American Fork Jr. High

Going to American Fork Jr. High, home of the cavemen, was awesome this week! First of all I forgot how much of a variety there was in students that age! From the time I was in elementary school to freshmen year of high school I was at least a head shorter than everyone else in my classes, and never thought anything of it. But now I realize just how little those kids are, and at the same time how tall some of those kids are! Mr. Carter, the teacher, told us that one of his students, Who was absent, was 6 foot 3 inches! That's an inch taller than BYU's basketball all-star Jimmer Fredette; and this kid is only in the 7th grade! I'm still not a very tall individual and i'm sure that at least half the students in high school will be taller than me; which I guess is nothing I can change. Also so many kids are trying to figure out where thye fit in. On one hand you have the little boy who wears a tucked button up shirt with his hair neatly combed and on the other his buddy with saggy jeans and a XXXL shirt on. So many of these kids are just figuring out where they belong.

On another note I really enjoyed seeing how Mr. Carter interacted with the kids. Most of them considered him a friend but at the same time they respected him. I can tell that's a hard balance to maintain because some of the kids that were really cool with Mr. Carter respected him but still had to be told a couple of times to do something before thye took him seriously. But when class was in session all the kids were attentive and motivated to finish the assignment, mostly due to the project and the enthusiasm Mr. Carter put into it. As we went around and helped the students I noticed none of the students really talked to me unless initiated the conversation, then I realized that there were no girls in the class and that these adolescent boys were very aware that I was a girl. This might be even more awkward because they didn't know me as well as they would know a regular teacher but I guess thats something I have to take into consideration when teaching these subjects, and I hope I get the opportunity to observe a female teacher.

When kids are in this stage of their life i see now how a teacher can be so influential! Mr. Carter let it slip to his students that he was a "Star Wars" fan, and since these kids look up to him so much now they have adopted the hoppy and have competitions, such as wookie calls, daily. Being a moral teacher is everything because with the right relationship these kids will pick up on even the little things the teachers do.

I look forward to more chances to observe and even practive different teaching styles and I'm mostly grateful for this initial observation because it has made me more confident in my abilities to become a great teacher.