Honesty

If I were being completely honest, I would have to say that at the beginning of this semester, I wasn’t entirely convinced that this was the right field for me. I did not believe that entering into the world of teaching was exactly what I needed to do with my life. If I were being completely honest, I would tell you that I’m still not sure it is. However, after this past semester, I can now confidently tell you that I can do this and that, even if I don’t do this for the rest of my life, I have a passion for teaching and a genuine concern for the students I encounter and I will do my very best to be a successful teacher.

The lessons I have learned this past semester have done a great deal to shape the beliefs I have when it comes to teaching and pedagogy. One of the most reoccurring themes in all of my bloc classes has been the need to educate and create twenty-first century learners. We, as teachers, need to put the focus of our teaching on students. We need to educate these students in a way that will make them global citizens, able to work together and be successful in the world they live in today. I plan to employ many of the skills I have learned and the concepts discussed in our classes in my own classroom.

Learning About Assessment

Like most secondary schools today, the school district I am observing in relies heavily on assessment. During my first week of visitations, the students were taking 4Sight tests. An entire half a day is taken out of learning to dedicate to these tests, not to mention the hours teachers must take out of their planning and teaching time to grade them. Since this school made AYP last year, the overall environment isn't' changed too much with regards to high stakes testing. Once a month the math classes are in the computer able working on Study Island and they school has created a second English-type classed called Academic Literacy. This class is designed to teach students how to properly read and analyze the types of non fiction writing they will encounter on the PSSAs.

My cooperating teacher does not focus too much of her teaching on assessment. As a middle school teacher, she must use it somewhat though, if only as a motivating tool. She gives regular quizzes and nightly graded homework. The school is run on an LEQ model, where teachers are given a district approved list of Essential Questions they must answer throughout the course of their unit. It is around these questions that my co-op builds her lessons. Everyday she strives to answer another question. As far as types of assessment goes, she uses a variety of methods. In the two weeks I've been there I've seen a usual sit down, multiple choice type test, a group project that will be graded as a test, multi-media presentations and spelling tests. The constant assessment my co-op uses acts as a motivator for students. They always know they are going to be graded on something so they pay more attention and try to successfully complete their work.

I could not have imagined a better placement. While I tend to be positive minded, I have to honestly say that regardless of needing something to “work out” or not, my cooperating teacher was perfect. She was a tiny woman, a little firecracker who reached even the most struggling students, academic or emotional. The same students who worked hard, reached their potential, participated, and followed classroom procedures in her class were the students who, without guidance in other classrooms, fell short of academic proficiency, and required constant disciplinary action. Mrs. Haines, my coop, was fast acting. Not a student, a word, or an issue passed her by. She truly guided her students into discovering their own potential: she crafted her questions so that they felt empowered and responded with thoughtful remarks. She was fierce and stern and demanded their respect, but in turn gave them hers. She was emotionally supportive and academically creative so that her students were always engaged, on topic, and working with her and each other in order to find success in themselves. It amazed me to see one woman reach so many students as strongly as she did, especially the students who were known to be “troublesome.” By watching her, I was able to step up my classroom management skills. Timid at first, I became more confident and saw instruction not as discipline, but as refocusing a student to better engage them. As I taught lessons each day, or worked with groups of students, I began to feel them respect and respond to me the more I not only helped and cared for them, but also managed them. My rise in confidence and realizing my own abilities was a surprise to me. For the first time, I saw myself creating a nurturing classroom environment not by being passive but by having high expectations for my students. I realized how much they need and want me to have these high expectations.

Field Placement Wrap-Up

I was lucky enough to teach several times during my time at Lancaster Catholic. Though I liked high school in general more than I suspected I would, I definitely preferred teaching the freshmen. I liked their energy and their general weirdness---there was something kind of fresh and exciting about their rowdiness and eagerness to participate. They still hadn't quite learned to "do school" yet and were quick to answer questions.

I also learned about myself that I'm at my best when I'm being myself. Though I'm certainly no expert teacher now, I know that I connect the best to my students when I'm just Maggie up in front of the classroom: talking with my hands, moving around the room as I speak, using modern-day references. I tried to teach with the more stern style of my co-op, but it wasn't for me.

Though my teacher definitely had a more traditional teaching style than I did, I also learned a lot from her in terms of classroom management. She was so learning focused, it was amazing. She didn't waste a minute of class time! She gave me great tips on how to get a classroom quiet and how to always keep your class moving.

Like many of the other posters, I'm sad I'm not still at my field placement. I had a great time and I can't wait to start teaching on a more regular basis!

Field Placement Wrap Up

I have been lucky enough to work with a great co-operating teacher who let me get very involved in her classroom. She operated at a million miles per hour, but somehow managed to connect with students and engage them in schoolwork. During my lessons, I realized that I did not have the SAME success as her due to my lack of rapport with the students. This clearly is not a fault of my own, I simply have not been around the students long enough to build relationships throughout the school year like my co-operating teacher. She captivated students through making her lesson plans accessible. Her audience consists of freshman and sophomore students who are still trying to figure themselves out in the crazy world of high school. She gets it. She is rigid when she needs to be, and she is flexible when a student needs it. The idea of rapport hits home. We talk about this in our classes all of the time. Getting to know our students is key! It makes sense on paper and in class discussion, but I was able to see it happening in front of me....and I loved it.

