We are in the 5th week of the school year, and my desk perpetually has 5-6 piles of papers covering it. Of course, I know what is in each pile. But when my department chair came into my classroom this morning, I felt momentarily embarrassed by my "lack of organization." To make matters worse: continuously repeating in my mind are the words of one of my colleagues who dropped a nugget of advice on me at the Literacy Institute this summer: "To teach as long as I have (40 years!), you have to be organized. If you look disorganized, the kids see it, and it affects their respect for you and what you do." ...Yikes.
I am generally a very thorough grader, but I often do hand back papers long after I should have. Sometimes, when a stack has been sitting on my desk for way too long (a week and a half to two weeks), I know I'm never going to take the time to grade it with care, so I just slap a check or check minus at the top of it and hand it back to the kids, or I give up and toss it in the recycle box. For sanity's sake, though, it's ok that the students sometimes get the practice without a grade. The really important papers are graded promptly and carefully, but those keep multiplying faster than I can keep up!
Here's what's going on in my classes this week:
SOPH WORLD LIT
We finished our study of Gilgamesh and Noah, and the students worked on their compare/contrast essays on "the flood story." I haven't graded these yet, but this will be the first sample of these students' essay writing ability. As I grade them, I will have a better idea about what we need to focus on in our writing practice. The students have also been working on an open book/note test review that is provided by the textbook publisher. These are higher-level thinking questions, and require the students to answer a multiple choice question about the text and then provide evidence to support the answer they've chosen. I really like these. The students sometimes get frustrated because the questions are harder than the questions in the book, but I offer as much assistance as I can and even let them work in pairs. Furthermore, the students had to (as I mentioned in my previous post) use the key words of our "word wall" in a paragraph explaining what they learned in this unit, and they had to come up with 10 questions that would make good test questions for this material. To help them prepare even more, I put a list of materials they should study over the weekend. Monday is their test (I guess I should finish making that, huh?!) and Tuesday we'll start the next unit.
LA 2
This class received a new seating chart this week. On an Activity Workbook assignment, most of the class scored 40's-low 60's. They are constantly off task, talking in their native languages, and disruptive of each others' learning. So, I moved them to seats that I felt would separate the talkers, combine those who wanted to practice their English with speakers of other languages, and isolate those who constantly disrupt others. They've been in these seats for about 3 days now, and it is working wonderfully! There are 2 girls in particular (one from the Ivory Coast and one from Peru) who have the highest grades and are the most motivated to learn English. I placed them next to each other, and my heart just about burst when I saw how well they were working together today! :) I will continue to work with this class on their behavior and patience with the language.
LDC 3
This week, we read a chapter in the Visions C book called "The Mystery of the Cliff Dwellers," and informative text about an ancient Native American culture. The students completed all required work for the chapter (adding to the piles on my desk! LOL), and I wanted something fun that they could do to practice their essay writing skills. So, I went to the Media Center and picked up 8 books on ancient cultures (Aztecs, Amazons, Romans...). Then, at the beginning of class, I walked them through the basic organization for an essay (components of an Intro, Body, and Conclusion) and told them, "You are going to pretend that you and your small group of 3-4 people are researchers who have to write a professional report on an ancient culture that you'd been studying. So, flip through your book, find a few things about the culture that you think are interesting, and follow the essay format to write your report." The students liked that they got to choose which culture they wanted (though, there were some fights over who got Ancient Egypt!), and they worked really well, explaining to each other and talking about the different parts of an essay. They'll finish the assignment on Monday, and we'll see how this introduction to essay writing went for them. :)
JR AMERICAN LIT
As we enter our study of the earliest explorers and settlers in American history, I showed the students and introductory slide show presentation about the 3 forms of travel books we'll study in this unit: journal, narrative account, and slave narrative. As I talked about Christopher Columbus, John Smith, Jamestown, Plymouth, and early slave trade, the students were happy to chime in with facts they'd already learned in their American History classes. They asked some interesting questions, too!: "If Columbus thought he was in Asia, how could he have named his book 'Journal of the First Voyage to AMERICA'?" I'd honestly never even thought about that before. LOL Whenever the students ask questions and I don't know the answer, I tell them: "You find out, report back to me, and I'll give you 5 points extra credit." So far, at least 4 students have earned extra credit, and the students are interested in asking questions! They know the question has to stump me, though (and I know almost everything! haha!), so it has become a little competative. We'll move through this unit in a couple of weeks' time and lay the foundations for the next unit on Puritanism.
