Dear Dr. Shea and student teachers,
I am learning that a skill secondary English teachers and all teachers must possess is the ability to perform with grace and dignity under pressure and to maintain a sense of humor. I am learning these skills from the teachers at Manheim Township High School as they model them every day. Every day when I arrive at room 226 at the high school I realize that I have fabulous role models who are showing me how to be a teacher in conditions that require me to make changes in lesson plan schedules on a daily basis, and in turn pass along this calm frame of mind to my students who are also confused. This lesson of remaining calm and dignified in the face of pressure is not something that can be taught in a MU classroom. This is something we are taught by our mentors, on-the-job, while we are on our feet in front of students. This makes my heart beat faster and the time fly by. This student teaching is like riding a roller coaster in the dark. There are ups and downs, we can't predict what will happen next, and everything happens so fast. Hang on tight and smile. The ride is not over yet!
Linda Carty
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Week One: Whirlwind
Hello Dearest English Nerds,
Wow! This week has been a whirlwind, for my students and myself. This was the first full week that our school has had in SEVEN weeks; in other words, it seemed long and perhaps exhausting at times. On the other hand, I have to say that I was living on adrenaline and the remainder of my Christmas-gift-coffee as I launched into my Lord of the Flies unit.
The hardest part of this week was planning. That might sound odd considering that I was working from the unit plan I had prepared in the fall, but I realized after day one that the pacing between my College Prep section and Honors section needed to be drastically different. Additionally, I needed to provide more structure in my worksheets and in group discussions for CP because their discussion skills aren't as refined as their peers in my Honors section. This caused some stress and anxiety at the beginning of the week because I felt that I had to go home each evening and create a new worksheet. My mentor could tell that I was rather frazzled and kindly reminded me that I do not need to reinvent the wheel for each lesson, but that I have many, many resources at my disposal; I thought I understood that in the fall! Unfortunately, I've found that my past planning didn't extend as far as I need it to for the benefit of my students. In short, I'm learning to look further ahead in my planning while managing the amount of work I do daily. I do not want to create a dreadful habit of coming home and sitting in front of my computer for four hours preparing all my materials for the next day, which means I need to make very effective use of my limited planning time at school.
One last interesting event that threw me somewhat off kilter was the fact that my mentor got the flu and was out for two days this week! Luckily, she had a sweet and supportive substitute in for her both days who made sure that I was able to lead the lessons for the three English sections I teach, while she led the two sections that meet when I am teaching French. What a way to start off the new semester!
I'm looking forward to checking in with you during this semester. I wish you all the best in the coming weeks. :)
- Julia
Wow! This week has been a whirlwind, for my students and myself. This was the first full week that our school has had in SEVEN weeks; in other words, it seemed long and perhaps exhausting at times. On the other hand, I have to say that I was living on adrenaline and the remainder of my Christmas-gift-coffee as I launched into my Lord of the Flies unit.
The hardest part of this week was planning. That might sound odd considering that I was working from the unit plan I had prepared in the fall, but I realized after day one that the pacing between my College Prep section and Honors section needed to be drastically different. Additionally, I needed to provide more structure in my worksheets and in group discussions for CP because their discussion skills aren't as refined as their peers in my Honors section. This caused some stress and anxiety at the beginning of the week because I felt that I had to go home each evening and create a new worksheet. My mentor could tell that I was rather frazzled and kindly reminded me that I do not need to reinvent the wheel for each lesson, but that I have many, many resources at my disposal; I thought I understood that in the fall! Unfortunately, I've found that my past planning didn't extend as far as I need it to for the benefit of my students. In short, I'm learning to look further ahead in my planning while managing the amount of work I do daily. I do not want to create a dreadful habit of coming home and sitting in front of my computer for four hours preparing all my materials for the next day, which means I need to make very effective use of my limited planning time at school.
One last interesting event that threw me somewhat off kilter was the fact that my mentor got the flu and was out for two days this week! Luckily, she had a sweet and supportive substitute in for her both days who made sure that I was able to lead the lessons for the three English sections I teach, while she led the two sections that meet when I am teaching French. What a way to start off the new semester!