I enjoyed being in a Catholic school and I realize this is a school where we can implement a ton of our subversive ideas. The field placement has equipped me with another experience under my belt, and I am glad to have expanded my teaching horizons!

What am I doing?

This morning I awoke in a panic. It was 8:30 am. I thought, "oh. crap." Usually I'm awake at 5:30, on the road by 6 to make it to school by 7. There's NO WAY I'm going to make it into school today and not be in trouble. I've already missed like 4 periods.

Then I realize it's Dec. 6th and field placement is over. Once I have stopped myself from having a heart attack, I revert back to my before-class routine. I eat breakfast, pack my backpack. I check my facebook first, then my marauder (to find out I STILL don't have a student teaching placement) before walking out the door at 9:05 to make it to my 9:30 class in Stayer.

And as I sit in class, I think, well this is pointless. I know that my peers are going over their projects from field and I should care. And I do to a point. But then I'm thinking well if it's 9:30 I should be in third period. Those are "my" Cs. They're writing business letters today. I wonder what companies they've picked and which products they are writing about. I'm curious as to how the second period PLC went and if they've finally agreed on grammar content across grades. I doubt it. Brindle and Smith are pretty gung-ho about this grammar stuff. The others are not so much into it.

Back to my own class with my own peers, I can't turn my teacher brain off. In a short period of time, I've made a transition I didn't think I could make. When I went to Linden Hall, my student brain was on. I wanted to take notes about class and answer questions. After my time at Kennard-Dale, I have no desire to research and write a paper on the sociological effects of the Northridge Earthquake of 1994. I just want to teach. I want to be in a classroom; I want all eyes on me and I want students to be in my, what I believe to be, capable hands.

Teacher Communication

I greatly commend the communication between the teachers at Pequea Valley HS. In my first few days I was stunned to see how much teachers talk to one another. On the day I observed one student throughout his daily routine, I was amazed to return to my cooperating teacher and hear that she already knew where I went because her fellow teachers were communicating with her through e-mail all day. It was a bit weird to know how "watched" I was, but then I realized that these teachers are committed to providing the best care for their students possible.

It greatly helps that every teacher is equipped with a personal laptop, which allows them to easily access another teacher across the school. With the laptops, teachers also have the ability to meet in local areas (ie. faculty lounge) and collaborate on preparing lessons or sharing ideas. I noticed that the majority of the teachers at PVHS were pretty young, which could also aid in their helpfulness towards one another, knowing they are all in the same boat. If I were to ever teach in PVHS, I would not have any worries about having the support and open communication of my coworkers.

"It's Education by Humiliation": A Great Article on Standardized Tests

Lancaster Catholic, as a parochial school, is exempt from the standards movement. Though administrators have the students take one standardized test to gauge their progress, the curriculum is overall fairly free from the grips of the standardized test world.

It was a wonderful feeling to have, and I can't help but wonder why we still subject public school students to these awful tests. I've always believed that standardized tests (which perhaps had good intentions) are a hindrance to our education system in numerous ways. Students are deprived opportunities for creativity; we're setting our kids up for failure, etc. Now, this article adds a new wrinkle to it:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/when-an-adult-took-standardized-tests-forced-on-kids/2011/12/05/gIQApTDuUO_blog.html#pagebreak

In this article, a highly successful school superintendent (with multiple degrees!) earns a 62% on the reading section of the standardized test and only answers 10 out of 60 math questions correctly. He even goes on to say that were he subjected to these tests during his schooling, he would have lost confidence in himself and not gone on to become as successful as he has. He says that standardized tests are "education by humiliation."

Never had I considered the emotional aspect of standardized tests. Our secondary students have their whole lives ahead of them, and a million opportunities and people to tell them they won't succeed. Why should we, as part of the school system, join those millions telling our kids they won't succeed?

I'd love to see a class of seniors walk out of their high school confident that they can do anything they set their minds to accomplish. With standardized tests, I'm not so sure.

My Last Post on Placement

My second to last day was a wonderful experience for me. I got to sit in an English classroom and another classroom and see two completely different teaching styles. It was like putting wind in my sails. My last day was an "aha" moment for me. I realized at the end of the day that even though I did not enjoy my placement, the students took something from the time I was there. I was sitting in class (at my little desk at the back of the room) and a student raised her hand. She looked directly at me to see if I was coming over. I realized just then that regardless of how things went, in her eyes, I was a teacher.
I can honestly say that I learned a tremendous amount about the dynamics of a school during these last five weeks. I got to sit in on conversation in the faculty lounge (the cafeteria was a little bit crazy- they call it the food court and there is a Rita's and a McDonald's). I got to see student's interact with teachers they didn't like and teachers cover their dislike for students. I got to see great teachers and took some things from their teaching strategies and saw some horrible scenarios that as long as I do the polar opposite I will be fine. I was very thankful to see their use of technology not only in the classroom, but, in the school. There were classes that were technology based that were awesome. There were classes that did not incorporate technology at all that were awesome.
In summation, I did not get a lot of teaching time and did not get to see more than one English class in action, but, I walk away from this placement honestly saying that I have learned a lot about the dynamics of teachers and their students. Who knows? Maybe that was the biggest lesson that I needed to learn in order to be ready for the spring. Either way, I am happy to be done and ready to move on to student teach.

