Week in Review, February already?!?!?!
Hello from Pullman!
Please give a short week in review - with a highlight and a stretch (I think this means tell us something fun, and something that you struggled with...)
And then once you've posted, respond to at least one other person's post.
Responses due by Tuesday Feb 8th.
Heidi (posting as Chris requested)
:-)
posted by Heidi @ 4:58 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Hello from Eric Skidmore. I am the music major student teaching in Idaho. I just started teaching today. I have previous teaching experience, so the supervising teacher gave me complete control of the two guitar classes. I stepped right in and did both classes. My stretch right now is trying to figure out my part in everything the bands are doing and how I'm going to contribute.
Hello! This is Amy over at Heidelberg High, teaching three 9th English grade classes and one junior English class! Last week was my first week at the high school and I primarily spent it observing and getting to know the kids. Allie (my cooperating teacher) is slowly integrating me and coaching me well! I created and taught one lesson (which since the school is on a block system, spent two days teaching it) and messed up during the first lesson.. Which though that is to be expected, it was still hard having that be the first teaching experience I got here. So I guess you could call that my "low" or "stretch." But I recovered and was able to teach the next classes without the same fault. :)
I've been having a BLAST here traveling little bits and adjusting to German culture. Everyday feels like an adventure. I'm loving getting to know my kids and interacting with them; it's certainly different from the middle school where I spent my last practicum!
We're teaching To Kill a Mockingbird in the 9th grade classes and Lord of the Flies in the junior class. I've begun creating lessons for both and will teach tomorrow! I can't wait to gain more responsibilty for the class! :D
Greeting from Heidelberg!
Last week was exciting. I got to meet all of my students. My teacher has two algebra classes and two discrete math classes. I didn't know what discrete math was when I started, and I'm still not entirely sure. Who says you need to know something to teach it though?
I have learned most of my students names, but the discrete class has been doing group work for the last week so they have been moving around making it difficult to use a seating chart.
One of the biggest difficulties for me has been discipline. I struggle to be assertive, and feeling like I am in someone else's class makes it hard to correct students' behaviors. I have gotten much better as the week has progressed though, and I feel that by the end of this week I'll be much closer to where I want to be in terms of maintaining a productive classroom.
I have had a great time interacting with the students and my highlight of the week is learning a little about one of my students who isn't very interested in math. Even though he really doesn't do much in the class and is constantly off task, he is an interesting person. Sometimes it's easy for me to lose sight of that.
Hey! It's Kaylynn from Babmerg Elementary. My teacher was having problems with her internet at home and the German phone company told her they could only come out between the hours of 8AM to 2PM. I showed up to school at 7:45AM that morning, I had no idea she wasn't coming in until it was figured out. She couldn't get ahold of me and the Spanish teacher came in and told me "by the way Sandy won't be coming in." Luckily, I was pretty prepared and I was able to lead the class by myself, without a sub. Sandy didn't get to school until 1PM. At one point the principal came in to check on me, she told me I was doing great, she turned around and walked out. It was great to see so much support and confidence the others have in me, it really helped me feel more confident in myself. This was definitely a growing moment.
the stretch/concern for me happened yesterday. We had a faculty meeting after school and the principal and vice-principal read a very deragatory comment about Bamberg Elementary and their staff, from a community member left on Facebook. This person complained about a lack of teaching, mean teachers, poor test scores, not enough time for lunch and that was just a portion of the letter, which was approx 3 pgs. It was hard to sit there in that room realizing that someone publicly ridiculed the people that I have been working with everyday. I have learned so much from some of these people in just the month that I have been here. I have seen the entire staff work hard and focus on the students who need the help the most. It was not a happy faculty meeting, but it reminded me that there will always be some kind of critizism from some person within any community. I realized the strong teachers take the complaint with a grain of salt. Sandy talked to her parent volunteers today and reminded them that good comments are also welcome. She rallied a group of parents together and they left positive letters on the school website today. Sandy worked hard to find people to support her co-workers in a time they all need it.
Halo from Bamberg! The past week has flown by and it ended with parent teacher conferences, which were very insightful. It was the highlight of my week actually. It wasn't required that all parents came- only those new to the school or who we had concerns for. To my surprise it went very smoothly. My cooperating teacher was very elegant with her words and the parents all appreciated her honesty. Since it's bee a month I can say that I have a good grasp on the students, and I did speak up at the appropriate moments. However, it was a great modeling experience for me of how to approach parents of children who are struggling. It was a blessings that the dad even showed up for the one child in particular. About a handful showed up in total and two never responded.
The stretch for the week was dealing with a child that constantly interrupts, who is very argumentative, manipulates and takes advantage of the situation. So it was testing for me when I'd do lessons or give directions. This week has been the worst for him behaviorally. I feel that to some extent the children try to test the water with the "new person" but he took it to a whole new level with the following occurrences: he lied about scores he got on a reading tests taken on the computer throughout the year (they kept a record in their folder and the teacher has a copy of the scores that were sent to them through the computer program), he was excused to the bathroom/library but chose to visit other classrooms- multiple times in a day, and lastly, came up while I was teaching and wrote on the board without permission. We are working with him respectfully and have given him new expectations to earn trust back. It was an interesting week.
Response to Amy:
That's great that you are learning from your mistakes. Everyone has them and I've definitely encountered them so far in my student teaching. It may be different with 9th graders, but the little ones keep me on my toes constantly with everything we're doing. They crave routine and structure, and are never afraid to point out my mistakes- especially my occasional spelling errors on the chalk board, ha!
Kaylynn and I have also enjoyed getting some travel time in and are experiencing the German culture every chance we get. There's so much to see and do.
Response to Kaylynn:
That is so awesome that you were able to handle the class and were prepared though your teacher didn't show up! Something like that happened to me during my last practicum.. I came in and a sub was there and she looked at me and said "are you Amy? My sub notes say that you'll be teaching these periods today." So I reviewed the subnotes and jumped right in! I really think I've learned the most by stepping in and just seizing every chance to be in front of the class! My experience was certainly different since you had the whole day and no sub. But I can kind of, sort of relate! ;)
I can't believe a community member wrote such harsh things on facebook about your school.. But I think the way your teacher handled it and the lesson you learned (the strong teachers take it with a grain of salt) is incredibly important. The best thing to do is hold your head high and continue to teach with great grace and integrity.
Sounds like you're having a phenomenal experience!
Post a Comment
<< Home