Lately, I feel like the kid who missed the bus and starts running after it with all her might. All this exertion only to see the bus accelerate faster and faster and leave me behind. That is the way I feel with time. Time is the bus that is always racing away just out of reach. How do I reach out and grab time and own it, control it, and use it for my improvement and success? I never have enough. Is it just me or do the days fly by faster as one grows older? Minutes seem like seconds, an hour is like ten minutes, and a day is now only a blip of time soon to be forgotten. It seems like yesterday that I was in high school. It is even more strange to recall the way I used to look at the world and remember certain thoughts when I was ten and even five.
All of a sudden, time races by and I am an adult, living on my own, married, and coming closer to the end of my journey of becoming a teacher. Yes, a teacher. A teacher who is responsible for the education of many young lives. A teacher. A person that helps prepare kids for adulthood. A teacher. One that does his or her best to give everything they have to help better the world by educating and inspiring young minds. Am I alone when I sometimes feel intimidated and overwhelmed with these thoughts? Many people never want to be a brain surgeon for various reasons. A common one is that if they mess up they do not want to be responsible for losing a life. This may sound heavy, but it is similar with a teacher. Not giving a student every opportunity to succeed because the teacher is lacking skill and knowledge takes away from the life of a child. Imagine if a student had one of these teachers who were not quite ready every year they were in school. What does that add up to?... a life lost. A life that contains no direction. So, in a sense, teachers are brain surgeons. Instead of repairing them, though, we get to fill them with the knowledge to help them succeed. So I ask my fellow future teachers, are you ready for such a responsibility and for such an important role in the world? Honestly, I do not yet feel ready. I will take the time needed to be ready, and I will not step into the classroom as a teacher until I feel ready to fill that role. That is why I will not student teach until the fall semester so I feel that I can better prepare myself to be the best that I can. Of course, I know much learning takes place in the first years of teaching and mistakes will be made. Being fully prepared will help me to know how to improve.
So, I will use time to my advantage. I will harness time, try to slow it down, and be ready for the journey ahead.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
My KATE Conference Experience
My, it has been awhile since I have posted on my blog! Anyway the KATE conference was a wonderful experience and I am glad to have attended. I had the opportunity to attend three conferences, "The Beauty of Everyday Conversation" with Jeremy and Beth Gulley, "More than Sexual Orientation.." with our very own Katie Mason, and "Creative Common Core Aligned Lessons.." with Suzy Oertel. I also was able to catch about half of Jay Asher's presentation because a grumbling stomach made leave in search of lunch (I kicked myself for not registering for lunch there. It seemed convenient, and those desserts looked heavenly!) After waiting about thirty minutes for the Marriot restaurant to make me a sandwich, I rushed over to eat my sandwich at a table behind the entrance to the ballroom. Vaguely hearing a few sentences by Jay Asher, I wished I was there to see the whole thing. After eating my over sized sandwich that hurt my jaw to get my mouth around, (it was good though) I took a seat just behind the entrance to the ballroom. Jay Asher was very entertaining and funny and I definitely want to read his book. I was excited to hear that they may have a movie in the works.
I wish I was able to attend "Survivalism 101..." I heard it was great and I bet I could have learned a lot from it. Oh well... Maybe next year.
"The Beauty of Everyday Conversation" was great. I learned a good way to intrigue my future students with writing creatively. The presenters told us to transform a sample essay paragraph into a dialogue with our own creative twist with how our grandmother (the main character in the essay) and ourselves would converse in a casino. It was fun thinking of my grandmother in a casino because I don't think in reality the scene would ever happen being that my grandmother is very religious. It was interesting to hear the stories read aloud.
