Hello,
I can't believe that this was my last week. It has felt like 17 weeks and at the same time it has felt like 4 weeks.
Monday
Today, the students were preparing for their in class writing essay on Wednesday. So, each of the classes were quietly preparing their outline sheets to use in order to organize their papers. I found that the students really wanted to do well on their writing. The honors students seemed a bit jarred at first, because my CT took over the honors classes again. I have found that observing someone for an entire day is draining and definitely not as much fun as teaching. However, you do see a lot more than you would when teaching.
Tuesday
Today, the students were again preparing for their in class writing essay on Wednesday. It was a quiet day all day today again. I helped my CT, catch up on some grading and I was also able to observe another English teacher. She was doing the carousel method in her classroom. She placed the students into groups and they each went to a poster with a different topic and wrote on it based on the prompt. I like how she allowed the students to change and adapt each other's answers based on fact. It was definitely beneficial to observe. One of my students gave me a goody bag full of Christmas treats today; they were excellent! One of the students at the school has terminal cancer, I saw him today. All of teachers, say he is the nicest kid and never complains about his situation. I learned a lot just from seeing him today. Never take any day for granted.
Wednesday
Today, I met with the Principal on my observation! He said I did excellent and he was very impressed. He said four things I should say in my interview that I do well is, I plan effectively, I have great classroom management, I have great repertoire with students, and I love what I do. He said whatever would be my "weakness" would be my lack of experience. He said I needed more time in the classroom to hone my skills. I was really happy, and grateful for the critical feedback. I posted his review on my portfolio. My CT said I got a higher rating than some of tenured teachers at the school. I also collected my students annotations for the last time. I graded all of them so they could get them back the next day.
Thursday
Today was bittersweet. I found that I truly enjoyed my time at my school. It was definitely difficult at times. However, I finally made it! My CT gave me a really cool book that I am looking forward to reading. I gave my CT a vinyl and his co-teacher a Batman poster for his classroom. One of my students gave me a box of cookies, one gave me a water color painting collage of England, and another gave me a beautiful sketch of Harry Potter. I was so honored that some of my students were really interested in seeing if I was going to apply for a job at their school. I will honestly miss all of them. I have learned a lot these past 17 weeks and I am excited about learning more. I find it interesting on how teachers let go of students each year. I really liked my students, I can tell letting go is something I will have to work on.
*********************************************************************************
Finally, I would say that I met professional teaching standard 5, which states "The competent teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and
self-motivation." I think I did a great job of creating an environment where everyone was safe to learn and grow. One of my students got off on the wrong foot with my CT before I came to their class. I told him my CT would respect him even more if he apologized for his actions, as he had informed me that he felt bad about his behavior in class. I had been telling my student to do this for quite sometime. Today, he finally did it. I was so proud of him for being mature about his actions. I can tell my CT was surprised at his apology and sincerity. It has been a great ride and I found that there are always opportunities to learn and grow even from my students. I am planning on keeping this blog in order to better reflect and learn from my own experiences and future students. Thanks for reading and I will update again as soon as possible.
Thanks,
Courtney
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Friday, December 7, 2012
Classroom Confidential 12
Hello,
My plans for being a life long learner include always remaining in school. The last thing my Grandfather asked me to do before he passed away was to get all of my "schoolin'" done. I eventually want to obtain my doctorate. I have found through my experience of teaching that I love the process of learning and share that love with others. I also like obtaining new information. I have missed being a student this semester and I am looking forward to returning to school. However, I know it will never be the same. Graduate school is different than undergraduate.
I actually found the section on Student teachers insulting as well as interesting. However, when he said, "they make you think," I asked myself if I challenge my CT. He is an intelligent teacher. To be honest, I found it really interesting that having a student teaching is a rewarding experience. I am not planning on teaching for that long, I have other career goals, but I think that the act of passing what you know to someone else is a great idea.
I also thought that the information on mentoring was great. I've had good mentors, that followed this criteria, and those that were bad who did nothing at all. The advice to new teachers was also well placed. Reading professional journals is something that I definitely need to incorporate into my life.
All in all, this was a great book. It has a lot of helpful information and resources to become a better teacher I will be using it as a reference to my teaching experiences.
Courtney
My plans for being a life long learner include always remaining in school. The last thing my Grandfather asked me to do before he passed away was to get all of my "schoolin'" done. I eventually want to obtain my doctorate. I have found through my experience of teaching that I love the process of learning and share that love with others. I also like obtaining new information. I have missed being a student this semester and I am looking forward to returning to school. However, I know it will never be the same. Graduate school is different than undergraduate.
I actually found the section on Student teachers insulting as well as interesting. However, when he said, "they make you think," I asked myself if I challenge my CT. He is an intelligent teacher. To be honest, I found it really interesting that having a student teaching is a rewarding experience. I am not planning on teaching for that long, I have other career goals, but I think that the act of passing what you know to someone else is a great idea.
I also thought that the information on mentoring was great. I've had good mentors, that followed this criteria, and those that were bad who did nothing at all. The advice to new teachers was also well placed. Reading professional journals is something that I definitely need to incorporate into my life.
All in all, this was a great book. It has a lot of helpful information and resources to become a better teacher I will be using it as a reference to my teaching experiences.
Courtney
Weekly Reflection 16
Hello,
My final week teaching. Wow.
Monday
Today, The students were given time to read and annotate their texts. I had a shortened day due to having to leave for class. I was also preparing for my last observation tomorrow.
Tuesday
Today, I was really upset before my observation. I made my lesson, and emailed it to my teacher Monday night in order to get my CT to edit and make suggestions. However, he did not look at my lesson until this morning. He just told me what was wrong with it so I could fix it before my observation. I was mad and stressed, because I had to make the changes so quickly. I was mad until I started teaching. I was fine, once my day progressed. When he observed me, he didn't say anything, which has happened many times, so as you said I took that as positive.
Wednesday
Today, I was planning for my pre-observation meeting with my Principal. The students were just working on collecting information for their in class writing. The students are definitely winding down and unfortunately checking out. I'm trying to keep them entertained while teaching them and helping them where I believe they need it.
Thursday
Today, I meet with my Principal. He said he was impressed with my pre-observation work. I am praying that it will go well at my observation tomorrow as well. My students, have expressed that they will miss me. I am sad and excited to move on. I am nervous about my lesson tomorrow. I really want to do well considering that there could always be a possibility for a job.
Friday
It's been a long week. I was nervous all day and making adjustments constantly to my lesson. I found that 8th period, when I was being observed, my students were a bit obnoxious. I was not expecting this. However, I believe the lesson went well and I am interested in finding out what the Principal has to say about the lesson.
I know this has been a short entry. However, things are not as hectic anymore. This was my last week teaching and I have found that I have learned a lot these past 16 weeks. It has been tiring and draining at times, but all of my students have been a pleasure. I have learned a lot about professional growth, which is standard 10. "The competent teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates how choices and actions affect students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community and actively seeks opportunities to grow professionally." I also found that writing these reflections has been beneficial to me academically and mentally. I am able to process my mistakes and learn from them by writing them out. Next week, I will be observing and watching other teachers, which I am excited for.
Courtney
My final week teaching. Wow.
Monday
Today, The students were given time to read and annotate their texts. I had a shortened day due to having to leave for class. I was also preparing for my last observation tomorrow.
Tuesday
Today, I was really upset before my observation. I made my lesson, and emailed it to my teacher Monday night in order to get my CT to edit and make suggestions. However, he did not look at my lesson until this morning. He just told me what was wrong with it so I could fix it before my observation. I was mad and stressed, because I had to make the changes so quickly. I was mad until I started teaching. I was fine, once my day progressed. When he observed me, he didn't say anything, which has happened many times, so as you said I took that as positive.
Wednesday
Today, I was planning for my pre-observation meeting with my Principal. The students were just working on collecting information for their in class writing. The students are definitely winding down and unfortunately checking out. I'm trying to keep them entertained while teaching them and helping them where I believe they need it.
Thursday
Today, I meet with my Principal. He said he was impressed with my pre-observation work. I am praying that it will go well at my observation tomorrow as well. My students, have expressed that they will miss me. I am sad and excited to move on. I am nervous about my lesson tomorrow. I really want to do well considering that there could always be a possibility for a job.
Friday
It's been a long week. I was nervous all day and making adjustments constantly to my lesson. I found that 8th period, when I was being observed, my students were a bit obnoxious. I was not expecting this. However, I believe the lesson went well and I am interested in finding out what the Principal has to say about the lesson.
I know this has been a short entry. However, things are not as hectic anymore. This was my last week teaching and I have found that I have learned a lot these past 16 weeks. It has been tiring and draining at times, but all of my students have been a pleasure. I have learned a lot about professional growth, which is standard 10. "The competent teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates how choices and actions affect students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community and actively seeks opportunities to grow professionally." I also found that writing these reflections has been beneficial to me academically and mentally. I am able to process my mistakes and learn from them by writing them out. Next week, I will be observing and watching other teachers, which I am excited for.
Courtney
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Classroom Confidential 7
Hello,
Based on Schmidt chapter seven, how will you use the community in your own classroom? Cite Schmidt in your response. What are compelling reasons for doing so?
Great Teachers are Escape Artists
I believe the community is the spine of a classroom. Chapter seven states, "community-based projects put kids in the driver's seat"(141). I am a big fan of the kids controlling their own education and learning. There is a difference between the students controlling the classroom and the teacher lacking classroom control. I also enjoyed how the chapter stated that community based projects are academically and socially rigorous. Building a community is a important aspect of teaching and learning. When students understand the importance of community they can learn to respect and honor their classmates and teachers.
Finally, I enjoyed the idea of the students finding out what a community is and what it means to them as a classroom. When they understand why community is important they can learn to incorporate community in their everyday lives. I believe that something simple like putting my students in groups will allow me to work with multiple students at once and for students to experience the classroom with different peers. I also believe that integrated lessons are a good way to build community. I am interested in finding new ways to incorporate community everyday in the classroom.
Courtney
Weekly Reflection 15
This week I learned an important lesson. Do not try and grade all of your class papers in two days.
Monday
Today, the Regular students just read, and the Honors students made an organization chart focusing on the reading for The Old Man and the Sea. The students worked well, but I was also swamped with the planning a lesson for the next day as well as grading papers. My lesson consisted of building a sentence from just a subject. Today was a shortened day.
Tuesday
The students worked on reading skills for their respective books. I realized today that I really don't like work days. I understand that charts or reading organizers help the students organize their thoughts from a book, but I would rather practice teaching. There are things I would like to work on before next week when I am observed by my CS and the Principal next week. To be honest, I know the students get tired of doing the same thing too, but my CT and his team are so focused on not "coloring" and making things "fun" that they are boring teachers at times. I guess they feel they make up for their lessons with personality. I truly believe balance is key; it is important to teach the fundamentals, but can't we have fun too? It's starting to get a bit ridiculous of how much graphic organizing we do.
Wednesday
I had a bad day today. I gave my lesson on sentence structure to the Regulars; my rowdy class, was extremely rowdier because it included them building sentences with the words that I choose for modifiers, subjects, phrases, as well as predicates. The words were more than rowdy. My CT observed this class, he sort of grilled me after the fact, because I decided to let the students sit where they wanted this time. I went to each group, but he said that I didn't spend enough time with each of the groups, I spent more time with others. I knew that I had a slight issue with management in that particular class this time. I was somewhat annoyed with him because he never tells me what I do well, only what I do wrong. The second class went extremely better, but I was not as patient with them because my CT had grilled me moments before. I believe my CT is a great teacher, it's just been a long 8 weeks thus far and his style of feedback is getting annoying. Anyway, it did not help that I had a migraine the entire day and was feeling sick for most if not all of the day.
Thursday
Today, I came in with some ideas for the regulars and presented them to the "team," but I guess they weren't "feeling" my idea because they just decided they were going to do what something else and we worked on that. I couldn't even get mad because my heart isn't in this "planning" anymore. I'm tired of doing the same stuff and I am so happy next week is my last full week of teaching. I've been telling my students that they should be preparing to have their teacher return. However, many of them have expressed they want me to stay. I have informed them that I am nowhere near as good a teacher as my CT, but I can see why they don't care for him very much. Anyway, the Honors students, did yet another graphic organizer based on their book. The regulars did a review of sentence structure and worked on their chart.
Friday
My CT did not come in today. I'm pretty sure he took a personal day. I was somewhat annoyed because he didn't even email me again, just like last time he was absent, he emailed his co teacher and he told me that my CT would not be in. The regulars had a quiz today, and I handed all of my students their papers back. My students expressed their joy of having feedback on each of their papers when I handed them back. They said my CT didn't write anything on their first papers and just put a grade. Again, issues with feedback not only me, but my students as well. I was extremely tired today, I stayed up late and woke up at 4 am to finish grading papers. Today, was my last full day of teaching. On Monday, I give my regular classes back to my CT.
********************
This week as really hard, I have so much work from my TC class that I need to catch up on and I'm falling behind on my planning as well. I'm just overwhelmed right now and I'm ready to be done. I want to finish strong and I've been trying to pray, stay positive, and remain willing to help my students, many of them have checked out for the semester. This week, I had to remember to remain professional, even through my struggles. Standard 11 Professional Conduct states, "The competent teacher understands education as a profession, maintains standards of professional conduct, and provides leadership to improve students' learning and well-being." Remaining professional and acting is a large part of teaching. When things are hard, it's easy to get caught up in your feelings, but remaining professional can help you continue to cater to your students.
Courtney
Monday
Today, the Regular students just read, and the Honors students made an organization chart focusing on the reading for The Old Man and the Sea. The students worked well, but I was also swamped with the planning a lesson for the next day as well as grading papers. My lesson consisted of building a sentence from just a subject. Today was a shortened day.
Tuesday
The students worked on reading skills for their respective books. I realized today that I really don't like work days. I understand that charts or reading organizers help the students organize their thoughts from a book, but I would rather practice teaching. There are things I would like to work on before next week when I am observed by my CS and the Principal next week. To be honest, I know the students get tired of doing the same thing too, but my CT and his team are so focused on not "coloring" and making things "fun" that they are boring teachers at times. I guess they feel they make up for their lessons with personality. I truly believe balance is key; it is important to teach the fundamentals, but can't we have fun too? It's starting to get a bit ridiculous of how much graphic organizing we do.
Wednesday
I had a bad day today. I gave my lesson on sentence structure to the Regulars; my rowdy class, was extremely rowdier because it included them building sentences with the words that I choose for modifiers, subjects, phrases, as well as predicates. The words were more than rowdy. My CT observed this class, he sort of grilled me after the fact, because I decided to let the students sit where they wanted this time. I went to each group, but he said that I didn't spend enough time with each of the groups, I spent more time with others. I knew that I had a slight issue with management in that particular class this time. I was somewhat annoyed with him because he never tells me what I do well, only what I do wrong. The second class went extremely better, but I was not as patient with them because my CT had grilled me moments before. I believe my CT is a great teacher, it's just been a long 8 weeks thus far and his style of feedback is getting annoying. Anyway, it did not help that I had a migraine the entire day and was feeling sick for most if not all of the day.
