Student Teaching Week 1

I couldn’t think of a more exciting title for this post because, to tell you the truth, the first week of classes wasn’t very exciting. Trust me, I had a great time and I’m excited about getting to work with the students, but the first week was full of paper work, book distribution, locker combinations, student information sheets, course expectations, a fire drill, a pep rally and one epic two-hour blackout thanks to a record-breaking rainstorm on the first day of classes. I sat at the front of the class with a flashlight under my chin.

A few lessons I’ve learned so far:

1. I need to perfect strategic bathroom breaks – 90 minutes is a long time.
2. Most teachers don’t eat. I’m trying not to become one of them with healthy breakfasts and lunches each day.
3. Proximity and eye contact work wonders.
4. Err on the side of belaboring the point with students rather than run the risk of leaving some behind. I really need to work on this.
5. Study halls are quite boring on the first week of school.

I had a chance to lead a discussion about the themes of the course with two blocks of students – two very different blocks of students. The first group I worked with started a vibrant discussion among one another – they weren’t just talking to me, they were talking with one another. But the next group, which was the first block of the day, really struggled with explaining, discussing and understanding the themes.

That’s about the only teaching I’ve done, but next week I’ll be easing into more duties and hopefully by week three I’ll be making my own plans. I’m being observed for the first time by my university supervisor and I’m more than a little nervous.

I have all 9th graders for world literature. The high school where I’m teaching houses the school system’s global studies and foreign language academy and all of my students are a part of the academy. I have one class, Journalism I & II, of both academy and non-academy students.

And I had an exciting moment with two of my students – they remembered me from my practicum experience last year when they were 8th graders!

My favorite part of the week so far was standing outside the door welcoming students into the class – using their names when I remembered them. It felt very teacher-y. And we showed Obama’s speech on Tuesday during the journalism course which made for a fitting discussion of the media coverage surrounding the event.

My cooperating teacher and I are interested in developing online writing portfolios for the 9th grade and journalism students, but I’m not sure of the best way to go about it. Wikis? The school system uses Microsoft Sharepoint. Any recommendations would be great!

Reading Rainbow and Student Choice

I’d heard rumors that the show was having trouble keeping its funding, but this week PBS finally announced that Reading Rainbow is ending after a 26-year run. Having just turned 25, I spent a lot of time as a kid watching the show’s host Levar Burton on his book-themed adventures, listening to reviews of books from kids my age, and then heading to the library to check out a few. I always thought my kids would have a chance to experience the same excitement about books that I did at a young age through this show.

As this article explains, there’s a lot of debate about whether kids need to be taught how to read first, with phonics and other comprehension strategies, or whether getting them interested in reading should be the first plan of attack.

I believe that generating interest and excitement should be first and foremost our goal as educators. If we get them interest and excited about reading, they are interested in learning, right?

My Facebook feed was a flutter this week with old college friends lamenting the death of Reading Rainbow and they all said the same thing “I like to read because I watched this show.” Sure, they may have seen parents modeling reading in the home, or teachers that encouraged independent reading, but they all felt that this show had a big impact on their reading habits today.

The lyrics of Reading Rainbow come to mind…”I can go anywhere / Take a look / It’s in a book.”

My philosophy of education is ever-changing, but one of the things I always maintain is that I want to cultivate curiosity in my students – a desire to find the answers on their own. I’ve met so many adults that ask questions of friends and coworkers that could (very, very) easily be answered with a quick Google spin. I want my students to know that they can find the answers on their own – that I, as the teacher, am not the font of knowledge in the classroom.

Reading Rainbow did more than just create excitement around reading for children – it taught them that reading is a normal thing, that you can have your own opinions about something no matter your age, and that the more you read the more opportunities you have – that you can “be anything” and “go anywhere.”

The story about the end of the Rainbow hit around the same time as a much-discussed and Tweeted-about New York Times article about giving kids choice in what they read as opposed to assigning class sets of the same novel. The story is part of a great series in the paper on the future of reading.

A reporter follows Ms. McNeill, a teacher in Georgia, as she shifts her classroom from the traditional reading methods of class sets and textbooks to giving students freedom of choice in what they read. McNeill implemented the method after a workshop she attended with Nancie Atwell, author of “In the Middle” and “The Reading Zone.”

What got to me about this article was not the success Ms. McNeill had with the method, which was impressive, but the constant speculation about whether this is the way to go. The reasons behind the speculation? That it may not prepare students adequately for standardized testing and that teachers may have trouble keeping up with all the different books. For me these problems don’t outweigh the potential payoff.

One quote left me hopeful, though, from Catherine E. Snow, a professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education:

“But if the goal is, how do you make kids lifelong readers, then it seems to me that there’s a lot to be said for the choice approach. As adults, as good readers, we don’t all read the same thing, and we revel in our idiosyncrasies as adult readers, so kids should have some of the same freedom.”

I’m always frustrated at policies and methods that seem to move kids away from personal freedom, because shouldn’t that be one of our ultimate goals? To give them the skills they need to make big and little decisions on their own?

Hopefully pilot programs like the ones detailed in the Times article will spread with success, because we’ll need something to pick up the slack if the canceling of Reading Rainbow is any true sign of the times.

Home stretch! An update

Well, it’s the home stretch for this semester at least. I’m taking two more classes this summer before heading into student teaching in the fall. This week I have plenty of assignments due (many of which I’m procrastinating on while writing this blog post) and exams next week.

I can’t believe how much I’ve done in these last few months – I quit my job, moved, started my own business, and started an even more rigorous class schedule. But sometimes it’s hard not to always feel behind. I just have to keep my eyes on the prize – a new, more rewarding career! Ironically, a career where other people assure me I’ll always feel behind on my to-do list.

