edit and I already had evil commet spam!