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

Thankful!

Thanksgiving!  

I certainly have a lot to be thankful right now.  Health, a wonderful family, and an exciting future are three that come to mind right away.  A wonderful opportunity with the Year Long Student Teaching program - one that I have taken advantage of in any and every way that I can - an amazing mentor in my co-teacher, and super support from teacher/past teacher friends - all things that I am beyond grateful for.   How about the fact that I only have three weeks of classes left after Thanksgiving - yes, you read that right, just three more weeks of being in student world, and only a few short more weeks away from teaching every single day

I can’t wait!

Someone asked me how I was feeling about teaching now that I have been in the classroom so many times.  Did I find it tiring? Was the grading time-consuming?  Were there daily frustrations………well, yes, yes and of course…..but what that picture misses is the sheer joy of working with the student who FINALLY gets it.  Earning success from the student who normally chooses to hide his skills and talents.  Planning a lesson that goes exactly the way that you expected — and managing to ‘fix’ the ones that did not.  Dancing the night away with 5th and 6th graders at the fall dance and being told you are cool.  Seeing excited students when you let them know that you will be with them every day next semester.  Those are the things that immediately come to mine when you ask me about my experience as a teacher.

It’s exhausting, frustrating, a serious (and scary) responsibility, and a challenge. 

I love every moment.

This is GREAT!

So, the good news is, I have definitely made the right decision.  Every second in the classroom is another moment being exactly where I want to be.  I didn't think that I had made a mistake, but it is nice to have that confirmed as I spend three day each week in the classroom.

I realize that I am incredibly lucky to have the most wonderful co-teacher.  She is supportive and lenient.  She guides me and helps me.  She lets me success and fail.  In other words, she allows me to learn!  I hope that I am helping her out and not adding to her load.  My goal is certainly to be a help, not a hindrance!  My added Leadership Roles in the classroom and the time spent working on their genre writing have certainly not eased Mrs. Strayer's life, but hopefully I am taking enough care of the work that it hasn't actually added!

The big job that I have taken on in the class is leading the genre writing each unit.  This time around it has been narrative writing, and the students have been writing an 'autobiographical sketch'.  I don't believe that they have done many big writing projects, and initially my assistance on carefully going through every step (graphic organizer, rough draft, typed draft, final piece) was not celebrated, but I think that the light has dawned for some of the students, as they have realized just how much better their writing has been through each and every step.  I am slowly wading my way through over 100 drafts to give the most powerful feedback that I can garner, before allowing them to edit their final pieces for submission.

Once I have their final drafts, I will then post all of them to the class website that I have built for our homeroom - talk about authenticity!  Their work will be out there for their parents to see and to share with their family members as they see fit.

It is a lot of work going through each draft, noting, commenting, adding, suggesting - but they have worked so very, very hard for me, that I feel that it is the least that I can do!  It would be a little easier if I didn't have homework too, but honestly these kids have become my priority now - it is them that matters, far beyond my GPA.  I can't wait until I can spend 5 days a week with them.

Not long now!

Student Teaching

It is very confusing to the traditionalists out there, but I am currently student teaching AND going to classes....what?  How can that be?  Isn't that hard?

Well....yes!

I am in the pilot program - along with around 40 other students statewide.  We are part-time student teaching this semester, full time next.  We are staying in the same school, working with the same teachers and students, for the full year.  We did pre-year set up and professional development, we are at staff meetings and PLC, we are writing lesson plans and teaching.  This is not another 'experience' of observation and assistance, nor it is just a 'methods' class.  We are co-teaching and are on the staff.  Heck, I even have a polo with 'Teacher' embroidered on the front!

Is it hard?  Yes....and no!  Yes because my three professors at UNI don't understand the program, nor embrace the fact that I am also writing lesson plans and grading papers.  There is no respect for what we are doing, communication seems to be lacking among faculty.  We even had a visiting professor at my fourth class (which is tied in with the student teaching) telling us that we weren't really student teaching and that we were just, "Doing our methods".  For those who don't know, methods classes are where we learn 'how' to teach specific content, and normally have a few hours of student experience with pre-approved lessons and professor oversight.  Then we reflect upon the experience.  This is NOT what we are doing!  No because I am in the classroom three days a week and I couldn't be happier!