I also attended Katie Mason's conference "More than Sexual Orientation..." I attended this one because honestly I love being read to and her book talks and it seemed like the most interesting session offered at the time. This session was the most informative to me. (I'm really not brown-nosing!) I received a great list of YAL with LGBTQ content that I can include on my future classroom shelves. "Jumpstart the World" is a book I have my eye on to read in the near future. The powerpoint included statistics about LGBTQ adolescents and made me aware what many of them endure in school. I think teachers should make it known that it is important to accept other lifestyles than what one is used to and that bullying or turning a blind eye is unacceptable. If all teachers did this, it would help to fight against discrimination of LGBTQ students. I think that supplying classroom shelves with books that contain LGBTQ content will also help students to understand LGBTQ students by seeing the world through their perspective. Hopefully, this would dissuade bullying as well.
My third and final conference was "Creative Common Core Aligned Lessons." This is the session gave me the most ideas that I will use as a future teacher. I received some useful handouts from this conference. They spoke about creative and interesting lesson ideas that align with state standards. I will be referencing their handouts to help with with ideas in the future!
Overall, I had a great experience at KATE. I learned a bunch and enjoyed the good food and beautiful atmosphere of the Marriott. I only would have to suggest that they offer a session on classroom management. I need all the tips I can get! I also did not really get a chance to network with English teachers since everyone moved about quite rapidly and were in groups talking with people they knew. Hopefully, I will have the chance in the future because I want to attend KATE again. It was well worth the 25 dollars!
I wish I was able to attend "Survivalism 101..." I heard it was great and I bet I could have learned a lot from it. Oh well... Maybe next year.
"The Beauty of Everyday Conversation" was great. I learned a good way to intrigue my future students with writing creatively. The presenters told us to transform a sample essay paragraph into a dialogue with our own creative twist with how our grandmother (the main character in the essay) and ourselves would converse in a casino. It was fun thinking of my grandmother in a casino because I don't think in reality the scene would ever happen being that my grandmother is very religious. It was interesting to hear the stories read aloud.
I also attended Katie Mason's conference "More than Sexual Orientation..." I attended this one because honestly I love being read to and her book talks and it seemed like the most interesting session offered at the time. This session was the most informative to me. (I'm really not brown-nosing!) I received a great list of YAL with LGBTQ content that I can include on my future classroom shelves. "Jumpstart the World" is a book I have my eye on to read in the near future. The powerpoint included statistics about LGBTQ adolescents and made me aware what many of them endure in school. I think teachers should make it known that it is important to accept other lifestyles than what one is used to and that bullying or turning a blind eye is unacceptable. If all teachers did this, it would help to fight against discrimination of LGBTQ students. I think that supplying classroom shelves with books that contain LGBTQ content will also help students to understand LGBTQ students by seeing the world through their perspective. Hopefully, this would dissuade bullying as well.
My third and final conference was "Creative Common Core Aligned Lessons." This is the session gave me the most ideas that I will use as a future teacher. I received some useful handouts from this conference. They spoke about creative and interesting lesson ideas that align with state standards. I will be referencing their handouts to help with with ideas in the future!
Overall, I had a great experience at KATE. I learned a bunch and enjoyed the good food and beautiful atmosphere of the Marriott. I only would have to suggest that they offer a session on classroom management. I need all the tips I can get! I also did not really get a chance to network with English teachers since everyone moved about quite rapidly and were in groups talking with people they knew. Hopefully, I will have the chance in the future because I want to attend KATE again. It was well worth the 25 dollars!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
An Urban School Is Very Different
Today I saw something I did not expect to see. I saw, from the second story of the classroom window, a middle school girl with handcuffs escorted to the back of a police car. Of course, this was the talk of the classroom, but only a mere three minutes. This surprised me.
I grew up in the very small town of Douglass, Kansas. It was the kind of town that you could walk around at night and have the confidence that you were not on the verge of being mugged. My class was a bit larger than usual- a grand total of 75 students on commencement day. You've heard the saying, "It was the kind of town where everybody knew everybody." Well that was not the case for me, I didn't care to know everybody at that school. A school full of cliques and people who thought they owned the world just because they were, at the current location, big fishes in a small pond. I know I sound pessimistic about my high school, and there were some great people at my school, but I don't like the small town attitude. Sorry about the negativity.
