This week was a short week for me. Monday was a vacation day for my school district and I was out sick from Wednesday to Friday. I only had Tuesday to base this week's reflection.
Although it was only one day, what I found most valuable was realizing I need to keep up grading students' work. I was still catching up from grading the projects from last week. In-class work on tuesday added to that pile that needs to get done.
Another aspect I found valuable and something I would modify if given the chance to start over is breaking up dry material like taxes (Personal Finance) into smaller chunks instead of trying to get through it as fast as I could. After five minutes I noticed that the students were already uninterested. I had to cut my lesson short and found a way to stretch the activity to fill the time I cut from lecturing. Before cutting the lesson short, I made sure to consult with my coop of my plan prior to execution.
If given the chance to start the week over, I would probably wish I did not get sick because I am now behind in grading and I am unaware where my coop has concluded the lesson on friday.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Don't just hear what students say, listen...
This week is another memorable week for me. It seems that I did plenty of listening to what the students have to say. I gave the students a project that was due friday. Part of the project was a short oral presentation of their work. Listening to what they have to say gave a deeper insight to where the students are coming from.
The most valuable information I gained this week is not just hearing what they have to say but actually listening to what they are trying to say.
The project was about their dream vacation. The whole week, I could tell that the students were very excited to talk about what they were going to share with the class. I even had one class that the majority turned in their project a day early. Well, one student decided not to share his dream vacation. He's the quite type but seems to be coming out of his shell lately. Even my coop has noticed that he's started to talk more with other students. My coop mentioned that earlier in the year, the student just sits on one spot and never talks to anyone.
I had a brief talk with the student after the class regarding his project, he stated, "we (him and his family) never do anything." I felt so bad that it took me a while to respond. I then shared the information with my coop. My coop gave me a brief background about the student and reminded me that we need to be more understanding of the students because they might be dealing with a lot more than what's on the surface.
My coop also reminded me that we, the teachers are the most constant figure in a students' life (at least for the meantime while they are in school). Students spend majority of their day with their teachers, in some cases, teachers are the only adult interaction the students get in a day. So, sometimes we need to do more than just hear what they have to say.
During the week, another student had mentioned that she does not have enough time to work on her homework because she has to work after school. I asked if she really needs to work because if it's affecting her schoolwork maybe she needs to cut down her hours at work. Later on, I overheard her state to another student that her mom takes all her paycheck.
After learning a little bit more about each student, I am starting to understand why they act the way they do. My coop has been an excellent mentor. I can see how much the students love her because she cares so much for them.
I followed a student for a day this week as part of the requirement for school. If there was something I would change this week it would be to move the observation on a week other than this week. It was PSSA week and the schedule was irregular and threw most of the students out of loop. Even I got really confused.
I had to take a sick day this week and it threw my teaching schedule off balance because I am now a day behind. If I could redo it over again, I would wish that I was not too sick to miss a day.
The most valuable information I gained this week is not just hearing what they have to say but actually listening to what they are trying to say.
The project was about their dream vacation. The whole week, I could tell that the students were very excited to talk about what they were going to share with the class. I even had one class that the majority turned in their project a day early. Well, one student decided not to share his dream vacation. He's the quite type but seems to be coming out of his shell lately. Even my coop has noticed that he's started to talk more with other students. My coop mentioned that earlier in the year, the student just sits on one spot and never talks to anyone.
I had a brief talk with the student after the class regarding his project, he stated, "we (him and his family) never do anything." I felt so bad that it took me a while to respond. I then shared the information with my coop. My coop gave me a brief background about the student and reminded me that we need to be more understanding of the students because they might be dealing with a lot more than what's on the surface.
My coop also reminded me that we, the teachers are the most constant figure in a students' life (at least for the meantime while they are in school). Students spend majority of their day with their teachers, in some cases, teachers are the only adult interaction the students get in a day. So, sometimes we need to do more than just hear what they have to say.
During the week, another student had mentioned that she does not have enough time to work on her homework because she has to work after school. I asked if she really needs to work because if it's affecting her schoolwork maybe she needs to cut down her hours at work. Later on, I overheard her state to another student that her mom takes all her paycheck.
After learning a little bit more about each student, I am starting to understand why they act the way they do. My coop has been an excellent mentor. I can see how much the students love her because she cares so much for them.
I followed a student for a day this week as part of the requirement for school. If there was something I would change this week it would be to move the observation on a week other than this week. It was PSSA week and the schedule was irregular and threw most of the students out of loop. Even I got really confused.
I had to take a sick day this week and it threw my teaching schedule off balance because I am now a day behind. If I could redo it over again, I would wish that I was not too sick to miss a day.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
We Are Guests at the School
This week was especially difficult for me. I was faced with the dilemma of having to balance between an expectation and what my coop informed me to do. During this time, I wrestled with both choices. I found myself having to reflect on the different advice, suggestions, tips and knowledge during the last few years from the different professors and instructors I’ve had to help make the decision. I value all that knowledge that was imparted upon me. So, I decided to follow what my coop had informed me to do. I work with my coop everyday and I respect her dearly. I am there to learn from my coop thus, I need to listen to her.
The most valuable information I learned this week is …
1. We are guests at the school. It is the coop’s class and students. It is ultimately the coop’s responsibility what happens in that room.
So, if you are ever faced with a situation where you feel you might question your coop … don’t. Of course, this is just an advice. You all need to weigh each situation carefully based on the circumstances.
The next valuable information I learned is …
2. Recognizing that we will all be faced with a difficult situation where we will have to weigh and balance between all the expectations and what we are told to do.
I have been going on auto pilot the last few years that I failed to recognize that situations such as what I experienced would happen. First, I didn’t recognize that my choice might potentially become a problem.
Don’t worry! Everything has been resolved.
Aside from that, I am enjoying being in the classroom. I am learning so much about the students and I feel that I am really bonding with them. Students are starting to tell me how well they’ve done on a project or test from another class. I think that’s amazing!
Would I change anything that happened this week? Absolutely not! I learned so much not only about myself but also about the people around me. I also learned that a great coop can make you change your mind even if you are on the verge of quitting. I feel so lucky to have been paired up with my coop because I am learning so much. If there is something I would like you to take from this is the advice that – we are guests at the school.
The most valuable information I learned this week is …
1. We are guests at the school. It is the coop’s class and students. It is ultimately the coop’s responsibility what happens in that room.
So, if you are ever faced with a situation where you feel you might question your coop … don’t. Of course, this is just an advice. You all need to weigh each situation carefully based on the circumstances.
The next valuable information I learned is …
2. Recognizing that we will all be faced with a difficult situation where we will have to weigh and balance between all the expectations and what we are told to do.
I have been going on auto pilot the last few years that I failed to recognize that situations such as what I experienced would happen. First, I didn’t recognize that my choice might potentially become a problem.
Don’t worry! Everything has been resolved.
Aside from that, I am enjoying being in the classroom. I am learning so much about the students and I feel that I am really bonding with them. Students are starting to tell me how well they’ve done on a project or test from another class. I think that’s amazing!
Would I change anything that happened this week? Absolutely not! I learned so much not only about myself but also about the people around me. I also learned that a great coop can make you change your mind even if you are on the verge of quitting. I feel so lucky to have been paired up with my coop because I am learning so much. If there is something I would like you to take from this is the advice that – we are guests at the school.
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