This Week's The Bad/The Good:
The Bad: I had to deal with the rare occasion when my personal strife began to affect my attitude in the classroom. Because I was dealing with personal unhappiness and frustration (which I'm blessed to say doesn't happen very ofen in my life), I felt myself being short with the students, being frustrated with my performance, and being negative toward everyone around me. It was a struggle to bury that the best I could and try to be nice, supportive, and keep a smile on my face. What performers we sometimes have to be. It was exhausting!
The Good: I am really please with how the new seating chart is working out for my LA 2 students. I hope they continue to stay focused and pratice patience when learning something new. They are so quick to feel frustrated and give in to distraction at this level of English ability. I'll continue to encourage them and assist them so they'll feel more motivated to do better.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Open House AKA Extra Planning Time
As an ESL teacher, I've become used to the fact that "Open House" night is an extra 2-3 hours I spend at school in the evening planning lessons for the next couple of weeks. Parents just don't show up. At best, I get 3-4 of my students, and 2-3 of my advisees. That's about it. I understand that there is a lot keeping ESL parents from the school in the evening, but it's just another example of how very little parents are involved in school these days. Those numbers also speak to the amount of parent contacts I get during the year, too.
Anyhow, I'm definitely going to plan out the next month of lessons for all 4 of my courses as soon as I finish typing this! :) At least that will get me well-organized for the next few weeks, and it will be less stress on me.
Here's what's going on in my classes:
SOPH WORLD LIT
We are just about finished with Gilgamesh and Genesis. I'm doing something new this year: I've separated my units into sequential themes and put up a poster-sized paper that says, "How It All Began: An Archetypal Foundation." On that poster, I've put words like "Archetype" "Epic" "Tragic Flaw" "Immortality" "Flood"... Yes, it's like a word wall. As a review before the test next week, I'm going to ask the students to define these words the best they can from memory, and then use them all to write a long paragraph explaining what we studied with these two stories. :) They'll hate it, but it'll be SO good for them! Tomorrow, they'll start planning for their Utnapishtim/Noah compare/contrast essay. That way, when they get back from Labor Day weekend, they'll have their brainstorming and notes all ready to go!
We are all kind of excited to be moving past this period of literature, though. It's exciting at first, but it gets old very quickly. Next up: Oedipus...and I ROCK at Oedipus. :) (The kids like it, too, which is always a plus!).
LDC 3
We are just finishing our unit on Mystery. We read a Sherlock Holmes story from one of the novel adaptations the ESL dept. has. It was "The Adventure of the Speckled Band." The kids took notes and were little detectives as they read. As previously posted, they used detective story terms, and followed the clues. We even talked about plot and used Jim Burke's plot diagram and the students' notes to map out the plot of the story. We had some good discussions about rising action and climax. I was able to clarify some things for the students, and some of them made observations about how inaccurate plot maps are because the "climax is NEVER in the MIDDLE of the story. It's always near the end!" Very astute. :)
I'm not sure what our next unit will be, but I've found that these students (all freshman) are in great need of some writing skills. I'll be introducing them to DOL and chunk writing very soon. :) Mwahahahahahahahaha!
LA 2
This class is adorable. Most of the kids are hard workers, and my 2 trouble students have been removed from the class, so it goes much smoother now. My worst problem is all of the talking! These kids are so quick to start up side conversations! I've been able to tamp it down as of late, though, by sending one student in particular to do her work outside when needed; and walking around the whole time to help individuals as needed.
The students haven't figured out how to study for the quizzes I give them (if they'd only take my advice and study 2 specific documents each time, they'd be all set!), but they'll learn soon enough.
JR AMERICAN LIT
We just concluded our unit on Native American literature (origin myths) and the students did relatively well. There were a few disappointments with the unit test, but it was expected. I'm a hard tester because I give them the same tests any other CP (and sometimes Honors) students would get. They'll catch on, and they'll be that much more prepared for the Graduation Test and End of Course Test at the end of the year.
