This week my Noyce cohorts and I met with our mentor to watch a video of a current teacher implementing inquiry in mathematics. This video was a precursor event to watching our own teaching videos.

For me, this experience was fantastic. I really wish I’d seen this video at the beginning of September. It was incredibly valuable to see the theory applied in practice. Even better was getting to discuss each little move made by the teachers. Of all the discussions that I have participated in at Warner, this was by far the most insightful experience in terms of seeing theory play out successfully in practice. This discussion was especially helpful for me given the readings we had in our class this past Monday, as they left me feeling doubtful about my ability to be a great teacher (especially right now).

Here are some things that I learned:

1. Build a GREAT Bridge: I’ve been assigning bellwork that is based mainly on the previous day’s lesson without thinking about how that bellwork is going to CONNECT to the current day’s lesson. It’s so important to make sure the connection is there; just talking about it with the students isn’t the same thing as having them work through it to see it for themselves. I’ve been really good at saying (or asking) why or how the two lessons are connected, but I have not at all scaffolded the connection for my students so that they are able to make it themselves.

2. Writing: Giving students time to write out what they are thinking (uncover the information for themselves) is paramount. What’s more important is that the student’s know WHY they are being asked to write! This isn’t something I’ve stressed much in my placement and I think it’s an important point.

3. Everyone likes to feel smart: Though I realized this a long time ago, I’d forgotten how important it is AND how much you (the teacher) have to ensure all students in the room feel this way. Today in my placement I had TWO different students (that NEVER talk in class) answer questions! I was jumping all over the room, and other students caught on to my excitement. It was a great moment.

4. Keep it small: This wasn’t something we discussed, but I think I realized something important. Given the breadth of the standards, I’ve often found myself trying to build instruction around one (or more) little key ideas. Each one of those key ideas is HUGE! For example, we have been teaching the digestive and excretory systems as part of our innovative unit. One of the similarities between the two is the presence of capillaries for absorption (or reabsorption) of nutrients. Instead of starting small (e.g. a lesson on capillary structure), I rushed right into this connection. Big mistake that will not be repeated. As a result, I’ve been forcing this connection down their throats rather than leading them to make that connection on their own!

In summary, I urge everyone reading this post to press for getting to see theory applied in practice AND having an explicit discussion while you watch. Ask your mentors! This video watching experience gave me hope that I will be able to truly apply what I believe in (in terms of teaching to learn). Part of the problem, in my opinion, with reading about the theory is one thing. Knowing HOW to implement it is another completely different and WAY more difficult thing to figure out!

P.S. On another (very similar) note, my co-student teacher had an observation towards the end of this week. One of the discussion points was the power of changing pronouns (e.g. “we are going to do xyz” instead of “you are going to do xyz”) in the classroom. This point was discussed later at my mentor meeting, when the teacher we were watching on video continued to discuss “our theory” (meaning all students in the classroom) instead of “your theory” or “the theory”. I’m curious if anyone has any thoughts or experience really thinking about the language you are using in your placement? Have you noticed any CTs that are really good at this use of language?

Thank you for putting up with me over this past year. I know that often times I bring a bit (or a lot) of negativity and pessimism to the table. Personalities are complex, and I appreciate that you upbeat, sunshiny, happy-go-lucky teachers-to-be listen to me complain all the time. I wouldn’t have survived this far along without the whole lot of you around supporting me! So, very sincerely, thank you!

This week I had the opportunity to sit in on a CSE meeting for a particular student of mine (it was the annual review). This is a long story that I will blog about when I have spare time…. but it’s not the purpose of this post. Instead, I would like to discuss my inability to be honest.

Yup, I said it. I have a really hard time being honest in particular situations. As a perfect example, I was asked my opinion of the student during this meeting. Let me preface by saying that this meeting was full of tension due to a battle over services and the correct placement (inclusion vs. 12-1-1) for this student. Those present included: the student, both parents, two special education teachers, a school psychologist, and the chair of special education services. I was asked to voice an opinion as to the student’s progress in science….

