Week 2

Monday:

One thing I really noticed that I like about Andrea’s classroom is how she uses a clip chart to progress their attitudes and actions throughout the day. If they are doing something good then they get to move their clip up, if they are misbehaving then they need to move it down. It seems to be very effective in the classroom, and it’s very easy to keep track of where each student is!

Today I felt completely out of touch with the students and Mrs. Gass to be honest. I didn’t realize it until I got home for the night and started thinking about my day. Throughout the entire day I’m sure I looked disinterested and bored with the class. I don’t mean that her class is boring, that’s the last impression I would want to leave! I love Mrs. Gass’s class! However, I felt like I really needed to make an adjustment to what was happening so I began reading a new book I found in the library, “The Leader in Me” by Stephen Covey.

Very often when I am not feeling motivated and excited for school, I try to find a book to encourage me. As I read through the pages, I was so excited! Although the book doesn’t explicitly say this, I realized I need to be excited about the new day each morning and perhaps it will rub off on the students. I need to go in each and every day as excited as I was on the first day. I will definitely be going in tomorrow with a new energy than I did today! =)

Tuesday:

            This was a much better day than yesterday! For now I have only started doing the morning routine. It was only my second day and I have already changed the way I approached it. Since I am still learning the routine myself, I asked for a volunteer of one of the students to help assist me. He did an excellent job, and knew the “teacher part” very well! I’m starting to remember the routine a little better each day.

            I really appreciate having such a great cooperating teacher! Today she made copies of her lesson plan book so that I can simply practice writing down the plans as we collaborate with the other second grade teachers. Although it was small, I feel like it is still an important step.

            Every day I have noticed the same little girl crying at her desk, usually after lunch. Each time that I ask why she is crying, it’s either to want to go home or because she doesn’t feel well. I’ve asked my teacher about it, and it seems that she gets in strange moods where she doesn’t want to participate in class and goes into her own world. I’m not quite sure how to handle this student. It’s a very odd situation, and I feel like she does it just for attention. If I ignore it I feel terrible, but if I bring attention to it I fear that it will only encourage her to do it each and every day. Perhaps I should stop worrying so much and wait for her to snap out of it on her own.

Wednesday:

            I feel like I’m slowly starting to get more comfortable with this school. This placement is a little bit more of a challenge for me than my last few ones had been. In my past placements, I have been able to come in and find my place right away; it has always been a very easy settlement for me. People were always more than welcoming, and the students were very easy to connect with. This placement has taken more time than I am used to, but I’m happy for it. The other faculty members are all so nice, but it’s almost more difficult coming into a school where they are already so close! It’s difficult to see where I fit and feel comfortable. It’s still a great environment; this semester is just so different than the others.

            Today we had another incident with the student who has cried almost every day. Andrea thought of a great idea, even though she thought it was cheesy. She would have the student write down what she was upset about, then crumple the paper and throw it away; as if she was letting the entire situation go. To both of our surprise, it actually worked! She was completely back to normal after that. I still think she just wanted/needed some kind of attention, and once she was able to get it she had no problem paying attention and participating in class.

            One of the strategies Andrea uses in her classroom is called Daily Five. I absolutely love this! It gives her a chance to work with small groups based on their reading levels. While she is working with a small group up front, the other students are either reading to themselves, practicing spelling words, reading with a partner, or practicing their writing. It really is a great system and it seems like all of the students enjoy it as well!

Thursday:

            I feel like I’m slowly starting to come out of my shell. It’s just a very strange situation, being a teacher but still being a student. I’m trying to see where my boundaries are as to what I feel comfortable doing so far. Today we had an incident where I asked a student to move during Daily Five; there were three students on a bench that can only fit two. She complained that she was there first, and then another student volunteered to move. I didn’t think much of it, but Andrea had the student move her clip down for not following directions. I suppose I need to start thinking of myself more as an authoritative figure than just someone observing in the classroom. My difficulty is actually thinking of myself as a teacher now; it’s a big switch!

