This will be a shorter post this time around I think. Today I worked in a second grade classroom. This is stretching my comfort zone a bit, but toward the end of the year they are becoming more like third-graders as they grow. Unlike yesterday I was the sole adult in this room, which is the norm for regular classrooms. The other second-grade teacher, a rare male primary teacher, was very helpful in making sure I knew what was going on and checking up on me when he could. As this was hardly my first time in a classroom I didn’t need too much help, but he did make sure I knew about an assembly at the end of the day that for some reason didn’t make it into the plans and gave me some tips about the class as well. Even though this was also a no-specials day (if you don’t count the assembly) it was rather enjoyable. I had only a break a lunchtime, but was able to do an acceptable job with the plans. I didn’t finish the reading plans, but typically a teacher writes more than can often be taught to make sure there is no time the students aren’t engaged. The fact that the plans were well-written and detailed was a bonus. Not to pick on any gender, particularly mine, but I find that most often women leave more detailed plans than men. This is not always the case of course but it is typical. The only real downer for the day was that I had to stay longer than normal because again there were no breaks other than lunch, so I didn’t have time throughout the day to leave all the notes I wanted so I had to spend time after school instead. Fortunately this school was in my home town so I still got home at a reasonable time.
Do you tell the teacher when they leave helpful notes for you? My daughter had a male 1st grade teacher last year, and she liked him very much… but I do notice much more organization from her teacher this year who is a woman. The male was still a good teacher but was less detail-oriented.
Generally I haven’t, though I do try to mention when other teachers and staff were helpful. I suppose I really should mention it when I like the plans. I would guess that I haven’t thought about it before because I am one of the less organized guys. 🙂