I'm writing this later than I intended so this post may be a bit shorter than I wanted it to be because I've forgotten some things. I need to get in the habit of writing this every Friday.
So, days two and three were somewhat eventful.
First, I had to interact with students for the first time. They were writing essays to practice writing for standardized tests. They had to write a response to evidence of foreshadowing in a short story. A student asked me how to start the essay and I froze. I haven't written an eighth grade style essay since I was in eighth grade. How do they start? I answered the question to the best of my availability (I quickly found out that my answer was wrong). And then I just walked around reading their essays, looking for their evidence, telling them if what they gave was actually evidence. By third period, I was getting a lot better at talking to them and by day three, I wasn't really nervous at all to talk to them, which I am taking as a good sign.
I also got to sit in on a meeting with the eighth grade teachers. They were having a meeting to discuss many things but ended up really only talking about one thing. One student, actually. There was an incident where a student brought a box cutter and a shank (I believe made out of a nail) to school and the student was never suspended. The dean of discipline came into this meeting ready to fight with the other teachers. She was literally yelling at the math teacher about an email that she had sent (an email that none of the other teachers remembered seeing). Anyway, apparently the father of the student came in and appealed the discipline and said that this student had never been in trouble before so she shouldn't be given some leniency and that "it wasn't technically a knife." This blew my mind. Not technically a knife?! Aren't we quibbling a little bit over the definition of a knife? The student still brought a blade into school and a shank. And regardless of whether or not the student had ever been in trouble before, this was a major first offense. If I had never committed a crime and them I decided to assault someone, the penal system would still punish me, would they not? This child needed to be disciplined. They did end up suspending the student, but it had been almost two weeks since the weapons were first brought into school, so at that point, what has this student learned from the situation?
I also sat in on an ELA meeting where all of the ELA teachers in the school met to talk about testing and scheduling. I also got to meet the other teachers which was nice.
I also had to scold a student, which was new for me. They were using Chromebooks and were not supposed to use any other websites and one student kept going on youtube. I had to talk to him three times about it but he did stop going on youtube so maybe the kids will respect me the same way they respect her.
I guess we'll see.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Friday, October 16, 2015
PrePrac: Day One
Well, I finally started my preprac. And it was about time too because I was starting to worry that I never would.
I walked into the school and went to the office where I was greeted by...no one. There was no secretary, no principal. No one at all. I saw a teacher sign-in book and saw that my supervising teacher (who for privacy reasons I'll call J) had already signed in, so I knew she was there. Five minutes go by. One teacher walked in, didn't look at me. Another came in, same thing. A third comes in, "Hi, are you waiting for someone?" Yes! Finally someone acknowledges me! "Yes, I'm starting observations today and I don't know where I'm supposed to go." "Okay," said the teacher and she signed in and left the room. Uh, okay. I thought you were going to help me out since there is no one in the office right now, but no it's cool, I'll just be late to first period on my first day. Whatever. Two more teachers came in and one of them looks at me, her hand clutching a coffee from Dunkin Donuts, and said, "Hi, are you waiting for the principal?" I decided to word my answer differently than I did with the first teacher who acknowledged me, "No, I'm here to start student teaching and I don't know where the classroom is or where I'm supposed to sign in or anything." She walked behind the counter, handed me the book that I was supposed to sign in in and told me to sit tight and she would go get my supervising teacher. This woman will forever be a godsend to me. Had it not been for her I would have stood in that office for God knows how long.
The Godsend came back and told me to follow her so that she could show me where the classroom was. On our way there, we were greeted by my supervising teacher, who reminded me so much of my favorite English teacher from high school, something I am taking as a good sign. J walked me up to her classroom and told me to make myself comfortable and sit at her desk. She had an extremely easy going personality. I felt comfortable with her right away; something that is very important as I tend to be wary of asking for help. She said she was done with classes at 12:20 that day and we could meet and talk a little bit more then. And she left to go and get her students.
You can learn a lot about the type of teacher someone is by their classroom set up. She had a piece of paper covering the clock so the students couldn't check the time, and there were signs on the door that said "Tough is your middle name" and "It all starts here." There was also a big sign above her board that said "No whining." Okay, she's a tough teacher. Definitely not a bad thing. She also had a porcelain jar on her desk that said "Ashes of Obnoxious Teenagers." She was a tough teacher with a sense of humor. Absolutely not a bad thing. Possibly the best type of teacher for me to learn from.
