We've nearly hit the mid-way point on this crazy ride. I'm glad to know you're all hanging in there.
This week, I want to know: What is on your mind as you round the bend and head into the second half of student teaching?
Here's what is on my mind after the last couple days of observing you and conversing with you:
1. You will find your voice when you get pissed off enough to conjure it. Your students will help you find your "line."
2. Seeing other teachers teach is empowering, refreshing, and intellectually nutritious.
3. Collaboration (with people you like and admire) generates energy and renews enthusiasm for teaching.
4. You should build time to reflect into your day--in the car, in the shower, at the gym, in your quiet classroom after school.
5. Community is an essential part of a school--feeling it, seeing it, knowing it's there as a safety net, as a framework for learning.
Can't wait to read what you share with us.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
In the mind of Ms. Lanni as I finish up my high school placement and head for the middle school:
ReplyDelete1. I do have a voice!
2. I'm sad to leave my students, cooperating teachers, fellow student teachers, and other friends I have made at North Providence who I have grown with over the past two months.
3. The amount of information I have learned from the teachers and students is overwhelming (but in a good way) and I will be able to carry everything with me into the middle school.
4. I’m nervous my relationship with Keith won’t be as enjoyable as it has been with Melissa and Janine.
5. I don’t want to leave Jill, Kathryn, or Nicole I feel like I am going to miss too much not being with them every day.
6. I can survive in a high school; all I have to do is have a thorough plan (which applies to any classroom).
7. Learning from excellent teachers is the best way to learn how to teach. Educational classes don’t come close to the actual experience of getting up there and doing it for yourself.
The midpoint for me, as for Nichole, is very significant because it ends my stay in High School and begins my stay in Middle School. I will be sad to leave Vets, my fellow student-teachers, the students, Fred, and all of the other people I have gotten to know there. I will even miss the sweet old lady from whom I buy coffee down the street from the school each morning. She’s always good for a smile, even though it is 6:55 AM! It’s good to be sad leaving though, because that means I had a good experience! I am looking forward to the calm aura of Erica and her classroom after 8 weeks of “Hurricane-like” energy that always surrounds Fred. But as the school motto expresses, “you can’t spell ‘Hurricane’ without ‘I can,’ “ and I did truly come to appreciate my CT, with all his strengths and his quirks. I have learned so much from him and from so many people while at Vets, and I will carry all of that knowledge with me into Middle School and beyond.
ReplyDeleteAs far as my accomplishments while at Vets, I feel really good about what I have been able to do in my short time. I really feel like a teacher at this point. I know I am still “surfing the hyphen,” but I feel totally comfortable in my teacher shoes. I was really able to connect with my students, and that feels so good! I am confident in my ability to learn as I go by reflecting on my practice and going from there. Although I know I don't now, and never will, have all the answers, I feel ready and able to take each challenge as it comes. I am pleased that I have been able to teach three classes (and co-teach the other two at times) with success! I am ready to keep "rockin' on" in middle school!
Yeah!! Thanks to all of you for being my support system during this crazy adventure!!
I assumed that by this time in student teaching, I would be super confident and feeling really good about what I’m doing. I was really confident for the first few weeks and this last week kind of shook me up a little bit and I definitely started having thoughts that maybe I can’t do this whole teaching thing as well as I thought.
ReplyDeleteI was so happy with how my sophomore class was going. They actually came to class WANTING to read “The Crucible.” They understand the larger concepts as well as the small details and I was really happy with the supplementary activities/readings we were doing. They are all participating and when it’s time to read a scene in class, 12 hands will go up for a scene with 2 characters. I thought I was doing really well…and then I was told that I was moving too slowly through the book and I needed to give them more reading at home - I guess 4 weeks is too long for a short play. I understand, of course, that we need to move through material and move on to the next thing, but I also don’t HAVE a next thing! This is the unit I’m doing for my TCWS and I don’t know how I’m going to get in all of my assessments (which are not one-day tests but actual projects and essays) when I now have to finish the book in two weeks. And then what am I going to do for the rest of my time there?! I will obviously figure it out and I know it’s not really a big deal but going from feeling like I was doing awesome, to feeling like I’m doing something wrong definitely lowered my confidence a bit.
Also, I realized this week that it doesn’t matter how nice or respectful I am as a teacher – students don’t care and they won’t reciprocate respect just because you give it to them. This week is going to be a total turn-around with the seniors – assigned seats, constant babysitting on top of learning, NO PASSES EVER TO ANYWHERE, and major consequences for their actions. I don’t know if they have actually learned ANYTHING from me so far, which makes me nervous and I kind of feel like a failure with them. I know that I’m not a failure, but as of now, they probably don’t know anything that they didn’t already know when they started this school year.
I don’t mean to be overly negative but sometimes when I allow myself to be this way, it helps me see that the things I think are a big deal, really aren’t so hard to deal with – which is exactly what happened as I wrote this. I know I’ll be able to pull through this and it might actually make me a better teacher because of it all.
