First off, I know I skipped my quick Wednesday mid-week update... it's been a busy week! I was very busy teaching my original unit to my students.
One of my university requirements is that I write my own unit for any subject and teach it to my kids. WOW, I have learned a lot about how extensive the planning, copying, gathering of materials, time management, etc can be.... But what I have realized is that the reality is that once I make these materials once, I have them forever! And let me tell you.. the effort has been SO worth it. My lessons have clearly been engaging and interesting to my students. Once I wrap up the unit, I'll share all the details with you. :) Long story short for now.... it's a science unit about outer space... how cool?!
Any way... the student quote title this week was, "Ms. Brailov, how do you know everything about everything?"
**This was said after I taught a lesson about the Earth's orbits and rotations and how we have day and night and seasons***
A student actually said this to me! Well, I need to admit I did feel really cool and honored that this student thought I knew "everything about everything"... I think my response shocked him even more than the thought that I might be a genius.
I simply said, "I actually don't know everything about everything... believe or not... I have been learning most of this stuff with you guys! I spend a little time every night learning about want I want you to learn about and figuring out how I can teach it to you."
This student stood there with a blank stare and finally said, "Is a teacher the smartest job in the world?"
HAHA! Well in my opinion.... yes.... ;)... kidding! No, I don't think the smartest people in the world are teachers but I do think the people who are truly life long learners are teachers. To me, being a life longer learner is so much more valuable than being 'smart'.
Life longer learners is basically a catch phrase the College of Education liked to throw at us often. It did not have too much meaning to me until I started student teaching. I've recently found myself spending long nights learning about star constellations or the history of communities in the United States or how a prosthetic leg is made. I have thoroughly enjoyed doing this!
I never remember loving school but I always remember loving to learn. I'm someone who can think of a question and then can read up on information about it for hours and lose track of time. Trust me, I can tell you almost everything and anything there is to know about Ebola. Some people might think that is a harsh example.. but really. It's a current event affecting our world and I want to know about it. I've spent hours lost in news articles, videos, and tweets learning about Ebola.
I don't just do this with current events. Sometimes I'm just curious! One time I spent hours learning about the tentacles on a octopus. I was curious and had to learn about it!
Basically, I feel so lucky to be going into a profession where I can continue my passion for learning. Everyday, I learn something! I really do. I don't care if my students are in second grade... I can still learn plenty from teaching their classes.
Sometimes I find myself getting lost in lesson planning because I start learning so much about a topic.
It's a cool feeling to know that you're educating yourself while educating others.
The beauty of teaching is that you are not expected to know all the answers. In my opinion, I'm expected to instill the idea of wanting to learn in my students.... not always having all the answers.
While teaching a science lesson last week a student asked me a question about how the Earth's rotation began. I honestly didn't know the answer. I didn't feel embarrassed one bit! I simply explained that I don't know the answer but that it is a great question and I would love to get back to him tomorrow about it! He was perfectly okay with this response.
Here is the best part...
The next day he handed me a piece of paper he printed out from the NASA website about how the Earth started rotating. HOW COOL? My student went home... wanting to keep learning about something we talked about in class.
That's AMAZING! That's what I want to see from my students. I want to spark the desire to keep learning in all of them. For all I know... I just sparked an interest in a future astronomer. That's a pretty great feeling to have.
I don't care if my students know all the answers. I don't expect them to. We are human and we do not know everything.
But what I do want...
I want them to question things. I don't want them to be satisfied on only the information I give them in class. I want them to be curious and want to know more. I want them to take those extra steps on their own and further their own learning. I want us all to learn together. That's what I want my future classroom to be about.
I want us all to be life long learners. No more throwing around that catch phrase, now I mean it.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Sunday, October 5, 2014
*I handed a student a very large piece of paper for a group project* "I can't hold that! I need a man!"
A light and funny topic this week!
I feel like I don't talk enough about how much I truly love and appreciate every single one of my 19 second graders. They each have contributed so much to my experience as a student teacher. They will never understand how much they have taught me.
On my worst days, earliest mornings, rainy days, feeling sick days, don't know what to pack for lunch days, did I already wear that shirt this week days, and days I simply would rather stay in bed than go to school... once I get into my car and turn on my iPod and start driving.. suddenly I feel alright.
Once I step into the classroom and sit down at my desk and think about what I am teaching today, I feel really good. I slowly wait for the clock to reach 8:30 and then I know the students will be here any minute now. This is usually when I close my eyes for a few seconds and take in the quiet.
Finally at 8:35 I see the smiling faces of my students turn the corner to our classroom. Every morning they come in so happy, excited, energetic, and curious!
Everyday is really a new day at school. Once they step into the classroom, I forget about everything I am frustrated with and everything that went wrong yesterday. Getting hugs and smiling faces don't make it easy to hold grudges for too long!
Now let me tell you a little bit about all 19 of these incredible boys and girls...
