Part 1
(for Dr. Brugar)
So far, I have met my department colleagues and teachers from
other departments by attending all of the team and PLC meetings. I am a member
of NCTM (we had to do this for EDMA). I communicate with my classmates regularly
about our daily struggles. As soon as I found out what I would be teaching
before we started, I bought supplementary textbooks and materials. I have been
journaling daily about my highs and lows in an effort to reflect and improve
myself. Finally, I have observed another classroom when my teacher was gone,
and BOY WAS IT A WILD DAY (see below).
I wasn’t sure if I was going to mention it here
since I have already informed the department head (my cooperating teacher), but
I had a crazy experience when I was observing a teacher on Thursday. Previously,
we (my teacher and I) had thought him to be chill and generally relatable to
the students. We were wrong, and I witnessed it first-hand. Before the classes
began (he has 1st and 2nd hour plan) this man talked so
much trash about his students to other teachers that I was genuinely worried
about what I was going to experience already. Not only did this teacher yell at
the students and then try to backtrack and joke with them (hello definition of
mental abuse) he also was SO RUDE. Here are a few quotes and that WHAMMY that
made me turn him in to the department head, “You were dropped on your head too
many times, huh?”, “Yes, go get a drink of water, I mean if it will make you
shut your mouth for 3 seconds, I’m up for it”, “If you don’t pay attention
right now, I am going to fail all of you,”. AND FINALLY, this was said to a
student who JUST HAD HEART SURGERY LAST
WEEK, “Go back to the hospital,” and when the students didn’t think it was funny
he asked, “But really how are you doing [IN
THE MIDDLE OF CLASS]”. The student replied, “Im not any better–its still
the same thing,” to which the teacher said, “WELL I KNOW YOURE NOT BETTER IN THE HEAD BUT,”. Like are you kidding me?! I was FUMING
and carefully to wrote down these quotes so that I could properly reveal his
character to Telannia. Even typing this now if getting me fired up again. These
poor kids.
In other news, this week was pretty standard. Telannia opened
the classes but after the bellwork, the students relied on me just as much as
her. I hope it lasts forever, because it feels great for students to trust me
enough to ask my advice and confide in me when they are confused. Throughout
the week, I have been planning my lesson and pre-assessment for next week. I am
getting more and more anxious but I think that I will have a blast. The class I
am taking over are juniors and seniors so they are more well behaved than my
freshmen (doesn’t make it much less daunting).
Part 2
I hate to say the same thing as everyone else, but as you can
tell, this week was a ROLLERCOASTER. Trying to navigate the life of an urban
school teacher has put things into perspective for me like I have never experienced
before. This perspective has made me angry for my students, literally shaking
because of how they are treated by people who are supposed to be a support
system. Experiencing what I witnessed this week, set in stone a passion that I
have never felt. I immediately felt as though I needed to protect these
students, as if they were mine–as if I could actually protect them. I knew that I had to do what was right and
safe and THAT is where I grew this week in my teaching practice. I owned my
opinions and I tossed aside my worries about getting hired, and protected those
students to the best of my ability–it is out of my hands now. Along with the
more serious growth, I also focused on planning my lesson this week and am on
track to be successful. I have almost everyone’s name down and am excited for
the impending doom week.
For this week, my plan to improve my practice is to focus on
standard 3. Since I have complete control of the entire unit, I feel like I
need to set the tone for the class but focusing on the environment that I wish
to achieve. To do this, I will start my unit by having an engaging pre-assessment
and incorporate collaborative work in order to encourage a “positive social
interaction.”
Send me good vibes as I venture into unknown territory this
week.
OK bye.
Hi Becca,
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that is one experience that you will never be able to forget. Having seen similar remarks by teachers throughout my time in various schools, those instances routinely caused me to be extra cognizant of how I interacted with students. That being said, how has this impacted how you interact with students and how do you foresee yourself building community in your classroom (this year and/or in the future)?
Casey, I consider myself a very sarcastic and witty person, so I understand that sometimes outside people observe things I say to my close friends (that ~get me~) and said nonsense can easily be taken out of context. In this situation, I am positive that his words were said out of anger and frustration, rather than whit or dark humor. The point I am trying to make is that there is a nice BOLD line between being jerky and being witty/playful. I am skilled at reading moods/rooms and being empathetic so the plan for this year and the future is to keep utilizing those skills so that I don't cross anyone's line. Also, I might add that I try to make it VERY clear in how I talk to students that I am not the most important person in the room and neither is Telannia–they are. Telannia and I are already successful regarding the content they are working with so that focus should not be on us (this includes our mood or whatever may be irritating us any given day). I think that was the issue here. The teacher sees himself as The Knower of All and doesn't respect his students.
DeleteI feel like I rambled a lot. Let me know if I need to clarify anything.
I am going to build on Cacey's comments here. In addition to thinking about how this might impact the community in your classroom, how mihgt you approach handling the situation when you hear such things said to students once you are in your own school? This is a very delicate situation; can you think of a way to show support for the students being talked to in that way while maintaining a professional and collegial relationship with the other teacher (who you might need to work closely with sometime in the future)?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, in the moment I felt powerless and intimidated myself. This man is tall and incredibly mansplain-y, so I did not feel like I could do anything right then.That being said, if I had been in the classroom as a colleague and witnessed this, I would imagine myself seeking an admin at that moment instead of later on. Regarding the students, I think I would try to diffuse the situation by possibly being closer to them. Maybe the teacher would not have talked like that if it were directed specifically in my direction? In order to remind civil professional with this person, I don't think it would be hard (and I have seen and talked to him since). I will do what is in my power, reporting him formally, and hope that the system does its job.
DeleteThanks for being so thoughtful in your response, Becca. AS difficult as those situations are, sometimes trying to imagine "what would I do?" scenarios helps us (or at least me) react in positive and professional ways when unfortunate things occur. So thanks for imagining with me :).
DeleteWhen I read your story, my emotions were all over the place! My heart sank to hear that the students were being mistreated to this extend. I know that teachers have bad days and things slip (even though they shouldn't), what this teacher did NO HUMAN BEING should ever have to put up with especially not a student! I have actually witness a case similar to yours where a teacher made inappropriate comments to a female student when I was observing Sante Fe South MS, however, it wasn't as severe as your case. I would also like to know how to handle these situations.
ReplyDeleteSetting that aside, your unit lesson pre-assessment sounds interesting...what do you mean by "an engaging pre-assessment?"
Jenn, I am totally not traditional, as you know, so I wanted to be creative with my Unit in all aspects. I created an engaging way to Pre-Assess my students and still be able to measure growth! I can give you more info in class if you wish!
Delete"These poor kids" is right! I feel so bad for those students going through that, and I can't believe nobody brought it to somebody's attention before then. My heart hurts for them. ☹️
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about how you'll set the tone for the class and (more specifically) what kind of tone you're trying to set, and what environment are you wishing to achieve?
Sending positive vibes your way, you'll rock it.
April, I want my students to feel comfortable in my class as learners and as teachers. I think that in order to achieve this, I want to focus on building their trust by having them share their thoughts and immediately validating those thoughts. I want it to be bluntly obvious that I am the facilitator of their learning and not a dictator pouring practice problems through a funnel connected to their ears, ya feel? Any suggestions are welcome FYI.
DeleteBecca, I'm sorry to hear that happened. The teacher's comments are indefensible and should never have happened. It seems like you handled it the best way possible.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious how you will try to create a "positive social interaction" for your students. What has worked so far? What does not work?
While I was sick I read about a rule that a teacher uses where for every hour of class, he will try to have five minutes of informal conversation with the students. I think I'll try to do that next week.
Have a good week!