Anyway, I think growing up in a small town made me a bit ignorant to the fact that kids can be violent even at a young age. Kids can be disrespectful to teachers in ways that were unheard of in a small town school. (Some students were disrespectful to teachers, but only to a certain degree). I had the unfortunate experience of the defiant trouble maker of the class call me a b---- for trying to dissuade him from messing up the teacher's wall calender. I was quite shocked because my tone was not mean at all, and I had always been nice to him. I didn't know how to respond. I felt hurt. I discussed this incident with my CT. She was quite displeased in his behavior and told me that he would receive a write up. I asked if students here had ever called her anything like that. She said a few students had at the beginning of her career there. "They just need to get to know you better," she said. Since that day, he has been a lot more respectful towards me, which is good news. Hopefully he will stay that way?
Seeing the middle school girl in handcuffs today made me realize that I wasn't in a small town anymore. Many kids here see violence frequently. Hence the mere three minutes or less of hub bub. They are also more at risk for involvement with drugs and gangs. Its an entirely different world in an urban school.
Yet, unlike a small town school, I have found that urban schools have students that seem to be more accepting of one another (from the perspective of my limited experience). There seem to be less cliques and more diversity. There is a feeling of openness of the students toward each other.
My questions for my fellow bloggers are:
If you went to an urban high school, is my analysis totally off?
What was your experience with a small town school if you went to one?
What are some good ways to deal with student disrespect like my experience above?
I grew up in the very small town of Douglass, Kansas. It was the kind of town that you could walk around at night and have the confidence that you were not on the verge of being mugged. My class was a bit larger than usual- a grand total of 75 students on commencement day. You've heard the saying, "It was the kind of town where everybody knew everybody." Well that was not the case for me, I didn't care to know everybody at that school. A school full of cliques and people who thought they owned the world just because they were, at the current location, big fishes in a small pond. I know I sound pessimistic about my high school, and there were some great people at my school, but I don't like the small town attitude. Sorry about the negativity.
Anyway, I think growing up in a small town made me a bit ignorant to the fact that kids can be violent even at a young age. Kids can be disrespectful to teachers in ways that were unheard of in a small town school. (Some students were disrespectful to teachers, but only to a certain degree). I had the unfortunate experience of the defiant trouble maker of the class call me a b---- for trying to dissuade him from messing up the teacher's wall calender. I was quite shocked because my tone was not mean at all, and I had always been nice to him. I didn't know how to respond. I felt hurt. I discussed this incident with my CT. She was quite displeased in his behavior and told me that he would receive a write up. I asked if students here had ever called her anything like that. She said a few students had at the beginning of her career there. "They just need to get to know you better," she said. Since that day, he has been a lot more respectful towards me, which is good news. Hopefully he will stay that way?
Seeing the middle school girl in handcuffs today made me realize that I wasn't in a small town anymore. Many kids here see violence frequently. Hence the mere three minutes or less of hub bub. They are also more at risk for involvement with drugs and gangs. Its an entirely different world in an urban school.
Yet, unlike a small town school, I have found that urban schools have students that seem to be more accepting of one another (from the perspective of my limited experience). There seem to be less cliques and more diversity. There is a feeling of openness of the students toward each other.
My questions for my fellow bloggers are:
If you went to an urban high school, is my analysis totally off?
What was your experience with a small town school if you went to one?
What are some good ways to deal with student disrespect like my experience above?
Sunday, September 25, 2011
A Restless Classroom After Lunch - Genre Reflection #1
A Restless Classroom After Lunch
A different odor fills the hallways every day
As I make my way to class
That room on the second floor
Filled with a cacophony, noisy and crass
It is the students entering after lunch
Who think that school is over
That it is time to throw Cheetos
And to act as ones not sober
The teacher walks in
And the students begin
To relent of their schoolroom sins
But not before some try her more
And act like school is such a bore
“But school is something that makes you great
Makes you intelligent so appreciate
The education you receive and don’t refuse it
Sit down and write no more excuses
School will help you to succeed
In life and I will not have you impede
Your futures because of restlessness from lunch
Start on you work you chatty bunch!”
