Zzzzz's

Today I went back to SEEC, but the experience was very different. Last week I palled around with Mr. K's class. He acknowledged me, gave me a rundown of the program and the class' status, and encouraged me to walk around and meet the students. So, I did. In fact I made several young friends at last week's craft table. They even waved at and said hi to me today.

Today, however, was very different. Justin and I were set up with another, younger class. The lead teacher did not acknowledge us of explain our presence to the students. Nor did she offer any encourage any actions by which we could get to know students. It was quite a different environment for me, the observer, to experience.

Additionally, today's class seemed a little off. It seems all the instructors are getting sick, sick, or getting over sickness and were therefore less than enthused. To make the situation more intense, the kids were riled up, something that seems universal in schools after heavy snowfall.

The class today learned the letter Z. They learned the sound it makes and the corresponding motion. Next, they took turns writing it on a large, shared piece of paper. Hardly any of the kids payed attention to the teacher's demo, and she did not fight to get their attention. (Maybe that's a preschool etiquette thing?) The first few students wrote their Z's correctly. Then one student wrote his backwards and, looking at that backwards example, the rest of the students wrote the letter backwards, as well. Perhaps making a more prominent example Z or using individual pieces of paper would have been more productive. I guess it didn't matter because the majority of the class was not paying attention and the teacher unenthusiastically complimented them all.

After letter writing, the kids are allowed to go to Choices. Unlike Mr. K last week, this teacher did not regulate this process at all. The kids were just running around all willy-nilly. Perhaps she realized the group was rowdy and it was time to cut her losses. Or maybe this is normal. Or maybe she's just sick and couldn't give 100% today. I guess I'll see how next week goes before I hypothesize.