            Today the class continued to learn about the water cycle. One thing I have noticed is that whenever Andrea is teaching, there is always something for her students to be doing. For this particular lesson, she has been having the students fill out a pamphlet that has each step of the cycle. I feel like giving them something to follow along with makes fewer distractions during the actual lessons. She really understands how to keep their attention and make sure they continue learning, rather than being distracted by something else (p 1.6).

            The girl that usually cries every day didn’t cry at all today! Maybe that one idea of Andrea’s really did work. It was a big relief when we got back from music to see that she was not crying. Now I really believe that the main objective in crying was to simply get attention. I’m glad we at least had one good day with her. =)

Friday:

            This day just seemed like an absolute blur. I never realized how much teachers really have to fit in each and every day. We had an assembly, testing, a special visitor, and she wanted to do this Martin Luther King Jr. project. It was unreal, I felt completely rushed throughout the day even though I wasn’t the one teaching! At the end of it, I felt more exhausted than every other day I have been at school.

            The assembly wasn’t that interesting, but the special visitor was really fun to listen to. Apparently they have a deal with the people who study the history of Waukegan. A man named Ty comes in to talk about Waukegan’s history, and other aspects of history, with the class. The students really enjoyed him! It was the most silent I heard them all week. He talked about the Underground Railroad and how people would help each other by having specific symbols on the blanket. One symbol would tell you your safe; another would say that slave hunters are nearby. It was even interesting for me! I think the idea of a special visitor is a really good idea, especially when it is so educational! The students really enjoyed getting to hear from someone new, and it was fun for me because I got to learn a little bit.

            I absolutely loved the project that Andrea did with MLK day! First she read them a story about MLK. Even the story was interesting, none of the kids could imagine why they wouldn’t be able to go to school together or use the same water fountain. A lot of them seemed like they never heard anything like that! After the book, they each had to write down what their dream was for the world. Then they colored a person who would represent them. It was fun to watch what everyone wrote down as his or her dream. A few of the students said something about having recess all day at school, and others took it more seriously and dreamt of world peace or something along those lines. I think this project turned out great! And it looks very nice in the hallway. =)

Classroom Confidential – Chapter 2

            I have never really heard of eptness before reading this chapter. From my understanding of it, it seems like eptness is the ability of the teacher to let go of having complete control and give some responsibility to the students. It is the teacher’s job to create an environment like this in the classroom. Students should feel useful and important, as if their contributions to the class really matter. One of my favorite points about eptness was that it was made for teachers who have “a low threshold for boredom. An ept class multiplies the possibilities for expanding the curriculum and investigating new ideas” (28). I get bored very easily, so an idea for my future classroom will definitely be to include some of these ideas! I really liked the classroom resume as well. =)

            I really liked the behavior of approximations, and I can even start using that in my student teaching placement! Even I still get annoyed when I hear the one teacher who is always pointing out the one student who is doing something wrong, rather than the other 19 who are doing exactly what you have expected out of them. Throughout these 15 remaining weeks, I will try my best to point out the student who is doing what was asked of them. Even if they’re not, and they just blurt out some random statement; I should try to encourage it, if it’s tied to school, rather than be upset at them for speaking out of turn.

            To model being a learner is very easy for both Andrea and myself. I have already made mistakes writing words on the board. When they point out the fact that I have made a mistake, I tell them that I’m allowed to make mistakes too. I really enjoy learning, and I have voiced that to them many times. One aspect of this that I need to do more of is be comfortable being looked at as a learner as well as a teacher. It’s okay for me to not know something and be excited when we learn something new! I wish I would have done that on Friday with the Underground Railroad information, but I’ll remember next time!

            Challenging old habits would be my final and favorite habit to use! As I said earlier, I get bored very quickly. I try and think of new ways to do simple tasks, but it always takes a long time so I end up giving up. Something as simple as changing the way we treat our students when they’re in the hallways could go a long way. Or how we treat them when they are about to go home, or if their excited about something. The students have to be silent for the majority of the day, why is that? I understand if you are teaching a concept they need to be able to hear; however, teachers all talk to each other all day and get new ideas for lessons. Obviously this is one of those situations I go back and forth on, but it would be interesting to see a classroom that was allowed to casually and quietly talk in the hallways, or while doing homework.