Week 15

This past week was really good. Sue had been gone most of the previous week, so I really got to understand what it was like without her there. My safety net was gone. She was gone Monday of this week and so I had one more day where I was on my own. It’s draining. Emotionally, physically, mentally. Tuesday, Sue gave me the opportunity to go to my last OPUS as a senior. It was great to see the work of my fellow classmates and it was helpful! I learned about a few new technology programs that will be very helpful and that I did not know about.  This week was quite hectic with meetings, related services, and trying to finish everything for the ECHO Art and Talent show. It was interesting to me how even though Sue is back and slowly taking over again, the aides still looked to me for how to position the kids, feed who what, and scheduling things. I think that means I did a pretty good job while Sue was gone. While Sue was gone, we got another student Ashanti. That makes 9 students (we’re cap at 8), and 8 adults in a small classroom. It’s amazing the effect that being overcrowded can have on adults and students alike. Students were antsy and “off”, if that makes any sense. Our ambulatory student was starting to get out of control and I only see him do that when there is too many people. He has a lot of autistic tendencies. Anyhow, with Sue back I was hoping things would run a little bit more smoothly with all of those people in the room, but it is still chaotic. At least I know it wasn’t just me.

The week was more of the same. Feeding, changing, positioning, morning circle, we didn’t have time for any major lessons this week because of our preparation for the Art and Talent show. Swimming has been canceled for the past 2 weeks and with having the schedule thrown off a bit, some of the students are acting out. Our one student really needs that time to work off his energy and get therapy in the pool. I’m hoping the pool is up and running again soon. Our kids especially need that therapeutic time.

I have been struggling with one main thing since being at this placement. The people who work in our classroom have a hard time keeping work and home separate.  In one aspect you want to be caring and establish a good relationship, but at the same time, you want to keep the relationship professional and not too personal. I don’t want to know about how you’re cheating on your husband, or what you do on the weekends. It’s inappropriate for the classroom and it’s frustrating to me because I disagree with some of the things they do. Another thing is the fact that the students come first. ALWAYS. I think that they do not fully understand or sometimes forget. You’re not there to socialize. You’re there to do your job and care for these students. Take some initiative. If a student is clearly upset, yes we might not know what’s wrong, but go to them and talk to them. Be with them. I can’t tell you how many times my students sits there and cries in pain and I go take him and sit with him on the mat and rub his back. He quiets down as soon as I do that and talk to him. Those little things make a huge difference. 

I have been trying to talk to other people who work at ECHO and learn about their different roles that they play there. I am hoping to go visit some other classrooms next week. It will be a big change from being in Care with the youngest and lowest students. I’ll definitely have to be more on my toes with behaviors, since my students rarely, if ever, display them.

Working with the students on the Art projects was a lot of fun, but because we really wanted the kids to do them, and not the aides, me and Sue did most of it with the kids. We wanted to make sure that they were the ones who mainly did the tasks. 

Week 14

This week started with me getting a text at 4:15 in the morning on Monday telling me that Sue's father-in-law passed away and she would not be in that week. That was very unexpected as we had all thought he had at least a few more weeks. I felt so bad for her. So, my week went on. It was crazy. Sue ended up being able to come the day that Dr. Powell came to observe me, which was really awesome. But even though Sue was there, she was not really around. She was trying to catch up on stuff from when she was gone and for when she was gone again. When Sue is gone, I do not normally take a lunch break. But I decided to take a 15 minute break just to clear my head the one day. While I was gone, the girl that I have been working with had her first seizure in our classroom. A grand mal that lasted about 3 minutes. I came in and felt so bad about leaving. It would have happened anyway, but it would have happened differently. At least that's how I feel.
Also while Sue was gone, we got a new student. This makes 9 students in a classroom that caps at 8. She is on a ventilator and comes with a nurse. Now we had 8 adults in the room. Literally there was no room to move anywhere and it was difficult to know where to place students, because this new little girl took up about an 8 foot corner of our room.
It was strange to be telling the aides what to do. Sue wasn't there to back me up. I feel as though I rose to the challenge and by the end of the week I think they really respected me.
I have seen myself change a lot throughout this whole placement. Dr. Powell also said she could see a difference from when she visited me the first time and when she visited me this week. I understand these students a lot more and I genuinely care for them and want what's best for them. I have learned to change what I'm doing to fit their needs as best I can. I'm trying to make everything more tactile and sensory. Whenever I am going to teach something, I have to think about what manipulatives and tactile aspects I can bring into the lesson. I have also learned to roll with the punches. Maybe one of the more difficult things for me to do. There's a plaque I came across that reads, "Smile and pretend it's on the lesson plan." I am definitely learning to do that. I am learning how to handle that better, probably better than at any of my other placements. My students teach me something new everyday. They teach me how to handle things differently, things about themselves, and how to make them happy. It's a very rewarding place to be and I am starting to see myself working with this population.

Week13 (2nd placement)

