To be, or not to be a kid again!

Today I was "working" at summit. I got to blow bubbles, play with bugs, and all sorts of other fun kid stuff. One thing that I love about this job (after school program) is that its a time where kids can just be kids at school. Today I incorporated some "school" stuff. My goal is to help create a better portfolio for myself in this, well not so great, economy. I utilized stations and creativity. The stations included: Science (one of the favs) where they had to find bugs. Music: (another fav) I had bottles and filled them up with different levels of water for the kids to tap or blow into. Art: (third fave) the had to draw something they see on from the bench. History: Read about someone famous from Iowa. Writing: Write a story about what it would be like to fly for a day/what would you do. Gym: least favorite because they had just done this, but how many push-ups/sit ups etc. I didn't have to do this for the job. Everyone else just lets them run around outside and is basically the babysitter. But what kind of teacher would I be if I didn't take this opportunity to throw fun and learning together? Afterwords I had a lot of great compliments both in person and on my facebook page from the other staff.

I can't think of something more frustrating that a lazy teacher.... Ok I know that seems out of the blue, but after all this work for just $10/hr and no pay for prep time, or even health benefits.... only reason is for the kids to learn and enjoy just being kids. And there are still teachers out there with jobs in this economy who are lazy and would prefer to just give out pre-made worksheets because actually doing something would be to much hassle for them. In someways teacher pay based on test scores and effort put forth would be better than salary and the union backing them up. Don't get me wrong, the union is a great thing and does a lot of good. They protect good teachers from getting taken advantage of. But unfortunately they also protect the bad teachers from getting fired.

As a up and coming teacher I feel frustrated because I am entering a job market where there are teachers retiring and not having jobs replaced, ok teachers keeping their jobs, great teachers who are new or at the bottom of the list because they have a lack in "experience" not being resigned and others like me who have almost no chance at all. Above everything else a country needs to focus on education, then everything else after that. Not just because I'm a teacher, but because knowledge is power.

even on my weakest days....

So it's been awhile since I've written here and a lot has happened. But tonight I saw something that somewhat upset me and made me see things from a different light.

I had a not so great day at a school that I student taught at. I left with a negative attitude and thinking about how much I'm going to dread going to school tomorrow. First off, I have to remember that tomorrow is a new day just like turning the page in a note book. If you make a mistake there's always another chance.

Then tonight I read on Facebook a post between a few other subs. One sub had a bad day and posted about it... That lead into dissing a school and another sub said how they would never go back to that school and how the children there are horrible. I understand how someone could have a bad day, but is that fair to state on a public forum how horrid a school is? Just because one class (or maybe even 2) classes where not all that great behaved, doesn't make the school a bad place. That isn't fair to the teachers who are working very hard with the students, that isn't fair to the students who are really trying. Students are not "bad kids" just because they act in away that goes against the norm. I believe some kids are not meant to be in a school setting. I think it's frustrating for them to have to wait to be called on to answer a question, or to stop in the middle of an assignment in order to go on to the next thing. This can cause a lot of frustration, thus leading to seemingly bad behaviors.

I had a student who I reflected a lot on at the end of the day. He was often thought of as being "defiant" or "rude" basically because he wanted to share the knowledge he had and didn't want to just wait to be called on. Then when he wasn't called out he just blurt out. This student was also very intelligent and acted more mature for his age. I saw this student again earlier today and I could tell he did not like his surroundings and I've heard from his teacher that he just wants to go to a different school. I am a guest teacher in his room on Friday and I know before we butted heads. I'm hoping to use my new understanding and maybe it will help...

Back to my original thought... A school shouldn't be put down because of one bad class. I think as teachers we need to try and look deeper at what is causing the issues, why are the students acting like they are and what needs are we not meeting for them. I think we must remember why we wanted to become teachers in the first place and realize we have one of the most important and challenging jobs.

today I was sneezed on, chased by, hugged, spit on, high fived, cried to, laughed at, jumped on and headbutted by pre-schoolers! I love my job :) Never a dull day in the classroom.

Well, its been a long time since I've posted. But now I'm not student teaching anymore, instead I'm subbing. So from now on my blog will be about the adventures of substituting. I'm also working at a private school before and after school as well so you will hear some of the stories from that too!

I would attempt to catch the blog up with everything so far, but then I would be typing all night and that would be boring. So This blog is dedicated to pre-school! The classroom I was in today as a para (which they definitely don't get enough credit because they rock) was insane! The room had 20 kids, 1 teacher and 2 paras. For those of you that don't know, para = paraprofessional. Basically paid less teacher's aids. The classroom was full of students that should have had one-on-one attention because as a whole the group isn't learning as much as they could because of these students. The first student (I'll call him joe) had major anger problems. I felt bad for the little guy because every 10 minutes he was in the quiet corner for bursting out, hitting, yelling etc. I think he just didn't know how to control his emotions. The next little tyke was a 3 year old, who I and the teacher think, might be autistic. He isn't able to talk yet other than the words nigh nigh when he lays down. This guy didn't follow any directions and basically the teacher let him do his own thing as long as he wasn't putting himself or others in danger. If she wouldn't ignore him, all her attention would be on him because that's how much of a spit fire he is!

