After my experience with the whole internship situation this semester, it is hard to know what exactly will be happening after this year, and even after this semester. After all of the struggles I have had to overcome in adapting to the internship and being in front of the classroom, it is easy to see that, if it does work out, I can still see myself with my own high school classroom, or maybe even a second floor office in the English department building at some small liberal arts college.
After this year, I just want to be as good as I can be, meaning I want to be very good at whatever I do. If I do end up becoming a teacher, I want to be known as the "cool teacher," the teacher whose class is challenging yet still fun, and one kids want to come to every day. If I end up with some sort of desk job, I want to be the employee that is good at his job.
After one of the hardest semesters I've experienced here at Lyon, I can honestly say, with a good amount of shame and embarrassment, that I had no idea that teaching was this hard. I came into this internship thinking that I would be able to overcome my fear of speaking in front of people and would automatically gain that "cool teacher" status without even having a job yet. Instead of all that happening, the opposite happened. It was quite a wake-up call to me, telling me that I need to get my priorities straight or my life could very well be ruined. It has certainly made me think a lot about my future and look back at all the opportunities I have missed due to my lackadaisical lifestyle.
After I figure out what is going to happen, I am not going to treat it how I have treated every other situation and put off my initiative until the last minute. I am going to jump on it as soon as I get it figured out, and I am going to make the best of it. I am tired of being a procrastinator and watching everyone be better than me. I want to be in those ranks, and be a role model to students, or prospective employees.
After all these years, I am now figuring out that slacking all the way to the bottom as I have done is for the birds. It's time for me to rise to the top.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
The Arkansas Literacy Conference
Presenting at the Arkansas Literacy Conference in Little Rock was a great experience. I was very nervous at first, as I think all three of us were, at the thought of being college students teaching things to teachers who have been teaching for years. Especially after my experience with losing my internship, I felt very out of place with a longing to feel at home.
Upon arriving at the conference, it was almost immediately apparent that this conference was primarily geared toward elementary teachers. Besides the two sessions we helped present, I attended only one other session. This session was about a therapy dog, Korie (a Labrador retriever -- my weakness), who belonged to Badger Elementary in Beebe. This session was aimed toward 1-3 grade teachers, but Rachel and I attended anyway. It was very interesting learning about therapy dogs and what all they do for students. Korie could actually read, too, which was pretty neat to watch.
Presenting at the conference, however, turned out not to be as scary as I thought it would. On the first day, we only had three people attend our session about Wikis, which, I think, helped calm out nerves. The only thing that I didn't like about having only three people was that this was the presentation I was most prepared for and most confident about. Overall, though, it went pretty well, and I still enjoyed it. The second presentation about authentic literacy gained a lot more attention, as we had probably 25 or 30 people come to this one, and I'm pretty sure they were all the secondary teachers that came to the conference. This presentation went pretty well overall, too.
After attending this conference and the curriculum conference, I can easily say that I love/will continue to love going to these kinds of conferences (although, that may be the measly intern in me speaking). I love to learn knew things, and these conferences provide the perfect opportunities for that.
The Full Story (pretty much)
A few weeks ago, I was dropped from from my internship classroom at Cave City High School. It was something that I had been worried would happen since Junior year when we were in Practicum, getting ready to enter the internship process. I have always doubted myself in a number of areas throughout the 20 something years I have been able to have doubts about myself. The internship became one of those areas of doubt.
At the beginning of the internship, I was very nervous, as one might expect a brand new intern would be. The first couple of weeks of observation were very calm. I caught myself wishing that was all I would have to do in the internship, knowing full well that it was not a good thing to wish for (insert self-disappointment). As the taking over of my first class loomed, I became even more nervous, knowing that it was going to be a lot more than just running down the hall to make copies.
Getting up and talking in front of a large group of people is certainly not my forte. In fact, it gives me extreme anxiety. Before now, I had asked myself, based solely on this fear, why I was choosing to be a teacher. Now was time to answer that question. I wanted to be a teacher for the kids. I chose students over my own fear. Still, however, it did not come naturally to me at all to get up and teach 50-minute lessons. Each day there were several times in my lessons that Mrs. Sandy had to correct me or fill in a giant hole of important information that I had failed to give the students. It was adding to the list of things that were lowering my confidence in my teaching abilities each day.
After about 7 weeks of this, Mrs. Sandy, Ms. Crosby and I all sat down together to voice our concerns. It seemed to give me a bit of a boost, and I could feel myself doing a bit better and feeling slightly more confident than I had been. However, while I was focusing more on better planning, I failed to strengthen areas I already wasn't paying much attention to, namely classroom management. My last day there, I was helping a student early in class, giving all of my attention to her instead of the other students. Meanwhile, there were two boys looking at a yearbook, one of which was out of his desk. After about five minutes of them cutting up and laughing about the pictures, and me not saying anything about it, Mrs. Sandy took it into her own hands. Within seconds, the yearbook was put away, the one boy was back at his assigned seat, and I knew I was in trouble. After class, Mrs. Sandy and I had a very long conversation about my lack of multitasking abilities and my inability to effectively manage the classroom. Later that night, I got a call from Ms. Crosby saying that Mrs. Sandy had opted to forgo the internship, putting me in a really terrible position.
After about a week full of searching, Ms. Crosby finally found me a temporary spot at Southside High School, where I have basically gone back to practicum. Just what I wanted right? Wrong. After being in front of the class every day at Cave City, going back to just sitting and watching other people teach is pretty boring. But I only have one more week. In the meantime, we are still trying to find a classroom for me to take over next semester, and with only one option left, my nerves are coming back to show me that my future is on the line. I have certainly learned a lesson in all of this.
At the beginning of the internship, I was very nervous, as one might expect a brand new intern would be. The first couple of weeks of observation were very calm. I caught myself wishing that was all I would have to do in the internship, knowing full well that it was not a good thing to wish for (insert self-disappointment). As the taking over of my first class loomed, I became even more nervous, knowing that it was going to be a lot more than just running down the hall to make copies.
Getting up and talking in front of a large group of people is certainly not my forte. In fact, it gives me extreme anxiety. Before now, I had asked myself, based solely on this fear, why I was choosing to be a teacher. Now was time to answer that question. I wanted to be a teacher for the kids. I chose students over my own fear. Still, however, it did not come naturally to me at all to get up and teach 50-minute lessons. Each day there were several times in my lessons that Mrs. Sandy had to correct me or fill in a giant hole of important information that I had failed to give the students. It was adding to the list of things that were lowering my confidence in my teaching abilities each day.
After about 7 weeks of this, Mrs. Sandy, Ms. Crosby and I all sat down together to voice our concerns. It seemed to give me a bit of a boost, and I could feel myself doing a bit better and feeling slightly more confident than I had been. However, while I was focusing more on better planning, I failed to strengthen areas I already wasn't paying much attention to, namely classroom management. My last day there, I was helping a student early in class, giving all of my attention to her instead of the other students. Meanwhile, there were two boys looking at a yearbook, one of which was out of his desk. After about five minutes of them cutting up and laughing about the pictures, and me not saying anything about it, Mrs. Sandy took it into her own hands. Within seconds, the yearbook was put away, the one boy was back at his assigned seat, and I knew I was in trouble. After class, Mrs. Sandy and I had a very long conversation about my lack of multitasking abilities and my inability to effectively manage the classroom. Later that night, I got a call from Ms. Crosby saying that Mrs. Sandy had opted to forgo the internship, putting me in a really terrible position.