     This week you could definitely tell it was the week before spring break. All of this week was a countdown until the end of Thursday. We have all been ready for a break. Sue has been completely out of the room for most of this week. When I think about my teacher at my first placement leaving me with 20 4th graders vs. Sue leaving me with 8 students and 5 aides, I will definitely take the 20 4th graders. Having to manage the adults this week was exhausting, challenging, and frustrating. When everyone has the mind set that we only have 4 more days until break, that makes it worse. They were willing to do as I asked, but were taking no initiative like normal. I think they are starting to see that I am partly their boss for the time being and not someone to play fake teacher. I am learning very much about being professional with this job. Not so much that I’ve been being unprofessional, but the other adults in the classroom have a way of bringing their personal lives and issues into the classroom and it is often inappropriate. It’s a challenge to listen and not get involved, it’s also challenging to know all of these things. It makes it feel very unprofessional. I am trying hard not to pay any attention to the things that get said, but at the same time I have to find a balance because I want them to know that I do care, I just don’t want to know every detail.
     Like I said, Sue was out of the classroom for most of the time. Also this week she switched students on me and the rest of the aides. So I had to deal with the aides not knowing what to do, me with a new student (not knowing what to do), and taking care of the classroom without her. I was working with our most high-functioning student this week and he is a big kid. BIG kid. I ‘ve got to tell you, by the time Thursday rolled around, I was so frustrated and ready for break I could have gone outside and screamed for a good 15 minutes. The break will be good for everyone to refresh; students too. Because Sue was out of the room, when the social worker came to check in on our new student, I was the one she talked to. On Thursday we had our IEP meeting for this student and I got called on to talk during the meeting. This was so unexpected! I think I looked like a fish with my mouth hanging open and closing repeatedly. I did eventually find words. :) Also while Sue was out of the room this week, we had the state inspection come inspect our rooms. That was also nerve-racking. Because of the short week, our related services were in more often in order to make up for the time they would lose on Friday.
     Teaching this week was more of the same schedule. Morning circle every morning, craft on Tuesday- we decorated easter eggs, and easter baskets on Wednesday. Holy cow. Easter eggs was a process. I was praying the kids would not get dye all over themselves and thankfully they did not. I really enjoy making everything tactile with the kids. That is the best way for them to grasp a concept or concrete object.  We also go to swim on Wednesday. Thats always a great time and it’s always so fun to see how different kids can feel in the water. This week is also a reminder of the things that can go wrong. While being changed for swimming, one student had a seizure,one had diarrhea, one peed. I am starting to get used to nothing going according to plan. So much so, that if something does go according to plan I am taken by surprise. It’s like I’m waiting for the something else to happen. Haha. I really love working with this group of students. This is a lot lower functioning than I ever thought I would go, but it appeals to me in a different way than teaching a group of regular education 4th graders.

Week12 (2nd placement)

     It was a great week at ECHO. We have been doing a lot with the topic of spring in language arts and our related services have been trying to cover the same topic along with us. Every morning I do morning circle after we get the students fed, changed, and positioned. As with every other week, they receive related services right after morning circle and then it is lunch. Afternoons are often filled with another specialist coming in and us getting the students ready to go home. I have been working with one student specifically for the past few weeks as a one-on-one aide. This coming week, I will be working with another student. I can already see the challenge he will present. He's a big kid! I am excited to see what I can do with him and what he will teach me too. Sue is going to leave in the mornings completely this week. I must admit I am a little nervous with her being gone with all the variables in the classroom, but the aides are there if I have questions and she is just a phone call away. On Tuesday, I was able to do a springtime craft with the students after spending time reading about butterflies and their life-cycle. They turned out really cute. As my students have difficulties doing anything on their own, it was kind of a struggle to get the aides to just help them and not do it for them. I found that most of the aides just did the craft for the students, instead of taking their hand and doing hand-over-hand. That is somewhat frustrating. I repeatedly keep reminding the aides to help the students, not do it for them. Wednesday we had swimming. I had a new student in the pool and he was very difficult to work with. I have to look out for his safety and my own. He head-butts and hits, so I really have to concentrate on where am I am standing next to him and how I am holding him. He has a g-tube so I had to be really careful to make sure that did not come open while in the pool. We have been working on giving him sensory on/in his mouth because he constantly punching himself in the mouth. We have been brushing his teeth for 10 minutes every day and this seems to really help him. It's so exciting to find something that helps your students! One Thursday we had 1/2 a day and only 3 students. We had time for one related service and then we got them ready to go home. The rest of the day was spent as an in-service for the parapros and work time for the teachers. My teacher worked on her CHI, and I made a book with boardmaker for our lesson on Friday. It has been awhile since I worked with boardmaker, so one of the speech pathologists came in to help me with a few tricks. I have been working closely with one of the O.T.'s. We do a combined lesson on Friday's where she will take half of the class and I take half of the class and then we switch. It has been working out great and I find it more enjoyable to work more one-on-one with the students that way. We have also been working together a lot to find ways to help the student I have been working with. She has come a long way since coming into our classroom. She is now feeding herself with very little prompt. She is also walking better and standing taller. To some people it might not be big accomplishments, but to me and my teacher, we see how she has made great progress. Her mom has even commented on how well she is doing since she moved to our room. That's a big compliment. Friday was our lesson with the O.T. and since it was Friday, we had Friday Fun time in the afternoon, which is always a movie. Sue and I did not really get a break on Friday. We used our break time to ready the classroom for the state inspection on Monday. Although the students get out at 1:50, we have to stay until 3. We use that time to plan for the next day and to talk about what else we can do for the students. On that Friday we planned for what aides we were putting with who while Sue left the room for the mornings next week. I really appreciate how she let's me have a say and takes what I say as valid. I can't believe I got put with 2 amazing teachers in 1 semester! I have learned so much from being with both of them!
     For this week, I am choosing State Standard 1 - Teaching Diverse Students – The competent teacher understands the diverse characteristics and abilities of each student and how individuals develop and learn within the context of their social, economic, cultural, linguistic, and academic experiences. The teacher uses these experiences to create instructional opportunities that maximize student learning.             
        1H) analyzes and uses student information to design instruction that meets the diverse needs of students and leads to ongoing growth and achievement;
I think I have demonstrated this standard by observing my students and reading their IEP's and other documents to figure out what I can do to help them do the best they can. This is continually changing, as finding what works for them best is a work in progress.  We try things and they don't work out as well as we thought, so we move on to another thing and hope that it works better. I have been trying different tools for the past few weeks to find out what works best for my student to feed herself. On Friday, I think we finally found something that works the best out of all of them!

