I meant to update yesterday, but we all know how good I am at that. At least I got back to it today. Anyways, I got my first lesson to create yesterday. My mentor teacher wants me to come up with a 40 minute power point lecture on the interwar period (1919-1939). Easy right? Not quite. I'm so bad at knowing what students should learn. I tend to over stuff with information than give them the right amount they'll need. This mostly comes from the fact that I'm not with these students all year, so I have no idea what they'll need to know or not. I guess I picked the wrong subject...
Anyways, I am excited to create it, but we'll see where it goes. Yesterday was spent in meetings with the Freedom Center. They work with social studies teachers at the school I'm at for two years (9th and 10th grade) and allow the students to create videos in iMovie about what Freedom means to them. These videos will be uploaded to iTunes. It's hard to explain the details, but it's a very cool idea. Three social studies teachers, an English teacher, myself, and the lady in charge of the project from the FC all met. I didn't say anything, but I was simply observing. They talked about what changes needed to be made, what problems they ran into, etc. It was really cool to see how teachers can collaboratively work together to revise material not just produce something new. It was a successful meeting.
Today my mentor teacher and I talked about the first three weeks of school. We talked about what we're going to do, his big push to create procedures and routines to keep the classroom manageable, and even made copies. He left me in charge of doing that. But that was totally okay with me since I like all that office work kind of stuff.
I am so glad he has me come in these weeks before school because I've been observing so much that I'd never learn in a classroom or even from him telling me. Today a woman came in to tell him that his class roster was up and that it wasn't set in stone. Here's the class numbers: 35, 36, 39, 28, 24. Thirty-nine students! I'm pretty sure anything over 35 is illegal in the state of Ohio. And basically she said good luck, hopefully some students don't come. Okay? Well, I wish more people could see what kind of stuff teachers have to put up with instead of just bashing them for their child's poor performance. Oh well, I'm just preaching now. I also heard a discussion about how they don't have enough money to purchase OGT books (something the students NEED) for social studies or math. It's kind of ridiculous, but I guess that's what teachers have to face. My mentor teacher and I went and checked out the social studies book room where we stole a bunch of OGT and textbooks.
I must say though that if I could go back to high school, I'd go to this school. These students have more opportunities than I think they could ever imagine. They have more opportunities than I ever had in my suburban school. They have mac comupters, and iPads and iTouches the teachers can borrow for the class. All the teachers have Macbook pro computers given to them. Students can win an iTouch. The best part? Yes it gets better... the school is working with universities to give away 30, yes 30, FULL RIDE scholarships for education and technology tracks for certain colleges. Now, there is much more explanation to go along with this, but that's the basic gist. But not only 30 for the whole school. It's 30 for each grade. I honestly wish I had an opportunity like that! Now it is a STEM school (science, technology, engineering, and math), but it's still awesome that a urban school has these types of opportunities.
Well, I'm done blogging for now. I'll try updating tomorrow. But we'll see...
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Summer's Almost Over
Saturday, August 6, 2011
The Tribe is better than the Reds
On Wednesday I walked into the classroom wearing a Cleveland Indians shirt. My mentor teacher looked at me and told me that I was not allowed to wear Tribe gear into his classroom. We had a discussion on how I love Cleveland sports and he's a Cincinnati fan. He was really surprised that I'm a die hard Indians fan. Then he said we'll have fun sulking in the losses of our teams (because neither city has great sports teams - although, Cleveland is obviously better!).
Wednesday we spent the time hanging up posters in the classroom. He let me decide where to hang some of the posters which was kind of cool. I felt bad though because I'm really short so he had to hang most of the posters up since the ceilings in the classroom are very high. When we first started hanging posters I was saying how I can't imagine putting a classroom together by myself (it's a LOT of work that you don't really think about). He said that I should imagine it because I'll be in that position one day. Then I responded saying, "I guess I'll have to make very tall friends." Then he just laughed. But then to myself I was thinking, "Man, I need to marry someone tall so he can come in and help me hang up posters." So, in my search for my nonexistent husband another requirement is that he needs to be tall!
