A Year of Student Teaching

As I dressed my sixth grade students down on Friday for treating a guest teacher badly, my mind was wandering in other directions as I spoke. I was thinking about how far I have come since I began at Hudson. I can't imagine having had the confidence to talk to the students the way I did, definitely putting them in the place - but able to insert some humor as I spoke. I know now, by the downcast eyes when the message has been understood & accepted, and that I should not go any further.  I realize when it is time to lighten things back up, to keep team spirit in place, not squash all of the middle school life out of them!

In a similar vein, as my co-teacher and I were writing updated reviews for the year-long student teacher program, Teresa and I talked about the fact that instead of student teachers being, "New teachers," we were already veteran teachers. At the time I thought that that was a little bit of an exaggeration, but now I am thinking perhaps it was not. 

I was a strong student when I began my year, but now I think of myself as a teacher - as do the rest of the staff. It isn't just the experience, the putting together lesson plans, and teaching them. It is so much more than that! It is how to read the students, it is those moments when you know that you might've gone a little bit too far, and need to back off. When you know that that student is still not listening, is still not paying attention, and you see that another student is desperate for more information.  It is figuring out when they need you to guide their learning and when to let go.  

Being able to read the students is one thing, another is learning to be flexible. I think I would have considered myself is fairly flexible at the beginning, but there is no doubt that I was very flustered when my plans went wrong, and I had to make a change.  In the back of my head I would be wondering how the original lesson/standard is going to be achieved....

When?  

How?  

Internal panic ensued!  

Now I calmly change my tracks, teach what needs to be taught, and then think about what I'm going to cover later on.  There is always time after the lesson to regroup and say, "Okay, we never got to this, so where can I add, insert or adjust this important learning?   Can we just continue with the next lesson?  Do we need to move everything back a day?" and go from there.   It has taken most of the year to learn how to adjust mid-stream; imagine what that first job must be like for the regular teacher candidate who has yet to learn and practice that skill!

If nothing else, I have discovered that being a teacher is a consistent blend of knowing that you can't do everything for everyone, but trying your darnedest to make it happen anyway!

Teaching Narrative

This is the weekend that I begin to apply for jobs. The resume has been adjusted numerous times, reference letters have been collected and the process begins. Last night I glanced over one school district's application and it asked for a 'narrative' - specifically a .......NARRATIVE DESCRIBING YOUR APPROACH AND GIVING A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE(S) OF HOW YOU HAVE AND WILL PREPARE AND INSPIRE ALL STUDENTS TO CONTRIBUTE AND EXCEL.

Wow!

Well, I have a rough draft together, now I need to go back over my blog and other sundry writings to see what I missed, and get editing!

Here are my initial ramblings......

As teacher, my job is to guide my students towards discovering information so that they can learn as they build knowledge. I will be their supporter, guide and the person who helps them to find the answers. As a life-long learner, I experience learning with my students, leading by example. Whether it is doing my own writing during a free-write, modeling during a read-aloud, or demonstrating writing through an interactive write-aloud, I always strive to model best practices and allow students to experience techniques prior to being released to work independently.

As a student teacher I have worked to create lessons that have purpose to my students. Authenticity, purpose and a real audience make learning more interesting to everyone! In a recent mini-unit I concentrated on interdisciplinary themes and our complex text discussed a real-life problem. As students read text about the psychological effects of captivity on zoo animals, they were focused and engaged. As our lesson moved from complex text comprehension to research about habitats, ending with writing a descriptive text about the habitat, the students remained interested and willing to share their best work.

I begin each task by finding out what the students already know and think about something. That will help me to address and correct any misconceptions immediately, starting discourse, teamwork and sharing from day 1 of learning. After introducing and modeling the lesson, the students then get to work. As they ask and answer questions, try things out, make decisions and record results, students are empowered to learn. I strive to increase cooperative learning. In my classroom at Hudson my co-teacher allowed me to change the seating arrangement to assist in the implementation of more group work. I have seen improved intent through the increased amount of group work that the new arrangements made possible.

I have found out that when students are given a question, they do a great job of finding answers! As they find the answers, they learn - and because they discovered answers themselves, this is information that they will understand and remember. This allows vital life skill learning in addition to the content. I respect both students’ opinions as well as considering their individual learning needs. In my first year in the classroom I have discovered just how hard that can be with 29 different needs in front of you, but as a teacher I feel that the only way to succeed is to keep trying to be aware of each student’s very individual learning strengths.

