English came first today.
I started off with the 8E class that I had to present on poetry (similes and metaphors), then got commandeered to substitute Gr.10 and 11 classes in language revisions (concords etc.) while their teachers were with the departmental subject advisor (“inspection”-ish). Although I prepared some really amazing media for the class – I was met with a total technology “fail” at the start of the lesson. None of the electronics were responding as they should, so I switched gears and took to the blackboard. I must admit to being a touch on the flustered side of the spectrum – and that old survival habits ( blabbering on) kicked in to compensate.
The truth is, my preparation was not up to the task. I had put everything together with such a fixed vision of how the class would go, that I very nearly didn’t find the resolve to go on when things went awry. I’m not convinced that the Gr. 8 class learnt the concepts and definitions all that well. In retrospect, I should have spent more time on the definitions of and differences between similes and metaphors.
Planning is essential – and one should try to plan for all sorts of eventualities!
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