Reflection 8

Classroom management class was really good again this week.

So this has been an interesting week for me. First I went to observe Amber in her business writing class. It was really interesting. I actually got to help her enter grades and it was also interesting because most of the students in the class were seniors. I was a senior only 4 years ago. I don't know if I could handle that, I feel young still. And a lot of them are taller than me. That's something I'm having a hard time understanding: how to set yourself as the authority figure. I don't feel like I am better or more smart than anyone else. That's why I sometimes freak out in front of everyone. I feel like everyone is doing a better job at this teaching thing than I ever could. Why am I the only one who's freaking out? Gah! It's just like high school... I hated presentations and I hoped by now I would be over it, but apparently I'm not. I still feel like passing out... What am I doing wrong? Like, with that STL lesson... I was totally ready for that, I even had an activity and an extension. I didn't expect that you guys would finish it so fast (it took a good half hour in my landscape class) and I didn't have anything else planned. I'm not very good at coming up with things out of thin air...

Reflection 7

So it's been awhile since I posted last.

These past few weeks have been crazy, with midterms and me being kinda tired. I started my classroom management class yesterday and I think I'm going to like it. She talked about her story in education. Right now she teaches part-time her and is a vice-principal at Salem Hills, but she was all over the place at first. Her teaching jobs followed her husband's (he teaches over in the college of engineering right now) and after getting a bachelors at BYU, they went to LasVegas for his masters. She taught dance aerobics there. Then he was offered a position/paid for PhD in Oklahoma City. They moved out there 3 days before school started and her older kids were ok, but her youngest was a mad little 7th grader. He decorated his door and walls with hand written signs saying, "I hate Oklahoma". It's hilarious to me, but his whole world was gone. They next day she got a call from his english teacher saying that he had screamed, "I hate you all, I will never be your friends, you're all hicks."

Now Sister Burr actually said that this teacher knew how to call home well.

1. She showed she cared by seeing, "I am concerned about your son"
2. She softened the blow, didn't tell the whole story at first, prepped the parent
3. She had ideas how to resolve it
4. Followed through with it

This teacher was able to help Sister Burr's son find a place he belonged by finding out what he was interested in. Then she said, "the football team would take him" because that's what he liked. His behavior improved. So this had a bunch of lessons in it, but here were a few that stand out to me.

• misbehavior is an attempt to fulfill a basic human need (i.e. sleep, hunger, loneliness)
• if you care about the children, the parent will be on your side
• always have ideas on how to rectify the situation
• make the students feel comfortable and safe in your classroom

She also talked about being a vice-principal at Salem Hills when it was brand new. She was worried she wouldn't be able to help students as much as when she was a teacher, but she discovered that she could. On that first day of school there was a girl sitting outside the office crying. Instead of telling her to just go to class, she sat down next to her and found out she had had a baby just the day before and wasn't sure she could start school again. She took her into her office and helped her have confidence to finish out the year.

Hearing how she enjoyed caring about the students in all of her stories made me feel more excited to actually have a class on my own. That's what impresses me with good teachers, like Shum or Mr. Wigre, they care about the students more than/through the material they teach. The classroom feels safe and you can bring up any concerns with them. It's been interesting so far applying things I'm learning now to my past experiences. It all comes together through this lens of education. I can't wait to help others reach for their dreams.

Reflection 4

This week I read a book by Gong and went to Oak Canyon junior high to observe Terry Hunter.

Terry Hunter is a drafting teacher at Oak Canyon Junior High. His first period drafting class looked like it was mostly 7th graders. (They were all so tiny) We came on a day where he had a quiz on many aspects of drafting. He even gave us copies of the test to do along with them. I took drafting in high school and could remember many of the terms. But if I had paid attention before we started I could have gotten more right. Before the test he reviewed everything the test covered. I thought this was really cool, because I always appreciated this as a student, especially first thing in the morning. He had them put up folders for walls while they were taking it. Afterwards they started designing MagCars and me and Kevin graded their tests. We got done pretty fast and then started walking around. One kid was grabbing these curve templates and had a collection on his table. I joked with him that he should totally start collecting those. He laughed. It was fun joking with them. The classroom had a very comfortable feeling to it. A crazy thing was, Mr. Hunter is in the same school district as the previous teacher I visited and the school had the same layout AND THEY WERE IN THE SAME CLASSROOM! It was crazy to see the same room with a totally different setup. Mr. Hunter's was so full of stuff (drill presses, computers, desks, drafting materials, student projects and decorations) and Ryan's was not. It gave they classroom a totally different feeling even though the rooms were the same.

REFLECTION 5

I just got back from doing observations at Wastach High School in Heber, it was crazy! The school is really nice and the class we went to was the best tv broadcasting program in the state. It was neat to see the kids so into learning! A lot of it was self directed. The teacher takes his best students to New York every year to tour tv studios and he brings what he learns and implements it into his classroom. He said the more real you make it, the more excited the students are. They even have a window behind their anchors like on the Today Show (the silly people in the background), which i thought was a great touch. Apparently Blake took that class when he was at that high school, but they apparently got a new building since he graduated. It sounds like the most exciting thing that happen to a teacher (classroom wise) is to have a new school built. They actually get to design their classroom! I didn't know that was common practice, but it makes total sense.

