Final but not the last. Thoughts on this blogging thing…

Per usual at the end of each quarter I find myself reflecting, and then reflecting on those reflections. This post was a hard one to put together, mostly due to finals burnout and the intense excitement (but still lots to do) of being a quarter away from holding a teaching certificate. With this final thought in mind, I have thought about the major moments that have reshaped and molded my developing teaching practice. Months and months ago I would have spouted the various texts and articles that have opened my eyes to classroom communities and the diverse student body. Quotes from respected professors or mentor teachers could paint this post, a soft touch of how to care for the student and a high expectation of capabilities within the classroom. But what has helped me grow as a reflective teacher was the very medium I was using to post said reflections: The Blogosphere. Yes, I no longer begrudgingly admit that blogging, though many times frustrating, tedious and filled with exhaustive thinking, has proved to help me grow. The more poignant ways are though my own reflections and those of my peers. The most notable evidence of this is the post Back at it, but much to do. (Just keep swimming part one) it reaches my audience and deepens my perspectives on my practice by not only reveling my true thoughts on the uphill battles of student teaching, but shows space ( that I created) where I can be honest with myself and colleges about the feelings that are tied to working back and forth from main placements and the classroom. What’s more , the space I created where only a few paragraphs helped me clear my thinking an reflect developed into a space where my classmates could reflecting and comment. This back and fourth showed me that not only I am NOT alone in my thinking, but more importantly I have a place to help my own colleagues professional development. And that place is one not in any classroom.
This shows as a true testament that blogging can open all forms of communication between professionals, where we can comment, exchanges or ask for help. This is something that I would never have thought would be the outcome when initial assigned to blog every quarter. I truly have grown into a professional that will not only feel the need to reflect (mostly Sundays before midnight) every week , but to find a space that supports growth not matter the years I have been teaching . The most amazing thing about this thought is I created this space for growth. And for that, I thank the blogosphere. Here to another end of a beautifully messy and hard quarter, and to the many years and years of reflection.

Final Push : Just keep swimmning part two

This post will be short as of most are during finals week! I am feeling a mixture of relief and excitement with the end of this quarter in sight. Excited that I will begin the adventurous journey of taking my placement class on full time as a teacher, and have begun the steps toward job searching. I feel relief that this quarter (the programs most taxing) will be over and that I have retained all the amazing knowledge and educator insights I have picked up along the way. I am sad to be leaving my cohort full time as we all embark on this last quarter. It seems we all just started our first day of class together , feeling that excitement of the unknown blossom into confidence that we are becoming teachers with the “ write stuff” ( pun so intended). I know this week will be exhausting and stressful for many but I want all my cohort members to know: YOU CAN DO IT! We are almost at the finish line and you are the most talented, kindhearted, accomplished people I have grown to know and love. Take care this possibly late night Sunday and have a fabulous Monday. And if you feel the stress turning into a snarky monster that might lash out at unsuspecting pesterer’s AKA our loved ones, just remember “ Teachers Have Class” .

Early to Rise on a Sunday

I was lucky enough to have a fantastic weekend. One of the reasons was participating in a race that had me running though an empty city at 6:45 in the morning. I know, my fellow classmates and teachers are giving me the harry eyeball, “you got up how early on a Sunday?” I admit that the night before the race I thought the same thing…”I have to get up early for school why am I doing this to myself on a SUNDAY?”
As I hit the off button on my alarm, reading 4:30AM, going through the motions of preparation and hitting the road on this chilly and rainy morning, I began to feel that sleepy excitement that builds at a rumbling pace. That excitement built as I hit the starting line, and continued as I raced with the masses. As I ran though the usually crowded and bustling city streets, the calm that encompassed all of us runners left me feeling entranced. I realized that we all get caught up with the motions of hitting the alarm, getting dressed and heading to school-all to start over day after day until the weekend. I know normally I post about academics, the classroom etc..Tonight I want this to leave people with the idea that we can wake up on Monday (early for most) and feel that slow excitement as we drive to school. I want us to feel invigorated during the day and come home with a sense of accomplishment. Running this morning, pushing past the sleep deprivation and feeling at peace among strangers- but not strangers is a feeling that we can have every day. if we set our mind to it. So I wish everyone a happy Monday, and Tuesday and so on. May your work week feel like your weekend.