I finished my last day of practicum hours with the middle schoolers this past week. I was sad to leave! As I’ve said before, the school where I was placed is a wonderful and caring community to say the least. I always thought middle school was something I didn’t want to do, but it’s funny how quickly those feelings can change.

I have plenty of posts I want to share once I have some free time, including my recent thoughts about GLBTQ literature in the classroom. It’s a big interest area of mine and luckily the newest issue of English Journal is dedicated to sexual identity and gender variance. If you’re a member of NCTE, you can read the articles online here. I highly recommend it. I also have a book review I’ve been working on that I’d like to share in the coming weeks.

Teaching stress – not teaching it, dealing with it

I’m under plenty of stress with school and work. It’s my first time filing business taxes, so I’m busy gathering receipts and documents all so I can know how much to shell out to the government this quarter.

But I found this great article from SmartTeaching.org – thanks to a tweet by @msstewart – listing 101 ways to deal with teaching stress. Check it out!

101 Ways to Cope with Teaching Stress

A teacher’s health

I’ve been swamped with school work. It’s mid-semester and exams and projects often loom around this time, but I’ve been trying to make my health a priority. I’m already vegan, but when I’m cramming for classes and trying to meet writing deadlines, “vegan” doesn’t necessarily translate to “healthy.” You know, most salt and vinegar chips and soda pop are vegan.

However, working out has always fallen by the wayside when I get busy. I’ve been told by friends that you have to make fitness a priority – like eating, sleeping, etc. But that’s been a hard change for me to make since I feel like I could be getting work done when I’m at the gym. However, the past two weeks I’ve been following a regimen of hitting the gym at least three times a week. I’m hoping that doing so will give me more energy in the long run to complete the tasks I need to get done.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the health and wellness of teachers. I’ve known a lot of teachers to gain weight when they start teaching, because they spend so much time planning, eating when they can (and usually not healthful foods), and never having time for things like the gym. I have a friend whose mom, a special education teacher, hits the gym at 5 a.m. every morning before heading to her school by 6:45 a.m. My head spins just thinking about it.

I’m wondering how other teachers make time for their health and family while being in such a demanding career? I think of Erin Gruwell in the “Freedom Writers” movie, spending every hour involved in her teaching or fund raising for her class. So I guess this is more than just a question about fitting in time for working out, but for yourself in general. How do you do it?

I’ve been warned of teacher burnout – that most new teachers leave the profession after five years or less. I think figuring out a positive teaching / life balance will be important, but I’ve never been one to be good at balancing anything, especially when it comes to my time.

So, teachers, how do you do it? How do you make time for working out, eating healthfully, taking care of kids, having a life, etc.?

“But SOLs are over!”

Friday was the first day for some of the 8th grade students to have English class after completing their writing SOL on Tuesday and Wednesday. They were surprised to find a writing assignment on the agenda – a book review for a contest.

The first question out of the students: “Why are we writing? The writing SOL is over.”

I think this warrants a sigh.

*Sigh.*

The last two weeks I’ve been with these students, the writing SOL has been the focus of every class. What the students are learning (types of essays and their parts, writing introductions/conclusions, test strategies, etc.) is applicable beyond the SOL – we know that. How do we show students that the SOLs are very important, but that learning in general is the goal? I’m sure this is an old struggle for most public school teachers, but this was my first experience with the SOL.

I took a few SOLs in high school, but graduated before they became a prerequisite for graduation, so the pressure wasn’t nearly as great. I’m wondering how I will get the point across to my students that the SOL is important (not necessarily my opinion – just a fact), but that we need to strive toward improving our writing skills even beyond these major tests. That needs to be the overall goal – learning something new everyday and pushing ourselves to try more. It’s unfortunate the SOL, a minimum standards assessment, is often the goal.

In other, less depressing news, I taught almost an entire block on my own! We discussed the parts of a book review, what we might include in a review, favorite quotes that we might include, etc. The students are able to choose from two of the books they’ve read – “Gathering Blue” by Lois Lowry or “Night” by Elie Weisel. Then we ate popsicles!

Communicating with students

I’ve always had plans of how I want to communicate with my students outside of class, should the need arise. I know I want to utilize blogging in some way, e-mail of course, instant messaging and Twitter. Maybe not all of them at the same time, but I’ve thought about being available via instant messaging for homework help and sending notices and reminders out to students and parents on Twitter.

But after reading about a Wisconsin school board’s decision to ban communications between teachers and students on social networking sites and instant messaging services, it looks like not all schools are ready or willing to take on such a “risk.”

This is a bummer, because I think the reward far outweighs the risks involved. In a middle school class today I heard students discussing chats they had the night before with classmates and comments they left on friends’ pages. The students are already there – I don’t see the problem in teachers meeting them where they are to remind of a test prep session after school or of a homework due date. If teachers know their own boundaries, and I believe most of them do, things will be safe.

Thanks to Dean Shareski for getting me riled up with his insightful post.

“The kids” – my first impression

I’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!

A teacher’s immune system

I don’t have it!

After just a few days working with middle schoolers I seem to have caught a cold. Now I understand why my practicum teacher has a Costco-sized bottle of hand sanitzer within reach at all times. Ever since I started following a vegan diet a few years ago, I’ve been cold/sinus issue-free, but it looks like my plant-based diet is no match for the school building.

Sticking close to home today with a jug of orange juice nearby.

I still need to get up the motivation to do some research for an I-Search paper I’m writing for my methods class on project-based learning in the secondary English language arts classroom. Most of the research I’ve found deals with science and technology classrooms. Anyone know of resources dealing with English classrooms and PBL?