Week 11 (2nd placement)

     This week was really short. I was sick on Monday, so I was only with the students for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Friday was an in-service day for all of the teachers and teacher’s assistants. This week was pretty much the same routine. We try to start out each day with morning circle, position the students, feed, change, and care for them. On Wednesday, I again was able to do swimming with a few of the students. When we got to the pool, one of the students started having seizures, so we waited awhile to see if she would stop. We didn’t want her to not be able to swim. She ended up being able to go in the pool. It’s a lot of work to be in the pool with the students. We have to get them in, put flotation devices on most of them, and then do therapy with them. We have to know each student and what sets them off and take care with them in the water. The student that I usually work with has a lot of sensory stuff going on and if he gets water past his mouth, it causes him to throw up. Then we have to get our students out of the water, which often takes longer than getting them in. For our one student, we have to use a lift to get her out. That was the first time I got to see the lift in action and it was really cool. Some of the technology that they have come up with to make things simpler is amazing. On Thursday it was very hectic. We have conductive ed. in the morning at all separate times. One of my students had been acting very strange all day. Right before Dr. Powell showed up for observation, he projectile vomited everywhere. That was extremely unexpected, but it finally made sense why he was not acting himself. It was sad to see. He had been laying down when he threw up and was not breathing, so they had to put him on his side and pat his back. He did start breathing and was okay after that. We think it’s because his mom gave him benadryl and that mixed with his seizure medicine did not mesh well together. We did a lesson the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I felt that it went really well, especially for the end of the day. There was a student or two, who were not willing to participate at times, but for the most part, they showed good looking and feeling, and smelling. We did a few tasting things, but only one student can eat by mouth. I made all of the parts for the book and laminated them and velcroed them so we could stick them to the board. I also made a caterpillar out of pom poms. I really liked this for my students who are blind and/or deaf. They were able to feel and use their tactile senses to follow with the story.
     On Friday, I went to a FIESTA in-service. Fiesta training was basically coming up with a way to make the classroom more of a functional learning environment. They encouraged work-stations, having up schedules for each individual student and the class as a whole, and having the IEP goals of the students available for the people in the classroom. Someone also suggested having a binder for each student separated by related services so that all of the information was in one place instead of scattered. For the second half of the day, I spent about 10 minutes in a seminar about fading prompts, but then got called out for a meeting for our CARE program. Care is the lowest program of the school, the one that I am in. Although I did not have much to add to the conversation, as it is not my place, it was interesting and educational to be in a meeting with the principal, vp, related services, and the teacher’s for the CARE students. They were trying to figure out what to do for mine and Sue’s classroom. We have a new student coming on Tuesday with a nurse. Our room is very cramped and we already have 8 students, which the CARE program caps at 8 students per classroom. One of the other classrooms also has 8, but the other 2 have around 3-5 because not all of their students ever show up. I’m not quite sure we have come up with a solution to the problem, it’s kind of a work in progress. After the meeting, Sue and I talked a lot about some options and thought of ways to rearrange the room for our new student and nurse. It will be very interesting to see how this all plays out on Tuesday. The in-service day lines up with IPTS 10G. participates in professional dialogue and continuous learning to support his/her own development as a learner and a teacher. At the conference, I talked with other teachers and support staff about ways to improve our classrooms. Together we worked to grow and get ideas from each other. We want to do the best that we can with what we have to provide the best environment for our students.

Week 9 (2nd placement)

     This week was so much better than the first week. I am definitely feeling more comfortable and I feel like I am able to do more. The first couple days of this week I was still doing a lot of observing, because last week was short and this week was short also. On Tuesday of this week, we received a new student. I kind of took over as her aide for the week. Unlike most of our students, she is ambulatory. She is also a heavy drooler. This provides a great challenge when feeding her. Sue and I were talking to the O.T. Sue M. and we were wondering what she was capable of with feeding. When Sue M. came in for O.T. on Friday, she did a chew test and kinda observed her. The student didn't really chew with her teeth, but with her tongue and Sue M. thought that she would be capable of feeding herself. Problem being, I don't think anybody ever made her feed herself, so I was going to have to teach her. The thing that I have learned with this student is that she has the capabilities to do things on her own, but nobody has every made her do things herself or taught her how. This was my challenge for the next few weeks. It makes me sad to see that she is not as dependent as she could be because people did not take the time to teach her how to be independent. Your goal as an educator is to give your students as many tools as possible to learn and grow to be an independent individual. Even though my students might not grow up to be independent like you or I, why not let them be as independent as they possibly can?
     I also had the privilege of going swimming on Wednesday. This is great therapy for my students who are very stiff. It's a lot of work getting them ready and into the pool, but it is so worth it! Most of my students love it and it's fun because you get to see them interact in an environment where gravity is not keeping them from doing things like walking or moving their legs/arms. We stretch them out and try to work on moving the muscles that rarely get used. The warm water and warm environment is a good therapeutic thing for them even without the other stuff. As fun as it is, it isn't playtime. You have to constantly be watching your student and making sure that they are safe. With certain students, water can only go up to a specific level on their body or they will throw up. There are a lot of sensory things going on that you need to watch for.
     Word for the semester- Flexibility. Wow, is that going to be an important word to embrace. I know that teachers in general have to be flexible, but teachers in the special education field have to be more so. You never know where the day is going to take you. There are so many things that could change the way the rest of the day will flow. Sick students, seizures, aides being missing, related services not showing up, something runs longer than planned, a parent visit, and IEP... The list goes on. I feel as though we encounter something everyday that puts the day a little bit off. I'm learning a lot about being flexible and coming up with things off the top of my head. Sue had me jump in a few times for morning circle this week when a visitor came to the classroom that she needed to talk to. Put me in front of 20 kids and I'm not scared. Put me in front of 8 kids and 5 aides and I'm very intimidated. Adults are scary! But my aides are very kind and supportive, so it's not as scary anymore.
     Sue and I have been talking a lot about organizational stuff. I know it's been really hard for her this year. Her room staff is continuously leaving and they get so many subs, people don't know what they're supposed to do, things get done twice, or not done at all. We also feel that certain students would benefit from being with a different aid. We came up with a solution, we hope! Sue made up cards for each student for morning and afternoon. There are instructions specific to each student on the card. We have Velcroed them to the wall and we have also velcroed the names of the aides. We will switch the aides with the students every few days or so. This is also great for having a sub. Then we can swap who gets who and give the sub a student that is a little less involved and there will be specific instructions on the card. We plan on putting this up sometime next week and hopefully give it a try.
     I really feel like I am growing here. It's a whole new way of teaching and you can't just stand up there and talk. You really really have to get the students involved and do tactile things with them. For my students who are blind, you have to make it auditory, and for my students who are deaf you have to make sure there is a visual. Sitting through IEP meetings is also teaching me a lot. They're not as scary as I made them out to be in my head. It's a great experience to see how they work and how they're run.