This was very difficult for me. I felt that the situation put me under a lot of pressure (as I was not expected to be asked to comment). I pretty much just agreed with the Special Education teacher (my CT & the professional!) but prefaced my comments with how awesome this student is (which in this case is true). I held back on my thoughts about his (laziness)… because really, I’ve only known him for four weeks, I am not qualified to say things like this, I do not know about his anxiety/stress levels, etc. I just wanted to reach out and hug this student.

Getting back to the point of this post. As I said in the past, I have always had trouble being honest if I think what I have to say might strike the person as offensive and/or hurtful. Even in grading I find it difficult to always be honest with all students all the time.

I believe this is a big obstacle for me to tackle on my pathway to becoming a successful teacher – it’s detrimental to the student when my honest viewpoint is withheld. Why? For one thing, it’s unethical to be dishonest with parents and/or guardians. For another thing, it’s NOT helpful to be nice. No one wins in that situation – I feel guilty and there is no room/opportunity for improvement.

So to make this post relevant to class and the warner way… how will I improve?

1. I have no idea.

2. I am really tired this week.

3. Please.

4. Send suggestions.

This comes across the morning announcements every day at my placement. It could not be more ironic since every male student wears (without consequence) sagging pants.

This post is not about sagging pants, it’s about ISS. Hang with me.

My school has a policy for student discipline, the foundation of which is ISS. This means whenever a student is “in trouble”, they are given a day (or more) of ISS as punishment. Regardless of the infraction (e.g. wearing a coat to class, carrying a hat, cell phone, fist-fight, etc)…. the student will end up with ISS. For example, if you ask a student to “do X or leave class” and the student chooses the latter, then not only will the student lose out on instruction for that day but they will also be assigned ISS for at least the following day. If that following day happens to be one of your blocked periods, then that student misses THREE days of instruction for simply not handing over his/her cell phone. What’s worse, ISS is a like a really long study hall for the students. I’ve gone to the room several times to check on student progress and/or bring work and it’s a big joke. Students refuse to do work, spend the entire time talking to each other, and/or take naps.

So, who is losing here?

1. Students – For ALL the obvious reasons including missed instruction leads to frustration when they come back to class which creates a reason to misbehave which leads to more ISS which leads to further frustration. It’s a big cycle of misery. Especially if instruction is truly being scaffolded for student understanding – just think of all those missed APK opportunities.

2. Teachers - Umm… this is common sense. A student misses class and guess what? That student needs attention at the beginning of the next class (negative to the rest of class), they have missed a “step” in instruction, they are frustrated at not understanding what’s going on (hello, classroom management issues)… the list goes on and on.

3. Administration - Think of all that is lost: money to pay for the instructor that gets stuck in ISS, annoyance (non-cooperation) of that instructor in the future (who would want to be stuck “teaching” in ISS?), the list goes on. Not to mention money lost on advil to alleviate the constant headaches of dealing with frustrated students continuously being placed in ISS (feeding that cycle).

What’s the solution?

Honestly, I have no idea. Mostly I believe there has to be one clear system for an entire school to follow – every single staff member must be supportive, at least on the outside. And that system has to MAKE SENSE. I don’t know what sense it is, because everyone has different tolerance levels. For sure, I believe the students need to have input into the system. Otherwise, I’m still working on my “perfect plan”.

Getting back to the title of this post – All my male students have sagging pants. They’re not in trouble for it, unless there are other circumstances surrounding the issue (so sagging pants adds another day). What message does that send to the students??? I think it says “break the other rules, too, because worse case you’ll end up in ISS”… which is like heading to Florida on a snowy Rochester day.

Any thoughts?

I had the opportunity to teach the NYS Beaks of Finches labs at BOTH of my urban placements. I had two completely different experiences. In my middle school placement, with super-large gender-segregated classes, the lab went really well. Not only did the students love it, but the process worked as well (meaning the “big idea” was clear/visible). However, in my high school placement, with smaller class sizes and fairly sporadic attendance, the lab was an epic failure (in my opinion).

