Hilary Jonus

SERP 593
9/18/16
Journal 4
I havent full on taken over the teaching of my class yet, but this past week I got a feel of
what it will be like since I have slowly taken over certain times of the day. My mentor and I
usually work on the math portion of the day together. However, last Tuesday she had to take
some of the students aside for MAP testing, so she asked me to handle the rest of the class for
math instruction. At first, I didnt think it would be hard since I usually do math instruction with
her, but I soon realized that I had been more of her helper when I should have been more
confident and taken control. Without my mentor there, I felt like I lost total control of the
classroom.
I was considered the head teacher, so both of the classroom aids looked to me to tell them
what to do once math time started. Most of the kids are on different math levels, so I had to
separate them into different math groups based on their level, with different aids plus myself. In
the beginning I felt like I had everything under control; I gave the aids what they were supposed
to do and with what group, and I worked with my group as well. Then we had to transition
because some of the kids had library and some had OT. It was hard to remember who and where
some went on their specials, and I almost forgot to send them. I managed to get everyone where
they were supposed to be while continuing math instruction. However, after about 30-45
minutes, I lost control of the classroom. One of the groups finished their work before I finished
with my group, and I forgot to have an activity planned for them once they finished. So while I
got up to find something for them, I had to leave my group sitting at the table. Just during those

few minutes of confusion, the kids started getting up and running around and being loud. When I
finally gave the aid something to do with her group, it was very difficult to get the class back
together. A lot of them had lost their steam were now almost impossible to work with.
Eventually we all finished our work and I got them all sitting down for snack time.
This experience taught me many things. I should have been way more prepared. If I
would have had an activity planned for when the kids finished their work, they would not have
let loose and I would have still had control. I also learned I need to be more aware of every
student in the classroom and not solely on just the group Im working with because I need to
make sure the aids and kids are cooperating well with each other and I would have known they
were done with their work sooner. This experience was stressful but it helped me a lot so I can
learn from my mistakes for when I take full control of the entire day.