I am co-teaching 5th and 6th grade Language Arts with the wonderful Mrs. Strayer.  Theresa is a 27-year teacher and within 2-3 days had taught me so much it was amazing!  She has given up having total control of her class, sharing it with me every day.  She has encouraged me to create my own features and to decorate the way I liked.  I made a picture wall, have a word wall, created chore lists and have jobs and training jobs for each student.  I am living my dream!  I am teaching writing and just having a blast.  One task that I have taken on is to build a class website, where I am blogging my experiences to share with parents.  It isn't 'released' yet since it has work to be done, but it is live!  Check it out at http://strayerhomeroom.weebly.com/

Life is busy, time is tight, but I am doing what I want to do.  Bike riding has stayed on the calendar, and riding Sunny has been a huge part of my summer, but now I am teaching too.  After making this huge life change and spending 4 years at UNI, it is a relief to know that I am right where I want to be!

My Space - Moving House!

Non-traditional student makes for some non-traditional thought processes!  We are in the midst of moving house, downsizing from our wonderful house on Westbrook Street, to a small in-town rental.  I am actually quite excited about the move, but I know just how much I will miss the pastoral tranquility (granted, often interrupted by two small dogs).  As part of my capstone class that I am taking right now, we had to think about our 'creative spaces' - where do we do our best work?  What makes one space better than another!  That started my thinking about where my desk was going to be. I spend more time at my 'workstation' than anything else - it is kind of important!

I tried a variety of different options in our farmhouse.  The desk in the living area resulted in continual distractions.  The attempts to work in our rarely used dining area led to too many calories ingested, and too many interruptions.  I finally made my space upstairs, and created the 'Bridget zone' that became my place, the spot in the house where I could distance myself from the day's minutiae, and let myself write, study or think.  The small area at the top of the stairs was once the children's play area.  The slanted attic ceiling, windows overlooking my horses' paddock, 100-year old wooden floors, and book-lined wall, all created the very atmosphere I needed to help channel my mind.  Unlike past experiences, I actually looked forward to going up to my desk, whether homework, volunteer tasks, or just to write my blog.  Family pictures surrounded me, and Latte was normally snuggled behind me as I sat in my big desk chair, focussed on the task at hand.

Our new house will lead to very different possibilities.  Downsizing and changing from country-living to an in-town house with limited space, and no view of pastoral tranquility.  I know that my lesson plans and reflections are the best when I have a special space that I enjoy working in.  I have two choices.  First, there is the spare room.  We are moving to a small, two-bedroom rental, and we already know that our dresser and dressing table won't fit into our bedroom, they will go into the spare room, and my desk could go there too.  The second option would be in the finished basement.  There is another small bedroom in the basement, with half-bath, as well as the general basement area.  Do I choose lighter and convenient, sharing 'my space' with our clothes and laundry, or do I go downstairs to privacy, but darker - and possibly more distractions, since the washer/dryer will be down there, our Wii, and (something we are looking forward to) a fun, bar area!  The bedroom downstairs will be the official spare room, the space that will belong to our children when they visit,

It truly is a conundrum!  I lean towards the upstairs space, and I think that is where I will start.  If I can make it more of a library, less if a dressing room, more of a personal space than a catch-all, I think that it has potential.  Although, I chuckle as I write this - we looked at the house about three weeks ago, and my memories are hazy.  Was it a 'light' room, or dark?  Was it street facing or other house facing?  I can't remember!  All I remember about the basement was Paul and I laughing because we are downsizing from my dream home, but will finally have a place to put the bar that has been stored in the tractor shed for ten years!  We knew that the basement would house guests and be our social space immediately.  I think about how the basement would be more private - but not it the children are home.  I also think about the mistake it might be, trying to make the ‘social’ space my private area; that doesn’t seem to make sense.

