"She's My Teacher"

I've certainly had an interesting past week in the classroom. I was observed by Dr. Crosby for the first time which I feel went well. I've also begun to form relationships with some of my students and learn their unique personalities and tendencies. 

Dr. Crosby observed me last Friday. As it was the first time I would be teaching a full class by myself in the semester, I was a bit nervous to be observed. But, all went off without a hitch thanks to the help of my lovely mentor teacher who always ensures that class will function perfectly. I taught a lesson containing a writer's notebook topic over September 11th. I also covered International Literacy Day before covering Arthurian legends, language, and Sir Gawain and The Green Knight. The students were all so well behaved and cooperative. I couldn't have asked for a better observation. 

As the school weeks have progressed, I've also started to become acquainted with several of my students. This morning, I rounded the corner in the hall to find two students standing outside the classroom door. One was J***N and the other J***O. J***N is a very tall, talkative football player. J***O is another very tall student with a strong presence and tendency to talk and be disruptive. The two students put together are "double trouble" so-to-speak. But, when they saw me walking in their direction, both boys smiled at me and were excited to hear that I would be in charge of class for the day. J***N even announced "Hey, it's my teacher!," and J***O returned with, "She's our teacher." J***N corrected with "She's My teacher; she doesn't even like you." Of course, this was silly banter - no harm intended. I told both boys I was happy to see them and to teach them for the day. Did they continue to be their rowdy selves throughout class? Yes, they did. But, they were respectful and I appreciate their individual, though comical, personalities. 

Overall, this has been a successful first week of wetting my feet. I've become more familiar with planning the lessons for the class and with my students. My only hope is that by my next observation, I will have learned enough to have an ever better report.  

Whodunit?

I think that the assigned reading of the chapter entitled “Whodunit?” provides an innovative method for teaching students to construct arguments that I would love to try in the classroom! The method clearly defines the components of an argument without directly stating that the students are learning how to write an essay, so they just think they’re working together to solve a fun mystery while unknowingly developing the abilities necessary to construct an essay!

By solving mysteries the students learn to analyze evidence that may be used to constitute a rule which is then used to arrive at a conclusion. As I read through the article I was amazed that the teacher did not introduce the activity as a tool for writing arguments, but simply initiated the activity and let the students draw that conclusion later. Because the activity wasn’t prefaced with a statement about the educational purpose of the mystery solving, I think that her students were probably even more intrigued and motivated to play along with the game! When I read the article the first time I focused entirely on the process of building an argument with the mystery solving activity. I was captured by this great idea so much so that I first failed to notice the numerous other pieces of advice that the author provided.

An excellent prompt for initiating classroom discussion is provided in this chapter! The teacher prompts every student to participate, allows adequate time for questions, expertly asks students to rephrase statements/questions to fit the lesson’s purposes, and seems to ask all of the right questions to keep the activity moving forward. The facilitation techniques to be gained from this chapter would provide a first time teacher with everything that she would need to know about facilitating class discussion! Not only that, but the author of the chapter also shows how several mini-lessons can be included in a larger lesson (first/second/third person perspective, grammatical errors/corrections, etc. within the larger lesson of writing arguments). She demonstrates effective assessments for the topic and even displays how to appropriately give useful feedback to students.

I was first pulled into this article due to the creative method that the author used to teach how to write an argument, but I quickly realized that the lessons/advice to be learned from this chapter are nearly endless! I would love to try this activity in the classroom, and I would love to one day be able to facilitate discussion, evaluate student understanding, provide useful feedback, incorporate several lessons into one, and modify my methods/plans for my class in order to best benefit the students as well as the author of this article does!

Why I am Who I am...

Why I am Who I am...

Becoming a Teacher

It was a combination of several things which I experienced and discovered about myself that led me to know I wanted to be an English teacher. My innate love of literature, a certain mentor, and  a stubborn streak are ultimately what brought me here. 

I've always loved books. My absolute favorite time of year in elementary school was the book fair! I still have a unicorn picture book that I purchased in first grade that had sticker jewels you could put on the pages. I read it to my own kids now from time to time. As an uncertain, introverted child and teenager, the characters of novels became my friends and role models. I climbed the china-berry tree  with Scout, Jem, and Dill. I went to Hogwarts every September 1st with Harry, Ron, and Hermoine. My first love was Mr. Darcy. I discovered a secret garden with Miss Marry, Collin, and Dickon. It was these worlds which I would escape to that initially sparked my interest in pursuing a career of teaching English. 

