6th Week: Bust

My sixth week student teaching was pretty much a bust. I started out Monday planning with Mr. Long and getting ready for the week. It was a rough Monday, too, because the weekend had brought some significant deaths to the school and the school district. The mother of three Poudre High School students was killed over the weekend, and a student at Fossil Ridge High School died following an automobile accident. It was also "America" day at Fort Collins High School, where the administrators and the media were expecting a large turnout for protesting because of the controversy surrounding the previously named "Merica" Day. Fortunately, the press and the buzz fizzled out before anything happened. Everyone went back to their regularly scheduled programs.

For me, Monday was the first day I came down with the crud. I went home early, and that's pretty much where I stayed until Monday morning, when I got up to go to the doctor. I called the doctor first thing on Tuesday, and they were convinced that I had the flu. So, they prescribed me Tamiflu. $130 and five days later, I was still sick. Sunday evening I called the doctor again, and now, they instructed me to go to the emergency room. Scared and skeptical, I stayed home until morning and marched myself to the doctor, where I found out I had a sinus infection, which is why the Tamiflu didn't help. Now, Tuesday, I'm getting better, though, still not 100%.

So, last week taught me to be prepared. I was not expecting to be out for the entire week. However, because I had been prepared for my lessons for the week, I was able to give clear directions on what my classes should do for the substitute teacher and my mentor teacher. I also had to be clear with my communication, letting my mentor teacher know exactly what my plans were and how I was feeling. He couldn't read my mind, so I had to ensure that he was always in the loop. This helped him to plan and determine how to move forward.

I missed out on a few things on Friday: Valentine's Day and a District Business Department meeting. Valentine's Day wasn't as big of a deal as the District Business Department meeting. The district meeting could have proved to be fruitful for networking and engaging in the planning for the next year.

With reports back from my mentor teacher and the substitute, the classes went well and the students all completed their work according to the plans. Now, it's catch up time...