Anyway, I have to give pre-school teachers more credit after today. They don't know who's coming into their rooms and they don't have any inkling of what they will be like or what they need. Branstead is trying to take these programs away or make them more expensive, but these children need the program. If they can start learning the basics of "school" before kindergarten, then they will be able to focus more on the learning once they get there. The basis of their study is to see how much progress academically the students make in pre-school. The problem is most of the grow is in the way they act, the way the are able to line up/sit down/follow directions etc. If they take the funding away from pre-schools like Polk, many of the families wouldn't even be able to afford the 3$ a week. That's a loaf of bread and peanut butter, or at least a pizza to feed a family. Either the family starves for a day or they send the kiddo to school? Politicians don't understand what it's like to be poor, but yet they make the rules for those that have to live that way. All they care about is the money that's going into their own wallets. I'd like to see them live off of even a teacher pay.

“According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” Jerry Seinfeld

I wanted to find a quote about public speaking, this is what I found. Not exactly what I wanted but it made me laugh out loud and in teaching humor is a life savor.


It's my last week and I've been observing other teachers in my own grade as well as others. Some of them have been really good and I've learned a lot from. But I have to say the ones I learned the most from where the teachers that I would not want to be like. I was sitting one lesson about big numbers and math and I think I about fell asleep twice! I had to force myself to take notes and stand up in order to entertain myself. Then when I went and talked to my CT about it he basically said how would you feel if you were that student? The classroom seemed to have a lot of chatty students and the teacher said "I'll wait" 5 times in just a couple minutes (I started tallying after the 3 time she said it. This was her way of telling them that she was waiting for them to stop talking and to listen to her. My thoughts where why listen when she didn't seem to enjoy teaching the lesson and it was mostly a lecture. In essence we are public speakers. We stand in front of an audience and we need to figure out how to get them to listen to what we are saying and become interested in it. Yes this is more difficult thanks to modern technology and more entertaining television shows for kids, but it's still our job to keep their attention and teach! While watching the lesson the whole idea of "don't smile til after Christmas" came to my mind. I think the teacher smiled once at the end of the lesson when the lesson discussed baseball teams.

Another mistake that I saw was a teacher got upset at the students for throwing their marker board erasers into the baskets instead of handing them to the person next to them who's job then is to place the towel in the basket. I think I saw 8 or 9 students out of 27 do the right thing. So she stopped the class and had them watch her do it the wrong way then the right way. (And even though she told all students to watch her 5 of them who threw the rag was not watching). Then she went on with her lesson. First off if this was my class I would have found a different place for the towels, even I would be tempted to make a shot in since it was close enough. Then instead of modeling it for them I would have a few students that did it the wrong way do the modeling. The students know as the teacher I could do it, but as the teacher you want to show them they can do it the right way too. Then instead of just going on after showing the wrong and right way I would have every student collect the erasers and do it the right way. If one student did it the wrong way again, we would keep doing it till everyone does it the right way. One thing I learned a lot about in my second placement is showing authority in the right way. As my CT also says you are not the "bad guy" if you make them re-do something they did the wrong way. You are essentially setting them up for success. Showing them how to act the right way and also letting them know you won't just give into bad habits. I think it's also important to always explain to students why you do something a certain way. Your answer shouldn't be "because I said so" it should be "because we should always be doing our personal best and doing things the correct way because it makes us look good .... " or whatever the reason may be for the circumstance. Ok... so there is my rant for the week :)

On a sad note I only have 2 days left of student teaching and a lot left to do. It will be strange leaving the classroom (again) but knowing that I won't be walking into another room right away. While watching other teachers I feel a need to help students and be the one teaching them. I found myself wondering around the rooms that I observed and asking students questions or pointing out something on their assignments they where working on. I wasn't made to be an observer, I was made to be a teacher :)

All good things must come to an end.

So my time at Pierce is almost up. It is really bittersweet because I love the class and I loved teaching them, but I'm ready for the next step. I have learned more than anticipated over the last semester and gained a lot more confidence in many areas. Not just teaching, but in communicated, socializing and even professionalism. My fiance said that he has even noticed a different in my demeanor. Everything we do in life and every choice changes us in some way or another. No one ever said teaching was easy, but I've found confidence in the challenges that it creates for me. There wasn't a day in class that I left the room feeling empty. There was always something that happened or something one of the students did or said that showed me that this job is what I want to peruse.

