Observation with Dr. Mortimore

Hey Guys, I realize this was supposed to be last week... for some reason it just wasn't sinking in. I apologize. Well, let me just say I was really nervous to have Dr. Mortimore observe my 6th period class because that have been my most challenging class (As you may know from previous blogs ;-). Lately I've been focusing on all the great things that have been going on that I thought I would touch upon the things I need to work on and improve.
In this particular class period, we were continuing to explore satire and how Twain uses it to make social commentary on Southern society. As it turns out, I had planned this lesson a week in advance and the EQ was "How does Twain satire his male characters?" While I thought this was a strong EQ in and of itself, I realized later it didn’t fit the lesson as it was originally intended. When I finally got to the lesson on Wednesday, we didn't only focus on Twain's use of satire for characters. Instead, our class discussion focused on satirizing Southern society, African-American stereotypes, (for example, how black slaves are portrayed as helpless, guilible, and child-like) and the lack of education and drunkenness in certain characters. In essence, the discussion was great, but I really need to be careful that my EQ (If I'm teaching in a 'gun-hoe' LFS district) matches what I'm trying to cover in my lesson.
Another thing that I should have done different is my opening activity. To warm my students up to satire, I had them bring in political cartoons from either the newspaper or the internet for homework. I had them all share these cartoons to the entire group and pass them around. So there we were in a big discussion seating set up, talking about what the cartoons were while most students couldn’t possibly see them until a minute or two later. Needless to say it didn’t work as well as I had hoped. With such a large class I think it would have been beneficial to have students share their cartoons in small groups...that way, all students could look at the appropriate cartoon as they were discussing it.
To be perfectly honest (and I know I’ve said this before) I truly thought I was on the verge of failing student teaching because I wasn’t perfect. Before my observation with Dr. Mortimore, I looked at every lesson like a big performance or presentation that had to be stellar in order for me to earn a decent grade. But luckily Dr. Mortimore and Mrs. Muir assured me that they don’t expect perfection, and basically… that I should strive for it, but not expect it since I’m just learning. They are both totally right; taking that knowledge actually has helped me relax and not worry about being perfect.