Chicago

This past weekend I traveled to Chicago! For four years now I’ve gone on this trip with the Perry High School Speech and Debate team. A national tournament is held at Glenbrooks High School right outside of Chicago. Although I had a blast, this trip felt a bit different. I graduated in 2005 and ever since I’ve spent countless hours at my high school coaching students and traveling with them around the state of Ohio and further to tournaments. This year, since I’m student teaching at Jackson and my cooperating teacher is their head speech/debate coach, I figured I should shy away from spending every weekend with Perry. (If I haven’t made it clear in past posts, Jackson and Perry are huge, gigantic, enormous rivals.) For the past three years I’ve known most of the Perry speech kids; this year I knew only a few. It was an eye opener. Perry speech is the reason for my career choice. I’ve dedicated several hours to this team. I’ve made wonderful friendships throughout the years, and now I don’t know half of the kids. Again I am torn! Some part of me wishes I would have been placed at a different school therefore I could still coach at Perry, but I love, love, love being with Mrs. Mann and the students at Jackson. Ugh, such an internal conflict!
Onto a brighter topic- school’s almost done! One more week of classes and finals week and, my gosh, I’m done. Granted I have student teaching full-time next semester, but no more final exams- that’s awesome! I have a good handle on my classes now and say “bring it on” to the finals weeks of fall semester. It’s weird to think about not attending college next year. I’ll hopefully, with fingers crossed, be teaching my own classroom. I can’t wait to see what the future holds! As for now… Happy Thanksgiving!


(Also as an aside, I received an e-mail from Disney. In an earlier post I talked about my "lie" to the students using a Disney theme. They wrote back! I can't wait to share their letter with the kids!)

What a Boring Week!

This week felt extremely… weird! Since the very first day of fall semester, I’ve gone to Jackson at least two days every week. Well every week but this one! I could sleep in and not dress up, it felt great, but I did miss the kids. They always brought exciting and new stories to class every day.

Even though I wasn’t at Jackson, college classes filled my schedule. Most of my courses had something due this week. It was nice to have some extra time to finish and prepare for quizzes.

I am preparing for a trip to Chicago. Every year I travel with the Perry High School speech and debate team to their Chicago tournament. This is my last year to travel with the team; it will definitely be a bittersweet trip.

Sorry this is such a short entry! Without the students... there's no exciting news!

Goodbye... See you in January!

Wow it’s crazy to think this semester’s almost over. This past week turned out to be my last week at Jackson, well at least until next semester. I spent everyday at the school. It was a bittersweet feeling. I love being there, but it’s time for me to settle down and focus on my grades. I mean this is my last time taking finals- that sentence alone makes my heart jump around filled with joy!

Yesterday brought many schools around the district to Jackson High School for their speech and debate tournament. Mrs. Mann is the head speech coach at the school. Mrs. Kathy Patron, my high school speech coach, is the reason I perused teaching. I owe the past three years of college and my future to speech. Anyways, after taking the dreaded Praxis II exam, I raced over to the school to see how the kids were doing. Turns out, just like the football game, Jackson beat Perry. I’m definitely a Perry girl at heart, but I’m extremely happy for the Jackson kids and, of course, the hard-working Mrs. Mann.

These are some final pictures from the fall semester. I’ll miss the kids, but I know I’ll be seeing them a lot next semester. I thought I would give them a month off from seeing Miss Chambers!

Hello.... See you in January!

For the first time all semester, I met Mrs. Mann’s afternoon classes. On Wednesday, I spent the day at Jackson High School. I did leave before the final bell rang, due to a college class, but from first through tenth period I followed around my cooperating teacher. Next semester I will be teaching four English classes; three of which are Freshman. I taught my unit plan to the second period students, and sat in on fifth/sixth period a half a dozen times. On Wednesday, I waited until the tenth period students filed in and sat down before I left for Kent Stark. I quickly introduced myself before running off to class. I believe I am building relationships with the other English classes except tenth period. I probably will not see them again until January. An optimistic look at the situation, at least I met them once before I start teaching.