I'm looking forward to checking in with you during this semester. I wish you all the best in the coming weeks. :)
- Julia
5:30 comes early
Dearest cohorts o' mine,
So the first full week of student teaching full time is behind us. I have been metaphorically wiping my brow since 3:30 yesterday. I have to admit, getting back into the swing of things after a relatively long winter break had me freaking out more than a little bit. I remember ending last semester feeling great, like I could really see myself in front of my own classroom at some near point in the future. I had a handle on classroom management, I was excited to see my students, and I was excited to be a part of the school culture. It just felt good. I felt good. Then winter break happened and I realized how tired I had been. I talked to friends who were unsure of themselves. I started to become unsure. I started doubting myself and all of the progress I had made; it made for a rocky start to the semester. All of that being said, my first full week in the classroom went well. I am feeling more and more like I have made real connections with my students. It hasn't felt at all superficial. There have been kids who have come to talk to me after school. To ask me for advice about their papers. To tell me something exciting has happened, and I can't seem to get over the high of being a part of their potential energy, even if it is in a small way.
I started my unit on To Kill a Mockingbird this week. I think it's a little too big in my head at this point. We're only one chapter in, and I'm looking at what my mentor wants to do with the book, and what I would love to do with the book, and I'm having a hard time reconciling the two. She really likes having reading quizzes frequently, which, to be fair encourages accountability, but it makes for a lot of grading, and takes up important time in class when I feel like we could be doing COOL things. If students fail a reading quiz, they are handed a worksheet for the following chapter. More grading. More papers to keep track of, and at some level, I'm not sure how much they're going to help. Maybe that comes from not having run a novel yet, but it's making me nervous. Planning my first entire unit on top of having to come up with daily worksheets and reading quizzes, grading everything I hand out, and keeping track of those grades has worked me up right before I should be falling asleep more than once this week. (Suggestions welcome). Still, I'm excited to get kids excited about one of my favorite books in high school. I hope everyone is doing well and feeling light.
Sincerely,
Sam Sweigert
So the first full week of student teaching full time is behind us. I have been metaphorically wiping my brow since 3:30 yesterday. I have to admit, getting back into the swing of things after a relatively long winter break had me freaking out more than a little bit. I remember ending last semester feeling great, like I could really see myself in front of my own classroom at some near point in the future. I had a handle on classroom management, I was excited to see my students, and I was excited to be a part of the school culture. It just felt good. I felt good. Then winter break happened and I realized how tired I had been. I talked to friends who were unsure of themselves. I started to become unsure. I started doubting myself and all of the progress I had made; it made for a rocky start to the semester. All of that being said, my first full week in the classroom went well. I am feeling more and more like I have made real connections with my students. It hasn't felt at all superficial. There have been kids who have come to talk to me after school. To ask me for advice about their papers. To tell me something exciting has happened, and I can't seem to get over the high of being a part of their potential energy, even if it is in a small way.
I started my unit on To Kill a Mockingbird this week. I think it's a little too big in my head at this point. We're only one chapter in, and I'm looking at what my mentor wants to do with the book, and what I would love to do with the book, and I'm having a hard time reconciling the two. She really likes having reading quizzes frequently, which, to be fair encourages accountability, but it makes for a lot of grading, and takes up important time in class when I feel like we could be doing COOL things. If students fail a reading quiz, they are handed a worksheet for the following chapter. More grading. More papers to keep track of, and at some level, I'm not sure how much they're going to help. Maybe that comes from not having run a novel yet, but it's making me nervous. Planning my first entire unit on top of having to come up with daily worksheets and reading quizzes, grading everything I hand out, and keeping track of those grades has worked me up right before I should be falling asleep more than once this week. (Suggestions welcome). Still, I'm excited to get kids excited about one of my favorite books in high school. I hope everyone is doing well and feeling light.
Sincerely,
Sam Sweigert
Friday, January 31, 2014
Dear Cohort,
Amongst the bedlam that I sometimes have to describe
my classroom as, I found a peaceful moment in my thoughts. I scanned the room in a focused delirium
taking conscious note of the idiosyncrasies about my students that define a
part of who they are. Marissa is sitting
with her knee up high (“partial fetal” she would say), Travis’ eyes glance from
you to the floor with a smirk he has plastered on his face all day—he has
hidden Connor’s books again somewhere around the room, Kyle grunts as he sees
the room set up for speeches, and Riley declares, “I love almond joys. I love to take out the almond and enjoy the
joy.” I’m paused in this moment of 28 different stimuli and realize my cheeks
hurt from smiling.
Today, we had a lockdown drill with my students as
sitting ducks in the back of my classroom. Lights off, blinds drawn, posters to
cover the window of our 8th grade Team Streaks pod. As I squatted in front of them and studied
their faces, telling a few to be silent, I heard Riley’s voice in my head
repeating: “I love almond joys! I love to take out the almond and...enjoy the
joy.” What a fresh perspective! Simple.
Innocent. Wholly original, and irrevocably Riley. How could I ever not fight for his education,
his safety, his ability to voice those kinds of thoughts to the other people
who could learn from his perspective as he continues to develop as his own person? Eleven reported school shooting since the
2014 year began and I think this can not be done to him—to any of my
students.