After about a week full of searching, Ms. Crosby finally found me a temporary spot at Southside High School, where I have basically gone back to practicum. Just what I wanted right? Wrong. After being in front of the class every day at Cave City, going back to just sitting and watching other people teach is pretty boring. But I only have one more week. In the meantime, we are still trying to find a classroom for me to take over next semester, and with only one option left, my nerves are coming back to show me that my future is on the line. I have certainly learned a lesson in all of this.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Failure as an Intern
As a
teacher I dread a lot of things, but the one that I dread more than anything
else in this world is becoming a failure in the classroom in front of children.
I had this idea that all lessons should go as planned and that never should I
have to worry about being a failure. If something did go wrong it would so
slight that it would be unnoticeable to the students. As I figured out Monday,
I am human, and, as a human, I will fail.
I
prepared Thursday and Friday for a class discussion on Monday. As I figured out
later, the students were very prepared for the discussion. Their notes were
there and they had good ideas. My first period class went as planned and we had
a great discussion. Second period was a bit of a problem. They came in, plopped
down, and did not move. They would not talk, except to hold a little side
conversation every now and then. Only eight students participated in the class
discussion. I had this long pause were I decided I was not putting up with this
horror any longer. I got up and I told the students that they could write a
paragraph for me instead.
I have
been dealing with this all week long. I have worried that I did something
wrong. I was trying to allow the students to take control and lead the class,
as teacher evaluation asks teachers to do. It flopped for me. As I look back on
the situation and the moment I realize that I cannot take all the blame and
must pick myself up and move forward—not allowing this to hinder me. I will not
stop class discussions just because one class decided to sit on me.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Group Work Success!!
We had a discussion in our education class a few weeks ago
about how to have group work in the classroom. We talked about effective ways
to group students and when grouping is not appropriate. One thing that was
brought up was the actual work; students should not do individualized work in a
group setting—work should reflect all persons.
I took this to heart, realizing that I had the wrong
approach to group work. I starting working to revise my group work and make it
as efficient as I could. My activity last Thursday really worked in the group
settings.
My students were actively looking for internal and external
conflicts in one character. They had to use colored pencils and illustrate the
conflicts and then answer questions that reflected on the artwork, tying in the
essential questions of the unit. I was amazed at the eagerness they worked
together. Students had better scores, and most of my students worked really
hard to complete the answers. The short answers had excellent answers, showing
that students understood the essential questions and could apply it to the
novel.
Overall I was impressed with the grouping and the student’s
reactions. I will always keep this in mind when I am grouping and try to always
keep the students in working groups—not play groups.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
ACC in Little Rock, Arkansas
This week I had the privilege to go to Little Rock to the Arkansas Curriculum Conference (ACC). At first I was a little worried about it -- I usually hate things like this. It turned out that I really enjoyed the conference.
I was able to pick up a lot of great ideas for my classroom. Every session that I went to demonstrated activities and games that I could include in my classroom that would enhance the learning experience. I also was able to pick up on projects that were simple to do and would make the lesson applicable to the students' lives.
The greatest sessions were the ones that include cross curricular activities. Common Core is really heavy on the integrating of different fields into a classroom. Of all the material received, these will be the most helpful in enhancing the classroom.
I hope that each year I can come back and get more material each time. I never know when I might come across the right piece to make a lesson reach the outstanding on the TESS evaluation.
I was able to pick up a lot of great ideas for my classroom. Every session that I went to demonstrated activities and games that I could include in my classroom that would enhance the learning experience. I also was able to pick up on projects that were simple to do and would make the lesson applicable to the students' lives.
The greatest sessions were the ones that include cross curricular activities. Common Core is really heavy on the integrating of different fields into a classroom. Of all the material received, these will be the most helpful in enhancing the classroom.
I hope that each year I can come back and get more material each time. I never know when I might come across the right piece to make a lesson reach the outstanding on the TESS evaluation.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Edmodo in the Classroom
When I started teaching full time in the classroom, I wanted to include technology in my lessons in some format. I use technology in many capacities, but I wanted to have online discussions. I chose to start an Edmodo account and post discussion questions on there and have my students go and post answers to these questions.
At first I worried about the response of the students to something like this, and then I realized I had nothing to worry about. My students loved this. They took to it like it was candy. They were eager to get on there and do work. I had to set limits early on to keep them from answer all the questions or carrying the discussion to far.
I will always have those students that will not participate in any activity I give them, but a lot of my 'trouble' students have thoroughly enjoyed the online discussion. It was a new avenue that I wanted to try and glad I did. It was brought a new vive to the classroom!
At first I worried about the response of the students to something like this, and then I realized I had nothing to worry about. My students loved this. They took to it like it was candy. They were eager to get on there and do work. I had to set limits early on to keep them from answer all the questions or carrying the discussion to far.
I will always have those students that will not participate in any activity I give them, but a lot of my 'trouble' students have thoroughly enjoyed the online discussion. It was a new avenue that I wanted to try and glad I did. It was brought a new vive to the classroom!
Where is the Line?
As everyone knows, or should know, the question about being Facebook friends with students is a touchy one. When it comes down to it, it should be known, as a rule of thumb, not to be Facebook friends with your students, even those that are pretty cool. But where is the line for regular friendships drawn?
In Mrs. Sandy's AP class, there is a kid named Evan who is one of the coolest kids I've ever met. Every day I think about how Evan is someone I would definitely have been friends with in high school. He is one of those kids that is adaptable to just about every different type of personality within the classroom. Especially in an AP class, where diversity can be, and often is, rampant, having the type of adaptable personality that Evan does is a great thing to have.
Just about every day, Evan greets me with "'Sup, Nolley" before heading to his seat. Generally that is all the conversation we have each day. On days where they are not having a regular lecture style class, such as when they are working on a paper and are, for example, peer editing or working with each other to attain different ideas, Evan will sometimes make his way over to my corner of the room so we can chat.
This is where I start wondering where the line is drawn. As much as I love talking to this student and picking his brain for different things (he is extremely intelligent and very witty), I often feel bad for talking to him too much because I do not want to distract him from his work, even though I know he will be alright in the end.
As the student teacher (especially as a male student teacher), however, I know that it can seem to be a very thin line between the teacher/student and friend/friend relationships, especially since we are fairly close in age to our students.
As a member of the Apple program at Lyon, Evan has told me about his extreme interest in the school and how much he would love to go there. I hope that he does end up going to Lyon because I know he would fit in there very well.
In Mrs. Sandy's AP class, there is a kid named Evan who is one of the coolest kids I've ever met. Every day I think about how Evan is someone I would definitely have been friends with in high school. He is one of those kids that is adaptable to just about every different type of personality within the classroom. Especially in an AP class, where diversity can be, and often is, rampant, having the type of adaptable personality that Evan does is a great thing to have.
Just about every day, Evan greets me with "'Sup, Nolley" before heading to his seat. Generally that is all the conversation we have each day. On days where they are not having a regular lecture style class, such as when they are working on a paper and are, for example, peer editing or working with each other to attain different ideas, Evan will sometimes make his way over to my corner of the room so we can chat.
This is where I start wondering where the line is drawn. As much as I love talking to this student and picking his brain for different things (he is extremely intelligent and very witty), I often feel bad for talking to him too much because I do not want to distract him from his work, even though I know he will be alright in the end.
As the student teacher (especially as a male student teacher), however, I know that it can seem to be a very thin line between the teacher/student and friend/friend relationships, especially since we are fairly close in age to our students.
As a member of the Apple program at Lyon, Evan has told me about his extreme interest in the school and how much he would love to go there. I hope that he does end up going to Lyon because I know he would fit in there very well.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Hi, My Name is Drew, and I Am a Procrastinator ("Hi, Drew")
Beginning around junior high school, I became a pretty bad procrastinator. My college career has been no different. I have been putting things off until the last minute for four years, no matter how important these tasks may be. I would not wish this bad habit on anyone as it is a habit over which I have had multiple nervous breakdowns.