Back at it, but much to do. ( Just keep swimming part one)

This week at my main placement had really helped me realize that i am picking the right profession. With taking on more reasonability, taking over lessons etc. I can feel the confidence building. With comments coming from peers,” wow you look great!” and from my field instructor, ” I love how happy you are while teaching- it made your students excited to learn and feel cared for” I can wholeheartedly say that i am in the right place and field placement. This feeling of peace, and excitement (though still very much hard at work) is such a brash comparison to my last couple of weeks on campus. With all the high stakes assignments and certificate requirements many feel bogged down with stress. And though we all are experience the same demands, it seems more difficult to carry all that joy and grit we have at our placements in our own training classrooms. With reflecting on this the entire week ” how come I am so happy at my placement school- even though we have the same if not more demands as we do on campus?” I still don’t have an answer; I know that I do not want to leave my placement next week with these fabulous feelings to have them dissipate the following week. Some ideas I have come up with is carrying a notebook filled only with reminders of all the learning and care (and funny moments) that come up in my classroom. When I feel the stress building or frustration with a assignment this, I am hoping, will keep me smiling. Fingers crossed- I will know if it works in a week! Coming up with these things will help with my teacher training in the long run. What do you do to keep moral up and a happy attitude?

iPads in the Classroom

iPads in the Classroom
This weekend I read an article What Students Think About Using iPads in School from NPR’s facebook page. The article – linked above- is a short one loosely covering student feedback at the prospect for using iPads in the classroom. Most of the students were excited, and seemed tech savvy enough to see the benefits of easier homework and teacher feedback access. A few were weary of the expensive devices , having to repair them if they break it. One noted that there will be fewer school field trips that next year, indicating that this was due to a budget cut because of the iPads. I myself am still on the fence with spending money to put an ipad in every studetns hands. One of the issues that keep coming up for me is that this is another way to identify the “ haves” and “have nots” of the school districts. Schools with the right budget can afford this, lower income schools cannot. The question that comes to mind as well is what happens to everything else after we have spent money on individual iPads, teacher and staff instructional workshops, student workshops, tech support etc? Will these schools field trips become spares throughout the year? What about school clubs and academic support? I am 50/50 on the iPad phenomena. There is no escaping its glitz and glamour, and yet some aspects of it are enriching for student learning. But at what ( literally) cost? When our public school systems have so much to work on , student attendance, dropout rates, free/reduced lunches, the new CCSS and so much more, I feel that the ipad needs need to take a back step. When we have improved much more pressing matters of our public school system then I can feel ok with spending money on devices when in the words of one student, “ pen and paper would work just as well..”.

Lightbulb!

We talked about filling one another’s buckets this week..great lead into community building discussion.

What a great week to be back in my main placement. I was able to teach some lessons and have officially taken on all other classroom responsibilities to start preparing for taking over in the spring. I have also planned out with myCT what lessons etc i will be in charge of doing while she has a substitute that day. I am really starting to feel that confidence building , the ” this I can do next year ” is staring to be paired with almost all daily tasks. I am realizing that this growth is coming from superb conversations i am having with my CT, placement staff and outside educators and admin. I have learned really revel in constructive feedback and turn things i can work on into teaching goals. This has made me look at the intern experience as a really positive one. adding to this new mind set is that with all that my cohort mates and self are learning i am beginning to really connect the “academic ” dots during staff meetings and instructional meetings,PLC etc..this has left me looking forward to those extra intern hours because i am really able to participate and think about what they are discussing.
I am aware that this is really a polly

Part of a mini lesson I taught this week!

positive post today , but it cant be helped. Through the piles of school work and exhaustive reflection and grueling schedules the surmounting excitement is breaking free! Soon this program will be done, and soon i will be interviewing at schools and for districts leading to a new wave of hard work and stress ( that i will LOVE to take on). The new voice in my head is deleting the old ” ….am i getting it? Can i do this ?” to ” I can do this!”.
As the end is in sight i am sure there will be more meltdowns and low days but if i can remember this week I have had i will get through them.

Project Learning Tree: Environmental education

Project Learning Tree
This week I was fortunate enough to listen and participate in a PLT workshop. I learned how to incorporate environmental education into my curriculum, what some of those lessons were like by way of doing them and why it is so important for our students. I really appreciated that starting out the discussion was the central idea that we cannot tell our students how to take care of the environment and the care won’t come from them unless they learn to love it. Starting off with the connection and love for the environment (which will eventually lead to action) is supported by the Pyramid Approach.
What I love about this approach it that the objective is not to tell our students how to take care of the environments but rather expose them to the beauty of our world, take them outside , open up conversations of where our food comes from or the type of energy they use in their daily life. This is more than just teaching them about environmental care, it modeling how to think critically about our world and environment we live in. To question if there are ways to improve our environment and how can we do that? More importantly this type of thinking leads the student to choose what and where they want to take action because it is something they specifically care about.
I am a huge proponent of not force feeding ideals or values to my students, so this is great for me as a teacher because this leads them to make their own decisions because they are in tune with what part of environmental education matters to them and what type of action they can take. Needless to say I am super excited to integrate PLT into my lessons next year.