My goal for this semester is to provide my students
with opportunities to showcase their idiosyncrasies. In this sense, I am appreciative of the heavy
focus on differentiated instruction that we will be learning this
semester. Now that I am back in my
groove and teaching everyday (as opposed to last semester), I feel as if my
students are responding to me in new ways that are exciting as I get to see
them in even more complex lights. I am
constantly reminded of the enigmatic Hamlet—can we ever truly know a person
inside and out? Never and never and never. But there’s a beauty to that
uncertainty that I’ve come to appreciate more and more in my classroom.
Remember this; it’ll help you carry onward in teaching.
Sincerely,
Becca Fairchild
Linda's First Week
Dear Dr. Shea and
fellow student teachers,
This week (January
27- 31) I have been working on several
goals:
My first goal is
to learn all of the students’ names. I have a seating chart for each class,
including study halls, and these charts are helping me to learn student names.
My cooperating teacher, Jen Deibler, has assigned seats for all classes, so if
a student is absent it is very easy to confirm this. If a student is not
sitting in his/her assigned seat, I have the authority to ask him/her to sit in
the assigned seat.
My second goal is
to introduce myself to the other English teachers and learn their names. I noticed the first day student teaching that
the English teachers collaborate when planning lessons, quizzes, and tests, and
they freely share their ideas and paper work with each other. Jen Deibler asked me to bring a new flash
drive so that she could share all the lesson plans, etc. with me. This is an
example of the generosity and collaborative spirit manifested by the English
teachers here at Manheim Township High School.
My third goal is
to become part of the school community by meeting the other teachers,
administrators, and staff, attending any faculty meetings, and supporting the
students in my classes by attending their sports, music, theater, etc.
activities to show that I care about them.
I have attended the LGBT GSA meeting, the Performing Arts meeting, and
have attended some sports activities here at the school. I am at the school
from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm with Mrs. Deibler. I could easily be here for twelve
hours a day if I attend the after school activities.
In addition to
these three goals, I am also working on lesson plans for Lord of the Flies for
Honors English and Animal Farm for
College Prep English which I will begin teaching next week. I am currently
teaching Canto III of Dante’s Inferno
to the Honors English class and leading all of the classes’ discussions on the
daily writing prompts (writers’ notebook entries).
I am practicing
co-teaching with Jen Deibler and this is a wonderful way of providing
differentiated instruction for students with EIPs, as well as formative
assessments of student understanding, throughout the class period.
I am aware of the
necessity for organization and preparation, due to the short class periods, and
the energy of the students.
I have chosen my
student with IEP and my student receiving ELL services for our DI class’s case
studies, with Jen Deibler’s help. I am
hoping to complete that project early next week.
I have begun my
student case study for this class and am looking forward to sharing it with
you.
Best wishes,
Linda Carty
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Week 1!
So technically I'm into my second week, but I decided to wait to post until I had a little bit more to talk about. I've just started the 7th grade with their Giver unit, and so far, so good! It's really eye opening to see how crazy and spontaneous the real teaching world actually is...I really did think everything could be planned out, but I'm learning that the truth is the complete opposite. Maybe it's different in high school, but it is nearly impossible in a middle school to have an entire week planned out, let alone two days! Already I'm seeing a change in pace and feel like maybe some of the features in my unit plan can be tossed aside for something with better flow and transition. I'm only a few days in, but I'm looking forward to seeing how everything pans out. My mentor says that eventually the unit will take a life of its own and just...work out. Ideas and activities will come naturally, and the reactions of students will really drive the lessons. Maybe it's common knowledge, but I'm excited to see it with my own eyes in my own work.
Aaaaand the 8th grade research paper unit starts on Monday. Yikes. A lot of these kids are SUCH great writers, but hate it so much. I tried sitting down with a few students yesterday to help write their paragraphs for an in-class activity, and I had to pull teeth to get them to write down five sentences. They know how to do it, they just won't. Not sure if it's laziness or something with their past experiences, but I'm really worried about this unit. I don't want to be a bad teacher and end up responsible for enabling poor writing habits.
Aaaaand the 8th grade research paper unit starts on Monday. Yikes. A lot of these kids are SUCH great writers, but hate it so much. I tried sitting down with a few students yesterday to help write their paragraphs for an in-class activity, and I had to pull teeth to get them to write down five sentences. They know how to do it, they just won't. Not sure if it's laziness or something with their past experiences, but I'm really worried about this unit. I don't want to be a bad teacher and end up responsible for enabling poor writing habits.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
The Common Core and YOU!
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