Lather. Rinse. Repeat. (Week 2, the second time around)

What a week! When it first started, I thought it was going to be a long week, but it surprisingly went pretty quickly. I do have some concerns about this placement, and here are a few:

1) It is hard to teach students to be respectful when teachers say things like "They're just being retards" or "That's retarded." I feel like so many kids say "That's gay" and stuff like that, and teachers are supposed to correct it, but I've heard so many students and teachers using this language and because the teachers are saying it, I can't really tell the kids not to.

2) Students are too often rewarded for their irresponsibility. I assigned a 21 page reading assignment from Fahrenheit 451 on Monday. On Tuesday, I tried to start discussion, but only 2 of the 22 students had done the reading. My co-op suggested I give them SSR time in class (1 hour on Tuesday!) to do the reading so they weren't left behind from the beginning. I was amazed (and appalled, honestly) that she was supporting their irresponsibility and laziness.

3) Overall, high-schoolers don't seem to care. I had girls looking at prom dress magazines in class the other day until I made them stop. To echo Jenna from last week, it seems like these kids realize their future is in farming or whatever, so they have no desire to learn because they don't believe it is valuable to their futures. Plus, they have attitudes and life experiences that just make me want to cry sometimes. They have been through so much and it's like there is nothing left for them to experience in life, which is sad. I also think it's disgusting the way they speak to one another. No respect for each other or teachers or anyone.

Other than that, it's not terrible. I definitely feel like I'm more meant to teach middle schoolers, but I think part of it is because I can't completely control this class because they are not used to being under control at all. They are used to doing what they want to do and having that be OK. I don't feel right completely changing the atmosphere, so there is some side chatter and a lot of people call out without raising their hands. We're making some progress, but not as much as I thought eleventh graders would be able to.

We'll see in the next 6 weeks!

Week 1... Again...

Well, who would've thought... I actually almost enjoy high school! The first 2 days were rough. I'm sure I'll have a few blunders throughout the next 8 weeks, so I'll be sure to include them under the heading "Faux Pas" at the end of each blog post.

The past 2 days were OK. Today was the best... probably because none of the 11th graders (the bulk of the classes we teach) were there. The first class, AP Language, went to the library and selected memoirs for an upcoming assignment. I chose one too and talked to some of the students about why reading this kind of "death, doom, and destruction" was different than reading a lot of the other stuff they read... This is sad, yes, but usually there is some kind of hope that comes from it. Options included Angela's Ashes, October Sky, A Child Called It, and more. During second block, the creative writing class, students worked on stories on laptops. I made some lesson plan materials and read more of Fahrenheit. The best was third block, 11th grade American Lit, when we had one student. He got a head start on next week's reading in F451.

At the end of the day, my co-op reviewed my lesson plans for Monday and Tuesday and had really good things to say about them. We talked about my personality in the classroom and how I am really into the idea of being involved in what the students are doing. We'll be going to a Lacrosse match and other sporting and theatrical events in the next few weeks, so that will be fun! Her review of my materials continued through the "Office Hours" at the end of the day, and as I was leaving, she called after me, "Great work so far." I'm really excited about that, especially after doing so poorly in Methods a lot of the time. The fact that my lesson plans are getting compliments from both co-ops is really encouraging to me.

I'm excited to put together the rest of next week's lesson plans (maybe through the middle of week 5) for the 11th grade class and see how things actually go on Monday! I only know a few names right now, but I am sure I will learn them quickly!

And now, in case you were wondering, here is my first Big Blunder:

Faux Pas #1: I had my laptop (obviously, since the kids in my co-op's classes have a lot of classwork time, and they took a test this week, and it's block scheduling... too much free time to sit and stare) and did a search for any wireless internet connections. One came up: E'town Int'l Airport. I'm thinking, "I didn't know they had an airport," and connected my comp to the network. I went through the day researching things pertinent to instruction: Vocab to teach with Fahrenheit 451, Activities to teach with Fahrenheit 451, etc, since this is my first time teaching a novel and I wanted to know what had been successful for other teachers out there. Then, during planning at the end of the day, I was reading the novel. Other teachers in the dept. in the planning room were looking up articles on Men'sHealth.com, playing on their cell phones, etc, and my co-op had disappeared and I couldn't focus on reading, so I started playing a game (oops!) on my computer (after all, no one else was working). Apparently, the game requires an internet connection, and when my co-op returned from her conversation she revealed that "Int'l Airport" is really the school's network, and obviously they track internet use. So from then on I used the net only for research, but the second day she said I can't use the internet AT ALL from my comp, because they had student teachers abuse the net in previous years. I have to use her comp if I want to get online for anything (which is annoying, but I get it.) So that problem's resolved.

Week 8: Observation #2 and Final Reflections

Wow... I can't believe the first 8 weeks are over! Lots happened this week, but I'll start with Observation #2.

Dr. Mortimore came in on Tuesday, but my co-op and I had co-taught on Monday and Tuesday, so Dr. Mortimore only saw me teach half a lesson, using my co-op's lesson plans. Because I told her the wrong time (sorry again!), she saw the highest-level class instead of the lower-level class we both wanted her to see. However, she did comment on how great the students were. Even though this observation didn't provide evidence of my lesson-planning, it still showed my classroom management and teaching style.

Looking back on the past 8 weeks, I don't think I could have enjoyed my time more. Though there were times when I felt like I was having absolutely no effect on the students, or when I felt like I wasn't able to connect with them, I realized at the end that they really did appreciate me and learn from what I had to say. A big part of this was through the journals I had them use. Each student was able to decorate a cover to reflect their personalities and attach it to notebook paper. Over the course of the few weeks I taught poetry, the students completed 13 entries in their journals. They were graded entries, and some kids did the minimum amount of work. Others (I'll bring 2 examples with me on Monday) put a LOT of effort into their entries. On my last day, I sent around a journal for the kids to sign to me (like a yearbook), and I read all the students' notes last night. They really seemed to appreciate the journals and enjoy writing in them, so I was pleased with how they worked. I will continue the journals in my next placement since my Teacher Research Project is based on the journals.

Overall, I feel like I grew as a teacher throughout this experience. My lesson plans have improved a lot since methods, and I have learned how to manage a classroom and incorporate creative elements.

I wanted to finally share one of the best experiences from these past 8 weeks. We had a field trip on Thursday, and there were 5 chaperones on my bus (I was one of them). On the way to the Whitaker Center, I sat in the back to supervise from there. On the way back to school, I parked myself in the front of the bus to talk to the other chaperones, but I heard the girls in the back yelling, "Mrs. Becker, come sit with us!!! PLEASE?!?!?" For some reason, that just made me feel great!

See you all tomorrow!

Week 7

Well, my second observation didn't happen this week (coming next week), and a blog isn't required because of the Student Teacher Self Report Form. However, my school had an inservice day on Friday, so I thought I'd write about that.

The day was focused on common assessments, so the eighth grade teachers from both middle schools in the district got together to figure out the Final Exam for all the eighth graders. I am terrible at thinking of good, higher-level questions, but I was able to provide some input into this discussion. One of the other teachers sent us all a copy of her Anne Frank unit test so we could pull some questions from that for the final, but they were all memorization of facts that weren't even that important in the grand scheme of things. It encouraged me that I was able to come up with better questions than some of the other teachers. It also was helpful for me to be a part of this because it gave me a chance to be involved with more members of the English department of this district and show them (including the department chair) what I am capable of.