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.

Reflection five - Parent/Teacher conferences

Well we finally had those parent/teacher conferences that were postponed because of the snow.  I have to admit that I was looking forward to seeing what the experience would be like but I was not exactly thrilled with the idea of being at school from 7 am to 7 pm two days in a row.  I was intrigued enough to have a good attitude about it and to gleam all the additional knowledge from it that I could.  I also looked at it as an additional opportunity to spend quality time with me CT and gain as much knowledge from her as I possibly could.  My CT has been absolutely fantastic about sharing everything with me that she can think of that will help me to succeed my first year and the years following.  The parent/teacher conferences were just another opportunity for us to discuss the integral part of getting parents involved.  We also discussed helicopter parents and parents who come in angry with their children or other teachers.

 

My teacher is an organization freak like me (said in the most complimentary way) and so we spent the week prior to conferences getting ready.  My CT has a form that she has the students fill out as a self-evaluation on their grades and behavior in the classroom.  We updated their grades and had them update their evaluation sheets prior to conferences.  We had a discussion with the students on honesty and how it important it is because we will call them out if they are not honest about grades or classroom behavior.  We divided sheets into hours and arranged them alphabetically to maximize accessibility.  Prior to the conferences beginning I asked my CT exactly what role she wanted me to take at the conferences so that I knew what was expected of me.  By the time the conferences rolled around, we were both ready to go. 

 

One of the first parents we had threw me for a loop, as a parent and as a teacher.  I watched her yell at and humiliate her daughter in front of both the CT and myself.  I just kept thinking to myself that I need to apologize to my own son when I get home just in case I ever made him feel like that.  I understand the disappoint that comes when you do not feel your child is doing the best they can, but I try not to ever humiliate them in public.  As soon as the parent and child left the room, I looked at my CT and said “Wow!”  She told me that was pretty standard for that family and we discussed how she reacted and the things that she said.  She told me in situations like that she really just tries to act as the mediator and tries to allow both the parents and the child respond to what is going on and she tries the reflective listening on them.  Basically, she says “I hear your mom saying __________ and you are saying ___________. Now how can we come together and come up with a plan that will provide a solution?”

 

I looked up on the NEA website, parent/teacher conferences and looked at their advice on preparing for parent/teacher conferences and this was one of the methods they recommended.  Does anyone else have any ideas they could share?  

 

Online Reflection #4: Student-Led Discussions

 

Here it is time for another reflection and the timing couldn’t be better.  I just had my first formal observation of the semester and I feel like it went rather well.  After our meeting with the university supervisor, my CT and I sat down for a little talk of our own.  There are times when I get really frustrated because I feel like I only hear negative things, and then my CT will jump in with some positives.  I know I shouldn’t get frustrated because I truly believe she only has my best interests in mind.  My CT is really doing everything she can to help prepare me for being on my own in a classroom.  Anyway, when we began talking she brought up trying to incorporate more student-led discussion into my activities.  Low and behold, when I looked at our reading for class this week it was about “Alternatives to Teacher-Led Discussions.”  Could it really be predetermined, is fate just taking over?  Well I am now going to dive into the reading and see what inspiration I can pull from the material.

 

One idea I have already come up with it to change the way I was going to have the students summarize their homework reading.  Originally I was going to have them summarize the three chapters in their table groups and see what they come up with.  Now I am going to have them create a timeline of the first six chapters of the book.  I will have one student begin by writing one important event from the chapters, then they will pass it to the next student and they will write something that happened either before or after that event.  This process will continue around all four students and keep going until time is up and they hopefully have detailed the majority of the six chapters.  After the time has expired, I will then ask the students to come up to the board, starting at the beginning of chapter one, and we will produce the timeline on the board.  The second part of this activity will allow me the opportunity to take care of a second issue we discussed, having someone other than the normal select few volunteers contribute.  This way I can call on the students who do not usually volunteer and encourage them to contribute.

 

This is one idea I have come up with without reading the suggestions from the Smagorinsky text.  I am looking forward to the reading to see what other ideas I can incorporate along the unit.

Benefits of Interviewing

 

Let me begin by explaining that I will not be telling you how parent/teacher conferences went since they ended up being cancelled due to weather.  We will just have to hold that thought and see if the school reschedules them.  So instead of that topic, I will move on to the next one, interviews.

 

I went to the interview day hosted by WSU career services last week.  My thought was that it can never hurt to get your name out there and to practice interviewing.  There was also one school there that I would absolutely love to work for (of course I’m not the only one).  These were the intentions I had when I went into this process.  The lessons I learned about myself were a major added benefit that I had not even counted on.

 

One of the first things I noticed about myself is that I was not even nervous really.  I think I was just more concerned with the questions and being myself that I left no time for the nerves.  I just wanted to be sure that the interviewers saw who I was and what kind of educator I would be that I had no time to worry about the rest.  I did a total of six interviews that day, putting the one I really wanted in the middle so that I would be warmed up but not too exhausted.  I learned some amazing information.  There was one district that was not even sure what format they were going to use to assess writing because they had not been assessing writing for years.  For the most part the interviews were really good though.  I was excited to find that I knew the answers to all their questions.  I realized how much it means to me that the students accomplish something in my classroom, even if it is just that someone cares.  I found myself thinking as much as a parent as an educator.  I have learned that the two really do go hand-in-hand for me.  I also learned that I would not mind, probably would even enjoy, teaching middle school kids as well.  I had one employer that like that I was a “non-traditional” student.  I just wish they had some openings but he was not sure at the time what would be available in my field.  I also learned that I would move my family if the fit was right.  I have originally thought that I would not really want to move for two years so that my oldest could finish school where he is at, now I am not so sure.  The school I really want to work for, I would move my son there because I think the benefits would outweigh the negatives.  I spoke with my son about this and he has said he does not really want to move but he would definitely do it for me and would be okay with keeping in touch with his friends over the internet.  Wow, my teenage son actually loves me!   