While we were putting together the classroom he had a woman from UC come meet with him because he is going to teach a graduate class on classroom management. After they met she took him to lunch, which meant me, as the intern, got to tag along for free food! We went to a Mediterranean restaurant where I ordered a falafel sandwich. It wasn't the first time I've had one (or even had one there), but if you've never tried one you HAVE to! After lunch my mentor teacher said, "See, people take me out to lunch JUST to talk to me." I responded, "I could get used to this." And I can! :)
On Thursday when I entered the room my mentor teacher said, "I'm glad you decided not to wear Cleveland gear." Geez... he just doesn't understand that Cleveland is the best city ever! We didn't do much Thursday. He had me read about projects they'll be doing during the semester and the syllabus. It was kind of boring because while I was reading through it he met with someone else, so I was done reading way before his meeting was over. I was literally falling asleep in the chair, and I was super hungry! Haha.
When the meeting was over we just talked about the upcoming weeks. We have so many meetings to attend next week, which is exciting in a way because I finally get to see what department and team meetings are like. The school I'm at is different also in the way that it is teacher centered. The teachers are more in charge of what happens than the administrators. I kind of like this idea because the teachers are the ones who are actually teaching. They know the content, where the students are at, and what needs to be done at the school. He also told me his vision for the year and having me there. We are going to be team teaching where we will both be active teachers in the classroom. We are going to spend this upcoming Wednesday working on the syllabus. I'm excited!
Before I left he asked me if I brought in anything. I told him I brought in some stuff (but I thought he just meant like pens, paper, etc). I had no idea he actually wanted me to bring in stuff for my desk! I didn't know if it would be appropriate for me to bring in pictures and stuff, but apparently we had different ideas. He told me that I should bring in pictures and stuff to make it look like I'm a real teacher. If I don't have anything it will look like I'm renting the space and the students won't take me seriously as a teacher. Makes sense! He told me I wasn't allowed to bring in Cleveland stuff. I gave him the death stare. Then he just said he was kidding and I could bring in anything I wanted. This means an excuse for craft time! ... like I need one!
I'm glad he has wanted me in the classroom so early. It has also made me think that I could be a teacher. When I'm out of the classroom I second guess my major, but when I'm back I think I can't wait to be a teacher! I have this battle in my head constantly!
I love design and art. I was looking at a typography blog called Friends of Type. I came across this artwork:
by Erik Marinovich
It made me think about why want to teach. I think teaching is the least appreciated job out there. So, tell me, if you're a teacher or planning on becoming one, why do you teach?
Wednesday we spent the time hanging up posters in the classroom. He let me decide where to hang some of the posters which was kind of cool. I felt bad though because I'm really short so he had to hang most of the posters up since the ceilings in the classroom are very high. When we first started hanging posters I was saying how I can't imagine putting a classroom together by myself (it's a LOT of work that you don't really think about). He said that I should imagine it because I'll be in that position one day. Then I responded saying, "I guess I'll have to make very tall friends." Then he just laughed. But then to myself I was thinking, "Man, I need to marry someone tall so he can come in and help me hang up posters." So, in my search for my nonexistent husband another requirement is that he needs to be tall!
While we were putting together the classroom he had a woman from UC come meet with him because he is going to teach a graduate class on classroom management. After they met she took him to lunch, which meant me, as the intern, got to tag along for free food! We went to a Mediterranean restaurant where I ordered a falafel sandwich. It wasn't the first time I've had one (or even had one there), but if you've never tried one you HAVE to! After lunch my mentor teacher said, "See, people take me out to lunch JUST to talk to me." I responded, "I could get used to this." And I can! :)
On Thursday when I entered the room my mentor teacher said, "I'm glad you decided not to wear Cleveland gear." Geez... he just doesn't understand that Cleveland is the best city ever! We didn't do much Thursday. He had me read about projects they'll be doing during the semester and the syllabus. It was kind of boring because while I was reading through it he met with someone else, so I was done reading way before his meeting was over. I was literally falling asleep in the chair, and I was super hungry! Haha.
When the meeting was over we just talked about the upcoming weeks. We have so many meetings to attend next week, which is exciting in a way because I finally get to see what department and team meetings are like. The school I'm at is different also in the way that it is teacher centered. The teachers are more in charge of what happens than the administrators. I kind of like this idea because the teachers are the ones who are actually teaching. They know the content, where the students are at, and what needs to be done at the school. He also told me his vision for the year and having me there. We are going to be team teaching where we will both be active teachers in the classroom. We are going to spend this upcoming Wednesday working on the syllabus. I'm excited!