The teacher added with a humorous touch
The students surrendered
To make themselves better
And began their classroom endeavors.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Teaching Reflection #2 I like a challenge!
During these past few weeks of pre-student teaching , I have learned quite a bit about the classroom that I have been placed in. I have been reminded that teaching middle school students is not the easiest task. Students at this age are in the process of many changes: emotionally, physically, mentally, and socially. I remember like it was yesterday that awkward time in my journey of growing up so I still feel like I can relate in some way. Socially, students at this age are expected to be more independent and take care of themselves. For the first time, they feel like they have to please their friends and peers by acting and dressing a certain way and by doing things that they may not want to do. They desperately, more than anything, do not want to be embarrassed or made fun of so they will do anything they can to prevent this whether this means being the quiet student or the student who constantly makes trouble. Of course, this is not the reason that every student acts out or is quiet, but students this age do feel pressure that may cause them to act the way they do not want to. Mentally, middle school students are undergoing a brain transformation. According to the Society for Neuroscience, this transformation will not be complete until the early twenties! Most of the changes occur during the adolescent years. On top of that, they experience all of the physical changes that come with growing up. No wonder these students can get emotional and seem irrational; everything around them is changing as well as themselves!
In the classroom I have been placed, some students cause a bit of trouble and distractions during lessons. At first, I became apprehensive about my decision to teach middle school. Then I remembered what it was like to be that age. Of course, this is no excuse to disrupt class, but I did understand the pressures these students may face. I watched the teacher react to these students. Her manner was calm, yet her tone was assertive. She told the student what he or she was doing and calmly stated the consequences for the action. She was mostly effective with this technique. This reassured me, yet these incidences also reminded me why I want to teach. I asked the teacher why she wanted to teach middle school students. She smiled and told me that it was their lively spirit and they give her a challenge and a feeling that she is making a difference. I feel the same way!
Do any of you have any challenges in your classrooms? If so, how do you or your CT deal with them, and do you feel those challenges help you to make a difference? Please let me know!
* Article found at http://www.sfn.org/index.aspx?pagename=brainBriefings_Adolescent_brain
In the classroom I have been placed, some students cause a bit of trouble and distractions during lessons. At first, I became apprehensive about my decision to teach middle school. Then I remembered what it was like to be that age. Of course, this is no excuse to disrupt class, but I did understand the pressures these students may face. I watched the teacher react to these students. Her manner was calm, yet her tone was assertive. She told the student what he or she was doing and calmly stated the consequences for the action. She was mostly effective with this technique. This reassured me, yet these incidences also reminded me why I want to teach. I asked the teacher why she wanted to teach middle school students. She smiled and told me that it was their lively spirit and they give her a challenge and a feeling that she is making a difference. I feel the same way!
Do any of you have any challenges in your classrooms? If so, how do you or your CT deal with them, and do you feel those challenges help you to make a difference? Please let me know!
* Article found at http://www.sfn.org/index.aspx?pagename=brainBriefings_Adolescent_brain
Friday, August 26, 2011
My Goals to Help Me Improve/Reflecting about the Week
Wow! This first week of school has been truly busy, and next week will be even busier! I return on Monday to a middle school to be an AVID tutor/para. I worked at this middle school last semester with the 8th graders and I absolutely love working there! I wouldn't mind at all if I was hired there in the future as a teacher. Anyway, I am so excited to meet this new group of kids and learn more from the teachers that work there. I met with my CT this week, and I can already tell that she is a great teacher and I will learn a lot from her. She is so organized and has everything planned out in detail and weeks ahead of time. Even her emails to me about her class schedule and the days and times that she was available were very thorough, descriptive, and organized. Since organization is not my strongest point, I am thankful to have a mentor with this trait so that I can learn much needed organization techniques. (Without improving my organization, I am certain I will not live a happy life as a teacher). We talked for awhile about what my daily duties may be and she graciously answered my many questions. She assured me that she was happy to share her students with me and wanted me to be involved as much as I could. This made me feel at ease because I know that I learn better from experience than observation. Also, some teachers are reluctant give the education student a daily part in the classroom. I am glad to know that this will not be the case. I also met with another teacher in the classroom who was my CT's colleague. He was very friendly and interesting and had equally interesting shoes. These teachers made me feel at ease and welcome. I was very impressed with the school and the teachers that work there, and I know that I will have a great experience as a pre-student teacher!
