Second Day- more of the same

Today was filled with more episodes from the autistic child in the class, chatter from the endless gossip the girls have to talk about, and sound of pencils being sharpened. I never knew how many times a day a pencil is sharpened, if the point isn’t extremely sharp the students don’t want to use it. It’s also a race to see who can write with the shortest pencil. I’m fascinated by how much useless stuff kids pack into their pencil cases used to distract themselves. One girl, we’ll call her Sally, spent a whole 40 minutes applying chap stick, then lip gloss, brushing her hair, and putting on lotion while the teaching taught math. I don’t think she even had her math book out. Another boy, we’ll call him Ryan spent the afternoon with a desk covered in paper cuttings, tissues, glue, and other odd assortments building a jet. If his focus and creativity was directed towards school work, he could be successful. Lunch is probably the most awkward part of the day. A group of teachers in the wing eat together in another classroom. They are very exclusive and not very friendly to newcomers. Today my teacher told me she’d meet me in there after she ran an errand. I was sent into the lion’s den by myself. It’s hard being the new girl. For the most part they are all young teachers so you would think they would bond well with a college student. In the afternoon we had an assembly with all the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes. KW is starting a selection of clubs for Thursdays after school. They received funding to run clubs partnering with TU and other organizations. The clubs spanned from bike club, soccer, archery, Tulsa history club, environment club, ballroom dancing, and even the 4H club. This was an amazing addition to the school day and the kids were all very excited. It’s going to be so hilarious when I see a stream of my students riding bikes through the Tulsa campus during bike club. Oh yes I almost forget. Today I was trained on the copy machine that the staff uses. Everyone must be trained so they don’t break it. It consisted of opening the paper draw to put in your own paper, closing the tray carefully, and then typing in the number of copies I want. The most important lesson was not to stick sharp objects in the copier when paper jams because I might break something. I can graduate with a bachelor’s degree but need training easy for a 1st grader. Gotta love it!