One thing alone that causes about 98% of my procrastination is (anybody?): Facebook. This might not come as a surprise to anyone, but Facebook is definitely the thing that brings me down and keeps me from getting my work done in a timely manner just about every night. Even as I sit on my bed writing this blog post, I look up and see a Chrome tab labeled "Facebook" sitting there glaring at me, waiting for me to succumb to its tempting powers (add Odyssey/sirens metaphor here).
Oftentimes, I get really, truly upset about how badly I procrastinate. When I get upset with myself about it, I lose any other interest I had in working on whatever I need to be working on. That leads me to Facebook even more often. Then I realize, once more, how much I am procrastinating and how badly I need to get back on task. It is almost literally a never ending cycle, and a very miserable one at that.
As I am in my senior year of college, I ask myself every day whether or not I will ever lose this bad habit, get my life together, and finish out the rest of this year well enough to leave with a decent GPA. I made it my goal at the beginning of this school year to make this year my best in my career at Lyon. So far, however, it has not been, and I know it is entirely my fault. When I ask myself this question everyday (whether or not I will dump procrastination and begin dating time management), I cannot help but fear for my career as a teacher. I have had a pretty tough time getting things going well in my class at Cave City. And this is only my internship. Yes, there is the fact that this is not MY class, and I cannot necessarily do everything I WANT to do with the students. And there is the fact that getting up in front of 23 students who are just a few years younger than me does not flow naturally through my mind. Getting in front of my classroom everyday gives me a new anxiety every day. But at the same time, I absolutely love my students. I honestly could not have asked for a better class to be with in my internship year. So when I really think about it, I know that what is causing me to have a tough time getting into my internship is procrastination and my lack of planning.
Although I have told myself repeatedly that I will work on my procrastination habits to get them out of my life, I know that it is not going to just happen cold turkey. I will REALLY have to work on it, because I know that I will not be a great teacher if I am a procrastinator; it will ruin my career. I want to get it taken care of now so that, by my second or third year of teaching, I will always be on task and always have things completed on time. The main reason I want this habit to change is for my future students. Number 1, I do not want them (or their grades) to suffer in my classes because I am not on time with things. Secondly, I want to be a good role model for my students by showing them that timeliness is everything, and that procrastination is a habit that can ruin almost anything. I do not ever want to see my students procrastinating as well as I do, because I know the outcomes, and they are not pretty.
One thing alone that causes about 98% of my procrastination is (anybody?): Facebook. This might not come as a surprise to anyone, but Facebook is definitely the thing that brings me down and keeps me from getting my work done in a timely manner just about every night. Even as I sit on my bed writing this blog post, I look up and see a Chrome tab labeled "Facebook" sitting there glaring at me, waiting for me to succumb to its tempting powers (add Odyssey/sirens metaphor here).
Oftentimes, I get really, truly upset about how badly I procrastinate. When I get upset with myself about it, I lose any other interest I had in working on whatever I need to be working on. That leads me to Facebook even more often. Then I realize, once more, how much I am procrastinating and how badly I need to get back on task. It is almost literally a never ending cycle, and a very miserable one at that.
As I am in my senior year of college, I ask myself every day whether or not I will ever lose this bad habit, get my life together, and finish out the rest of this year well enough to leave with a decent GPA. I made it my goal at the beginning of this school year to make this year my best in my career at Lyon. So far, however, it has not been, and I know it is entirely my fault. When I ask myself this question everyday (whether or not I will dump procrastination and begin dating time management), I cannot help but fear for my career as a teacher. I have had a pretty tough time getting things going well in my class at Cave City. And this is only my internship. Yes, there is the fact that this is not MY class, and I cannot necessarily do everything I WANT to do with the students. And there is the fact that getting up in front of 23 students who are just a few years younger than me does not flow naturally through my mind. Getting in front of my classroom everyday gives me a new anxiety every day. But at the same time, I absolutely love my students. I honestly could not have asked for a better class to be with in my internship year. So when I really think about it, I know that what is causing me to have a tough time getting into my internship is procrastination and my lack of planning.
Although I have told myself repeatedly that I will work on my procrastination habits to get them out of my life, I know that it is not going to just happen cold turkey. I will REALLY have to work on it, because I know that I will not be a great teacher if I am a procrastinator; it will ruin my career. I want to get it taken care of now so that, by my second or third year of teaching, I will always be on task and always have things completed on time. The main reason I want this habit to change is for my future students. Number 1, I do not want them (or their grades) to suffer in my classes because I am not on time with things. Secondly, I want to be a good role model for my students by showing them that timeliness is everything, and that procrastination is a habit that can ruin almost anything. I do not ever want to see my students procrastinating as well as I do, because I know the outcomes, and they are not pretty.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Dylan, Lennon, Mayer: Change (Or the Lack Thereof) Throughout the Decades
Tomorrow, October 15, 2013, I will be giving my 10th graders a lesson about songs that discuss the need for change in the world. This is the first lesson I have been able to really come up with on my own, so I am pretty excited about it.
As I stated in our first class meeting during the appositive exercise, I am a rather passionate liberal, especially when it comes to social issues. This is part of the reason this lesson caught my eye as I was perusing the internet trying to come up with something. This website contained a detailed script of how to deliver this lesson, and the more I looked at it the more interested I was becoming in the idea. The script gave several examples of songs to use in the lesson, but I picked the three I was most familiar with: "Blowin' in the Wind," by Bob Dylan; "Imagine," by John Lennon; and "Waiting On the World to Change," by John Mayer. These three songs, representing three different decades, appealed to me the most because, not only do they have similar messages, but also because, in representing these three different decades, they show that our country has had many of the same issues for years and years.
I had been wanting to come up with a lesson about The Beatles, but this website grabbed me faster than any others that included The Beatles. Although the Fab Four's music changed dramatically with the decades, that idea was not quite as strong as the idea that there have been several events within our country that have remained consistent over the decades.
In this lesson, I am going to play each song on YouTube for the class, so they can listen while watching the singer's emotions during the video. I will have printed off lyrics for each of these songs, so after viewing the video and listening to the song, I will lead discussion over each of the songs. I will then have the students (probably) get into groups and thoroughly annotate the lyrics. Finally, I will evaluate the lesson by providing a song analysis worksheet to each of the students. This worksheet asks questions pertaining to each song, but I think I am going to have them pick just one of the songs to analyze.
As you might be able to tell from my last post ("Dead Poets Society, etc"), I am very interested in using different forms of entertainment media within my lessons. As I stated in the last post, I love just about nothing more than movies. Music is a close second. There is just so many layers in music (and movies) that it is hard to ignore, especially when teaching English.
As I stated in our first class meeting during the appositive exercise, I am a rather passionate liberal, especially when it comes to social issues. This is part of the reason this lesson caught my eye as I was perusing the internet trying to come up with something. This website contained a detailed script of how to deliver this lesson, and the more I looked at it the more interested I was becoming in the idea. The script gave several examples of songs to use in the lesson, but I picked the three I was most familiar with: "Blowin' in the Wind," by Bob Dylan; "Imagine," by John Lennon; and "Waiting On the World to Change," by John Mayer. These three songs, representing three different decades, appealed to me the most because, not only do they have similar messages, but also because, in representing these three different decades, they show that our country has had many of the same issues for years and years.
