Posts Tagged ‘education’

Things you learn in placements that they don’t teach you in class (Pt. 2)

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

My first student teaching placement in the city has ended and my second student teaching placement in the suburbs has begun.  And I am going to say this and I will stand by it for the entirety of my career: “Students everywhere have problems.  It does not matter the location of the school – urban, suburban or rural.  All.students.have.problems.”

My second block of the day was interrupted today by an announcement sharing with the school that one of the 7th grade students had died after an accident in a lacrosse game.  Not many of my 6th graders knew the student, but after a few minutes of instruction, it was clear that some students were very upset.  My CT took one student down to the counselor’s office and I did some impromptu review sessions for the test the students were supposed to take today.  Which is when the kids started working in small groups.  Which is when I made my rounds around the classroom to check on individual groups.  Which is when I noticed the tears in B’s eyes.  Which is when I asked her if she needed to take a walk.  Which is when we made our way down to the library.  Which is when I had a flashback.

When I was a freshman in high school, a sophomore, D, committed suicide.  I remember having one of the hardest morning hockey practices of my high school career that day, as our coach was trying to get our minds off of the news.  An announcement was made during Convocation (our morning gathering in the Chapel, since we didn’t have a PA system), and the sophomore student council played Puff Daddy’s “I’ll Be Missin You.”  Dry eyes were hard to find in the school of 450 students that day.  Classes were held as usual, but counselors were stationed throughout the school.  I remember spending my history block with 3 other students from different grades and a counselor sharing memories of D.  Teachers were understanding and caring, but they also let us grieve as we lost a member of our community.

I was overwhelmed when I stepped into the library with B.  It was filled with students hugging and crying, students trying to reach parents on their cell phones, students fighting back tears while drawing on posters celebrating the memory of their friend.  It was so unbelievably powerful that it took me a few moments before I was able to take it all in.  I truly believe that Tyler will always be a part of this school community and he will not be forgotten.

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Breaking out

Thursday, January 5, 2012

One of the biggest compliments you can receive as an athlete is being called “coachable,” or having the ability to take any critique or suggestion and implement it almost instantaneously.  Is it bragging to say that I’ve been called coachable?  I’ve been called coachable.  And I pride myself on that.

So when my supervisor came in for an observation during 1st period today and had plenty of arrows for improvement, my hockey mind kicked in and immediately reflected on how I was going to change my game plan for 3rd period and perhaps again for a block with 7th.  So I made those changes.

And it resulted in a break through in my own personal transition from student to teacher.  I had a ridiculous amount of fun with 7th period, arguably our most difficult class.  Normally, my CT and I will co-teach this class, as they seem to do better with 2 bodies in the room anyway and my CT has finally gotten to the point where the class is starting to be pleasant when they enter the classroom.  (It has been a long journey for them.)  I had a minor internal freak out when my CT asked me if I wanted to do 7th.  But, as Barney Stintson says, challenge accepted, right?  Right.  I.kicked.butt. and I had so much fun and I know I must be doing something right because I felt like I could finally be myself in the classroom and I was myself and it was awesome (and this is a run-on sentence but it’s just for effect, you know?)

Icing on the cake: Part 1
-During 7th’s break at the middle of the block, I asked my CT if she wanted to take over when I was done with one portion of the lesson, or if she wanted me to continue with a check for understanding activity I had planned.  Her response?  ”Oh, keep going.  And Katy?  You’re doing great.”  This is the first and most positive feedback I have received during my placement.  That’s not to say that I haven’t gotten positive feedback, but my CT does not give praise freely.  I could have jumped for joy and clicked my heels, but I probably would’ve tripped and made a fool of myself.

Icing on the cake: Part 2
-I knew I had to be up front with 7th period and not take any deviation from my directions, so the second that students were talking while I was talking, I pulled a little “oh no, there is no talking when I’m talking, etc.”  I may have snapped my fingers a little.  Under his breath, I heard a student turn to another student and say, “Yo, she’s sassy.”  It took everything in my power to keep my poker face and not fall to the ground laughing.  Day.made.

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Paychecks

Monday, November 7, 2011

I’ve been working with a student, J, every 5th period during his lunch for the past 3 days.  He’s a student from my CT’s 7th period, which has been described as the period of horror.  J is quiet, gentle, and driven.  I can see how he could get overlooked in a class like 7th.  I’ve been working with him to finish his “toothpickase” lab, which involves a rather in depth discussion that makes a jump from how you break toothpicks after putting your hands in ice water and how enzymes work when they are not at optimal temperatures.

After the second day, J went up to my CT as he was walking out the door and said, “That teacher is really nice and helpful.”  Day = made.

After today, before he left, J looked me in the eye and said, “Thank you for all your help.”  No, J.  Thank you for giving me your very best.

My CT and I have a plan for Wednesday.  Today, during 7th, my CT will tell J to come back during 5th on Wednesday.  During 5th, I will be making a phone call home to J’s parents to tell them how amazing J is, and how dedicated he has been to completing his work with quality.  Both he and his parents should know how awesome he is.