1. This boy has really good days and really bad days. It isn't because he is academically behind, it's because sometimes he isn't able to focus very well. I really enjoy working this boy because when he does succeed I always make a big deal about it to him. Then he always gets this subtle grin like he always knew he could do it. :)
2. This boy is totally the class clown! He is usually trying to catch my eye and make me laugh or smile. (He succeeds at it way too much). My favorite memory of this kid... one time he wore a tye-dye shirt to school and told me there was something really awesome about this shirt. I asked him what it was. He said, "there is no tag in it so there is no front or back!" During the day I saw him put his arms in his shirt and switch it around about forty times!
3. This girl is probably one of the best student writers! She is so creative and whenever I read her stories I feel like I am listening to her talk. She is constantly attentive and eager to put her thoughts into words. I always try and make sure to let her know that writing is a huge strength for her and that she should always be proud of her work. She is so much smarter than she knows!
4. This boy... well he was the first student to learn my name. I should have taken that as a hint into my future with this boy. He gives me hugs every morning and every afternoon. He always wants to hold my hand if we are walking to a special or to recess. When the kids come back from lunch he always pokes his head in and says hi to me. You would think he loves me! But once I am alone in the classroom teaching, he seems to give me the hardest time in terms of classroom management. I think he thinks he can get away with it since we have such a good relationship, but I don't let him! He is clearly a people pleaser.
5. This girl ALWAYS makes me laugh. She is probably the tiniest one in the class. Every morning she struggles to take her chair off of her desk. She always looks at me while she is attempting to pick the chair off the ground and smiles. I always help her! When she has something to contribute to class she raises her hand and makes noises and gets really wide eyed to show how eager she is until we call on her. What a goof! Once I saw her tip toeing around the classroom... she was doing it to pretend she was wearing high heels because "her mom wouldn't let her wear them." Oh, she also said the quote of todays blog title. :)
6. This girl is another huge goof. She loves to come up to me and start ranting on some silly story. One time it was that her cat found a wig and wore it around the house... the other time it was that she once took one bite of one hundred separate apples... once it was that she is the hugging queen of the school. I'm not always sure how true her stories are... ;) but I love listening to them! Mostly because she is laughing so hard and trying to catch her breathe through the whole thing.
7. This student is one of the more quiet ones in class. But I can always catch her talking to another student during class! She is very sweet and friendly with all of the students in class. I haven't had many one-on-one conversations with her. Last week she was a line leader and as we were walking back to class she told me she hopes I teach 3rd grade so she could be in my class. She also often asks me why I need to leave in December. Well, that's enough approval for me!
8. This is a quiet yet very sassy student. She is SO quiet while we are teaching but once we stop she loves to question me about why we are doing something or how come we can't be doing something else. But she is so sweet in the way she says it that I can't even get mad that she is asking! This girl is also one of the most patient students I have ever seen. She could work with anyone in class and be happy to be working with them no matter what ability level they are at. Last week she was in a group for a social studies project and she was giggling and joking around the whole time! It was so nice to see that from her.
9. This one is our little spacey yet very imaginative student. She might not pay attention very well but she is wildly creative! Her stories are unbelievable in a great way. She is also a very strong reader and constantly calls herself a "huuuuuuge book worm". She truly is one who can actually get lost in a book! I bet she will be a future fantasy book writer. I'll be able to say I taught her 2nd grade class and knew it when she was 7. :) Oh and the other week she told me she really liked my glasses which actually made me feel really good because I always feel a little odd when I wear them!
10. Here comes another goofy one... this girl always asks "if I am getting fired". Every time my advisor comes in she jokes that she will make my lesson terrible in order to "get me fired". Throughout the day I can always catch her giving me the "I'm watching you" hand signal. I usual grin and give it right back at her. I love that I can joke around with her in this way! Her new joke is that she is trying to track down my house to see where I live... oh gosh. The benefits of living in the same town as your students!
11. This boy is very quiet but also very sneaky. He comes off as very quiet and hardworking but more than often times he is the one I keep confiscating pencils from because he keeps throwing them to other students or playing games with them on his desk! He also likes to come up to me and say "I'm booooreedddd" or "I already read all my books!". I usually respond with, "Oh really? You read all these books faster than I can! How about we send you to 5th grade for reading time?" He usually turns bright red and walks back to his desk. Nice try, kid!
12. This girl has the BEST attitude of any student. Seriously. She is not very strong academically due to many reasons out of her control but she will do everything with a smile on her face. You wouldn't even know she is struggling. She makes me so happy to be doing what I am doing. I don't think she realizes how much of a role model she can be to other students. I love when she participates in class because she always does it with such enthusiasm! She always makes my day, especially with her great smile.
13. Funny story about this little boy... I knew him when he was 3 years old! He attended the preschool at the high school which is where I took child development. It is so crazy how now I am student teaching in his 2nd grade class! Wow! And I totally remember him! Also, this boy always grabs my arm and feels his hand down my sleeve while asking me a question. Finally I asked him what he is doing, he said my shirts are always so soft so he needs to do it! Oh 7 year olds... so honest!
14. This girls makes me feel like I CAN be a teacher. Often times while I am teaching, I feel like I'm not really getting the point across... even though I am, my students just don't always show it. During my lessons she is always participating and showing me she is listening to me and learning. I know other students are too! But she actively shows it while I am in front of the class. She just makes me feel like I am a good teacher. She even told me that I made her love writing and realize how good she is at it. :) Yesssss!
