Monday, February 14, 2011
First Impressions
WEEK 1: I ask, during your first days in "the field", that you take an observant look around you. From you position, as the student teacher, what do you relate to? Think of everything in the classroom environment as well as the school environment that speaks to you, either positively or negatively. Basically, I would like you to apply a critical eye to your experience. Please do not use this space to criticize your mentoring teacher or the school, instead use it to "unpack" your initial impressions of your location for the next ten weeks.
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During the first week of student teaching, I was really appreciative of the support that all the teachers in the school showed me. It is a small school, so I enjoy the fact that the teachers know each other really well. It makes the teacher's lounge a lot more fun to be in. The teachers make sure they try and foster not only their own student teachers, but also everyone else's.
ReplyDeleteThe entire school's attitude towards learning has also really impressed me. During the first week, we have already had a meeting about how to help students have better experiences in school. The school has won two grants in the past two years and is currently working on another grant proposal. I know that every school tries to better learning experiences, but this school seems to be very proactive about seeking out the ways to make school better.
There are also some classes that I have come to love. My second hour sophomore students are always ready to complete all of the tasks that I assign them and they are always polite. I also really like my sixth hour freshmen class, even though other teachers have branded them as "trouble students." I don't see these students as trouble, just as students that are very honest and often just want someone to listen to them.
But others' attitude towards these sixth hour students has been one of the negative aspects of my experience. Many teachers ask me if "I survived" sixth period and openly call the students "jerks," which I think sends a very bad message to these students. The way that teachers deal with these students is by sending them to detention, which I don’t think really helps them since they fall behind every time that they have to leave class. But I also understand that one student can hinder the entire class's ability to learn, so I understand why they feel like they need to send disruptive students out of the class.
I have worked at my school as a substitute teacher so it makes the transition to student teacher easier. I was already familiar with the enviornment of the school. The one thing that did strike me is how different the teachers are with the student teachers as opposed to the substitutes.
ReplyDeleteI found that when I was substitute they were polite but not overly helpful. Now that I am a student teacher there are many that offer whatever help they can. I understand this is because they see me as someone that is going to be a colleague soon but I am still the same person and could have used helped before.
I am used to the small town feel of the school because my children attend another school not far away but the difference in the enviornment of the schools is miles apart. I thought that because the schools are so close in geography and the communities are so similar that the schools would be similar but they are so different. The students at my school are much more serious than those at my children's school.
I have truly enjoyed my first days in “the field.” Experience is the greatest teacher and I am learning so much not only about high school students but about rual American culture. My teacher wants to create a petting zoo for a multicultural project we are doing. She put an announcement out in class asking who could bring an Alpaca, a llama, sheep, chickens, excreta. That is something I never expected to hear much less the enthusiastic response from student who did own the asked-for-animals. The fellow teachers in the English department seem very nice and I have no problem going over to their classroom to ask for help and or ideas. It is nice to see how each personality of an English teacher plays out through the decorations and design of their classroom. I am getting lots of ideas for how I will set up my room and the type of items I will incorporate. These are the many positives.
ReplyDeleteThe only negatives are not directly related to the school but to the American education system as an institution. I do not like how if the teacher fails a student because they did not do the work it’s the teacher’s fault. I think this is erroneous and ludicrous thinking. It delays maturity in our youth and inflates grades. I was talking to several teachers about this nonsense and learned that a teacher from Germany failed a class because they earned and yet she was asked not to come back to the school the following year. I do not want to get fired because I have standards and ethics that I won’t compromise. I don’t give grades, a student earns them and I have no problem giving a student a zero if they didn’t do the work. It’s called ramifications and reality. I believe it is a disservice to our students and one of the reasons for the continuous decline in standardized testing. That’s just my theory. I would welcome any one’s thoughts. Thank you.
This is a difficult post for me because I have been working with my school all year. I have been observing and have been a part of my mentor's classroom since August. So my thoughts will not necessarily be my first impressions but the observations I have made over the past few months.
ReplyDeleteMy mentor teacher and I have been getting to know one another pretty well over the past few months. In some ways this is good, and in some ways it makes things more challenging. I have become a bit intimidated by the way my mentor teacher runs his classroom. I know the students adore and love him, but I am nervous about taking over because my teaching style is very different than my mentor teacher's style and I do not know how the students will respond to it.
I have met the students for the three classes I will be teaching. I will be teaching two classes of World Literature and one class of Language Arts Lab. The students are great and I am very excited about getting to know them better. Some challenges I will have are class sizes (one of my classes has 31 students) and just relating to my students' interests. The Language Lab class is made up of 9 boys. When I asked the boys their interests or their favorite things to do, most of them had to explain in detail what they meant. I did not understand the slang terms they were using to describe the activities they enjoy. So I just keep asking questions, they like to talk about themselves and their interests so it is a good way to get to know them better.
I have the same frustration with the "American Education System" as Kendra. The students are being stripped of their freedom to 'fail'. It is the teacher's job to do whatever it takes to get the students to pass, regardless if the student deserves to pass or not. I find that students do not care or do not try because they know they do not have too. With "No Child Left Behind" students are being passed without the knowledge and the tools to succeed at higher grade levels or in the real world. We are setting our students up for failure in the future by giving them the grade to pass the class when they do not deserve it.