I had been wanting to come up with a lesson about The Beatles, but this website grabbed me faster than any others that included The Beatles. Although the Fab Four's music changed dramatically with the decades, that idea was not quite as strong as the idea that there have been several events within our country that have remained consistent over the decades.In this lesson, I am going to play each song on YouTube for the class, so they can listen while watching the singer's emotions during the video. I will have printed off lyrics for each of these songs, so after viewing the video and listening to the song, I will lead discussion over each of the songs. I will then have the students (probably) get into groups and thoroughly annotate the lyrics. Finally, I will evaluate the lesson by providing a song analysis worksheet to each of the students. This worksheet asks questions pertaining to each song, but I think I am going to have them pick just one of the songs to analyze.
As you might be able to tell from my last post ("Dead Poets Society, etc"), I am very interested in using different forms of entertainment media within my lessons. As I stated in the last post, I love just about nothing more than movies. Music is a close second. There is just so many layers in music (and movies) that it is hard to ignore, especially when teaching English.
Monday, October 7, 2013
The Whole Spectrum
One of my philosophies of teaching is to never stop learning myself, and to always bring aspects of life I find meaningful and beautiful into my classes. One of the aspects of human nature and learning that has always fascinated me is the concept of multiple intelligences. As someone with high Existential intelligence, this would make sense, right? I love to learn how people think, and step into their points of view. I think this tactic also translates very well into the classroom, and I think teachers would spend less time worrying about lesson plans and Common Core standards if they really focused on their students!
In class last week, I introduced the theme of "Focus" for October and gave each student a multiple intelligence survey. I was happy to find that most of the students seemed to really enjoy this activity and were interested in learning about themselves. After the students completed the survey and found their categories of highest intelligence, I wrote each of their names on the board underneath the different categories so the whole class could see the distribution of people's talents. There were a large number of kinesthetic learners in each class, which did not surprise me, and many students also scored highest in Intrapersonal intelligence, meaning that they have to motivate themselves with the right attitude for learning before they can truly take anything to heart. Even though we had classes weighted this way, I emphasized that as teachers, we can't ignore an area of intelligence simply because only one or two students fall into that category. We have to find ways to reach the students using all of these intelligences to best fit our subject. Going along with that, I noticed that there were only one or two verbal learners out of the four classes I gave the survey to, indicating that I will need to teach English in ways other than just reading and taking notes!
I think all teachers should take just a few minutes of a class period to give their students surveys like this. The students will understand that we as teachers really care about them, and they might change their perception of school as a "jail" or other unpleasant place if they sense this care and devotion to teaching. They also might figure out valuable information about themselves that they weren't even sure of before.
In class last week, I introduced the theme of "Focus" for October and gave each student a multiple intelligence survey. I was happy to find that most of the students seemed to really enjoy this activity and were interested in learning about themselves. After the students completed the survey and found their categories of highest intelligence, I wrote each of their names on the board underneath the different categories so the whole class could see the distribution of people's talents. There were a large number of kinesthetic learners in each class, which did not surprise me, and many students also scored highest in Intrapersonal intelligence, meaning that they have to motivate themselves with the right attitude for learning before they can truly take anything to heart. Even though we had classes weighted this way, I emphasized that as teachers, we can't ignore an area of intelligence simply because only one or two students fall into that category. We have to find ways to reach the students using all of these intelligences to best fit our subject. Going along with that, I noticed that there were only one or two verbal learners out of the four classes I gave the survey to, indicating that I will need to teach English in ways other than just reading and taking notes!
I think all teachers should take just a few minutes of a class period to give their students surveys like this. The students will understand that we as teachers really care about them, and they might change their perception of school as a "jail" or other unpleasant place if they sense this care and devotion to teaching. They also might figure out valuable information about themselves that they weren't even sure of before.
Dead Poets Society, etc.
If there is anything I love more than life itself it is a good movie. I have a large collection of movies that I add to whenever I possibly can. Every time I go on a trip, I bring at least five movies on the off chance that there will be a DVD player wherever I am staying. If I'm going anywhere for more than a week, I will bring most, if not all, of my collection. My roommate (also a huge movie buff) and I quote movies to each other at least three times each day. Needless to say, movies are my favorite.
One of the things I look forward to doing as a teacher is showing movies in my classroom. Obviously, I will show movies primarily when necessary, but, if I ever have some free time, I will show my students a movie as a reward or something.
Some of my favorite movies are, in fact, ones that depict a teacher/student scenario. Of this genre, my all-time favorite is Dead Poets Society. Apart from the fact that Robin Williams being one of my top five favorite actors, this movie has so many layers within it that make it an education-genre masterpiece. Mr. John Keating (Robin Williams) comes into an all-boys prep school as a first year teacher. As an English teacher, Mr. Keating develops a relationship with a select group of boys in one of his classes using his very unorthodox teaching styles. He introduces the group of boys to the idea that they can be and do anything they want. He gets them involved in a group he was in when he went to the school called the Dead Poets Society. One thing leads to another and the boys get in trouble. What they take from the Year of Keating, though, is more than they could ask for.
In my Practicum class last year, I taught a lesson about Walt Whitman, a central figure and idol to John Keating in DPS. For this lesson, I showed a clip from the movie in which Keating goes on and on about Whitman. Whitman is the primary motivation in Keating's "Be who you want" teaching style. This part of my lesson really pulled the students in because even a three minute clip from this movie can gain one's attention in an instant. After showing this clip (which revolved around a section of a Whitman poem I discussed that day), the lesson was so much easier to get through, as my students were eager to answer questions.
In the future, seeing as how we have more to do in the classroom than time allows us, I know that I will not be able to show movies often. There are certain movies, however, that will be a must-show, especially after reading the book that inspired the movie. One must-show is To Kill A Mockingbird, a great movie that gives a visual to one of the greatest books ever written. Over time, I hope to collect more movies that were books first, so I can have a greater variety of options to make into lesson units. I know that it's a long stretch, but I hope that someday there comes a standard that involves movies. I will then be in Heaven.
One of the things I look forward to doing as a teacher is showing movies in my classroom. Obviously, I will show movies primarily when necessary, but, if I ever have some free time, I will show my students a movie as a reward or something.
Some of my favorite movies are, in fact, ones that depict a teacher/student scenario. Of this genre, my all-time favorite is Dead Poets Society. Apart from the fact that Robin Williams being one of my top five favorite actors, this movie has so many layers within it that make it an education-genre masterpiece. Mr. John Keating (Robin Williams) comes into an all-boys prep school as a first year teacher. As an English teacher, Mr. Keating develops a relationship with a select group of boys in one of his classes using his very unorthodox teaching styles. He introduces the group of boys to the idea that they can be and do anything they want. He gets them involved in a group he was in when he went to the school called the Dead Poets Society. One thing leads to another and the boys get in trouble. What they take from the Year of Keating, though, is more than they could ask for.
In my Practicum class last year, I taught a lesson about Walt Whitman, a central figure and idol to John Keating in DPS. For this lesson, I showed a clip from the movie in which Keating goes on and on about Whitman. Whitman is the primary motivation in Keating's "Be who you want" teaching style. This part of my lesson really pulled the students in because even a three minute clip from this movie can gain one's attention in an instant. After showing this clip (which revolved around a section of a Whitman poem I discussed that day), the lesson was so much easier to get through, as my students were eager to answer questions.
In the future, seeing as how we have more to do in the classroom than time allows us, I know that I will not be able to show movies often. There are certain movies, however, that will be a must-show, especially after reading the book that inspired the movie. One must-show is To Kill A Mockingbird, a great movie that gives a visual to one of the greatest books ever written. Over time, I hope to collect more movies that were books first, so I can have a greater variety of options to make into lesson units. I know that it's a long stretch, but I hope that someday there comes a standard that involves movies. I will then be in Heaven.
