Day 20 - Closure

My last day has come.  I am both excited and sad.  The excitement stems from the fact that I love completing things, and student teaching was my last class.  Plus, it is exciting because I can now go on my spring break and hang out with my nephews, who have taught me so much about language development.  (Anyone thinking about taking a class about language acquisition, you need to have a 2 or 3 year in your life as a real life subject).

Anyways, I am also a little bit sad.  This has been a really good experience.  I have learned a lot, mainly because of my cooperating teacher who has been great.  But it is also sad that I won't get to see things to their completion.  As I leave, the classes that I have focused on are both in the middle of the unit.  I hate that I won't get to see the units all of the way to completion.  I am just such a big fan of closure and fresh starts.  It is really weird for me to leave in the middle - especially as one of the units I am in the middle of teaching was the unit I spent so much time working on in my ESL training and I will probably never finish the other unit that I have been working on.  But it is time for me to move on, so I must go.

Day 19 - ESL Population Diversity

One thing that I have been thinking a lot about is different ESL populations and how it can really change the dynamics of your classroom.  I have taught the same lessons to a population of ESL students all with DPI Levels of 2s and 3s and to a general classroom with a few students with DPI levels of 3-5.  I am amazed at how much better in some ways that the ESL students are doing with the material. It makes me realize that my current teaching experience where the students come from a predominately Spanish background is so different than my experience where I taught students with a Hmong background.  It has just been interesting to realize that the differences of language and culture can really make a difference. 

I am really grateful for having a chance to work with a different ESL population.  I feel like it is making me a better teacher.  It has definitely broadened my experience and made it more realistic to American demographics.

Day 18 - Change

Today marked a beginning of a new term.  The last few days and today have been half days for exams and the start of the new term.  I don't know how I am going to go back to not only regular days, but days where minutes have been added to the schedule. 

Besides complaining and dreading tomorrow, what the above is really making me realize is how easy you can get used to something new.  However, you can really struggle with change.  Today, a student that I have worked with a lot is having an aide accompany him in hopes of helping.  It was really interesting to see how he hated the change that was meant to support him.  I mean he completely acted differently with this aide as he reacted to the change.  It just makes me realize how hard it is for some students to cope with change and how different personalities can be at odds, hurting one's education. 

Day 17 - Exams

Today I was helping a student on his history exam.  Part of my time here has been focusing on this one student as he learns about U.S. History.  We have spent a lot of time reviewing, trying to figure out historical thinking skills, and understanding new terminology.

The great news is that he got an A on the exam!  With this grade, and moving his grade from the teens into the sixties, it also means that he will pass for the term.  It is nice to get these little bits of good news.

Day 16 - Senioritis

Today was the first day of exams.  It was very interesting when one of the other teachers mentioned that the seniors have already checked out - one asked as he walked in if they had exams today.  It just made me remember that even though this is my last week, I want to stay engaged and finish well.

On another note, the Booster Club gave us a lunch today in the cafeteria (Side note: I think I understand why students sometimes don't know about the rest of the world - this was my first time venturing out of the few wings I have come to know).  It was really sweet to hear how appreciated the staff was.  Coming from small schools, it was also amazing to see how big of a staff there was.

Day 15 - Time Management

One thing I would love to impart to all of my students is using time wisely.  It is so frustrating when I give them time to work on a project and they squander it.  Plus, it is frustrating when a simple task becomes difficult because they haven't being doing their work all along.

As a teacher, I wonder how I can instill time management to students.  How do you teach them to keep in  mind long term goals when they are so overwhelmed by the daily tasks?  How do you help them see the forest and the trees?

Day 14 - Vision

I went out walking today; it was finally sunny.  On one way of the trip I was able to look around and see my surroundings, to see what was up ahead.  On the way back, the sun was in my eyes, so I had to look down so I didn't squint for the whole walk home.

As I was looking down, I realize how fixated I was on the area right in front of me in order to avoid looking up.  It made me think about students and how sometimes they seem so overwhelmed by the new language that they can only looking right in front of them, making it hard for them to see the big picture.  As a teacher, I have always struggled with trying to impart to my students the bigger picture and the immediate picture.  I wonder how to instill both.

