I knocked on the door and was greeted by a teacher who wasn't my CT. I learned that she was substituting for my CT. Just my luck. I immediately began to feel overwhelmed and frustrated as this meant I would not be able to get a lot of the information I was supposed to that day. The substitute was not familiar with the class, and thus could not provide me with detailed information about the students and the curriculum. Luckily, I did get some help from the assistant principal, but there was only so much she could do.
I took a deep breath, and accepted that there was nothing more I could do, and so the day began. Students filed in slowly from the time period of about 7:30 - 8 am. The first half of the day was Reading and Writing. I was pretty much an observer for this, except for when I would walk around and sit by students, occasionally assisting them with some reading. I spent a little time with one particular student, who seemed to be weaker in literacy than his peers. He did not read with confidence, and had a lot of trouble pronouncing some words. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to assist him, and he seemed to really feel comfortable with me. I really wanted an opportunity to help more, but I did not really get the offer. I continued on my day looking on, and taking notes when necessary.
After lunch, my home room switched to Math and Science. I also sat and observed for this. However, I did not really mind this time as I was not comfortable taking a role in teaching the concepts that day. I quite enjoyed this lesson, and learned a few techniques and fun teaching methods demonstrated by the teacher. It inspired me to make my instruction as exciting and intriguing as she did. Before I knew it, the day was over. Looking forward to next week and hoping to get more hands on experience with my CT!