Inside Mrs. B's Classroom #4

Baldacci made me realize that being a teacher is more than difficult. She was not supported by her employees and mentors. No one cared about her. She was all alone. By  the end of the day, she was often in tears. How was she supposed to teach a zoo? She needed new teaching methods in order to be a successful teacher. At one point,  she rearranged the room with assigned seating. They hated it, but she explained that she was the queen of room 118. She explained that she had conference forms ready for anyone who did not behave, requesting a parent conference the next morning before school. The children were obviously not in favor of these new rules, but discipline needed to be enforced. The violent behavior needed to come to an end. It was detrimental to the learning. Few were able to stay engaged, motor and language skills worsened, and many had problems with their peers. It was becoming a cycle prone to failure and she was taking measures to stop it.

This reminded me of my Greek Evening School kindergarten class. This year I have been employed as a teacher's aide and have gained an experience few education majors have at my age. I learn from my mentors and see the classroom in a whole different perspective. In a class of 18, there are eight trouble makers and three pairs of twins. One trouble maker feeds off the other. However, we are limited on space which affects mine and the teacher's ability to control the class. They do not have separate desks, but work at tables. There is rarely a minute of silence. Someone is always talking, screaming, complaining, or laughing. I know my class is not as bad as Baldacci's, but dealing with 18 kids is enough to feel empathy and understand her pain. I try to teach in ways where they interact with one another. My mentor is older, now in her 60s, and teaches with older methods which I have noticed are not exactly most effective with this generation of children. She often says something and the class repeats after her. But they don't understand what they are saying, which is the main problem. Teaching methods always need to be refined for each student in order for them to learn and be successful. For the future, I know that each person learns differently and that you need to find something that works in order to build off of it. Reading this novel and being a teacher's aide has opened my eyes and mind, preparing me for the future when I, too, will have a classroom of my own.