Project-Based Learning
The classroom needs to be fun and exciting to the students. I always felt that this needed to be, but I could not figure out a way to make this happen without something horrible happening. Project-based learning had been talked about in my classes, but to see this in action was something new for me--and I liked it!
Our students had to do a project (skit) that required them to incorporate all of the material (articles, speeches, poems, etc.) in their dialogue. They had to show that they mastered the material and understood how that material worked with the essential questions.
I had my doubts about this. I could not believe that my students would work on this and actually complete the assignment while incorporating the needed information. To my amazement, my students proved me wrong. Each group worked extremely hard and very few groups fell short of the mark we had placed. Every group addressed the unit's material, some not as fully as others.
This really inspired me to try to incorporate project-based learning in my classroom. It never hurts to let the students have fun with the classroom material and actually learn the stuff!
Our students had to do a project (skit) that required them to incorporate all of the material (articles, speeches, poems, etc.) in their dialogue. They had to show that they mastered the material and understood how that material worked with the essential questions.
I had my doubts about this. I could not believe that my students would work on this and actually complete the assignment while incorporating the needed information. To my amazement, my students proved me wrong. Each group worked extremely hard and very few groups fell short of the mark we had placed. Every group addressed the unit's material, some not as fully as others.
This really inspired me to try to incorporate project-based learning in my classroom. It never hurts to let the students have fun with the classroom material and actually learn the stuff!
Monday, September 30, 2013
Authority in the Classroom
I've always wanted to be the nice teacher allowing students to learn with freedom and not restricted will so many rules it becomes a burden. The more interaction I have with my students the more I realize that I have to rethink my authority in the classroom.
My mentor teacher started a research based project in our class requiring the students take all the articles, speeches, and other pieces of literature that we have studied and put them together to give a skit dealing with the essential questions. The students seem to enjoy the group work, but at the same time social problems arise. She told me to watch the students and work with them through their work and she would be there for backup. She felt this would help me and give me experience.
First period everything went according to plans. I had no trouble at all, but second period was a whole new ballgame. First of all, I have a lot of boys in that class and separating them is hard to do. I had spread them out over the groups to the best I could. My mentor teacher looked at the list and had made some modifications, but even at that, we had four boys together that would social more than work. I knew this before class even started and I was prepared.
At first I just used my presence as a way to control them. My other groups worked efficiently without my need for the most part. All of my time was consumed by this one group. As the class wore on, I realized that I had to assert authority or I was going to lose all that I had hopes of gaining in the classroom.
I begin by explain that what they were doing was a huge part of their grade and that each time they got off subject points were being deducted. This had a calming effect, but at the same time I had to make them understand I was in control. I tried my hardest to show this and at the same time not feel like I was an authoritarian.
Today, Monday, was much better. I feel as though I got somewhere Friday, but I feel that I need to work on this skill to become a better teacher!
My mentor teacher started a research based project in our class requiring the students take all the articles, speeches, and other pieces of literature that we have studied and put them together to give a skit dealing with the essential questions. The students seem to enjoy the group work, but at the same time social problems arise. She told me to watch the students and work with them through their work and she would be there for backup. She felt this would help me and give me experience.
First period everything went according to plans. I had no trouble at all, but second period was a whole new ballgame. First of all, I have a lot of boys in that class and separating them is hard to do. I had spread them out over the groups to the best I could. My mentor teacher looked at the list and had made some modifications, but even at that, we had four boys together that would social more than work. I knew this before class even started and I was prepared.
At first I just used my presence as a way to control them. My other groups worked efficiently without my need for the most part. All of my time was consumed by this one group. As the class wore on, I realized that I had to assert authority or I was going to lose all that I had hopes of gaining in the classroom.
I begin by explain that what they were doing was a huge part of their grade and that each time they got off subject points were being deducted. This had a calming effect, but at the same time I had to make them understand I was in control. I tried my hardest to show this and at the same time not feel like I was an authoritarian.
Today, Monday, was much better. I feel as though I got somewhere Friday, but I feel that I need to work on this skill to become a better teacher!
Monday, September 23, 2013
Teaching for the Students
Thursday and Friday last week, I got the opportunity to teach everything in both classes of my internship, all morning long. I quickly found out some minor things teachers struggle with -- almost counting students absent because they were not sitting in their correct seats, trying to find and organize graded papers to hand back, and thoroughly explaining each assignment. I also forgot about certain "small" details, such as reading the morning announcements. Our school limits morning announcements, which is good because they don't cut in to class time, but sometimes teachers can forget to read them because they want to get started with their lessons!
The students had two major activities to complete. First, they had to complete a test on tone...even though they could use their binders, I had a lot of students asking questions about different parts of the assignments. I had a stack of papers to grade and could barely get through them! Also, time was an issue...they had 35 minutes to complete the test, but even though they worked diligently, they struggled to complete it in time. I wanted to give them more time to finish, because I felt bad for them, but they needed time to complete the second assignment, a book assessment. I gave them about five extra minutes but then had to force myself to pick up some incomplete tests.
Then, it was time for the book assessment. I explained every page, but the questions kept coming. Some students thought they only had to do the first page. Nearly every student missed the "use diction" part of the directions for the first page, and thought they only had to list character names and tone words. Once again, I spent the majority of the class period answering questions and hardly got any papers graded. I was beginning to feel a little frazzled and wondering if my teaching skills were going to be up to par.
Then, I realized something. All those times the students came to me individually asking questions were learning experiences for me. I got to know a little more about these students' strengths and weaknesses, and found myself doing a better job explaining one-on-one. I learned part of why teachers are constantly busy and why they value their prep periods, but I also learned one of the most rewarding parts of being a teacher -- actually getting to know your students and seeing their progress. Sometimes, we do this and find that we have to backtrack and review concepts our students should have learned before. Sometimes, this whole process stresses us out. But ultimately, if we can reach out to each student individually and make them feel like they can ask for our help, we are doing our jobs right!
The students had two major activities to complete. First, they had to complete a test on tone...even though they could use their binders, I had a lot of students asking questions about different parts of the assignments. I had a stack of papers to grade and could barely get through them! Also, time was an issue...they had 35 minutes to complete the test, but even though they worked diligently, they struggled to complete it in time. I wanted to give them more time to finish, because I felt bad for them, but they needed time to complete the second assignment, a book assessment. I gave them about five extra minutes but then had to force myself to pick up some incomplete tests.
Then, it was time for the book assessment. I explained every page, but the questions kept coming. Some students thought they only had to do the first page. Nearly every student missed the "use diction" part of the directions for the first page, and thought they only had to list character names and tone words. Once again, I spent the majority of the class period answering questions and hardly got any papers graded. I was beginning to feel a little frazzled and wondering if my teaching skills were going to be up to par.
Then, I realized something. All those times the students came to me individually asking questions were learning experiences for me. I got to know a little more about these students' strengths and weaknesses, and found myself doing a better job explaining one-on-one. I learned part of why teachers are constantly busy and why they value their prep periods, but I also learned one of the most rewarding parts of being a teacher -- actually getting to know your students and seeing their progress. Sometimes, we do this and find that we have to backtrack and review concepts our students should have learned before. Sometimes, this whole process stresses us out. But ultimately, if we can reach out to each student individually and make them feel like they can ask for our help, we are doing our jobs right!
Monday, September 16, 2013
First Day Teaching
The long awaited day--teaching all day long for the first time--came to me Thursday. I had taught little lessons that never seemed to fit into the plan the teachers working for them. I would just show up as some college student and figure out some wonderful lesson and teach.
Earlier last week I begin to look at lesson plans and the general idea of the thematic unit that my intern teacher is working on. I begin to put together a lesson that I thought would be out of this world. Indeed it turned out great for me, but I also learned a lot about myself in those three periods of teaching.