Weird Feeling

Sunday night I was thinking how I was not going back to Northeastern. I was a little sad that I was going to be seeing my 8th graders again. I've learn a lot about myself and how I am as a teacher because of my co-op and the students at the school. When I taught my first lesson with them, there was not even a little bit of hesitation that I had experienced when I was in my placement for soph bloc. It was almost natural when I got up there. And, it was and awesome feeling to know how the students responded when I was teaching them about poetry. After that, I really felt part of the classroom. Students were coming up to me and asking questions; some of them even asked me to sign their agendas to go to the bathroom (I didn't do it, because I didn't think I was allowed). However, it was refreshing to be seen as a teacher.

When I first learned that I was going to be in the 8th grade, I groaned. I never thought of myself as an "8th grade teacher." I didn't think that my personality fit with the students, and thought that I would be better suited for an older grade. But, watching my co-op interact the the students, I learned that her and I had similar personalities...and maybe I could be an 8th grade teacher.

My co-op really helped me in my placement this semester--she encouraged me I had questions and took the time to explain that jargon at the school that I wasn't familiar with. Her rapport with the teachers is good. She wants the teachers to work as team and do what is best for the students. I noticed that when the other teachers start talking politics, she usually has a comment, then leaves the room--she knows it's important, but it's not what she is focused on all the time. She also wants her students to do well, she relates to them and what they are doing with their lives and plays off of that in the classroom. She helps the students when the have questions, and there is nothing like a stupid question with her. She wants to the students to know what she is talking about and wants them to have as much clarification as possible.

Missing the Field

Upon receiving my placement at Red Lion Jr. High School, I was admittedly hesitant. I've always seen myself in a high school setting; middle schoolers held little to no appeal to me, for whatever particular reason. Middle school is such a difficult time in a student's life, not to say high school doesn't have its challenges either, but I think we can all agree middle is by far the worse of two evils. Perhaps this is what led me to think avoiding this particular stage of life was the best idea.

Whatever the reason, I found myself cautious when I walked into Red Lion on my first day of field. I met my cooperating teacher, who seemed to be a lot of fun and, after 32 years, still seemed to really enjoy teaching.

Foursight testing was in action on my first morning of observation. But it amazed me how much I could learn about the students from merely watching their actions as soon as they completed the test. Some chose to read while others merely plopped their heads down on the desks.

As the days passed, I grew to learn their names, thanks to my cooperating teacher insisting upon their use of name tags on their desks. And, after following one student and, therefore, one solid class along for an entire day due to an assignment for Dr. McDowell, I found myself growing attached to the students. I knew not only their names, but their personalities, the questions they were likely to ask. I began to actively participate in class: teaching lessons, helping them with projects and questions they have, and chastising them when they chose to chase each other around the room over a crown of all things.

And, now that it's over, I miss them. I miss their craziness. I miss their energy. I miss the way they choose to randomly dance during the 70s elevator music that accompanies the video in science class. I actually miss that they were willing to chase each other over a paper crown, despite the far easier solution of simply making a second crown.

In short, this field experience has helped me see the benefits of middle school. My previous insistency that middle school was not for me is now being brought into question. I find myself thinking that their may be far worse places to be than middle school.

I woke up this morning missing the 11th grade students at Kennard-Dale. I'm not entirely sure if that's normal; but, that's what happened. I feel really good about my experience there, and obviously I'm sad to see it end. Today I'm trying to re-cap on the best things I've learned from my field placement, and I've come up with a few noteworthy things ...

For starters, my co-op was excellent with classroom management; his students knew exactly what he was expecting from them and they never really acted out. Even when it was just me in the room or it was a substitute teacher, the students were on their best behavior. The interesting thing was, my co-op never yelled, and in the few weeks I was in his classroom I've only ever seen him give one detention -- it was his first all year. I asked him how he managed to do this, because, to be honest, I was astonished. He said it's all about respect ( which we've all been taught throughout our bloc classes). The students know what he expects from them, and in return they expect a lot of him. He takes the time to tell the students personal things about his life (like the fact that he's a vegetarian or what he did over the weekend). They get to know him in a way that makes him less of a "scary teacher". Still, he does not put up with their BS -- he challenges them to think every day, and if they are, say, a little sluggish on a Monday morning, he'll have them doing activities that get them out of their slump. It was incredibly helpful to watch this kind of management in action, especially because this was area that troubled me a bit.

