Intervention

I am watching Intervention because it makes me feel better about my life.

I began my day with 7th and 6th graders. Aside from a few students who were a bit intimidated about using French 100% of the time in the classroom, everything went quite well. My students were attentive and, for the most part, enthusiastic about learning.

I was not adequately warned about my 8th graders. Wow. They think they are grown. My mentor teacher described it like this: 6th graders are babies, 7th graders are aliens, and 8th graders think they are grown. And it is true. You have to watch out for that bunch. They will try to control you if you are not in charge of your classroom. And as much as I hated having to be firm, it is what they needed.

I never had any discipline problems while I was student teaching, and I have never started teaching a class from Day 1. It might be true what they say – don’t smile before Thanksgiving – at least when it comes to 8th graders.

So I am going to think of some fun activities to do with my students. Today was good – they learned (or relearned) how to greet each other, to say their names, and to say how they are doing. But I think I need something fun – a song, a game, a cultural experience – to really get them immersed in the French language.

I get the impression that the French teacher who I am replacing did not speak much French in class – which is a shame, since she’s a native speaker. The students will quickly adjust to my way of doing things, though. Monsieur Richevin is now in charge.

I do the same thing all over again tomorrow at my other school. But something tells me that, just like today, every class will bring new and unexpected experiences.