Third Journal

Respectful Students

In the past third week of my teaching practicum, I felt pretty nice. It seems that I am getting used to their learning styles and to their pace while working with a certain topic. In contrast to last week, I feel more secure and comfortable when I have to start the class and follow the steps suggested on the lesson plans. Now, I feel that students know that they have to show respect towards me. I can tell that they have a good attitude because of the fact that I am respectful too, and they know that my intentions are beneficial for them.

This week, I am starting to feel like a real teacher. To be honest, it felt weird to wear a teacher´s white coat and to hear students calling you teacher or instructor. It is good to feel that I am actually becoming a teacher, since then, I will play correctly the role with all the factors that it implies. I have to take into account that teachers are role models for many students, and that many of them may start having the wish of becoming English teachers too.

It is noticeable that some students have started to maintain a good communication with me. Some of them are asking all the time about cultural and phonetic and grammatical aspects regarding to the English language. Most of the students are really kind and they demonstrate that they like the English class. This is heartwarming to me because I believe I am doing my best in the teaching practicum and all I want is to feel they like the class and that they are improving gradually their communicative skill.

This week, I was worried because I noted that there may be some students with drugs abuse issues. There is a blond-haired woman with a male friend who present weird behaviors. They do not like participating and they are usually too distracted. Most of the times, they talk about different issues during the English class and when I ask them something related to the class, they do not have any answer. They even do not know what to say and what is the specific topic that is being covered. Another reason why I am thinking about this serious problem is that those two students show some signs of drugs abuses such as Bloodshot or glazed eyes and dilated or constricted pupils. The first thing I did, was to let the technical instructor know about the situation. I hope he will talk to them about the possible consequences that they may face. Next week, I will pay close attention specifically to them to see if their conducts are repetitive to take action. Nevertheless, for the time being, I will encourage them to participate. I will ask them continually about basic things, and I will offer them rewards such as positive points that will help them to achieve the goals for the first unit.

I consider this week as a fruitful one. In general, I think I achieved my goals, and some important topics were successfully covered. The students showed good interest for learning more, and they seem to enjoy the activities. I will try to keep a good learning environment doing my best in every class so as to students to remain being active learners.