From here, we move into the early explorers and Puritans--one of my favorite units to teach because we do The Crucible, and it is WONDERFUL. :) This is a huge class, and they're pretty rowdy, so I'm hoping they keep it together enough to focus and enjoy. I can always tell them that we won't watch the movie if they misbehave...that always does the trick. Ha!
Meantime, these students are still working on their autobiographies every Friday in the computer lab. Using Google Docs so they can share their documents, and I can edit and comment online has presented some challenges; but it's been an overall useful tool.
This Week's The Bad/The Good
The Bad: Even though I'm getting my 7 hrs of sleep each night, I'm starting to still feel tired in the morning. Has the school year already worn me down?
The Good: My students asked me why I smile when I "try to be mean." I guess this means--even though I get irritated with them--I'm still having fun. :)
Anyhow, I'm definitely going to plan out the next month of lessons for all 4 of my courses as soon as I finish typing this! :) At least that will get me well-organized for the next few weeks, and it will be less stress on me.
Here's what's going on in my classes:
SOPH WORLD LIT
We are just about finished with Gilgamesh and Genesis. I'm doing something new this year: I've separated my units into sequential themes and put up a poster-sized paper that says, "How It All Began: An Archetypal Foundation." On that poster, I've put words like "Archetype" "Epic" "Tragic Flaw" "Immortality" "Flood"... Yes, it's like a word wall. As a review before the test next week, I'm going to ask the students to define these words the best they can from memory, and then use them all to write a long paragraph explaining what we studied with these two stories. :) They'll hate it, but it'll be SO good for them! Tomorrow, they'll start planning for their Utnapishtim/Noah compare/contrast essay. That way, when they get back from Labor Day weekend, they'll have their brainstorming and notes all ready to go!
We are all kind of excited to be moving past this period of literature, though. It's exciting at first, but it gets old very quickly. Next up: Oedipus...and I ROCK at Oedipus. :) (The kids like it, too, which is always a plus!).
LDC 3
We are just finishing our unit on Mystery. We read a Sherlock Holmes story from one of the novel adaptations the ESL dept. has. It was "The Adventure of the Speckled Band." The kids took notes and were little detectives as they read. As previously posted, they used detective story terms, and followed the clues. We even talked about plot and used Jim Burke's plot diagram and the students' notes to map out the plot of the story. We had some good discussions about rising action and climax. I was able to clarify some things for the students, and some of them made observations about how inaccurate plot maps are because the "climax is NEVER in the MIDDLE of the story. It's always near the end!" Very astute. :)
I'm not sure what our next unit will be, but I've found that these students (all freshman) are in great need of some writing skills. I'll be introducing them to DOL and chunk writing very soon. :) Mwahahahahahahahaha!
LA 2
This class is adorable. Most of the kids are hard workers, and my 2 trouble students have been removed from the class, so it goes much smoother now. My worst problem is all of the talking! These kids are so quick to start up side conversations! I've been able to tamp it down as of late, though, by sending one student in particular to do her work outside when needed; and walking around the whole time to help individuals as needed.
The students haven't figured out how to study for the quizzes I give them (if they'd only take my advice and study 2 specific documents each time, they'd be all set!), but they'll learn soon enough.
JR AMERICAN LIT
We just concluded our unit on Native American literature (origin myths) and the students did relatively well. There were a few disappointments with the unit test, but it was expected. I'm a hard tester because I give them the same tests any other CP (and sometimes Honors) students would get. They'll catch on, and they'll be that much more prepared for the Graduation Test and End of Course Test at the end of the year.
From here, we move into the early explorers and Puritans--one of my favorite units to teach because we do The Crucible, and it is WONDERFUL. :) This is a huge class, and they're pretty rowdy, so I'm hoping they keep it together enough to focus and enjoy. I can always tell them that we won't watch the movie if they misbehave...that always does the trick. Ha!
Meantime, these students are still working on their autobiographies every Friday in the computer lab. Using Google Docs so they can share their documents, and I can edit and comment online has presented some challenges; but it's been an overall useful tool.
This Week's The Bad/The Good
The Bad: Even though I'm getting my 7 hrs of sleep each night, I'm starting to still feel tired in the morning. Has the school year already worn me down?
The Good: My students asked me why I smile when I "try to be mean." I guess this means--even though I get irritated with them--I'm still having fun. :)
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
So Far, Group Work is Working!
