I think that the students at Warwick Vets High School are like any other teenagers I have met. They're talkative and a little bit resistant to schoolwork. However, I have walked around the classroom for both the eleventh and twelfth grade classes and have helped them with suggestions on projects and research.
The teacher, though, does not give them much direction or does much with classroom management and discipline. I'm not sure what I'm going to learn from her, as she has not give me much direction, either, in the way of lessons. In fact, she does not even care if she sees my lesson plan before I teach my lesson. I don't really know what else is in store for me...
I just want to clarify about not feeling welcome: I didn't mean that the school environment didn't make me feel welcome. I just didn't feel welcomed by the teacher. Also, I don't want to sound like I'm complaining; I'm just reporting on what has happened over the last two days.
North Providence is SUCH a kooky place and I love it – I didn’t think it would be possible for me to laugh as much as I have at a high school. Melissa and the other teachers we’ve met so far have been really nice and welcoming, but I do feel like I should bring them all some pasta and garlic bread to fit in a little better. Other than my dad’s job as a firefighter, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group of colleagues get along so well and act so much like a family! Melissa is great, she is so laid back but also effective and efficient. She has been so open with us about all of her methods, lesson plans, books, handouts – she has pretty much opened her classroom up to us to use to our full advantage. I also love that all the teachers are completely themselves around us and the students; they don’t necessarily “act like teachers” all the time but still manage to get the students to respect and listen to them. The classes we’ve observed so far have been really great. Melissa’s classes seem like they have so much fun while learning at the same time, which is something I definitely hope to take into my own classroom someday.
I am now with a different teacher at Warwick Vets, and I really like her. Andrea has such a nice personality - someone the kids can talk to about anything and someone I can talk to about academics or what's going on in our lives. We talked about the curriculum and the students, and then we started to talk about her new Bichon puppy and significant others. We're able to communicate easily, and I agree with so many of her ideas and approaches.
Her classroom is colorful, as it is decorated with her students' book covers for different literary works. There are shelves designated for her classes' notebooks, folders, and other supplies. She begins her classes with a journal entry. Today, she asked the freshmen write about dating someone with a tattoo of a former boyfriend/girlfriend: would they date them and be fine, or would they ask to remove it? For the seniors, she asked them to write about their favorite breakfast food. I love that the entries have nothing to do with what they are working on in the class; it relaxes the students because they can write about themselves and it clears their minds at the same time. The freshman honors class is studying Greek mythology, and the seniors are in a literacy class that is now focusing on . Andrea told me that many of these students are on Tier 2 and are resistant to reading. However, they are reading ahead and getting so into the book that it amazes and elates Andrea. She is happy to have them be enthusiastic about reading.
Andrea is welcoming and accommodating. She lent me her Greek mythology book so that I can choose a myth to teach the freshmen about. Also, she is flexible about times and would like to work with me in student teaching. I hope that this placement goes well, because I really like Andrea as a person and as a teacher.
I have had a good first week in High School. The first day was a bit overwhelming, as my teacher is a really odd kind of guy. He is hard to explain except by saying that he is a kind of spastic “details” guy and super laid back all at once! He is really rather cool, just a bit much at first. He says things like “rock on” instead of “bye” when you’re leaving at the end of the day. As I spent the day with him, then even more time later in the week, I really began to appreciate his quirky personality. Plus, he is super smart and really willing to share what he knows! He had me working with students one-on-one right from the first day.
I spend the day yesterday (Friday) at Vets and got to see first-hand the chaos of “last day before vacation.” Mossberg showed movies to most of his classes (but made sure to incorporate them into the curriculum) and he showed one of his classes some political satire clips from “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report.”
The students were really welcoming and nice when I worked with them! There were many things that impressed me about them this week; but, I will talk about one thing I saw yesterday that really knocked my socks off! Warwick Vets students participated in the "Day of Silence" organized by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. The students who chose to participate took a day-long vow of silence to protest the bullying and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students and their supporters. The silence is meant to be symbolic of the silencing of these students and their supporters. The school was on board with the protest and had the students who were participating wear orange wrist bands to distinguish themselves as exempt from speaking in their classes all day. What was so cool and moving to me was how many students participated from all different “clicks” of students, including girls and boys. Mossberg expressed how proud he was of the students who were standing up for what they believed in. What was really impressive was that, even in the hallways, I saw many of the students who had taken the vow of silence refraining from speaking to their friends even between classes. They were scribbling notes or making overly exaggerated facial expressions instead! It was eerily quiet for a high school! So, so cool—especially when I think back to my high school days and how far things have progressed since then!
All in all—great first week! I can’t wait to see you all on Monday!
I've been meaning to post this since Thursday...sorry guys for taking so long!
Anyway, NKHS is a pretty neat school! It's pretty big, and high-tech (okay, rich) looking--and the quad area, where the seniors get to eat lunch, is nicer than ANY outdoor space at RIC. And, just like RIC, there is absolutely no parking! I actually had some little girl (by little, I mean like 16) cut me off in her VW Bug convertible so she could grab a spot before me! Whatever.
