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.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
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.
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.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)