Why Ya Gotta Cheat?

I'm going to preface this blog post with praise for my CT. I don't think I could have been put with a better teacher, and I've learned so much from her this semester!

My CT, Mrs. H, acknowledges that I'm there to learn and she certainly does everything that she can to involve me in the class. Lately, she's been having me practice grading essays with the 6+1 Trait rubric. I'm still not sure why we can't call it the 7 Trait rubric, but hey I don't make the rules around here. Anywho, the class turned in essays about a month ago and she made copies for me to take home and grade. Then, we compared the scores that we gave. Is it weird that I was excited to grade a stack of essays!?! I'm sure I will get over that rather quickly once I become a teacher. I was a bit nervous and afraid that my scores would greatly vary from hers, but I was pleasantly surprised (and she was, too) that the grades we gave were either the same or similar. Although I understand that grading essays shouldn't be difficult, I felt a sense of accomplishment and an affirmation that I'm competent as a soon-to-be-teacher.

On another note, I caught a student cheating on a test today at the school where I Co-op. I watched him pull a cheat-sheet out of his jacket and, quite poorly, try to hide it. This was the 4th (YES, the FOURTH) time that he's been caught cheating this semester, so he is now receiving an F for the course. My question is, at what point should a student fail a class for cheating? How many chances should they get? I can't believe that he's been given this many chances, to be honest. I realize that this question is unrelated to my pre-student teaching, but it is the most pressing question that I currently have and I would really like some feedback!

KATE Conference Reflections

I enjoyed the KATE conference and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to attend. The session that I enjoyed the most was "Fostering Student and Teacher Creativity", which was led by Kansas Teacher of the Year, Curtis Chandler. Mr. Chandler shed light on the fact that the more students are allowed to show their creativity in the classroom, the better they will do academically. As English teachers, we want our students to write, write, write, and then write some more. But Mr. Chandler suggested that we have them drawing a little more and writing a little bit less. It only makes sense, really. Having students draw representations of what they learned is a way to assess learning, and it's something they will actually enjoy (go figure).

Mr. Chandler posed several questions that teachers should routinely ask themselves: "Is it verbal, is it visual, am I giving chances to create?". During this session I realized, more than before, how valuable and imperative it is that students are actively engaged in their own learning. Having them draw a picture, get out of their seats, and step out of the monotonous routine of writing, writing, writing will not only capture their attention, but it will increase their interest in learning.

Thanks a Lot, Kid. (Reflection #3)

When I first heard that we were going to be filming ourselves teaching a lesson, I was immediately horrified. Me, in front of a camera, knowing that everything I say and do will be evaluated...not the most comforting feeling. However, I taught my lesson last week and I'm happy to say that it went relatively well. After having a mini-disaster in the beginning of my lesson, everything seemed to go smoothly.
The only issue I experienced was one particular student who did not hesitate to express his level of disdain for the essay which I was telling the class that they were going to write. The class had just finished reading "Their Eyes Were Watching God" (which I LOVE by the way), and their teacher wanted them to write an  essay over the book. After I introduced the essay and explained exactly what they needed to do to begin the writing process, I walked around with my camera to capture some of the group discussion. One of the students felt it was appropriate to tell me "This it stupid. I don't want to do this. I don't like this. Complaint complaint complaint" etc. That is ALL he would say to me every time I walked by him with the camera. I thought to myself, "Oh great, Dr. Mason is going to see this".
My question is, as teachers, how should we interact with students who seem to hate every lesson that you create and everything that you do? The particular student who I mentioned earlier is incredibly intelligent, and it's becoming obvious that his pessimistic attitude is negatively affecting his performance in the class. At what point should teachers intervene with issues such as this, and how should they do so? Sure, it's just a case of a teenager with a bad attitude (go figure), but can what can we do to make learning more enjoyable for students?

Genre Reflection #1

Better Late Than Never

As an adolescent and even a young adult, I didn’t know what I wanted to spend my life doing. I could not see into my future with a clear vision like many of my peers seemed to do with ease. In high school I was asked the typical questions, “What will your major be in college?” and “What do you want to be?”. Until my sophomore year of college, I was not able to answer those questions with the satisfaction and certainty for which I so desperately yearned. I spent my first several semesters of college completing courses that I did not want to take. My conscience was always whispering in my ear, saying, “This is not meant for you. This is not who you are”. With both excitement and apprehension, I finally listened. I experienced an epiphany that opened my eyes to the fact that I was meant to be a teacher. 

Last year, I joined the Co-op program as an English tutor. It is in this program that I have gained most of my experience teaching and interacting with students. I remember times when I wasn’t sure if I was really making a difference and when I wasn’t quite sure of myself. One day, a particular student said something to me that I do not think I will ever forget. I’ll call her Jessica. She is a very energetic girl, and I was always telling her, “Jessica, stop talking. Jessica, turn around. Jessica, do this. Do that.” It seemed that nothing I said got through to her.

She wasn’t what you would call a “problem child” necessarily, but she seemed to do anything she could do to distract herself from the task at hand. Whispering to her friends, walking aimlessly about the room, and loudly posing off-the-topic questions seemed to be her favorite things to do. My time was frequently spent attempting to get her to focus and pay attention.