On a good note, my experience with Aly has been pretty good so far. She teaches two groups of Honors seniors and two groups of CP sophomores. I have sat in on all four classes, and she seems to conduct all four classes in a similar way, but with the sophomores she tends to have them do in-class activities as well as discussions...with the seniors, it's mainly large discussions, much like a book club. So far, her seniors have read 9 novels this year and will probably finish at least 2 or 3 more by graduation.
She's really laid-back, very nice, and very friendly--she has introduced me to a few colleagues that she is also friends with--which is really welcoming!
I was a little nervous to start in the high school, especially after such a great experience with Erica in the middle school--but this last week was a very positive experience. Oh, thank god!
I absolutely love North Providence High School! From the minute I walked into the teacher’s room on Monday morning, where they were blowing up pepsin the microwave, to observing Melissa’s humorous teaching practices in the classroom. I can’t get enough of this high school. Melissa offered all of her materials to Catherine and me and she told us now is the time to steal all of your materials so we were encouraged to go through her draws where she keeps all handouts on everything she has ever taught and her bookshelf which holds some oldies but goodies and a signed copy of Barry Lane of course. Melissa is a wonderful resource, she has so many good ideas and is willing to share them all! I have observed her junior class which is an honors class-these students are absolutely wonderful to teach. They know the answers to all questions-ha-ha-well that’s what it seems like. This class is a small group of 14 students and they refer to themselves as the dirty baker’s dozen (this was before the 14th student joined their class as a transfer student). They are currently reading Macbeth and are focusing strongly at the language and the play on language. Melissa told us that she believes once they grasp the language they comprehension will follow. At first I was concerned and even a little nervous about teaching a lesson on Macbeth but after watching Melissa tackle this play with confidence I feel more comfortable and with her help and her resources I think she can help us teach a kickass lesson. We also observed a CP class, also juniors, who are reading Macbeth as well. I hope we are able to teach the lesson to both classes to see the differences and changes necessary to make. I was able to meet Mrs. Napolitano who I will also be students teaching with and she seems great as well. Melissa seems to be more traditional but I am eager to learn so much from both of them. In conversation they mentioned the last time they teamed up to student teach they created a masterpiece! I hope they can provide me with the great skills as well!
I am an Associate Professor of English and Secondary Education at Rhode Island College, where I am also the Director of the Rhode Island Writing Project.
I think that the students at Warwick Vets High School are like any other teenagers I have met. They're talkative and a little bit resistant to schoolwork. However, I have walked around the classroom for both the eleventh and twelfth grade classes and have helped them with suggestions on projects and research.
ReplyDeleteThe teacher, though, does not give them much direction or does much with classroom management and discipline. I'm not sure what I'm going to learn from her, as she has not give me much direction, either, in the way of lessons. In fact, she does not even care if she sees my lesson plan before I teach my lesson. I don't really know what else is in store for me...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI just want to clarify about not feeling welcome: I didn't mean that the school environment didn't make me feel welcome. I just didn't feel welcomed by the teacher. Also, I don't want to sound like I'm complaining; I'm just reporting on what has happened over the last two days.
ReplyDeleteNorth Providence is SUCH a kooky place and I love it – I didn’t think it would be possible for me to laugh as much as I have at a high school. Melissa and the other teachers we’ve met so far have been really nice and welcoming, but I do feel like I should bring them all some pasta and garlic bread to fit in a little better. Other than my dad’s job as a firefighter, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group of colleagues get along so well and act so much like a family! Melissa is great, she is so laid back but also effective and efficient. She has been so open with us about all of her methods, lesson plans, books, handouts – she has pretty much opened her classroom up to us to use to our full advantage. I also love that all the teachers are completely themselves around us and the students; they don’t necessarily “act like teachers” all the time but still manage to get the students to respect and listen to them. The classes we’ve observed so far have been really great. Melissa’s classes seem like they have so much fun while learning at the same time, which is something I definitely hope to take into my own classroom someday.
ReplyDeleteI am now with a different teacher at Warwick Vets, and I really like her. Andrea has such a nice personality - someone the kids can talk to about anything and someone I can talk to about academics or what's going on in our lives. We talked about the curriculum and the students, and then we started to talk about her new Bichon puppy and significant others. We're able to communicate easily, and I agree with so many of her ideas and approaches.
ReplyDeleteHer classroom is colorful, as it is decorated with her students' book covers for different literary works. There are shelves designated for her classes' notebooks, folders, and other supplies. She begins her classes with a journal entry. Today, she asked the freshmen write about dating someone with a tattoo of a former boyfriend/girlfriend: would they date them and be fine, or would they ask to remove it? For the seniors, she asked them to write about their favorite breakfast food. I love that the entries have nothing to do with what they are working on in the class; it relaxes the students because they can write about themselves and it clears their minds at the same time. The freshman honors class is studying Greek mythology, and the seniors are in a literacy class that is now focusing on . Andrea told me that many of these students are on Tier 2 and are resistant to reading. However, they are reading ahead and getting so into the book that it amazes and elates Andrea. She is happy to have them be enthusiastic about reading.