Week 10 (2nd placement)

Week 8 (2nd Placement)

     I'm going to start this week's blog by saying that after my first day at my new placement, I considered running away and never coming back. Really, I did. I went from being with 20 regular ed. 4th graders, to 8 students ages 9-13 that functioned at around an 18 month-old level. That was a dramatic change. This was a scary new experience. I had absolutely no idea of where to even begin. I had never been with a population this low on the spectrum before and it terrified me. I truly do believe that every child is capable of learning, but I had no idea how to go about doing this.
     Throughout the week, I slowly started to become more comfortable with where my placement was. By Thursday, I was starting to enjoy it and I was looking forward to going. This is going to be a placement where I will be doing a lot more aiding than actual teaching. I spent my week observing and jumping in with little things. We do a lot of positioning the students, feeding them, stretching them, changing them, and making sure that they get their therapy and other sorts of special services. On the first day there, one of the aides had me jump in an change a diaper and help her lift students and take off their coats. I was concerned especially with lifting. Most of these kids are very fragile and I have not had any special training of any sort with lifting. I don't want to hurt them. I talked to my teacher, Sue, about this and she assured me that she didn't want me to do anything I'm uncomfortable with and that they will teach me how to do all of it.
     I saw a lot of different things this week: Conductive ed., p.t., o.t., swimming, and I sat through 2 IEP's. On the first day I was there, I witnessed a few seizures. I saw a Grand mal and I believe petite grand mal. Now I have seen many seizures, but this one was very scary, because my student was sleeping in his stander when all of a sudden he started seizing. I have never seen people move that fast. Wow. I also realized how important it is to make sure everything is done correctly and to make sure that these students are safe, first and foremost. There were a couple of incidents where the aides were careless and the students could have been seriously hurt. Thankfully, they were okay.
     Even though I will not be doing a lot of teaching at this placement, I have no doubt that I will learn a lot just by being exposed to everything. I am already trying to plan activities around Dr. Seuss and his books. Another challenge with this placement is going to be all of the adults in the room. Holy cow. There is so much "take charge" in the room. I have no idea how Sue does it. She has to manage all the adults and make sure the students are taken care of. I'm sure I will learn a lot from her about that. I can already see that having a staff that is willing to work together is key to running a successful classroom.

Schmidt
     Chapter 6 in Schmidt was one of my favorite chapters thus far. I love reading and writing. I want my students to love it too. As I have said before, at my last placement I started creative writing with my students. I gave them a picture and instructed them to write a story about it. They basically had free reign. I think this really excited a lot of them. Students have GREAT imaginations and are rarely given the opportunity to use them. I know my group of students were very creative in their writings.
     I was excited to see that we used one of the strategies  in Schmidt's book. "Listen and Draw," is a strategy we used every day during Read Aloud. I would read from a novel for about 15 minutes and the students would draw what  they were hearing. Something that would especially stick out to them or a kind of collage of key things from the story. I also enjoy "Author's Hour." Giving students the opportunity to have the spotlight and read their stories is a great incentive for doing their best work and being creative. There were many great ideas, but these were my favorites.

