Day 4: Starting Over

Today's reflection is supposed to focus on whether or not today's class was as taxing and trying as it was during the first day. Honestly, I think it is, but not because the rapport between Janice and myself is still not good, but because Kelly and I literally had to start over with a new student, Alison. Our student, Janice, was absent today, and it just to happened that one of our classmates, Carissa, was also absent, leaving her Alison with the two of us.

Today was not my best day, even if I expected it to be. I expected today to be very comfortable -- I knew Janice enough, and at the same time I was also prepared for whatever mood swings she may have. Our lesson plan, and the activities Kelly and I prepared, were tailored to Janice in both ability and interest. And so to suddenly have a new student to teach, one who is a lot quieter than the already-quiet Janice, and one who has not warmed up to us and who we have not warmed up to, was a very, very frustrating challenge I don't think I was able to succeed at.

At first, Kelly and I tried using the interactive story book, but because this was impromptu and we quite literally pulled it out of our folders, we were underprepared for it and didn't have the appropriate materials or background knowledge for it. I spent half the time worried whether or not Alison enjoyed it, and whether she was able to follow. However, when we tried the syllable cards she was able to read all of the words we presented to her -- some with help, others on her own. At this point I was still mentally freaking out, because first of all Alison was very quiet for most of the lesson and when I asked her what she already knew she didn't reply, so I had no idea what she did and didn't know. It's a good thing I really planned to recap everything we took up this week and so I was prepared with syllable cards from M to L, but still -- this was my first time teaching her and I had no idea what she did and didn't like, let alone her abilities.

The only time she warmed up to me and Kelly was when we started making origami birds and fish. Seeing how she responded well to them, I attempted to integrate letters and reading into it by asking her what she had just made, then writing "ibon" and "isda" on the whiteboard so she could attach the words to the origami. Still, I don't think we read as much as I would've liked to, and in our panic, Kelly and I forgot the lesson we had prepared for "O".

I think above all, what I learned today is really that different students need different things, they like different things and they learn best given different environments. Personally, I learn best when I'm given the chance to physically re-write things, and when I myself want to do well -- when I pressure myself. I learn best with words, with readings and essays that describe concepts in detail, as opposed to just lectures or just short notes. Otherwise, I won't learn as much as I would have. And these kids are just like me -- their lessons really need to be tailored to their needs. I think the main reason why I was so flustered a while ago was because of that -- I wanted Alison to learn something, but I didn't know how she could do that most effectively.