When it came to technology in the classroom, my co-op admitted that he was not really a "21st century teacher". This would be something I would have to change in my own classroom. With all the projects and classes we've taken involving classroom tech, I think it would be next to impossible NOT to include it. My classroom had a smart board as well as a laptop cart, and the students loved it when they were able to use them. So I'd have to say, if there was something I'd change about the classroom I was in, it would be to include more technology to fit student interest.

I also learned a little bit about co-teaching while at Kennard-Dale. During first period there was a learning support teacher that came in to help the students with their work. She didn't always teach exactly, but she would circulate around the room to make sure the students were paying attention or would offer assistance to anyone who needed it. This teacher also worked with the students one-on-one during different periods of the day, so she knows what kind of students they are. It was really good for me to get experience working with more than one teacher.

Going in with a new perspective

In my last blog I was talking about a post from a fellow student that put me back on track. I won't lie, this placement was really hard. I was very discouraged with where I was. I felt like I was being asked to prepare to walk into an English classroom this spring without the tools to do so. I have really struggled and have been pretty frustrated. I was blogging about it and I read the blog from a classmate. It was an "aha" moment for me. I went back to school with a different view on the experience. I just went in and said to myself (yes, I had to talk to myself on this one) that I needed to learn everything I could, from anyone I could learn from, before my time was up. The Lord must have known what I needed because that was the day I did my shadowing of a struggling student. What an amazing day. I got an opportunity to be in three different classes, three totally different teaching styles. I walked out on a cloud (I got to sit in on an English class, by the way). I went back to my cooperating teacher at the end of the day to help with the last section of her class and felt refreshed and ready to roll. I learned so much in one days worth of classes; it completely saved this placement for me. I am so thankful for the opportunity to see friends in the hall at school, talk with Dr. Shea, and read blogs from friends who also struggled but made it through. Thanks to everyone. Can't wait to see everyone this week.

Field Experience

I finished my field placement on Friday. After a few weeks in the field, I’m surprised by how eager I am to begin planning and conducting my own lessons. Overall, it was a great experience. After finding out that my spring placement would be at the same school, I was approached by three other teachers from the English department. They offered me the opportunity to teach lessons in their classrooms. The creative writing teacher asked me to create a songwriting unit for her students; I can’t wait to work on it.

Finally, after years of preparation, things are beginning to take shape; looking back, I am grateful to Millersville for their education classes. This semester has been hectic, but it has forced me to look at lesson planning and student needs in new ways; I’ve been forced to stretch into uncomfortable territory. I’m feeling better about that every day. For example, some of the technology material has been challenging; however, I now have lots of different ways to try to reach the students. I will remember the “Contact Zone” materials for crafting relevant lessons.

I hope everyone found their field experiences rewarding. A month ago, I was nervous and apprehensive about student teaching. Now, I am nervous and anxious to get started. Hopefully, many of us found encouragement and support from our cooperating teachers. I am grateful for the experience.

Field Placement

I can't believe I'm already done with my field placement! I was a great month and it absolutely flew by. I was at Red Lion Area Junior High, a small suburban middle school in York County. Before placement began, I was absolutely thrilled to be in a middle school. That is where I would like to teach someday. Spending this past month there has definitely confirmed that. Middle schoolers are so much fun! They have the most unique views of the world and are fully willing to share their ideas with anyone that will listen. It's truly a remarkable age, when children are slowly gaining their independence but still a child at heart and in need of constant guidance.

I'm really going to miss RLJH come Monday morning.

Building Rapport

If there is anything I have learned from my cooperating teacher over the past four weeks, it is that building rapport with students is unmistakeably important. It is imperative that we make connections with students so that they trust us with their work. One thing that worked for my cooperating teacher was telling students about her life. Obviously, she didn't give them very personal information but she talked about her kids and her husband and the things they do as a family. For example, everyday we did a warm-up activity using vocabulary. Either her or I would stand up and give them an example sentence with the vocabulary word absent from the sentence. Most of the sentences we gave them would be about things we did over the weekend or things in our life. For instance, I may say something like "At Thanksgiving dinner, my twin cousins made "blank" remarks at the dinner table, which landed them in a time out." The hands would shoot in the air so that they could say that the vocabulary word was flippant. My cooperating teacher would tell funny stories about her kids using the vocabulary words and it created a really open and comfortable environment in the classroom.

The best would be that after we offered some sentences, we would ask students if they had any sentences they wanted to share. Most students would tell about their own life and I learned so much about students during this exercise. The other thing my cooperating teacher allowed, which I loved, was she gave students the opportunity to talk about life in her classroom. We read a short story called "Zebra" which was about a Vietnam War Veteran. Before we read the story we took a long time to talk about our own family members and friends who are war vets. Students were so willing to share things about their family and life. I loved that students felt like they could share the things that were important to them. The classroom was truly a community- everyone shared and volunteered. The teacher was not the only person doing work in that classroom everyday. I think that the classroom environment worked so well because of the time she spent learning and knowing her students. I saw firsthand just how important these connections are.