Week 7

     Wow. Just when I'm starting to get used to everything and really starting to get it, the first placement is over with. Excuse me while I have a sappy moment, but we all knew it was bound to happen. :) This whole past week has been a bittersweet experience. Knowing that this was about to end, but feeling blessed to have had the opportunity to get to know my students and work at Calvin made for an interesting week. It was nice to be able to have some catch-up time as the week passed though. On Thursday my principal gave me a gift, a book that was his and he wrote me a note in it. That made me tear up. Friday we had a going away party and it was so sweet. I was getting hugs all day, getting asked not to leave, being asked to babysit, and finally the end of the day where a few students (and me) were crying as we said goodbye. I'm going to miss them all so much, but I hope to stay in touch. :)
      We did not have school on Monday, which gave me some time to do crafty, creative things. I made a story map poster to use in Language Arts the next day. On Tuesday, Mrs. Hysell came for my last observation. It's been a blessing and encouragement to have her for a supervisor. Thanks for all your comments and offers of continued help Mrs. Hysell, I appreciate it. I like having the students look up the vocabulary words for the story of the week and writing the definition and coming up with a sentence using the word. We had our normal pretest and self-correct for spelling, did our vocabulary, and then we used our story map poster. It was something different for the students and I think they enjoyed it. I had planned on giving each group a fairy tale and having them create their own story maps, but as time was going by, I realized that we would not have enough time, so I cut that out.
     This week was the week for tests. We had a test in Bible, Science, and Social Studies. I thought that was a lot of tests, so Sally and I worked out a schedule so that they were all on different days. I made review sheets for all but the social studies test. I did make Science and Social Studies open note, so that made it somewhat easier for the students. Bible was an open note quiz, since we have been taking a few notes during that time. I decided to try something different with the Bible test and I made it short answer essay. They had 4 questions and they could use their notes. Their notes had a lot of the information, but they did not have straight answers to the test questions. They would have to think about it a little and they definitely rose to the challenge! It was very encouraging to see them do so well on all of their tests!!! Although they had their books, they had limited time and could not look up every question, so it was very encouraging to see that I did teach them something while I was there. :) I also made a review jeopardy game for Science. That was a lot of fun and they did well. It was also nice to be able to give Sally something to use that she did not know how to do before. Needless to say, there was not a ton of teaching this week. It was mostly reviews and tests.
     I had to redo my TPA this week. It was on division. Woof. Just when you think they're getting it, we moved on to dividing 3 digit numbers and then they got all confused again. It was nerve-racking to be teaching it just because division is so high-stakes. The first lesson, we worked through the worksheet together and I could tell that most of them were starting to grasp it towards the end. On Wednesday we had centers and Sally continued working with them on that and I did "Interpreting Remainders." It's funny to look back and see how as each group came to me, I got progressively better at teaching it.
    I was feeling much better this week and you could definitely see that the students respond to how the teacher is feeling. Last week when I was sick, I was very chill and low-key and they responded to that by being quiet and calm. Now that I had my energy back, they seemed to get theirs back too and were talkative and excited and everything. This week was more work for classroom management than last week. :)
    As the week went by, I dropped more and more classes, until Friday where I had none. It was weird. What do I do with myself?!! Oh, but I found stuff to do. I made a bulletin board, graded, came up with tests, review sheets, the jeopardy game, and did random things around the school. On Thursday, Sally kicked me out of the classroom for the morning so the kids could work on a project (for me), and I went to go visit the pre-school room. They have 9 kids in the pre-school room and it was so awesome to get observe them. They have such an excitement and curiosity for EVERYTHING! I know that I want to teach the younger students and my visit helped make that more clear to me. I really liked how soft-spoken Jenn was as she was teaching them and doing things with them. They were great listeners and she is a great model for them.
    All-in-all, it was a great week and an even better placement. Although there is still a lot to learn and grow in, I feel that I did a lot of growing at Calvin and that will help a lot as I move on to becoming an official teacher. :)
Schmidt

     Reading Schmidt at the end of every week is a great way to bring it all back to why I am going for teaching. Prof. Snoeyink said at the beginning of the year that this book was an "idealist" book, but that it had a lot of good ideas in it. Schmidt has tons of good ideas and a passion for teaching. The thing to remember though, is to not discouraged when you don't do things the way Schmidt describes them. I love the idea of taking students to cemeteries to learn, and to involve them in solving a mystery. Make History/Social Studies come alive. What she said about History is true, History itself is not boring, but the way that it is taught is. Now, I'm not saying that we should throw out our textbooks, but we shouldn't rely on them as much as we do. Because I love reading, I am all for taking trade books or first-hand documents and using them in the place of the textbook. You need to find a way to get the students emotionally involved and help them to understand not only the facts, but the people, their feelings, the events...anything that will make it real for them. Obviously it is not always realistic or money-feasible, but taking students on field trips to museums or other historical places is a great way to make History interesting and real. 

     The Arts: something that is a dying breed in schools around America, maybe even the world. Programs are being cut every year for the Arts and classes are being taken away. You have to focus more on academics. I think that's bologna. The arts can be a wonderful tool for stimulating student's minds, helping them to remember, and to express themselves. Teachers who incorporate the Arts into their classrooms, are often the classrooms who's students feel inspired to learn and who really understand, not just throw out the facts. My favorite idea that I took away from Schmidt is going outside with chalk to learn your letters. That is so awesome. Most kids would rather be outside, than cooped up in a building.  This way, they have a huge canvas to do their work and they can learn while enjoying the beautiful outside. In my past placement, I used creative writing to get my student's creative juices flowing. I gave them a picture of something interesting, often funny, and told them to tell me a story about it. My favorite one to read about was the baby dressed in a lobster costume, sitting in a big pot. The students got really creative. Some wrote from the baby's perspective, others wrote from the perspective of the pot.  Creative writing, not something we had time for in class, but the students were excited to do it at home and when they had some extra time. They were always excited to know when they were going to get the next picture.

     There are many types of authentic assessment I have seen. Portfolios are a wonderful one to use. Students can they actually see their progress and what they have learned. I also love making collages. Taking what you know and using pictures to express that, is way more interesting that taking a test. Writing stories can also be a good tool. Giving students an hour to write from the perspective from a pioneer moving west and telling them to include 10-15 facts that they have learned is a great way for them to get creative and show what they know. Something as simple as drawing a picture to show they were paying attention and understanding is also a good assessment. There are so many ways besides taking a test to assess students. The problem is, these ways are often much more work for the teacher. Be realistic, it's probably not going to work out to have a form of authentic assessment that is not a test every time, but it's a good option to have and take advantage of on occasion.