Day 13 - Cultural Perspective

Today we were talking about social protest before beginning the play A Raisin in the Sun.  One of the examples I had used in the past was Tienanmen Square.  Since I have a student from China, I asked her if she could share anything.  I wasn't expecting her to say: "Oh, that is when people in my country were protesting for more rights and the government oppressed them."  But I was expecting her to be able to say something.  Even something about the location or what is surrounding it.

After I gave a brief synopsis, I heard her say something about how that was when a bad man lit himself on fire.  I don't know the all the particulars, but I just realized how much culture can play a role in how you see things.  I saw oppression and she saw a shameful act.

Day 12 - That Time of Year

I think it is getting to be that time of year.  Weather wise it could be 60 degrees and sunny or 35 and rainy.  Everyone is in need of a break, which is further complicated by the fact that exams are next week, making this week an important week for grades. Plus, the addition of 20 minutes to the school schedule has definitely made each day last longer.

It is hard not to get frustrated, especially when students come to class without anything read.  Today, only 20% of the students had read, making the discussion starters and activities I had planned really worthless.  As a result, the discussion starters and the writing activity went out the rain splattered window and we read for almost the whole block - either individually or as small groups.  I know it is tedious to read for so long, but I realize that the students are really feeling overwhelmed with all of the things they have going on this week and reading together took one of the things off their list.  Plus, they need to be ready for their quiz on Thursday.

As a teacher, it is always been a difficult task about how to assess reading.  You don't want to give a quiz everyday, but some students won't read if you don't.  You want students to do well in your class, but you also want them to learn to take responsibility, which means doing reading homework.  Finally, I just really want our review game to go well tomorrow, and it won't if they haven't been reading like they are supposed to.  I want their grades to reflect their efforts and abilities, making grading sometimes really hard to navigate.  Maybe the three half days can be invigorating for students and teachers alike for the push until spring break.

Day 11 - I Want to Keep the Book!

Today I continued working with the student from Day 10.  At the end of the block we had made the explanations for all of the pictures we found on Day 10.  I cannot wait for us to put the finishing touches on it tomorrow - putting the pictures and explanations into the blank book.  I hope he is as proud of it as I am; I wish I could keep it as a memory of this time.  He did a really good job.  I am impressed at how well we worked together today and how much he remembered about the Holocaust from the movies, books, and introduction.

On a side note, we now have longer days due to all the previous protest days.  I know having longer days is worth not having to extend the school calendar, but the blocks seem so very long now.  I guess if they seem long to me, they must be agonizing to students.  Just something I will have to keep in mind as I plan lessons - keep it lively or lose them.

Day 10 - Exhausting Brilliance

Some days I just feel exhausted; today was one of those days -  maybe it was because today was a Friday.

I actually think it is that dealing with students is just draining.  The last block was spent entirely working with a special needs student on his project.  The good news is that I have developed a good rapport with the student.  We spent the whole hour looking for pictures of the Holocaust, an emotionally draining topic in itself.

By the end of the block we had printed off a lot of pictures for his book on the Holocaust.  The block might have been draining, but with all that we got done, there was a general sense of accomplishment making a formerly frustrating and overwhelming project seem feasible.  There was even a game plan for Monday's work time.

I guess that is why I remain in education; even though teaching is exhausting and emotionally draining, there are those moments of accomplishment and days when you see student growth that are absolutely brilliant.

Day 9 - Block Schedule

There is a lot of debate and teacher feelings regarding the block schedule.  One of the things that I really like about the block schedule is some of the activities you can do with students.  Yesterday and today we took some of the time for students to draw and explain the settings of the book we are currently reading.  It was good to see the students able to actually represent what the places should look like.  I think it gave the students a lot better understanding of the book we are reading.  It took a lot of time - time that I don't think would have been given in a regular schedule.

One of the things I dislike about block schedules is the sheer amount of time.  In order to keep students engaged and from getting bored, you have to have multiple activities for each block.  This is great, but sometimes, the class seems to be really disjointed.  I think it is sometimes difficult to have the transitions not only occur in a timely manner, but also in a way that it is really a transition instead of starting something completely new.  Making smooth transitions, I guess, is something I can be thinking about as I continue to student teach in a block schedule.

