SCHOOL INTERNSHIP : Week 3 ( 6 November 2023 - 10 November 2023)

           DAY 10 : 6 November 2023

           Teaching is never too easy

There is happiness and a feeling of accomplishment as the school internship reaches its 10th day, considering the anxiety and confusions with which it started. Lesson plans are progressing well and everything is proceeding smoothly. The Achievement Test for 8th standard was conducted today. I prepared the question paper with the guidance of my supervising teacher. The test was for 20 marks. The question papers were printed and distributed among the students. Class at 9th standard also went well. There are minor issues in every class. I am trying my best to make classes interactive and interesting.

           DAY 11 : 11 November 2023

            Small steps to big changes 

Our substitution hours have reduced significantly since a number of other trainees from various institutions have joined the school. Now we get more time to complete our works during the working hours at school.

While skimming through the answer sheets of yesterday's test, it became clear to me that that the majority students have problems with language usage. They know the content well, but fail to transfer it to the paper due to poor language skills. As the first step towards improving their language, I made it a rule from today onwards that whenever I ask a question in class, the students will answer in English only. Most students, I feel, back off from speaking English due to the fear of being judged or mocked. This attitude of theirs need to change. They promised me that they will take the language activities seriously from now on. 

          DAY 12 : 8 November 2023

       More challenges, more thoughts

The day started off with the class in 8H. The last two stanzas of poem "The Village Blacksmith" were discussed. The last stanza is highly philosophical and to convey it in the simplest words was definitely a challenge. 

I got a substitution hour today at 8H. Since the students had serious difficulty with language usage, I gave them some basic grammar lessons. The students were attentive and they listened carefully. This made me realise that most of them really wish to learn and improve their language well.

           DAY 13 : 9 November 2023

                 Content and happy

The day started off with my class in 8H. I started teaching the beautiful poem "Song of a Flower" by Khalil Gibran. A riddle was asked to introduce the poem. A chart was also prepared for word study. The students listened with much interest. The philosophy that Gibran tries to convey through the poem was explained to them in the most simple terms. I was really satisfied with how the period went.

The 0. Henry short story "Last Leaf" was started for the 9K students. I was really excited to begin the chapter since I have already studied this beautiful story in my BA classes. The problem with the class' ICT was solved with the timely help of one of my friends. This was a great relief for me since the lesson was pre planned by incorporating ICT. Lesson plan was completed and discourse too was done. 

 

I was really satisfied with both the classes taken today. The students corporated well.

        DAY 14 : 10 November 2023

            Plan B is a pre-requisite 

And thus we reached the end of the third week. Going to school now feels like a part of my daily routine. There are always thoughts within, as to how each and every class could be handled better. The school is now familiar, so are the students.

Since there is a clash between my periods at 8H and 9k, I had to send my classmate Mary to 9K to dictate notes that I had already prepared for them. Meanwhile, I went to 8H and took class there. The next three stanzas of the poem "Song of the Flower" were discussed. I feel that I have improved a lot in planning my classes better. I expected my teacher to come for observation today and was well prepared too; but it did not happen. I have also started giving remedial reading lessons to the 8th standard students during the lunch hours. 

The 3rd week thus came to an end. The classes are going well and my lesson plans are progressing too. I need to plan my innovative and models of teaching lessons in the coming days.