Reflections : First Observation

This week i had my first official student teacher observation. This had me prepping for three days, reviewing teaching strategies , going over the lesson multiple time with my field teacher and of course occasional flash of “what if’s”. Of course i over prepared, and underestimated my self and ended the week feeling like hard work paid off. With reviewing and reflecting what i can do to fine tune my teaching strategies, I went over the whole process of the week in my head. I spent a week thinking about, planning and over preparing for one lesson. A forty-five minute lesson, that though ended in student successes and an accomplished feeling on my part , the fact doesn’t escape me that it was one lesson.
I know that I am a student teacher , still learning and always will be . But i am wondering how prepared i am becoming if all this preparation is an accurate depiction of what my life will be like next year in my own classroom. On one hand I am tempted to set a goal of shorter preparation for the next observation, but than what of all the thoughtfulness that went into this lesson? Yes, there is a way to balance time management with developing and implementing lessons ( notice the S at the end) for entire school days. But how do I keep the reflection and thoughtful preparation of knowing my student context, differentiation , testing new teaching strategies and curating engagement? The answer may lie within this post , and the challenge may be to find a time management style to accommodate this thinking. But until this shines brightly in my over head student lightbulb, I will continue to search through my reflections.

Teaching with Urgency Part One

“When I suggest that we need to “ teach with a sense of urgency” I’m not talking about teaching prompted by anxiety but rather about making every moment in the classroom count, about ensuring that our instruction engages students and moves them ahead…”(Routman, 2003, p. 41).

PART ONE

This quote makes me look back on my preliminary observations during the September experience this past fall. What Routman is shedding light on is the importance of making every minute of every school day matter. Routman talks of the idea that the stressed and tense teacher will produce students who are also stressed and tense. If this is the case, fluidly transitioning from lesson to lesson becomes a challenge. This reflects in her own teaching style, “ I am relaxed and happy when I am working with my students.”

The connections I am making between my own student-teacher observations and reading Routman are those of the urgency we must have in teaching is imperative, and that urgency is not the same as rushed or stressed. Sometimes I observe teachers feeling the pressure to complete a lesson to start another lesson on time. Sometimes it seems difficult to use the available time given per lesson , more specifically reading, and making that optimal learning time.

When this happens, I think, some teachers have a tendency to fill the time lost or try to make that up by adding a filler activity to the lesson. The outcome being a lesson that could have been an engaging, and achieve optimal student learning, turns into a haphazard cloud of what could have been.

I have been lucky enough to observe in my cooperating teacher is the way she uses every minute of the school day. When a lesson cuts into another lesson time she makes the best of it. By that I mean, she is quick to incorporate reading or writing into the two lessons. By integrating the reading and writing component it enriches student learning. It also models to students that we use reading and writing skills in all aspects of school. From science to time with an art docent, the students will find engaging reading and writing components in the lesson.

This seems like the most effective way to get the most out of the whole school day, by integrating subjects and being urgent with the teaching. As a future educator I foresee myself not waiting till I need to think on my feet to test our integrating subjects but rather utilize every minute of the school day by planning on integrations. This, paired with teaching with a sense of urgency will lead to optimal learning for myself and students.

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Post Holiday Post

The holidays are finally over and the school year feels refreshed and renewed with the new year! I am writing this post from my new iPad and iPad app Boggsy : part of trying more technology with school – so far so good!

I remember as a student i always loved coming back to school after the holiday (totally normal), I was excited to see my friends and loved that the school year was almost over! However, as i view this post holiday as a teacher I see things a little different through the teacher lens. I am neither refreshed nor renewed in the wake of the aftermath of christmas cookie and new year resolution devastation. I am exhausted and woke up monday morning wishing it was really sunday morning . My New Years resolution of starting off the new year incredible organized has been rough. needless to say that though it is indeed new year with bright educational beginnings my revised NY resolution is to be more fogiving to myself and students as we wrap our minds around being back in school. Happy New Year everyone.

Note: there is a picture of a great ideaof incorporating student voice in reading discussions but the students can write out their thoughts on paper and support those ideas while going around to different posters. more on that later 🙂

 

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