As I am writing, I am musing the options.  I can’t envision where the door is or where the window is placed, so I can’t sketch out options.  That is frustrating.  I can see a wall of books and my desk.  Perhaps a picture of our old farm and photos of the horses and those happy moments that someone has captured, of my horse and I flying over jumps.  The dressing table and chest of drawers can be used for picture placement and extra space.  Is there a walk-in closet?  I am not sure!  I hope so - that would be a good space for the plethora of ‘future classroom’ totes that I appear to have collected over the years at UNI - or placed things from my children rather than selling at our big moving yard sale.  We do have a storage space, so I am deliberating over those totes being with me, or there with the boxes of ‘future classroom books’ that have also been somewhat obsessively collected. In my year-round student teaching though, perhaps I will need some of my supplies.  Maybe the move will lead to more severe organization and listing of contents, then I could store them, number them, and know exactly where everything is.  Great plan, now to find the time to make that happen.

We are packing and sorting every day, and my mind is continually turning over possibilities.  We take over the new house June 9, the transition then begins.  The main move happens the weekend of June 14, when I will need to make final decisions as we place the furniture where we think that we want it.  I can’t wait until we have a key and I can go in and check out the space again, do some measuring, make some determinations.  Who knows, maybe my thoughts will change once I revisit the space.  Perhaps I will set it up and realize that it is not going to work.  These thoughts have helped me to focus my thinking, and to consider why my upstairs space has worked so well for me.  I must think about how I will need to find something to overcome the lack of view, how to replicate that tranquility that I need in a small room in the middle of town.  I have wonderful pictures to use, and can start to create the atmosphere that I envision right away.  I need to focus beyond the, ‘it’s just for a year’ and to the, ‘this will be my space and it needs to work for me’.  Just that adaptation of thought is going to help me to settle into our new home, and help to spark creativity in my future work.

Let's see what I decide; I will know soon enough!

Teaching Philosphy

I have spent most of today working on a philosophy paper - one that purports to discuss which theory of education best describes my personal attitude towards teaching.

I have found it a difficult task!

I hesitate to put my unedited version out here, but perhaps one of my followers has some suggestions to make, or ideas of ways to adjust my writing; all suggestions, gratefully received!!

Here we go....

With strong beliefs of innate gifts and the importance of individual talents to share, I have some clear leanings towards the romantic ideal of what my future students can add to the class, that I believe in their past achievements and have faith in what they will bring to the future.  If adults don’t have faith and confidence in a child’s ability, why would those children have any reason to believe in themselves?  Through successes and failures, teachers need to share their confidence that even through failure, every student has the ability to learn.  As a teacher recognizes a child’s abilities, they can nurture the knowledge and ability that is already there, engage and incentivize new learning, and then build upon the experiences, always guiding, supporting, inspiring and adding new knowledge along the way.  I have seen students who live the life that others expect of them - sometimes positive, often negative.  If a teacher expects a child to fail, to be unable to learn, or to fail in life, more often or not that child will fulfill that devastating expectation.  My job as a teacher may sometimes be to believe for my students so that they can learn to believe in themselves.  Just as a parent helps their child to face hurdles and challenges with support and love, a good teacher is there to push their students and be able to catch them should they fall, encouraging them to try again and create success.

I am combine the romantic belief in inner abilities and pragmatic understanding of learning through experience, with some more traditional leanings of a perennialist.  I talk about inspiring and guiding, but I am seeing myself in that expert role, sharing the classics and helping students to create their own.  I have more knowledge and experiences than the students, and I have information to share with them, that will help them in their future lives.  Although I recognize that students have experiences that I can learn from, I have years of knowledge and background that I am there to teach them.  My own school taught me Greek history,  about different civilizations, history and the literary classics - about them, their history, how they connected to the time in which they were written, and why they were considered classics.  I learned to understand and appreciate their worth - and that is something that I plan to do with my own students.  If you don’t know what came before, how can you plan for the future?  If you can’t recognize why something was great, how can you create greatness?

With a combination of working towards finding and nurturing the best in every student, helping them to realize their own abilities and potential, while sharing knowledge and how others succeeded, I plan to be a teacher that students enjoy, trust, respect and can learn from.

Classroom Management - in the real world!