Giving directions to a large class is a one of my weaknesses. It my third period class of thirty to tell me that I had to work on this. I could not survive as a teacher if I could not answer all of their questions and detour some of the confusion before the assignment started. Because I had repeated the directions twice already that morning, I kept forgetting what I had told them and not told them. I had great directions, but I could not remember what class knew what.
The second thing learned in the class is that I talk a lot. My class, each period, went way over the bell. I had planned a lesson that needed an hour and a half to each and work the assignment. Determined to not let this be a reoccurring thing, I am going to try and work out a time schedule with each activity in my lesson.
Over all it was a great day and truly a learning experience. I will never forget the queasy stomach and the slow recovery as the morning progressed. I am confident that I can do this and enjoy my future job!
Earlier last week I begin to look at lesson plans and the general idea of the thematic unit that my intern teacher is working on. I begin to put together a lesson that I thought would be out of this world. Indeed it turned out great for me, but I also learned a lot about myself in those three periods of teaching.
Giving directions to a large class is a one of my weaknesses. It my third period class of thirty to tell me that I had to work on this. I could not survive as a teacher if I could not answer all of their questions and detour some of the confusion before the assignment started. Because I had repeated the directions twice already that morning, I kept forgetting what I had told them and not told them. I had great directions, but I could not remember what class knew what.
The second thing learned in the class is that I talk a lot. My class, each period, went way over the bell. I had planned a lesson that needed an hour and a half to each and work the assignment. Determined to not let this be a reoccurring thing, I am going to try and work out a time schedule with each activity in my lesson.
Over all it was a great day and truly a learning experience. I will never forget the queasy stomach and the slow recovery as the morning progressed. I am confident that I can do this and enjoy my future job!
An Unforseen Influence
I had several topic ideas in mind for my post this week, but I decided to completely change my topic today, on the due date. As experienced participants of English classes, we know that this normally is not a good idea. However, today's experience in my first period class taught me a valuable lesson about being a teacher.
In this particular class, a student had been absent all week last week with a bad allergic reaction. This student, we'll rename her Jessica, was naturally concerned about her missing work and even came in to class early to ask about it. Mrs. Gillmore asked me to put together the handouts and worksheets we had gone over in class, and explain to her what we did. She had missed two class sessions working through the use of tone and metaphor in two different texts, so she had missed a good deal of information. Her class was also taking a test on appositives that morning, and judging by the look of relief on her face when Mrs. Gillmore told her she didn't have to take the test, she needed some more practice on appositives.
So, in order to help get her caught up to the rest of the class and not make her feel rushed, I decided to go with Jessica to the library while the other students were testing and go over all the material with her. I gave her copies of the teacher models of the graphic organizers we covered in class, explaining each part to her and connecting the information with the text. Working one on one with her, I could really see her progress in going through the material and I was really impressed with how quickly she learned it. I asked her questions periodically to make sure, and not only did she answer them correctly, she seemed confident working with me. Not to bombard her with information but simply to help, I asked if she needed more practice on appositives before she made up her test. She admitted she did and seemed grateful that I asked, and worked with me on some practice sentences that seemed to help a lot.
After working with Jessica, I saw firsthand the great lengths that a teacher's care and attention can reach. It reminded me why I want to be a teacher -- I want to influence students in this positive way and show them that it is okay to ask for extra help. Sometimes we do our best teaching this way.
In this particular class, a student had been absent all week last week with a bad allergic reaction. This student, we'll rename her Jessica, was naturally concerned about her missing work and even came in to class early to ask about it. Mrs. Gillmore asked me to put together the handouts and worksheets we had gone over in class, and explain to her what we did. She had missed two class sessions working through the use of tone and metaphor in two different texts, so she had missed a good deal of information. Her class was also taking a test on appositives that morning, and judging by the look of relief on her face when Mrs. Gillmore told her she didn't have to take the test, she needed some more practice on appositives.
So, in order to help get her caught up to the rest of the class and not make her feel rushed, I decided to go with Jessica to the library while the other students were testing and go over all the material with her. I gave her copies of the teacher models of the graphic organizers we covered in class, explaining each part to her and connecting the information with the text. Working one on one with her, I could really see her progress in going through the material and I was really impressed with how quickly she learned it. I asked her questions periodically to make sure, and not only did she answer them correctly, she seemed confident working with me. Not to bombard her with information but simply to help, I asked if she needed more practice on appositives before she made up her test. She admitted she did and seemed grateful that I asked, and worked with me on some practice sentences that seemed to help a lot.
After working with Jessica, I saw firsthand the great lengths that a teacher's care and attention can reach. It reminded me why I want to be a teacher -- I want to influence students in this positive way and show them that it is okay to ask for extra help. Sometimes we do our best teaching this way.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Hidden Treasures
Last week Mrs. Sandy sent a file to me in Google Drive containing essays written by students in our 1st hour 10th grade regular English class. The night that I received them, I skimmed through them, expecting some grammatical and spelling errors, but nothing too bad. What I saw, however, exceeded my expectation. When looking through the essays, I saw that one student had underlined his entire essay; another student wrote his essay in such a way that it looked like he had never used a tab button; yet another student had so many spelling errors I wondered how she had made it this far. Needless to say, I was very worried about going in and grading these essays.
A couple of days after sending me the file of essays, Mrs. Sandy and I co-led a day of revision and editing of these essays. The students spent the last have of class and about fifteen minutes of the next day's class revising and editing their essays. She had them review the grammar notes they had taken a couple of days before, and go through their essays and make any corrections they saw necessary that paralleled with their notes. Finally, Mrs. Sandy had them use spell check on their documents. In the end, this helped their papers dramatically.
Two nights ago I began grading these essays. Surprisingly enough, the couple of half days they used to edit their papers paid off. The best help they received was that from spell check. Even though it is not genuine spelling help, it saved many of their grades. After grading about half of them so far, I am very surprised at their edits on their papers, and the good those edits have done. Not to say that they don't have any mistakes, but that is natural; we all make mistakes. Even English majors. I look forward to seeing further improvement in their writing.
A couple of days after sending me the file of essays, Mrs. Sandy and I co-led a day of revision and editing of these essays. The students spent the last have of class and about fifteen minutes of the next day's class revising and editing their essays. She had them review the grammar notes they had taken a couple of days before, and go through their essays and make any corrections they saw necessary that paralleled with their notes. Finally, Mrs. Sandy had them use spell check on their documents. In the end, this helped their papers dramatically.
Two nights ago I began grading these essays. Surprisingly enough, the couple of half days they used to edit their papers paid off. The best help they received was that from spell check. Even though it is not genuine spelling help, it saved many of their grades. After grading about half of them so far, I am very surprised at their edits on their papers, and the good those edits have done. Not to say that they don't have any mistakes, but that is natural; we all make mistakes. Even English majors. I look forward to seeing further improvement in their writing.
Friday, September 6, 2013
Overly Concerned Students
This week in the classroom I had a flashback to my high school days, but I was on the other side of the fence this time. When I was in the 10th grade at Mountain View High School, the school bought in on a program that published grades online so that students could login and see their grades. It was a great program that was constantly check by me--a concerned student. If I experienced any problems with my grades I would confront the teacher and try and figure out why it was so low (since 80 was just the pits).
This week a student came in class and was concerned about one of her two grades she had completed so far. She had not completed the assignment as she should have. Mrs. Miller talked to her calmly and explained that she would have to do the future assignments according to the rubric laid out to receive full credit. Needless to say the student left the room sobbing because she would not change the grade.
