How to be a Student Teacher in Seven Easy Steps: Genre Reflection #2

Step one: Be cocky as hell. Think you know it all.  Start out the semester excited and pumped and so energetic that people who are already teachers will say “Kids are going to eat you alive.”  Ignore these snide comments as you continue to be confident and positive, and think to yourself, “I WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE YOU HEARTLESS, RUDE, WASHED UP, PESSIMISTIC, SORRY EXCUSES FOR TEACHERS.” 

Step two: Slowly begin to realize that student teaching is not as enchanting and magical as you had thought it would be.  Come to terms with the fact that all of the people who said that you were naïve and “too innocent” were, unfortunately, right. Curse their names under your breath and vow to live out a quote you saw somewhere on Pinterest that tells you to not let this world make you hardened and calloused.  Still try your hardest and think the world of your students, even when they ask you to call them “Big Daddy” or when they talk to their friend as you try to provide the assistance they had just asked for two seconds ago.  Still believe that you can make a difference.

Step three: Disregard the first Pinterest quote you referred to in your desperate need for inspiration…because it is not working. You are undeniably becoming hardened and calloused.  And all of the other things that you vowed you would never be.  You are beginning to question your initial belief that every student truly can learn, and instead wondering “What is the point?” You’re beginning to empathize with the heartless, rude, washed up, pessimistic, sorry excuses for teachers and seeing how it may have been a little extreme to prematurely judge them that harshly.  But mostly, you are beginning to feel scared. Like maybe you aren’t cut out for this. Like maybe you should switch your major and be a counselor or heck maybe even an accountant or something (you’ve always gotten a weird satisfaction from Type-A work).  Ultimately decide that accounting would probably make you more depressed than teaching and resort one more time to Pinterest.  This time the quote is “Whenever you feel like giving up, remember why you started.” Hope this is the quote that will initiate the turning point in your slump. 

Step four:  Experience a new low in your slump and cry. So much.  All the time. Throw a huge pity party and only invite yourself because you love being dramatic.  Be upset that you aren’t a stellar teacher right off the bat. Be bitter that you’re way better at writing lesson plans then actually executing them. Feel like the biggest fraud in the world. Spiral into despair and begin to wonder how any students learn anything ever. Decide that middle school should just be classified as the wasted years.

Step five: Grow up and stop being a baby. It’s as simple as that. Stop playing the victim and become a problem solver. Talk to your professor about classroom management and learn how to empower yourself instead of sitting back and letting problems escalate. Also, understand that becoming a stellar teacher requires experience, and that you may have had a tad bit too high of expectations for yourself.  Reevaluate who you want to be stellar for. Realize you wanted to be stellar due to vanity and not for the students…who are what this whole shin dig is about.  Promise to make it about the students from here on out.

Step six: Give up on referencing Pinterest, and remember one of your favorite quotes that your dad shared with you, in order to get re-inspired.

“What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?”

Ask yourself the answer to this question. Really ponder it.

Step seven: Decide the answer is obviously that you would pour your heart and soul into your work, and give your students your all, even if they never stop acting like total punks. Decide that you are done doubting whether you were made for this profession. Recognize that you have strengths and attributes that are unique to you alone, and vow to put these to good use. 

Realize that the Pinterest quotes you abandoned may still hold some truth, and…

Start to attempt to do the things you want to do, without fear of failure.

Start to remember the reasons why you began this ridiculous journey of becoming a teacher.

Start to become less hardened and calloused, and more like the optimistic individual you were in the beginning.

And instead of teachers saying “These kids are going to eat you alive,” start hearing “You’re gonna be alright.” 

I Believe: One Teacher's Journey from being a Sprick-eist to a Devoted Follower

I'm embarrassed to admit this, but when I began the Education program at Wichita State University I thought that I basically knew it all.

Of course there would always be new exciting lesson plans for me to try, and I could always learn something about literature or grammar, but for the most part I felt confident that I would be able to run a classroom with ease.

"Kids like me," I thought to myself, as I would barely skim my Sprick textbook on classroom management. "There's no way I'll struggle with keeping my students in line. The teachers that struggle just don't know their students well enough." 

I don't know if the term "LOL" is appropriate in a professional blog post, but I just have to use it anyway. 

LOL 

LOLOLOLOLOL. 

I am laughing out loud at the Michaela from a year ago.

And now I'm yelling at my past myself. "HOW COULD YOU BE SO NAIVE?!"

I am struggling. 