The classes weren't doing anything too intense today, just reading a scene from a play. But it gave me the opportunity to see how the students reacted to her and how she worked with them. You could tell that the students respected her. They were more behaved than a lot of the students in my 8th grade class. Even the "intervention" class didn't seem too bad, they definitely seemed a bit more difficult, but definitely not the worst students I'd ever seen. But I mustn't get too far ahead of myself, it was only the first day.
J chose not to tell the kids who I was today. She said she wanted me to remain a mystery for now and that if any of the kids asked me who I was, then just tell them not to worry about it and to go back to their classwork. For the most part, the kids asked her who I was. One student asked if I was her daughter. Yeah, she's only six years older than me so no. Curse my perpetually 18 year old looking face! Although even then, what was she 12 when she had me?! Anywho, during one of the last classes, one boy turned around and asked me if I was with CityYear. I told him I wasn't. Then he asked me, "What are you doing here?" I smiled and told him that he'd find out soon enough who I was and I went back to taking notes.
At the end of the day, well, the end of J's day. We chatted for a little bit with the teaching interns from CityYear and then sat down to have our meeting. We talked about how often I would be in her classroom, when my full time student teaching starts, what my preprac entails, what my practicum entails. And I told her that I was very nervous. Having never been in front of a classroom before. She told me not to worry and that I wouldn't be nervous after a few days. She sent me an email after I left with her contact info and attached a list of all of the students names, seating charts, what she expects from student teachers. She also told me that when I go back on Wednesday, she'll tell the kids who I am. Hopefully after that, I won't be so nervous. When I feel more like a teacher and less like a creepy person in the back of the class taking notes.
I am still nervous though. Terrified, actually. I suffer from crippling self doubt. I never think I can accomplish anything. But I am pushing through that for this. I have pushed myself through that all throughout college and grad school and now, I'm starting student teaching, so no matter how much I doubt myself, I need to push through. And I need to remember that asking for help is nothing to be ashamed of, asking questions does not make me stupid, and during this time I am still a student. I am still learning. I'm bound to make some mistakes along the way. Rome wasn't built in a day, after all. If I remember that and keep lines of communication always open between J and myself, than hopefully in May when I finish and reread this blog, I'll see extreme growth and be incredibly proud.
Or I'll hate myself and be incredibly embarrassed; one of the two.
I walked into the school and went to the office where I was greeted by...no one. There was no secretary, no principal. No one at all. I saw a teacher sign-in book and saw that my supervising teacher (who for privacy reasons I'll call J) had already signed in, so I knew she was there. Five minutes go by. One teacher walked in, didn't look at me. Another came in, same thing. A third comes in, "Hi, are you waiting for someone?" Yes! Finally someone acknowledges me! "Yes, I'm starting observations today and I don't know where I'm supposed to go." "Okay," said the teacher and she signed in and left the room. Uh, okay. I thought you were going to help me out since there is no one in the office right now, but no it's cool, I'll just be late to first period on my first day. Whatever. Two more teachers came in and one of them looks at me, her hand clutching a coffee from Dunkin Donuts, and said, "Hi, are you waiting for the principal?" I decided to word my answer differently than I did with the first teacher who acknowledged me, "No, I'm here to start student teaching and I don't know where the classroom is or where I'm supposed to sign in or anything." She walked behind the counter, handed me the book that I was supposed to sign in in and told me to sit tight and she would go get my supervising teacher. This woman will forever be a godsend to me. Had it not been for her I would have stood in that office for God knows how long.
The Godsend came back and told me to follow her so that she could show me where the classroom was. On our way there, we were greeted by my supervising teacher, who reminded me so much of my favorite English teacher from high school, something I am taking as a good sign. J walked me up to her classroom and told me to make myself comfortable and sit at her desk. She had an extremely easy going personality. I felt comfortable with her right away; something that is very important as I tend to be wary of asking for help. She said she was done with classes at 12:20 that day and we could meet and talk a little bit more then. And she left to go and get her students.
