I saw this quote today and loved it! I think it can be applied in a lot of areas. I see it as I know I'm not just going to be the most wonderful teacher the first day I step in front of the class, but I need to work hard at it and learn all that I can in order to 'set myself on fire' or reach my goal.
Today was my first official day in 4th grade. I'm so glad I went it over my break because I was over that first day jitters and I was able to take everything in with out the nerves. I also didn't have to focus as much on how to get around what's the classroom atmosphere, whats the c.t. like and all that other first day stuff. I was also able to jump right into the daily routine.
My day started out with an IEP meeting which I felt was really beneficial. The meeting consisted of the parents, the principal, the teacher and the specialists. I was able to hear what was on the students IEP and that will help me because I will be able to help him with is needs better in the classroom. It was also good to hear the parents input and hear what help they wanted their child to have. Parents often know their child's needs best since they spend the most time with them.
My CT is very enthusiastic about teaching and really wants to make sure every student 'gets it.' He also helps drive them to want to learn for the sake of learning and not for the tests or the grade. I think this is awesome! His enthusiasm is very contagious and I think it really rubs off on the students as well from what I can tell. The class has 29 students which also means 29 different personalities, likes interest, abilities and needs. One of the biggest challenges for me is being able to help every student and to scaffold them. One of the hardest things I found from my 3rd graders was making sure that each student was getting what he/she needed who was in the middle. The students that needed a lot of guidance was always asking for help and I tried to find extension activities for my higher ability levels but I feel that those in the middle where often left out. Part of this was because they were the students not always asking for help and they were always working. (I had to make sure I had enough work for my higher ability students otherwise they would be sitting their bored).
Today I was asked to help a few students with 2 math problems. (They were trying to solve for X in 4th grade!) This was a challenge because I didn't know the students yet and what they knew. I also didn't know what 'works' for them and how they learn. I think it's very important to know the students in order to teacher them in a specialized way and to relate instruction to their needs. I found it also difficult because of the position I was sitting in. I was at a 1/2 circle table with the instructor on the inside myself and the students on the outside. I was working with 3 students and the room was a little loud because the other students were working in partners on the worksheet and on games if they were done. I could tell the student to my right had a difficult time hearing me and seemed really distracted by the group that was working on the other side of the table. Later I learned the student prefers to have a quiet room to work in. The student on my right seemed to really want my individual attention and then there was a student a little ways away from us because of the shape of the table. He was also hard to instruct because of the distance. My other challenge was to teach them something I wasn't for sure what they knew and what strategies they had been taught so I had to wing it using the manipulatives. I tired asking the students what they thought they should do for the problem since we just had a short whole group discussion and they weren't for sure. This was a learning moment for me that I had to use my flexibility. I think if I was presented with this challenge again I would have the group move into the hallway or a more quiet area of the room and use the teachers manuel to look over quickly. I want to look over the book and see where the students are coming from for the next lesson so I am better prepared as well and see what they've done in the past so that I can apply the stratagies they know.
I had a very similar experience today. I am in a 6th grade LA class and we have one period that is sort of like a study hall. A few students were working on math (long division) and many had questions. I went up to a student and started helping him because he had no idea where to even begin. I kept asking if he understood what I was saying, but I kept thinking that I didn't know how they were taught this and what he knew about division. I taught him to the best of my abilities, but I don't know how well I did.
ReplyDeleteIt is so hard to pop into a new classroom and try to teach because we don't know anything about these students. It is even harder to move to middle school where I have different students every period. I know it is going to be a struggle getting to know each of the students because we are jumping in 8 weeks into school, but also because I have 90 some students to get to know! I don't know how teachers do it sometimes!! We just have to stick with it and keep doing our best!