A lot. 

And I'm mad at myself for not taking good 'ole Randall Sprick more seriously when I had the chance. What atheistis are to religion, I was to the Sprick text.  I was a Sprick-eist. 

But now, I'm a full blown believer. 

The man has things to say and we should listen. 

Classroom management in a middle school classroom is an extremely difficult thing to obtain, yet it is vital.  If a teacher does not have control of his/her classroom things instantly fall apart. Teaching becomes impossible, and instad of getting to focus on the concepts and lessons that you are passionate about, the only thing you end up putting your energy toward is figuring out how you can keep from crying until the bell rings (***this may just be a personal thing).  

I know that I am not stating anything new or revolutionary, and I'll be honest. This blog post is mainly being composed for selfish reasons. 

After reviewing the Sprick text, below are my new classroom management goals for the rest of the semester:

Goal # 1: Design an Efficient System for Monitoring and Recording Daily Classsroom Behavior Points (Sprick, 43). 

I tried to implement a recording sheet like Professor Cramer uses in our classes while I was teaching my lesson. However, I found that it was extremely hard to document all of the misbheavior going on while also managing questions and helping students with their assignment. I think this means that I'm flawed, and not the system, so my goal is to practice while I'm still in more of an observing role in order to get the hang of it. Sprick mentions the importance of having a legend down at the bottom of the sheet for common misbehaviors, which I think will come handy. Even if my teacher doesn't utilize these records for anything, I'm curious to see how students will respond if I show them how many tallies they got for that day. 

Goal #2: Move throughout the room more as I teach and observe. During my lesson plan I tended to lecture up toward the front and did not circulate the room unless the students were working on individual work. My second goal is to practice teaching while being mobile, and feeling more comfortable with roaming and talking. Sprick mentions that closer you are in proximity to issues, the more likely they are to stop (p.115).

Goal #3: Address student misbehaviors unemotionally. I'm normally pretty good about keeping my cool, but after the third or fourth time I'm having to tell a student something, I start to let my emotions show and students can tell that I'm frustrated. Sprick mentions that students feed off of this, and I need to practice staying composed (p. 120).

Goal #4: While I am not doling out consequences at this stage in my career, I do still want to remember to be consistent. If I tell one student that he cannot go to the bathroom, then I cannot let any students go to the bathroom. If I get mad at one student for constantly talking, I cannot let other students talk quietly, even if they are still working and not being extremely distracting. I must also respond to misbehavior the same way everytime (Sprick, p.119) 

Goal #5: Try to have at least one positive interaction with every student a day. This can include compliments for behavior, work, or non-contingent things such as clothing, or asking them about their lives outside of school. A lot of students feel like victims, and I don't want to feed into that misconception. I want to show students that I do care about them and respect them, but that they must also do the same for me.  

Hopefully by implementing these goals I will see progress within my 8th grade classroom. I must remember that progress will not happen in one day. But I'm confident that with Sprick and patience in my corner, I can come out of the boxing ring that has become my middle school English classroom a victor.

Works Cited

Sprick, R. (2013). Discipline in the Secondary Classroom: A Positive Approach to Behavior             Management (Third ed.). San Francisco: Josey-Bass, A Wiley Brand.

KATE Conference Reflection

WOW.

Where does the time go? 

I swear that just yesterday it was October 1st, and I was lying in bed, practically sweating out of nervousness, thinking about planning and facilitating a round-table discussion for the KATE conference. 

Now here we are, two days after the fact, and, if I'm being honest, I could not feel more relieved that it is over. 

Don't get me wrong. Attending the KATE conference was an amazing experience for several reasons:

1) I learned that I am not alone in my struggles with motivating students to pay attention.

2) I learned that I am not alone in my struggles with helping students deeply analyze texts.

3) I learned that I am not alone in my struggles with finding effective classroom management. 

...basically what I learned from this conference is that I am not alone. 

And that I am not the only one who faces the struggles and experiences the feelings that I have been encoutnering this past semester. 

And that I'm actually much more prepared and knowledgeable than I thought I was. 

And that's a pretty cool feeling. 

I am also thankful for this conference because it gave me the opportunity to push myself outside of my comfort zone. 

I was terrified to stand up in front of seasoned teachers and attempt to lead them in a discussion about a topic that I had little experience with. There was even one moment in time where I was basically pleading Dr. Cramer to let me bail and not go through with it. 

However, I am so glad that Dr. Cramer pushed me and forced me to challenge myself. 