Ever since Dr. Cook gave me a few items that I had to improve on after my first observation, I have implemented each one and things have been much better in the classroom. For the first few weeks, I was shaky, unsure of myself, and above all nervous. I didn't like my teacher self, and as a result, I wasn't effectively instructing or managing the class. However, after getting to know the students more and gaining strength in my voice, my management skills, and son, I have felt better about teaching. Last Friday, the class went so well, and I was so pleased with the students (and myself). We had a fun class of reading and excellent responses to the play. The students were well-behaved, but when some were getting carried away, all I did was give them a look (one that I've been trying to perfect) and they would stop. Even today, a couple of students said, "You're so nice, you're scary" and "It's scary when you stare." Yay! I'm excited that the class has been going well, and I've been reflecting every day in a journal that I started immediately after I spoke with Dr. Cook after my first observation. The journal has been a comfort to me, a place where I can align my objectives and assessments, map out class activities, and reflect on at least three things I did well and three that I need to improve. Additionally, I talk to my co-workers, my boyfriend, and my family almost on a daily basis about what's been going on and how I think everything is going. A couple of the English faculty have said to me in the past two weeks that I "seem calmer and more sure of myself." I do feel more confident in my abilities as a teacher, guide, reflective practitioner, and classroom manager.
ReplyDeleteAnd when I realized it's already the half-way point, I thought, "I really need to speed the class up to read the rest of Macbeth and fit in their activities and an essay!" I can do that, I think, and make sure they understand -and enjoy - what they're reading.
Well, first of all I cannot believe that we are almost half way through. It is happy for me because I will finally graduate and the closer it comes the better I feel but I am sad that I won't get to see the girl with the sheriff badge
ReplyDeleteanymore. The bond that the four of us have is amazing and I will miss the square dynamic when Lanni goes. I have learned so much from all of these wonderful girls and we keep each other laughing so when things are bad they are not so bad. That being said, I WILL MISS YOU GREATLY LANNI!!!
As for the classroom, I actually had a breakthrough today because I was fed up with my period 6 class. It seemed that the students were less than enthused with anything I did and I was actually feeling completely intimidated by them. I decided this morning to take the bull by the horns and clean the slate in my mind and my classroom. I told the students that we were starting fresh and I moved their seats. That alone worked wonders and Stacey laughed at me because she has been waiting for me to come to that realization for quite sometime. I also started the novel and told the students that it was a fresh start and we were wiping the slate clean. I asked the kids "who is not willing to read aloud?" and 1 girl (the thorn in my side) raised her hand. I decided to simply address the class as a whole and tell them that I would make sure that everyone would have a chance to read over what they had to read aloud beforehand so they would have time to get comfortable with the material but class participation was a huge part of their grade so I hoped everyone would participate. Go figure that the same girl jumped in to read fourth with no prompting whatsoever. It was a break through class today and I am proud of myself for doing something that made me uncomfortable for the good of the class. I actually created a much more productive learning environment. I still had to stop the class so the students could get their laughter out because they were having little fits and I decided to let them release it so we could move on. I would say that it was really immature but I had a little fit myself (Kathryn's fault of course) at the sex seminar and I had to leave the room. I also had to apologize to the teacher after class (so embarrassing) so I get it. All in all, I feel extremely teachery today!!
Nicole--You just wrote one of your Instructional Decision Making pieces! You go! Thank you for sharing this powerful learning moment with us. I am SO PROUD of you for moving out of your comfort zone to find a solution to your discontent with your class.
ReplyDeleteAlso, thank you for the shout out to Lanni. It's gotta be hard to leave the good thing you all have going on over there at NP.
Thanks, too, Laura, for your honest reflection here. Your piece, too, could be the frame for one of your Instructional Decision Making "critical incidents" for your TCWS--your first observation and how that acted as a catalyst for your growth these past few weeks. (YAY, you!! Super YAY for getting compliments from faculty!)
Lanni...well...I bequeath to you this sheriff badge. You earned it. Never, ever, ever forget this moment: "EXCUSE ME. I AM TALKING!"
Tracy...well...I hope you do NOT take the hurricane with you to Woonsocket Middle School, though you deserve a super duper merit badge for being in the "I" of a hurricane for 7 weeks. (I am so punny!)
And, Kathryn--I know you are feeling better since you wrote this post, and I LOVE how that is a testament to the power of writing and of writing to a public audience. Once you put it out there, it was off of your plate. And shoulders. And, then you had cleared the space you needed to grow some more.
I am so happy to have witnessed so much growth in all of you over the course of the past 7 weeks. Keep up the consistent, committed work, and try your best to keep students at the center of what you do. Enjoy your break from seminar this week (check your email!), and I will see you next Tuesday.
I just want to add that I refuse to accept any responsibility for whatever it is Nicole is talking about. Also, I want to say that I am so sad that Nicole Lanni is leaving us non Friday that I don't even want to think about it. We're all going to miss you so much!!
ReplyDeleteWow - what an emotional experience this blog reading has been! Kathryn, I want you to know that I think 4 weeks is not too long AT ALL. Especially with supplemental lessons. What I feel you are doing is creating a thorough, multi-textured experience that the students will never forget...for god's sake, they're EAGER to read the darn thing!