Once in college, I became a bit unsure for a time that I was fit for teaching English, however. Then I met Dr. Tebbetts. It was this man's tenacious demeanor and absolute mastery of the art of teaching which rekindled the fire inside of me to pursue this career. If I can ever be half, even a quarter, of the teacher that that man is, I will have accomplished a great feat. 

And finally, a good stubborn streak can often be just the determination needed to finish accomplishing a dream. My father, bless him, though he loves me dearly, lets me know on every occasion possible that he doesn't agree with my choice to teach for a living. A successful entrepreneur and business man, he feels salary should be the number one reason for choosing a career. I, on the other hand, feel that being happy at the end of the day when one comes home is most important. Therefore, we agree to disagree, and I push onward towards my career goal because something in me wants to show him that even though I will probably never make as much money as he has, I will still be just as happy at the end of the day. 

These are simply a few of the people and experiences which have brought me to this point in my life, and I look forward to all that this future career holds for me. 

Who Am I?

From the moment that I was old enough for people to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up I would barely have the chance to reply before the person would smile knowingly at me and say “I bet you are going to be a teacher just like your Mom.” As a result, I spent the majority of my middle and high school years trying to find a different career path simply in spite of those who thought they knew me better than I knew myself. However, in the end I could not avoid the destiny that was me going into the field of education.

I am from the small, rural town of Brinkley, Arkansas. The majority of our (barely) two thousand citizens either spend their days working in the rice and cotton fields or laboring in a menial job such as one of our gas stations or fast food restaurants. Brinkley is a small town with minimal career opportunities; there is a high population of low income households and only a small percentage of the adults living in Brinkley have received a college and/or technical degree. The greater part of the students that I started kindergarten with and twelve years later graduated from high school with did not care about school. They did not care what kind of grades they made, and many of their parents did not even seem to care if their child came to school. Growing up in this kind of environment made me determined to learn as much as I possibly could so that I could escape the confines of small town life. I did not want my future children to grow up in a similar environment in which they felt isolated because they wanted to come to school and learn.

The strong passion to learn that I possessed as a child was instilled in me by my mom. She was a math teacher at Brinkley High School until she retired last year, and she was my math teacher from the eighth grade until the twelfth grade. My mom was one of the best teachers that I had in high school (although I might be slightly biased) not only because of her competence in math, but also because of the way that she connected with her students. My classmates were not used to having anyone truly care what their ACT score was, whether or not they passed a class, or how many times they were written up each semester. I witnessed classmates who had been troublemakers and careless about their schoolwork for years transform into hardworking and determined students in my mom’s classroom. If I can someday impact and relate to my students the way that my mom did, then I will have achieved my goal as an educator.

In addition to my mom, my absolute favorite teacher was my agriculture advisor, Mr. Crangle. When I entered his classroom in the eighth grade I was a shy, introverted middle schooler with no interest in pursuing agriculture. Yet five short years later Mr. Crangle inspired within me a passion for agriculture and leadership so strong that the fourteen thousand FFA (Future Farmers of America) members in Arkansas elected me as their 2014-2015 Arkansas FFA State Secretary. Mr. Crangle’s dedication to his students’ interests and his drive to help each of them achieve their goals continues to astound me today. It was the complete change in personality that Mr. Crangle initiated within myself that makes me admire him as an educator; I hope to have the drastic effect on just one student’s life that he has had on countless students.

As a result of the town in which I grew up and the influence of my mom and Mr. Crangle, I now proudly tell anyone who will listen that when I grow up I will be an educator. Without these circumstances and individuals I have no idea who I would be today or who my high school classmates and innumerable others would be either. I am honored to have the opportunity to shape the way that students think about English, and excited to help them grow academically, socially, and individually.

 

Who Am I?

From the moment that I was old enough for people to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up I would barely have the chance to reply before the person would smile knowingly at me and say “I bet you are going to be a teacher just like your Mom.” As a result, I spent the majority of my middle and high school years trying to find a different career path simply in spite of those who thought they knew me better than I knew myself. However, in the end I could not avoid the destiny that was me going into the field of education.

I am from the small, rural town of Brinkley, Arkansas. The majority of our (barely) two thousand citizens either spend their days working in the rice and cotton fields or laboring in a menial job such as one of our gas stations or fast food restaurants. Brinkley is a small town with minimal career opportunities; there is a high population of low income households and only a small percentage of the adults living in Brinkley have received a college and/or technical degree. The greater part of the students that I started kindergarten with and twelve years later graduated from high school with did not care about school. They did not care what kind of grades they made, and many of their parents did not even seem to care if their child came to school. Growing up in this kind of environment made me determined to learn as much as I possibly could so that I could escape the confines of small town life. I did not want my future children to grow up in a similar environment in which they felt isolated because they wanted to come to school and learn.