Because, as mentioned previously, I realized that I have some pretty cool things to say. And that it's up to me to own my story (thanks Laura Packer), or presentation, or thoughts, or feelings, and to stand by them so as to make them meaningful and impactful for those around me. 

I realized that my voice has value. And there's no way to measure or express how empowering that is. 

My voice has value. 

I can make a difference. 

I will be impactful. 

I was meant for this. 

P.S.

I'm thankful for my classmates and professors and the amazing social at the Public. What a blessing it is to be surrounded by people that are cool, fun, supportive, and talented. 

I really don't think life could be any better. 

Genre Reflection #1: A Heated Letter

***Parts of this post were edited for the sake of confidentiality

The decision that I am referring to is the taking away of Ms. W’s algebra classes, giving them to Ms. I, and in turn giving Ms. W all Pre-Algebra classes.  All in the middle of a school year.

While this may not seem like a hard adjustment, I assure you that it is an extraordinary challenge.

Firstly, one of the first things they emphasize in all textbooks I have ever read is that the first days and weeks of school are crucial.  This is because teachers must be constantly enforcing their classroom routines and procedures so that students will be able to habitually act according to the expectations held for them by the end of the first month.  Ms. W had done a phenomenal job of acclimating her students to her classroom culture, and I was under the impression that they were responding positively.  Granted, these students were being challenged, and Mrs. W is known for her disciplinarian tendencies.  However, these students seemed up to the challenge and understood that this was all in their best interest, especially when it came to preparing them for further education.

However, these thoughts must not have crossed your mind for you disrupted these precious procedures and routines.  Granted, the algebra students will readjust fine for it is the nature of algebra classes in middle school to be filled with the more mature students.  The students I am most concerned for are the incoming pre-algebra students that Ms. W will now be teaching.  This new class is currently the ultimate definition of shell-shock, and the students are having a very rude awakening. A rude awakening that should be lessened by now, but is actually just starting due to your decision.  These students will now waste crucial and essential learning time as Ms. W has to continually remind them of new routines and procedures.  I’ve found that it takes about 2-3 weeks for students to acclimate to their teacher and the learning environment before any truly meaningful learning can take place.  Thus, both sets of students are going to lose out on twice as much learning as their peers due to your decision to switch the classes.

Another reason your decision is extremely ill-advised is due to the unfair lesson planning burden this puts on both Ms. W and Ms. I. These teachers are both extremely well prepared and excellent at what they do.  During the summer they were putting much thought and effort into planning ahead for their classes and preparing activities and lessons that would be engaging and hands-on for students.  These activities are where true learning takes place, since students are getting to explore concepts and actually make meaning of what they’ve been exposed to.  Unfortunately these activities take a lot of advanced preparation, and I have a feeling there will not be much of these activities occurring within either classroom since both teachers are having to completely rethink their plans for the whole year.  And once again, the students are the ones who are being negatively affected.

I can understand how at first it could have been thought that students would respond well to this change. Students are challenged in Ms. W’s class and she has a personality and teaching style that takes getting used to.  It’s a style that is strict and demanding, but also one that will push students and help them truly understand mathematics.  This is foreign to many kids so of course they are going to complain and be upset when they aren’t successful in the beginning. And of course some parents will be upset because this will be the first time that their student has struggled. And of course Ms. W’s style is not a good fit for every student.

However, I know that Ms. W’s style is what those students need.  And I think you know it too.  In order for the students to be prepared for the subjects that are coming for them in higher level schooling they need to be pushed, and they need to experience how it feels to work hard and truly earn a grade.  Of course they and their parents probably don’t have this foresight, but that’s your job. To provide this foresight to them, and help them see what is truly best for the future. Even when they are arguing against you and saying that you’re incorrect.

I apologize if this letter seems too accusatory or one-sided, but I do have a unique viewpoint of this situation and feel that my insight is somewhat valid seeing as how I observe the effects of this change everyday. 

Sincerely,

M

Reflection #2: Making Literature Meaningful for Students

My last post consisted of discussing how I thought utilizing bellwork and exit slips would help make lessons more meaningful for students.  After that post, I tried implementing what I thought were meaningful bell work questions at the beginning of class that related to the work the students completed the previous day. Unfortunately, these questions did not interest the students one bit, and I was lucky if half of the class even attempted to answer the question.  While I’m going to chalk-up some of this to my lack in classroom management (and maybe the fact that the expectation for completing bellwork wasn’t properly set in the beginning of the class), I do also think that there is another underlying issue. 