 

In the end, I just really hope to get a job but I would LOVE to get a job that want.

Parent – Teacher Reflection

 

This week we will be having parent/teacher conferences at my school.  As a parent I have been attending these types of conferences for 10 years now with my oldest son.  I have always sort of feared going to these conferences as I was never quite sure what exactly I was going to learn about my first born.  In all of these years though, these conferences have always been consistent.  I now know that my son is intelligent (okay so I knew that fairly early) but I also know that he is a procrastinator and tends to rush through his work instead of worrying about getting it right, he was rather just get it done.  I now have the chance to see these conferences through the lenses of a teacher.  I was intrigued when my cooperating teacher asked me to come to the conferences.  My first thought was, “oh my, is she going to want me to talk to the parents?”  As I have had time to contemplate this, I do not think it will be that bad.  I surely have enough experience on the other side of the table.

We sat down this week and went over all the student’s grades and talked about why they were either excelling or struggling.  When we finished our conversation, my cooperating teacher commented that I really seem to be very good at observing and understanding the students.  Okay, I admit that I grinned from ear-to-ear.  I am glad that she noticed that skill as I have been trying to perfect it for years on my own children.  After the compliment that I received from her, I am now ready to step up and take my part in the conferences and I find that I am looking forward it.  I will definitely remember that parents want to hear the good things their children do and to always try to share more positives than negatives.  I hope that my experience in my personal life will help guide me through this process.  I will have to update this after the conferences and let you all know how it went.   

Reflection #1 

 

It’s Time to Be a Grownup

 

As I begin my last semester, my student teaching semester, I am realizing that it is time to be the adult in the room.  I have always been the one to help the students with their reading or with their assignments, but I usually am not the one who is charge of those assignments.  Now that I have taken over two of my four classes, I am learning that it is okay if I act like the adult in the room instead of the buddy who helps out.  The first example of this came when I asked the students to quiet down so that I could give them their instructions.  They didn’t stop talking, so I told them I would wait.  One of the students made a nasty comment under his breath.  I stood there for a minute and thought to myself, “that wasn’t so bad.  It doesn’t really matter if they ‘like’ me every minute of the hour, but it does matter that they learn to respect me.”  I know for a lot of people that would not be a huge epiphany, but for me it was a big moment.  I find myself learning little lessons like that one on an everyday basis and I find that fact exciting.  I may be scared to death of the KPTP, but I am growing as a teacher daily.  At this point, I am really looking forward to the end of the semester and being able to look back on my growth throughout the semester. 

 

Genre Reflection #2

Sanity is the goal. 

 

What can I say about this semester to sum it all up?  Let’s start with “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” and let me tell you, this semester has sure tried to kill me.  Between school, health, family and all the dark forces, I am amazed to still be in one piece.  As far as health goes, I think I have caught every possible germ out there at some time during this semester.  I have battled sinus infections, a root canal and projectile vomiting.  I have missed more days this semester than I ever have in the past, really, you can check.

            Family has been another issue.  I have said to myself, many times this year that my kids were born to kill me.  I am a female living with four boys (husband included as he often acts more like a child) and they test my sanity daily.  I have dealt with zombies, potty training (not potty training zombies but trying to potty train a 2-year-old who can’t stop fighting the zombies long enough to use the potty) and a hormonal 15-year-old.  In between those two, I have a 6-year-old who is more emotional than I am (and that is saying a lot).  It is his first year in kindergarten and I have been getting notes almost daily from his teacher regarding his lack of coping skills.  Really, I am in college and I am having trouble with my coping skills.  The final string this last holiday was my grandmother falling and having to spend three weeks in the hospital.  She is due home this week and I am rearranging the whole house to make sure we can accommodate her needs. 

            School has definitely had its ups and downs as well.  I began this semester with the best attitude and much excitement.  About one month into the semester my CT had a family situation that changed her semester, as well as mine.  The semester I had planned turned ugly on the day she told me to sit down and wait until she was ready to speak with me.  I will not dwell on that, as I now get to work with a wonderful teacher who demonstrates skills that I am not used to.  She is very soft spoken and humorous, as well as very knowledgeable about teaching tools and methods.  As life often revolves in circles, I am once again excited about the upcoming semester.  We just finished reading The Lord of the Flies in our Freshman class and I am reminded that, well, at least no one has died yet. 

            When I sit and ponder all that has happened this semester and the complete fear that overwhelms me when I consider all that is involved in the KPTP for next semester, I have to tell myself to stop and just breath.  The thought that I began with, the “what does not kill you makes you stronger” is not even the driving force in my thoughts anymore.  I have switched to a new mantra.  Please Lord, just let me still be sane when I get through.  I told my mother that when and if I graduate this May, please be sure to tuck my diploma into my straight jacket as they haul me off to the padded room so that I have a reminder of why it was all worth it.  I know that the people I work with at the bookstore think I have already crossed over into the insanity, but I still have a slight grip left.  So if you pass me in the halls and I am mumbling to myself and have a wild look in my eyes, just be kind.