Students need choices. I recently changed a planned unit to agree to my students’ suggestion that they write their own version of David Wisniewski’s The Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups. Their excitement about the project was palpable, and now we are working to create a classroom book. Both the final product and the learning gained will be far more superior with their investment in the project.

When assessing work, I ask students to critique their work, determine what they did well and look at what they would like to improve. My taking the time to give complete and timely feedback is important, but my students learning to think through their own work, reflecting upon how to make something better next time is far more powerful, real-word learning. When working on writing projects with my students I have strived to give effective feedback throughout each step of the writing process. Being able to conference with students about their writing with their version and my suggestions on hand has been successful and has been reflected in their improved writing.

As a new teacher I really want to focus on strong communication with each students’ family. As a student teacher I have built a classroom website and FaceBook group to help to connect with the home front. In my own classroom I would like to add to the contact with positive phone calls and invites to bring their home community into our classroom community. By building positive relationships with my students’ families it will help me to reach out when help is needed, as well as to be able to take advantage to their family gifts and experiences to share with the class. I believe that in order for us to truly be a team in the classroom, parents and guardians, as well as students, need to be communicated with and be confident that their ideas and opinions will be respected.

Random Thoughts...Lessons Learned

The list of lessons learned is endless, but as I enter the second month of my second semester of teaching, here are a few that come straight to mind:

• Always keep thank you cards, you never know when a student deserves one, or you need to thank someone. 
• Remember to smile at their jokes. 
• I make jokes that make them laugh! Keep doing that.
• Humor gets you through everything. 
• Don't try shouting over them, it never works! 
• Stand at the board and write, they get quiet, as they try to read what your writing.
• When technology doesn't work, go to the old-fashioned methods. Easel paper ROCKS! Plus it is an example of real writing for the students to see - even to write themselves!
• Sometimes it is quicker to write it on paper, than to try and get the screen down and the iPad and the Internet to work. 
• Write with the students.
• Read with the students.
• Sit at their desks and talk to them.  They love to feel that you are treating them as equals in some way.
• Take some days to catch up on curriculum, don't always rush to the next thing.
• It is better that they learn something well than a lot of little things badly. 
• There is always another day, there is always another paper to grade, there is always more busywork, but there are only so many opportunities to teach a good lesson.  

I found this article, "Good Teaching:  The Top Ten Requirements" from Colorado State University - I love it - teacher friends, I hope that you do too!

Trying to teach in 43 minutes

43 minutes.  How do you teach a curriculum well in 43 minutes?  It is rather like the argument about the length of summer vacations - the first month back is spent re-teaching. The first 5-10 minutes of my 43 is often lost.  We have standards to teach, but daily reminders of how to work in groups comes first!  Reiteration of yesterday's 5-minute lesson comes next.  All of that doesn't count the coming in the class, the turning in of work, the daily procedures that are quick and easy with my 20 sixth graders, long and arduous wtih my 29 fifth graders.

Every day I feel that I spend 5 minutes or so reminding the students of what we did the day before ... 5 of those precious 43 fast-moving minutes!  I try to plan my lessons wisely, attempt to divide my time, 5 minutes for daily language activity, 10 minutes for the grammar lesson, 5 minutes for expanded vocabulary......but then I read the latest advice on writing workshops, and it states that you need, "A minimum of 60 minutes."  So, here I am, a great new teaching technique in front of me, perfect tools to advance my students, but my 10-15 minute writing timeframe is just not going to cut it.  What to do?

As a student teacher I need to follow my co-teacher's lead.  I am fortunate to have a flexible and supportive one!  She is also able to put away the annoying minutiae and concentrate on what's important - clearly a key lesson in this busy teacher world!  If I were to allow myself to stress over trying to fit in the 120 minutes of curriculum into 43 minutes, I would truly go crazy!  Indeed I am learning to determine the most important parts, understanding that my 6-week unit might last 7 weeks, and choosing to omit certain sections, even though I regret it each time I have to make that decision.  Oh for at least an hour, or even two, so that I could truly treat everything with the importance it deserves and allowing my students plenty of practice time to perfect each skill.  Maybe I will have that in my own classroom - I certainly hope so!  