Before I left he asked me if I brought in anything. I told him I brought in some stuff (but I thought he just meant like pens, paper, etc). I had no idea he actually wanted me to bring in stuff for my desk! I didn't know if it would be appropriate for me to bring in pictures and stuff, but apparently we had different ideas. He told me that I should bring in pictures and stuff to make it look like I'm a real teacher. If I don't have anything it will look like I'm renting the space and the students won't take me seriously as a teacher. Makes sense! He told me I wasn't allowed to bring in Cleveland stuff. I gave him the death stare. Then he just said he was kidding and I could bring in anything I wanted. This means an excuse for craft time! ... like I need one!
I'm glad he has wanted me in the classroom so early. It has also made me think that I could be a teacher. When I'm out of the classroom I second guess my major, but when I'm back I think I can't wait to be a teacher! I have this battle in my head constantly!
I love design and art. I was looking at a typography blog called Friends of Type. I came across this artwork:
by Erik MarinovichIt made me think about why want to teach. I think teaching is the least appreciated job out there. So, tell me, if you're a teacher or planning on becoming one, why do you teach?
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Who Knew Teaching Involved Such Manual Labor?
I didn't. Today was the first day things got started for me for my actual student teaching internship. I'm at a new school and I'm excited. I was really nervous to go in because I had the impression that my teacher was kind of strict. He is, but he's totally cool.
We spent the morning setting up a whole bunch of computers. Plugging them in, hooking up the ethernet cords, and bunching up the cords and putting them in a little slot behind the tables so when the students come they don't kick cords, etc. That in itself was a challenge. AND on top of that the air conditioning at the school isn't working. I was sweating bullets. After that he had me clean off the computer tables.
Around noon my mentor teacher and I went to a local Indian restaurant with another teacher in the school because she wanted to talk about some classroom management things. My mentor teacher is AWESOME at classroom management. I know I'll learn some beneficial things from him. Lunch was great, and I learned a lot. I hope I remember it all.
One of the things my mentor teacher does is he sets all the procedures, routines, etc at the beginning of the year. He is more focused on classroom management than content at this point because he knows he will make up for it by the end of the year. Whereas most teachers focus on getting this chapter done and racing through content, he does the opposite. Those teachers end up losing a lot of classroom time trying to discipline the students. The first few weeks of school are also the best time to do this because that is when most students are best behaved and willing to learn.
One of the things he stresses is that no one talks when someone else is talking. So, if he is trying to say something and another student starts talking my teacher will completely stop talking and stare at the student. If he has to keep stopping, so be it. With this his hope is that the students will begin to tell each other to stop talking because they just want to get through the material. He is big on making the students responsible. They are in charge of how he teaches, whether he lets them work in groups or silently.
He is also big on his phrase, "Raise for Praise." He wants to praise students for what they know and do, but he can't do that if the students don't raise their hands. If students don't raise their hands he could praise the wrong person because the student who heard the right answer happened to shout it louder. Plus, it's way better for classroom management if you ask me! He's huge on praising. He's not big on disciplining students in front of each other, which I agree with. Those students are so used to being yelled at at home. Positive feedback is so much more important and worth it.
Towards the end of lunch they started talking about more personal things. The other teacher looked at me and told me straight up I had very beautiful eyes. She apologized in advance saying that she's sorry if she doesn't hear what I say because it's probably the result of her staring at my eyes. Then she said I probably hear that all the time. I do get complimented on my eyes a lot, but it still shocks me when people say it to me.
We got back to the school and went to the office to talk about keys, etc. I got my own key to the classroom! :) Then we went back to the classroom and I cleaned of all the keyboards for the Macs. I just have to say Apple is stupid for making white keyboards. They were so gross and brown. I had to scrub the keys. My lower back was hurting so back from bending over, my head was hurting from the fumes, and I was dying of heat. But I got it done like a champ! I love cleaning too much to be mad!
He then had me move stacks of textbooks to shelves and then we arranged the classroom. It's HUGE! We have 5 rows of seven desks facing the front of the classroom. In the back we have 4 groups of 4 desks. This is good so that while we co-teach each of us can take care of different groups of that is necessary.
The best part? I got my own desk, two filing cabinets, and a bunch of drawers that I can lock with my own key. He told me I could start bringing in my stuff whenever. This is what took me by surprise. The last two quarters I just had my binder full of stuff. Now, I'm actually going to be a teacher and I have NOTHING. Anyone want to go to Target and by school supplies? I have no idea how I'm even going to fill up the drawers. But it's still so awesome!
Then he showed me around the school while he was trying to find a vending machine with water. I have to say that the cafeteria is so cool! It reminds me of the dining halls at UC where you can choose what you want. And they have two lunchrooms. I'm guess it's easier for managing the students, but I'm not completely sure.