I thought about this situation, my history, and the reaction of my teacher. I thought about how I would have treated the situation and what I should have done if it was me talking to the student. My first reaction was to feel sorry for the student and change the grade. I realized though that this make that student lose confidence in my ability to stick to my word. She probably would not have played that card to change future grades, but I could not open that possibility up to her.
I realized that I had just experience one of the hardest lessons as a teacher. I would have to be "heartless" and teach the students lessons that were not planned in the classroom. Responsibility plays a huge role in each of our lives and the students need to learn this as quickly as possible. I understand there are situations that need different treatment, but for the most part a teacher needs to stick with what he/she has required of all the students.
I also realized that there were going to be students out there that were going to be worried over every little grade and be in my face about those grades continually. I had never planned for this and was quite shocked there were other students like me when I was in high school. This little conversation that happened so quietly that I got to observe really opened my eyes to a different kind of student in the classroom. Not all students are going to want to float by on D's, but some are wanting the best!
This week a student came in class and was concerned about one of her two grades she had completed so far. She had not completed the assignment as she should have. Mrs. Miller talked to her calmly and explained that she would have to do the future assignments according to the rubric laid out to receive full credit. Needless to say the student left the room sobbing because she would not change the grade.
I thought about this situation, my history, and the reaction of my teacher. I thought about how I would have treated the situation and what I should have done if it was me talking to the student. My first reaction was to feel sorry for the student and change the grade. I realized though that this make that student lose confidence in my ability to stick to my word. She probably would not have played that card to change future grades, but I could not open that possibility up to her.
I realized that I had just experience one of the hardest lessons as a teacher. I would have to be "heartless" and teach the students lessons that were not planned in the classroom. Responsibility plays a huge role in each of our lives and the students need to learn this as quickly as possible. I understand there are situations that need different treatment, but for the most part a teacher needs to stick with what he/she has required of all the students.
I also realized that there were going to be students out there that were going to be worried over every little grade and be in my face about those grades continually. I had never planned for this and was quite shocked there were other students like me when I was in high school. This little conversation that happened so quietly that I got to observe really opened my eyes to a different kind of student in the classroom. Not all students are going to want to float by on D's, but some are wanting the best!
Monday, September 2, 2013
Sharing the World
Ever since I was a young girl, I have always felt captivated by the world of words. My parents used Dr. Seuss' ABC to teach me how to read, and I learned at a very young age. Growing up, I was always that nerd girl who spent long hours in her room reading whatever she could get her hands on. I never really thought about a career involving reading until I got to high school, when my 9th grade English teacher Mrs. Schutte and my 10th grade English teacher Mrs. McCuien both pushed me in that direction. They showed me that I could write well also, and helped me develop a love for writing both academically and creatively.
I integrated my love for writing into my love for the arts, and I found out that the same creative energy I used in countless hours of dance classes after school flourished on paper. I also began volunteering to teach lessons to the younger kids in my youth group at church. In high school, I had heard the words "verbal-linguistic intelligence" and "right-brained learning" thrown at me without really understanding their meaning, but Mrs. Schutte and Mrs. McCuien really helped me understand how to use this knowledge to grow intellectually. They encouraged me to develop my love for reading and writing, and at that time I had thoughts about becoming a teacher, but never really had a definite idea of what career path I wanted to pursue.
When I came to Lyon, I knew I wanted to take English classes but still did not have a definite career choice in mind. When I took my first class with Dr. Tebbetts, Intro to Western Lit, his passion for teaching and love for the art forms he shared with us really moved me. I wanted to carry that same spirit into the career field I chose, and I began to think more and more about teaching. That first semester of college, I got the opportunity to teach a young kids' dance class every week at Concord School. The kids' enthusiasm for learning gave me so much joy, and I realized then that my calling was to share the things I love with young people. I thought the secondary age group would be best for me to work with, so I declared Secondary Education as my concentration with my English major. As I have progressed through college, adding a creative writing program in England as well as many experiences in classrooms to my resume, that calling to be a teacher has only grown stronger.
While I was in England, I got the wonderful opportunity to take a master poetry class with David Morley, a very talented poet and acclaimed professor at the University of Warwick. He led us through many exercises to give us inspiration for writing, and one of the best pieces of advice he shared was to "create a universe out of anything, and that is where you can write." I have carried this philosophy with me and I believe teachers can use it to benefit their students. As a teacher, I want to create my own "universe" where my students can learn, and not be afraid to make mistakes. I want to inspire my students like the teachers I have named inspired me, and I want them to learn that the world doesn't have to be a frightening place. When you create your own universe, you create a myriad of possibilities along with it, and I want my students to learn to do this with their own lives.
"To see a world in a grain of sand
And heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour."
-William Blake
I integrated my love for writing into my love for the arts, and I found out that the same creative energy I used in countless hours of dance classes after school flourished on paper. I also began volunteering to teach lessons to the younger kids in my youth group at church. In high school, I had heard the words "verbal-linguistic intelligence" and "right-brained learning" thrown at me without really understanding their meaning, but Mrs. Schutte and Mrs. McCuien really helped me understand how to use this knowledge to grow intellectually. They encouraged me to develop my love for reading and writing, and at that time I had thoughts about becoming a teacher, but never really had a definite idea of what career path I wanted to pursue.
When I came to Lyon, I knew I wanted to take English classes but still did not have a definite career choice in mind. When I took my first class with Dr. Tebbetts, Intro to Western Lit, his passion for teaching and love for the art forms he shared with us really moved me. I wanted to carry that same spirit into the career field I chose, and I began to think more and more about teaching. That first semester of college, I got the opportunity to teach a young kids' dance class every week at Concord School. The kids' enthusiasm for learning gave me so much joy, and I realized then that my calling was to share the things I love with young people. I thought the secondary age group would be best for me to work with, so I declared Secondary Education as my concentration with my English major. As I have progressed through college, adding a creative writing program in England as well as many experiences in classrooms to my resume, that calling to be a teacher has only grown stronger.
While I was in England, I got the wonderful opportunity to take a master poetry class with David Morley, a very talented poet and acclaimed professor at the University of Warwick. He led us through many exercises to give us inspiration for writing, and one of the best pieces of advice he shared was to "create a universe out of anything, and that is where you can write." I have carried this philosophy with me and I believe teachers can use it to benefit their students. As a teacher, I want to create my own "universe" where my students can learn, and not be afraid to make mistakes. I want to inspire my students like the teachers I have named inspired me, and I want them to learn that the world doesn't have to be a frightening place. When you create your own universe, you create a myriad of possibilities along with it, and I want my students to learn to do this with their own lives.
"To see a world in a grain of sand
And heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour."
-William Blake
Only Option in Life
Unlike most, I knew the first day of Kindergarten what I was going to be when I grew up: a teacher. My classmates named the classic answers while the teacher inquisitively looked at me and shook her head. I know it is weird for me so young to know what I wanted to be, but I knew looked at another option.
My parents quickly begin to realize that I was in love with school and built a school room for me behind our house and furnished it with everything from an overhead to desks. I had it made! I would "play" school every afternoon until Mom would have to call in to eat and do my homework.
In High School I realized that I had to actually take this desire and push it toward a career. I left my childish antics and started working on colleges and what degree I actually wanted. My sister graduated in 2000 from Lyon with a bachelor's degree in English. Since I worshiped the ground she walks on (and liked English) I decided on a bachelor's degree in English.
The double major in history was sparked by a very interesting man teaching my 10th grade world history. Mr. Sullivan was an extraordinary guy. He never taught the traditionally boring ways, but he always had the class involved. His lessons involved drawing out the lessons on the board (since was a fairly good artist) to having a paper ball fight to reenact World War I. There were never dull moments in his class.