Thursday
Today, I came in with some ideas for the regulars and presented them to the "team," but I guess they weren't "feeling" my idea because they just decided they were going to do what something else and we worked on that. I couldn't even get mad because my heart isn't in this "planning" anymore. I'm tired of doing the same stuff and I am so happy next week is my last full week of teaching. I've been telling my students that they should be preparing to have their teacher return. However, many of them have expressed they want me to stay. I have informed them that I am nowhere near as good a teacher as my CT, but I can see why they don't care for him very much. Anyway, the Honors students, did yet another graphic organizer based on their book. The regulars did a review of sentence structure and worked on their chart.
Friday
My CT did not come in today. I'm pretty sure he took a personal day. I was somewhat annoyed because he didn't even email me again, just like last time he was absent, he emailed his co teacher and he told me that my CT would not be in. The regulars had a quiz today, and I handed all of my students their papers back. My students expressed their joy of having feedback on each of their papers when I handed them back. They said my CT didn't write anything on their first papers and just put a grade. Again, issues with feedback not only me, but my students as well. I was extremely tired today, I stayed up late and woke up at 4 am to finish grading papers. Today, was my last full day of teaching. On Monday, I give my regular classes back to my CT.
********************
This week as really hard, I have so much work from my TC class that I need to catch up on and I'm falling behind on my planning as well. I'm just overwhelmed right now and I'm ready to be done. I want to finish strong and I've been trying to pray, stay positive, and remain willing to help my students, many of them have checked out for the semester. This week, I had to remember to remain professional, even through my struggles. Standard 11 Professional Conduct states, "The competent teacher understands education as a profession, maintains standards of professional conduct, and provides leadership to improve students' learning and well-being." Remaining professional and acting is a large part of teaching. When things are hard, it's easy to get caught up in your feelings, but remaining professional can help you continue to cater to your students.
Courtney
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Weekly Reflection 14
Hello,
As you know this week as a short week due to the Holiday.
Monday
The students were not happy on Monday, as they did not get a late start due to getting out early. This week is going to be low maintenance. I had the Honors students work on the short story we have been working on to prepare them to move into The Old Man and the Sea. They were to read the short story and then outline the dialogue in the story in order to understand the concepts that will be found in the novel later on. I had the Regulars work on concision, aka avoiding wordiness, I made a PowerPoint and planned the lesson. However, the lesson was not as entertaining as I thought it would be. The students were not that happy to see that we would be taking notes. I did, however, with one class effectively guess where they fell in birth order in each of their families. They were shocked, and I told them that studies show that personalities play a specific role in birth order. They thought that was pretty cool. I had to leave a bit early to get to class as usual.
Tuesday
Today, the Honors students read on Hemingway's life and Iceberg theory. They were not too happy with that, however, they did read and annotate the packet in order to prepare to read tomorrow. Regulars worked on organizing the characterization of George and Lennie in Of Mice and Men. I had some trouble keeping them on task. However, the same period wanted more psychology stuff to do so I said I would look into it and maybe before each class starts I can use as it starter to the day. The students were pretty upset that they had school the next day due to all of the middle school students, and the grade school students being off on Wednesday. I had a meeting with the Principal today to set up an appointment for my observation with him, I am excited and nervous about this.
Wednesday
Finally made it. The students were not really excited. They were complaining that I was the only teacher that made them do work today, with it being a short day and all. I told them they would thank me in five years. I had the Honors students read their new books, and the Regulars were to continue reading their book. The Regulars did not want to work at all. I was on top of them for the entire 30 minutes of each class. I was fighting a loosing battle. I was just as excited for the Holiday as the students.
This week I was focused on standard 6, Instructional Planning, which states, "The competent teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students’
development of critical thinking, problem-solving, and performance skills." I have found that it is important to use a variety of instructional strategies, so that I can become better, and so my students will not feel as if school is mundane. I know that they will always feel like that on a superficial level, but I want to do my best to make sure they feel they are in a learning environment that promotes excellence. We are now winding down, and I am sad that I am leaving my students, but I have learned a lot these past 13 weeks. It has been a roller coaster of stress and fun, but totally worth it.
Courtney
As you know this week as a short week due to the Holiday.
Monday
The students were not happy on Monday, as they did not get a late start due to getting out early. This week is going to be low maintenance. I had the Honors students work on the short story we have been working on to prepare them to move into The Old Man and the Sea. They were to read the short story and then outline the dialogue in the story in order to understand the concepts that will be found in the novel later on. I had the Regulars work on concision, aka avoiding wordiness, I made a PowerPoint and planned the lesson. However, the lesson was not as entertaining as I thought it would be. The students were not that happy to see that we would be taking notes. I did, however, with one class effectively guess where they fell in birth order in each of their families. They were shocked, and I told them that studies show that personalities play a specific role in birth order. They thought that was pretty cool. I had to leave a bit early to get to class as usual.
Tuesday
Today, the Honors students read on Hemingway's life and Iceberg theory. They were not too happy with that, however, they did read and annotate the packet in order to prepare to read tomorrow. Regulars worked on organizing the characterization of George and Lennie in Of Mice and Men. I had some trouble keeping them on task. However, the same period wanted more psychology stuff to do so I said I would look into it and maybe before each class starts I can use as it starter to the day. The students were pretty upset that they had school the next day due to all of the middle school students, and the grade school students being off on Wednesday. I had a meeting with the Principal today to set up an appointment for my observation with him, I am excited and nervous about this.
Wednesday
Finally made it. The students were not really excited. They were complaining that I was the only teacher that made them do work today, with it being a short day and all. I told them they would thank me in five years. I had the Honors students read their new books, and the Regulars were to continue reading their book. The Regulars did not want to work at all. I was on top of them for the entire 30 minutes of each class. I was fighting a loosing battle. I was just as excited for the Holiday as the students.
This week I was focused on standard 6, Instructional Planning, which states, "The competent teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students’
development of critical thinking, problem-solving, and performance skills." I have found that it is important to use a variety of instructional strategies, so that I can become better, and so my students will not feel as if school is mundane. I know that they will always feel like that on a superficial level, but I want to do my best to make sure they feel they are in a learning environment that promotes excellence. We are now winding down, and I am sad that I am leaving my students, but I have learned a lot these past 13 weeks. It has been a roller coaster of stress and fun, but totally worth it.
Courtney
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Weekly Reflection 13
Hello,
This has been a extremely busy week.
Monday
Today, was a shortened day (25 minutes a class) due to late start. I just had the regular students work on ACT/Plan prep, they were not really happy about this. However, the Plan test is Thursday. The honors students worked on a method of editing that I really like. They were to write Stumbles, meaning there was a word problem in their essay; Marbles, meaning there was a sentence problem in their essay; or Gravy, meaning there was as structure problem in their essay. I really like the idea of the students actually grading for this. The fun part about this was a that the students shouted these things out when they read the paper out loud. I'm definitely going to take this with me when I leave.
Tuesday
I was literally worn out today. I was going to be observed and I had planned the lesson for that day. Honors students finished up their work on peer editing. I then had them go through a benchmark checklist so they would understand and know the criteria for the paper due Friday. I then had them work on some ACT/PLAN testing prep. They hated that, but I told them, just as I told my Regulars, that if you don't do it, it's only going to hurt you, not me. For Regulars, I had a PowerPoint of the Benchmarks for their papers, also due Friday. I then had a sample article that they needed to correct with the Benchmarks we just went over. Finally, I had them look over their papers to check for the the criteria in their own paper. I also worked with my troubled student during seventh period. He did not complete any more work than what we worked on Friday. It was frustrating. I told him that he had to do the rest himself and that I would be siting there if he really needed help. 8th period was fun,the students wanted me to read their papers, so I gave them suggestions to work on before Friday.
Wednesday
Today, the students had course selection. So, the counselors pulled out the students during their English class periods. This was somewhat frustrating because 2 minutes into each of my classes, 80% of my class was called down to their respective counselors. I couldn't get much instruction in, but I did encourage the students to ask me questions about their papers and any questions they had about the class. Some of my students utilized this time, others did not. I did, however, write my school email address on the board if they have any burning last minute questions before Friday. I will not see my classes tomorrow because they have PLAN testing. I also informed my students that I get to school at 7:15; and that day, Wednesday, I would be staying after school until 4:15 pm. I had two students come in after school that day. It was somewhat disappointing. However, I realized that I am there for those two students just as much as I am for the entire classroom full of students. At the very least, two students came in and received the help they needed. Finally, one my students told me that I was going to be a great teacher. That made my day.
Thursday
Today is testing day. Let me just first say, that I believe that is extremely counterproductive for the state to have testing for students in November instead of April. In saying that, the students had a half day full of testing and were released at noon. My CT allowed me to leave for the day with the students. I was able to proctor an exam which is not nearly as fun as you would think. It was ridiculously boring. However, I got a chance to interact with some of my first period students. There is a funny bunch in that class. All in all, it was a learning experience.
Friday
My student's papers were due today. However, I had excuses up the wazoo of why some of them didn't have them completed. It was frustrating and disheartening to find that I had given them so much forewarning only to have a large portion of my regular students not turn in the essay. However, the student that I have been working with turned in his essay! I am so excited! I know it is not the best, but I did work with him and I told him my expectations and he met them! I can't wait to read his paper! I also told one of my students, who said English was her worst subject and she was concerned about the ACT that I would work with her on ACT prep. I let her borrow one of my grammar books and I told her I could meet with her during the resource hour as long as I'm there. I also went out this evening to purchase some English ACT books for my classroom. On a side note, one of my students (not the same one) told me that I'm a pretty good teacher before he left class. I had a lot of fun 8th period. I taught half the class in an English accent. The student in response answered and asked questions in an English accent.
**************************************************************
This week has taught me when you set expectations your students are more than likely to meet them. Which brings in the standard #5 of creating a welcoming learning environment. "The competent teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation." I think I am slowly but surely finding the motivation for each student, bit by bit. I am excited to see what will happen in these last few weeks.
Courtney
This has been a extremely busy week.
Monday
Today, was a shortened day (25 minutes a class) due to late start. I just had the regular students work on ACT/Plan prep, they were not really happy about this. However, the Plan test is Thursday. The honors students worked on a method of editing that I really like. They were to write Stumbles, meaning there was a word problem in their essay; Marbles, meaning there was a sentence problem in their essay; or Gravy, meaning there was as structure problem in their essay. I really like the idea of the students actually grading for this. The fun part about this was a that the students shouted these things out when they read the paper out loud. I'm definitely going to take this with me when I leave.
Tuesday
I was literally worn out today. I was going to be observed and I had planned the lesson for that day. Honors students finished up their work on peer editing. I then had them go through a benchmark checklist so they would understand and know the criteria for the paper due Friday. I then had them work on some ACT/PLAN testing prep. They hated that, but I told them, just as I told my Regulars, that if you don't do it, it's only going to hurt you, not me. For Regulars, I had a PowerPoint of the Benchmarks for their papers, also due Friday. I then had a sample article that they needed to correct with the Benchmarks we just went over. Finally, I had them look over their papers to check for the the criteria in their own paper. I also worked with my troubled student during seventh period. He did not complete any more work than what we worked on Friday. It was frustrating. I told him that he had to do the rest himself and that I would be siting there if he really needed help. 8th period was fun,the students wanted me to read their papers, so I gave them suggestions to work on before Friday.
Wednesday
Today, the students had course selection. So, the counselors pulled out the students during their English class periods. This was somewhat frustrating because 2 minutes into each of my classes, 80% of my class was called down to their respective counselors. I couldn't get much instruction in, but I did encourage the students to ask me questions about their papers and any questions they had about the class. Some of my students utilized this time, others did not. I did, however, write my school email address on the board if they have any burning last minute questions before Friday. I will not see my classes tomorrow because they have PLAN testing. I also informed my students that I get to school at 7:15; and that day, Wednesday, I would be staying after school until 4:15 pm. I had two students come in after school that day. It was somewhat disappointing. However, I realized that I am there for those two students just as much as I am for the entire classroom full of students. At the very least, two students came in and received the help they needed. Finally, one my students told me that I was going to be a great teacher. That made my day.
Thursday
Today is testing day. Let me just first say, that I believe that is extremely counterproductive for the state to have testing for students in November instead of April. In saying that, the students had a half day full of testing and were released at noon. My CT allowed me to leave for the day with the students. I was able to proctor an exam which is not nearly as fun as you would think. It was ridiculously boring. However, I got a chance to interact with some of my first period students. There is a funny bunch in that class. All in all, it was a learning experience.
Friday
My student's papers were due today. However, I had excuses up the wazoo of why some of them didn't have them completed. It was frustrating and disheartening to find that I had given them so much forewarning only to have a large portion of my regular students not turn in the essay. However, the student that I have been working with turned in his essay! I am so excited! I know it is not the best, but I did work with him and I told him my expectations and he met them! I can't wait to read his paper! I also told one of my students, who said English was her worst subject and she was concerned about the ACT that I would work with her on ACT prep. I let her borrow one of my grammar books and I told her I could meet with her during the resource hour as long as I'm there. I also went out this evening to purchase some English ACT books for my classroom. On a side note, one of my students (not the same one) told me that I'm a pretty good teacher before he left class. I had a lot of fun 8th period. I taught half the class in an English accent. The student in response answered and asked questions in an English accent.
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This week has taught me when you set expectations your students are more than likely to meet them. Which brings in the standard #5 of creating a welcoming learning environment. "The competent teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation." I think I am slowly but surely finding the motivation for each student, bit by bit. I am excited to see what will happen in these last few weeks.
Courtney
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Classroom Confidential 10
Hello
Chapter 10,
What's the big deal about social justice? Why are the ideas of chapter 10 important for a Christian teacher?
I am a strong supporter of social justice. At Trinity I have been in the social justice chapter, and have participated in social justice programs. I was excited to read this chapter and find it was a bout social justice. I would say, from my own experience, that the big deal about social justice is that it presents itself as everyday problems that people fail to see. I love the quote, "great teachers are social activists at heart" to me that speaks volumes that you as a teacher are a social activist. I also really enjoyed the quote "when you're teaching social justice, the curriculum is ourselves." We become the example we are supposed to set for our students. This is done only through modeling what we want our students to learn.
As a Christian teacher we are called to take care of the Earth and it's inhabitants. I have found that this has been a great way to keep the cultural mandate. I have also been able to share my love of social justice with my students and my colleagues through following the cultural mandate. I am excited to share this with my students and look forward to implementing social justice in my classroom.