After that we talked about a schedule. I'm going in tomorrow and Thursday, and possibly Friday. He also told me I could tag along to meetings. This is going to be an awesome opportunity to get to see more. I'm so glad I have an awesome mentor teacher who is trying to get me as involved as possible. I'm even starting 2 weeks than I really need to which isn't bad since my summer is pretty boring.
I hope you all had a good summer! It went by too fast!
We spent the morning setting up a whole bunch of computers. Plugging them in, hooking up the ethernet cords, and bunching up the cords and putting them in a little slot behind the tables so when the students come they don't kick cords, etc. That in itself was a challenge. AND on top of that the air conditioning at the school isn't working. I was sweating bullets. After that he had me clean off the computer tables.
Around noon my mentor teacher and I went to a local Indian restaurant with another teacher in the school because she wanted to talk about some classroom management things. My mentor teacher is AWESOME at classroom management. I know I'll learn some beneficial things from him. Lunch was great, and I learned a lot. I hope I remember it all.
One of the things my mentor teacher does is he sets all the procedures, routines, etc at the beginning of the year. He is more focused on classroom management than content at this point because he knows he will make up for it by the end of the year. Whereas most teachers focus on getting this chapter done and racing through content, he does the opposite. Those teachers end up losing a lot of classroom time trying to discipline the students. The first few weeks of school are also the best time to do this because that is when most students are best behaved and willing to learn.
One of the things he stresses is that no one talks when someone else is talking. So, if he is trying to say something and another student starts talking my teacher will completely stop talking and stare at the student. If he has to keep stopping, so be it. With this his hope is that the students will begin to tell each other to stop talking because they just want to get through the material. He is big on making the students responsible. They are in charge of how he teaches, whether he lets them work in groups or silently.
He is also big on his phrase, "Raise for Praise." He wants to praise students for what they know and do, but he can't do that if the students don't raise their hands. If students don't raise their hands he could praise the wrong person because the student who heard the right answer happened to shout it louder. Plus, it's way better for classroom management if you ask me! He's huge on praising. He's not big on disciplining students in front of each other, which I agree with. Those students are so used to being yelled at at home. Positive feedback is so much more important and worth it.
Towards the end of lunch they started talking about more personal things. The other teacher looked at me and told me straight up I had very beautiful eyes. She apologized in advance saying that she's sorry if she doesn't hear what I say because it's probably the result of her staring at my eyes. Then she said I probably hear that all the time. I do get complimented on my eyes a lot, but it still shocks me when people say it to me.
We got back to the school and went to the office to talk about keys, etc. I got my own key to the classroom! :) Then we went back to the classroom and I cleaned of all the keyboards for the Macs. I just have to say Apple is stupid for making white keyboards. They were so gross and brown. I had to scrub the keys. My lower back was hurting so back from bending over, my head was hurting from the fumes, and I was dying of heat. But I got it done like a champ! I love cleaning too much to be mad!
He then had me move stacks of textbooks to shelves and then we arranged the classroom. It's HUGE! We have 5 rows of seven desks facing the front of the classroom. In the back we have 4 groups of 4 desks. This is good so that while we co-teach each of us can take care of different groups of that is necessary.
The best part? I got my own desk, two filing cabinets, and a bunch of drawers that I can lock with my own key. He told me I could start bringing in my stuff whenever. This is what took me by surprise. The last two quarters I just had my binder full of stuff. Now, I'm actually going to be a teacher and I have NOTHING. Anyone want to go to Target and by school supplies? I have no idea how I'm even going to fill up the drawers. But it's still so awesome!
Then he showed me around the school while he was trying to find a vending machine with water. I have to say that the cafeteria is so cool! It reminds me of the dining halls at UC where you can choose what you want. And they have two lunchrooms. I'm guess it's easier for managing the students, but I'm not completely sure.
After that we talked about a schedule. I'm going in tomorrow and Thursday, and possibly Friday. He also told me I could tag along to meetings. This is going to be an awesome opportunity to get to see more. I'm so glad I have an awesome mentor teacher who is trying to get me as involved as possible. I'm even starting 2 weeks than I really need to which isn't bad since my summer is pretty boring.
I hope you all had a good summer! It went by too fast!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
New School. First Week Done.
Like I said, I'm going to try to update this more. Nothing too hilarious happened this week. But I learned a lot. My new mentor teacher is a woman. This is new for me because all the history teachers I had in high school and the teachers I've observed here have all been males. She has given me good perspective on things.