15. This girl is on a mission to "learn my real name" as she likes to say.... I learned my "real name" is my first name! Apparently Ms. Brailov isn't a real name. This student is in many of my small groups and is so thoughtful in the way she participates. I always enjoy listening to her ideas because she is always demonstrating true learning. I've already seen her already make so much progress this year. I cannot wait to see how much she changes as a student. Now if she would just stop being so chatty in class..... :)
16. This boy is from Texas! You wouldn't even know he is new to this school this year because of how friendly he is. He so quickly learned everyones names and made friends. Every time he is paired with someone for an activity, he turns to them and smiles and waves. It always melts my heart! His smile really does light up the room. He is also so genuine to everyone in the school. 2nd graders have such good hearts. I hope he stays that way.
17. This girl! She is very quiet and doesn't not enjoying particiapting. If I ever call on her and ask her to give me an answer she usually smiles at me and laughs and says, "I don't know!" You can't help but smile back at her! She is so good hearted and is often complimenting other students in class when they do a good job. Last week I saw her turn around and give a high-five to a boy who met his goal on his math fact fluency test. What a sweet heart!
18. This boy works so hard! He is so good at focusing on a task and taking his time to get it done. He never feels the need to rush. I try to give him a lot of positive reinforcement because I know he doesn't think very highly of himself. Whenever I do, he smiles at me and says thank-you! He is also always trying to be friends with everyone and help students who don't have many friends have more friends. I've witnessed him inviting other students to play with him and his friends at recess. What a good kid!
19. This little boy truly has the wisdom of a 100 year old man. He often will stop me at random points in my day and say something like "some people just have hard lives" or "nobody can really be perfect". He is so smart, curious, and genuinely loves to learn. If I ever need to stop a lesson to work some classroom management, he is usually the one looking at me saying, "I'm not misbehaving, am I?" while giving me a wide grin! Oh and this kid will only wear his shirt backwards. He is well aware it is backwards too! He just likes it that way.
There you have it! 19 truly unique and amazing individuals. I am so lucky to be apart of their 2nd grade classroom. I can't believe I only have about 7 weeks left really teaching and being them. Time really does fly... and I can tell December will not be a fun month! :( I won't want to leave.
Back to school tomorrow! I cannot wait for a fresh start to a new week!
I feel like I don't talk enough about how much I truly love and appreciate every single one of my 19 second graders. They each have contributed so much to my experience as a student teacher. They will never understand how much they have taught me.
On my worst days, earliest mornings, rainy days, feeling sick days, don't know what to pack for lunch days, did I already wear that shirt this week days, and days I simply would rather stay in bed than go to school... once I get into my car and turn on my iPod and start driving.. suddenly I feel alright.
Once I step into the classroom and sit down at my desk and think about what I am teaching today, I feel really good. I slowly wait for the clock to reach 8:30 and then I know the students will be here any minute now. This is usually when I close my eyes for a few seconds and take in the quiet.
Finally at 8:35 I see the smiling faces of my students turn the corner to our classroom. Every morning they come in so happy, excited, energetic, and curious!
Everyday is really a new day at school. Once they step into the classroom, I forget about everything I am frustrated with and everything that went wrong yesterday. Getting hugs and smiling faces don't make it easy to hold grudges for too long!
Now let me tell you a little bit about all 19 of these incredible boys and girls...
1. This boy has really good days and really bad days. It isn't because he is academically behind, it's because sometimes he isn't able to focus very well. I really enjoy working this boy because when he does succeed I always make a big deal about it to him. Then he always gets this subtle grin like he always knew he could do it. :)
2. This boy is totally the class clown! He is usually trying to catch my eye and make me laugh or smile. (He succeeds at it way too much). My favorite memory of this kid... one time he wore a tye-dye shirt to school and told me there was something really awesome about this shirt. I asked him what it was. He said, "there is no tag in it so there is no front or back!" During the day I saw him put his arms in his shirt and switch it around about forty times!
3. This girl is probably one of the best student writers! She is so creative and whenever I read her stories I feel like I am listening to her talk. She is constantly attentive and eager to put her thoughts into words. I always try and make sure to let her know that writing is a huge strength for her and that she should always be proud of her work. She is so much smarter than she knows!
4. This boy... well he was the first student to learn my name. I should have taken that as a hint into my future with this boy. He gives me hugs every morning and every afternoon. He always wants to hold my hand if we are walking to a special or to recess. When the kids come back from lunch he always pokes his head in and says hi to me. You would think he loves me! But once I am alone in the classroom teaching, he seems to give me the hardest time in terms of classroom management. I think he thinks he can get away with it since we have such a good relationship, but I don't let him! He is clearly a people pleaser.