Day 8 - Jumping In

Today was a day of meetings.  Don't get me wrong, I really don't enjoy meetings, but I decided to try and experience as much as possible this month in the realm of the world of education.  I didn't need to go to any of the meetings, which made me not feel so bad about ditching the last one.

The first meeting was an IEP.  Due to the size of my past schools, I had never really gotten a chance to experience an IEP.  It was a very interesting learning experience.  It makes me feel like it is one more aspect of the educational experience that I understand better.  It makes me feel like I could go to future IEPs with less trepidation.

The second meeting was regarding literacy.  It was so interesting.  The person running the meeting goes a mile a minute and had so much to share and give.  It really made me wonder about how my ELLs used to complain about my speed of conversation.  I know my dad often gives up even trying to follow some of the conversations I have with my mom (because of how quickly we jump topics and don't finish thoughts because the other has picked up on what we are saying).

The final meeting was going to be the Latino Parent Meeting.  I had never thought about what language the meeting would be in, a really stupid thing to fail to consider.  Anyway, the IEP today was translated into Spanish, and although I was amazed at how many words I recognized (from my four years of Spanish in high school), my brain didn't really have it in me to go to a meeting in a foreign language that wouldn't be translated.  Again, I understand why students sometimes can feel language overload.

Day 7 - Evaluation

Today I had my first evaluation.  It is always interesting to get another person's perspective on your lessons, especially someone not as closely related to the situation and the students.  In a lot of ways, their assessment has less bias, and they look at the whole situation with a new set of eyes.

I really enjoyed getting a new perspective on my lesson.  It was also helpful to share what I was thinking and reflecting on and get immediate feedback.

Regarding the actual lesson, as I was looking through their timed writing assignments I realized I should have explained the question better.  I asked students: What are the Hunger Games?  Would you like to participate in the Hunger Games?  I should have clarified and told students that I wanted them to talk about the actual games, and not about the book, The Hunger Games.  I realize now that this was an example where I needed to be more specific and explain the directions better.  It is also an instance where having English as your second language makes it easier to miss the question because you miss nuances like italics and subject/verb agreement.

Day 6 - Torn Between Two Worlds

This month finds me staying in Madison during the week and going to the suburbs of Milwaukee for the weekend.  I find myself torn between home and where I am.  It is an interesting dilemma.  It makes me wonder if students feel the same dilemma between their first language and their second language.  Does one seem like home while the other is just where they are at for the moment? 

In order to embrace Madison I am trying to explore it and engage it bit by bit.  Madison is so different from where I am from, so I am trying to find ways to learn about this community.  A school system reflects its community, and in order to understand my students, I need to understand more about Madison.  

Day Five - Experience

Wow, what a crazy week it has been.  My head is reeling from all of the things that I have been learning.  Sometimes I think that there are just way too many ideas and questions bouncing around in my head.

This morning my cooperating teacher and I sat down to plan the next week.  It was so helpful to get a chance to hash out details.  So far it has been a challenging experience, but I have gotten a chance to learn about one topic that wasn't really clear in my classes until I experienced it: co-teaching.

Collaboration is a buzz word in education right now, with its companion co-teaching.  I always really struggled to understand what collaboration would really look like until this experience.  We are planning together, she is treating me as an equal, we are both teaching different aspects.  It has just really opened my eyes to the benefits of co-teaching.

On another note about experience, this morning we were talking about mentors in one's life following a journal activity.  Students shared and a lot of information about their lives and stories came to the surface.  In ESL classes I feel like their stories are so important, largely because many of them are literally coming from somewhere else.  In the busyness of teaching, I need to forever remember that I am teaching individuals with their own story.

Day Four - Bias

Madison is an interesting place to be now given all of the hubbub surrounding the new budget battle.  The schools of Madison are even more interesting given the impact the new budget will have on teachers.

Today, I sat in on a history class, and the issue came up as part of an extra credit assignment.  I have been amazed at how one-sided the presentations and discussions have been about the issue.  It actually pains me to know that students don't seem to be learning about both sides of the issue, only one side.