I just spent a fabulous Level III week at Hoover Middle School in Waterloo, IA. What is Level III, you might ask? Well, it is an in-between step before student teaching. Whereas in Level I and II, you are in theory observing more than 'doing', and then in your Level II you teach one lesson, but it is short and very controlled, the Level III is far more intensive and the student teacher actually teaches two full days in a classroom - getting a real feel for all the things that you don't notice when you are just watching someone practiced and polished at work! There is a huge difference between preparing and teaching one, short, 20-minute lesson, and in teaching all day - and even with the Level III, you do have your cooperating teacher there and ready to step in if needed. Still, it is about as authentic as you can get in a short period of time.  

My final emotion at the end of the week was quite simple. I want to go back. School, and learning has been great. I will always have more to know and another theory to learn, but making planet cards and board games is not where I want to be right now - no, I want to stay in the classroom. Plus, 7th grade? That was GREAT! Very much my favorite grade so far.

One of the things that really impressed me at Hoover was their classroom management - how they take care of behaviors. They use PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention System) in the school as a whole, and Mrs. Kurtz and Mrs. Kisch modeled a successful management system all day, every day.  

The premise is simple. The students earn a reward, in the form of a Hawk Bill, that they can then turn in as currency to pay for missing supplies, an opportunity to go to their locker for forgotten books - all the normally little interruptions that add up to so much time lost out of the instructional day. Mrs. Kurtz could be very relaxed about students forgetting planners, or not acting as required, she just let them know how many Hawk bills that it would cost them, and allowed them to make the decision.  When I compared this with the arguments and time wasters that I have seen in other schools, it was very impressive.

I kept thinking of how many students leave and come back into other classrooms that I have been in - how many interruptions the teachers have to face. This kept things simple and straightforward. Everyone knew the rule, the expectations were clear, and the resulting relaxed atmosphere was impressive.

Views while traveling

One of the interesting things about being a 'non trad' is all the extra activities and experiences that I not only 'bring to the table', but also that I have as part of my day-to-day life.  Handily my volunteerism, although involving horses, is all to do with teaching!  I am typing this on the plane as I return from Pony Club Annual Meeting held in Portland, OR.  A meeting filled with others who want to provide opportunities for young people, even if it isn't in a bricks and mortar classroom!  Not only did I watch, listen and learn about ways to help our Pony Club clubs and region (I am Regional Instructional Coordinator for our region), but I also got to talk about 'my studies' with many folk - and of course, everyone has an opinion on teaching, schools and education, so conversations are to be had in every plane, train or social setting!

On my first flight of the weekend, from Cedar Rapids to Denver, I was involved in a discussion about writing and the importance of students being allowed to take ownership of their own words; privacy at times, creativity encouraged, and opportunities to practice.  Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.  It was interesting to hear an echo of a recent article that I just read; no one seems to be writing - which explains why our students are falling short in writing assessments.

From Denver to Portland, the talk was about schools and society. The flight attendent used to be a teacher, his wife still is.  We got into an interesting discussion about who was critiqued more by the media and general populace, schools or airline companies?  As teachers are blamed for students not reaching the standards the general population wants, airlines are lambasted for not providing services travelers expect.  It's all about wants, desires and expectations!  

The weekend was a busy rush of classes and networking.  I listened, learned, discussed.  I connected with riding instructors, volunteers who teach and organize, vets and volunteer corporate staff.  In between I tried to do homework and take care of what would otherwise hit me over the head (probably very painfully) on my return!

Coming home, I connected with a man whose son teaches with TeachAmerica and is at a charter school on the East Coast somewhere.  Interesting viewpoints. although it was surprising to hear him say that he didn't understand why there wasn't more research done on how children learn.  Well, there is certainly research out there (although not as much on writing), but I don't know that the educational researchers share their findings with the politicians - and if they do, does anyone listen?  He allowed and encouraged me to discuss my favorite subject of teaching with mini lessons and workshops, and how all teachers should embrace interdisciplinary learning and block scheduling.  I didn't finish my required reading, but I did stretch my mind a little bit more :) The last time that I brought up these concepts it was to someone who vehemently disagreed - this time several on the plane were nodding vigorously and a lively discussion ensued!

All of this was during high winds and blizzard conditions.  We successfully landed to loud applause to our clever pilot and satisfaction that we had sorted out some educational dilemmas - for today, anyway!