5. This girl ALWAYS makes me laugh. She is probably the tiniest one in the class. Every morning she struggles to take her chair off of her desk. She always looks at me while she is attempting to pick the chair off the ground and smiles. I always help her! When she has something to contribute to class she raises her hand and makes noises and gets really wide eyed to show how eager she is until we call on her. What a goof! Once I saw her tip toeing around the classroom... she was doing it to pretend she was wearing high heels because "her mom wouldn't let her wear them." Oh, she also said the quote of todays blog title. :)
6. This girl is another huge goof. She loves to come up to me and start ranting on some silly story. One time it was that her cat found a wig and wore it around the house... the other time it was that she once took one bite of one hundred separate apples... once it was that she is the hugging queen of the school. I'm not always sure how true her stories are... ;) but I love listening to them! Mostly because she is laughing so hard and trying to catch her breathe through the whole thing.
7. This student is one of the more quiet ones in class. But I can always catch her talking to another student during class! She is very sweet and friendly with all of the students in class. I haven't had many one-on-one conversations with her. Last week she was a line leader and as we were walking back to class she told me she hopes I teach 3rd grade so she could be in my class. She also often asks me why I need to leave in December. Well, that's enough approval for me!
8. This is a quiet yet very sassy student. She is SO quiet while we are teaching but once we stop she loves to question me about why we are doing something or how come we can't be doing something else. But she is so sweet in the way she says it that I can't even get mad that she is asking! This girl is also one of the most patient students I have ever seen. She could work with anyone in class and be happy to be working with them no matter what ability level they are at. Last week she was in a group for a social studies project and she was giggling and joking around the whole time! It was so nice to see that from her.
9. This one is our little spacey yet very imaginative student. She might not pay attention very well but she is wildly creative! Her stories are unbelievable in a great way. She is also a very strong reader and constantly calls herself a "huuuuuuge book worm". She truly is one who can actually get lost in a book! I bet she will be a future fantasy book writer. I'll be able to say I taught her 2nd grade class and knew it when she was 7. :) Oh and the other week she told me she really liked my glasses which actually made me feel really good because I always feel a little odd when I wear them!
10. Here comes another goofy one... this girl always asks "if I am getting fired". Every time my advisor comes in she jokes that she will make my lesson terrible in order to "get me fired". Throughout the day I can always catch her giving me the "I'm watching you" hand signal. I usual grin and give it right back at her. I love that I can joke around with her in this way! Her new joke is that she is trying to track down my house to see where I live... oh gosh. The benefits of living in the same town as your students!
11. This boy is very quiet but also very sneaky. He comes off as very quiet and hardworking but more than often times he is the one I keep confiscating pencils from because he keeps throwing them to other students or playing games with them on his desk! He also likes to come up to me and say "I'm booooreedddd" or "I already read all my books!". I usually respond with, "Oh really? You read all these books faster than I can! How about we send you to 5th grade for reading time?" He usually turns bright red and walks back to his desk. Nice try, kid!
12. This girl has the BEST attitude of any student. Seriously. She is not very strong academically due to many reasons out of her control but she will do everything with a smile on her face. You wouldn't even know she is struggling. She makes me so happy to be doing what I am doing. I don't think she realizes how much of a role model she can be to other students. I love when she participates in class because she always does it with such enthusiasm! She always makes my day, especially with her great smile.
13. Funny story about this little boy... I knew him when he was 3 years old! He attended the preschool at the high school which is where I took child development. It is so crazy how now I am student teaching in his 2nd grade class! Wow! And I totally remember him! Also, this boy always grabs my arm and feels his hand down my sleeve while asking me a question. Finally I asked him what he is doing, he said my shirts are always so soft so he needs to do it! Oh 7 year olds... so honest!
14. This girls makes me feel like I CAN be a teacher. Often times while I am teaching, I feel like I'm not really getting the point across... even though I am, my students just don't always show it. During my lessons she is always participating and showing me she is listening to me and learning. I know other students are too! But she actively shows it while I am in front of the class. She just makes me feel like I am a good teacher. She even told me that I made her love writing and realize how good she is at it. :) Yesssss!
15. This girl is on a mission to "learn my real name" as she likes to say.... I learned my "real name" is my first name! Apparently Ms. Brailov isn't a real name. This student is in many of my small groups and is so thoughtful in the way she participates. I always enjoy listening to her ideas because she is always demonstrating true learning. I've already seen her already make so much progress this year. I cannot wait to see how much she changes as a student. Now if she would just stop being so chatty in class..... :)
16. This boy is from Texas! You wouldn't even know he is new to this school this year because of how friendly he is. He so quickly learned everyones names and made friends. Every time he is paired with someone for an activity, he turns to them and smiles and waves. It always melts my heart! His smile really does light up the room. He is also so genuine to everyone in the school. 2nd graders have such good hearts. I hope he stays that way.
17. This girl! She is very quiet and doesn't not enjoying particiapting. If I ever call on her and ask her to give me an answer she usually smiles at me and laughs and says, "I don't know!" You can't help but smile back at her! She is so good hearted and is often complimenting other students in class when they do a good job. Last week I saw her turn around and give a high-five to a boy who met his goal on his math fact fluency test. What a sweet heart!
18. This boy works so hard! He is so good at focusing on a task and taking his time to get it done. He never feels the need to rush. I try to give him a lot of positive reinforcement because I know he doesn't think very highly of himself. Whenever I do, he smiles at me and says thank-you! He is also always trying to be friends with everyone and help students who don't have many friends have more friends. I've witnessed him inviting other students to play with him and his friends at recess. What a good kid!