Next week I will be able to watch some of the other teachers from the building. I feel that this is a strategy I will want to continue as I teach. Every teacher has different and unique ideas, and this job is all about stealing them :P I think a good teacher find what they are comfortable with and what works for them, but a great teacher continually adds to their list of strategies and keeps finding new and fresh ideas. They may or may not work but you never know unless you try. I'm excited to watch the other teachers to see how they teach and to see other aspects such as different ways to set up the classrooms and the different grades. I don't know what level I would prefer to teach yet so watching the different classes will hopefully give me a little bit better idea as to what I might want.

Embracing the chaos

When you see students sitting at their desks completely silent and working on their assignments you would assume they are learning and the teacher must have great classroom management skills. But what if you saw a room where the students are noisy, laughing and all around the room? If you walked into my classroom for Intervention, math and science that's what you would see. During intervention the students are learning about Reader's theater and I have them in 6 different heterogeneous reading groups. I told them what reader's theater is and gave them a demonstration. I also taught them about using expression and phrasing. Then I assigned them scripts and characters and they took it from there. Most of the scripts are based off of ether different books or fairy tales. (One was CLICK ClACK MOO!)While walking around I was intervening in the groups and asking them about their thoughts and throwing in an idea or two. Some of the groups where going beyond just reading the script with a little expression. They were figuring out where they would stand when presenting, figuring out if they could use any props, finding hand/small movements they could do and then rehearsing with their new ideas. The room seemed to be in chaos, but I guess I would call it organized chaos. They were learning and knew what their jobs where.

Then during math as an extension when students are complete they had a choice of two games, one being multiplication wrestling and the other being beat the calculator. When the students are playing the games you can tell they are really interested in them. It's interesting listening to their conversations and essentially hearing them learn. As a teacher I could have just made a few more worksheets with practice problems on them for the students to complete. This would have fit the picture of the typical classroom. But why not make math more engaging? Isn't it more real life to use it in a competition than doing drill and practice?

Our last chaotic moment happened during science. The new unit is over magnetism and the students where introduced to the magnet. As a way to get those new item jitters out they were able to take the magnet around the room and see what they discover with it. I think this is an important part of the lesson. Students will be trying to stick it on all the different hings in the room anyway, why not just let them do it all at once. It was also interesting watching them discover. One student found that when the magnet is dropped into the sink the right way it rolls all the way across and up the other side...I later thought about how I should have added the idea of gravity helping it, I will have to remember that for next time I teach the lesson. The students where all over the classroom "playing" with the magnets. After I had them experiment a little we filled out a KWL charts. Each student got two sticky notes, then they wrote either a question or what they knew about magnets and stuck it on the chart.

I think some teachers would have a problem with this kind of learning. I like the fact that they are discovering on their own and able to find out for themselves the different things about magnets, or add in that extra stuff for their reader's theater. In the real world we are not taught but practicing in worksheets or having someone always tell us what we need to know, we discover new things by doing them.

After being away for a week I was ready to be in the classroom. I think the week was just the right amount of time to get myself rejuvenated and caught up. Plus it was really nice to just spend a few days in my p.j.s rather than dressing up. One would think the students would also come back energetic as well and hyper, but it's really the exact opposite. They came in very sluggish and I got some funny looks this morning when I was energetically greeting them at the door. The morning seemed to start out sort of lethargic. But after gym they were back to their hyper selves. Even though they are more chatty, I enjoyed teaching them more with the higher energy level. It gave the lessons more substance. It made me think of comedians when they are on stage. It seems that once the crowed starts to interact more and respond to their material the more confidence they radiate and the better their skits are. Teachers are entertainers to an extent as well. Or as my C.T. says we are not just teachers, but we are public speakers. No one wants to listen to a boring speech by some monotone speaker. Kids today are constantly being stimulated by television, games, computers etc. The teacher's job then is to keep up with that level of entertainment in order to keep the students attention. This is something I, myself, am really trying to work on. I try to continually ask myself what would make the student care about what I am saying? And it the answer is because that's what the book tells me to teach then that is a sure sign I need to re-think what I'm teaching. Again that all relates back to making the lessons relate to that "real-world" application.

It was interesting attending the New student teaching orientation tonight. I didn't want to go at first because of all the other things I had to get done, and an hour of time taken away is quite a bit (when really it is about 2 hours considering the drive time to and from Coe and talking afterwords). In a way it was refreshing seeing peers that have the same concerns we had when we where in their position. It also brought to my attention how much I have really learned over the course of the semester. It's hard to tell them not to worry so much and that they would be fine (considering I was told the same things) when I can understand how they feel and what they are going through. It seemed better to tell them to embrace their nervousness and to remember how they feel now when it is complete.