Last night I went to see Jackson’s musical: Beauty and the Beast. My classmate, who is also student teaching at Jackson, joined me fifteen minutes before the show started to find our seats. When 8:00 p.m. rolled around, no dimming of the lights, no warming up of the pit band… nothing. A few minutes after the hour, a man made an announcement; the theatre company gave them double the tickets, therefore some seats were sold twice for the same night. A few members of the stage crew brought out folding chairs. Also, they ran out of programs, neither Andy nor I received one. Hesitant to what we were about to see, the lights finally went down and the opening music began about twenty after eight. The show turned out to be very good. The costumes were adorable and the singing was fantastic. Although the show saw a few minor technical problems, the students powered their way through one of Disney’s all time favorite movies. Congratulations cast, crew, and pit of Beauty and the Beast, you were great!

My Advice to You

This past week was absolutely crazy. On Monday I worked and went to class! Kent State suggests you do no work during student teaching, but with traveling between three schools and extracurricular activities, working is a must. Now that I am done teaching, I have been working more. Here is the problem I ran into this week. I only have about 50 hours at Jackson and in four weeks I need to add another 46 more! I am panicking. I was sick on Tuesday, so I did not make it to Jackson and Wednesday I worked again. Thursday I went to the high school but only for two hours because of college classes. I am finding it ridiculously hard to gather up enough time to fit everything into my schedule. School is becoming a bit more stressful, now that I am realizing how much stuff needs to be accomplished before the end of the semester. This blog is geared toward those who will be student teaching soon; therefore I am going to give my top ten advice tips for those who will be doing this at some point in the near future!

ADVIDE TIPS:
1. Complete most of your coursework before senior year.
2. Stay on top of all your class work; a little slip with hurt you more than you realize.
3. Communicate well with other classmates.
4. If you work, schedule hours on the weekends.
5. Do not procrastinate.
6. Have a good working relationship with your cooperating teacher.
7. Keep organized.
8. Save as much money as possible, do not splurge just because you had a bad day.
9. Be a good student; you should be an example for your students.
10. Have fun!

Even though I am complaining, I truly love this major. I love going to the high school. Of course I get a bit stressed, but truly this is fun!

I MADE IT!

I made it! I finished my 10-day unit plan. Even though I will miss teaching, I am overjoyed to be done. Taking 18 credit hours while student teaching is proving to be a bit too much for me to handle. I wanted to make my lessons very creative, but sometimes my imaginative lesson plans fell short due to other projects and midterms. My advice to those thinking about student teaching or who will eventually be student teaching, get most of your classes out of the way before your senior year. Even though I’m loving this semester, it is very hard for me to keep up with the demanding schedule.

To add to my excitement about finishing, I received my student evaluations. After finishing my lesson plan on Tuesday, the students filled out a teacher evaluation form. My student teaching supervisor stayed after class and gave me feedback on the lesson. He suggested while assessing my students/ asking questions, move around the room more. His constructive criticism only inspired me to work harder next semester. After finishing, I couldn’t wait to read the students’ comments. I sprinted to my car, opened up the folder, and braced myself before reading their remarks. I prepared for the worst, but prayed for the best. To my amazement, the students really enjoyed my lessons. They wrote incredibly nice comments and gave great constructive criticism. All of their “negative” comments will only make me stronger as a teacher. Some said I needed to work on “cracking the whip;” others thought I should explain assignments better. All of this motivated me to try and work harder. One girl handed me a note while leaving. I opened it after reading all the other evaluations. After reading the first few lines, tears started dwelling in my eyes and my heart felt warm. She wrote me the most incredible poem, followed by encouraging words. Her final sentence read “Miss Chambers you’re going to make a wonderful teacher, so don’t fret!” That small note made the all-nighters, stress, and anxiety worthwhile. Every doubt in my mind about being a teacher melts away with that one sentence. This is a great profession. The pay might not be a lot, but one small comment, even one sentence, makes all the hard work meaningful.

And It Ends In Defeat!