ReplyDeleteI wish my students felt that way about the pace of R&J (which I've been taking a little slowly). I've been adopting more of my CT's techniques (with gritted teeth), but I'm confident that I can work backwards - that this is what they know, and that it was too much of a shock to float in on my free-thinking cloud and expect them all to float along with me. We're now going back to the basics of direct-instruction. I kinda hate it but I'm trying not to. The students just get out of hand when I introduce these abstract notions - I think it's kind of a good sign, because enthusiasm is GREAT - but, as is typical of Shakespearean situations, unchecked passion never ends well. And I can't seem to wrangle them back in. They are like criminal masterminds and I just wish they'd solve the very crimes they work so hard to perpetrate.
I guess what's most on my mind is how do I access what is valuable about this generation's culture? I'm not even sure what that may be. I'm frustrated to discover that they don't want to think for themselves, even when I "model" free thought - they parrot everything as much as possible. When they have an original thought they look at me with the alarm you'd expect from someone watching an overexcited anime character in real-life.
I think I'm going to start, on Monday, having five-minute rap sessions with each student during silent reading, to go over any work they are missing and just level with them as individuals. I think that'll help all of us maintain focus.
And observing other teachers has been life-saving. I am actually going to observe another teacher daily, whenever possible.
All in all, I'm just at a bit of a loss right now as to how to get these kids psyched for Shakespeare. I have such good ideas but they end up falling so flat, and when there's so much content to cover, like Kathryn said, you just end up feeling stuck.
Our content is overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteSo, you have to pick and choose what to focus on because teaching and learning needs to be deeper rather than broader to have an impact. I don't remember all those science quizzes I crammed for in eighth grade but I remember my violin lessons, which I had every week for 13 years. Equally, I don't remember the Regents exams I took (in New York) but I do remember making a solar oven and cooking a hotdog in it, on the playground, as part of my 5th grade science project.
Deep learning. Pick fewer concepts; select fewer scenes to read; cut down on the steady stream of content so that you can teach deeper. (This is what sucks about pacing guides, like those they've adopted in Providence; the GUIDE sets the pace, not the teacher.) One of your last precious powers is to set the pace of learning in your classroom. When students are disengaged (or over-engaged in the wrong activities)...slow it down and deepen it.
Sometimes you have to completely stop the bus, make everyone get off, and then ask them all to re-board--some concrete action (maybe not such a cheesy one) to symbolize a new beginning. So, select what matters--for them and to you--and concentrate on doing that really, really well.
Critical questions for you, my reflective teachers:
Why is it important to read every single word of a book or play? Is it? Can some scenes be summarized so that you can take longer on the more important ones? Where can you be economical without sacrificing your instruction?
One of the most important parts of teaching is to get the students to "buy in." How are you going to get them to buy what you're selling? If "wow-ing" them isn't working, what other methods might you try?
Is it important to make them happy? Is it important that you are happy?
P.S. I love the blog, and I am so happy you all are such good writers and such honest, caring folk. I am proud to be your teacher.
Oh my god! I suck. I am so sorry that I totally dropped the ball on this blogpost, I really don't have any excuse except that I haven't really opened my computer at home to do anything other than type, type, type away in Word...I do all my emailing and Facebooking through my iPhone. I do ask for forgiveness!
ReplyDeleteOk, that being said...I am REALLY going to miss Lanni too starting on Monday! The thought of her not being in the same building as me makes me sad. I also thank my lucky stars daily that I am in a placement at NPHS with Nicole-squared and Kathryn as opposed to being at NKHS all by myself, because I can't imagine my experience without them!!
So, as we round the halfway-mark, I really can honestly say that I am truly enjoying my experience. I have my good days and some really GREAT days--when I feel that I am making a difference, the kids are learning, and we're all having fun. I like those days. But, I also have some bad days...and sometimes I even have absolutely horrible no good very bad days! Those are the worst...those are the days when I want to just leave the room, tell them all (the kids) to go to H-E-double sticks...and slam the door behind me. Those are the days when they WON'T STOP TALKING, when I just want to yell "OMG! WOULD YOU STFU!" Those are the days that happen very infrequently, but definitely have caused me to stop and consider rethinking this whole teacher thing. But, then I think about my good days, about my GREAT days...about the days when we are laughing together, about the days when we are sharing the personal things we write in our journals, about the day we wrote the bad poems! Those good days are the ones that make me keep going...and those are the students that I love to talk to, to chat with, to teach. Those are the days that remind me that I LOVE what I am doing here. And those are the days that get me through the horrible, no good, very bad days...
The laughing fits in the lunch room get me through too...
I would just like to rebut Kathryn's comment about no responsibility. If her face was not in front of me it never would have happened. It is not my fault that she is funny enough to set me off! I must take stock in some group work boundaries because I know now that we cannot work together. I will take steps in the future to ensure that my maturity level stays intact.
ReplyDeleteLove you Lanni!!
In response to Nicole: How dare you sink so low as to say that all you had to do was LOOK at me to have a laughing fit. As if my face is SO funny that you couldn't help it if it "set you off." Well, I would just like to say that it's not my fault if my face is so hilarious - that's like telling a leopard that he shouldn't have spots.
ReplyDelete