It also happened to be where Scott Silver was student teaching. I personally am a little nervous for student teaching, but the kids actually seem to care about him and respond well to him. Now that I think about it, I did treat my student teachers with just as much respect as my actual teachers. But it was interesting hearing how it's been. It sounds pretty intense (a lesson plan everyday? But then I saw his mini lesson plan and I felt better). Also I forgot that the whole period is not talking at the class, most of it is work time (which is the part I'm really good at). We also got to meet the digital media teacher next door who was studying animation (like me) before he went into teaching. He had a couple of neat projects hanging on the walls.

Project one: he split up a movie poster into enough pieces to spread amongst all the students and had them paint it using photoshop. So each square had a different coloring style than the next. Then they would reassemble the poster on the wall.

Project 2: for basic photoshop stuff he had them make a little "all about me" collage. It had a picture of their face and things they liked. Super easy, but a fun way to teach lasso, type and other tools in photoshop.

Reflection 3

I just got done with my first observation at a junior high. It was an enlightening experience. I wondered what it would feel to actually be out in the schools, because in practicum I was too nervous to adequately enjoy it. I don't know if it's like this at most schools, but it had a really positive vibe. The kids were really well behaved and everyone seemed pretty happy. Unfortunately we didn't get to see Ryan teach much, because the councilors came in to do team building activities. But it was fun watching the kids (and helping them a little). They're so cute in middle school. So while the councilors were leading the class, Ryan showed us the other classrooms he uses. He teaches a lot of different things and his classes switch every quarter!

His classrooms are really nice, they're huge, roomy and he has a lot of good equipment. Tara and Rashel mentioned how in California the funding had been cut for things like this. I was in a pretty technology friendly school and we didn't get new computers all the time, but I can't imagine my school without them. I also notice the amount of Macs... I finally figured out why I hardly used Macs in my school experience, a lot of parents of the students worked at Microsoft and I know they donated stuff all the time. Honestly, I don't see a difference besides Macs having Final Cut.
But anyways, Ryan teaches communications using Gimp and that free version of illustrator (Ink something) and Blender. I love how much free software there is now. He even teaches a little Flash! It's crazy the amount of things he teaches. He also said he sets the curriculum. That would really freak me out my first you to not have a big overall plan ahead of time. But he's been teaching for 6 and a half years now and the kids seem to like him. He said it goes fast. I bet some of his former students have started graduating from high school, that would be weird.

He has a really good classroom set up you can easily get to any desk. It's hard to describe so I'll have to make a little diagram.

-------------------front-------------------
-------x-----x------------x-----x---------
-------x-----x------------x-----x---------
-------x-----x------------x-----x---------
-------x-----xxxxxxxxxxx-----x---------
-------x-------------------------x--------
-------xxxxxxxx-------xxxxxxxx--------
-----------------back---------------------

I also liked something in the school, their hallways have so much color and they have cool quotes on the walls, the whole school felt very inviting. I also liked the plaques next to every classroom that had the teacher's name and their picture at eye level (for the 7th graders anyways). Overall I just got a really positive feeling radiating from the whole school.

Reflection 2 Part 1

Wow, I finished that whole book... Took awhile, but I definitely learned a lot reading it. I guess I subconsciously noticed these things, but I never knew that they were good techniques!

It was neat reading stories of how their subs didn't show and the kids continued the class ON THEIR OWN! Though now that I think about it, that's how my graphics and art classes worked in high school. They were very predictable and I remember my classmates being on task. I also know I wasn't the only one who showed up early.

As I was reading I came across a part about how to set up your classroom so it's comfortable and relaxed. I went to a workshop about classroom layout at an art education last year, so it has been in my mind. I keep thinking about my high school class and how the classroom was set up. It had a communal desk type area in the middle for lecture and computers around the perimeter of the room. I know every room is different, but I would probably set it up similar to that. But I would want to add a little area somewhere in the room where they could sketch, get inspiration or eat a snack (since I don't want them eating at their computers). I imagine a couple of beanbag chairs, a short bookshelf with various art books and a cool rug underneath it. I was thinking of having it available to students who get their work done consistently. Though, the main purpose of that would be to get over any artist's block they might have by just sketching or perusing through the art books. Though I have to be careful to make sure I can get to every student (I don't exactly fit between rows very well). The main thing is keeping it relaxed and inviting, but organized. This includes having them know exactly where to turn in things, pick them up and it even said in the book you can have them be responsible for attendance!

I found it interesting that the way you handle the class in the first couple weeks sets the tone for the rest of the year. It still blows me away how important it is! Also some good tips were all over in the last few chapters on how to deal with the first day: have your name and period clearly posted so the students will know if they're in the right place. The book mentioned that being in the wrong class is a top fear on the first day, now that I think about it, they're right. Especially if it's your first day at the school and you don't know where anything is. I also like the idea of greeting them at the door on the first day. It gives me more chances to learn their names. Referring to them by their names is really important for the students and for me. Before I was teaching on Tuesday I was starting to get nervous again, but then I went through each person in the room and (happily) was able to name off each person. It put me more at ease actually recognizing individuals rather than a nebulous mass of people I don't know. That fits with me because I cater to individuals better than I do to groups.