Reflections about what I have learned

As I started work on my Student Teaching Application I realized how much fun it is to reflect on what I have learned so far, how my beliefs about teaching and teachers have changed so much, and how my skills have improved.  I used to think (similar to many Americans) that I knew how to fix schools and what the problems were.  Now I still think that, but how very different my ideas have become!  Parents think that they know how to fix schools - well, after all, they went to school, didn't they?  That's like saying that I know how to invent the next cure because I had a doctor's appointment!  So, I am only at the rough draft stage, but here is how I answered the questions on my application......I have come a long way :)

To the question on how my education has prepared me...

I began my education at the University of Northern Iowa as a parent who thought that I had a good idea of how things should ‘be done’ in schools.  I soon realized that I had a lot to learn, but that my own educational experiences gave me the foundation to understand the benefits of what research is telling us now.  The inter-curriculum, inter-disciplinary, experiential lessons of my education in England was exactly what I felt that my children had missed, and precisely what I saw working so well during my experience at Lincoln Elementary School, Waterloo, as part of the Literacy Education Professional School (LEPDS). The experience of taking university classes in an elementary school, and then immediately taking new learning into the classroom was incredibly powerful.  With the direct coaching of experts such as Dr. Traw and Nicki McGowan, as well as the Reading Recovery team and classroom teachers at Lincoln Elementary, I learned about both the realities of day-to-day school life as well as seeing the lessons learned in our own classes applied continuously in the school setting.  Reading and discussing research about literacy is one thing, observing it evidenced on a daily basis is even more powerful.  The works of Linda Dorn and Marie Clay influenced me early and continue to do so 3 years later.

Preparation through in-person observation and hands-on teaching has taught me vital lessons as well as highlighting areas where I needed more work and strengths that I should be aware of.  Even more valuable in some ways has been the required journaling and reflecting upon each experience.  Looking back over my early notes from my literacy methods class and comparing them with my reflections from my middle level curriculum class experience at UNI-CUE two years later, the growth is obvious.  Not just in my methods and competence, but also in my ability to look at each session with a clearer lens, and to be able to adjust my lesson plans according to the need of my student.

Attending the annual Association of Middle Level Educators’ conference with Dr. Schneider and Dr. Douglas in 2013 was a defining moment.  Each session attended brought new moments and clarifications to my understanding.  Two sessions were particularly influential.  One was on ‘unwrapping’ the Common Core and was in direct contrast to many of the more negative commentary heard in reference to the recent changes in education.  The other expert, who helped to shape my thoughts as I move towards being in my own classroom, was Rick Wormeli. His thoughts and concepts have influenced me to the point of buying several of his books and noting many of his ideas.  His discussions about differentiation, assessment and working towards getting students enthused and thinking outside of the walls of the classroom continue to motivate me. 

From early lessons about teaching using the workshop method for better, differentiated teaching, to later learning about individualizing lessons and helping students to make the connections that they need for better learning, I have seen how twenty to thirty very different students can work together in the same environment, learning the same information in different ways.

Question number 2 asked for what I have done to prepare myself for student teaching.  This is my first draft response:

Field experiences and classroom time as a volunteer, combined with my unique background has given me a strong foundation to take into my future classrooms.  Not only have I experienced different classrooms as a student, but I also have a background of seeing schools from a parental perspective. From living in the English countryside to military housing in North Carolina, I have had very diverse experiences.

In my field experiences I have seen both urban and rural poverty and have been able to compare the rebuilding of curriculum and procedures at Lincoln Elementary, Waterloo, with the concerns currently being faced in the Dike-New Hartford School District.  I have worked alongside newer, excited teachers who are being given a plethora of development opportunities, as well as having seen teachers who are sticking to their basal books and are not prepared to step away from the comfort of worksheets and text book homework.  Through field experiences at Grundy and Lincoln I have seen the power of differentiation and workshop style teaching, as well as understanding how curriculum should be integrated and learning is most beneficial when interdisciplinary.

