I thought I would be spending the whole day with the students, but that didn't quite work out well. I got a call from the HR department at the school district I'm working and was told I must turn in some additional paperwork before I can work. Fortunately, the teacher I am working with was understanding and said to take my time. So, I spent the first half of the day taking care of more paperwork.
During the afternoon, I got to meet some of the students, and we went on a short field trip to a job site as part of their class on vocational skills. Currently, I am standing back and doing a lot of watching, so I didn't interact with many of the students. With many education positions, it can be a good thing to just jump right in. With this job, it is different. As my assigned classroom teacher told me, you don't want to start telling these students what to do too soon. One bad first impression and you may never be able to regain their trust. Indeed, when I start trying to correct misbehavior, I want to make sure I already have a good rapport established.
A couple of other notes:
-To the other students, I am considered another teacher. While I am not considered a main classroom teacher, in the eyes of the students, I have as much authority as any other staff member. This is extremely reassuring. In too many classrooms, when a para tries to tell a student what to do, the student will reply with something along the lines of "You can't tell me what to do, you are just a para." They even refer to me as Mr.and my last name. Paras went by their first names in my last school district.
-I saw a lot of behavior from students that at other schools would be addressed with detention and office referrals. Specifically: cussing, name calling and making threats. At this program, these are met with verbal warnings, looks of disapproval and points being taken off on behavior charts. This is definitely a whole different ball game I am dealing with.
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