Reality today is 43 minutes.  I am wondering whether a daily concentration on each area rather than 5 minutes of this and 10 minutes of that would be more productive?  I rather think that is how I might approach if I had the option - plus it would force me to really work on excellent grammar lessons should I need to keep students engage for 43 minutes of grammar!

In the meantime I try, I strive, I watch and learn.  I worry about how to impact my students in the most productive way.  How can I use their current writing to integrate grammar and traits? How can I merge academic language into every lesson?  How can I best leverage the short amount of time given?  All vital factors in creating rigorous lessons that will both engage and teach.  

This week will be even more stressful.  Dreaded testing time is upon us.  That means shortened 30 minute lessons every day, with only Homeroom on Wednesday.  That additional loss of 13 minutes each period will reduce options even further.  Loss of classroom time is never positive or productive.  Active concerns that never occurred to me in the past now overwhelm each waking moment. 

I will adapt and adjust.  That's what good teachers do, and this real-world experience is giving me the opportunity to learn to cope with and plan for these eventualities.  yet again, year long student teaching is allowing me practical practice options that I would not have had otherwise.  I am so pleased that I took this challenge on - what a gift it has been!

Teaching is the easy part.....

Packets for absent students, replacing missing assignments, handling late work, dealing with incomplete homework, answering emails, considering new procedures, adding new initiatives, grading papers, recording grades, trying to determine whether to repeat or move on, duties, duties, duties......lesson planning, parent newsletter, class website, communication, thank you notes, overseeing aides, knowing who needs which accommodations.......as my co-teacher, said last week, "having you do all the teaching makes me wonder how on earth I found the time to do all this - no wonder I was always a little behind."  I don't know how any person manages such a huge job description, and yet we do.  Teaching and engaging students should clearly be the focus - yet that truly feels like the easy part.  

After one week of full time teaching, the lessons have been huge.  Here are some of my wise words to me:

• You can't over plan.
• Some kids can handle change - others can't.
• You can't let the busy-work take priority.
• It would be easy to do nothing but 'be a teacher'.  The work is never done.
• Administration can change your job with one small decision.
• You have to always stay positive,
• The kids will always end up making things worthwhile.
• Nothing beats surprising a student with a thank you note.
• You need to spend time practicing any new procedures.
• One class will 'get it', but another one won't.
• Every day brings challenge, each day brings joy.
• It truly is all about the kids - never, ever forget that.

As I reflect upon the experiences last week, I realize just how much there will always be to learn.  My craft can always be bettered, strategies always improved, options always increased.  I need to always remember to concentrate on THAT and ensure that I never lose sight of what is important as I no doubt get caught up in the minutiae of required duties and paperwork.

As I write this, it is Saturday morning.  That means that it is time to get to work on next week's plans.  What can I do to help the kids learn next week?  What can I do to make sure that my students are engaged, positive, supportive, and informed next week?  

Let the planning begin!

Lesson Planning Flow Chart

Image taken from https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3305/5807299569_02627eb5a2.jpg

Exams & Tests & Quizzes, Oh My!

Assessments.........

...........one of the hardest things about being a teacher - and a student!  As I lesson plan I am constantly wondering how I need to assess my students.   There is little more important than how you check students' knowledge and use their proof of learning (or lack of) to inform teaching.  That's the simple part.  The tough part is making parents happy with assigning letters to learning, fighting the reality of kids working hard and earning Bs, as compared to students on IEPs getting As - even though you know that they don't understand the work.  The difficult bit is being required, by society, to define work by an unmeaningful letter of the alphabet, dividing students by those letters & adding to life's emphasis on defining students by their grades and determining their future through those letters rather than actually looking at the standard being taught and whether the student has achieved the level of learning desired.

Here's an example.  I just took my big licensing exam.  Now, I can write a sentence - 9 times out of 10 it will be well-written, or at least comprehensible.   Part of my studying though was on the definition of a homophone and how that differs from a homograph - and indeed a homographic homophone.  How does that help show my ability to write - or teach?  Multiple choice questions about grammar terms are considered suitable for judging my knowledge as a future teacher - just as our student are judged in the same manner.  It bothers me.