4... 3... 2... 1... Jackson wins Perry looses. Ugh, you do not understand how bad this stinks! After talking "smack" all week about how awesome Perry is and how Jackson will be begging us for mercy, Jackson wins! Here's the back story. I attended Perry Local Schools my whole life; I carry Perry Pride with me wherever I go. I am a panther girl for life. Now I student teach at Perry’s biggest rival: Jackson. A few of the boys in my class play freshman football. For the past few weeks, both of us bragged about the quality of our teams. I thought for sure Perry would come out on top. Well the varsity game ended in defeat for Perry and today I went and watched my students “pound Perry” in another face-off. Sitting on the Jackson side I quietly cheered on my team; I applauded secretly underneath my blanket. Through it all, no luck, Jackson won. Now I’ll have to hear the never-ending “you lost,” “Perry sucks,” and the worst “we told you so” comments. Even though Perry did loose, I am still so proud of my students. They did an awesome job today. Congrats boys!

One Step at a Time

“One step at a time.” This popular lyric to Jordan Sparks’ new song is this week’s anthem. I kept reminding myself to just keep taking one step… one step at a time.

Tuesday, my classmates and I spent time working on our portfolios. By the end of the semester, we must upload our ten day unit plan, video poem, and other lesson plans that meet NCATE standards. We began designing our templates and uploading documents. We also signed up for our “last semester as an undergraduate” classes; I think it finally sunk into our minds: “O my gosh, we’re graduating!” After spending eight semesters contemplating what classes to take or what professor to pick, it all came to the end. One more semester and I’ll be an adult. Right?

Wednesday, Mr. Noden came to observe my lesson. He wrote only positive comments about my characterization game. During the fall semester, my practicum instructor (Mr. Noden), and my student teaching supervisor will observe while I teach. Mr. Noden looks for the positive and my supervisor looks for ways to improve my teaching.

These pictures are from the characterization game. Students divided into four groups. Half the group became the writers and half developed into distinguished actors. The writers picked three character traits out of my beautifully designed “Jackson” box. They wrote scripts for the actors to perform. As a class we would try and identify the character traits. I think the students enjoyed the lesson.

Thursday we continued learning about characterization. We read the short story “Thank You M’am.” The story depicts two distinct characters. For homework they were assigned to write a song from the point of view from one of the characters. Of course, I thought I should lead by example and write a short song myself. I played the only three notes I knew how to play over and over until I finally finished a -sure to be- Grammy award winning song. I think the kids thought it was totally lame, but I witnessed a few smiles peak out from behind their “we’re cool” teenagers’ faces.

I know these kids only think of me as their goofy student teacher, but to me these kids are my thoughts. I think about the class constantly throughout the day. I think about what lesson they’ll think is “totally awesome.” I think about what is the best way they’ll learn. I think about their well-being. I think about how they’re doing in other classes. I think about what fun conversations we’ll have the next day. I think about whether or not they’ll win their football game. I know they don’t think so, but I truly care about them!

Am I a Teacher Now?

Well it happened; I taught for the first time a classroom full of teenagers. At the time, it felt as if I was in a racecar, everything rushed by so fast, but now that it’s over I can recall every second.

Thursday morning, I kept pushing the rewind button over and over in my mind, reviewing each aspect my lesson. In constant prayer, I made my way to the high school. I rushed to the classroom to set-up my “fun” activity. Instead of thinking positively, I found myself contemplating the worst. “What if they think this is so stupid? What if no one listens to me? What happens if they don’t understand?” Those questions along with the constant “teaching” reminders took over my concerned mind. “Remember to use your teacher voice. Check for student understanding. Walk around the room. Look confident. Don’t forget to say ‘what questions do you have?’” Finally the bell rang and the students took their seats. After giving a brief introduction, I began my lesson. With my hands literally shaking, we reviewed “The Scarlet Ibis.” I introduced the “symbols matching game” (for lack of a better title) to the students. They paired up with a partner and the race to the finish line began. To my amazement, the students loved it. They were working together, shouting out correct answers, and critically thinking about the task at hand. Is it possible for my first lesson to go perfectly? Of course not! Now, come on, that would be way too ideal. I rushed through the lesson thinking the class ended ten minutes before it really did. Ugh, I could have kicked myself. What was I thinking? Mrs. Mann gave me great tips to use for today’s lesson. Which, without a doubt I used.