Week 6

     This was my second week of full-time teaching and it went well. I was very sick and hardly functioning this week. I lost my voice a few times and Sally had to take over on occasion, because I could not talk. On a happy note, I am now feeling much better after being on antibiotics, which will make this week a lot easier. :).
     Over the past couple of weeks I have been giving the students a funny/interesting picture. They are to use the picture throughout the week to write a creative writing story. The students are loving it!!! It is so much fun reading their stories and to see their creativity. Some of the students have really taken this project and run with it. A lot of them have worked really hard and done a lot of research for some of their stories. Sally has loved this idea so much, she said she was going to steal it from me and continue on after I leave.
     Reading is a lot of the same routine. Worksheets, mini-lecturing, partner work, silent reading, listening to the story on cd, and taking tests. This week we read Encantado, which is about the pink dolphins. I thought it would be a good idea to show a video from National Geographic Kids about pink dolphins. It was short and sweet, but it helped to bring everything together.
     Math has been a little bit challenging to teach the past couple of lessons. We are working on diving, leading into long division. On Friday, we started off the lesson by using the smartboard. We used pennies and dimes on the board to demonstrate place value and did some grouping and dividing. That went very well, but then when we started doing some division without the visual, they were confused. I had them take out their worksheets, and instead of them doing it on their own, we went through it together. Towards the end, they were starting to pick up on it, but I'm going to continue with teaching it on Tuesday, because it leads into the next lesson perfectly.
     Social Studies has been really interesting to teach. We are working with the Midwest Region right now and the students really seem to be enjoying it, because that's where they live. We had discussion and question time, silent reading, group reading,  and partner work with worksheets.
     In Science, we do a lot of group reading and discussing as we go through it. The students always have a lot of stories to tell and a few students usually have something interesting to add to the discussion. Again their are some worksheets that the students have done on their own or with a partner.
    For Bible this week, I tried something a little different. We would read the bible story and then take some notes after. I would write them on the board and they would copy them down. It's not a lot of notes, but enough so that they would have the basics of the story to jog their memory. I plan on letting them use their notes for an open note Bible quiz for next week.
    I have also been showing brainpop videos every once in awhile in science and social studies. The students love them and it's a good way of reviewing what they just talked about. The brainpop videos also have information that is a little bit of a higher level for the students who pick up on more. This is an easy way to differentiate between students.
    I have been learning so much over the past couple weeks. 1) DON'T GET SICK!!! (haha) It really makes everything a lot more difficult and hectic. There was one night where I didn't grade and I felt kind of behind. 2) Don't get behind on grading.  Of course there are many other things, but this is what I mainly learned this past week with being sick.
    On Friday, we had off school, but we were given the opportunity to attend an in-service at my old high school, Illiana Christian. I thought it was kind of weird to be going back to my high school as a teacher with my old teachers. It was very interesting. Prof. BC came to talk about backwards design and truth be told, I understood it more in that 2 and a half hours than I did the whole last semester of novice. That was exciting! As always, Prof. BC was very interesting. The rest of the day was spent looking at a study done about Christian schools. How they impact students and the world negatively and positively. There was a lot of time to discuss with our groups and it was a great time to get to know and build relationships with the faculty at Calvin.

Schmidt
     Schmidt, as usual, has a lot of good information to share. She really puts a lot of emphasis on how important communication is between teacher and parents. You think your job as a teacher is just about teaching the students, but you need to be in constant communication with the parents in order to establish a good relationship. The better the relationship with the parents, the further you will get with your students.
     This really helped me to realize how important it is to be in constant communication. Weekly bulletins are extremely helpful to keep the parents informed. I have also picked up something from Sally that I really like. She signs her students planners at the end of the day to make sure they have everything written down. At night, the students have to get a parent signature in their planner. This allows for Sally to write a note to the parents and for Sally to look for comments or questions in the morning. I really love the part about staying positive. Parents should look forward to getting a note home at the beginning of the week and hearing about all of the exciting things their children will be learning about in the coming week.
    Parent-teacher conferences can be intimidating and stressful. I really liked the idea of sending home a parent packet and giving them something to do to prepare for the conference. Having a student portfolio available for parents to look at is a great positive way to start off the conference. Choosing a table that puts everyone on the same level keeps parents at ease and less like they are about to be lectured. Also, Schmidt says to be prepared! Being prepared is probably one the most important things to do when having a parent teacher conference.

Week 5

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Week 4

     This week was a learning experience. I took over all but 1 subject and Sally stayed out of the room for a  few subjects on Friday. This was my first week teaching the Language Arts block and it was by far the most confusing thing so far. It's one big block and there is no specific set schedule. A bunch of different things are happening every day. Sally was really nice and helped me by writing out what to do for every day. By Friday, I felt that I had a better hang of it.
     In Language Arts, we spend a couple of days reading and doing vocabulary and working on grammar skills. I start Mondays by giving a pre-test in spelling and then a test again on Friday. I have been having the students do some partner work in Reading this week to break it up a little. In Math I spend about 15 minutes teaching the lesson and having the students doing some work along with me. If I feel that they are not understanding and we need more time together, I cut out the assignment and continue working with them until they get it. Because math is so short and Sally does not allow them to have math homework, it is a little bit difficult to fit everything in. In Science we read through the lesson for the day, I ask questions that connect to what they already know, and then they have a worksheet they are working through. We also did an experiment this week to show how currents move and how cold water is more dense than warm water. I also showed a brainpop video on currents. I am running out of emails to use for my free trials!!!  Bible is usally spent going through the memory verse, hearing a Bible story, and on occasion doing a worksheet.
     Wednesday I did not go into school, because I had the flu. I felt a little bit unprepared when I came back on Thursday as I was not able to collaborate with Sally to find out what the plan for the day was. It really showed me how important it is to be prepared.
     On Thursday, Sally told me that although the kids loved me, they were not showing proper respect for me as a teacher. Some of them not paying attention at all and talking out of turn. That was really discouraging to hear, even though it was something I was thinking myself.  I did not know what to do and at that point, I just wanted to give up. Sally was really encouraging and I spent a lot of time talking to my support system (parents). Friday I went back and had a talk with the students. I had to show them I meant business and their previous behavior was not acceptable. It went a lot better, and although I have a few students losing their recess on Monday, I am hoping that they will realize how important it is to respect each other and me. I want them to succeed and they are not going to do that if they are not participating in class.
     I am still in the process of learning how to work with students at all different ability levels. We have one student who tests out of every chapter, so I am supplying him with challenge material. There are some students that catch on really fast and sometimes get bored. I am trying to come up with different ways to engage them. I have some interesting things planned for this week though! I'm really excited to get through my lessons.
     This next week will be my first week taking over the entire day all week. It is very nerve-racking and exciting at the same time. I hope it goes well!