19. This little boy truly has the wisdom of a 100 year old man. He often will stop me at random points in my day and say something like "some people just have hard lives" or "nobody can really be perfect". He is so smart, curious, and genuinely loves to learn. If I ever need to stop a lesson to work some classroom management, he is usually the one looking at me saying, "I'm not misbehaving, am I?" while giving me a wide grin! Oh and this kid will only wear his shirt backwards. He is well aware it is backwards too! He just likes it that way.
There you have it! 19 truly unique and amazing individuals. I am so lucky to be apart of their 2nd grade classroom. I can't believe I only have about 7 weeks left really teaching and being them. Time really does fly... and I can tell December will not be a fun month! :( I won't want to leave.
Back to school tomorrow! I cannot wait for a fresh start to a new week!
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Week 6: Mid-week update!
Today was FIELD TRIP DAAAAAY!
The field trip was all about measuring which is what we have been focusing on in our current math unit. During the field trip students had the opportunity to measure things outside! I loved this because it was refreshing to get some fresh air while doing math. That doesn't happen very often, does it? ;)
My students favorite activity was measuring the diameter of trees! Overall, I had an excellent day running around with my crazy energetic group of 6 students measuring trees! (We measured a lot more than trees but it was certainly the highlight)
It was also really great to have the experience of organizing a field trip and seeing how much prep work goes into that. I was in charge of carrying the first aid kit! Wahoo!
Happy 1st day of October to us!
This picture is from the classroom calendar :)
The field trip was all about measuring which is what we have been focusing on in our current math unit. During the field trip students had the opportunity to measure things outside! I loved this because it was refreshing to get some fresh air while doing math. That doesn't happen very often, does it? ;)
My students favorite activity was measuring the diameter of trees! Overall, I had an excellent day running around with my crazy energetic group of 6 students measuring trees! (We measured a lot more than trees but it was certainly the highlight)
It was also really great to have the experience of organizing a field trip and seeing how much prep work goes into that. I was in charge of carrying the first aid kit! Wahoo!
Happy 1st day of October to us!
This picture is from the classroom calendar :)
Sunday, September 28, 2014
"Are you going to get fired if you do bad?"
I can't believe how quickly time has been flying since student teaching began! October starts this week... what?! It's almost getting to the point where I'm upset how fast it's going because that means the end is coming. Once the end is here.... I guess real life begins? Yikes!
Alright, so this week wasn't exactly my best week ever. It might have actually been the worst one so far. If anything, it was a real reality check on what classroom management means.
As frustrated as I might get with my students, I need to remember that they are 7 years old and probably just want attention. Which is usually the case. They just want a good laugh from their friends and to avoid the language arts phonics worksheet they need to do!
Sometimes I forget that to them... this is school... to me this is a profession I want to get better at. At times it may be fun and games to them but to me it's a lot of business.
I've learned that my classroom will never been perfect in terms of management. There will always be students who call answers out, leave the room without asking, take too many pencils, throw books, etc.
Some quotes from this week...
"I'm not doing science, I hate science"
"You can't make me read, I'll just stare at my desk pretending to read"
Me: "Didn't I just say to keep your books closed?" Student: "*opens books* So?"
"I hate this book"
"I'm bored!"
Me: "You're wasting your own PE time" Student: "You're wasting your teacher planning time"
And my favorite one of all week, after telling a student she was being disrespectful... "I don't tell anyone when you're disrespectful to me"
I later learned that me being disrespectful to her was the fact that I don't let them call me by my first name.... okay.... lets just say my CT handled that one in the hallway and I received a nice heart felt apology later.
They are just kids. Harmless humans! We've all been students and remember how boring school may have seemed at some point. In some ways the experiences I had this week made me want to reconnect with my students in an academic sense and figure out how I can make school more interesting and engaging for them.
As I begin to plan my original unit for science, I want to figure out what my students want to learn about and tie it all in with my own ideas. I think it'll be fun to see what they are curious about before the unit and watch them uncover the answers to their own questions. Maybe this will help them? I'm not sure but it's worth a try!
There has been a new face in our classroom lately. My advisor has been coming to school to watch me teach! One of my students asked, ""Are you going to get fired if you do bad?"
They LOVE to think they have control over me when it comes to my success in teaching lessons. One student even told me they were going to purposely misbehave so I would "get in trouble" with my advisor. Little do they know... he's been a teacher before and knows all the tricks a 7 year old might pull on the innocent student teacher.
Unfortunately for my students I won't get fired ever. In fact, he loved my lesson! He said my students all seemed happy, engaged, and I was really communicating with them and showing enthusiasm towards the content.
Miss Brailov- 1 2nd graders- 0
Now as I write this post, it's almost hard to think of all the 'bad' from last week. I'm thinking of all the good things that happened, all the laughs I had with my students, all the hugs I received, all the 'I'm sorrys' I got. Even on my worst day, I left school feeling okay about myself and how the overall day went.
One of the most rewarding things that happened all of last week was when I heard many students say that they had fun writing a draft of their narrative. They said they wanted to write more because they enjoyed it so much.