One day, she marched into class and sat down with excited eyes. It was the second semester she had been in a class with which I worked, so we were quite familiar with each other.  I flashed her a smile in order to acknowledge her presence. She looked up at me, returned a smile and said, “Miss Leslie, I always smile every time I see you because you make me feel like I can do anything”. My heart warmed, and I knew at that moment why I want to be an educator. 

Jessica eradicated any fear that I ever had that I was not good enough. She reminded me exactly why I want to teach. Now, I can not only answer the question “What do you want to be?’, but I can also answer the question, “Who do you want to be?”. I want to be an inspiration. I want to make a difference. I want to make children feel like they can be anything they want to be, and go anywhere they want to go. The sky is the limit.

The Tragic End of a Beautiful Life

Although this experience I am about to recount is not affiliated with my pre-student teaching, I still felt like I should tell all of you about it.

Today, I walked into the school where I work as a Co-op tutor, hoping that a student would finally want to participate in lunch tutoring. I passed the main office and saw a large green poster with several pictures of a student on it. I thought to myself, "Hmm, what a weird place to put a picture. Why is it there?" I kept walking. Once I entered the room where I was supposed to be, I noticed a grim look on the face of the teacher to whom the room belonged. She said, "Did you hear what happened? A freshman committed suicide last night."

My heart skipped a beat and my jaw dropped. I immediately remebered the picture in the hallway. She told me who it was, and my fears were confirmed. During the drive home, I thought about how shocking it was and I shed a few tears. Although I've had little interaction with this particular student, I had her in a class with which I worked a couple of days per week.

I have no idea the circumstances that led to her suicide or what was going on in her mind. As a teacher-in-training, I know that I will have more experiences like this but it's not something I've really given much thought until now. I can't help but think, what could I have done to help her? What if I had flashed a few more smiles her way, or said "hey, how are you doing today?" on a regular basis? I know it's doubtful that these things would have helped, but you never know. She was such a beautiful girl with her entire future ahead of her and it breaks my heart to wonder what she was thinking.

The Most Amazing Grouping Strategy EVER (Reflection #2)

Okay you guys... I have to share something that I witnessed this morning in the classroom. I'm pretty sure that my CT, I'll call her Mrs. H, is a genius. Here's why:

Mrs. H assigned her students to read the first few chapters of "Their Eyes Were Watching God", which were due to be read today, and she gave them a quiz at the beginning of class. Later, she planned on having them get into groups to discuss what they read. After the students completed their quizzes, Mrs. H had them switch papers to grade them. She collected the papers afterward and ordered them from the highest grades to the lowest grades, which took her all of about thirty seconds. Then...get ready for it...she had the students who did the best in one group, the students who did fairly in another, and the students who did poorly in the last group. This way, the students who did poorly could not simply ask others who read the book for answers during the discussion. The ones who obviously read and comprehended the reading were all in one group. Therefore, they were not weighed down by others who neglected to do the reading. I LOVE this method of grouping because it truly makes the students responsible for their education and keeps them from leaning on the students who do what they are supposed to do.

Overall, I'm enjoying the time I've spent thus far in pre-student teaching. Mrs. H is very helpful and always makes sure that I have all of the materials, handouts, and information that I need in order to be successful and organized. I'm looking forward to the rest of the semester.

Oh yeah, the students are awesome, too! :)

Exciting challenges and experiences await!

I am excited to begin another semester and to continue on the path of becoming an English teacher! It's so close, I can taste it! Okay, maybe not really.

I attended the first day of school at Frankford High to kick off my pre-student teaching experience (pseudonyms will be used for all names in order to protect the privacy of the school, staff, and students). I had the opportunity to see how my CT introduced herself, laid down rules and explained procedures. The class with which I'll be working is an AP English class, and the students all seem very well behaved and dedicated to their education (thus far at least!). I feel fortunate to have witnessed a teacher explain rules during the first days of school and I came away with a few ideas for how I'll do the same when I'm a teacher.

I have learned that my CT holds very high expectations for her AP class, which I think is excellent. She let her students know that the course would be challenging and that they were expected to do well. One thing that I found a bit surprising was that she gave them an essay assignment that was due the next class. At first, I wasn't quite sure what to think about the fact that the students were expected to write an essay that was due on the second day of class. However, I quickly became a fan of this getting-right-to-work method. On the second day, my CT made copies of the student's essays and she handed them back to the class. She then spent the class period having the them analyze their own papers. I would explain what exactly she had them do, but this is a blog, not a book and I don't want to bore you :) Nonetheless, it was an eye-opening experience for the students and I was impressed with how much they learned about their writing and how to improve it on only the SECOND day of class.

I'll wrap this up by expressing how excited I am to work with the students at Frankford High. Because the class is an AP class instead of just basic English, it is sure to present challenges for me as well as the students. Through this experience I hope to learn new methods of teaching, classroom management techniques, and how to create a positive learning environment. I'm looking forward to growing, learning, and becoming the best educator I can be.

Testing...testing...

This is my practice post. I currently do not have anything interesting to say.