So today I found myself very very very very frustrated. After three days of stressed-out class periods… I am frustrated. Not only with the regents examination and it’s ridiculous questions that require more than just reading comprehension (uh… heavy beaks? HEAVY?) but with these state-mandated laboratories that appear on the regents examination. This means that if the students don’t experience the “big idea” of the lab then they are at a disadvantage for the regents exam. Now, one might think that the responsibility falls on the TEACHER to implement the laboratory in the classroom and provide the opportunity for the students to experience it… but as my experience shows, it’s not just the teacher that affects the implementation of the lab. There are so many factors. But modify the laboratory and the students might not have that experience to draw on during their regents exam SIX MONTHS after they completed the laboratory.

Thus, I’m currently contemplating WHY our great state mandates a lab that…

1) … involves using the word “bird” to implement in an urban setting

2) … requires “migrating” around the classroom (Hello?! Transitions aren’t easy – every teacher knows that!)

3) … requires 90 minutes (approximately) to complete, meaning multiple class periods in many scenarios. This is a nightmare for attendance issues, continuity (for the sake of learning), and planning, too!

4) … requires, to work well, a larger class size (greater than 20)! What about first period, where if you end up with half of your actual roster in class (maybe on time), you’re lucky? Come on!

So please, NYS, please rethink these state-mandated, featured-on-the-regents-exam laboratories before you insist we, the teachers, integrate them into our classroom curriculum.

As most of you know, I came to Warner with several years of experience working at the bench in molecular neuroscience. During that time, I had countless lively debates (yes, I used to be able to articulate myself really well) about the varied interpretations of many types of data (and the misuse of statistical analysis). These discussions were always extraordinarily valuable – especially when I disagreed with the other person’s POV or (mis)use/representation of their results.

So why do I find myself so frustrated with educational theory as it relates to construction of big ideas, essential questions, unit goals, unit objectives…? The jargon is mind-boggling. Feedback is personal, flexible, not-data driven interpretations but rather “this is how I understand it” type of stuff that I cannot wrap my head around.

How does this relate to teaching? Well, my thoughts go immediately to thinking about teaching those big ideas that seem so obvious to us (teachers) but probably aren’t to our students.

In summary, I think this stuff (unit vs. lesson big idea, unit vs. lesson goals, unit vs. lesson objectives, unit vs. lesson essential questions) is obvious to some of you in my cohort and clearly to our instructors… but I do not get it. I’m spending so much time thinking backwards that I’ve not even gotten to the activities really planned for anything yet because I don’t know if my goals/objectives/essential questions are any good or make any sense.

I think I liked bench science because there is always some data to support the drawn conclusion – we might see that data differently, but it’s tangible. I need to see an example of how to really DO what we are talking about in class – a well-written unit plan. A PROTOCOL! A methodology that I can follow the first time and then modify to fit my needs with evidence to back up my reasoning.

Anybody got one?

Yesterday after school, Student X showed up! After dogging this kid for six days I almost danced a jig around him, but I settled for a big smile:-) Today he showed up once again, to catch up on some lab minutes and more past work.

Here are my new problems:

1. How does a student skip through school without being able to read for understanding? More importantly, what can I do about it?

2. How do I make this experience interesting for Student X? Right now we are working with “paper” labs from my CT, who is trying to give him things to catch up on that fit into where we are in the curriculum. This makes a lot of sense but it’s so boring. Any ideas?

3. So now… how do I do cool stuff in the classroom IN SPANISH?! Or, more appropriately, with Spanish supports?

Well, that’s it. I feel really happy that I pushed this student enough times (including a memorable jaunt down the hall with him after class pestering him to come in for lunch) that he finally started coming in. I JUST NEED A WAY TO KEEP HIM COMING BACK.