Building Rapport with the Students

My cooperating teacher at Red Lion Jr. High School appears to have a strong passion for building a rapport with her students. She's willing to be as creative--and, sometimes, as goofy-- as necessary to build a positive relationship with her students. She's willing to work with them on a one-on-one basis and seeks to entertain while still insuring they learn the material necessary.

And now it's over...but only beginning

These four weeks have been a whirlwind. Today as I drove home from my placement for the final time, I thought about my experience over these four weeks (and it's a pretty long drive so there's a lot to think about).

First, I can't believe how much I learned about "my" kids in such a short amount of time and how much I called them mine when I talked about placement to my roommates, friends, and family. For as much as I learned from them, I hope I left them with a little something. I taught for 1 full day, which was exhausting. For the other 6 days I was in their class, I observed them, co-taught with my c0-op, and worked through worksheets and problems with them. It's amazing how in just 7 visits over four weeks students impacted my knowledge and ideals of teaching.

The major things I learned was to have legit expectations. Sometimes, students have bad days. They are sick or just coming back from being sick. Sometimes there are things happening that I won't know about. But for the most part, they want to work hard and they want to graduate. Give them the benefit of the doubt. Especially if they are seniors ( which I worked with). Not so long ago, we were all in their shoes, looking towards bigger and brighter things and even now most of us are completing our senior year of college. We're getting that itch of being over school; being done with this part of our lives and ready to move onto the next chapter. Be empathetic but don't be a push over. My co-op did a great job of this and she showed a really good balance.

The other thing I learned as recently as today is sometimes teaching is like being a student. The hierarchy of school politics is much like that of the college. Presidents (Superintendents) make rules. Those rules are passed to deans (principals) who pass and enforce those rules onto professors (assistant principals) who then enforce rules on students (teachers). It all works in a chain and if one link gets broken, messages get misconstrued. Currently, there is no acting principal at Kennard-Dale. So for teachers, the rules are enforced by the assistant principals and even the superintendent. I can't imagine how frustrating it must be to get mixed messages from different powers-that-be like I witnessed my teacher getting. It is difficult. But I think it's possible to get through if you love teaching and if you love your kids.

So next Tuesday, when I wake up at 8 instead of 5, I will think about what my co-op and her kids are doing in class. I know they will be reading Macbeth or doing research for their banned books project. I will miss them as I head off to my own classes and back to the life of a college student for the final week of my career here at Millersville. Soon, I will have another class to call "mine" for a short time. And hopefully after that I will have a class that will wholefully and fully be my own.

Deep Thinkers

I don't think anything excited me more in this classroom than the fact that my co-op did frequent journal entries; more than that, the students LOVE them... I'm serious, they comletely eat them up! Sometimes the prompt will be related to something the students were learning in class that day, other times it's just something random. What amazes me most is the amount of in-depth thinking these students put into their responses! One of the prompts I gave was to have the students describe their biggest fear either by writing about it, drawing it, or writing a poem. You would not believe the responses I got! My co-op has really encouraged these students to go the extra level with their thinking and writing responses, and in a way that makes it appealing. I'm learning how to develop those open-ended quesitons, and have been sharing these ideas with the class. Hopefully I continue to be able to do this, and will hopefully also have this oppurtunity in my student teaching placement!

Four Weeks Already?

For my professional bloc placement, I have ventured into the lives of 11^th graders at a suburban High School. There are two blocs of these young saplings, each an hour and twenty minutes apiece and consisting of fifty students. Yes, there are 50 children per class period, which can be quite the handful for one teacher. Here is where there is good news: there are two. My cooperating teacher, Mrs. D, is a co-teacher with Mrs. K. It is a strange set up and it is easy for individuals to become lost, but they know their kids and attempt to handle them in full.

It’s really neat to see this interaction with co-teaching because until this point in time I thought it to be nearly impossible. I work well with people, but picturing how we would have to stay on the same page with lesson planning and assessment makes me want to rip my hair out. However, it’s curious to see how well these two work together and how it is not apparent that any work was split in half. It makes me stop and cock my head at the meaning of teaching even though I’m not sure if it is ever in my future to do the same.

Mrs. D and Mrs. K assess their students creatively. This is a very scary word to some people; half bounce with jitters in their seat while others throw their readied pencils. However, they believe that projects assess better. In this case, I would have to agree. They have a wide variety of assessment. One lesson was a crash course on structured essay writing like the five paragraph essay (which I am a fan of with a pinch of pizzazz). Here they were taught interactively using food to demonstrate importance as well as examples. The students were then asked to rewrite their papers properly following the given structures and highlight them. There was individual work including literary circles where they were to choose a book and read it on their own time. There was partner work utilized through a project of mine with Macbeth as well as collaborating in the literary circles post individual work. They include research, MLA formatting, a lot of in class time to work together, ask us questions, question themselves, and question others. We also read Macbeth aloud which included everyone as a whole and kept them adept visually. All of these points are varied teaching styles, but they are also assessments. Each one brings in a different of assessment; individual, partner, group, and in a variety of different styles: creative, formal, suggestive.

