Before going into my observations, I'll touch on Dr. Bruger's questions about Dreamland Burning. Personally I think this text has been great to really dive me into the time period and the events that are occurring. I'm a huge read for enjoyment kind of person and really inset myself into the scene when reading. So, it's been really neat reading and then reflecting a bit on my own feelings of the situation and what I would have done if I was there. Our discussion during class was really great, in being able to brainstorm with other students about how we can create environments and opportunities to touch on the important issue of race within our classrooms. As a math teacher it's a bit tricky finding ways to bring in more social issues because our content is just focused on math with very little room for anything else. However talking with other teachers has shown how important it is for an entire school community where students can talk about important social topics anywhere and not just in one room. I think one way I've heard about bringing these things into the math classroom is by talking about the people who discovered the Thereoms and concepts and looking into their very diverse backgrounds. As for relating to other texts I haven't actually read something not mathy (other than the articles we read last week) since like a year ago. So I'm going to make a kind of math analogy because I've been reading a lot online and in textbooks about exponentials since that will be what my unit is on. I think the purpose of this book is to creat conversations about racial privilege and this is a great way to do it because one person will read and enjoy the book and then tell all their friends to read it who will then tell their friends and so on and so on. This would be called exponetial growth because the conversation would start with a few and grow slowly, but then will quickly exponentially grow to reaching hundreds and thousands of people. (Hopefully that kind of sorta made sense)
As for school life there has been a lot going on. I'm feeling much more integrated into the classroom and regularly have students calling out my name for help throughout the day. I have also been teaching her 7th hour and a small group in 5th hour for the past 2 weeks. There's been a few outstanding events that have helped solidify my reasoning for wanting to be a teacher. One small event was my teacher told me that a student had come in and told her that I was the best student teacher she had ever had and that she felt I really new my stuff. This was very heartwarming in knowing that students are learning from me, especially because most of the time I'm still feeling a bit unsure of myself. Another event is about my 5th hour class. 5th hour has 28 students and it's one of the worst classes behaviorally that I have ever observed. There are multiple students who are extremely disrespectful, inappropriate, have low motivation (one student who won't even write his name on his exams), and just general chattiness. So, since I am now in the classroom she has decided to split up the class and I take around 6ish students each day that are better behaved and generally do well on the tests. However, a lot of the students will want to come with me just to get out of my teachers classroom. So most days I'll get another student who normally acts up in the regular class. I've found that most of them actually work really well in my smaller group though. They're able to get the attention for help they need, and also are less likely to act up because there is no one in there for them to impress or gain attention from. I know this isn't practical for a typical class with behavioral issues, but it's great to see that the students who frustrate us every day, are still willing and able to learn. Lastly today I had the chance to meet a parent because my teacher had a meeting after school with one of her students and his mom. The meeting was in the counselors room and all of his teachers were invited to come, but only my teacher and his English teacher showed up. At first I was kind of put off by the meeting because it was just a lot of talking about the student to the mom. I felt bad for the student because he was just sitting in the room staring off while all the adults talked about his bad grades and the reasons they thought he was failing. Eventually though his mom started to get emotional and talked about how she never graduated from high school and really wants her son to be able to graduate and have those opportunities for success. My teacher then also said to the student that they were all here for him to succeed and despite that they may be a bit harsh with him is just because they want him to be able to do his best. I feel that the student was also getting a bit emotional from his mom's confession and I really hope this meeting will help him to apply himself more in class. These events helped to solidify my love for teaching, because they reminded me of the reasons I want to get into the profession. Which is being able to be the support for all of your students and showing them that you truly care about their success.
I think this week I have been much more prepared content wise for teaching. So I'm ready for the content and most of the questions the students may ask me. I'm also doing a bit better with student behavior in being able to quiet the students to start a task. This is still something I need to grow on because I really don't like to yell. So I need to find someway that may be unique to me that the students would know means to quiet down. My teacher has given me a few suggestions to try out, specifically the one where you just give them a stern look and wait for them to quiet down.
Moving forward I really want to focus more on learner environment, specifically on creating a more collaborative feel with each other and with me. I think the students are still working on seeing me as the main teacher in the classroom rather than my mentor teacher. Which makes sense because I've still only been there for a few weeks. So I want to continue to exert my presence over the teachers as often as I can and my mentor teacher is helping me with this. One way is when a student asks a question she tries to send them my way and I'm also working on feeling more comfortable to take on roles in the classroom, like offering to grade, pass back papers, or pick up papers. So doing small things that may not seem important, but play an important role in the environment.
Thanks for sharing, Natalie! At the end of you post you mention that you want to start focussing on the learner environment. That made me think about how you have your room set up and how that can aid in helping the more collaborative feel you have going. When you do your two-week takeover, how do you see the classroom environment changing (both the physical layout and your interactions with students)? And, have you had the chance to talk with your cooperating teacher about how you'd like to set-up the classroom?
ReplyDeleteI think interaction wise, I want to focus on the students productively interacting with each other more. So my lessons are built to have a lot of time where the students are going to discuss with each other and help one another to come to an understanding on what we are doing. I think this may be difficult for some of the students because they're not used to having to talk to those they're sitting next to about math. Something that could help with this interaction would be to set up the desks to be geared towards partners. The one issue is that the classroom is really small, and the desks are really big. I will have to talk to my teacher about the options for setting the class up differently and maybe her own suggestions.
DeleteNatalie, I actually think that breaking apart the class like that is closer to true co-teaching than most actual co-teachers! A lot of times, especially with SPED co-teachers, there will be one teacher who is more dominant than the other instead of having the class be truly 50/50. It sounds like you are being able to experience a little of that life, which is awesome! Would you be willing to take on the "rowdy" group for a day so that you can be exposed to a struggle that all teachers feel? I have two classes that are WILD, but they have become my favorite classes. After I was able to get to know my students, listen to their silly jokes, and break down some walls, it started to be just fun! I know what helped me was just being honest with my trouble makers and also incredibly patient. Like Emily said in class, they don't hate you or be disruptive with a goal of disrespect, they are just kids, after all.
ReplyDeleteHave a good week Natalie! See you Tuesday (:
I would love to switch groups sometime! There is actually a third group that consists of around 3 students who may have low motivation, or tend to be disruptions within the classroom. This group goes with the student service learning who is a senior at the high school. I think later on in the semester we could potentially change things up a bit and try new group formations. So far this is working out, but I think it would be really interesting to change up the groups every so often to see how it affects the students.
DeleteNatalie - as we move forward, please post your weekly Notes From the Field to Canvas (your field instructor has access there). Sorry for the growing pains!
ReplyDeleteI am glad to read you are reader for enjoyment person. I think we sometimes forget about the things we enjoy doing because teaching can be all-consuming (often in good ways). Keep making time for those things you enjoy - reading and otherwise.
I am struck by the connections between your responses to Dreamland Burning and your interest in developing/focusing on the learning environment. How will you being to approach this within the existing learning community established by your mentor teacher?
To build on Rebecca's comment - co-teaching can be tough and looks different in almost every classroom. Your plan sounds like a good one. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
My teacher, is a bit more old school about learner environment within the math classroom meaning she doesn't really see ways to bring in more diverse learning environments. I think I tend to do a lot more activities with the students and engagements that could apply more with real world scenarios rather than bellwork review from the day before. So when I begin to teach more of my own ideas and through more conversation with my teacher, maybe we can brainstorm a more solid idea of how we can grow the community to include ways to bring in more history, or literature, or art into the classroom.
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