So, today! The lesson required me to put on my very best acting hat. I told the students I would no longer be at Jackson due to my new job. I would begin working on the latest Disney movie and needed their help; I obviously gave a back story and more details to make the story more believable. My assignment gave me the chance to create a new world filled with classic Disney characters intermingled into one storyline. I needed to find a place/location/ SETTING for the movie to take place. I explained if we used their ideas, they would see their names in the closing credits of the movie. They immediately put their creative thinking caps on and began to work. The students created six absolutely mind blowing ideas. They produced incredible maps to give “my boss” a visual as to what they were thinking. When I finally broke the news, I felt as if I pulled out all their hopes and dreams and crushed them with a huge sledge hammer. I honestly didn’t think they would take it to heart. Plus, my mom engraved in my mind, they wouldn’t believe my story. I felt horrible. At the time, I regretted ever thinking up this lesson, but while reflecting I realized it accomplished/ exceeded my ultimate goals and standards set for the class. The ideas the students created were remarkable. They recognized the importance of the setting in a story like the back of their hand. So, here’s my problem? Was this lesson ethical? I achieved my purpose; the students’ grasp and understanding of the content went above and beyond my expectation. The downside is the kids may question my truthfulness the rest of the year.

To link day one and day two into one concluding sentence, I must finish with “I loving this experience!”

Here are some pictures of the class!

A Fresh Start

I obtained a eureka moment this week: Life is too short to stress. Gosh, why did it take me this long to comprehend that statement? I am slowly starting to learn the importance of self-preservation. In the past, I’ve been go, go, go and not taking anytime to enjoy anything. I demolished what I loved, my hobbies, because I was too busy stressing. This week, I tried something knew. I would spend three hours completing tasks and take an hour for myself. In the hour, I would eat my favorite snack, watch a fun TV show, and take a minute to breathe. This system worked wonderfully. I accomplished numerous tasks/homework and did not have any “freak-out” moments. This is very helpful and I suggest others who have the same problem to try it. Student teaching can be a very stressful time, just ask my classmates, but it doesn’t need to be.

Also this week I met with Mrs. Mann to discuss my ten-day unit plan. INLA (Integrated Language Arts) majors teach ten days in the fall before going full time in the spring. I will be teaching four short stories: The Sniper, Thank You, M’am, The Gift of the Magi, The Scarlet Ibis. Each short story focuses on a different literature term. The terms I hope the students will understand by the end of the unit are symbols, character analysis, satire, and surprise ending. Today I began creating imaginative lesson plans to go along with these topics. I want the students to like me as a teacher and think my lesson plans are, in their words, “cool.” My professor and student teaching supervisor will be observing me during this time. I know their constructive criticisms will stab me in the heart. I put hours of hard work into these lessons and any criticism, even positive, hurts. The nerves, mixed with the excitement are an incredible feeling. I know this is what I’m suppose to be doing. This is my calling. (Hopefully it won’t change after I begin teaching, ha-ha!)