Despite all of the great ideas I am contriving from this experience, no classroom is perfect. More kids are failing than should be, and it’s hard to keep them up to pace when others are doing so well. Fifty kids is a huge class and it’s hard to atone to all of them. Classroom management is also difficult, and yelling and aggression is often used. It’s usually done in a humorous way, however, which lightens the mood, but sometimes so much so that the kids do not take the poke seriously. Overall, the good greatly outweighs the poor. Mrs. D communicates well and it is apparent through the lunchroom. I’ve heard horror stories of what happens there, but I must say I look forward to it here. They are a bit more gossipy than need be, but nothing is out of the question. Everything is light-hearted, but in a good way. It’s entertaining because there are cliques with the teachers, just as there are with the highschoolers, but it’s always a fun time where they can sit back and let their guard down, but never cruel or overbearing.

I cannot believe my last day is so near; four weeks flew by so fast. I have grown attached to the students, melded in with the staff, and been actively involved with the concepts of teaching. I must say every inch of me wants to stay here.

Rapport is the Key

Halfway through my observation, my teacher came up to me one day and said the key to having classroom control and being a great teacher is developing a rapport with your students. She knows her students and cares about them. She has a way of handling them that is her own style. She is sarcastic and jokes with her students, however, she can manage them as well. Student’s come up to her after class and talk with her in the halls. By connecting with her students, my cooperating teacher is able to create emotional connections which enhance classroom experiences. The students feel comfortable with her and her classroom and this makes for a suitable teaching environment.

Assessment at Lancaster Catholic High

My cooperating teacher tends to give more of the traditional forms of assessment. In her 9th grade General English class she administers the typical vocabulary test that has multiple choice,
synonym/antonym, fill in the blank, and matching. Although not my favorite method of choice, this form of assessment can still be beneficial for a couple of reasons. Written tests, such as this vocabulary one, are easy and quick to grade. They also provide an objective and strict “correct” and “incorrect” account. Due to these reasons I think this type of assessment has its place in
the English classroom. However, by no means do I think this should be the only way to assess students for a grade.

In her Creative Writing course, my cooperating teacher has students create portfolios for each new writing project. They write three drafts and before the third one they peer review each other’s papers. At the end of the portfolio she has students perform a “self-assessment” in which they fill out a rubric that is identical to the one the teacher uses. She told me that she then averages her grade with the student’s grade. Surprisingly, she informed me that students are often more self-critical and thus give their papers a lower grade than she does. Another way she promotes her students to put their best effort into their writing is by having them submit their works to Scholastic Competitions. This makes the paper carry more weight and value than if it was just to be finished and turned in for a grade. This is a great way to push students to give their
best and appreciate their writing.

The types of assessment in my cooperating teacher’s sophomore honors class are quite similar to that of her 9th grade class. Recently they finished a unit on The Crucible in which they read the play and watched clips of the film. They also did group work and partner activities. The final test, which they took the Tuesday before Thanksgiving vacation, was structured in very traditionally, consisting of fill in the blank, quotation identification, multiple choice questions, and one essay prompt. Personally, I found this somewhat disappointing, for I think a final project or a more interacting assessment would have been more beneficial for identifying student’s comprehension and understanding of the play.

Some hope of 21st century assessment does shine through in my cooperating teacher’s AP Literature class. Consisting of 19 seniors, she gives them more autonomy and freedom in the classroom. Their final assessment for a unit on Greek tragedy was creating a PowerPoint presentation that was to contain facts, pictures, videos, and music. She also expected the students to go above and beyond by either dressing up or bringing in food/drink that related to their presentation. She also allowed them, like her Creative Writing class, to fill out a self-assessment rubric, showing the grade they thought they deserved. She averages her score with theirs. I envision my classroom to look and be structured more like this AP class, for why can’t we have the same, high expectations for honors and general academic classes as we do for AP ones? Why can’t we give them the same creative opportunities?

Can't believe it's almost over!

I don't know about anyone else, but these past four weeks have made me realize how much I want to be a teacher! I have had the absolute best experience in this placement and I am sad that it is ending. I feel like the past few years, I have learned so much about teaching and it is all starting to make sense to me in ways that it didn't before. For instance, one thing I have always been worried about was differentiated instruction. I was so nervous that I wouldn't be able to help all the students, or assess work fairly (this was an area that created a lot of anxiety for me). Well, when I entered this placement I discovered that in just one class period I had ESL students, a student with Auditory Processing Disorder which required me to wear a microphone when teaching, a student with Asperger's, and a few students with behavioral problems. There were modifications that had to be made but I noticed from watching my co-op that a lot of the differentiating she did was second nature. I also had the chance to teach in these classes almost every time I was in the classroom and it wasn't the stress I anticipated. It was amazing and I feel so much more comfortable because I know I am only going to grow further in student teaching.