Thanks, Courtney
Chapter 10,
What's the big deal about social justice? Why are the ideas of chapter 10 important for a Christian teacher?
I am a strong supporter of social justice. At Trinity I have been in the social justice chapter, and have participated in social justice programs. I was excited to read this chapter and find it was a bout social justice. I would say, from my own experience, that the big deal about social justice is that it presents itself as everyday problems that people fail to see. I love the quote, "great teachers are social activists at heart" to me that speaks volumes that you as a teacher are a social activist. I also really enjoyed the quote "when you're teaching social justice, the curriculum is ourselves." We become the example we are supposed to set for our students. This is done only through modeling what we want our students to learn.
As a Christian teacher we are called to take care of the Earth and it's inhabitants. I have found that this has been a great way to keep the cultural mandate. I have also been able to share my love of social justice with my students and my colleagues through following the cultural mandate. I am excited to share this with my students and look forward to implementing social justice in my classroom.
Thanks, Courtney
Weekly Reflection 12
Hello,
This week seemed to be panning out as an extremely long week.
Monday
Today was a frustrating day because in addition to having the two hour late start for planning. the students also had an assembly because of girls cross country going to state and the boys soccer team winning the state championship I also leave early on Monday's in order to get to class. I think that it is pretty exciting that the boys won. However, the class periods were shortened to 25 minutes a piece. So today, the honors had to take a practice quiz to prepare them for the Plan test next week, then finish their peer evaluations, and then finally write three goals for their essay. They did not finish these tasks of course because there was not enough time to complete them. I now see why shortened days are frustrating for teachers. The regulars were another story. They all seemed to really whine and moan because they were supposed to have their drafts done for today. Over 80% of the students did not come to class with their draft done. That was frustrating as well. The most annoying thing that happened today was a saw a "regulars" student flick my CT off behind his back after he told them for the fifth and final time to get to work on his essay. The student saw that I was watching him do this and his eyes got really big. I just shook my head at him. I told my CT about what happened and he just laughed and said I should show him a referral tomorrow. Later on, I thought, why show him any referral? If I was not in the class my CT would have never known what had transpired. I wonder if I did the right thing by telling my teacher, or if I should have just administered a punishment my self.
Tuesday
Election Day. I was nervous about the class periods today considering the tone of the election. My CT was also late today, he said there was a car fire on the Edens Expressway. When I say late, I mean he got here at 7:45 instead of 7:15, school starts at 8:25 am. Today, was an ok day. MY CT created this new format of PowerPoint that only had a few words on each slide. Unfortunately, he only got it to me 20 mins before school started so I had very little time to work with the slides. I went extremely fast through the slides for first period, one because I usually don't talk that much when I administer notes with students. The second reason being I only saw the notes for a short period of time. The notes were based on introductions, so I had some per editing activities ready when I finished 10 minutes early. In the prep period afterwards, I was able to talk to my CT who said I needed to slow down and explain some of the points a bit more. He also at this time, informed me of my filler word, which is "often." In the next class, I took my CT's advice, and having time to look through the slides and notes again, and I actually didn't finish! I was so happy about this. I felt like the students had a good time, they were laughing throughout the class, they asked higher level questions, and they really seemed to understand the material.
In the teacher's lounge, my CT and a couple other teachers were ranting a bit today. My CT has expressed a distaste for some of the methods found in English classrooms across the country as well as my placement. He was saying that teachers, just want to study skills once a week and then do literary analysis, and make word picture maps, and other fun activities. This presents itself as a problem to my CT and a few other teachers who teach sophomores They get to our class and know no skills. They then get frustrated, and we are pulling teeth to get the to do a writing process, or know what a thesis is. However, they are never taught these things throughout their freshman year so we are spending time teaching it to them. My CT states, of course the students "love so and so because they let draw pictures, read stories, and watch movies, they're not learning. I would love them too if I didn't have to do any work." I can see where trying to make a classroom fun, can be destructive to a student. I see where my CT is coming from, and I see why the other teachers want to make English fun. I think there should be a balance I think there is an effective way to make a classroom fun, and I think that I am finding the balance in my own style right now.
My 8th period class had a lot of fun with the notes, I again did not quite finish the notes which was the goal all along. My CT sat in on the beginning of this class, so he can continue to give me feedback. I find that he makes me nervous when he's in the classroom, and I do much better without him there. I think it maybe because he intimidates me a bit. The school did a mock election, President Obama the election and the school will compare their results tomorrow. This conceded my Election Day school day.
Wednesday
I came to school and one of the teachers I team plan with, said my teacher was not going to be in tonight and I would be taking over the entire day. I had a sub with my who was around my age and said he did his student teaching at Warren as well. He said that he was an English teacher over at the campus; the one that houses the juniors and seniors. I was a bit nervous, but excited to work with the regular students. They are a mess sometimes, but I knew I would take over their classes sooner or later. My first and third period went well, they were both used to me teaching them so it was no problem. My fourth period however, was in shock. They said oh we have a sub today. I said no, you don't you have me. They said no your like a sub and that guy is a sub, (the sub they got for my CT). I informed them that I was not a sub, and I would be taking over their class until December.
They were surprised with this notion. I since they are a problematic class, even with my CT, I waved the passbook and said, if I have any problems, I haven't had any yet, nor do I hope to have any problems, I have no issue with sending you a pass to the dean. They all really got the drift and from that point on in the class I didn't have any serious issues, except for keeping them on task. The fifth period, who are known for not doing work because they are too cool. Anyway, they stayed on task when I stayed on top of them.
In seventh period, the at risk teacher, for students who are at risk of failing, brought one of my students to the resource room, which is open for the English during specific periods. My CT and I work the English resource room during seventh period. This student was brought in from my fourth period class which is just 50% of students who are in the at risk class as well. This student, did not read the book, and had very little quotes to work on his paper. I knew my teacher told him if he didn't do this paper, he would fail. I was really happy to work with him, he seemed like he was trying a bit harder. I told him to come in during 7th again and I would be there if he needed help, and I would also help him during class if he needed it. However, I'm not sure if he will complete the assignment. I hope he does though. He has very few people in his corner that are rooting for him, my CT and the at risk teacher are somewhat fed-up with his work ethic. I am still going to root for him though.
8th period was so goofy, they were giggling the entire period. They were ok though, they got the work done and got a bit ahead of my other classes. By the end of the day, I was so tired. Staying on top of all these students during work days is tough work.
Thursday
My CT was back, he looked please that I told the regulars I would just take over instead of giving the classes back, and then taking over again. So, I have another long day ahead of me. I somewhat flubbed my directions for first period. I wasn't completely sure what my CT wanted does as well, when I realized my mistake I apologized to the class and re explained what I wanted them to do. They were clear on what needed to be done after I gave better directions. When my CT came back into the room, I told him that I re explained and he said that was good considering he didn't even know what I was saying. I really think, I do better in front of the students when he is not there, he really makes me nervous which is weird. I think it is because he is very critical. He is just a critical person and I believe me sub conscious picked up on this.
Today, the most interesting thing that happened was that one of the at risk students came in during this period for help. Her name was Hannah. She has having a lot anxiety about completing her assignment. Ironically, her teacher was one of the team teachers I work with. However, it was a problem because even though we plan together she did not follow the prompt that we all agreed on for the regular students. Despite this, I was able to help her. She really seemed to be a bit more calm. She even was able to come up with a thesis on her own by the end of the period.
Friday
Today was a long day, I taught the entire day, but the students weren't really focused. I cant really expect them to stay too focused when it's Friday, I understand that. However, I am having some issues with the regular students. I just can't seem to relate to them. They don't laugh at my jokes and they seem indifferent I don't need them to be by friends, but I would like to connect with them on some level. Most of them feel they are too cool for school, which is sad because their grades are hurting because of this. I am still working on a way to break through this ideology they have. I also was able to work with the student Junior from Wednesday. Unfortunately, he did not do anymore work than what I told him to do on Wednesday. I worked with him some more and I told him he needed to come back on Monday with the work I asked for. I really hope he comes in with the work, I'm still in his corner.
This week has been really tough for me. I have been really stressed out with my upcoming planing starting on Monday on top of all my projects. My school does not have veterans day off so I am starting to wear a bit thin and I could really use a break. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving break. This week I was focusing on professional conduct, which states "that the competent teacher understands education as a profession, maintains standards of professional conduct, and provide leadership to improve students' learning and well-being." This week, I've been learning about how to improve students learning. I understand that this process will not be done over a short period of time, but needs nurturing and care in order to succeed.
Thanks, Courtney
This week seemed to be panning out as an extremely long week.
Monday
Today was a frustrating day because in addition to having the two hour late start for planning. the students also had an assembly because of girls cross country going to state and the boys soccer team winning the state championship I also leave early on Monday's in order to get to class. I think that it is pretty exciting that the boys won. However, the class periods were shortened to 25 minutes a piece. So today, the honors had to take a practice quiz to prepare them for the Plan test next week, then finish their peer evaluations, and then finally write three goals for their essay. They did not finish these tasks of course because there was not enough time to complete them. I now see why shortened days are frustrating for teachers. The regulars were another story. They all seemed to really whine and moan because they were supposed to have their drafts done for today. Over 80% of the students did not come to class with their draft done. That was frustrating as well. The most annoying thing that happened today was a saw a "regulars" student flick my CT off behind his back after he told them for the fifth and final time to get to work on his essay. The student saw that I was watching him do this and his eyes got really big. I just shook my head at him. I told my CT about what happened and he just laughed and said I should show him a referral tomorrow. Later on, I thought, why show him any referral? If I was not in the class my CT would have never known what had transpired. I wonder if I did the right thing by telling my teacher, or if I should have just administered a punishment my self.
Tuesday
Election Day. I was nervous about the class periods today considering the tone of the election. My CT was also late today, he said there was a car fire on the Edens Expressway. When I say late, I mean he got here at 7:45 instead of 7:15, school starts at 8:25 am. Today, was an ok day. MY CT created this new format of PowerPoint that only had a few words on each slide. Unfortunately, he only got it to me 20 mins before school started so I had very little time to work with the slides. I went extremely fast through the slides for first period, one because I usually don't talk that much when I administer notes with students. The second reason being I only saw the notes for a short period of time. The notes were based on introductions, so I had some per editing activities ready when I finished 10 minutes early. In the prep period afterwards, I was able to talk to my CT who said I needed to slow down and explain some of the points a bit more. He also at this time, informed me of my filler word, which is "often." In the next class, I took my CT's advice, and having time to look through the slides and notes again, and I actually didn't finish! I was so happy about this. I felt like the students had a good time, they were laughing throughout the class, they asked higher level questions, and they really seemed to understand the material.
In the teacher's lounge, my CT and a couple other teachers were ranting a bit today. My CT has expressed a distaste for some of the methods found in English classrooms across the country as well as my placement. He was saying that teachers, just want to study skills once a week and then do literary analysis, and make word picture maps, and other fun activities. This presents itself as a problem to my CT and a few other teachers who teach sophomores They get to our class and know no skills. They then get frustrated, and we are pulling teeth to get the to do a writing process, or know what a thesis is. However, they are never taught these things throughout their freshman year so we are spending time teaching it to them. My CT states, of course the students "love so and so because they let draw pictures, read stories, and watch movies, they're not learning. I would love them too if I didn't have to do any work." I can see where trying to make a classroom fun, can be destructive to a student. I see where my CT is coming from, and I see why the other teachers want to make English fun. I think there should be a balance I think there is an effective way to make a classroom fun, and I think that I am finding the balance in my own style right now.
My 8th period class had a lot of fun with the notes, I again did not quite finish the notes which was the goal all along. My CT sat in on the beginning of this class, so he can continue to give me feedback. I find that he makes me nervous when he's in the classroom, and I do much better without him there. I think it maybe because he intimidates me a bit. The school did a mock election, President Obama the election and the school will compare their results tomorrow. This conceded my Election Day school day.
Wednesday
I came to school and one of the teachers I team plan with, said my teacher was not going to be in tonight and I would be taking over the entire day. I had a sub with my who was around my age and said he did his student teaching at Warren as well. He said that he was an English teacher over at the campus; the one that houses the juniors and seniors. I was a bit nervous, but excited to work with the regular students. They are a mess sometimes, but I knew I would take over their classes sooner or later. My first and third period went well, they were both used to me teaching them so it was no problem. My fourth period however, was in shock. They said oh we have a sub today. I said no, you don't you have me. They said no your like a sub and that guy is a sub, (the sub they got for my CT). I informed them that I was not a sub, and I would be taking over their class until December.
They were surprised with this notion. I since they are a problematic class, even with my CT, I waved the passbook and said, if I have any problems, I haven't had any yet, nor do I hope to have any problems, I have no issue with sending you a pass to the dean. They all really got the drift and from that point on in the class I didn't have any serious issues, except for keeping them on task. The fifth period, who are known for not doing work because they are too cool. Anyway, they stayed on task when I stayed on top of them.
In seventh period, the at risk teacher, for students who are at risk of failing, brought one of my students to the resource room, which is open for the English during specific periods. My CT and I work the English resource room during seventh period. This student was brought in from my fourth period class which is just 50% of students who are in the at risk class as well. This student, did not read the book, and had very little quotes to work on his paper. I knew my teacher told him if he didn't do this paper, he would fail. I was really happy to work with him, he seemed like he was trying a bit harder. I told him to come in during 7th again and I would be there if he needed help, and I would also help him during class if he needed it. However, I'm not sure if he will complete the assignment. I hope he does though. He has very few people in his corner that are rooting for him, my CT and the at risk teacher are somewhat fed-up with his work ethic. I am still going to root for him though.
8th period was so goofy, they were giggling the entire period. They were ok though, they got the work done and got a bit ahead of my other classes. By the end of the day, I was so tired. Staying on top of all these students during work days is tough work.
Thursday
My CT was back, he looked please that I told the regulars I would just take over instead of giving the classes back, and then taking over again. So, I have another long day ahead of me. I somewhat flubbed my directions for first period. I wasn't completely sure what my CT wanted does as well, when I realized my mistake I apologized to the class and re explained what I wanted them to do. They were clear on what needed to be done after I gave better directions. When my CT came back into the room, I told him that I re explained and he said that was good considering he didn't even know what I was saying. I really think, I do better in front of the students when he is not there, he really makes me nervous which is weird. I think it is because he is very critical. He is just a critical person and I believe me sub conscious picked up on this.
Today, the most interesting thing that happened was that one of the at risk students came in during this period for help. Her name was Hannah. She has having a lot anxiety about completing her assignment. Ironically, her teacher was one of the team teachers I work with. However, it was a problem because even though we plan together she did not follow the prompt that we all agreed on for the regular students. Despite this, I was able to help her. She really seemed to be a bit more calm. She even was able to come up with a thesis on her own by the end of the period.