She says she hates her job and you have to really be passionate about teaching to enjoy it. In her case, she didn't even want to be a teacher but turned to it when she realized she couldn't afford law school. She also told me that being a white female in an urban school district is probably the worst position you could be in. This is great insight. Of course I would have never learned this stuff with the male teachers because they have a different perspective on things. Even though she has a negative outlook on teaching I'm glad she's being honest with me. She told me she went into teaching thinking she would change the world and quickly realized she couldn't. I do have this invincible aspect about myself. Now I need to learn to change that and focus on how to combat everything going against me working in an urban school.
This quarter has started off real well, though. One of my biggest problems is that I am really shy in front of an audience. Last quarter my supervisor and mentor teacher told me I need to work on my teacher persona. This quarter I am definitely working towards this. I have started right away walking around the classroom and trying to get to know the students. I really want to start working on a good rapport with the students. Other than that, nothing else really happened this week!
She says she hates her job and you have to really be passionate about teaching to enjoy it. In her case, she didn't even want to be a teacher but turned to it when she realized she couldn't afford law school. She also told me that being a white female in an urban school district is probably the worst position you could be in. This is great insight. Of course I would have never learned this stuff with the male teachers because they have a different perspective on things. Even though she has a negative outlook on teaching I'm glad she's being honest with me. She told me she went into teaching thinking she would change the world and quickly realized she couldn't. I do have this invincible aspect about myself. Now I need to learn to change that and focus on how to combat everything going against me working in an urban school.
This quarter has started off real well, though. One of my biggest problems is that I am really shy in front of an audience. Last quarter my supervisor and mentor teacher told me I need to work on my teacher persona. This quarter I am definitely working towards this. I have started right away walking around the classroom and trying to get to know the students. I really want to start working on a good rapport with the students. Other than that, nothing else really happened this week!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
I'm Back!
Okay, okay. I'm awful at keeping written blogs, but I promise to update this more! Especially since I realized that I missed blogging about 2 months at the last school.
I'm officially done at my winter placement, and I am really sad. The school was a great experience and my mentor teacher was awesome! I'm glad he's willing to stay in touch because I learned a lot from him.
I start at my new school on Tuesday. Although I don't have to wake up at 5:45 anymore, the school days are longer, which means less time for myself and more time for homework. Plus, the bus ride requires a transfer now. Not fun.
Oh, to finish off last quarter I made homemade cards, record bowls, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for my mentor teacher and the metro bus driver as a thank you. I know it sounds weird that I made the bus driver stuff, but he was seriously the nicest man alive and I wanted him to know that his actions were being noticed. Every day he said "Good morning, teacher." Since he knew I wanted to be a teacher. There was one lady who always got off at Xavier U, and she usually got off at this one particular stop. Well, one day the bus driver stopped there for her because that is where she usually got off, and she responded in a very nasty way, "I didn't pull the cord for this stop." I guess in a way I wanted him to know that people are not all like that and some people do appreciate what he does (or any public worker for that matter). After working 3 years in a restaurant I know how unrewarding such a profession can be when you come in contact with some many unappreciative people. I guess that is kind of what teaching is...
Anyway, I should probably get some sleep and enjoy my last "free" weekday before student teaching starts up again.
I'm officially done at my winter placement, and I am really sad. The school was a great experience and my mentor teacher was awesome! I'm glad he's willing to stay in touch because I learned a lot from him.
I start at my new school on Tuesday. Although I don't have to wake up at 5:45 anymore, the school days are longer, which means less time for myself and more time for homework. Plus, the bus ride requires a transfer now. Not fun.
Oh, to finish off last quarter I made homemade cards, record bowls, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for my mentor teacher and the metro bus driver as a thank you. I know it sounds weird that I made the bus driver stuff, but he was seriously the nicest man alive and I wanted him to know that his actions were being noticed. Every day he said "Good morning, teacher." Since he knew I wanted to be a teacher. There was one lady who always got off at Xavier U, and she usually got off at this one particular stop. Well, one day the bus driver stopped there for her because that is where she usually got off, and she responded in a very nasty way, "I didn't pull the cord for this stop." I guess in a way I wanted him to know that people are not all like that and some people do appreciate what he does (or any public worker for that matter). After working 3 years in a restaurant I know how unrewarding such a profession can be when you come in contact with some many unappreciative people. I guess that is kind of what teaching is...
Anyway, I should probably get some sleep and enjoy my last "free" weekday before student teaching starts up again.
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