I feel like everything is starting to come together and I am really grateful for all the things I have learned over the past few years. I feel myself growing as a teacher and putting to use all of the things we have learned. I can't wait to see all the new things I come to learn while teaching next semester!

Making a Fresh Start

As I have stated in earlier blogs, I have been pretty discouraged during this placement. I was really stoked to get in and work with the students on a regular basis. I had this beautiful image of what this time would be. It was the polar opposite of my perfect perception. I have to say that it had little to do with my co-op and more to do with the class itself. Anyway, I feel like I have said all this before. I will get to the point.

I went in to school and did my shadowing of a student today. I walked out of the school ready to go another 7 hours- it was a blast! I got to sit in on an English classroom (they were talking about poetry and I was so happy) and a graphic design class that the teacher's strategies were amazing. My student had some scheduling issues and didn't have a class last period, so I went back to my co-ops classroom and was met with happy faces and people thankful for my help. I am looking at my last day on Thursday and am thrilled to have had such a great experience. I have only taught one lesson. I have sat in the back of the room and observed the students work independently and gotten more discouraged every time. I am happy to say that changed for me today. I am thankful to end this time on a better note. Besides, I got to see two friendly faces from Millersville and was so thrilled to see friends, if only for a moment.

Teacher Communication

We had a few options about what to write about for this blog post and immediately upon seeing it, I knew I'd want to share with you what I've witnessed about Teacher-to-Teacher communication. During my placement I've seen what I think to be the worst teacher-to-teacher talk.
I know it's been awhile since I've been in high school, but if I were a student who witnesses this stuff, I would not have appreciated it at all. Teachers blatantly talk about their students around other students. Students can hear all of these comments that the teachers make about their classmates. During my co-op's study hall period, it seems a teacher is always stopping by to gossip about some of their mutual students. I cannot understand why they think that this is okay to do this, while there are students in the classroom. I know we probably have a lot we want to share with each other about student behaviors, but there is a time and a place to share this information and I don't believe it's in front of any group of students.
In addition to this rude behavior, my co-op team teaches a general level class with another English teacher. They are constantly talking over each other and telling the class to do one thing or the other. I find this to be insanely distracting and I'm not the one who's trying to learn something in class. I understand the necessity of team-teaching in this instance because the students just constantly need to be told to be focused, however when one teacher is scolding a child and the other teacher is trying to teach a lesson, little cross learning is occurring.
I know we're just pre-service teachers, but it's so frustrating for me to simply stand by and watch these things. This has been on my mind almost all of placement and when I finally had the opportunity here to rant about it, I just went ahead and did it. Sorry!

Hooks in Action

In my placement at Red Lion Junior High School, my cooperating teacher seems particularly keen of the use of Hooks in every one of her lessons, more so than any of the other teachers I had the privilege of observing through Dr. McDowell's shadowing of a student assignment.

This particular talent of hers was especially noticeable at the very beginning of her unit on Metacognition. She began the lesson by having the students talk to their elbow partners about a time they remember getting lost. Both students would take a turn to tell their story. When the allotted time had passed, my cooperating teacher would have a few of the students share their stories. When the time came to discuss reading strategies for when 'reading gets tough,' my cooperating teacher would call on the students who told their stories and specifically tie the methods behind metacognition to their on solutions for when they got lost. This allowed the students to see that these methods can be applied to more than just reading and can, in fact, be tied to their own lives in a very real way. It also allowed the students to see that, even if they are lost in reading, there's always a way to solve the problem.

I was so excited to start my field observations, even though the grade was not what I had in mind for myself. I wanted to teacher upper-high school but was placed in a 7th grade Language Arts. To my surprise, I immediately fell in love with it. It wasn't as technical and boring as I remembered my own experience bring. My coop is to thank for this; her teaching style - a perfect blend of pushing her students' minds and having a perfectly managed classroom - is exactly how I would love to teach my students. She knows each student so well that she is able to, on a whim, phrase a question just right so that a particular student will have just the right amount of challenge and discovery. Her classroom is arranged so that she manages everyone from the disruptive student who needs constant guidance to the student who is independent and eager to learn. She addresses everyone. And even when she feels she isn't reaching each student as much as she wants to, she still reaches them and gives them constant feedback and direction. She lets them discover things on their own (my favorite of her teaching strategies).

I have been lucky to teach in her classroom nearly every day. Starting with my second day, she allowed me to teach mini lessons, and work with groups during DI. I loved it. I saw myself growing and building confidence and changing my own strategies in just a few days. I also spent a few days observing other teachers, which was fun to see the different instruction styles and personalities from different grades and subjects. I was also included with grading and after my first day of doing so, I saw myself having a stronger understanding and more confident responses. Overall, my field experience has been amazing. I loved the district, the other teachers, and even my kids. They even said my name right! No more "Miss "B."" :)

One Week Left?... WHAT?!?