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Occupy Education

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

With the whole Occupy Wall Street movement recently, there have been lots of jokes from my undergraduate friends like, “I’m going to OCCUPY THE LIBRARY.  Because I have 4 exams this week.  Sigh.”

Julia tells us that you only need one person to start a movement.  And I want to share how some bloggers are occupying education.

Click here: http://occupyedu.tumblr.com/

This blog has submissions from other users of how they occupy education.  I encourage you to check it out!

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Posted in Look what I found! | 2 Comments »

Things you learn in placements that they don’t teach you in class (Pt. 1)

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

This will be an ongoing series of posts, because I certainly haven’t learned everything yet.  And if I ever say that I’ve stopped learning, someone please suggest that I find a new career.

This week has been an absolute whirlwind.  And it’s only Wednesday.

Yesterday, a student in 3rd period came into class looking particularly sullen.  D is not usually the happiest and most bubbly of boys, but he is generally good natured and has a great sense of humor.  A couple of weeks ago he saw me struggling at my car to bring things into school and stopped to ask me if I needed help.  He is a sweet boy.  But yesterday morning, he was not as bright eyed as usual.  When I asked him what was up, he shook his head.  When I asked him if he wasn’t feeling well, his eyes welled up with tears and he tried to keep himself from trying.  I said his name, and asked him again what was going on.  He looked me in the eye and said, “Miss, my boy got shot.”

I like to think that I have a good poker face.  But this is something that I’ve never heard of in my life.  I’ve never known someone that has gotten shot at, nor have I known someone affected by a shooting.  I’ve been affected by suicides and drug overdoses, but this is a whole new ball game.

“Oh, D.  I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t know how he’s doin, miss.  But my momma says I gotta stay here.  I can’t go see him yet.”
“D, I’m so sorry to hear that.”
Pause.
“But D, you also have to remember that you have to give a presentation with DA today. So I’m going to ask that you do your very best today, right now, and for the rest of the day.  Can you do that?”
“Yes, miss.  I can try, miss.”

I must acknowledge at this point that presentations were given to small groups with one teacher, and that D was in Hayley’s (my paired placement partner) group.  According to her, D gave a great presentation.  I am proud of him.

Today, D came to school much happier.  He did not have his homework finished.  He was at the hospital with his friend almost all evening, and he learned that his friend is expected to be out of the hospital in a month.  I am thankful.  D learned a life lesson yesterday, and I did, too.

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Posted in Reflection, Student Teaching | 1 Comment »

American Teacher

Monday, September 26, 2011

COOL NEW AWESOME MOVIE TRAILER!

Narrated by Matt Damon (yeah, that guy who went off on a reporter at a rally for teachers).

I would very much like to see this when it comes out. I would also very much like to start saying that the government pays me to “blow stuff up.”

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Patience is a virtue

Thursday, June 2, 2011
Introduction to Poetry—Billy Collins

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem’s room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author’s name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

I love this poem about studying poetry because it conveys the desire for instant gratification of a quick and easy answer or explanation to a poem.  There are many parallels that can be drawn between literature education and science education when looking at this poem.

The process of science can be slow and tedious.  Sometimes this isn’t always conveyed, especially when we teach only a 5 step scientific process.  In high school, I spent a summer in a protein chemistry lab trying to isolate the protein synuclein, which plays a part in plaque formation in the brain that is associated with Parkinson’s disease.  It took me 8 weeks to get my E. coli cells to produce the protein, and I didn’t get it isolated enough to do any sort of chemical or mechanical experiments on it.  Science takes time.

I have been that student that tortures a poem to find it’s meaning and I’ve also been that student that wants instant gratification from science.  Perhaps this is a reason that cookbook labs have become so prevalent in education.  But I cannot stress the value of critical thinking that comes from pursuing a question that a student has formulated on his/her own.  Freedom is scary.  But at some point, our students will be free, and it would be an injustice to not allow them to explore freedom in their education.

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“Be the change you wish to see in the world” – Ghandi

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Every day is a different day.  Some days I wake up inspired and enthused and I absolutely cannot wait to be a science teacher.  Other days, I wake up nervous and scared and on occasion think, “what did I get myself into?!”

I got myself into a whole heap of wonder.  We contemplated the impact of “wonder” briefly during class on Tuesday, and that’s when I realized that I want to not only teach my students about science, but I also want them to know that wonder is valuable.

I hope to change science education by breaking down the wall that exists around science brick by brick.  When I entered undergraduate, I had in my mind that I wanted to double-major in biology and English.  I loved both subjects, but I couldn’t accept that they were that different from each other.  I want to be able to dive deeper than being interdisciplinary across the sciences and challenge my students and myself to bring other subjects into my classroom.

Overall, I want science to be accessible to everyone.  Science happens to everyone, and thus everyone should be able to do science and learn science in a way that is applicable to their lives.

As for tomorrow, I think I’m going to wake up ready to change the world.

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