I think my favorite part of teaching will be becoming friends with new people and helping them make the most of life. I want to expect and trust that they will succeed, and they will because I will be there to help them. I definitely don't want to raise my voice at them, because it creates awkwardness throughout the room, like one of my high school teachers. I love her to death, but she could not handle teenage boys very well, which wasn't good because she was a computer programming and MRI+ teacher... I was the only girl in those classes. I found a comforting fact in here; students are more influenced by conviction rather than straight up intelligence. I was worried that I had to know EVERYTHING!

Reading also did bring up some hard things for me, particularly my attitude towards myself. Luckily I have a couple years to work this out, but I have been my own worst bully. I need to get rid of my negative self talk, I can succeed and I will. I push through anything whether it be hard or easy and always come out on top in the end. I need to be confident in who I am and who I can be. If I don't care about myself, why should my students? Why would they take any of my advice seriously if I don't take it myself? Every time I act, I am an example, it shows who I am and I need to see myself as others see me. I need to get used to wearing more not so casual clothes, as I've been moving away from normal t-shirts I have been noticing I carry myself different, I didn't think it would make a difference. But it did. I always thought it a little shallow, but how we're dressed is how we're perceived and determines if we are respected. Last year I thought it would be funny to blend in with the students on the first day of school (I get mistaken for a younger person all the time) but after reading this book, that wouldn't be a good way to start off and would hurt my efforts the rest of the year.

Reflection 1

Well, it's the end of my first week of this class and so far I have already learned a lot. I've been reading Dr. Wong's book, "The First Days of School" and I have been surprised at new things and been reinforced in ideas I have already had.

I don't think I realized how important those first few days of school are in setting up how the class will work out the rest of the year. I guess it already makes sense in that is how you're supposed to raise children. They are like sponges those first few years of life and even though they may not remember it all, they gain the habits and skills that will become automatic later in their lives. It's harder to change something later than it is to teach it earlier. Now that I think about it, I did notice the difference in my high school classes. I had this one teacher, Mr. Wigre, who had order in his classroom. Even if he wasn't there at all times, everyone would still be working on their projects. The schedule was: we start at the desks and he gave a tutorial/gave announcements, then we would go to our computers and get to work. Now that I think about it, he was way more impressive than I gave him credit for. He could have up to 4 levels of graphic design students in one period, yet he still managed to give the different levels attention as a group and as individuals. I don't know how in the world he did it all! But anyways, the scheduel was great and predicatable. I knew where I was supposed to be. I also appreciated the calendar he would put up on the white board that had due dates for each level. I appreciated it because I really need a calendar to look at otherwise I forget everything. There was just a wonderful structure that encouraged you to go at your own pace and was flexible for all learners.

Another thing that was mentioned in the book is that if you expect your students to do well and treat them as such, they will. I already noticed this in high school in different classes I would take. Sometimes there would be a kid who just did not do well and the teacher didn't expect them to do well, so they didn't. It was really sad, because some of them were my friends or had been my friends in the past. You always need to expect the best from people, usually they will try to meet your expectations, especially if you are genuine. In class we talked about taking it a step further and seeing the students as God sees them. They are his sons and daughters, as are we. It's such a powerful perspective to have. We have all been lead to teaching one way or another and Heavenly Father is trusting us to do the best we can do to help our brothers and sisters be successful and happy in life. What a responsibility and a blessing. The students need to feel cared for, we may become the only stability in some of these kids lives as the world becomes a meaner, more dangerous place. Kids now are facing things we didn't have to until much later. More children are coming from broken families and bad situations. We are their lifeline, the light that will lead them somewhere better. We need to reach out for them, you never know the impact you will have on someone.

Another thing I have been struggling with is asking questions to check for understanding. This is not the first education class I've taken, in fact I took the next levels for this class in TEE and Art Ed, and I've always struggled with checking for understanding. But I found a few helpful suggestions in the book. Since I'm making a lesson plan anyways, make the questions ahead of time. Also, taking from relief society, maybe hand out a few of the questions on slips of paper to random students so you KNOW there is someone out there with the answer, because they would have been listening to the lesson with that question in mind. The book says if you give the student more than a second to answer the question, usually they come up with something more thought provoking than "yes" or "no".

Another thing I have been thinking about lately is learning to love being a teacher and if I could ever get past my inhibitions and actually be able to teach. While I was reading about effective and ineffective teachers it talked about treating it as a profession and not a job. It's not just a paycheck, it's so much more than that. Teachers are the next external things after parents (and media) that help a child perceive their world and what they are capable of. I've only had some kinda scary experiences of teaching so far, but if I think I actually was able to think of the individuals I was teaching it would be less scary. I honestly don't know why I have a fear of public speaking anyways... But I know this is where I'm supposed to be and what I'm supposed to be learning. I would have never found this major on my own, I know there's something I need to learn here.