Am I the only one that is completely shocked to realize that we only have one week left in the field? I for one am pretty bummed out about it -- I feel like I'm just getting to know these students on a personal level, and I'm not ready to leave yet :( The students are really starting to get used to me as a co-teacher in the room, and are starting to view me as more of a permanent figure versus just a visitor. I'm getting to know all of them as unique individuals, and I'm going to miss each of their crazy personalities. I know I shouldn't get too upset yet -- I still have the rest of this week -- but even still, my question remains. Am I going to feel like this at the end of every school year? Or will it, undoubtedly, be harder to say goodbye?

I never thought that I would have this kind of experience in the field this semester. I sort of had the idea that I would go in as an observer, maybe teach a class or two and that would be it. I'm happy to say that this was not the case; my co-op had me teaching lessons from day one and even allowed me to create lessons of my own to share with the class. He provided me with materials that will not only help me this semester, but will also aid me in all of my future classrooms. And that's what it's all about right? We're a community of teachers, helping other teachers?

I have such mixed feelings as we come to the end of this experience, and I think it's safe to say that I'm not the only one. Still, I'm going to cherish the time I had with these classes, because I'm really starting to view them as my students just as much as my co-op's.

An Inward Look

Hello to Everyone.
Wow! It is hard to believe there is a week left of our placement and so much to talk about. I am anxious to get back to the classroom and hear everyone's stories. I have to say, it is good it did not come earlier though. I have really struggled with this placement. Sometimes we hear about these placements that are not ideal. The teacher doesn't want them there, the students hate them, and so on. I never imagined that I would have such a classroom until my first day when I was directed to my seat in the back of the room. I sat there, ready to jump up and interact at any point. That didn't happen the first day, or the second, or the third. I finally got frustrated and jumped up without an invitation to do so. The classroom is not actually an English classroom. It is a class that gives students time to work on their senior graduation projects. I tell you all of this because it has been a struggle and a triumph. This semester I have come to the realization that I love to teach for the sake of teaching and that if one placement can rock me, I may be in the wrong program.

I am pretty thankful that I got a cold over Thanksgiving break. I was running a fever and had to miss on Tuesday and spent the rest of the week thinking about what I can do differently with this last week. I plan to go in with my running shoes laced up and ready to take on as much as I can in the time left. Whatever that means, I will be glad for the opportunity. I am really thankful for the post of a fellow classmate that had a rough experience. He handled it like a gentleman and a professional. He reminded me why we are all here- to teach. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences. See ya in a week.```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Lunch Duty

Hey Everyone!

So, last week I had my first experience with 7th grade lunch duty! It was such an interesting experience, as I am sure you can all imagine. First, I had to stand and watch a HUGE line of students waiting to get into the cafeteria and I have to tell you, it gets a little crazy but really fun. Also, I thought it was really interesting (because we never did this in my middle school) but students had to raise their hand to leave their seat during lunch. If they needed a spoon or napkin they had to wait until you called on them so that they could get up and get what they needed.

The most interesting thing about lunch duty was the lounge. The lounge gets opened up after lunch is halfway over and it is located right next to the cafeteria. When you walk into the lounge it looks like a mini gym but it is filled with ping pong tables, pool tables, televisions hooked up to video games, couches, four square diagrams, and other activities. Students who have reached an honors level or did something great get entrance into the lounge for the day and they are allowed to bring one friend with them. The lounge is like a miniature recess for middle school students and they loved it! I thought it was so great that students got the chance to blow off some steam because sitting in a seat, learning all day can be difficult. The students who were in my class after they were at the lounge came to class prepared and participated throughout the entire lesson. I would say that the lounge is something really great for middle schoolers and I could see it being implemented in other schools.

Developing a Rapport with Students

My cooperating teacher is great at developing rapport with her students; she makes it look easy. One of the first things I noticed was her classroom management style. She has different styles or “rules” with different students. Over time, she has developed an understanding about what each different student needs. For example, she allows some of them to carry on without intervention. She seems to know when it is productive to intervene and when it is pointless to do so.

One of her classes is loud and unruly; she seems to know exactly what will get them back on track, or when it’s better to allow them to blow off steam. She jokes with certain students and is firm with others. I think she knows their different learning and social styles and has a grasp of what works and what will just waste time.

She tells lots of personal stories; the students quiet down and listen immediately. They like hearing about her personal life and experiences. This also gives her the opportunity to turn the tables and ask them about their own experiences and ideas.

She frequently tosses out candy when she is reviewing material; most of the reviews are turned into some type of game. This works well with all of her classes. The students have tons of energy and they get loud and touch each other a lot. This is very different from my Catholic High School background where most classes were serious and reserved. She incorporates games where they shout out answers and play around while they’re learning. They seem to do well with this approach.

Every class includes some type of peer sharing and group work; she walks around and conferences with each group or individual (when they need it). I think this group aspect along with the conferencing helps the students because they get to be social and get individual attention when they need it.

Over all, she seems very laid-back and flexible; I think this is important: constantly changing up the approach to keep them engaged.