My New Mission as a Teacher

Kids making fun of other kids- how do you stop it? This is the biggest question I’ve faced this past week. Along with student teaching, I also teach the teen class at my church. The grades of students range from 7th grade up to college freshman. As you guessed, there’s a lot of diversity in the class. Their maturity levels are quite different. There is one student in the class who deals with mental problems; he is slower than the other young adults in the class. The other kids laugh at everything he says and always poke fun at the questions he asks. I get so angry when this happens. Why are they so mean and rude to this young man? When he left the room for a minute, I asked the students to stop; just a verbal warning. Even after my strict request, the laughter continued. After venting to my mom about the ordeal, I decided I would see what happened this coming Sunday. To my surprise, it continued Tuesday- obviously not with the Sunday school kids, but with the students at Jackson. They began giving their “bring yourself in a bag” speeches. One student stepped in front of the class and began his speech. He was a very thin young man with glasses and a higher pitch voice. Every note card he picked up shook like an earthquake. You could tell nerves overtook his body. Every time he made a mistake, some boys in the class would laugh. Boy did I shoot them the death-glare! How can I stop this cruel behavior from happening? I flashbacked to my high school days, I was voted clumsiest of my senior class. As you could imagine, I was the one everyone poked fun at. Even though I was the route of most jokes, I never cared. I never felt as if I was being laughed at because I was right there laughing too. I know high schoolers thrive on looking cool and being funny in front of friends, but when does it cross the line of disrespectful? I have no idea how I’m going to deal with this dilemma. Is it even possible? It’s not as if just recently, this “making fun of others” began. How can I get these teenagers to realize the importance of diversity? This is my current mission as a teacher!

Meeting with my S.T. Supervisor

Today I met with my student teaching supervisor. I’m not sure how other schools run their Education program, but at Kent, we have our practicum instructor observe us teach and also a student teaching supervisor view our lesson plans. I was extremely nervous to meet with him. (On a side note) It might sound as if everyday I’m having a nervous break-down because I’m always saying “I’m nervous, blah, blah, blah” but this is a very uneasy time in my life. I’m not sure what I’m doing; the future is never clear. I know everything will work out fine, but there’s still that shaky feeling inside.

As I stated before, Mrs. Mann and I met with my student teaching supervisor. He went over what to expect over the next year and what his role will be. He made it clear he is there to help me become a better teacher. He is now retired and it’s evident he was a great teacher. I know I’ll have a lot to learn from him.

Here are my hesitations. When I work on lesson plans or anything dealing with my Education courses, I work really hard. I put in numerous hours perfecting my goals and plans. Teaching is a passion of mine; I take great pride in my work. I know my first evaluation will have numerous “you should work on…” comments. Even though I know it will help me grow, I have a hard time accepting it wasn’t good enough. On 99% of my lesson plans I’ve received a perfect score. When I collect my critique form, I can almost guarantee there will be tears streaming down my face. My professors tell me, no one’s an all-star teacher when they start, but I want to break the mold. I want to be an outstanding teacher. I want my students to understand and learn my lesson plans every time. This may be a utopian way of thinking, but maybe…just maybe, I can do it!

Highlights from the Week

Today I realized I can do this; I can handle this schedule. This week had numerous highlights I would like to share with you… beginning with Tuesday. I started a mentoring program with the Education Psychology class. Two years ago I took the course in Florence and Rome, Italy. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I encourage everyone to take the opportunity to study abroad. For two and a half weeks we observed and helped students in different Italian schools. I fell in love with the kids and hold the memories very close to my heart. This semester, a researched-based mentoring program begins, and I was asked to take part of it. I sat in on the class and answered questions the students had on the course and general department questions. The group of girls I spoke with were enthusiastic yet anxious about the journey ahead of them. All of them will be applying for advanced study within the upcoming weeks. I wish them the best of luck. I know they will do great.

The next milestone of the week happened yesterday. For my first assignment for practicum class, I needed help from the 9th grade English class. I sought after ideas and places to take pictures for my project. I was incredibly nervous because I thought they may think my questions were corny or stupid. To give you an idea of how nervous I was I wrote a script and practiced in front of the mirror a few times the night before. As I stepped into the classroom, I took a deep breath and said a little prayer. Mrs. Mann was out for the day, so it was up to the substitute teacher and me to handle the class. I stood in front of the students and began. After making comments about how I graduated from Perry (Jackson’s biggest rival), they answered my questions. They were great! All of them helped me out a lot and gave me wonderful suggestions. They were respectful and polite while responding and I had no problems whatsoever. After leaving I felt as if I finally connected with some of the students. It was a great moment.