PS – Here are some resources for teaching ESOL students (I’m just getting started here, so more to come):

1. NYS Bilingual (regents) glossaries

2. Learn Biology (UofArz) – Some lessons (interactive) in Spanish

3. (I hate to say this….) – Wikipedia translates into many languages

4. Megan’s Blog - She’s got a post about this same issue

(I could have changed this into a big vent about ESOL, high-stakes testing, passing students along, and general inadequacy in the system… but I really am just so happy to have this little tiny success that I will save that vent for some other time)

He’s well-mannered. Quiet. He comes in, sits down, and waits patiently for class to start. If there is drama in the room, he avoids it. He might talk quietly with a friend during group work, but he’s never loud. The moment you ask for attention, he becomes quiet and, by appearances, pays attention.

But he’s not about to do his warm-up (bellwork). He’s not going to do his homework and he’ll tell you so straight-out. During classwork, with enough prodding, you might get him to answer one question as you hover over him. Today he informed me (kindly despite all my nagging) that this is his last trip though LE… if he doesn’t pass he won’t come back. So I said “Sweet. Let’s make sure you pass. I’ll see you during lunch, right?” (You know the rest of the story… no Student X during lunch).

So, my fellow cohort members and surrounding support network that diligently read my blog posts, please offer me advice on the following:

1. How do I motivate this student?

2. How much is too much when it comes to helping during class? How much hand-holding is acceptable?

It seems to me that high school students are a bit more difficult to motivate. Perhaps it’s because I’m just starting my new placement and I don’t know these students as well as I will in a few weeks or perhaps it’s because they are so sick of not doing well in school they just give up. Either way, I NEED to figure out how to get to these X’s…..

… and my first thought was of GRS and Warner.

Why? Well, as I said to the pushy lady on the phone: “I don’t watch TV; I don’t even have cable”. (Incidentally, I ignored their phone calls for two weeks before finally picking up the phone to address the issue – these people are really pushy). I don’t have time for TV. I don’t have time to play video games. I don’t even have time to pick up all the matchbox cars on the floor anymore. In fact, I’ve pretty much developed the peripheral vision of a horse on the lookout for groundhog holes to avoid tripping.

Why does this remind me of GRS/Warner? Well, it is the eve of a class discussion about the new expectations (which I call the WLP Debacle) and I am nervous. This is because I have already given up so much to become a teacher and I do not think I have any more of my life left to sacrifice.

That sound tremendously whiny. And perhaps it is, but it is justified (at least to some extent). I am writing this so that my children will be able to look back at it and realize that there was a purpose behind me missing out on all the little cool things we used to do all the time that we no longer get to do. That purpose is a love of teaching science and connecting with students of science.

I used to get the kiddie pool out and place it in the kitchen in the middle of winter, crank up the heat, and have a beach day with my kids. Now there is no time to even conceive of doing that or cleaning up afterwords. I used to bake cookies with my almost 3yo. Now, I am cramming in a few moments of resume tweaking between unrolling the refrigerated premade cookie dough or passing my (imaginary) apron over to my husband. I used to bring snow inside the house. Now, I toss play-dough on the table and just hope they don’t eat it.

Bottom line: I used to be number one with my kids (all of them). Now, it is daddy-this and daddy-that because mommy is always on the ‘puter working or “at school”.

My fear is that the purpose behind me missing out on all of these (awesome) moments is getting lost in a shuffle of requirements that may have a purpose (I am sure they have a purpose) but yet serve no purpose. And I am not just talking about requirements from GRS and/or Warner but from NYS as well. For example, the advice “writing to a rubric”… well, it’s great, but it means I am writing what someone wants to read rather than what I really think. There is a danger to that that I dislike – I understand the need to demonstrate that I understand XYZ, but wouldn’t it be great if there were multiple modes through which one could demonstrate that understanding? Isn’t that what reformed-based teaching is, at least partially, about?

For me, that purpose was making the experience of science engaging and accessible for everyone in the classroom. To do that, a teacher has to make connections with the students. To do that, the teacher must be available beyond the time and location confines of the school. TO DO THAT, the teacher must have time well, I need time to stretch their creative muscles and put them to work. And for that to happen… I need time. Lots of it. Time to design, to plan, to collaborate. Time to build those relationships. Time to explore the content and ways to make it connect with my students. Time…

… maybe even enough to watch some TV every once in awhile (maybe even with my boys).