Randy Bomer (2011) emphasizes the importance of appreciating the preexisting literacies that students bring to a classroom within his book Building Adolescent Literacy in Today’s English Classrooms (p. 20-47).  When I first read this I have to admit that I was not in full support of this statement. This is not to say that I thought we should discredit all things that aren’t academic or that could be considered “leisure” for our students. However, I was under the impression that setting high standards for students meant exposing them to literature and texts that they probably wouldn’t normally encounter.  Thus, when creating my bellwork questions, I focused less on how they related to the student and more about how they would help the student understand the texts. However, I have now come to understand that appreciating what your students bring to the table, and incorporating these things into one’s classroom, is a way of finding some common ground with them and simply understanding the dynamic in which you will be working.

Understanding this dynamic is essential to building rapport with your students, and rapport is essential to building an environment where your students are receptive to and engaged with what you are saying. I noticed that at the beginning of the year there was a lack of getting to know the students in an academic sense.  We did the typical ice breakers and learned about one another on a surface level, but that was where the introductions ended.  Now, after reading Bomer, I am curious to know what would happen if I dug further into these students’ academic histories and asked them to reflect on times that they were successful and the times that they struggled.  What would happen if I asked them to complete a reading autobiography? What would happen if I asked them to tell me where they liked to write the most? What would they say if I asked them to write about what interests them? My initial thought is that they probably wouldn’t even take the questions seriously.  That they would write it off as another stupid thing they have to pretend to do until the teacher gives up on seeing it completed. 

Yet, there’s a more hopeful side of me that thinks that maybe, just maybe, if I put my heart and soul into presenting these assignments, and made them come across as personal exploration, and not so much a requirement, that the students would become slightly interested.  And then, as we began to do more personal exploration, the students would become more and more involved and engaged in the task at hand.  And as they became engaged they would divulge their interests.  They would open up and share and begin to contribute to the classroom culture. They would begin to understand that taking ownership of the classroom isn’t breaking the rules but an expectation, and that they have much more control than they think.   

It’s obvious to me that what I described above is hardly realistic.  A culture has already been formed within the classroom where I observe, and it will be hard for me to change the habits the students have created.  However, I have not given up on the idea that I can change one or two students’ mindsets. And at this point, one or two students learning to even tolerate reading would be considered a success.

I really do believe in the amazing power of English classrooms. They have the ability to completely alter students’ reality and expose them to ways of thinking and ideas they never could have fathomed on their own.  It’s unfortunate, and pretty discouraging, that I am not currently experiencing this within my observations. BUT. I am going to cling to the hope that with a little redirection and shift in focus, I can slowly make these students begin to see how much they truly can gain from a 50 minute English class.

Works Cited

Bomer, R. (2011).  Building adolescent literacy in today’s English classrooms. Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann.

Reflection #1: These are my confessions...about wanting to make each and every lesson meaningful for students

I have a confession.

Here it comes…are you ready?

I AM NOT SPONTANEOUS.  I love planning, and I believe planning is the key to success.

While this may not seem like an earth-shattering declaration by any means, it is one that I think reveals a lot about me as a person, but especially about me as an educator. I believe that most activities within a classroom should be planned with purposeful intent.  I believe that units and activities within these units should all be scheduled strategically so that each lesson builds upon the previous one and successfully sets up the one to follow.  I believe that if students don’t see the connection between where they’ve been and where they’re headed, that they will become so lost, confused, and misguided that they give up and stop trying to make sense of what is being thrown at them.

In other words, the flow of a curriculum is of the utmost importance.

And while some people may disagree and believe in a more “organic” classroom, I have quite a few scholarly educators who are on my side. For example,  Daniel Brahier states in his book Teaching Secondary and Middle School Mathematics (2010) that “curriculum not only is about what is being taught and how it is taught but also is concerned with how big ideas are emphasized and the order in which topics are introduced” (p. 30). 

While this statement is intended for a mathematical setting, I know the same applies for an English classroom.  Students need to be introduced to literary and writing concepts in a way that makes the relationship and connections between them extremely obvious.  For example, if students can see how highlighting and annotating texts will in turn help them support their stance in an argumentative paper, then they will much likely gain more from both activities than if they feel they are aimlessly going about each one.  

