MCAS Tutoring - week two

5-11-09
Despite the fact that a parent complained that the MCAS-Prep course was being taught by a student and not by a qualified teacher and now Mrs. Gallo has to sit in for all of the lessons anyway, she would like me to keep teaching, and I have decided to persevere in this endeavor for the benefit of Mrs. Gallo, the students, and myself (L.O. 5). If I teach the material and Mrs. Gallo just observes and adds in any of her own comments, she can still do some work while I tutor the kids and it's not as much stress on her, and I feel like the kids pay more attention to me "teaching" than they would to an adult teacher because I am closer to their age and bring more energy and kid-friendly examples and explanations to the classes than most teachers would. And I also feel staying with this is a great experience for me, to feel what it feels like to be in command of a classroom and to be (at least partly) responsible for the learning of these kids (L.O. 1 + 8).

5-17-09
So last week, both Monday and Thursday went well with Mrs. Gallo sitting in on the prep session and adding her own teacher wisdom. I feel like I maintain enough balance and authority in the classroom to make the kids pay attention while still making their learning a bit more fun and learning myself about science, people, and teaching.
I was struggling with how sometimes, some of the kids were not participating as much as they were supposed to be, or texting in class or just not taking it seriously, and I felt like I was not wanted or needed, but I am committed to tutoring these kids and taking some of the burden off Mrs. Gallo, so I will continue to try my best until I am no longer needed.