Day 6 - Missus Tan with the 10's.

I got off to a good start today, by teaching a Year 10 class (about 17 students) during the first two sessions for the day -and *gasp* yes - I had them for a double-period, which, surprisingly was over in the blink of an eye) :-)

The class itself was a little bumpy starting off, with a few minor hiccups with the server being down. After that probelm was rectified, we had lift off. For the two periods, the students worked on their 'design documents' / 'functional specs' for a business web design project which I assigned for them to complete. Some of the students, boys particularly, were either just plain distracted or just not motivated.

For most of them, this is their first week back from Year 10 work experience, so I guess I was faced with the challenge of getting them into the frame of mind ready for school again. Yeehaaar! I've actually discovered that 20% of students in a class actually producs 80% of the noise in the classroom. And yes, usually it's the boys. But the girls can be just as boisterous.

I happen to mention at the start of the class that I work with IBM. About 15 minutes into the lesson as I was walking around the lab, one of the students approached me and said, "Excuse me Miss. If you're working for that IBM company place, why are you here?", to which I replied, "Well, I want to share my love of learning with young minds like you students, and help you discover your potential" (or something to that effect), to which he replied loudly, "Oh. Geee. Miss, you're crazy, but it's just great that you're here!" :o) Warmfuzzy moment for sure.

After talking to the students today, and in recent days, I discovered that majority of the kids in this school are disinclined to pursue univeristy studies. I have spoken to numerous students already and the perception is that to aspire to get into University is such a distant, almost ludircrous notion. Clearly, socio-economic status and the backgrounds of these students plays a major influence in students destination post VCE years.

However, despite the gloomy picture I've painted about this school as a whole, I had some 'teaching moments' which provide me with a little ray of joy during the day as I discover that there are actually students in this school who are as keen and passionate about learning as I am! What precious gems they are indeed! And, honestly, I know it's cliche, but the challenges of teaching at a school like this are outnumberbed by the personal satisfaction/reward of helping a student learn a new concept or idea.

It's especially endearing when they say, "oooooooooooooooh, now I get it!" and then they walk away with a sense of accomplishment and understanding. Makes this experience all worthwhile. :0)