Friday
Today was a long day, I taught the entire day, but the students weren't really focused. I cant really expect them to stay too focused when it's Friday, I understand that. However, I am having some issues with the regular students. I just can't seem to relate to them. They don't laugh at my jokes and they seem indifferent I don't need them to be by friends, but I would like to connect with them on some level. Most of them feel they are too cool for school, which is sad because their grades are hurting because of this. I am still working on a way to break through this ideology they have. I also was able to work with the student Junior from Wednesday. Unfortunately, he did not do anymore work than what I told him to do on Wednesday. I worked with him some more and I told him he needed to come back on Monday with the work I asked for. I really hope he comes in with the work, I'm still in his corner.
This week has been really tough for me. I have been really stressed out with my upcoming planing starting on Monday on top of all my projects. My school does not have veterans day off so I am starting to wear a bit thin and I could really use a break. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving break. This week I was focusing on professional conduct, which states "that the competent teacher understands education as a profession, maintains standards of professional conduct, and provide leadership to improve students' learning and well-being." This week, I've been learning about how to improve students learning. I understand that this process will not be done over a short period of time, but needs nurturing and care in order to succeed.
Thanks, Courtney
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Weekly Reflection 11
Hello,
So, I've been reading your posts, and I will admit that my posts could be a bit more exciting. Which is why I "revamped" my background and tried to add more detail to my day to day reflections. So here is my attempt at transitioning into my new type of blogging.
Monday
As you know, I leave early on Monday's in order to get to class. However, on Monday's the school also has a two hour late start. So my day is very limited with the students. Despite this, I still learn a lot from the teachers during their plan time. This week during plan my CT and a few other teachers from the English department talked about their process for recommending students for Academic Placement classes The teachers also talked about making the midterm for next school year. I found that this was not very interesting to listen to considering I can't give any input. However, it was really interesting to see teachers collaborating on the best way to assess the students based on previous years. In class, the students had time to read their books so that they could catch up for Friday which is when they should have the book read. The honors students were give time to peer edit one another's papers. I am really excited to read their papers because it is on Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck my favorite author.
Tuesday
Today, I learned that collaborating and receiving criticism is key in order to become a better teacher. So, for the past two weeks I have been able to teach two honors classes. The first class I teach is 3rd period. Since I have just started teaching them at the end of last week, they are still warming up to me and I to them. Today the students were learning about the use of the colon in writing. I was able to show them a bit of my personality by making some Kenan and Kel jokes as well as a movie joke. I was excited to get some genuine laughs from this group of students.
I'm not sure if I have mentioned this, but my CT and I eat in the teacher's lounge. The teacher's lounge is something I have tried to stay away from. In my last placement it seemed like a negative environment so I ate by myself in the classroom. Here, the lounge is much like eating at lunch in a school cafeteria. The teacher's gossip, they talk about popular culture, and other things that are happening in the school. I would say that the teachers are not negative but there is a general understanding that if they believe a student can do better then the student should do better. I digress, I also had my observation today, the teacher's in the lounge were all talking about how they had to go through that experience and some of their stories. It was interesting to hear that these stories do not really differ. Anyway, 8th period came around and my observation went really well! I am really comfortable with these students and I can tell they are starting to see me as the teacher.
I was able to use humor quiet a bit in my lesson. I gave a few stories, made a few joke throughout the lesson and I can honestly say that they seemed to be interested in colons and how to use them. For once, I was well paced and finished with just enough time for them to apply the lesson to a journal and their paper. I am really excited about working with them tomorrow and working with them on peer editing. I will say I would like to change their seats.The students in their respective groups right now are good. However, there is one group in each class, that does not stay on task. I really like groups because they let the students been in charge of their own learning.
All in all, today was a fun day. I feel like I am finally getting used to teaching at this level.
Wednesday
Today the students are working on peer editing. I found that first period, which is the next honors class I will be taking over on Friday, works pretty well on editing and wanting feedback.
However, period 3 was a bit ridiculous They were chatting a lot, I had to walk around more than usual. The students all keep checking or testing me to see if I will make them get back to work. Every time I see them possibly off task I ask them who they are working with or what they are working on. I can tell some of them do not like that. However, I'm not there to make friends. I found that the regular students are definitely not as intrinsically motivated as the honors students Knowing this before I take over the regulars I need to start thinking of ways to effectively engage the students. (I would consider this a long term goal.)
Now for the segment "In The Teacher's Lounge." Today, in the teacher's lounge my CT and the other teachers were talking about a scandal that happened a few years ago where a teacher had a relationship with a student. It was really sad to hear about. The teachers kept saying they could not understand why a teacher would want to have a relationship with a student, considering that they are not on the same intellectual level. This conversation brought down the mood of lunch in my opinion, but it is something to learn from: you are not there to make friends.
Well, that brought down the mood, some good news is that the girl's Cross Country team is going to state this weekend and so is the boy's Soccer team for the second year in a row! I think that is pretty neat. The school in an effort to get students to get excited and support the teams is having a two hour early release on Friday announced today through an email. Also, because today is Halloween the some of the student body population was dressed up. Of course, the students needed to follow costume rules for school such as, no chains, no make-up that hides the face, no masks, no weapon looking props etc. As a result there were a lot of cats walking around. Fortunately the students that I saw were not dressed completely inappropriately.
Now, back to my teaching reflection. Period 8 was interesting. They all seemed to work really well. However, I had to make sure they keep switch for editing. When the students were done working on one paper, they sort of just sat there and talked. However, they did give really good feedback to one another which is perfect for editing before the final draft. There was one thing that sort of concerned me. There is a student in this class who I can tell does not respect me as a teacher. I get the strong feeling that he believes I don't know what I am doing. To a certain degree this is true. He is a smart student and works much like a robot. I know I cant make someone respect me, but it still bothers me a bit that someone thinks I incapable. I still am respectful to the student, but I am beginning to wonder if this will be an issue.
It was an interesting day.
Thursday
The start of the day was "cray cray!" So I got to school and hour early as usual, that is when team planning happens. I have been struggling with team planing because I hate coming into school the day of and not knowing what we are going to do for the day until the bell rings. It drives me a bit insane. This has been getting better because I ask the three other teachers what the plan is for the week so I have some sort of idea of what to expect. Today though, I believe tensions were running high.
So there are three teachers that plan together everyday and I have been sitting in on the planning since my student teaching started. Well, there is my CT, who has been teaching for 11+ years, another teacher (male), let's call him Tom, who has been teaching for about the same amount, and a newer teacher- I believe she has been teaching for maybe a year or two. Well here's what went down. So, my teacher is very opinionated and outspoken about how to teach English and what works and what doesn't. As you know the students are starting on their papers for the respective texts the Honors and Regulars are reading. The young teacher really wanted to have an assignment sheet for the Regulars on their paper. Which would outline how many quotes you need, how many pages, and come up with your thesis before you start writing your essay.
My CT hates this format. He made it clear as soon as she brought it up that it was not a good idea. Tom told her if she wants to do that she can. So they started to work on that together. (My teacher stepped out of the classroom for a second when Tom told her this.) When my CT came back he was said, "Why are we doing this? It does not work. Students freeze up and don't like writing or want to write when you give them a page full of things they need to do in order to write." He feels like you are setting the students up for failure when you tell them to write a thesis before seeing if the text has the ability to prove that statement. Well, tension got a little thick.
My CT just said do whatever you want. So, she was pretty much done for the day then left to her class she was saying earlier she like to have back ups in case her computer deletes it or if she is not going to be here next year. (I'm not sure what that means but if there is a job opening I'm going to apply for it.) My teacher said "[forget] this" when the other teacher said well what do you want to do. My teacher said nothing. Tom said, "Well I think that you should just say what you want to do because you're clearly not happy." My teacher decided to say well, "We keep telling her what to do and she doesn't want to do it. She's a new teacher and is still learning. I don't care if she is planning on not being here next year or not if your not going to listen or want our help then do your own thing. It makes no sense to do what she is trying to do. They've been doing that since the beginning of education. It clearly does not work." Then Tom and my CT went on to plan something that "works better." They came up with this: find evidence about your topic whether it is: music, violence family, drugs etc., then define what you think about the topic, gather evidence from your own life, compare the two ideas and make a chart out of them. I think I understand why they did this, but I will get to that later. Then my CT had to step out again.
Tom spoke with me for a moment. Tom says that my CT is a idealist. I picked that up for myself right away, but I didn't tell Tom this. Tom says that my CT must understand that he is a lone salmon swimming up the stream and everyone else is moving down. He needs to understand that he probably won't be commended for his ideas until he has retired and everyone else sees that they work. Tom continued to tell me that he agrees with him, but he sometimes gets a bit over the top. He also said that his ideas mostly come from his teaching style which is from a junior and senior stand point, this is only my CT's second year teaching sophomores. Then class was beginning to start.
I feel my CT was a bit over the top today because he was being observed the first period by the principal. He did perfectly fine, but I just think he was nervous. I just can't believe all of this went down in under an hour. It was pretty intense. However, it taught me that team planning is difficult and it is also frustrating when you have your own agenda. Despite this, you can still learn to compromise and work together in order to become a better teacher for your students.
Back to my teaching schedule...
I went a bit fast during 3rd period, but I had the student peer edit for tense and colons towards the end of class. Everything worked out fine. There is a student who will just sit there when I assign directions. I'm getting a bit annoyed because this is an honors class and I should have to tell him two or three times to get started. He will do everything except work, bother the other students, draw etc. I am going to talk to my CT about it soon.
The students in the regular classes worked really well on the pre-writing stage of their papers. My CT informed them that if they did not he would collect their books tomorrow. So, I suppose they didn't call his bluff, like he specifically told them not to.
My 8th period did well with the material. I had the students do some examples in their note books in order to pace myself a bit better.
Friday
We had an early release schedule today, I took over 1st period in addition to 3rd, and 8th period. I found that the students were expecting to not do work. However, I had them do some reverse editing where they would have someone who has not read their essay make an outline of their draft. I think the most frustrating thing a bout today is that the students were expect to watch a movie or something because other teachers were doing that. My CT and I were sort of annoyed to hear that. Throughout the day the students were complaining of having to do work, I was somewhat glad it was a short day.
******
You asked me last week you asked me how my faith is impacting my students. I would say my grace on assignments would be the best way for me to share my faith at this moment. This week a student forgot to turn in a major reading assignment to me last week. I asked her why she had a zero because I knew she completed the assignment. She was unaware that she had not even turned the assignment in. I suppose this is because she doesn't check her grades online. I allowed her to turn it in the next day even though it was well over due. I am also searching for new ways to show my faith in the classroom.
My journals will not be this long every week. However, this is the guidelines I would like to follow for the remainder of my student teaching. I believe that this week I focused on Illinois teaching standard 10, Reflection and Professional Growth. I believe that this week I have had to work on being a " reflective practitioner who continually evaluates how choices and actions affect students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community and actively seeks opportunities to grow professionally." I am trying to work on my presentation to others and this standard is the main one that I am working on.
Thanks,
Courtney
So, I've been reading your posts, and I will admit that my posts could be a bit more exciting. Which is why I "revamped" my background and tried to add more detail to my day to day reflections. So here is my attempt at transitioning into my new type of blogging.
Monday
As you know, I leave early on Monday's in order to get to class. However, on Monday's the school also has a two hour late start. So my day is very limited with the students. Despite this, I still learn a lot from the teachers during their plan time. This week during plan my CT and a few other teachers from the English department talked about their process for recommending students for Academic Placement classes The teachers also talked about making the midterm for next school year. I found that this was not very interesting to listen to considering I can't give any input. However, it was really interesting to see teachers collaborating on the best way to assess the students based on previous years. In class, the students had time to read their books so that they could catch up for Friday which is when they should have the book read. The honors students were give time to peer edit one another's papers. I am really excited to read their papers because it is on Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck my favorite author.
Tuesday
Today, I learned that collaborating and receiving criticism is key in order to become a better teacher. So, for the past two weeks I have been able to teach two honors classes. The first class I teach is 3rd period. Since I have just started teaching them at the end of last week, they are still warming up to me and I to them. Today the students were learning about the use of the colon in writing. I was able to show them a bit of my personality by making some Kenan and Kel jokes as well as a movie joke. I was excited to get some genuine laughs from this group of students.
I'm not sure if I have mentioned this, but my CT and I eat in the teacher's lounge. The teacher's lounge is something I have tried to stay away from. In my last placement it seemed like a negative environment so I ate by myself in the classroom. Here, the lounge is much like eating at lunch in a school cafeteria. The teacher's gossip, they talk about popular culture, and other things that are happening in the school. I would say that the teachers are not negative but there is a general understanding that if they believe a student can do better then the student should do better. I digress, I also had my observation today, the teacher's in the lounge were all talking about how they had to go through that experience and some of their stories. It was interesting to hear that these stories do not really differ. Anyway, 8th period came around and my observation went really well! I am really comfortable with these students and I can tell they are starting to see me as the teacher.
I was able to use humor quiet a bit in my lesson. I gave a few stories, made a few joke throughout the lesson and I can honestly say that they seemed to be interested in colons and how to use them. For once, I was well paced and finished with just enough time for them to apply the lesson to a journal and their paper. I am really excited about working with them tomorrow and working with them on peer editing. I will say I would like to change their seats.The students in their respective groups right now are good. However, there is one group in each class, that does not stay on task. I really like groups because they let the students been in charge of their own learning.
All in all, today was a fun day. I feel like I am finally getting used to teaching at this level.
Wednesday
Today the students are working on peer editing. I found that first period, which is the next honors class I will be taking over on Friday, works pretty well on editing and wanting feedback.
However, period 3 was a bit ridiculous They were chatting a lot, I had to walk around more than usual. The students all keep checking or testing me to see if I will make them get back to work. Every time I see them possibly off task I ask them who they are working with or what they are working on. I can tell some of them do not like that. However, I'm not there to make friends. I found that the regular students are definitely not as intrinsically motivated as the honors students Knowing this before I take over the regulars I need to start thinking of ways to effectively engage the students. (I would consider this a long term goal.)
Now for the segment "In The Teacher's Lounge." Today, in the teacher's lounge my CT and the other teachers were talking about a scandal that happened a few years ago where a teacher had a relationship with a student. It was really sad to hear about. The teachers kept saying they could not understand why a teacher would want to have a relationship with a student, considering that they are not on the same intellectual level. This conversation brought down the mood of lunch in my opinion, but it is something to learn from: you are not there to make friends.
Well, that brought down the mood, some good news is that the girl's Cross Country team is going to state this weekend and so is the boy's Soccer team for the second year in a row! I think that is pretty neat. The school in an effort to get students to get excited and support the teams is having a two hour early release on Friday announced today through an email. Also, because today is Halloween the some of the student body population was dressed up. Of course, the students needed to follow costume rules for school such as, no chains, no make-up that hides the face, no masks, no weapon looking props etc. As a result there were a lot of cats walking around. Fortunately the students that I saw were not dressed completely inappropriately.
