Here are some of the points I thought were particularly important or interesting for myself:
~ SOFTY – I definitely could relate to Rubenstein when he says he has always been a softy. I think I have a tendency to try to get on a students good side rather than to be their hard-nosed authority, and the author's story about being easily manipulated made me very aware of the dangers that can come along with this. I will have to find a balance between getting along with the students outside of the classroom (because I think that is really important) and not being a softy in the classroom.
~ DISTRACTION – I loved the section on how lack of discipline can be such a distraction to students. In the book, Rubenstein writes about one experience when he stopped everything to see what note a girl was furiously writing in her notebook and it turned out to be a word-for-word commentary of everything he had just said, which was a jumbled mess of material and telling people to be quiet. Really what it was was a headache of confusion for everyone involved.
~ TEACHER LOOK – I'm working on it. It's getting better. Ask BM!
~ TRADITION – It is okay to use books and/or more traditional methods of schooling. Students are used to that type of structure and a professional looking way of learning. By learning what is in the book, they really feel like they've accomplished something. Also, they can measure their success by how far they've made it in the book, and seeing their success is extremely important for the students in motivating them to continue and increasing their self-confidence.
~ AVOID – At all possible cost, avoid creating and/or entering into confrontations with the students. These confrontations, no matter how small they start, can quickly turn into power struggles between the teacher and student, and the teacher always loses even if they technically won the small fight.
~ THINK CRITICALLY – As part of your planning, weigh out the positives and the negatives ahead of time for each activity, question, worksheet, example....EVERYTHING. After thinking through each aspect of the lesson, modify it accordingly to make the best lesson you can. Try to eliminate any mistakes or anything that would trip up yourself or the students while going through the lesson. This increases the effectiveness and efficiency of the lesson and is of invaluable importance for a teacher.
~ SEE THROUGH - DO NOT patronize, manipulate, lie, etc. to the students. They will see right through you and will lose a lot of respect for you if they do not feel like you genuinely respect them.
~ ORGANIZE – We hear this over and over in our class and see evidence of its importance in preparation, so I won't beat a dead horse. Organization is VERY important!
~ ENJOY – This is probably one of the things I have heard over and over from my past teachers that I have talked to and asked advice from about teaching. Many of them said the single most important thing about teaching is to enjoy what you do! If you do not genuinely enjoy what you are doing, it will be hard to put enough energy into your lessons to make it worth your time and the students' time. Plus, why would you do something like teaching if you didn't enjoy it – it takes a lot of time but can be so rewarding if you care enough about it. Also, be genuine with your actions and words. The students will be able to see right through you if you are not being true to yourself.
One of the main things I took away from the book, even though I'm sure it can be frustrating, is that developing your own style for your classroom can take time and learning what works for you by trial and error. Obviously, those of us who only teach for the 2 years will not perfect our own style during that time, but it is important to be open to options and true to yourself and your personality.
As cliche as the subject of this blog is, I can't believe how fast time has gone since I graduated from ND...It's almost JULY, for crying out loud!!! I am convinced that this is mostly because I have had plenty going on to keep me busy from the minute I left South Bend, but it is also due to the fact that I have been enjoying myself so much in it all too!
My decision to become part of MTC was a pretty clear one for me, and I was pretty sure (especially when writing my resume) that most of my experiences have prepared me a lot more for this than for my other post-graduation alternatives (med school or grad school in psychology). The positive feedback I have received and my own personal feelings about teaching have increased my sense of security with my decision, and I am extremely excited to see how these two years shape me and my students.
I am fully aware, however, that summer school can have a tendency to lull first-time teachers into a false sense of security because of the difference in nature of the schooling. This is something I have been leery of since the first few days because we only had 2-3 students in our classroom, and clearly classroom management is a whole different ballgame when you have a full classroom of middle schoolers. I am trying to keep in mind which things I'm experiencing will be different and which I can keep the same or similar, but it is a little hard not knowing what to expect.
Along those lines, though, visiting my school helped out a lot too. It was so nice to finally see the buildings I'll be working in (particularly my classroom) and meeting a lot of the people I will be working with everyday. My principal seems to have a decent grasp on overall discipline and respect for the teachers by both the students and the parents. He also could not say enough how much the community rallies around the basketball team, which was fun because I will be a part of that program!
This was fairly jumbled, I just wanted to get some of my thoughts down....
I'm off to write some lesson plans!
I was able to try out my first questioning strategy on Monday. While I'm not sure that a questioning strategy like the one I chose was the most effective way to get through to ONE student, I think it will be something I use in the future. I thought the 'muddiest part of the lecture' would be one of the more helpful questioning strategies for math, so I selected that strategy to try out. I brought in 6 note cards - two for each of my three students. The first note card was for them to fill out with review information by filling in blanks, and the second was for them to write out a question they had or something that was still unclear to them.