As for my goals this semester, they are basic but essential for my success. Last semester, I almost went crazy because of the lack of these simple goals. I had them as a child, but lost them in high school. I had always got by decently without them but have always been so stressed because of it. Now that I'm going to be a teacher and for the sake of my sanity and my future students, its time to regain them again. 1. It is time to be more organized. I will get a planner and write down in black and white what is due and when. Last year my method of remembering was a note I had written somewhere in my notebook. (Not a good method). 2. I will stop procrastinating forever. Last semester I waited until the last minute to do assignments which really stressed me out, made all my assignments pile up at once, and consequently I did not learn as much as I could have. (Hey, I'm improving this blog was sent in an hour before the deadline!) In all seriousness, though, it is vital for a teacher to be prepared for everything well in advance in order for the class to run smoothly and to be a good example to the students. Organization and preparedness are a must for a teacher to practice, and I will practice these traits continually in order to be a success for myself and my future students. 3. I will read more. Last semester, I read only what I was assigned. This semester I will read a text or novel of my choice in addition to what is assigned in class. Every time I finish one I will start another. I really do enjoy reading, but I find I have to still push myself to sit down to read because I am distracted so much by everything else in life. It is so important for a teacher to read so that he/she not only practices what he/she preaches, but never closes the mind to learning and discovery.
My goals as a future teacher are to never stop learning, to instill a love of learning in my students, to always keep my students engaged in what they are learning, to care for the student as a learner as well as an individual, and of course to always be prepared and organized. If I meet these goals, I know that I will be happy every day to be a teacher!
As for my goals this semester, they are basic but essential for my success. Last semester, I almost went crazy because of the lack of these simple goals. I had them as a child, but lost them in high school. I had always got by decently without them but have always been so stressed because of it. Now that I'm going to be a teacher and for the sake of my sanity and my future students, its time to regain them again. 1. It is time to be more organized. I will get a planner and write down in black and white what is due and when. Last year my method of remembering was a note I had written somewhere in my notebook. (Not a good method). 2. I will stop procrastinating forever. Last semester I waited until the last minute to do assignments which really stressed me out, made all my assignments pile up at once, and consequently I did not learn as much as I could have. (Hey, I'm improving this blog was sent in an hour before the deadline!) In all seriousness, though, it is vital for a teacher to be prepared for everything well in advance in order for the class to run smoothly and to be a good example to the students. Organization and preparedness are a must for a teacher to practice, and I will practice these traits continually in order to be a success for myself and my future students. 3. I will read more. Last semester, I read only what I was assigned. This semester I will read a text or novel of my choice in addition to what is assigned in class. Every time I finish one I will start another. I really do enjoy reading, but I find I have to still push myself to sit down to read because I am distracted so much by everything else in life. It is so important for a teacher to read so that he/she not only practices what he/she preaches, but never closes the mind to learning and discovery.
My goals as a future teacher are to never stop learning, to instill a love of learning in my students, to always keep my students engaged in what they are learning, to care for the student as a learner as well as an individual, and of course to always be prepared and organized. If I meet these goals, I know that I will be happy every day to be a teacher!
Monday, August 22, 2011
First Day of Class
Hello WSU English Education Students!
Well, it is the first day of another busy semester. It already feels like there is so much to do! I am very exited for the upcoming semester and meeting the teacher and students from my prestudent teaching placement. I am hoping that I will learn many things I will use in my future teaching career. Good luck to you all and have a happy and hopefully stress free semester.
Well, it is the first day of another busy semester. It already feels like there is so much to do! I am very exited for the upcoming semester and meeting the teacher and students from my prestudent teaching placement. I am hoping that I will learn many things I will use in my future teaching career. Good luck to you all and have a happy and hopefully stress free semester.
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