This morning I went into the school. As always, it was a wonderful experience. Mrs. Mann is amazing. She truly cares for her students and has such a great sense of humor. Today was the first day I sat in on the speech class. Mrs. Barnes, a good high school friend of mine, did an awesome job critiquing the kids. It was definitely fun to watch the many characters in the class.

I also began my first day of work. Over the next year I will be working a part-time job. Commuting between three schools is a lot of driving, and with the rising gas prices I need to work. This is definitely not the ideal situation but it’s something I have to do.

To conclude, this week was incredible. I’m definitely ending on a higher note than last week. I look forward to the upcoming weeks. Who knows what they’ll bring?

The End of Week One

After a draining and emotional week, I finally finished my first week of senior year. When I was dismissed from class this morning, I went straight to dreamland; a.k.a. I took a much needed nap. I already appreciated the work of teachers, but after this first week I realized they’re superheroes. I just sat and listened while they stood and performed their magic, and I’m the one who’s tired? This helps me comprehend the amount of stress this next year will bring. To be honest, I’m terrified!

In our cohort there are twenty inspirational student teachers. I believe each of my classmates are going to kick butt this year. We met this morning for our first practicum class of the semester. Dr. Noden began teaching promptly at 8:00 AM. We stumbled through the door in sweats with coffee/ energy drinks in hand. To outsiders it might seem as if it was the end of the semester instead of day five of week one. I took pictures to document the extreme exhaustion of my classmates. A lot of us are still taking a full class schedule, keeping a part-time job (or two), and juggling extra-curricular activities. O and did I mention we start student teaching this semester too? I think you can understand why we are all a bit tired.

As I stated before, week one is completed, checked off, gone for good. I hope I don’t send the wrong message though. Yes we wanted to hit the snooze button a few more times this morning. Yes we are all a bit stressed. Yes we are all nervous to begin the semester. Even though this is a “negative Nancy” attitude; all of us are putting ourselves through this schedule because we believe in our students. We know all of this is necessary in becoming the best teachers possible. When I stand in front of my class next year as a first-year teacher, I know all this anxiety, exhaustion, and stress will be completely worth it!

My First Day

Today was my first day at Jackson High School. I woke up early and carefully picked out my outfit. Before I left the house, I took a quick look in the mirror to make sure everything appeared just right. The fifteen minute drive to the school was filled with nerves and pump-up music. Yes, you may think it was a bit much, but to me it fit the situation. I arrived around 8:15 a.m.; at this time in the school day it was class change. I entered the hallways with butterflies going crazy in my stomach. To make matters worse, every hallway I turned down led me to a dead end. I was lost without a finish line in sight. I looked young and clueless. I don’t think anyone thought I was an older college student; I look as young as sixteen. After roaming the hallways, I finally found Mrs. Mann’s lovely classroom. While she attended to her homeroom students, I walked a few doors down to Mrs. Barnes’ room- a former classmate of mine. It was great to see a familiar face. I am thankful she will be only a few doors away this year. She is a great teacher and her students are fortunate to have her. After a fun chat with her, I returned back to Mrs. Mann’s room. A few minutes later the students I will begin my student teaching with began to filter into the room. High school freshman filled the classroom with nerves and laughter. Mrs. Mann began reciting names and making the kids laugh with her witty remarks. Before the end of class, I introduced myself. I told the students they have to be nice to me otherwise they’ll fail- a joke none of them found funny. I can tell there are some interesting characters in the class; they definitely made me laugh quite a few times. My butterflies escaped by the end of the period; I became very excited. I stayed for the next class which is accelerated 10th grade English. It was another great group of kids. Each of them gave Mrs. Mann their full attention. After the class ended, I began to exit out the back. I needed to head to my college class; otherwise I would have loved to stay a bit longer. I never expected to learn so much on my first day. Mrs. Mann is cool and confident with her teaching style. I can tell this is going to be a good experience, but thank goodness I got the first day over with!





Jackson High School
http://jackson.stark.k12.oh.us/JacksonHigh.cfm?subpage=314137