When I arrived at Lyon my freshman year. I thought about all of these things and realized I wanted both of this options when it came time to teach. Starting in my freshman year, I worked towards a double major in history and English with an Education concentration. Seventeen years after that first initial day in Kindergarten I am still looking at my only option in life!
My parents quickly begin to realize that I was in love with school and built a school room for me behind our house and furnished it with everything from an overhead to desks. I had it made! I would "play" school every afternoon until Mom would have to call in to eat and do my homework.
In High School I realized that I had to actually take this desire and push it toward a career. I left my childish antics and started working on colleges and what degree I actually wanted. My sister graduated in 2000 from Lyon with a bachelor's degree in English. Since I worshiped the ground she walks on (and liked English) I decided on a bachelor's degree in English.
The double major in history was sparked by a very interesting man teaching my 10th grade world history. Mr. Sullivan was an extraordinary guy. He never taught the traditionally boring ways, but he always had the class involved. His lessons involved drawing out the lessons on the board (since was a fairly good artist) to having a paper ball fight to reenact World War I. There were never dull moments in his class.
When I arrived at Lyon my freshman year. I thought about all of these things and realized I wanted both of this options when it came time to teach. Starting in my freshman year, I worked towards a double major in history and English with an Education concentration. Seventeen years after that first initial day in Kindergarten I am still looking at my only option in life!
Good Manipulation
I've always been that kid who liked the teacher(s) that no one else liked. My favorite teacher, however, was my AP English teacher, Ms. Pemberton, a teacher disliked by no one. She was one who spent the first day of class showing her mean self so she could "get it out of the way" and continue the rest of the year in her normal personality, which is exactly what she did (give or take a few classes). She was just THAT teacher, the "cool" one, the one who made everyone anticipate her class every morning. Her class alone is the one class in my high school career that made me want to become an English teacher. Ms. Pemberton still motivates me today to become as good of a teacher as she is.
I started becoming a news junkie when I was in about the 9th grade, finally forcing myself to sit through World News with Charlie Gibson. Just a couple of years later I started becoming interested in politics, an interest primarily driven by the 2008 presidential elections. Since then, I've worked with several different local campaigns and look forward to helping with others in the future. Politics are very important to me and, I believe, should be very important to everyone else, as they affect everyone daily. My interest has continued growing every year, overcoming every political debate I've had with friends and family members. These friends and relatives who encourage or attempt to discourage me in my beliefs are the ones who have contributed greatly to who I am today.
Finally, the person who has caused me to be who I am today is my mom; she and I are basically the same person. We share the majority of our interests, and are always looking for things to share with each other while she is at home and I am at school. Her constant pestering of me to do my homework or make sure I do this or that, annoying though it is, has helped me become a much more responsible adult. All of the advice she has given me throughout my life will stick with me forever and continue to help me for the rest of my time on Earth.
I started becoming a news junkie when I was in about the 9th grade, finally forcing myself to sit through World News with Charlie Gibson. Just a couple of years later I started becoming interested in politics, an interest primarily driven by the 2008 presidential elections. Since then, I've worked with several different local campaigns and look forward to helping with others in the future. Politics are very important to me and, I believe, should be very important to everyone else, as they affect everyone daily. My interest has continued growing every year, overcoming every political debate I've had with friends and family members. These friends and relatives who encourage or attempt to discourage me in my beliefs are the ones who have contributed greatly to who I am today.
Finally, the person who has caused me to be who I am today is my mom; she and I are basically the same person. We share the majority of our interests, and are always looking for things to share with each other while she is at home and I am at school. Her constant pestering of me to do my homework or make sure I do this or that, annoying though it is, has helped me become a much more responsible adult. All of the advice she has given me throughout my life will stick with me forever and continue to help me for the rest of my time on Earth.
Monday, August 26, 2013
The Beginning of the End
First, welcome to Secondary English Methods...the beginning of the end of this journey entitled undergraduate work!
This fall, we will learn together and, hopefully, better prepare you for the "real" world, the world of teaching, of stamping out ignorance in our particular curriculum area. Today, we begin that journey as we stretch our minds a bit, readying for the various avenues that this job entails.
A blogger already? Yay! If not this is the first place we will explore. Our first assignment requests we reflect on who inspired us to the point that you are setting in this class, viewing this document on this screen. In other words...Why Are You Who You Are?
Here are my thoughts on this question, drafted last fall....
Many people should be thanked for their assistance in my becoming who I am right now in my career, for as Hillary Clinton's book persuades...just as it takes a village to raise a child, so it takes a conglomerate of individuals to build a twenty-one year career.
First, to my high school English teacher Mrs. Smith, my heroine, absolutely without a doubt, I would not be an English teacher had it not been for the example she sat every day of every week. She worked us, holding us to higher expectations than most of us wanted, yet she loved us, and we knew it.
Second, to my college instructors Dr. Tebbetts and Dr. Wray...one being the extreme, energized, definitely a sage on the stage of my life, the other, solid, direct, forcing our writing styles to become what they were not. Because of them, I inherited a much more solid literary background, one recognized when I later attended grad school and was told that I must have graduated from Lyon (or some high quality program) because of the caliber of my work. Yes, I stood a little taller! Thank you, Dr. Tebbetts, Dr. Wray...and the late Dr. Oliver.
Third, to my peer Lisa Huff who shared her love of technology as a tool, which then began the big change in my presentation methods. This blog (and several others) and multiple wikis are a testament to her. Professionally, I have grown and now freely assist my peers as they take baby steps, steps that, to them, feel like giant leaps at times, all in an endeavor to better prepare all our students for the "real" world or, as the latest jargon encourages, to be "college and career ready."
Many more names should be mentioned here, for I have many to thank for the gift of my career, for without them all, I would not be who I am today.
This fall, we will learn together and, hopefully, better prepare you for the "real" world, the world of teaching, of stamping out ignorance in our particular curriculum area. Today, we begin that journey as we stretch our minds a bit, readying for the various avenues that this job entails.
A blogger already? Yay! If not this is the first place we will explore. Our first assignment requests we reflect on who inspired us to the point that you are setting in this class, viewing this document on this screen. In other words...Why Are You Who You Are?
Here are my thoughts on this question, drafted last fall....
Many people should be thanked for their assistance in my becoming who I am right now in my career, for as Hillary Clinton's book persuades...just as it takes a village to raise a child, so it takes a conglomerate of individuals to build a twenty-one year career.
First, to my high school English teacher Mrs. Smith, my heroine, absolutely without a doubt, I would not be an English teacher had it not been for the example she sat every day of every week. She worked us, holding us to higher expectations than most of us wanted, yet she loved us, and we knew it.
Second, to my college instructors Dr. Tebbetts and Dr. Wray...one being the extreme, energized, definitely a sage on the stage of my life, the other, solid, direct, forcing our writing styles to become what they were not. Because of them, I inherited a much more solid literary background, one recognized when I later attended grad school and was told that I must have graduated from Lyon (or some high quality program) because of the caliber of my work. Yes, I stood a little taller! Thank you, Dr. Tebbetts, Dr. Wray...and the late Dr. Oliver.
Third, to my peer Lisa Huff who shared her love of technology as a tool, which then began the big change in my presentation methods. This blog (and several others) and multiple wikis are a testament to her. Professionally, I have grown and now freely assist my peers as they take baby steps, steps that, to them, feel like giant leaps at times, all in an endeavor to better prepare all our students for the "real" world or, as the latest jargon encourages, to be "college and career ready."
Many more names should be mentioned here, for I have many to thank for the gift of my career, for without them all, I would not be who I am today.
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