The strong passion to learn that I possessed as a child was instilled in me by my mom. She was a math teacher at Brinkley High School until she retired last year, and she was my math teacher from the eighth grade until the twelfth grade. My mom was one of the best teachers that I had in high school (although I might be slightly biased) not only because of her competence in math, but also because of the way that she connected with her students. My classmates were not used to having anyone truly care what their ACT score was, whether or not they passed a class, or how many times they were written up each semester. I witnessed classmates who had been troublemakers and careless about their schoolwork for years transform into hardworking and determined students in my mom’s classroom. If I can someday impact and relate to my students the way that my mom did, then I will have achieved my goal as an educator.

In addition to my mom, my absolute favorite teacher was my agriculture advisor, Mr. Crangle. When I entered his classroom in the eighth grade I was a shy, introverted middle schooler with no interest in pursuing agriculture. Yet five short years later Mr. Crangle inspired within me a passion for agriculture and leadership so strong that the fourteen thousand FFA (Future Farmers of America) members in Arkansas elected me as their 2014-2015 Arkansas FFA State Secretary. Mr. Crangle’s dedication to his students’ interests and his drive to help each of them achieve their goals continues to astound me today. It was the complete change in personality that Mr. Crangle initiated within myself that makes me admire him as an educator; I hope to have the drastic effect on just one student’s life that he has had on countless students.

As a result of the town in which I grew up and the influence of my mom and Mr. Crangle, I now proudly tell anyone who will listen that when I grow up I will be an educator. Without these circumstances and individuals I have no idea who I would be today or who my high school classmates and innumerable others would be either. I am honored to have the opportunity to shape the way that students think about English, and excited to help them grow academically, socially, and individually.

 

Beginning...Again!

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...

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.

Why am I here? No, seriously...why?

At the beginning of senior year, one finds many things to pour their energies into whether that be preparing for classes, looking ahead to graduation, or even...yes, you guessed it, writing a blog post. 

If you had told me three years ago today that I would change my plan fifteen times before finally deciding to become a teacher, A TEACHER, I would have laughed. Three years ago I was on the path of a pre-med student with all of the biology and chemistry that any sane person can handle. After coming to the realization that I was on the wrong path for me, I stumbled and bumbled around for 2 semesters until I took the first Survey of British Literature course. From there, I was hooked. 

The first person that encouraged me to consider a path in teaching is Dr. Tebbetts. For the last two years, he has been a mentor, a guide, a professor, and a friend. He has pushed me and helped me develop the understanding of literature that I do. His courses have improved my writing, exposed me to literature that I would not have otherwise pursued, and helped me foster an innate drive to learn.

The second person deserving of an honorable mention is my high school radio teacher, Mr. Johnson. He is the one person that showed me that school, although a place of business and learning, can still be a fun place. Despite his class being a career/technical class, the class allowed me to foster the sense of who I am. Had it not been for this class, I would not be the loud, boisterous personality that I can sometimes be. This is one thing that has helped my teaching performance. The time I spent practicing my vocal delivery (e.g. projecting my voice, articulating well, speaking clearly) has helped my performance teaching in the classroom. So I deliver a big "thank you" to Mr. Johnson for pulling me out of my shell and allowing me to become the person I am today.

The third person on my long list of people to thank would have to be my 7th grade English teacher, 10th grade Pre-AP English teacher, and 11th grade AP English Language and Composition teacher Mrs. Sandy. She showed me that engaging literature, both fiction and non-fiction, can be exciting but also very dull. Deeper than that though, Mrs. Sandy showed me that high school can still truly be rigorous. For a handful of years, the most complex and longest paper that I had ever written in my life was the ten page paper I wrote for AP English. A ten page paper terrifies most high school students, and rightfully so. Thank you, Mrs. Sandy for showing me that there are some high school teachers who still have rigorous courses and that those teachers continue to push students to be better, do more, and think at a higher level than they did the day before.

These three individuals have shaped a lot of who I am. Two of my high school teachers are the foundations for my personal beliefs about the role of teachers everywhere. Teachers should maintain a level of humor while continuously maintaining a rigorous environment and a rigorous courses. Not all students will meet that benchmark, of course. That being said, all students have the ability to do better than they performed the day before. They will not all be on the same level, but they can all come further than where they started. Dr. Tebbetts has helped foster my love of literature, the analytical mindset that I have developed to interpret the things I read, and the good writing habits that I have developed. These things all culminate into my preparedness and mindset about the field of education and my future in education.