I had expectations that this would work out fairly well for my three students, and then it turned out only one of them showed up the day I had planned to do it. I went through it the way I would with more students, but the student only completed the review note card and left the question one blank.
I think one of the main difficulties that would present itself for this strategy (and definitely did in this case) is the student's lack of communication by writing skills and/or literacy. I try to have my students read something aloud every day, but even that is hard for them. The literacy struggle carries over to their writing just as much as their reading, and it is clear that they have not really learned how to formulate questions in that manner.
I do think this strategy would prove effective - especially for those in class who never talk and feel embarrassed or shy whenever they are called on. These students will be given time to really think about what they want to know more about, and when they are ready the next day with the questions, part of the lesson will be to solve them.
Because I am teaching in seventh and eighth grade math, I thought it would be fitting to read and write on the focus paper concerning middle school. Before reading the paper, I had been unaware of the difference between 'middle' and 'junior high' schools. It is possible that the distinction is not as apparent now or in the region where I am from, but in thinking of some of the schools I know details about, there may be a more clear-cut difference after all. What I had thought was just a nominal difference is in fact much more than just that.
The paper I read discussed the benefits that supposedly accompany a middle school verses the junior high schools they replaced. Many different ideas were implemented in middle schools to make them a "bridge from elementary school to high school" by drawing certain aspects from both. Previously, in junior high schools, the students were put in the same building and atmosphere as the high school. It is important for middle schoolers to have their own building or section of the school and different types of curriculum and instruction because they are at such a difficult time in their life developmentally, emotionally, and physically. I have learned about this a great deal in many of my psychology classes in college and can see the need for this specific instruction for this age group. Also, the paper stresses the importance of 'teams' within the schools that help the student in more ways than one. They feel a part of a group, the teachers are able to get to know them better, and they are able to work with other teachers teaching the same group. There are several other facets of a middle school education that are necessary to its success, but they are more intrinsic qualities that develop because of these other factors.
I am not sure how large the school I am teaching in is, but it holds grades 7-12. I am inclined to believe that this means it will be more of a junior high type setting, but again I don't know for sure. I am hoping there are certain things in place specifically for the seventh and eighth graders who are entering a particularly difficult time in life. I am also curious to find out what types of counseling systems the school has in place. This was something I wondered about especially after Reggie Barnes spoke with us yesterday and told us some of the things the students can be (and probably are) dealing with at home. It is incredible what a lot of them endure in their day-to-day lives, and I am hoping the counselor will be available and helpful. One last thing I was curious about concerning my school and what the paper says is an effective part of a middle school is the existence of classes from three different elements: academic, exploratory, and elective classes. Hopefully there are options available to the student to partake in all three because I believe they are all equally important to a complete development.
Before arriving in Mississippi, I have to admit I had some reservations about what I was getting myself into. I don't think I would have had as many as I did if I hadn't spent the last month telling everyone who asked what my plans were. When I told people I was going to Mississippi for two years, the general response was "WHOA! good luck!" or "WHY???" or "Wow. I'll pray for you." Granted, I am from Minnesota and only a few people I talked to had ever actually been to Mississippi, but it started to get into my head a little bit.
My dad and I drove down and I know I wasn't the only one who was nervous - my dad was a wreck!...UNTIL we got here and spent the day here. First off, we drove around campus a little bit and what we saw was beautiful! Then we went to my apartment and were very pleasantly surprised with how nice my living arrangement was. For the next few hours we tooled around Oxford and got something to eat (at Newk's -- love it!). Everyone we met was extremely friendly, and we kept finding more things we liked about the city. My dad was completely confident leaving me here (and I was too) when I had to bring him to the airport later that day because we both felt so good about everything we had seen.
That night, we had people over at our place to meet some of the other people in the program. I was really glad Molly was my roommate because she planned all of that, and it was definitely nice to get to know some people and talk about the program before we started. I am really glad that none of the second years try to sugar coat the experience too much even if it sounds extremely challenging. It really seems like we'll have an amazing support group all the way through the program, which takes away some of the nervousness.
As far as the first two days of the program go, I've come out with great feelings about the program and the experience. So far mostly we've been taking care of introductions and housekeeping stuff, but that obviously has to be done. It has also been a really fun (and tiring) two days, but I have already met and gotten to talk to or spend time with a lot of the people in the corps. Ultimate frisbee definitely helped get to know some people a LOT better! (BH, here is my public apology for hitting you in the face with the frisbee: Sorry!). I also have appreciated the many invitations to hang out and get to know everyone. Plus, whoever picked Old Venice last night was a genius. I also had a blast playing basketball with some of the second year guys even though I missed a lay-up that would have won the game for us. Yes, I'm still a little bitter.
After the last few days, my reservations have subsided immensely, and I'm really excited to see what's in store for all of us this summer and upcoming years.