This was so exciting to me because I have been teaching writing! I spent a week and a half teaching them about what a narrative was and all the different parts of writing one and modeling the whole process for them. Recently they have been crafting their own narratives with a partner. On Friday, they drafted their narrative and genuinely had fun.
That's real learning. When students have fun doing something in school.
After hearing those comments on Friday morning, everything else felt irrelevant. We made it to Friday and my students are having fun writing narratives (Something I've been teaching them to do)! That's a success for me.
I'm ready to tackle a new week! I'm sure it'll be full of playground drama, trips to the nurse, excuses to not read, broken pencils, chatty students, and so much more! But that's apart of the job and I'm ready for it. On to Monday morning and week 6!
I'm taking over the whole classroom in 3 weeks... scary.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Week 5: Mid-week update!
Well, I'll admit.... I totally blanked on posting my mid-week update yesterday. OOPS! That's what happens when you have a random Thursday off of school, everything gets a little crazy.
This week has been exceptionally tough in terms of teaching. I have been experiencing many behavior problems this week with my students. Lets just say, I've had a good dose of "classroom management" practice. But it's all apart of the experience! Teaching can't always be pretty and perfect. Sometimes it just isn't fun but at the end of the day you still love your students like you did at 8:25 that morning.
Some good news JUST happened. I received an e-mail about the University recommending me for licensure and this is what they said they are recommending me for based on my coursework.
Apparently I qualified for a K-8 Social Studies endorsement on top of my K-6 Elementary Classroom endorsement! The best endorsements are the ones you didn't know you earned. ;)
This week has been exceptionally tough in terms of teaching. I have been experiencing many behavior problems this week with my students. Lets just say, I've had a good dose of "classroom management" practice. But it's all apart of the experience! Teaching can't always be pretty and perfect. Sometimes it just isn't fun but at the end of the day you still love your students like you did at 8:25 that morning.
Some good news JUST happened. I received an e-mail about the University recommending me for licensure and this is what they said they are recommending me for based on my coursework.
Apparently I qualified for a K-8 Social Studies endorsement on top of my K-6 Elementary Classroom endorsement! The best endorsements are the ones you didn't know you earned. ;)
Sunday, September 21, 2014
"After school, do teachers have a teacher party?" "What is that?" "Like when they eat food and listen to music!"
I stayed at school until 5:00 PM on Friday. Generally I stay until around 4:30-5:00 on any given day but this was a Friday. As I was making copies in workroom one of the other teachers came in and started chatting me up about how hard I was working and asking about my weekend plans. As she was leaving she said, "Now I better not see you in here Monday morning in the same clothes, please go home soon!" I laughed and smiled but then realized I still had about 10 separate more pages to copy... I'll be out of here soon.... maybe...
I've learned a lot about a teachers work schedule during my first month as a student teacher. Here are a few observations I've made... none of which were really talked about in college...
1. Teachers are mandated to arrive at school by 8:15 (15 minutes before school starts), most are there between 7:00-7:30
2. Teachers are mandated to stay at school until 3:35 (10 minutes after school gets out), most stay until anywhere between 5:00-7:00
3. Yes, they do have a lunch break for a full 55 minutes! Well I should say 55 minutes labeled "lunch". Drop the break, teachers are usually spending the first 20 minutes responding to emails and phone calls from parents. Now you have 35 minutes, still plenty of time! Wait... you have an IEP meeting, make that 15 minutes for lunch. Or... wait! You have students coming in to make up assignments that you need scores for (wouldn't want them to miss MORE instructional time), 15 minutes for lunch again. Or... wait! You have copies to make, this morning your students didn't exactly understand the concept you taught them. Might as well bump that social studies lesson and create a brand new language arts lesson to reteach this afternoon before you fall too far behind! Wait... is that the 2nd week in a row we bumped a social studies lesson?
Lunch break? You mean the 10-15 minutes teachers have for lunch.
4. Well we do have a special everyday, sometimes two in a row! (Specials are art, music, physical education, and library time. Each one lasts for 30 minutes) Everyday the students are gone for an additional 30 minutes sometimes 60 minutes in the afternoon. Surely that's a great time to catch up on something! Wrong again, more e-mails to respond to, more planning on how to catch students up, more planning for the 4 different leveled reading groups and 4 different leveled spelling groups you have, etc.
Break time does not exist for the average elementary school teacher who is teaching for a full sized class for the whole day. These teachers are constantly buying time throughout the day to find the energy to keep going and to keep planning and to keep responding and communicating with other teachers, principals, and parents.
My school day runs from 8:25-3:25 in terms of student hours. (Students don't actually get into the classroom until 3:35 but the first bell rings at 3:25 to line up).
That is 7 hours of time the students are under the responsibility of the classroom teacher.
Lets take out roughly 1 hour for the student's lunch/ recess time.
Another 30 minutes for a special.
Another 30 minutes for morning recess/ snack time. (Although that is supervised by the classroom teachers, there is no teaching going on)
That is 2 hours of no instructional learning time 3 days a week and 2 days a week with 2.5 hours gone.