Schmidt
     There are 2 motivations behind every behavior. 1) to seek pleasure and 2) to avoid pain. This makes sense. If they are bored they want to do something to entertain themselves. If they are engaged, they will continue to have fun and be engaged in the learning. If students don't understand the material, they will zone out or act out to avoid doing the thing that they don't get.
     From Schmidt and from student teaching, I have learned that student behavior is mostly connected with being engaged. When students are engaged, they are less likely to act up and display behaviors that are unsatisfactory. When students have that time where they do not have something to do, that is when things start to get out of hand. Students also act out sometimes when they are frustrated and do not understand the material.
     It is important to encourage students to learn and be involved in the material. When they are doing good, give encouragement to continue. If they are doing poorly, give them a reason to do better. Let them know that you care. Get to know your students and take time to find out why they're doing what they are doing. I have one student that often cries because she takes longer to do things. She feels like she does not have enough time. I have told her multiple times that instead of crying she needs to come talk to me so we can find a solution. I often tell her that she can bring her work home or that we can find some time somewhere for her to work on it. If students are displaying behaviors on the outside, it can often be hiding something going on inside or outside of the classroom. Point being: GET TO KNOW YOUR STUDENTS!!!

Week 3

Week 3
      This week was for the most part really good. I had the opportunity to meet with parents for conferences, meet with curriculum committees, and meet with my teacher and the principle to discuss parts of the changing curriculum. Everything that I have been privileged to be a part of has been a huge blessing and real eye opening. I have learned that teaching is not just teaching. You don't just go to school every day and teach. There are a ton of behind the scenes stuff that happens. You have to be part of committees, attend school events :), have teacher in-service days, and you are always redesigning the curriculum maps. I am learning a lot about curriculum maps while at Calvin. Sally tells me all the time that she wants me to know what it is really like to be a teacher and to feel the craziness that is constantly going on. She is so great about giving me opportunities to know and experience what it is like, while still giving me a break, because this is only my third week.
      There was not really anything exciting for Monday and Tuesday. They were very standard and normal flowing.
      My supervisor came to observe me on Wednesday. That was very nerve-racking. I had never met Ms. Hysell before, which was part of my anxiety. It was made worse by how hectic it was that day. I felt like I was rushing through everything. Mr. Allen, the man who comes every Wednesday for math centers, likes to stay late and that was cutting into my science lesson that Ms. Hysell came to observe me for. Like I said, hectic, but I think it went really well.
     Thursday's math lesson did not go well. The lesson was taught well, at least I thought it was and Sally thought it was okay too. The students were just not motivated to participate. I was very disheartened, but Friday went a lot better. I'm constantly being nice and not forcing them to do anything and I think that is part of the problem. On Friday, I was more of a task-master. I simply told them that it was fine if they didn't want to participate in class, they could spend time with me working during recess. That got them to work. I think that it is important to have the students respect me as a teacher. One student said to me, "you're just a student teacher." My response was, "I'm still a teacher and I am teaching you, so that should not matter." I know that they like me and I love that, but I want them to see me as a teacher and I think they are beginning to really do that. They are beginning to see that testing me is not getting them very far.
     Friday I had the opportunity to see the schoo-lwide Scripps Spelling Bee. It was awesome to see the whole school come together and support their classmates. I was also able to participate in Faculty devotions after school for the first time. The camaraderie and caring between the staff is so amazing to see. I love being at this school and am already say that there are only 4 weeks lefts here.
     This week I will be doing everything but social studies. I am very excited to begin teaching the language arts block.

Schmidt
     The reading from Schmidt was very much in tune with the book that I read last semester, Other People's Children,  by Lisa Delpit. Schmidt also mentioned Delpit's book multiple times throughout the chapter. Different cultures and diversity are topics that are talked about a lot at Trinity and there is a lot of emphasis placed on diversity in the education classes. I really enjoyed how Schmidt was not constantly focusing on cultural diversity, but diverse learning styles as well. It is important to not have the mentality that every child is the same, so forget the differences. What you need to have is the mentality that while every child is capable of learning, they do not all learn the same way and they are not the same. Cultural differences should be embraced and celebrated. Don't try to hide the fact that there are different cultures represented in the classroom. Find ways to talk and learn from each other. It also important to realize that every child, while capable of learning, learns differently. It is up to you as a teacher to find ways throughout the day, to reach every child. Obviously is it going to be impossible to cater to every single student at every moment, but there should be multiple opportunities throughout the day and throughout the course of the subjects. Diversifying your content and teaching styles to make it more applicable to your students is something that every good teacher does.

