SCHOOL INTERNSHIP PHASE II - Week 3 ( 24 June - 28 June )

              DAY 9 : 24 June 2024

            Yet another week begins!

It was the start of a new week. Today was the Praveshanolsavam of 11th standard students. The event was inaugurated by the honourable Education Minister,  

V Sivankutty. The school and its premises were under police inspection. All the new students and their parents occupied the auditorium of the school where the inauguration was held.

After marking the morning attendance, I went to the 8E classroom. Waheeda Ma'am, my supervising teacher, was on leave; so I was given the class charge and the duty to note the attendance. After this, I continued the chapter The Boy who Drew Cats. The majority students are very prompt and punctual in their works. They complete the works on time and submit the notebooks for correction everyday. The students showed me the diary entry that I had given them as a homework in the previous class. The class went well and I could complete the lesson plan.

The room alloted for us was occupied by students for their examination purpose. Because of this, we had to occupy the veranda where desks, benches and chairs were arranged accordingly.

I have two consecutive hours on Monday - 1st hour at 8E and 2nd hour at 9I. It is a bit tiring, but the fact that I am completely free after the two hours is a great relief. Class at 9I also went good. Meera Ma'am, my supervising teacher, was present in class throughout the period. With just one more class, I plan to complete the lesson Debts of Gratitude.

After both the classes, I was preparing lesson plans for the next day. It was then that four of us were asked to meet Praveen Sir. It was for the duty as a scribe to the visually impaired students of 10A. It was my first experience doing this. I was really surprised to see how well they say the answers once the question to read to them. After the exam, we went back to our seats. 

There were no other duties today. After the evening discipline duty, we marked our evening attendance and left school by 3.40 pm.

            DAY 10 : 25 June 2024

The day began with my hour at 8E. As usual, I took the morning attendance and started the class. The Boy who Drew Cats was completed today. The coming Monday was decided as the last date for notebook submission. The textbook activity on story narration was done in class. Two learners presented the story and they did it very well. Most of the students in 8E speak English well and I was so happy with how they presented the activity. Also, most of the students are not hesitant; they come forward and prove themselves whenever an opportunity is given for them. I had asked them to prepare posters the previous class. Many students brought excellent posters based on the lesson The Boy who Drew Cats.

I completed the chapter Debts of Gratitude in 9I. Today was an extremely stressful class for me. Students are usually beyond control in the afternoon hours. They were so disturbed that I had to strain my voice to make them listen to me. I was too exhausted after class. I had a small talk with them as to how their attitude affects the quality of class. While some students understood it, some others were still indifferent. I was too tired after the class.

              DAY 11 : 26 June 2024

June 26 - International Day Against Drug Abuse. The day began with an awareness song and a speech by the SPC cadets. Students wore handmade badges with the slogan 'SAY NO TO DRUGS'. There was also a rally where students upheld the posters and placards that drive home the message of the campaign. 

The first hour was at 8E. I began the poem Taj Mahal for them. It is a beautiful and simple poem that puts forward two major themes - the eternity of art and the transience of human life. Videos of the seven wonders in general and Taj Mahal in particular was shown to them. A proper ICT set up would have elevated the class experience. Stanza 1 was discussed and the learners interacted very well. I divided the class into groups and they were asked to find and present the answers to the comprehension questions. They enjoyed the process and also worked really well.

A monthly test was conducted for 9I in the third period. It was a 10 marks test with two discourse questions having 5 marks each. Meera Ma'am had set the questions and I supervised the exam. I was shocked to see how most students struggled with the questions. Some of them had ideas but could not transfer it to the answer sheet due to the lack of proficiency in English. I felt so helpless seeing this. I then thought of planning my upcoming lessons in such a way that adequate time is alloted for discourse completion too.

There were no other duties today. I handed over the answer sheets to Meera Ma'am for correction. After the discipline duty, I marked my evening attendance and left school by 3.35 pm.

            DAY 12 : 27 June 2024

I reached school by 9.10 am and marked the morning attendance. There is a clash in my timetable and it still has not been sorted yet. I conducted a test paper in the first hour at 8E. The test was based on the lesson The Mysterious Picture. It was a 10 marks test, comprising of two discourse questions having 5 marks each. Most of the students attended the exam very comfortably and have scored good marks too. Some of the papers were excellent and well written.

Meera Ma'am had corrected the answer sheets of the exam conducted the previous day at 9I. Only few students have scored good marks; most of them clearly have difficulty with language usage. Teacher has asked me to devote some time everyday to make the students do discourses that would enable them to improve their language. I had a talk with the students today about the need to be serious in their studies. The questions based on the chapter Debts of Gratitude were discussed as a group activity today.

There were no other duties as such. The free time was utilized for paper correction. After marking the evening attendance, I left school by 3.40 pm.

             DAY 13: 28 June 2024

I reached school by 9.15 am and marked the morning attendance. The first hour was at 9I and it was an activity lesson that I had prepared for them. I was surprised to see that they enjoyed the class today. I divided them into 5 groups and asked them to recreate a Nobel banquet ceremony in their class. They were supposed to prepare an announcement and a certificate of appreciation. I gave them print outs of the template that they could refer for the activity. They worked well in groups and came out with good works. Only 3 groups could present the activity in class. I promised that I would give the others adequate time to present what they prepared. 

The third hour was at 8E. The poem Taj Mahal by Tagore was completed and a discussion was initiated. The students listened and responded well; they are never hesitant to ask doubts. 

I got my lesson plans signed by both my supervising teachers. The clash in my timetable was also solved and this was such a great relief. The retest for some students were conducted in the afternoon hours. By 3.30 pm, I left school.