Now, back to my teaching reflection. Period 8 was interesting. They all seemed to work really well. However, I had to make sure they keep switch for editing. When the students were done working on one paper, they sort of just sat there and talked. However, they did give really good feedback to one another which is perfect for editing before the final draft. There was one thing that sort of concerned me. There is a student in this class who I can tell does not respect me as a teacher. I get the strong feeling that he believes I don't know what I am doing. To a certain degree this is true. He is a smart student and works much like a robot. I know I cant make someone respect me, but it still bothers me a bit that someone thinks I incapable. I still am respectful to the student, but I am beginning to wonder if this will be an issue.
It was an interesting day.
Thursday
The start of the day was "cray cray!" So I got to school and hour early as usual, that is when team planning happens. I have been struggling with team planing because I hate coming into school the day of and not knowing what we are going to do for the day until the bell rings. It drives me a bit insane. This has been getting better because I ask the three other teachers what the plan is for the week so I have some sort of idea of what to expect. Today though, I believe tensions were running high.
So there are three teachers that plan together everyday and I have been sitting in on the planning since my student teaching started. Well, there is my CT, who has been teaching for 11+ years, another teacher (male), let's call him Tom, who has been teaching for about the same amount, and a newer teacher- I believe she has been teaching for maybe a year or two. Well here's what went down. So, my teacher is very opinionated and outspoken about how to teach English and what works and what doesn't. As you know the students are starting on their papers for the respective texts the Honors and Regulars are reading. The young teacher really wanted to have an assignment sheet for the Regulars on their paper. Which would outline how many quotes you need, how many pages, and come up with your thesis before you start writing your essay.
My CT hates this format. He made it clear as soon as she brought it up that it was not a good idea. Tom told her if she wants to do that she can. So they started to work on that together. (My teacher stepped out of the classroom for a second when Tom told her this.) When my CT came back he was said, "Why are we doing this? It does not work. Students freeze up and don't like writing or want to write when you give them a page full of things they need to do in order to write." He feels like you are setting the students up for failure when you tell them to write a thesis before seeing if the text has the ability to prove that statement. Well, tension got a little thick.
My CT just said do whatever you want. So, she was pretty much done for the day then left to her class she was saying earlier she like to have back ups in case her computer deletes it or if she is not going to be here next year. (I'm not sure what that means but if there is a job opening I'm going to apply for it.) My teacher said "[forget] this" when the other teacher said well what do you want to do. My teacher said nothing. Tom said, "Well I think that you should just say what you want to do because you're clearly not happy." My teacher decided to say well, "We keep telling her what to do and she doesn't want to do it. She's a new teacher and is still learning. I don't care if she is planning on not being here next year or not if your not going to listen or want our help then do your own thing. It makes no sense to do what she is trying to do. They've been doing that since the beginning of education. It clearly does not work." Then Tom and my CT went on to plan something that "works better." They came up with this: find evidence about your topic whether it is: music, violence family, drugs etc., then define what you think about the topic, gather evidence from your own life, compare the two ideas and make a chart out of them. I think I understand why they did this, but I will get to that later. Then my CT had to step out again.
Tom spoke with me for a moment. Tom says that my CT is a idealist. I picked that up for myself right away, but I didn't tell Tom this. Tom says that my CT must understand that he is a lone salmon swimming up the stream and everyone else is moving down. He needs to understand that he probably won't be commended for his ideas until he has retired and everyone else sees that they work. Tom continued to tell me that he agrees with him, but he sometimes gets a bit over the top. He also said that his ideas mostly come from his teaching style which is from a junior and senior stand point, this is only my CT's second year teaching sophomores. Then class was beginning to start.
I feel my CT was a bit over the top today because he was being observed the first period by the principal. He did perfectly fine, but I just think he was nervous. I just can't believe all of this went down in under an hour. It was pretty intense. However, it taught me that team planning is difficult and it is also frustrating when you have your own agenda. Despite this, you can still learn to compromise and work together in order to become a better teacher for your students.
Back to my teaching schedule...
I went a bit fast during 3rd period, but I had the student peer edit for tense and colons towards the end of class. Everything worked out fine. There is a student who will just sit there when I assign directions. I'm getting a bit annoyed because this is an honors class and I should have to tell him two or three times to get started. He will do everything except work, bother the other students, draw etc. I am going to talk to my CT about it soon.
The students in the regular classes worked really well on the pre-writing stage of their papers. My CT informed them that if they did not he would collect their books tomorrow. So, I suppose they didn't call his bluff, like he specifically told them not to.
My 8th period did well with the material. I had the students do some examples in their note books in order to pace myself a bit better.
Friday
We had an early release schedule today, I took over 1st period in addition to 3rd, and 8th period. I found that the students were expecting to not do work. However, I had them do some reverse editing where they would have someone who has not read their essay make an outline of their draft. I think the most frustrating thing a bout today is that the students were expect to watch a movie or something because other teachers were doing that. My CT and I were sort of annoyed to hear that. Throughout the day the students were complaining of having to do work, I was somewhat glad it was a short day.
******
You asked me last week you asked me how my faith is impacting my students. I would say my grace on assignments would be the best way for me to share my faith at this moment. This week a student forgot to turn in a major reading assignment to me last week. I asked her why she had a zero because I knew she completed the assignment. She was unaware that she had not even turned the assignment in. I suppose this is because she doesn't check her grades online. I allowed her to turn it in the next day even though it was well over due. I am also searching for new ways to show my faith in the classroom.
My journals will not be this long every week. However, this is the guidelines I would like to follow for the remainder of my student teaching. I believe that this week I focused on Illinois teaching standard 10, Reflection and Professional Growth. I believe that this week I have had to work on being a " reflective practitioner who continually evaluates how choices and actions affect students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community and actively seeks opportunities to grow professionally." I am trying to work on my presentation to others and this standard is the main one that I am working on.
Thanks,
Courtney
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Weekly Reflection 10
Hi,
This week was very dull.
Monday
Today I have very short day due to having to leave early for class. It was even shorter because the students come later on Mondays for teacher planning. The teachers went over a test from last year that measured the classroom understanding of different topics they had gone over for the semester. After our two hours of review was up school started and the students just read because it was such a short class.
Tuesday
Today the students were working on quote integration for their upcoming papers. They worked really well and found a lot of quotes to support their paper. I found that they have a really good understanding of their topics and did really well annotating for their topics. Tomorrow I take over my next class I'm pretty excited because I'm building my confidence up.
Wednesday
The students started on the rough draft of their paper's so it was a quiet day. I found that they all seemed to get a good chunk started on the paper. I am excited to read their work. Not much else happened today.
Thursday
Today, I was able to interact with a student who is known to have behavioral issues. It was really encouraging for me to talk to her and have her understand that I truly do not have any preconceived notions about her. I am looking forward to picking up her class later in the semester.
Friday
It was an interesting day, as the students took a quiz in the regular level. And the classes that I took over had notes and worked on their drafts for a bit. However, I felt comfortable with the students when my CT left the classroom. I was able to talk to him about working on my style and he gave me some great tips for building my confidence in the classroom. I also was informed by him that I am more than welcome to bounce ideas off of him and the teaching team. I am glad to hear this because I want to do better in the classroom. I have also found that the team teaching is getting tiring, I am hoping to come with a new perspective next week.
This week I focused on Illinois Teaching Standard #2, which states that "The competent teacher understands how individuals grow, develop, and learn and provides learning
opportunities that support the intellectual, social, and personal development of all students." This was important for me because I need to grow and develop along with my students if I am to become the best teacher I can be. This is one of my goals for this week.
Courtney
This week was very dull.
Monday
Today I have very short day due to having to leave early for class. It was even shorter because the students come later on Mondays for teacher planning. The teachers went over a test from last year that measured the classroom understanding of different topics they had gone over for the semester. After our two hours of review was up school started and the students just read because it was such a short class.
Tuesday
Today the students were working on quote integration for their upcoming papers. They worked really well and found a lot of quotes to support their paper. I found that they have a really good understanding of their topics and did really well annotating for their topics. Tomorrow I take over my next class I'm pretty excited because I'm building my confidence up.
Wednesday
The students started on the rough draft of their paper's so it was a quiet day. I found that they all seemed to get a good chunk started on the paper. I am excited to read their work. Not much else happened today.
Thursday
Today, I was able to interact with a student who is known to have behavioral issues. It was really encouraging for me to talk to her and have her understand that I truly do not have any preconceived notions about her. I am looking forward to picking up her class later in the semester.
Friday
It was an interesting day, as the students took a quiz in the regular level. And the classes that I took over had notes and worked on their drafts for a bit. However, I felt comfortable with the students when my CT left the classroom. I was able to talk to him about working on my style and he gave me some great tips for building my confidence in the classroom. I also was informed by him that I am more than welcome to bounce ideas off of him and the teaching team. I am glad to hear this because I want to do better in the classroom. I have also found that the team teaching is getting tiring, I am hoping to come with a new perspective next week.
This week I focused on Illinois Teaching Standard #2, which states that "The competent teacher understands how individuals grow, develop, and learn and provides learning
opportunities that support the intellectual, social, and personal development of all students." This was important for me because I need to grow and develop along with my students if I am to become the best teacher I can be. This is one of my goals for this week.
Courtney
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Classroom Confidential 6
Hello,
Chapter 6
Discuss some ways that you could use the strategies from chapter 6 in your own teaching, even if you don't teach writing.
Something that I found interesting from this chapter was the first sentence. "Some kids love to write." (113) This is true. When I was at my first placement my CT asked the students who liked to write. Very few students raised their hands. However, there were a select few that truly did love writing. One of my seventh grade students was even starting to write a novel called "Fat."
The one concept that I already see working in my current classroom is the use of journals. The journals get the students warmed up to the classroom and transition from the noisy hallway to the classroom.
I also really liked the idea of everyone being the editor. This is a step in the writing process that I also struggle with. The idea that everyone in the class is an editor and not just the teacher the students can learn to become better editors and by default better writers.
Finally, I really liked his ideas on growing a writer. This is something that I like to try with my own students. Writers are not born, they blossom It took me a long time to realize that in school. My CT does a good job of explaining that to the students. He told them this week that they need to be matadors and not bulls when writing. They need to control the writing not charge at it. He also informed them that this comes with time. I like the idea of this and want to incorporate it in my own classroom. This was a great chapter for the classic English teacher.
Courtney
Chapter 6
Discuss some ways that you could use the strategies from chapter 6 in your own teaching, even if you don't teach writing.
Something that I found interesting from this chapter was the first sentence. "Some kids love to write." (113) This is true. When I was at my first placement my CT asked the students who liked to write. Very few students raised their hands. However, there were a select few that truly did love writing. One of my seventh grade students was even starting to write a novel called "Fat."
The one concept that I already see working in my current classroom is the use of journals. The journals get the students warmed up to the classroom and transition from the noisy hallway to the classroom.
I also really liked the idea of everyone being the editor. This is a step in the writing process that I also struggle with. The idea that everyone in the class is an editor and not just the teacher the students can learn to become better editors and by default better writers.
Finally, I really liked his ideas on growing a writer. This is something that I like to try with my own students. Writers are not born, they blossom It took me a long time to realize that in school. My CT does a good job of explaining that to the students. He told them this week that they need to be matadors and not bulls when writing. They need to control the writing not charge at it. He also informed them that this comes with time. I like the idea of this and want to incorporate it in my own classroom. This was a great chapter for the classic English teacher.
Courtney
Weekly Reflection 9
Hello,
This was a strange week. You will see why below:
Monday-
Today was a teacher institute day. The students were not in attendance. What I learned the most today was about a program called Socrative. It is a great online tool that is free for any teacher. All the teacher has to do is create an account and they are give a "room number." The teacher then gives this room number to their students. The students then use their cell phones, electronic devices etc. To answer informal tests as a class. It is a great tool for informal assessment and to check for understanding. I would like to use this during my time at the school. If you are interested in checking out the website is here: http://socrative.com/
Tuesday-
Today was my first day teaching. I was nervous the entire day. However, when it came time for me to teach 8th period, I went way to fast. I finished the notes with the students 15 mins early. This was a mess, I had them work on their reading, but it was hard to keep them on task because I was not clear what they should do next. I realized that my Cooperating Teacher (CT) talks a lot during his lessons. He has tons of stories to talk about while the students are writing. I feel like I have no filler space for notes.
Wednesday-
I taught again today. It was much better. My pacing was better so some of the students didn't just stop writing because I was going to fast. I had a writing assignment based on the notes. However, some of the students finished a bit sooner. I got excuses such as: I'm not in the zone. I was a bit easy on them as I am still warming up to them. However, my CT told me to not let them get away with that. They are honors students and can do more work if I give it to them. This is something I will definitely keep in mind.
Thursday-
Today was good. I had a discussion with the students based on the notes and activity from the previous day.However, I finished with 2 minutes to spare. I informed the students to read their books and work on the writing assignment. However, some of the students just shut down. I realized that I really don't like large group discussion because it is almost impossible to get everyone involved in the discussion at once. I definitely like the small group work better.
Friday-
Today...today was crazy. So, when I got to the school the front doors were locked and their were three students waiting outside looking confused. So, I hit the buzzer. I was informed that the school was in a code red and no one was allowed in or outside the building. I asked if teachers could come in and they said no. So, I was going to walk back to my car and call my CT to see if he was in the building yet. This was around 7:15 am, mind you school does not start until 8:25 am. However, I saw some other teachers going in another entrance and I told them that there was a code red going on. They told me I could not be in the building. However, I told them I was student teaching and they laughed and we all walked to the office.
We all found that there was not someone in the building who was not supposed to be there as that what a "Code Red" means in the educational world. But, a code red meant that the police were handling a situation across the street from the front of the school. Someone fired shots at around 6:55 am and was barricaded inside of a house across the street from the school. When I found this out, I left the office and headed towards the English office.
On my way there, I was going to go through the front stairwell to the office. However, one of the security officers of the school advised that I not go that way. I said ok, but there were still students standing outside the front door (mind you right in the line of a potential cross fire). He informed me that no one was allowed in or out of the building. I said to him, ok, but what are you going to do about the kids outside the front door? The students are still on their way to school. At that moment the school police officer came through and the security guard informed him of the same thing. I guess he handled it and I went up stairs. My CT was wondering what as going on. I told him, he went down stairs and I went to the classroom.
The office announced that they would conduct a two hour late start. They also, started putting students in the cafeteria this was announced at 7:25. At, 8:25 am it was announced that school was canceled for the day. My CT and someone he team teaches with put me in the computer lab so that I could do some work. However, I had nothing to work on because, we do our planning daily. However, I started on a PowerPoint for a possible upcoming lesson. At 10:35 the stake out was over and it was announced that the students would be provided rides, and they could walk home if they walked, and go drive home if they drove. They also told the staff they could leave as well.