I really am enjoying my experiences thus far. The school is beautiful and the staff has been nothing but welcoming. I truly think that both the students and the teachers are excited for me to be there - the students because I am a lot closer to their age than all of the other teachers and the staff because they keep telling me that I have a fresh eye and lots of great ideas.
ReplyDeleteSo far I think I really think that my relationship with the students and my cooperating teacher has been the most rewarding experience so far. The students like to joke around with me, but they are so excited for me to be there that I find them monitoring themselves. I think that the activities that I have planned so far have been enjoyable for them and I have gotten great feedback from both them and my cooperating teacher. My cooperating teacher is the sweetest woman on the planet. She treats each one of these kids like they were her own. Although I don't think that's the kind of teacher I am going to be, I can tell that the students really appreciate her.
The thing that I can't really relate to at this school so far is the involvement from the faculty and staff outside of the contract hours. I am by far the youngest teacher in the building and obviously do not have the commitment of kids and a family to come home to. I was, however, surprised at the reaction that I got from the athletic director when I volunteered to come in tomorrow to help him work the wrestling meet. Because so many of the teachers have children they have other obligations and he said that it is rare for the students to see their teachers at extracurricular events. I am hoping to show my students by attending the meet that I am concerned for them outside of the classroom as well as inside the classroom and I am hoping that they appreciate that.
Everyone that I met so far has been nothing but wonderful and I am so excited to see others excited about my being there. I really want to push myself in these next 10 weeks to see what I'm really made of in the teaching world.
My first week of Student Teaching may be different than other experiences people had this week. My mentor teacher was out of the classroom on Thursday and Friday. Instead of having me observe the substitute; he suggested I observe other teachers. That way I could observe 8th graders in their other subjects as well as the 7th grade English teacher. I was able to relate to the 7th grade English teacher’s discipline practices, because I think the discipline style she has adapted is something I can benefit from. She allows the students to talk, but if it begins to get out of control she says something like, “If you do not finish this assignment then it’s homework, and that’s your fault.” I do not see myself as a strict teacher and feel like I would be able to adapt a discipline style that is more matter of fact than strict.
ReplyDeleteThe teachers and principal have been extremely welcoming during my first week. The principle plays an active role in the school and has the teachers do professional development days at least 3 days a week. During these days all of the 8th grade teachers meet along with the 8th grade resource teacher. I have found this beneficial because it allows me to interact with other teachers in other subject areas. However, a negative aspect to these meetings are often the topics that are discussed. Many times the educational issues at the state level have been brought up during the meetings. I have been encouraged to be “Switzerland” during these conversations but they often become awkward when I do not respond, because I feel like some of the other teachers are expecting me to discuss the issue. The meetings often go off topic, but for the most part have been beneficial for me in becoming acquainted with the school and the teachers.
All in all, I am enjoying all of my classes. I taught all of the classes on Tuesday and Wednesday. The students respect their teachers at this school and genuinely are all good students, in the fact that they do not have major discipline problems. The main problems I had were actually with the Accelerated class. This class talked non-stop. I tried raising my voice to them, but unfortunately they did not quite down until my mentor teacher said something.
I continue looking forward to interacting with teachers and students, and my growth as a future teacher.
My first week of student teaching has gone really well, and my classes and cooperating teachers are awesome! Overall though, I think part of this has to do with the fact that I spent so much time there before my practicum started. My first observation of each class was still filled with our students being awkward/disruptive, and not really knowing how to act around me (and ask really awkward questions). I thought it was funny though that on Thursday my cooperating teacher and I were standing in the hall for hall duty and a student three lockers down goes to his friend "hey isn't that the student teacher kid from Purdue, I heard he's really cool and has good comebacks". I'm guessing that's because the first day a student was giving me a hard time about Purdue vs. IU, but we still thought it was interesting how fast news like that travels. Within my class I have also started to learn names and get to know some students on a closer level (ie. family life, if they want to go to college), and this is a really great aspect for me. As well, I am allowed a lot of freedom for projects, and although I need to follow general guidelines she is letting me try new things, and if they work, great, and if not, only her and I will know. Having an open atmosphere like that is productive as well because I feel open to ask her if I am grading is in line with hers, or if my lesson is too short, long, or without flow.
ReplyDeleteSomething else that really shocked me this week was how fast the school (students/teachers/administrators) made me feel like I was an important part of student success. With a smaller school I really started to realize how close everyone is, and how that can benefit students, and hinder them in the same way. Something Taylor, Ms. Brazel and I talked about during her visitation was the fact that every student automatically assumes I am going to finish school and then teach for the rest of my life. It was really interesting for me to explain the idea of graduate school and just show them that there are a ton of possibilities out there. Plus, on a lighter note, it's nice that students were disappointed that I won't be at school on Monday due to an interview.
A final point to reflect on would be the overall environment between instructors and administrators. From my understanding, the principal was not a teacher before, and decisions made reflect that. Ultimately, seeing situations like this really helped me understand the importance of procedure when becoming an administrator, and how that can effect students and teachers alike!
I cannot wait to come back to school on Wednesday and teach some of my first solo lessons.