Andrea is welcoming and accommodating. She lent me her Greek mythology book so that I can choose a myth to teach the freshmen about. Also, she is flexible about times and would like to work with me in student teaching. I hope that this placement goes well, because I really like Andrea as a person and as a teacher.
I have had a good first week in High School. The first day was a bit overwhelming, as my teacher is a really odd kind of guy. He is hard to explain except by saying that he is a kind of spastic “details” guy and super laid back all at once! He is really rather cool, just a bit much at first. He says things like “rock on” instead of “bye” when you’re leaving at the end of the day. As I spent the day with him, then even more time later in the week, I really began to appreciate his quirky personality. Plus, he is super smart and really willing to share what he knows! He had me working with students one-on-one right from the first day.
ReplyDeleteI spend the day yesterday (Friday) at Vets and got to see first-hand the chaos of “last day before vacation.” Mossberg showed movies to most of his classes (but made sure to incorporate them into the curriculum) and he showed one of his classes some political satire clips from “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report.”
The students were really welcoming and nice when I worked with them! There were many things that impressed me about them this week; but, I will talk about one thing I saw yesterday that really knocked my socks off! Warwick Vets students participated in the "Day of Silence" organized by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. The students who chose to participate took a day-long vow of silence to protest the bullying and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students and their supporters. The silence is meant to be symbolic of the silencing of these students and their supporters. The school was on board with the protest and had the students who were participating wear orange wrist bands to distinguish themselves as exempt from speaking in their classes all day. What was so cool and moving to me was how many students participated from all different “clicks” of students, including girls and boys. Mossberg expressed how proud he was of the students who were standing up for what they believed in. What was really impressive was that, even in the hallways, I saw many of the students who had taken the vow of silence refraining from speaking to their friends even between classes. They were scribbling notes or making overly exaggerated facial expressions instead! It was eerily quiet for a high school! So, so cool—especially when I think back to my high school days and how far things have progressed since then!
All in all—great first week! I can’t wait to see you all on Monday!
I've been meaning to post this since Thursday...sorry guys for taking so long!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, NKHS is a pretty neat school! It's pretty big, and high-tech (okay, rich) looking--and the quad area, where the seniors get to eat lunch, is nicer than ANY outdoor space at RIC. And, just like RIC, there is absolutely no parking! I actually had some little girl (by little, I mean like 16) cut me off in her VW Bug convertible so she could grab a spot before me! Whatever.
On a good note, my experience with Aly has been pretty good so far. She teaches two groups of Honors seniors and two groups of CP sophomores. I have sat in on all four classes, and she seems to conduct all four classes in a similar way, but with the sophomores she tends to have them do in-class activities as well as discussions...with the seniors, it's mainly large discussions, much like a book club. So far, her seniors have read 9 novels this year and will probably finish at least 2 or 3 more by graduation.
She's really laid-back, very nice, and very friendly--she has introduced me to a few colleagues that she is also friends with--which is really welcoming!
I was a little nervous to start in the high school, especially after such a great experience with Erica in the middle school--but this last week was a very positive experience. Oh, thank god!
I absolutely love North Providence High School! From the minute I walked into the teacher’s room on Monday morning, where they were blowing up pepsin the microwave, to observing Melissa’s humorous teaching practices in the classroom. I can’t get enough of this high school. Melissa offered all of her materials to Catherine and me and she told us now is the time to steal all of your materials so we were encouraged to go through her draws where she keeps all handouts on everything she has ever taught and her bookshelf which holds some oldies but goodies and a signed copy of Barry Lane of course. Melissa is a wonderful resource, she has so many good ideas and is willing to share them all! I have observed her junior class which is an honors class-these students are absolutely wonderful to teach. They know the answers to all questions-ha-ha-well that’s what it seems like. This class is a small group of 14 students and they refer to themselves as the dirty baker’s dozen (this was before the 14th student joined their class as a transfer student). They are currently reading Macbeth and are focusing strongly at the language and the play on language. Melissa told us that she believes once they grasp the language they comprehension will follow. At first I was concerned and even a little nervous about teaching a lesson on Macbeth but after watching Melissa tackle this play with confidence I feel more comfortable and with her help and her resources I think she can help us teach a kickass lesson. We also observed a CP class, also juniors, who are reading Macbeth as well. I hope we are able to teach the lesson to both classes to see the differences and changes necessary to make. I was able to meet Mrs. Napolitano who I will also be students teaching with and she seems great as well. Melissa seems to be more traditional but I am eager to learn so much from both of them. In conversation they mentioned the last time they teamed up to student teach they created a masterpiece! I hope they can provide me with the great skills as well!
ReplyDelete