I got home at around 11 am that day.
-----
And that, was my crazy week. A crazy Friday to end my first crazy week of teaching. This has proven to be a bit harder than I expected. I am getting a bit tired, but it is only the final stretch of my education. I have found that this week was focused on standard 6 Instructional Delivery: "The competent teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students’ development of critical thinking, problem-solving, and performance skills." I am interested to see what comes up in this next week.
Courtney
This was a strange week. You will see why below:
Monday-
Today was a teacher institute day. The students were not in attendance. What I learned the most today was about a program called Socrative. It is a great online tool that is free for any teacher. All the teacher has to do is create an account and they are give a "room number." The teacher then gives this room number to their students. The students then use their cell phones, electronic devices etc. To answer informal tests as a class. It is a great tool for informal assessment and to check for understanding. I would like to use this during my time at the school. If you are interested in checking out the website is here: http://socrative.com/
Tuesday-
Today was my first day teaching. I was nervous the entire day. However, when it came time for me to teach 8th period, I went way to fast. I finished the notes with the students 15 mins early. This was a mess, I had them work on their reading, but it was hard to keep them on task because I was not clear what they should do next. I realized that my Cooperating Teacher (CT) talks a lot during his lessons. He has tons of stories to talk about while the students are writing. I feel like I have no filler space for notes.
Wednesday-
I taught again today. It was much better. My pacing was better so some of the students didn't just stop writing because I was going to fast. I had a writing assignment based on the notes. However, some of the students finished a bit sooner. I got excuses such as: I'm not in the zone. I was a bit easy on them as I am still warming up to them. However, my CT told me to not let them get away with that. They are honors students and can do more work if I give it to them. This is something I will definitely keep in mind.
Thursday-
Today was good. I had a discussion with the students based on the notes and activity from the previous day.However, I finished with 2 minutes to spare. I informed the students to read their books and work on the writing assignment. However, some of the students just shut down. I realized that I really don't like large group discussion because it is almost impossible to get everyone involved in the discussion at once. I definitely like the small group work better.
Friday-
Today...today was crazy. So, when I got to the school the front doors were locked and their were three students waiting outside looking confused. So, I hit the buzzer. I was informed that the school was in a code red and no one was allowed in or outside the building. I asked if teachers could come in and they said no. So, I was going to walk back to my car and call my CT to see if he was in the building yet. This was around 7:15 am, mind you school does not start until 8:25 am. However, I saw some other teachers going in another entrance and I told them that there was a code red going on. They told me I could not be in the building. However, I told them I was student teaching and they laughed and we all walked to the office.
We all found that there was not someone in the building who was not supposed to be there as that what a "Code Red" means in the educational world. But, a code red meant that the police were handling a situation across the street from the front of the school. Someone fired shots at around 6:55 am and was barricaded inside of a house across the street from the school. When I found this out, I left the office and headed towards the English office.
On my way there, I was going to go through the front stairwell to the office. However, one of the security officers of the school advised that I not go that way. I said ok, but there were still students standing outside the front door (mind you right in the line of a potential cross fire). He informed me that no one was allowed in or out of the building. I said to him, ok, but what are you going to do about the kids outside the front door? The students are still on their way to school. At that moment the school police officer came through and the security guard informed him of the same thing. I guess he handled it and I went up stairs. My CT was wondering what as going on. I told him, he went down stairs and I went to the classroom.
The office announced that they would conduct a two hour late start. They also, started putting students in the cafeteria this was announced at 7:25. At, 8:25 am it was announced that school was canceled for the day. My CT and someone he team teaches with put me in the computer lab so that I could do some work. However, I had nothing to work on because, we do our planning daily. However, I started on a PowerPoint for a possible upcoming lesson. At 10:35 the stake out was over and it was announced that the students would be provided rides, and they could walk home if they walked, and go drive home if they drove. They also told the staff they could leave as well.
I got home at around 11 am that day.
-----
And that, was my crazy week. A crazy Friday to end my first crazy week of teaching. This has proven to be a bit harder than I expected. I am getting a bit tired, but it is only the final stretch of my education. I have found that this week was focused on standard 6 Instructional Delivery: "The competent teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students’ development of critical thinking, problem-solving, and performance skills." I am interested to see what comes up in this next week.
Courtney
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Classroom Confidential 8 and 9
Hello,
1.Even if you don’t teach Social Studies or the Arts, what are some ideas you could glean from Schmidt chapters 8 and 9 for your own teaching?
I think the first line in the chapter is vital: "History is supposed to be a story well told"(164). I believe the same to be true for English. English class is supposed to be a collection of studying how the English language works as well as how to look, study, and interpret stories in a different manner. Another point from these two chapters, that I can apply to my own content area, is that the big idea about history (or English in this case) is that it's a story about people. Although at times, the story can be fictional people,it is still a story about people that we can relate to on even the most superficial levels. I believe that is powerful. Something that we can apply from history to English is that, "Primary source document are firsthand accounts that were created by people who took part in or witnessed the event" (171). I have learned in my time in Oxford that the primary source in English is the best source to have for your paper. When you combine your own thoughts with just the primary text you would be amazed with what ideas, thoughts, and questions can come up with.
In chapter 9, I love the idea of teaching through drama. That is an English teacher's dream. "Dramatizing ideas creates an excellent foundation for writing assignments because drama creates images that can be translated into prose or dialogue"(194). This is very true, it also can help kinesthetic learners. I am more than happy to reach learners of all different types and drama helps me as a teacher do that.
2. What types of authentic assessment have you seen? How could you use it?
I, unfortunately, have not been able to see as much authentic assessment in the classroom this year. However, something my new CT said guides along the lines of authentic assessment. "I often put the students in groups and instead of rows, so they are the center of their own learning." I believe this is key factor of authentic assessment. When the students are the center of their learning, they are able to assess their status.
Weekly Reflection 8
Hello,
This has definitely been a new week, new place, new faces, new everything. It has been hard transitioning into high school from a middle school setting. I have found that the students are definitely not as entertaining as middle school age students. Although, I have found that I can make them laugh just as easily though. I can tell that the students are not sure what to make of me just yet. However, I am confident that I will be able to transition smoothly this upcoming week. Here is a overview of what happened this week.
Monday-
No school due to Columbus Day.
Tuesday-
I came in at 7:15 am, a bit earlier than what I was used to, but not a problem. I found that my CT (Cooperating Teacher) and two other English teachers plan the day out together and teach according to their plans that morning. School does not start until 8:25 am because the other campus, that the Juniors and Seniors attend, starts earlier so that the students at that campus also have access to the school's buses. I have found that the students are pretty nice. My CT has mostly honors classes. He only has a few problem kids, mostly due to a messy home life. I also found that it was Homecoming week so there would be a lot of festivities.
Wednesday-
I just observed and was able to finish reading the honors text, Of Mice and Men, by my favorite author, John Steinbeck. I am excited about teaching this novel. The teacher had the students work on Cause- Effect sentences. They seemed like a lot of fun, because he gave them blanks he made sure that the students were to make sure every single sentence made sense. For example, monkeys could not just come out of the sentences for no apparent reason. The sentences had to made sense in a cause and effect manner.
Thursday-
I was able to talk to a few students today, some asked my name, some asked where I went to school. I was a bit surprised they were interested in me as a person. I guess, or a quickly found out, that I have a perception of high school students that is not necessarily true. It is not a negative perception, but I had an assumption that the students would be nonchalant towards most of the material and even me and I was prepared for that. I believe that this will be the case for some students, but not all.
Friday-
The students had a pep rally today. So, the classes were shortened. All of my CT's classes had a quiz, because he felt that he would not be able to get through any material fast enough. The pep rally was interesting. It made me realize two things: one: I am so glad that I am not in high school anymore; two: pep rally's are really a show to display who is popular in the high school. To say the least, it is definitely interesting being in high school with the perspective of a teacher.
I can't help but remember that I was in the same position as these students 4 years ago. I am eager to make learning fun for the students, which is one of my goals. Another one of my goals is to teach material in such a way that the students can retain the information for formal and informal assessments. When I was at the middle school, the average score for my formal assessment was between 80-75% which is not bad but I feel I can do much better. I want to challenge myself in this next setting so I can become a better teacher. Finally, my CT is allowing me to take over one class starting Tuesday. The students do not have class on Monday due to a Teacher Institute Day. This week, I learned about Illinois professional teaching standard #4: Planning for Instruction. My CT and other teachers arrive to school over an hour before it starts in order to make sure everything is in order. It is clear that they, "understand instructional planning and designs instruction based upon knowledge of the discipline, students, the community, and curriculum goals." I hope to learn more about this, this week.
Thanks,
Courtney
This has definitely been a new week, new place, new faces, new everything. It has been hard transitioning into high school from a middle school setting. I have found that the students are definitely not as entertaining as middle school age students. Although, I have found that I can make them laugh just as easily though. I can tell that the students are not sure what to make of me just yet. However, I am confident that I will be able to transition smoothly this upcoming week. Here is a overview of what happened this week.
Monday-
No school due to Columbus Day.
Tuesday-
I came in at 7:15 am, a bit earlier than what I was used to, but not a problem. I found that my CT (Cooperating Teacher) and two other English teachers plan the day out together and teach according to their plans that morning. School does not start until 8:25 am because the other campus, that the Juniors and Seniors attend, starts earlier so that the students at that campus also have access to the school's buses. I have found that the students are pretty nice. My CT has mostly honors classes. He only has a few problem kids, mostly due to a messy home life. I also found that it was Homecoming week so there would be a lot of festivities.
Wednesday-
I just observed and was able to finish reading the honors text, Of Mice and Men, by my favorite author, John Steinbeck. I am excited about teaching this novel. The teacher had the students work on Cause- Effect sentences. They seemed like a lot of fun, because he gave them blanks he made sure that the students were to make sure every single sentence made sense. For example, monkeys could not just come out of the sentences for no apparent reason. The sentences had to made sense in a cause and effect manner.
Thursday-
I was able to talk to a few students today, some asked my name, some asked where I went to school. I was a bit surprised they were interested in me as a person. I guess, or a quickly found out, that I have a perception of high school students that is not necessarily true. It is not a negative perception, but I had an assumption that the students would be nonchalant towards most of the material and even me and I was prepared for that. I believe that this will be the case for some students, but not all.
Friday-
The students had a pep rally today. So, the classes were shortened. All of my CT's classes had a quiz, because he felt that he would not be able to get through any material fast enough. The pep rally was interesting. It made me realize two things: one: I am so glad that I am not in high school anymore; two: pep rally's are really a show to display who is popular in the high school. To say the least, it is definitely interesting being in high school with the perspective of a teacher.
I can't help but remember that I was in the same position as these students 4 years ago. I am eager to make learning fun for the students, which is one of my goals. Another one of my goals is to teach material in such a way that the students can retain the information for formal and informal assessments. When I was at the middle school, the average score for my formal assessment was between 80-75% which is not bad but I feel I can do much better. I want to challenge myself in this next setting so I can become a better teacher. Finally, my CT is allowing me to take over one class starting Tuesday. The students do not have class on Monday due to a Teacher Institute Day. This week, I learned about Illinois professional teaching standard #4: Planning for Instruction. My CT and other teachers arrive to school over an hour before it starts in order to make sure everything is in order. It is clear that they, "understand instructional planning and designs instruction based upon knowledge of the discipline, students, the community, and curriculum goals." I hope to learn more about this, this week.
Thanks,
Courtney
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Weekly Reflection 7
Hello,
I can't believe that this was my last week in middle school. I can honestly say that I have learned a lot. I have found that middle school requires a lot of repetition of work, directions, and discipline. I believe that my next placement will tell me if middle school education is for me.
Monday-
My CT had to go to a common core meeting so she asked me to teach half the day. The students were to work in the computer lab and work on a founding fathers essay that the entire 7th grade was doing for the principal. I found that they appeared to work really well in the computer lab.
Tuesday-
My CT and I quickly found out that the students do not know how to look up information on the internet. They did not find the proper information and were acting unruly in the computer lab throughout the entire day. So my CT had them do book work as a punishment.
Wednesday-
The students worked in the computer lab and did some work on their papers. The CT revised what the paper should be about so that they could find the information that was easier to locate on a website and would transition into a outline more effectively. I also observed the math teacher today. I learned a bit about classroom management. He informed me that his control of the class comes with years of teaching and because I am still learning it is something that I will apply later on in life. On a funny note: a student proposed to me to day. :) He asked me if I was married, when I replied no he got down on one knee. I told him to get up right away. He said it was the only way to get me to stay, but I told him that it was inappropriate. It was funny to me.
Thursday-
Today, I helped some of the lower kids with their outlines for their papers. I also was able to observe the social studies teacher and learn from her style. Today, I handed out the buttons I made for all of students to the last core of the day as I will not see them on Friday. I found that they were genuinely surprised that I got something for them as a goodbye.
Friday-
Today, my CT surprised me with a pizza lunch, a huge poster from all the kids with notes saying good bye, and a surprise party at the end of the day from the students. I even got a gift from one of my students. I was so shocked at how much the students actually cared that I was leaving. Later that night I I thought about how much I was going to really miss those students. I promised that I would visit soon.
I learned a lot about #10 Reflection and Professional Growth: "The competent teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates how choices and actions affect students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community and actively seeks opportunities to grow professionally." I have truly learned a lot about teaching these past seven weeks and I am interested to see what I will learn from a high school setting. I am honestly worried about this next placement, but I know that I will learn even more.
Courtney
I can't believe that this was my last week in middle school. I can honestly say that I have learned a lot. I have found that middle school requires a lot of repetition of work, directions, and discipline. I believe that my next placement will tell me if middle school education is for me.
Monday-
My CT had to go to a common core meeting so she asked me to teach half the day. The students were to work in the computer lab and work on a founding fathers essay that the entire 7th grade was doing for the principal. I found that they appeared to work really well in the computer lab.
Tuesday-
My CT and I quickly found out that the students do not know how to look up information on the internet. They did not find the proper information and were acting unruly in the computer lab throughout the entire day. So my CT had them do book work as a punishment.
Wednesday-
The students worked in the computer lab and did some work on their papers. The CT revised what the paper should be about so that they could find the information that was easier to locate on a website and would transition into a outline more effectively. I also observed the math teacher today. I learned a bit about classroom management. He informed me that his control of the class comes with years of teaching and because I am still learning it is something that I will apply later on in life. On a funny note: a student proposed to me to day. :) He asked me if I was married, when I replied no he got down on one knee. I told him to get up right away. He said it was the only way to get me to stay, but I told him that it was inappropriate. It was funny to me.
