Week 3 - Intermission

Part 1 (Dreamland Burning questions)

     I’m very much enjoying Dreamland Burning so far. I have never read something that was set up and written the way that this book is. One text-to-self reference that I have is the reading about the relationship between Rowan and James. Several times in the book, Rowan mentions how close her and James are, and how he knows things about her that no one else does. This relationship reminds me of the relationships that I have with my close friends. My friends understand me better than anyone else, and they understand when something is wrong even if I don’t say a word. A text-to-world reference is definitely the apparent racism that is present in the book. Racism is something that still exists in the world today, and it is so painful to see and read about the injustice that other people have to deal with due to the color of their skin. A text-to-text reference is about the discrimination in Dreamland Burning, which reminded me of the discrimination in a book titled Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt. The book covers the story of the amazing women, known as “human computers,” who worked as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory during the 1940s and 1950s. These women defied the odds of their male colleagues to make a huge impact in science and history. The discrimination that these women dealt with was something that I was reminded of when I was reading Dreamland Burning. 

Part 2 (Student Teaching Experiences)

     This week was an odd week since I’ve been gone from the classroom since Tuesday. With that being said, I will reflect on my experience in the school on Monday. Monday was a weird day because we spent most of the day reviewing since the students were having a quiz the next day. For Algebra 2, we spent time working with logarithmic and exponential functions by solving puzzles. In Math Analysis, they had a review worksheet to work on in groups. For Pre-AP Algebra 2, we played a game where the students were placed in teams and had to race to solve equations. As the students reviewed, one of the things that will continue to shock me is how many students struggle with number sense. This makes it difficult for students to learn more concepts when they haven’t been able to experience a solid foundation of mathematics knowledge. After school, I help my teacher with tutoring until 4 o’clock. This is usually one of my favorite things to do because I get to see which parts of the material students are struggling with the most. We had a really big turnout for tutoring on Monday, and it was a little overwhelming since it was only my cooperating teacher and I helping the students. Many of the students that came in for tutoring were there because they had been out for the flu, so we mostly had to help them one at a time because they were gone on different days. How do teachers deal with this regularly? (Students who are gone for extended periods of time/different days) How do we get everyone on the same page and caught up? 

     I did experience something that frustrated me this week. Last week, grades needed to be inputted and posted for eligibility, and one of the students came to my teacher saying they wouldn’t be eligible for a sport because their grade was failing. My teacher told them specifically which assignments they were missing, and the next day, the student turned in three assignments and said that they needed to be graded by the next day and posted before eligibility. How do you deal with this scenario? My teacher told me that her hands are usually tied with this student because they are on an IEP that has late assignments as an accommodation, so it is difficult to address the situation without stepping on someone’s toes. 

     This is a little side note, but I didn’t know where to place it within this blog. As I’m getting more and more comfortable in the classroom, is it normal to feel like it’s a weird experience? I think that my teacher and I make a really great team because we definitely balance each other out. She has a more outgoing and spontaneous personality, whereas I would consider myself more reserved and a planner. I want to be able to develop my own teaching style as I take over the classes, but do you guys think this will be something the students need to adjust to? I’d love to hear your comments/suggestions on ways to find your own flow in the classroom that’s not yet your own. 

     Unfortunately, I don’t think I was able to improve on my teaching practice very much this week since I was only in the classroom on Monday. However, everyday that I have been in the classroom, I leave with a little more confidence than what I arrived with that day. I’ve been exciting every morning to arrive at the school and start the day. 

     As for next week, I hope to really hit the ground running and start taking over some classes from my teacher. Originally, I was going to take one morning and one afternoon class, but after my three-way meeting with Kate and my teacher, I think it may be better to take over one prep at a time so that I’m not overwhelmed with planning for multiple classes. I’m going to start by taking over Math Analysis starting on Monday, then add on Algebra 2 the following week. I plan to focus on these three hours until spring break. Also, I really want to work on getting my unit together, and I want to try to implement it sometime before spring break in order to get feedback before I tackle my full two weeks of teaching all day. For next week, I want to focus on leaner environment and start learning how to create the environment that I hope will foster learning and make students want to learn the concepts.

     Also, I was really sad to miss class on Tuesday this week! 😢Class with all of my peers and Dr. Brugar is honestly one of the things I have looked forward to every week because it almost feels like a therapy session! I’m able to get my thoughts and feelings out with my classmates, yet learn some incredible things from them and Dr. Brugar. Can’t wait to get back next week!