You can learn a lot about the type of teacher someone is by their classroom set up. She had a piece of paper covering the clock so the students couldn't check the time, and there were signs on the door that said "Tough is your middle name" and "It all starts here." There was also a big sign above her board that said "No whining." Okay, she's a tough teacher. Definitely not a bad thing. She also had a porcelain jar on her desk that said "Ashes of Obnoxious Teenagers." She was a tough teacher with a sense of humor. Absolutely not a bad thing. Possibly the best type of teacher for me to learn from.
The classes weren't doing anything too intense today, just reading a scene from a play. But it gave me the opportunity to see how the students reacted to her and how she worked with them. You could tell that the students respected her. They were more behaved than a lot of the students in my 8th grade class. Even the "intervention" class didn't seem too bad, they definitely seemed a bit more difficult, but definitely not the worst students I'd ever seen. But I mustn't get too far ahead of myself, it was only the first day.
J chose not to tell the kids who I was today. She said she wanted me to remain a mystery for now and that if any of the kids asked me who I was, then just tell them not to worry about it and to go back to their classwork. For the most part, the kids asked her who I was. One student asked if I was her daughter. Yeah, she's only six years older than me so no. Curse my perpetually 18 year old looking face! Although even then, what was she 12 when she had me?! Anywho, during one of the last classes, one boy turned around and asked me if I was with CityYear. I told him I wasn't. Then he asked me, "What are you doing here?" I smiled and told him that he'd find out soon enough who I was and I went back to taking notes.
At the end of the day, well, the end of J's day. We chatted for a little bit with the teaching interns from CityYear and then sat down to have our meeting. We talked about how often I would be in her classroom, when my full time student teaching starts, what my preprac entails, what my practicum entails. And I told her that I was very nervous. Having never been in front of a classroom before. She told me not to worry and that I wouldn't be nervous after a few days. She sent me an email after I left with her contact info and attached a list of all of the students names, seating charts, what she expects from student teachers. She also told me that when I go back on Wednesday, she'll tell the kids who I am. Hopefully after that, I won't be so nervous. When I feel more like a teacher and less like a creepy person in the back of the class taking notes.
I am still nervous though. Terrified, actually. I suffer from crippling self doubt. I never think I can accomplish anything. But I am pushing through that for this. I have pushed myself through that all throughout college and grad school and now, I'm starting student teaching, so no matter how much I doubt myself, I need to push through. And I need to remember that asking for help is nothing to be ashamed of, asking questions does not make me stupid, and during this time I am still a student. I am still learning. I'm bound to make some mistakes along the way. Rome wasn't built in a day, after all. If I remember that and keep lines of communication always open between J and myself, than hopefully in May when I finish and reread this blog, I'll see extreme growth and be incredibly proud.
Or I'll hate myself and be incredibly embarrassed; one of the two.
Friday, September 25, 2015
It begins...
Hello All!
This year, I'm completing my last year of the Master's of Education/Initial Licensure program at the University of Massachusetts Boston. This means that first semester, I will be finishing up my classes (English Methods, RETELL, and Studies in Literature and Film) in addition to completing my prepracticum in an ELA classroom (ELA being the subject I wish to teach) at a school in Boston. A prepracticum, or preprac, is the first stage of student teaching. You observe, do some light classroom assisting, teach mini lessons, a lesson here or there, and get your feet wet. Next semester I will be a full blown student teacher completing my practicum hopefully at the same school where I complete my preprac.
This blog will be my way of documenting my anxieties about becoming an actual teacher of record, my experiences in front of the classroom, and my general feelings throughout the process. I will first tell you all that I am very nervous about starting my teaching career. I've wanted to be a teacher since I was four (save for a few years in late middle, early high school when I wanted to be a lawyer) and all I've ever been was a student; now that I'm approaching the finish line of the race to be a teacher of record, I'm really scared. What if my students don't pass their standardized tests and I get fired? What if none of my students pass because I'm actually a bad teacher and I get fired? What if I accidentally say something that a student may find offensive and then I get fired? There are just so many different targets on teachers' backs that sometimes it's daunting to put on the teacher hat. Don't get me wrong, even when I sit in my classes, absolutely terrified of all of the unknowns about the teaching profession, I still believe in my heart of hearts that I was meant to do this job. I think that being an educator is, far and away, the most important job in the entire world. I think I'll be a good teacher, maybe even a great one, and that is the thought I hang on to when my professors tell me stories about different reasons that various teachers that they knew were fired. That's the thought I hang on to when I hear people talk about the thankless job I'm pursuing. That's the thought I hang on to when people talk about how grossly under payed teachers are. This is the most important job in the world and I think that I will be good at it.
