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?