I deeply want my students to enjoy writing.  I know that by writing, lots of writing, both their writing and reading will improve.  By constant writing, editing and guiding through grammatical rules and practices, their writing will get better and better.  That is what matters, not whether it is A work or B work.  After all, what is the difference between a 79 or an 80, anyway?  Slowly I do see my students begin to read their feedback as well as read their grade, but do they pay more attention to my advice for future work, or to the letter on the top of the page?  I am grateful to a co-teacher who took a middle measure with me, allowing me to grade drafts with check, check - or check + (in lieu of A, B, etc) on the papers - it has made a clear difference to how the students consider and react to my feedback.  Sadly life being the way it is, those marks are still translated into numbers and put into the grade book, but at least the students are concentrating on the feedback as they move towards their revising for their published piece.  

Grading unfinished work seems as wrong to me as the endless worksheets too.  I wrestle with it. I understand the need for a record.  I know that it is important for me to constantly watch how my students are learning, and to ensure that knowledge is growing.  Data is key.  What bothers me is the distribution of letters that don't mean a whole lot.  Why should we be marking so-and-so as a "B student", shouldn't we be listing them as who achieved the desired knowledge, made standard?  Sadly I am not sure that we know that.  

Working one-on-one with students to truly determine standards takes time.  Encouraging student-guided assessments and allowing our students the opportunity to truly show us their standard of learning also takes time, and that is something that we don't have.  In 43 minutes it is hard enough to find the time to teach the curriculum, never mind search for moments for conferencing and coaching.  I longingly read books about writing workshops, and link that with Rick Wormeli's words on best practices and both his and Marzano's advice on standards'-based teaching.

So much to think about and consider.  

• Step 1, do my best for my students.  Accept how things are, yet not letting my own standards drop.  If I can't have time for one-on-one discussion in class, then I need to take the hours at home to write remarks and commentary on each student's work.  
• Step 2, think about how I will manage my own grade book when I have my own classroom.  Do I run a double-grade book if I am not fortunate enough to be at a standards-based school?  It is a lot of work, but will the hours of graft be worth the better information and opportunity to best-serve my students?  On paper, of course!  In reality, time is precious and balance needed.

Here's what I CAN do:

Keep thinking & learning!

Keep doing my best for my students.

Keep knowing that the best thing that I can do for my students is to keep caring.

Classes Over......Teaching Begins!

Where has my blogging gone?  I have not been very good at regular blogging, but since a good teacher is one who is reflective, I need to make sure that thinking, writing, and reflecting, become a habit that I hone.  I do have my class blog too, but since that is for parents, it has a slightly different tone - check out my class website at:  http://strayerhomeroom.weebly.com/

The semester is over!  Can we all join in a mighty, celebratory roar?!  All done.  3 1/2 years of classes done and dusted.  Final results come in with a 3.99 GPA on record, and just a few small steps away from that piece of paper that says that I am ready to teach the youth of America!  Kind of ironic that the anti-grade, pro-standard future teacher concentrates on that GPA, but as long as that is the world we live in, that is my honest reaction to the desire to shine!  Deep down I wanted that payback for my hard work, but I know as much as anyone what an unreal representation of our work that is. Some of those A's were earned through hard graft and extra credit busywork - I can't say that I still know the material.  Others are deeply ingrained.  Yes, I wanted A's, but I still believe that a change to standards would be more beneficial to all - especially to the future students who will be taught by people that achieved a degree, but never actually reached standards..........uh oh, she's off again!  That crazy girl, thinking standards are more important than labels & competitive labeling :)

Interested?  Read this article at http://tdn.com/news/local/monticello-middle-school-makes-the-switch-to-a-new-grading/article_fd4d8142-83dc-11e4-b7cb-bb4148d66548.html

Prefer a video?  Watch this one:

Imagine judging by skill instead of points.........

So now I face my first semester of full-time teaching.  Oh boy!  I can't wait!  I just posted my initial goals for the semester on the class blog - goals behind the regular teaching that is.  They are:

• Involve families more through FaceBook & website
• Morning activities for homeroom
• Integrating more technology into classes
• Increasing the amount of cooperative & collaborative group work into our classes

Goals that I have added beyond what I shared with families are: to work on my transitions and to find better management techniques within the classroom.  I also want to bring more movement and better learning techniques within the classroom.  Engagement is always key, but I am intent on finding ways to bring the 'lost' kids back into the realm before it's too late.  It breaks my heart a little to see students' fates determined so young, and maybe I can be that teacher who can join with others to influence them towards a better future than the one they have already decided for themselves at such a young age.  I will do my best!

So, this space is for me really, but feel free to share in my journey!  Teaching....here I come!!

Picture taken from http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1978629