Let me tell you where I am thus far in my final year of graduate school. I'm going into my third week of classes. I'm two weeks behind in class because - ho ho ho - I don't have a preprac placement yet. I emailed the woman in charge of placing the graduate students and she said, "I'm sorry you don't have a placement yet. We're having a hard time placing all of the ELA students because there are just so many of you. I'll email you when I have placement for you." This infuriated many of the ELA students because, yes there are a lot of us, but this is also HER JOB and she had all summer to do it. The amount of us that didn't have placements when the semester started was astonishing. I emailed her again when I realized how far behind in my classes I would be and she replied, "I understand it's frustrating. There is an opening at a middle school in a 7th/8th grade ELA class. Would that work?" I emailed her back telling her that it would work PERFECTLY and asked her who I should contact at the school and she gave me an email address. Now, bear in mind, I would prefer to teach high school, but this school is an easy commute for me and at this point, I want a placement more than to teach high school. Also, lately the idea of teaching middle school has become more and more appealing. I've emailed the principal of the school and I've called, so far, no response, no answer. I'm really hoping I hear on Monday, and even if I don't I'm going to call again. I really hope this placement works out though because it really seems perfect for me.
Until next time!
This year, I'm completing my last year of the Master's of Education/Initial Licensure program at the University of Massachusetts Boston. This means that first semester, I will be finishing up my classes (English Methods, RETELL, and Studies in Literature and Film) in addition to completing my prepracticum in an ELA classroom (ELA being the subject I wish to teach) at a school in Boston. A prepracticum, or preprac, is the first stage of student teaching. You observe, do some light classroom assisting, teach mini lessons, a lesson here or there, and get your feet wet. Next semester I will be a full blown student teacher completing my practicum hopefully at the same school where I complete my preprac.
This blog will be my way of documenting my anxieties about becoming an actual teacher of record, my experiences in front of the classroom, and my general feelings throughout the process. I will first tell you all that I am very nervous about starting my teaching career. I've wanted to be a teacher since I was four (save for a few years in late middle, early high school when I wanted to be a lawyer) and all I've ever been was a student; now that I'm approaching the finish line of the race to be a teacher of record, I'm really scared. What if my students don't pass their standardized tests and I get fired? What if none of my students pass because I'm actually a bad teacher and I get fired? What if I accidentally say something that a student may find offensive and then I get fired? There are just so many different targets on teachers' backs that sometimes it's daunting to put on the teacher hat. Don't get me wrong, even when I sit in my classes, absolutely terrified of all of the unknowns about the teaching profession, I still believe in my heart of hearts that I was meant to do this job. I think that being an educator is, far and away, the most important job in the entire world. I think I'll be a good teacher, maybe even a great one, and that is the thought I hang on to when my professors tell me stories about different reasons that various teachers that they knew were fired. That's the thought I hang on to when I hear people talk about the thankless job I'm pursuing. That's the thought I hang on to when people talk about how grossly under payed teachers are. This is the most important job in the world and I think that I will be good at it.
Let me tell you where I am thus far in my final year of graduate school. I'm going into my third week of classes. I'm two weeks behind in class because - ho ho ho - I don't have a preprac placement yet. I emailed the woman in charge of placing the graduate students and she said, "I'm sorry you don't have a placement yet. We're having a hard time placing all of the ELA students because there are just so many of you. I'll email you when I have placement for you." This infuriated many of the ELA students because, yes there are a lot of us, but this is also HER JOB and she had all summer to do it. The amount of us that didn't have placements when the semester started was astonishing. I emailed her again when I realized how far behind in my classes I would be and she replied, "I understand it's frustrating. There is an opening at a middle school in a 7th/8th grade ELA class. Would that work?" I emailed her back telling her that it would work PERFECTLY and asked her who I should contact at the school and she gave me an email address. Now, bear in mind, I would prefer to teach high school, but this school is an easy commute for me and at this point, I want a placement more than to teach high school. Also, lately the idea of teaching middle school has become more and more appealing. I've emailed the principal of the school and I've called, so far, no response, no answer. I'm really hoping I hear on Monday, and even if I don't I'm going to call again. I really hope this placement works out though because it really seems perfect for me.
Until next time!
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