Unfortunately, creating a seamless transition from one lesson plan to the next is much easier said than done. Especially as a new teacher I feel extremely overwhelmed when thinking about how I’m going to create this almighty flow that I’ve deemed oh so important.  However, there are two simple items that I think I can incorporate into my classes that will allow me to easily help students recall what they’ve already learned while also preview what they’re going to learn.

Bellwork and exit slips seem to be undervalued by many of the teachers that I’ve observed throughout the past two years.  While bellwork has the potential to reinforce what was learned the day before, or to introduce a new topic, they treat it almost as a nuisance; something that has to be completed, but isn’t worth spending much time over.  Nothing frustrates me more than a teacher who assigns bellwork but then never takes the time to go over the answer and discuss it with the class. WHAT IS THE POINT OF THAT?  Bellwork should serve a purpose.

Fortunately, Randy Bomer provides this purpose in his text Building Adolescent Literacy in Today’s English Classrooms (2011).  He mentions that mini lessons are a great way to start the class and give students a preview of what they are going to be working on that day (16).  My thought is, what better way to start off this mini lesson than to use the bellwork problem as the introduction? This will then get the students’ brain focused on the task at hand, while also giving them a sense of direction and a general concept of what they should be taking away from the day’s lesson.  Bomer (2011) also mentions that at the end of a class period, the teacher should schedule five minutes simply for student reflection (16). I think this is the prime time to assign an exit slip which will 1) reiterate the main points of the lesson that day and 2) preview the content for tomorrow.

With all of this being said, I would love to put my theory into practice and see if bellwork and exit slips can work together in order to create the connections that are so necessary for student success.  This theory may be a complete fantasy that has no chance of working in the real-world; however, I think that with a few tries and adaptations, I can really make bellwork and exit slips work in my favor as well as the students’. 

My Goals for this Semester

I am a big believer in setting goals and using them as a way to guide your path. I think realizing your goals and priorities gives you a good sense of direction and allows you to see the bigger picture when you're having to pick and choose where you focus and expend your limited amount of energy. While I love setting goals, I have to admit that I'm pretty terrible about actually referring back to them once I've gotten into a rhythm.

With that being said, my first goal for this semester is to constantly keep these goals in mind in order to make sure that I am successful in obtaining them.

The rest of my goals are as follows:

2. LEARN MY STUDENTS' NAMES - This is a given, but I want to make sure it gets done because it is a vital part of building relationships among students and creating a successful learning environment

3. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE LESSON PLANNING PROCESS - Creating lesson plans for everyday is probably the most daunting task to me when it comes to teaching. I want to learn more about how teachers balance and allocate their time for lesson planning, and also what they do in terms of prep for each day and unit. 

4. LEARN WAYS TO INCREASE STUDENT INVOLVEMENT/PARTICIPATION - I absolutely hate when I am at the front of a classroom and I pose a question that is returned solely with blank stares. I also hate when I'm talking and I see most of the students staring off in the distance with their eyes glazed over, looking extremely bored. I want to learn how to combat this and prevent this from happening. 

5. ATTEMPT AT LEAST TWO TECHNIQUES/ACTIVITIES THAT ARE EXPERIMENTAL - It is very much in my nature to like to plan things that are safe. I don't like taking risks when it comes to lesson planning because I want everything to go smoothly and to come across as someone who knows what she is doing. However, this hinders me a lot, and so this semester I want to be sure to force myself to step outside of my comfort zone and to try some things that originally made me say "THAT WILL NEVER WORK." One of my favorite quotes is "What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?" - I know I would attempt a lot more experimental things in my classroom if I wasn't afraid of failure. Therefore I refuse to let fear hold me back!

6. KEEP A JOURNAL/LOG OF MY OBSERVATIONS, EXPERIENCES, AND THOUGHTS - I really do love writing reflections! I benefit a lot from them, and they are also something that I can refer back to if I'm ever needing inspiration. Since this semester will be a significant learning experience, I want to make sure I am getting the most out of it that I can, and I think journaling will help me do that.  While this blog is great, I have a feeling there will be times I will need to be "unprofessional" in my writing, thus I will probably not use this blog as my personal journal.

And finally,

7. BE PATIENT WITH MYSELF - Throughout this experience I am going to do a lot of things really well, but there will also be times where I struggle, and possibly even fail...miserably. It is during these times that I hope I will give myself grace. I know I just said I want to get the most out of this experience, but I also don't want to be tense and hyperactive and a huge ball of stress. I hope I can realize when I need to step back and just let things ride, and that I let myself be okay with doing that. 

THIS IS A TEST