This counts as my vent for the semester.

… and other tidbits of information gleaned from my first field placement. From me to you, with love.

1. Watch out for Google image searches, even if the safety is set really high! At the end of a microscope lab right before Christmas break, I had about five minutes of extra time while the students were eating donuts and drinking juice. I decided to use my computer and the smartboard to stump them with microscopy pictures… and one of the hits (which was very visible on the page and smartboard) was really…. bad. Not at all related to my intended search (which was something like ‘SEM images bacteria’).

2. THINK! Before you DO!. For example, if you’re bringing sand into your placement and your classroom is located on the third floor furthest from the parking lot… triple bag it (double is not enough). People notice trails.

3. Dead fish smell. Osmosis eggs and red onions smell as well. Have lots of garbage bags.

4. Don’t put off the inevitable. For example, if you have a tank of decomposing dead fish because you’re not sure what to do with them (and they are kinda cool to look at)… get a game plan together and take care of it…. because, after all, dead fish smell.

5. Be prepared. Be very prepared. For example, be ready to talk about hermaphrodites, convulsing fish, or weaves if appropriate (see really far below).

Finally… MOST IMPORTANTLY (…. and closely related to #5):

6. Always have a plan. Plan for everything and anything and then plan some more. I’m not advocating for the WLP but for contingency planning.  (Because, you guessed it, dead fish smell).

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So the rest of this post is for me. I kept track of both science and non-science memorable quotes. Most of these are non-science and still make me smile…. Given the email I just received regarding WLPs, I need something to smile about.

1. “bout time we had a lady teachin’ us some science” – A female student of mine when she discovered I’d be permanently teaching for the next four weeks.

2. “Miss Geary, you be trippin if you think I’m going to do that” – A male student responding to my cancer homework packet (yeah, it was a packet). My response: “Does it look like I’m falling over?”.

3. “My fish is convulsing. He’s dying RIGHT NOW!” – A male student during an exam…. all 32 students got up to go check it out (so did I).

4. “You are crazy…” – A female student of mine after I took a page out of Logan’s book and jumped on a desk (in sneakers) to demonstrate the difference between active and passive transport.

5. “I heard about you” – The above student’s mom, when I called home a few days later.

6. “Stop drillin’ on me ’bout my homework” – A student that I followed down to the lunchroom in search of an understanding as to why he never turned in homework. My response at the time: “What do you mean, drilling? I’m not even touching you!?”.

7. “Salt does what? It sucks? What does it suck again?” – A male student during our osmosis discussion.

8. “Watch out – Mrs. G had alotta coffee again today” – A male student to other students entering my class one morning when I was super excited about a project.

9. “THERE’S NO RIGHT ANSWER IN Mrs. G’s SCIENCE CLASS! HOW MANY TIMES DOES SHE HAVE TO SAY IT?!” – A male student in response to another student asking me if they had the right answer!

10. “The snail is eating Fishie – Fishie isn’t dead…the snail is EATING him ALIVE!” – A female student upset about her fish, which was in fact dead.

11. “You better watch your back. She’s mad crazy. She’ll call your mom, dad, grandpa if you don’t get your work done.” -A female student of mine who thought I wasn’t in the room at the time.

12. “What you doin’ in that shirt? That color does NOT look good on you… it match your face when you all embarrassed and stuff.” - A female student in response to my new (red) shirt one morning.

13. Memorable quotes from sexual reproduction (meiosis) day:

A. Student: “What’s a hermaphrodite?” Me: “That’s for Mr. P to answer during  reproductive systems of the human body in a few months.”

B. Student: “Are sperm and semen the same thing?” Me: “No.” Student: “My health teacher last year told us yes.” Me: “Well, he’s not correct.” Student: “So, what is the difference?” Me: “That’s for the discussion on the reproductive systems with Mr. P later this year.”

C. Student (regarding a SEM image of sperm fertilizing an egg): “How does it get inside her?” Students laughing (all boys) hysterically. Me: “Great question… this sort of stuff is done a petri dish, like a cook mixing up a cake…”