Grommets

[learnteach]

and grinding. First day both schools went well, starting to prep for day 2. 13 more days to go.

First class descending towards chaos, they've been given a difficult task and don't quite know what to do with it. The more aggressive ones are working on it, the less so are asking for more help. Tomorrow, one aide gone. Tomorrow, two hours of visits. Friday, close up for energy.

Gonna be hard to get traction when all they want is the the Solar Car.

Afternoon class slowly mentally glazing their way to failure--well, that's why they're in summer school. But they're not picking up newtonian mechanics any way I explain it--they just sort of sit there. Motivation is the hardest thing.

Gonna be hard to get traction when all they want is to not be bothered.

And me? Hard to get traction, after all that work, when this won't lead further on. I was told I needed to teach this HTH one to improve my teaching, then dropped into the class with no support or materials whatsoever. And I've more or less closed the door on the first job, by stepping out of it in this fashion. Should have handled it better. How, I have no clue--better communication, perhaps.

Suck. having what seems to be the perfect job destruct is a bummer. Another teacher advises me that I can press the district for a job, since the school gave me a letter of intent, but I don't see that as a good idea.

Comments

[judith-s.livejournal.com]

For newtonian mechanics, I found that discussing/playing billiards was the best teacher. Most kids wanted to know how to do it, and the options (angles of impact, transfer of power, spin and its impact on transfer of power) neatly fell into newtonian physics. Plus you can show them snippets of The Color of Money or The Hustler, which tends to liven up the class.

Good luck.

[freewaydiva.livejournal.com]

And The Color of Money has an excellent soundtrack that you should just own on principle.

Alas, I cannot help with the physics. I'm a Word Nerdtm

...so are they.

[learnteach.livejournal.com]

And that's the problem. It's Breakfast Club for the Humanities in there. The class is a combined Math/Physics class, and they glaze over at the mention of either topic. 4 hours a day, god save us all.

Re: ...so are they.

[freewaydiva.livejournal.com]

Urg. Well, I'd say go with shooting pool, except for your comment below. (But you should still get the soundtrack. At least you'll feel better).

Physics didn't really get interesting or graspable to me until I took a Quantum Physics course at Uni. Unfortunately, there's little or no math or regular physics involved in that.

Can you work 'sploding things into the coursework? Those are fun...

Did that.

[learnteach.livejournal.com]

None of them know what billiards are. None of them play pool. Except, occasionaly, on a gameboy.

In unrelated news

[terpsichoros.livejournal.com]

There are pictures of you here.

No, I didn't take them.