There are roughly 5 hours a day of instructional time in a students day with their classroom teacher. Therefore a teacher needs about 25 hours of teaching time planned each week. Maybe 24 hours if you add the 2nd special twice a week.
It's crazy when you put that in numbers! I know, some people might think that's a big numbers considering "ALL THE FREE TIME TEACHERS HAVE" But really, how much do you think goes according to plan during the day?
Students get pulled out of the classroom, students get sick, students don't finish all of their work, technology fails, the lesson doesn't get across to the students as well as planned, students go to the nurse, students have to go to the bathroom (ALL THE TIME!), book fairs happen, fire drills happen, the students simply can't stay focused... these are all natural occurrences during a day.
And sometimes during those "breaks" in the rare moment that you don't need to get something done... it is nice to just sit in silence and take a few deep breathes.
It's so much easier to actually plan while the students are not in school because you really don't need to worry about them or worry about what's happening next. It's the only time you can really take it all in and determine what worked/ did not work during the day. Hence staying the extra 1-3 hours after school.
A student said to me, "After school, do teachers have a teacher party?"
"What is that?" I asked
"Like when they eat food and listen to music!"
See that would be nice! Just some free food, music, and relaxing! Sounds glorious.
No, no we don't have teacher parties. We just plan for tomorrow.
One day at a time
Most teachers are working so much harder than people ever think. They don't have time to sit around and enjoy a lunch break. If they are sitting around and talking, they are talking about what they are doing that afternoon and asking for advice or for another worksheet or to borrow a book.
"Teaching, the hardest job you'll ever love"
"I teach, what's your superpower?"
"Keep calm and pretend it's on the lesson plan"
"Don't make me use my teacher voice!"
Just a few t-shirts/ posters I've noticed in the classrooms at school :) all too relatable! ;)
To set the record straight, I know plenty of jobs involve working extra hours, short lunches, no breaks, etc.
But teachers experience all of these things and cannot show their anger, stress, or exhaustion because the students are there. You can't just decide to cut the day short and take a breather. Heck, you can't even walk out to the bathroom! There's no time for a personal moment. You just need to keep going. Most importantly, you also need to keep your energy levels up! In order to keep students engaged and learning you need to keep on smiling, keep on moving, and keep on your energetic spirit.
This job really isn't for everyone, even when you think it is for you. The statistic is that within the first 3 years of a teaching career, 50% of teachers will quit being a classroom teacher because of the stress.
That's just the reality. Every job has it's own reality. But this is the reality of MY job.
At the end of it all, I love my major, I love student teaching, I love being in the classroom, I love coming in early, I love staying late, I love my students, I love planning, I love grading, I love teaching.
I wouldn't change anything about this career. Except for maybe the respect a classroom teacher receives from the rest of the world... but that's for another blog post ;).
I'd much rather love my job even with all the extra craziness than settle for an okay job that has more consistency and benefits.
Loving what you do is so important. It makes the good days great and the not so good days tolerable because you love it anyway.
Student teaching has been the BEST reality check to make sure you really want this whole teaching thing. I've learned more in 5 weeks than I have in my entire program.... and I still think I'm in it for life. Even with the crazy! :)
4 weeks until midterm... what?!
This is all going TOO fast.
**Also! Please check out this link! It puts the whole teacher schedule vs. salary thing into a perspective. ****
http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2011/02/23/if-teachers-are-mere-babysitters-pay-them-accordingly/
I've learned a lot about a teachers work schedule during my first month as a student teacher. Here are a few observations I've made... none of which were really talked about in college...
1. Teachers are mandated to arrive at school by 8:15 (15 minutes before school starts), most are there between 7:00-7:30
2. Teachers are mandated to stay at school until 3:35 (10 minutes after school gets out), most stay until anywhere between 5:00-7:00
3. Yes, they do have a lunch break for a full 55 minutes! Well I should say 55 minutes labeled "lunch". Drop the break, teachers are usually spending the first 20 minutes responding to emails and phone calls from parents. Now you have 35 minutes, still plenty of time! Wait... you have an IEP meeting, make that 15 minutes for lunch. Or... wait! You have students coming in to make up assignments that you need scores for (wouldn't want them to miss MORE instructional time), 15 minutes for lunch again. Or... wait! You have copies to make, this morning your students didn't exactly understand the concept you taught them. Might as well bump that social studies lesson and create a brand new language arts lesson to reteach this afternoon before you fall too far behind! Wait... is that the 2nd week in a row we bumped a social studies lesson?
Lunch break? You mean the 10-15 minutes teachers have for lunch.
4. Well we do have a special everyday, sometimes two in a row! (Specials are art, music, physical education, and library time. Each one lasts for 30 minutes) Everyday the students are gone for an additional 30 minutes sometimes 60 minutes in the afternoon. Surely that's a great time to catch up on something! Wrong again, more e-mails to respond to, more planning on how to catch students up, more planning for the 4 different leveled reading groups and 4 different leveled spelling groups you have, etc.
Break time does not exist for the average elementary school teacher who is teaching for a full sized class for the whole day. These teachers are constantly buying time throughout the day to find the energy to keep going and to keep planning and to keep responding and communicating with other teachers, principals, and parents.
