“The kids” – my first impression
February 26th, 2009 | Filed under: teachingI’m about two days into my practicum, which is a required 35-hour stint in a local middle or high school as part of my teaching license program. It’s sort of in between an observation and student teaching. I’m supposed to observe, shadow a teacher and teach a lesson, among other things.
During my observation in a high school last semester I just sat in the back, taking notes of the good (or horrible) teaching strategies I witnessed and the behavior of the kids. This time my practicum teacher let me introduce myself to her classes and even go over some SOL prep answers. She works with mostly 8th grade English students who are in the throes of prepping for the writing SOL test and getting excited about going to high school.
I don’t know what it is about these middle schoolers, but I walked out of the building my first day with the biggest smile on my face. I adored them. They were so impressive and kind and smart, they had me wondering if I really do have my heart set on teaching in a high school. My methods class professor warned us many people come into the course “knowing” they want to teach high school, but the practicum experience throws them for a loop. I may be one of those people. But I’m not sure if my excitement is coming from the fact that this is a magnet school. There are only 300 students and they all went through a rigorous acceptance process to get there. I went to a party Saturday night and I ran into three people that teach in middle schools. Without being dreadful, they gently explained that their middle schools definitely aren’t like that. For one, they tend to have 1,500 students or more which makes it difficult to do the sort of teaching they want to do.
When I signed up for my practicum, I requested “any middle school in Norfolk.” I didn’t mind where and I definitely didn’t want to get my heart set on a certain building. I was randomly assigned this magnet school. At first I was disappointed, knowing that the experience wouldn’t be giving me the typical representation of a middle school. But I’ve come to realize that I need all sorts of experiences as I move through this teaching license program. I observed a high school in the midst of violence issues and now I’m observing a small middle school taking unique approaches to education. I’ve decided there isn’t a “typical” school for me to observe or work in – they’re all different – so I’m happy to be working with these kids. It’s refreshing to see that it is possible for all students to be present and have their homework ready with the appropriate support at home. The middle school, as part of the enrollment contract for the students, requires parental/guardian involvement. So when a student is continually arriving to class without the proper assignments, not only does he/she get reprimanded, the parents get a call as well.
And the environment is amazing. I never once saw a scowl on a teacher’s face or heard complaints in the lounge over lunch. Instead I heard discussions of lessons they had planned, teachers laughing with one another, or praising certain students. The main office is full of laughter with two great office managers at the helm, offering to help me in any way. And the principal seems to have a great vision of where she wants things to go. This is of course a school comprised of some of the best of the best in term’s of Norfolk’s middle schoolers, but I never once felt like it was snobby or that the pressure is off the teachers in terms of pushing students to do well.
The small size of the school is great. With only 300 kids, I never saw a security guard or a hall pass when a student needed to use the restroom. Instead I walked through the halls and saw groups of students working together on projects. I’m wondering how much of all this is characteristic of middle schools and how much of this is due to the size and nature of this school. Either way I love it and I could really get used to it.
Despite the environment, I was still nervous around all the kids. My thoughts, when standing at the overhead going over answers:
“There are so many of them!”
“They’re all looking at me.”
“Okay – she didn’t get that one right – what’s the best thing to say without shaming her?”
“Oh god, what if I say the wrong things?”
“Remember wait time…remember wait time.”
“Am I over-explaining?”
I asked my practicum teacher for any and all input she has about my performance. If she sees me doing/saying something that she knows is ineffective, I want her feedback. She had positive things to say about me after the first day, including that she liked when I walked around observing the students working in groups, asking how they’re doing. At the time I felt like an annoying nag – should I just leave them alone? But she assured me students like to feel someone is interested in what they’re doing.
It felt really great and natural to work with the students and move around the room, helping students find answers to their questions. I’m so relieved. I feel like I’m making the right decision with this teaching license.
Whew!
4 Comments »
sounds like a great experience! I come from a family of teachers, and there is always a little corner of my mind that thinks it’s what I too was meant to do. we’ll see. in the meanwhile, I’ll be following your experiences closely!
One thing I’ve learned is that there is no such thing as over-explaining. Assume that 1/3 of the kids are giving you their full attention the first time you go over something, no matter how dynamic you may be. I try and repeat myself three times (not in a row, obvi, and I try to rephrase things) and I still get a ton of “I don’t get it-what are we doing?” questions. I’m glad you’re loving your middle school- it sounds awesome!
You know, I have taught for about 11 years now, and I always liked middle school the best. (4 years) I taught at an “inner-city” school in east Hollywood; so, yeah, there were kids in gangs who were poor and everything… but it was probably the most rewarding part of my career. It was technically a “magnet” school (which meant that around 1/4 of the students were in a special technology-based program), which led to more in-depth studies and well-behaved kids- but I didn’t teach those kids. I always thought I’d teach elementary school, or high school, but didn’t really think about middle school until I was about six months from graduation. Here’s my pro/con list of ms vs. hs:
MS: It’s some of the last time that you have to make an impact- kids can drop out in 10th grade in most places.
HS: If you teach above 10th grade, you will have students who actually care about being there, since they’re choosing to be there…
MS: Teenagers are funny- and they’re still slightly afraid of you at this age.
HS: Maybe not so much..
Anyway, don’t know if that was helpful or not; but just something I’ve been thinking about…
Dana,
Thank you for sharing your insights about middle and high school. I’m still not sure where I’ll end up. I’m doing my student teaching in a high school, so that will give me more experience before making a decision. So I take it you’re teaching high school now? How do you like it?