As an educator, I firmly believe that I need to present a balanced view on events.  I may have my opinion on a situation, but it is more important to instill in students the ability to think critically, so that they can make informed decisions of their own.  I need to make sure that my opinions are presented as opinions.      2 + 2 = 4, but in English and History classes there are less clear answers, just like answers in life aren't always simplistic.

Day Three - Meetings

The high school where I am student teaching has a shortened schedule on some Wednesdays in order to have time for teachers to come together.  The time is used for presentations on ELL abilities, planning instruction, department meetings, and so forth.

Today I went to the English Department meeting.  Up until this point, I have been in very small schools, the department meetings - if we even had them - would include both middle school and high school teachers.  It was interesting to see how the teachers were grappling with things like scope and sequence, WKCE, implementing best practices, and evaluating new strategies; I guess no matter the size of the schools, there are some issues that are universal.

Leaving the meeting, I was just amazed at how many different perspectives there are on how to teach and how diverse opinions can be given education, age, and training.  I had always assumed that teaching in a small school had given me incredible freedom to chose what I wanted to teach, but I realized that the teachers in this big school also had a lot of freedom.  It made me rethink some previously held notions about school size, department meetings, best practices, and teaching styles.

Day Two - Missing the Point - No! Moderation - Yes!

Over the years I have given up various things for Lent.  Some years have been easy, and some have been hard (like when I gave up chocolate).  This year for Lent I was considering giving up all reading that wasn't school-related.  

Now for anyone who knows me, this is a radical idea.  Reading at times has been the same to me as breathing, it has been a wonderful way to explore my world, learn about myself, and escape.  My love of literature is why I chose the profession I did.  

Giving up reading was going to serve a very practical purpose; I would need all of my time to focus on student teaching and couldn't spend hours reading the next book in my list (Ironically: one of the books I am reading for student teaching is part of a trilogy, and I loved the first installment).  However, I quickly realized that my abstaining from reading was missing the point if I was doing it for practical rather than spiritual reasons (besides the rapidly expanding list of exceptions I was beginning to develop).  

How does this all relate to teaching?  I don't want to miss the point of this experience because I am so focused on the details, rules, and planning.  This is a time for me to learn, and just like I need to moderate my time spent reading for pleasure, I need to learn to moderate between planning and reflecting, between the plan and teachable moments.  

So, this Lent I am not going to give up reading just to give something up; and, hopefully, I will gain more than adding to the list of books I have read.

Day One - Thrown Right Into the Mix

Today I worked with one student in particular during the history lesson.  It was nice to get a chance to work one-on-one with a student to encourage understanding of WWI, especially since I haven't taught WWI to a history class ever!!!

It was interesting to try and get a gauge on his understanding.  He has been in the class for over four weeks now, but didn't seem able to explain the note-taking system.  Was it because he doesn't understand it, or he was reticent to explain?  I guess I will get a better understanding tomorrow when I see his notes; plus, I will probably talk to the teacher to see how he has done on notes in the past.

The thing that I keep on thinking about was how I feel like I have suddenly been thrown into a totally unfamiliar situation and how lost I feel in the situation; but, I am educated and somewhat confident. What must it be like for new arrivals to the States who all of a sudden find themselves in a totally new environment?  I guess for all the unsettled feelings I've been having about what student teaching will be like, my future students will have the same feelings about their studies, but unlike me, they will have a whole lot less control of the situation.

Visit to My Immediate Future

Today I took the opportunity to visit the teacher and school where I will be student teaching.  This experience will be something different than I have ever experienced before - and although there are some ambivalent feelings, I find myself looking for to it.  I leave with Night, Elly: My True Story of the Holocaust, and The Hunger Games for reading materials.

For the next month (starting Monday) I will be student teaching in Madison.  I will be working with one  teacher who teaches Intermediate ESL and Advanced ESL and another teacher who teaches U.S. History with ELLs (English Language Learners) mainstreamed.

Why?

I begin student teaching in about a week; as I embark on this, I have decided to focus especially on reflecting about my experience and my lessons.  I want to really take time to reflect and respond to my four weeks of student teacher in order to become a better teacher.