My school day runs from 8:25-3:25 in terms of student hours. (Students don't actually get into the classroom until 3:35 but the first bell rings at 3:25 to line up).
That is 7 hours of time the students are under the responsibility of the classroom teacher.
Lets take out roughly 1 hour for the student's lunch/ recess time.
Another 30 minutes for a special.
Another 30 minutes for morning recess/ snack time. (Although that is supervised by the classroom teachers, there is no teaching going on)
That is 2 hours of no instructional learning time 3 days a week and 2 days a week with 2.5 hours gone.
There are roughly 5 hours a day of instructional time in a students day with their classroom teacher. Therefore a teacher needs about 25 hours of teaching time planned each week. Maybe 24 hours if you add the 2nd special twice a week.
It's crazy when you put that in numbers! I know, some people might think that's a big numbers considering "ALL THE FREE TIME TEACHERS HAVE" But really, how much do you think goes according to plan during the day?
Students get pulled out of the classroom, students get sick, students don't finish all of their work, technology fails, the lesson doesn't get across to the students as well as planned, students go to the nurse, students have to go to the bathroom (ALL THE TIME!), book fairs happen, fire drills happen, the students simply can't stay focused... these are all natural occurrences during a day.
And sometimes during those "breaks" in the rare moment that you don't need to get something done... it is nice to just sit in silence and take a few deep breathes.
It's so much easier to actually plan while the students are not in school because you really don't need to worry about them or worry about what's happening next. It's the only time you can really take it all in and determine what worked/ did not work during the day. Hence staying the extra 1-3 hours after school.
A student said to me, "After school, do teachers have a teacher party?"
"What is that?" I asked
"Like when they eat food and listen to music!"
See that would be nice! Just some free food, music, and relaxing! Sounds glorious.
No, no we don't have teacher parties. We just plan for tomorrow.
One day at a time
Most teachers are working so much harder than people ever think. They don't have time to sit around and enjoy a lunch break. If they are sitting around and talking, they are talking about what they are doing that afternoon and asking for advice or for another worksheet or to borrow a book.
"Teaching, the hardest job you'll ever love"
"I teach, what's your superpower?"
"Keep calm and pretend it's on the lesson plan"
"Don't make me use my teacher voice!"
Just a few t-shirts/ posters I've noticed in the classrooms at school :) all too relatable! ;)
To set the record straight, I know plenty of jobs involve working extra hours, short lunches, no breaks, etc.
But teachers experience all of these things and cannot show their anger, stress, or exhaustion because the students are there. You can't just decide to cut the day short and take a breather. Heck, you can't even walk out to the bathroom! There's no time for a personal moment. You just need to keep going. Most importantly, you also need to keep your energy levels up! In order to keep students engaged and learning you need to keep on smiling, keep on moving, and keep on your energetic spirit.
This job really isn't for everyone, even when you think it is for you. The statistic is that within the first 3 years of a teaching career, 50% of teachers will quit being a classroom teacher because of the stress.
That's just the reality. Every job has it's own reality. But this is the reality of MY job.
At the end of it all, I love my major, I love student teaching, I love being in the classroom, I love coming in early, I love staying late, I love my students, I love planning, I love grading, I love teaching.
I wouldn't change anything about this career. Except for maybe the respect a classroom teacher receives from the rest of the world... but that's for another blog post ;).
I'd much rather love my job even with all the extra craziness than settle for an okay job that has more consistency and benefits.
Loving what you do is so important. It makes the good days great and the not so good days tolerable because you love it anyway.
Student teaching has been the BEST reality check to make sure you really want this whole teaching thing. I've learned more in 5 weeks than I have in my entire program.... and I still think I'm in it for life. Even with the crazy! :)
4 weeks until midterm... what?!
This is all going TOO fast.
**Also! Please check out this link! It puts the whole teacher schedule vs. salary thing into a perspective. ****
http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2011/02/23/if-teachers-are-mere-babysitters-pay-them-accordingly/
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Week 4: Mid-week update!
This week someone said to me, "Hopefully you don't spread your cold to your students!"
My response... "It was THEM who gave it to me..."
I've officially caught my first school cold. Awesome...
I've been downing bottles of lemon lime Emergen-C, popping a cold and sinus pill every few hours, and washing my hands like no other. As much as I like my hugs from my students, I cringe on the inside every time one of them touches me now. I think the most difficult part of having a cold while teaching is that you still need to keep talking no matter what! I spend most of my day answering about a million questions from my oh so curious 2nd grade students and it's clearly taking a toll on my voice.
Today I was able to breathe decently well! Lets hope my voice fully recovers by tomorrow :)
My response... "It was THEM who gave it to me..."
I've officially caught my first school cold. Awesome...
I've been downing bottles of lemon lime Emergen-C, popping a cold and sinus pill every few hours, and washing my hands like no other. As much as I like my hugs from my students, I cringe on the inside every time one of them touches me now. I think the most difficult part of having a cold while teaching is that you still need to keep talking no matter what! I spend most of my day answering about a million questions from my oh so curious 2nd grade students and it's clearly taking a toll on my voice.
Today I was able to breathe decently well! Lets hope my voice fully recovers by tomorrow :)
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