Thursday-
Today, I helped some of the lower kids with their outlines for their papers. I also was able to observe the social studies teacher and learn from her style. Today, I handed out the buttons I made for all of students to the last core of the day as I will not see them on Friday. I found that they were genuinely surprised that I got something for them as a goodbye.
Friday-
Today, my CT surprised me with a pizza lunch, a huge poster from all the kids with notes saying good bye, and a surprise party at the end of the day from the students. I even got a gift from one of my students. I was so shocked at how much the students actually cared that I was leaving. Later that night I I thought about how much I was going to really miss those students. I promised that I would visit soon.
I learned a lot about #10 Reflection and Professional Growth: "The competent teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates how choices and actions affect students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community and actively seeks opportunities to grow professionally." I have truly learned a lot about teaching these past seven weeks and I am interested to see what I will learn from a high school setting. I am honestly worried about this next placement, but I know that I will learn even more.
Courtney
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Classroom Confidential 11
Hello,
1. How did Schmidt's chapter 11 inform your thinking about communication?
Schmidt outlined 10 effective tools for communication. Which are:
1. Proactive
2. Positive
3. Frequent
4. Clear
5. Basic
6. Attention grabbing
7. Appealing
8. Inclusive
9. Timely
10. Error-free
Each of these tools are outlined in the chapter and how to use them effectively. Being "proactive" is good because it explains that as teachers they need to be proactive with their students and their families. I also believe that "basic" is another important factor in communication. Keeping things basic is vital for the parents. Appealing is another factor that I found useful, such as keeping fonts legible including student artwork in your classroom and maybe in your website. Timely is another conversation starter that teachers need to be aware of. These are just some of the many communication starters that I found interesting and useful for the classroom.
2. From reading chapter 11, how will you be better prepared for parent teacher conferences?
I found that the Parent/Teacher conferences survival guide was very helpful. The tips given in the chapter were very relevant. The tips such as: being prepared, looking professional, making signs, picking my battles, and ending on an ascending note were all helpful tips for when I need to go through these conferences in the next few weeks.
Courtney
1. How did Schmidt's chapter 11 inform your thinking about communication?
Schmidt outlined 10 effective tools for communication. Which are:
1. Proactive
2. Positive
3. Frequent
4. Clear
5. Basic
6. Attention grabbing
7. Appealing
8. Inclusive
9. Timely
10. Error-free
Each of these tools are outlined in the chapter and how to use them effectively. Being "proactive" is good because it explains that as teachers they need to be proactive with their students and their families. I also believe that "basic" is another important factor in communication. Keeping things basic is vital for the parents. Appealing is another factor that I found useful, such as keeping fonts legible including student artwork in your classroom and maybe in your website. Timely is another conversation starter that teachers need to be aware of. These are just some of the many communication starters that I found interesting and useful for the classroom.
2. From reading chapter 11, how will you be better prepared for parent teacher conferences?
I found that the Parent/Teacher conferences survival guide was very helpful. The tips given in the chapter were very relevant. The tips such as: being prepared, looking professional, making signs, picking my battles, and ending on an ascending note were all helpful tips for when I need to go through these conferences in the next few weeks.
Courtney
Weekly Reflection 6
Hello,
This was my last week full time teaching. However, it was not a good week for me. I came to question if teaching is really for me. This is something that I am praying about and hope to find the answer during my second placement.
Monday:
The students were continually making noises and not paying attention to the final day of notes. I found it hard for me to really be patient with the students. I have to prep the students for the tests they have this week. This formal assessment will tell me know how I did teaching the material.
Tuesday:
Today, was just one of those days where from the moment you wake up you just want go to bed. The kids were giving me a headache from talking so much. It was very frustrating. I would say that the funniest thing is that my students wanted to know my first name, so I used that as motivation for them to stay on task. I told them they could not use my first name until they graduated from high school though.
This was my last week full time teaching. However, it was not a good week for me. I came to question if teaching is really for me. This is something that I am praying about and hope to find the answer during my second placement.
Monday:
The students were continually making noises and not paying attention to the final day of notes. I found it hard for me to really be patient with the students. I have to prep the students for the tests they have this week. This formal assessment will tell me know how I did teaching the material.
Tuesday:
Today, was just one of those days where from the moment you wake up you just want go to bed. The kids were giving me a headache from talking so much. It was very frustrating. I would say that the funniest thing is that my students wanted to know my first name, so I used that as motivation for them to stay on task. I told them they could not use my first name until they graduated from high school though.
Wednesday:
Today, I was able to help the principal fix the projector in
a meeting. It was very good for her to see me computer savy. Other than
that, I had a horrible day. Today, I am truly questioning if teaching is for
me. I realized that these students don’t want to do the work and do not care
what I think about their work ethic. It made me wonder, if they don’t care; why
should I? I guess I’m just getting really frustrated with telling them to stop
doing something and they keep doing it anyway. I feel like I can only repeat
myself so much. I don’t want to give detentions, because I know they won’t do
anything. The same student will just do the same thing tomorrow. I’m so tired
of repeating myself. I have woken up each day this week and not once have I
been excited to go to school. I want a job where I will be excited to go to
work. I don’t feel that right now and it kind of scares me to be honest.
Thursday:
The students were not as chatty today, mostly due to taking
the test. However, I am extremely overwhelmed with grading. It just keeps
piling up. I hope that I can get some work done this weekend.
Friday:
Today was a shortened day I was able to do a lesson where I read to the students but did not finish all of the directions for every class. They ate it up. I believe that no matter what age the students always want to be read to. I am more than excited to see what writing they come up with on Monday.
I am praying that this was just a bad week and not a feeling of despair that stays with me.
Courtney
I am praying that this was just a bad week and not a feeling of despair that stays with me.
Courtney
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Classroom Confidential 3
Hello
Chapter 3
I believe that the best quote is out of this chapter is:
"All behavior is motivated by one of two basic instincts: 1. To seek pleasure. 2. To avoid pain."(45)
I think that this is true, as in my class the students either act out to gain attention, seek pleasure or acceptance from their peers, and to avoid the pain of doing work. Or it is the complete opposite: the students will behave well to gain attention from the teacher mostly, not their peers, or they want to avoid the pain of failing.
Schmidt continues, "unfortunately, their motives often get lost in translation, and we (the teachers) simply see a troublemaker or a kid who won't try." I have dealt with this in my own classroom as two of my students in one of my periods do not want to do any task. They talk back when I ask them to stop talking, question every activity we do, and perpetually waste class time. I have had to send one them out in the class twice already in order to get through the material. My CT and I both talked to the student, but we haven't chewed him out. We continually ask him why he is doing what he is doing, but he keeps saying he is not sure. My CT asked me to just give him three warnings before putting him out in the hall again. I am going to try this on Monday and hope that it works. It could be very true that he does not know why he is doing what he is doing. However, to me it is clear he wants attention but just the wrong kind.
I found the signs of self-accommodation-ers very interesting as well. Knowing the signs of what they look like can better help me work through my classroom on how to help each student. Camouflagers were also informative on how they work and how to interact with them in the classroom.
Lastly, the second thing that stuck out the most was choice. I always try to give my students the power of choice in the classroom. I believe it makes them feel empowered and wanted in the classroom. I really enjoyed this chapter, as it was definitely useful for this week in the classroom.
Courtney
Chapter 3
I believe that the best quote is out of this chapter is:
"All behavior is motivated by one of two basic instincts: 1. To seek pleasure. 2. To avoid pain."(45)
I think that this is true, as in my class the students either act out to gain attention, seek pleasure or acceptance from their peers, and to avoid the pain of doing work. Or it is the complete opposite: the students will behave well to gain attention from the teacher mostly, not their peers, or they want to avoid the pain of failing.
Schmidt continues, "unfortunately, their motives often get lost in translation, and we (the teachers) simply see a troublemaker or a kid who won't try." I have dealt with this in my own classroom as two of my students in one of my periods do not want to do any task. They talk back when I ask them to stop talking, question every activity we do, and perpetually waste class time. I have had to send one them out in the class twice already in order to get through the material. My CT and I both talked to the student, but we haven't chewed him out. We continually ask him why he is doing what he is doing, but he keeps saying he is not sure. My CT asked me to just give him three warnings before putting him out in the hall again. I am going to try this on Monday and hope that it works. It could be very true that he does not know why he is doing what he is doing. However, to me it is clear he wants attention but just the wrong kind.
I found the signs of self-accommodation-ers very interesting as well. Knowing the signs of what they look like can better help me work through my classroom on how to help each student. Camouflagers were also informative on how they work and how to interact with them in the classroom.
Lastly, the second thing that stuck out the most was choice. I always try to give my students the power of choice in the classroom. I believe it makes them feel empowered and wanted in the classroom. I really enjoyed this chapter, as it was definitely useful for this week in the classroom.
Courtney
Weekly Reflection 5
Hello,
This week:
This week:
Monday was an interesting day. The students did not want to
stay on task. Every period was generally chatty. I had a headache all day. But
it seems like that is what teaching is all about. Sometimes the students didn't
want to stay on task. That is understandable. I remember not wanting to do work
at that age, but I try to make the lessons as fun as possible. I hope tomorrow is better.
Tuesday was very similar to Monday; the students talked
through every class. One thing that stuck out the most today, was that one
of my students loaned me her book that she suggested to me on Friday. I think
that goes a long way when you’re a kid and you trust someone with your
possessions. I told her I would try to finish the book before I leave. I also
found that even though you think you have a lot planned it is not always
enough. Most of the kids sped through the work I had planned for them.
Thankfully, I had a writing prompt planned for them to complete towards the end
of class. I found that sometimes you need a backup plan. I am excited to try
out the activities I have planned for tomorrow.
Wednesday
The students were so chatty today. They really did not want
to stay on task. I find that I am really struggling with finding fun
activities. However, the students are really working well with the material. It
is exciting to see their faces light up when they know the answer or when I joke with them.
Thursday
Today the kids were a lot better. I think it is because it's getting closer to the weekend. They were generally on task for the most
part. I believe it was because the notes were not very long. I had to change my
lesson plan at the last minute to catch the students up on vocabulary. I felt
we were lagging behind in that department and focusing too much on Grammar. I
am really excited for our games tomorrow and I know the kids will like them
too. I had a problem in my last class with the usual trouble maker. My CT
talked to him as I did and he really doesn’t know why he’s acting up just in my
class. Maybe it’s because he wants the wrong kind of attention, but I will
continue to work with him. I don’t want him out in the hall the entire time he still needs to be able to learn
Friday
Today, the students were very talkative. They loved the vocabulary games we played in class. However, they also could not keep their noise level down. My CT told one class, very loudly, that she would not ever play games with her after I leave ever again. It was a Friday and the students were squirrel-y because of this I was a bit lenient with the students on them being over hyper. They really wanted to read their Buckabee character stories and they were really fun to hear. I also made a project for the one period I can't teach vocabulary to because another teacher does.
This week the professional teaching standard that I applied to my lessons this week was Learning Environment, which states: "The competent teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation." I found that this was the case for this week as I really wanted to make a learning environment that was fun and engaging and I felt that I did well with that.
Courtney
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Classroom Confidential 4
Hello,
1. Describe how your understanding of culture was enhanced or changed by your reading of chapter 4 in Schmidt.
I feel that I have a decent understanding of culture. Schmidt's ideas and concepts of culture are merited. A few concepts that I found interesting are:
1. Describe how your understanding of culture was enhanced or changed by your reading of chapter 4 in Schmidt.
I feel that I have a decent understanding of culture. Schmidt's ideas and concepts of culture are merited. A few concepts that I found interesting are:
- "Great teachers reject the deficit model and recognize that all kids have personal strengths that spring directly from their families and the culture in which they were raised." (69)
- If a great teacher calls to do this then I am more than willing to recognize a student's strengths. This should be a natural thing to do as a teacher.
- "Through narratives, conversations, jokes, and direct instruction, he gives them access to the unstated rules and intricacies of the dominant culture and explicitly tells them how they can make it work for them." (71)
- Making it work for the students it a key factor, I believe, in introducing culture to the classroom. Giving access to these things is how the students will naturally adopt culture in the classroom.
- "Pay individual attention to your students. Greet each one personally as they arrive."(85)
- I think this is important because it was something that was never done for me. To be noticed by an adult in a room of other students is powerful. This is something I am working on even while student teaching.
- I also love the idea of reading aloud. I would like to try this during homeroom, but I know I will not be able to finish the book before I leave my placement. I definitely want to try this for my own classroom one day. I love modeling reading, it makes reading more fun for the student and the teacher.
- I also liked how he outlined the culturally inappropriate materials. These are important to remember and notice while teaching.
- It emphasis inclusion which is vital.
Weekly Reflection 4
Hello,
This week was probably my most enjoyable thus far.
Monday:
This week is anti bullying week so each day the students have something to wear or look forward to. Today, there was an assembly on bullying and how to prevent or defend yourself/others from bullying. I found that it was a bit juvenile for the age group that was present. The students were almost turned off from the prospect of sitting there for the entire assembly. I found that the kids, if they feel the presentation is above them in age, will turn away from listening to what you have to say. Today, I also worked with the students on reviewing for their chapter 1 test. On Thursday, I take over full time in the classroom. I am excited about this prospect.
Tuesday:
The students took a test today. They had posters to do on Chapter 1, they presented those to the class. My cooperating teacher wanted to get me into teaching a bit more so I was able to just go through her lesson plan as she had it outlined for today and Wednesday.
Wednesday/Thursday:
I started teaching full time. I administered notes and started reviewing for the vocabulary test the students have on Thursday/Friday. Notes went well. I made up a character named Buckabee, which all of the students took a liking to. They wanted to know what he was, but I told them I hadn't decided yet. Later on, I told them I would have a contest with a descriptive essay to see who could come up with the best description of Buckabee. The kids are really excited about that, because I offered a homework pass for the winner/participants. The students were having a lot of fun with that idea. On Thursday, I moved on to the next section of the notes and the students were pleasantly surprised with Buckabee showing up again. Thursday was team up against bullying and the students and teacher wore their favorite sports teams. The students were all interested to find I was a Sox fan.
Friday:
This week has taught me about Learning Environment, the fifth professional teaching standard. "The competent teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interactions, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation." Today, the students had a test, notes, and homework to work through. My plan is to have a game every Friday that goes over the work for that week. However, in order to keep the students attention I promised them the game at the end of period. They were able to keep it together with their noise and comments. I found that I had made a learning environment that promoted social interaction with a team game and fun through learning. I really did have fun with my students this week; I believe that next week will be even better because I have fun challenging work for them to complete. The last day of bullying week was Spirit wear and my CT generously purchased a Arbor Park t-shirt.
I find that the more that I teach on my own the more I learn about my own teaching style. Knowing what kind of teacher I want to be will mold the way I learn with my students and how my students will learn with me.
Courtney
This week was probably my most enjoyable thus far.