At the Association of Middle Level Educators (AMLE) annual conference I was fortunate enough to connect with Ross Burkhardt, author and member of the National Teachers Hall of Fame.  He is currently writing a book about teaching poetry and asked me to try three lesson plans that he had written to share both my and students perspectives about his content and activities.  This was a very interesting activity for me as it allowed me to take a pre-prepared plan and experience teaching it in two small group environments and one whole class (at New Hartford Junior High), but also allowed me to reflect on how my personality and beliefs influenced his thoughts.  Creating and maintaining interest with the class as compared with the small group, teaching virtually the same lesson, was an interesting study of how my classroom management skills needed to change in each environment. 

Often as a student we are given the smaller groups that are easier to work with.  I have been very fortunate through both my Lincoln experiences, Junior Achievement volunteering and helping out at New Hartford, to have had the opportunity to work with full classes.  Although I am aware that continued classroom time will continue to hone my emerging skills, it was satisfying to realize how much my classroom presence has improved since I had my level 1 field experience in the fall of 2011.

And finally, so why do I want to be a teacher, and what are my core beliefs?

When I first decided to leave my corporate world to become a teacher, it was because of the realization of how comfortable I was in the classroom. When you are choosing to do something for free, it is time to think about whether perhaps that is the career you should be in!  I have learned so much in the last few years and am looking forward to synthesizing it all in the classroom.

Rick Wormeli tells a story about a teacher, who, for the sake of research, stayed with and followed a sixth-grader throughout her classes in a classic junior high. The teacher was highly frustrated to see how many possible connections could be made between classes throughout the day that were missed, and to discover how much the average student has to try make those connections alone, or more sadly, never makes them, and how much easier the learning would have been had teachers connected curriculum for better learning.  This story sums up much of the way that I feel about myself in my future classroom.  I have seen the power of using the science or social studies text to focus on grammar, or a free write that uses characters from history.  Connecting disciplines just makes sense.

As well as connecting what our students know to help them build and learn, I have also seen how important constant differentiation is.  We put 20 or 30 children, all from different homes and backgrounds, in the same classroom, expecting them to learn the same things at the same time.  Starting with my level 1 field experience at Grundy, then both studying Linda Dorn’s books and seeing her theories used at Lincoln Elementary, I was able to see the power of teaching using the workshop method. Being able to teach a small mini lesson to the class, and then be able to allow each child to learn either individually or in peer groups as they go at the own pace, then summarizing in the large group, with student participation at the end helps both teacher and student. Being able to see who truly has mastery, and be able to move them further forward, while seeing who needs help learning the skills allows the teacher to play to each student’s strengths while watching for their weaknesses and helping them beyond them.

I strongly believe that each student should be given the opportunity to build upon the knowledge that they have and should be able to be an integral part of the community of learning in the classroom. My favorite experiences have been those where the community and parents have been included in the classroom opportunities and where communication has been constant and consistent.  Seeing the high expectations fulfilled in the classroom, particularly at Grundy and Lincoln, showed me the power of a teacher having belief in their student’s abilities – as long as the teacher gives the student a real opportunity to connect, learn, rehearse and master each new skill.

So, now the changing, polishing and checking happens as I put the final document together.  But I think that this is a good starting point!

Another Semester Over!

I am feeling pretty proud of all of my hard work as grades roll in! I found this quote that exemplifies how I try to live my life, 

"all the ventures I've pursued.....required that I work twice as hard and twice as long as others. You have to be willing to do today what others won't so you can have a tomorrow that others never will. You simply have to be willing to do the work, no matter how long or how hard it is, just as there is no shortcut to greatness, there is no shortcut to getting the job done. You must work, work, work - 'til your work is done."

With thanks to Byron V. Garrett from The ABC's of Life.

Maintaining a 4.0 isn't easy, but life's experience, intent and attitude seem to win over my comparatively less agile brain!  Being 25 years older than my peers definitely makes me a very different kind of student.  Part of it of course is the fact that I do work hard.  Every assignment is treated as an important one; I do love to learn.  Another element is the fact that I know why I am at school.  I want to be a great teacher.  I am nervous about putting it altogether when I have my own classroom, so the more that I do now, the better my toolbox is, the more good I can do my future students.  The way that I see it, I can learn from a bad assessment, I can learn from a great peer lesson and I can learn from just being a student.