Week 2

     This week was great! I find it easier to get out of bed every day, because I know that I get to be with my class.  This week was short because of MLK and it went very fast. We were so busy every day! On Wednesday we got the opportunity to go with the 5th grade class to see a play at Governor State University. We saw 50 states in 60 minutes. It was fun and I think it helped the students to review the knowledge that they had been gaining during social studies. As a student, field trips were a blast, but nobody every told me how tolling it was as a teacher! You are taking these students out of a safe, predictable environment and bringing them to a place where there are so many unknowns. It could drive a person crazy. The day turned out well though, no lost or injured students. :) Last week I started reading a book for read aloud. I continue to do that every day after recess. This is a great technique that I plan on using in my own classroom. It gives the students the opportunity to come back from recess and prepare for the rest of the day before starting right up again. As I am beginning to do math more and more, it is becoming more clear to me how much of a challenge it is going to be to prepare for a gifted student. It is a blessing to be able to work with him though.
      One thing that I am finding difficult is dealing with classroom conflict. Tattle-tales have never been my thing and my first reaction is to want to say, "I don't want to hear it." Sooner or later it is something that is going to have to be dealt with though. I plan on talking to Sally (co-operating teacher), about it. Hopefully she will have some tips for me. As I was reading through Schmidt, I came across something that made me feel kind of ashamed. When she is talking about spelling and going around and saying the word, the sentence, and the word again, I realized that is exactly what I have been doing. When I am giving the spelling test, I feel like a robot. I hear myself talking and all I can think is, "boring!" I would like to see what Sally's thoughts are on trying to give a memory spelling test like suggested in the book.
      On Friday, I was given the opportunity to teach a Bible lesson. That was really hard for me. This was something I had never done before. I had no experience. You would think it would be easy. I have heard these stories my entire life and know them pretty well. Teaching Bible was probably my scariest experience so far (next to the field trip of course), and I am not so sure I taught it very effectively. That's okay though. I am trying again tomorrow!
     I am beginning to develop very good relationships with my students and my teacher. Developing these relationships is really a blessing. I can really tell a difference. Establishing a good rapport with students can really make a difference when asking them to do something and even when you're up there teaching.
Schmidt
      What I got out of the reading, is that Eptness, is synonymous with Great Teacher. The book says that," Eptness is a combination of capacities and meaningful activity. It resides in potential in all students, but it's unleashed through the deliberate efforts of their teacher." A teacher who possesses Eptness will create an environment that is safe for every student to be, learn and make mistakes. An ept teacher will not put limits on their students learning, but do everything they can to promote student learning. They will make every student feel their value and their worth and that they do have something to add to the classroom that other students can't. An ept teacher will make their classroom environment so that the students realize that they all need each other to learn and grow. They will make students realize that it takes working together to grow as a class and as a person. Ept teachers will make what they say meaningful to their students, whether that be to help make connections to the world around them or when giving feedback.
       My favorite teacher behavior listed in this book is "Never Too Late." This is kind of my life philosophy and something that I have incorporated into my philosophy of education. I believe that Never Too Late goes along with the belief that Every day is a new day, a clean slate. It is never too late to fix a mistake and learn from it. Ultimately, the goal in a classroom is learning and most often the most memorable learning happens when learning from mistakes made. I also plan on incorporating the behavior of encouragement. As a student myself, I can truly say that having someone there to be a constant encourager is imperative to growing and to keep trying. The teachers that stick out most in my mind are the teachers that took time to talk to me and encourage me if I was doing well or poorly. They specifically came to me or made their words specific to me. I plan on being a constant encourager for my students, because if I still need encouraging as an adult, how much more encouragement it will take for a child. The third teacher behavior I plan on incorporating in the future (and I believe I do this already), is Expectations. The worst feeling in the world for a student is when they can tell that their teacher already doesn't think they can do it. That gives them permission to believe that they really can't do it. It is important to go into a school year with all pre-concieved notions erased from your mind. Go into the year with the attitude that this is a new group of students with unlimited potential and you are the one being privileged enough to help them achieve it. No matter who a student is, or their ability, they are capable of learning something. Teach children that and they will exceed not only expectations you have for them, but the expectations they have for themselves. Exceeding their own expectations will give them pride in their abilities and really allow them to believe that they can do anything.

End of Week 1- January 16

          This was my first week of student teaching and honestly, it wasn't as terrifying as I expected. I've been looking forward to being at this stage for so long, that I just feel relieved and excited. I am at Calvin Christian School in South Holland, IL. I am in fourth grade with Sally Breems. There are 20 students in the class and consists of about 60% African American and 35% caucasian. On day 1 at the school, I was able to attend a faculty meeting at the end of the day. This was a great way to start off my experience at Calvin.
          Week number 1 was the week I had originally intended to observe and while I have been observing, I have also jumped into teaching. The week started off with me taking over read aloud and walking around to help out and answer questions, just taking time to get to know everyone. Throughout the week I began taking over a couple of lessons too. Most of the week was spent getting used to the school, the students, staff, and the general workings of Calvin. There is a lot of things being done effectively in the classroom. Sally's relationship with her students is a great thing to experience and watch. They have such a great rapport. I also think that the classroom routine is done quite effectively. The students know what is expected of them when they arrive to class, what to do when they finish their work, and they do it without having to really be reminded. In the program at Trinity, you are shown the importance of being able to differentiate between students. I really saw differentiation at my placement and not in the expected way. Sally had students that have to leave class for reading and math to go to the Discovery Center for extra help, but she also has a student in her class that is gifted. He does not leave the room and must receive a whole different sort of curriculum for certain subjects. I have especially seen Sally change the curriculum for him in math. I have not had much experience with gifted students, so it has been a learning experience and an eye opener at how difficult it can sometimes be.
         Sally really allows the students to share and have input in class. She really encourages them to take part in the discussion and does not make them feel bad if they do not have a correct answer. I love her popsicle stick technique for calling on students. I also appreciate how they have the option to "skip" if they do not feel comfortable answering or do not know the answer. I think this would be a great technique to incorporate into my classroom some day.
         I have many expectations for learning at my student teaching placement in the upcoming 6 weeks. I feel as though I have already learned a great deal, just from the limited amount that I have observed and done. I hope to formulate my own set of guidelines for the classroom. I also hope to learn more about teaching to different abilities and work with students who are in different places academically. I am very excited to build relationships with these students and help them to grow in their knowledge and in their walk with the Lord. It is such a privilege to have been placed at a Christian school for this semester.

Schmidt
         As I am still waiting for my book to come in the mail, I was only able to read a small portion of the chapter before it cut me off. As soon as I receive the book I will update my section about Schmidt. The following paragraph is all I have so far.
         I completely agree with Schmidt about how you can keep kids busy with learning activities, but if they don't have to use their brain it's pointless. It is important to make students think. When they're younger, you might not get to as deep of a thinking, but that doesn't mean you don't have to challenge your students. Students will never grow intellectually if they are not making connections and building their higher level thinking skills. They obviously still need to know facts and these don't always require a higher level of thinking, but you can often find ways to connect the information to their life and other things that they know. Give students a purpose for learning, show them why it is important. When they see that learning is important and are being challenged, they will more often than not exceed your expectations.