Monday:
This week is anti bullying week so each day the students have something to wear or look forward to. Today, there was an assembly on bullying and how to prevent or defend yourself/others from bullying. I found that it was a bit juvenile for the age group that was present. The students were almost turned off from the prospect of sitting there for the entire assembly. I found that the kids, if they feel the presentation is above them in age, will turn away from listening to what you have to say. Today, I also worked with the students on reviewing for their chapter 1 test. On Thursday, I take over full time in the classroom. I am excited about this prospect.
Tuesday:
The students took a test today. They had posters to do on Chapter 1, they presented those to the class. My cooperating teacher wanted to get me into teaching a bit more so I was able to just go through her lesson plan as she had it outlined for today and Wednesday.
Wednesday/Thursday:
I started teaching full time. I administered notes and started reviewing for the vocabulary test the students have on Thursday/Friday. Notes went well. I made up a character named Buckabee, which all of the students took a liking to. They wanted to know what he was, but I told them I hadn't decided yet. Later on, I told them I would have a contest with a descriptive essay to see who could come up with the best description of Buckabee. The kids are really excited about that, because I offered a homework pass for the winner/participants. The students were having a lot of fun with that idea. On Thursday, I moved on to the next section of the notes and the students were pleasantly surprised with Buckabee showing up again. Thursday was team up against bullying and the students and teacher wore their favorite sports teams. The students were all interested to find I was a Sox fan.
Friday:
This week has taught me about Learning Environment, the fifth professional teaching standard. "The competent teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interactions, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation." Today, the students had a test, notes, and homework to work through. My plan is to have a game every Friday that goes over the work for that week. However, in order to keep the students attention I promised them the game at the end of period. They were able to keep it together with their noise and comments. I found that I had made a learning environment that promoted social interaction with a team game and fun through learning. I really did have fun with my students this week; I believe that next week will be even better because I have fun challenging work for them to complete. The last day of bullying week was Spirit wear and my CT generously purchased a Arbor Park t-shirt.
I find that the more that I teach on my own the more I learn about my own teaching style. Knowing what kind of teacher I want to be will mold the way I learn with my students and how my students will learn with me.
Courtney
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Weekly Reflection 3
Hello.
Monday we did not have class due to Labor Day. Labor being one of the vocabulary words my students had, I was sure to incorporate it throughout the week.
Tuesday-
Tuesday was interesting. The students were very lethargic, I believe it was due to the long weekend. I was able to work with the students more as my CT asked me to start taking over vocabulary in addition to the D.O.L. I found that the vocabulary book issued to the students could be a bit more challenging for the students. I also was preparing to teach the entire day on Wednesday. I have a lesson planned in order to see where the students were at academically.
Wednesday-
I was observed today and I felt that I wasn't bad, but I do have a lot to learn. I found that 60 mintues of teaching time is quiet long, but it does leave a lot of time for instruction which is good. I was definitely working on Standard 6- Instructional Delivery, which states "the competent teacher uses a understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation." I have found that creating motivation is important when the students appear disinterested in the information. Dr. B.C. told me something that I found interesting: when the students aren't challenged then they're not having fun. I am a strong believer in having fun in the classroom. I believe that by playing the fly swatter game with my students based on their vocabulary and making it a bit more challenging by adding antonyms and synonyms the students had more fun. I am looking forward to challenging my students next week as I take over full time.
Thursday-
I spoke with my CT, and we outlined much of the upcoming weeks. It is still in the beginning stages, but I think that by rolling with the punches I can learn to think on my feet a bit more. I was able to bring in standards of planning for instruction (4) and collaborative relationships (9). We were able to gauge what the students needed and I was even able to ask if I could pick up the pace with their vocabulary. As, I believe the students are able to retain the vocabulary much faster than the pace they are learning the terms at.
Friday-
The students worked in the computer lab and were reviewing for a upcoming test. I found that the students like to work on projects that incorporate creativity. I definitely want to try to incorporate that in my own lessons.
This past week I have learned that if I'm not having fun, then my student's are probably not having fun either. I hope to incorporate this philosophy in my next week of teaching. Now that I know that it takes an exciting teacher to make a lesson even more exciting I want to see what I can do to push my students to the academic limit and how I can also learn in the process.
Courtney
Monday we did not have class due to Labor Day. Labor being one of the vocabulary words my students had, I was sure to incorporate it throughout the week.
Tuesday-
Tuesday was interesting. The students were very lethargic, I believe it was due to the long weekend. I was able to work with the students more as my CT asked me to start taking over vocabulary in addition to the D.O.L. I found that the vocabulary book issued to the students could be a bit more challenging for the students. I also was preparing to teach the entire day on Wednesday. I have a lesson planned in order to see where the students were at academically.
Wednesday-
I was observed today and I felt that I wasn't bad, but I do have a lot to learn. I found that 60 mintues of teaching time is quiet long, but it does leave a lot of time for instruction which is good. I was definitely working on Standard 6- Instructional Delivery, which states "the competent teacher uses a understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation." I have found that creating motivation is important when the students appear disinterested in the information. Dr. B.C. told me something that I found interesting: when the students aren't challenged then they're not having fun. I am a strong believer in having fun in the classroom. I believe that by playing the fly swatter game with my students based on their vocabulary and making it a bit more challenging by adding antonyms and synonyms the students had more fun. I am looking forward to challenging my students next week as I take over full time.
Thursday-
I spoke with my CT, and we outlined much of the upcoming weeks. It is still in the beginning stages, but I think that by rolling with the punches I can learn to think on my feet a bit more. I was able to bring in standards of planning for instruction (4) and collaborative relationships (9). We were able to gauge what the students needed and I was even able to ask if I could pick up the pace with their vocabulary. As, I believe the students are able to retain the vocabulary much faster than the pace they are learning the terms at.
Friday-
The students worked in the computer lab and were reviewing for a upcoming test. I found that the students like to work on projects that incorporate creativity. I definitely want to try to incorporate that in my own lessons.
This past week I have learned that if I'm not having fun, then my student's are probably not having fun either. I hope to incorporate this philosophy in my next week of teaching. Now that I know that it takes an exciting teacher to make a lesson even more exciting I want to see what I can do to push my students to the academic limit and how I can also learn in the process.
Courtney
Monday, September 3, 2012
Classroom Confidential 2
1. I have learned that great teachers build a culture of eptness through searching in the class. Some of the key points of eptness are:
I have found that these are just some a few things I need to work on myself as a teacher. I think that building a classroom of eptness is an important to becoming a teacher.
2. Three behaviors I will use are:
1. Expectations: I think that it is important to inform my students of the expectations early on in the year. I found that if the students are not expected to do anything then they will not.
2. Encouragement: I believe that students who are not encouraged will not believe in themselves. Without that belief it will be difficult to achieve in the classroom. I think that positive reinforcement is necessary from day one in the classroom. I think the best way to encourage my students is to tell them everyday what they are capable of doing. Encouragement is intertwined with expectations in this format.
3. Being a Model Learner: I believe that learning is important for any age. I love to learn and would love to share that experience with my students. I believe the best way to do that is through trying to learn new things with my students so that we can enjoy the process of finding something new in the classroom. I would love to have interesting facts of the day, or reading news clippings together.
Courtney
- Expecting to play the roles of learner and teacher.
- Share in making decisions in their learning.
- See problems as opportunities.
- Are willing to struggle to clarify their thinking and speaking.
I have found that these are just some a few things I need to work on myself as a teacher. I think that building a classroom of eptness is an important to becoming a teacher.
2. Three behaviors I will use are:
1. Expectations: I think that it is important to inform my students of the expectations early on in the year. I found that if the students are not expected to do anything then they will not.
2. Encouragement: I believe that students who are not encouraged will not believe in themselves. Without that belief it will be difficult to achieve in the classroom. I think that positive reinforcement is necessary from day one in the classroom. I think the best way to encourage my students is to tell them everyday what they are capable of doing. Encouragement is intertwined with expectations in this format.
3. Being a Model Learner: I believe that learning is important for any age. I love to learn and would love to share that experience with my students. I believe the best way to do that is through trying to learn new things with my students so that we can enjoy the process of finding something new in the classroom. I would love to have interesting facts of the day, or reading news clippings together.
Courtney
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Weekly Reflection 2
Week of August 27
Hello,
This week I kept a notation of what happened everyday in class. Below you will find my thoughts from the day and my commentary for what to expect for the next week.
---------
Monday, August 27th
-Today, I mostly worked on the DOL and planning with my cooperating teacher. The students were a bit talkative towards the end of the day, but that is understandable. However, I am quiet nervous about teaching next week. I am worried that the students will not warm up to me and my lesson will be a dud. I got a bit of feedback from my cooperating teacher and she said that I did fine with the DOL. She also gave me a few of the resources to begin building for my own teaching library. I am interested to see what tomorrow will bring.
Tuesday, August 28th
-Today, I made a seating chart in order to get better acquainted with the students in my classes. I also made copies for my cooperating teacher. I was also able to actually see my cooperating teacher begin teaching. I found out that my teacher wanted me to start my observation lesson on Friday so I could work some of the kinks out of the lesson. I am nervous about the first time teaching. I feel that as I get closer to actually teaching on my own it makes me anxious as I have not taught for over a year being abroad last semester. My cooperating teacher gave me time to plan during the day for my lesson on Friday and next week. So, I made a worksheet and the vocabulary game I have planed for the lesson. A few funny things that happened today: One of my students said, "The 90's were the good old days." He was born in 1999. Also, one of my students when asked to read, read with expression that is sounded much like a drama club try out. I think one of my favorite things about working with the 7th grade is the humor they bring to the classroom.
Wednesday, August 29th
-Today the students took notes, I worked on the DOL with the students, and I received more planning books so I can prepare to take over the classroom.
Thursday, August 30th
-Today, I realized there is a lot of repeating that happens. I have one class that I have to prepare for, which makes planning a bit simple. However, when observing it makes watching the same lesson over, and over a bit painful. I'm sure it will change when I'm in front and not all of the students are the same. Tonight is Open House. It will be interesting to meet the parents of my students. I have noticed that the students do look lethargic when listening. I talked my CT (cooperating teacher) about this; she said that that happens a lot in the classroom and sometimes you have to jar the students attention. That made me come to the question: How do I make Language Arts exciting?
Thursday, August 30th - Open House
-There were only about 30 parents who came out of the 150 students in the 7th grade. The parents listened to my CT tell them about the class, very few of them had questions. Most of the parents were very friendly. There was not much to the Open House itself, but it was more of a learning experience for me.
Friday, August 31st
I taught my lesson today. It went O.K. I guess. There are plenty of kinks I need to work out. The kids enjoyed the fly swatter vocabulary game. I found that I really need to work on classroom control. I also found that I tend to be timid in a classroom that I can not call my own. I talked with my CT about this and she said that her classroom is as much hers as it is mine. I think that knowing that will help me with my lesson next week. I will make the necessary changes for the next week.
---------
I hope to learn more about classroom management and how to keep the students engaged in the lesson. The major concept that I learned this week was that I do not like talking about the students. It seems to happen a lot among the teachers and I can't help but wonder what if my former teachers did this to me as a young 7th grade student. Considering how hard a time I had in Middle School another person talking about me is not what I needed. I found that I thoroughly enjoy eating in the classroom by myself instead of the teacher's lounge.
This upcoming week I hope to learn more about developing my own teaching style as well as implement Illinois professional standards #4 Planning for Instruction and #6 Instructional Delivery. This week, I am planning on learning a lot about myself, as well as my students.
Courtney
Hello,
This week I kept a notation of what happened everyday in class. Below you will find my thoughts from the day and my commentary for what to expect for the next week.
---------
Monday, August 27th
-Today, I mostly worked on the DOL and planning with my cooperating teacher. The students were a bit talkative towards the end of the day, but that is understandable. However, I am quiet nervous about teaching next week. I am worried that the students will not warm up to me and my lesson will be a dud. I got a bit of feedback from my cooperating teacher and she said that I did fine with the DOL. She also gave me a few of the resources to begin building for my own teaching library. I am interested to see what tomorrow will bring.
Tuesday, August 28th
-Today, I made a seating chart in order to get better acquainted with the students in my classes. I also made copies for my cooperating teacher. I was also able to actually see my cooperating teacher begin teaching. I found out that my teacher wanted me to start my observation lesson on Friday so I could work some of the kinks out of the lesson. I am nervous about the first time teaching. I feel that as I get closer to actually teaching on my own it makes me anxious as I have not taught for over a year being abroad last semester. My cooperating teacher gave me time to plan during the day for my lesson on Friday and next week. So, I made a worksheet and the vocabulary game I have planed for the lesson. A few funny things that happened today: One of my students said, "The 90's were the good old days." He was born in 1999. Also, one of my students when asked to read, read with expression that is sounded much like a drama club try out. I think one of my favorite things about working with the 7th grade is the humor they bring to the classroom.
Wednesday, August 29th
-Today the students took notes, I worked on the DOL with the students, and I received more planning books so I can prepare to take over the classroom.
Thursday, August 30th
-Today, I realized there is a lot of repeating that happens. I have one class that I have to prepare for, which makes planning a bit simple. However, when observing it makes watching the same lesson over, and over a bit painful. I'm sure it will change when I'm in front and not all of the students are the same. Tonight is Open House. It will be interesting to meet the parents of my students. I have noticed that the students do look lethargic when listening. I talked my CT (cooperating teacher) about this; she said that that happens a lot in the classroom and sometimes you have to jar the students attention. That made me come to the question: How do I make Language Arts exciting?
Thursday, August 30th - Open House
-There were only about 30 parents who came out of the 150 students in the 7th grade. The parents listened to my CT tell them about the class, very few of them had questions. Most of the parents were very friendly. There was not much to the Open House itself, but it was more of a learning experience for me.
Friday, August 31st
I taught my lesson today. It went O.K. I guess. There are plenty of kinks I need to work out. The kids enjoyed the fly swatter vocabulary game. I found that I really need to work on classroom control. I also found that I tend to be timid in a classroom that I can not call my own. I talked with my CT about this and she said that her classroom is as much hers as it is mine. I think that knowing that will help me with my lesson next week. I will make the necessary changes for the next week.
---------
I hope to learn more about classroom management and how to keep the students engaged in the lesson. The major concept that I learned this week was that I do not like talking about the students. It seems to happen a lot among the teachers and I can't help but wonder what if my former teachers did this to me as a young 7th grade student. Considering how hard a time I had in Middle School another person talking about me is not what I needed. I found that I thoroughly enjoy eating in the classroom by myself instead of the teacher's lounge.
This upcoming week I hope to learn more about developing my own teaching style as well as implement Illinois professional standards #4 Planning for Instruction and #6 Instructional Delivery. This week, I am planning on learning a lot about myself, as well as my students.
Courtney
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