Reflection 10

Redo

If I had it to do all over again, I would tell myself to take it easy and not take things personally.  I would tell myself to switch teachers earlier than I did in order to get more experience; sometimes staying with one teacher too long hinders learning.  I would remind myself from the very beginning that it does not matter if students like you, you are there to teach and not be their friends.  I would tell myself that you should do what the CT wants, not what you will do once you teach, because they are judging you based on their standards.  I would also tell myself that you really do need to start your KPTP early in order to not be trying to cram it all in at the last minute.  I would remind myself that while observing the good teachers, really take notes of what makes them good and pay attention to transitions.

                I would congratulate myself for learning and growing during this whole experience and staying true to who I am.  I would point out that I developed some really good and nurturing relationships with some of my students and really care about them and their futures.  I would tell myself which lesson plans worked and which I need to adjust so I could be better prepared (but who wouldn’t).

                I wish the class when we discuss lesson planning would have been more effective.  It would be nice to have a class where we four or five of us are assigned a book to write a unit on and we collaborate and create it together.  I think this would improve our lesson planning and collaboration skills.  I wish we would have more responsibility in the classroom during our pre-student teaching semester and less during our student teaching semester so that we are not so stressed trying to get the KPTP done.  Another option could be doing the KPTP during our pre-student teaching semester in order to be able to focus on it more.  

Reflection #8

Violence in the classroom - Are you prepared? 

 

First let me begin this story by explaining that approximately one month ago, during an inservice day, we student teachers were assigned to create a video on the proper way to handle theft in the classroom.  We asked the principal what the procedure is in this situation: call security and an administrator and keep the kids in the classroom.  We video-taped a scenario where a student gets his cell phone stolen.

Just this week, this scenario became a true situation in our study all class.  I was so glad that my CT was there to handle the situation.  We called security and did what we were supposed to do.  Unfortunately the guidelines do not cover the part where the students are cocky young males who begin mouthing off to one another.  The situation quickly escalated, despite many attempts by my CT, and next thing we know the students are tossing chairs around and posturing.  The student who had his phone stolen was ready to fight everyone in the class at that point.  My CT did her best to escort the student out of the class and down to the counselor’s office and tried her best to keep the students separated.

Once class was over and we had a chance to talk, I asked her what I should do if the students had actually started fighting.  We discussed how I should go to the closest room to have them call security and administration and just try to keep the other students out of harm’s way but that I should just let the kids fight if they start throwing punches.  She told me I should not get in between them at that point but should just minimize the chance of anyone else getting involved.  I have not experienced this situation before and I can honestly say that I am in no hurry to experience it again but I am glad to have had the opportunity to discuss with my CT what the best course of action should be if it does happen again.  These are sometimes the types of situations that we forget to ask about and are not prepared for when they do occur.  Am I the only one who would not have been prepared for this?

Reflection #7

Reflection #7 – Make-up work

Ah Spring! April showers bring May flowers, etc.  This is also the time for a lot of field trips and sporting events, such as track, that cause students to start missing school.  I know in my classroom there have been band contests, softball, track and field trips that have caused many students to miss class time.  The thing that I am struggling with is the make-up work.  Some students come in beforehand to get work and others wait until they come back.  We have a folder that I place work in but lately it has been crammed.  The problem is what to do with some assignments that we do as classwork or group work that require the students to be there.  I am struggling to come up with new ways to adjust the assignments in order to allow students to get the points.  Some of the assignments are really hard to arrange into a form that is fair to the students, whether it be the ones who did the original assignment or those who have the adjusted format.  I realize that as teachers we have to work with the system but I am wondering how we do that fairly for all the students.  Does anyone have any suggestions for how to take an assignment that is done as a group project in class and adjust it for a student who has to do it alone, outside of class time?  For example, I had the students research a person who helped contribute to the Harlem Renaissance and then make posters to present to the rest of the class.  They were divided into groups of four students, which they divided the research between them and came together to create the posters and then present the information to the whole class.  The students who missed class cannot really get together in a group outside of class so they have to work on it individually.  I am not really having them research enough information to lessen the amount they have to look up.  In addition, we are moving on to lit circles and so they will not be able to present their information.  I know that fair does not always mean equal but I am struggling to come up with a compromise that I feel is fair.