Now it is the Holidays.  I get to celebrate being Mom, with Ben home from the Navy and then I am off to Australia to see Steph after Christmas.  My line up is ready for the Spring, my advisor has set my last two semester's schedule and this time next year I will be getting ready to student teach....oh my!  
This would all explain my current reading book of choice:  Day One & Beyond, by Rick Wormeli.

Time moves slowly day by day, but the last two years have just flown by!

Always New Lessons to Learn!

Sometimes I think that one of the most important parts of my learning are in the 'what not to do' realm as I go through my classes.  I realize though, that sometimes the negatives are a lot easier to hone in on; there are plenty of positive examples to pay attention to as well!

One thing that I have learned is that there are two vital factors that should be considered when planning every single lesson.  The two magic bullets, that I had better be armed with as I develop every single lesson plan.  What are they?  Engagement and Connections.  I can't remember the timeframe that research states for attracting and keeping a student's attention, but I want to say that it was something like 3 minutes.  That isn't very long.  Not only does official research tell us that if we don't grab attention and interest within that initial few moments that we will 'lose' our teaching power, my personal experience as a student verifies that in a daily basis.  Boredom and disinterest comes all too quickly.  I have written about 'Connections' before, and will no doubt write about them again.  If a student doesn't have any connections with the information shared, there is hardly any chance that they will understand, or engage, or learn - there is nothing to connect to, which means no comprehension; we might as well be taking in another language for all the learning we are imparting if we don't create a connection first. Take my humanities 3, for example.  What must it be like for those students to have to learn the history of countries that they can't even find on a map?  Our professor (one of my favorites) works tirelessly to encourage conversation, show pictures and videos, link to historical events that her students might have heard of - and it works.

Other things that I have learned or had reiterated this semester are: 

• When teaching online, always include discussion and responses.   Force a minimum response, help the students with an outline of how/what to post, but find a way to make them translate their reading into their own words, and then respond to each other and continue a discussion.  Even though it is online, interactivity is possible; and makes all a difference to the learning.
• When a student is confused about a concepts, let them explain their understanding to you first, rather than repeatedly sharing your own understanding.  Listen to what they say/think, find their own confusion (or possibly verify their correctness), and then discuss.  If they didn't understand you the first few times, chances are, they won't understand you when you try one more time.  You need to listen to their thinking, and assess their understanding, and guide them from that point.  Those professors who won't let me explain what I THINK that I understand, are taking a real learning opportunity away from me - and are frustrating me beyond belief!
• When students share answers after group work, make sure that each answer has been clearly stated, responding in the same format as the question.  If they are answering a five-part question, make sure that is how they are answering.  Be cognizant of the fact that the rest of the class is taking notes and learning the information the way fellow students are presenting it.  Either gently repeat the answers in the correct format, or go back over everything clearly.  Guess what?  I am paying to learn the correct information, no another student's translation of the concept.
• When understanding is more important than memorizing, recognize that!  Allow students a study tool - by creating their cheat sheet, they are revising.  This is much better than an open book test, continues the learning, relaxes the student's nerves, but still requires the work and learning to take place.
• Don't give redundant assessments.  Nothing takes away respect and intent to succeed like a test that covers material not taught, or pointless learning.  When a concept can be explained, why not ask the question that way, rather than expecting verbatim quotes?
• Tell a story, make a connection, share an emotion.
• Always think about the importance of interdisciplinary learning.  Think of the frustration of a student traveling from class to class, with random, unconnected information being thrown at them.  Then think about the student who is using their science text book as non-fiction text examples for comprehension practice, writing about issues being discussed in social studies this week, creating math story problems while writing sentences that contain various parts of the six parts of speech.  Think about how much more practice that student is having, and how many skills are constantly being worked over each school day.  Even if my school district does not have the wisdom to build curriculum that way, there is no reason why I can't build my lesson plans to give my students the most advantages that I possible can.

Isn’t this ‘double learning’ great?  Who would have thought it? Not only am I learning content, but am also practicing skills for my future career.  Gee, doesn’t that sound very Common Core?