As mentioned in previous posts, my motto for this school year is "More on them, less on me." I'm putting the students in the driver's seat of their own learning. I'll be there as the driver's ed instructor who occasionally needs to take the wheel. Keeping this in mind as I plan lessons, I've used quite a few different forms of group work during these first couple of weeks of school. Here are some of the best examples:
JR American Lit:
In the first unit, we learn about origin myths from Native American Indians. There are three myths in the textbook, and even though they are short tales, they are quite dense. So, for our study of The Navajo Origin Lesson, I put the students into small groups of 4-5, they took turns reading the tales aloud, and then they created a flow chart for the steps of the Navajo ritual they learned about. It was wonderful to walk around between the groups and hear the students instructing each other on which pictures to draw, descriptions to include, and the order in which the events happened. They were teaching each other while I walked around and clarified things like "ear of corn" ("No, don't draw ears"). The students were proud of the posters they created, and hung them on the wall at the back of the classroom. Some even corrected other groups: "You forgot the part when...". Those are some of my favorite moments as a teacher: when they correct each other on the content. :)
LDC 3:
In this class, the unit we're studying focuses on mystery. We have an Illustrated Classics edition of some Sherlock Holmes stories, and I'd like us to read one or two. To introduce the students to the elements of a detective story, though, I used some of the handouts and ideas from this lesson called Ingredients of a Mystery. After I inroduced the students to some of the vocabulary, they worked together in small groups to fill out the "Detective Case Report" handout with their own ideas for a detective mystery. Then, they had to work as a team to come up with all of the details for the story. Listening to their ideas has been fun, and watching them carefully construct a story with all of the necessary elements has been fun. They'll have to use a lot of structure later, so I might as well get them used to it now! :)
All other classes are going well. I'm allowing them to work in partners/small groups more with daily assignments. ELL students are generally so needy that I buzz around the room all day answering questions, so if they can help each other out, that saves me a trip across the room! I'm still up and moving all period, every period, though.
One student said to me today: "Miss, what they say about you is true."
I thought, oh lord!, but I asked: "What's that?"
"That you make us read...A LOT!" she said.
"Well, that's true. But you have a lot to learn." I replied.
"Yeah, that's true, too." she smiled.
I think they see what I'm trying to do for them, and they appreciate it. I haven't had any complaints so far, and have even had a few compliments and thank you's. ...So, I'll just keep doing what I think is best. :)
JR American Lit:
In the first unit, we learn about origin myths from Native American Indians. There are three myths in the textbook, and even though they are short tales, they are quite dense. So, for our study of The Navajo Origin Lesson, I put the students into small groups of 4-5, they took turns reading the tales aloud, and then they created a flow chart for the steps of the Navajo ritual they learned about. It was wonderful to walk around between the groups and hear the students instructing each other on which pictures to draw, descriptions to include, and the order in which the events happened. They were teaching each other while I walked around and clarified things like "ear of corn" ("No, don't draw ears"). The students were proud of the posters they created, and hung them on the wall at the back of the classroom. Some even corrected other groups: "You forgot the part when...". Those are some of my favorite moments as a teacher: when they correct each other on the content. :)
LDC 3:
In this class, the unit we're studying focuses on mystery. We have an Illustrated Classics edition of some Sherlock Holmes stories, and I'd like us to read one or two. To introduce the students to the elements of a detective story, though, I used some of the handouts and ideas from this lesson called Ingredients of a Mystery. After I inroduced the students to some of the vocabulary, they worked together in small groups to fill out the "Detective Case Report" handout with their own ideas for a detective mystery. Then, they had to work as a team to come up with all of the details for the story. Listening to their ideas has been fun, and watching them carefully construct a story with all of the necessary elements has been fun. They'll have to use a lot of structure later, so I might as well get them used to it now! :)
All other classes are going well. I'm allowing them to work in partners/small groups more with daily assignments. ELL students are generally so needy that I buzz around the room all day answering questions, so if they can help each other out, that saves me a trip across the room! I'm still up and moving all period, every period, though.
One student said to me today: "Miss, what they say about you is true."
I thought, oh lord!, but I asked: "What's that?"
"That you make us read...A LOT!" she said.
"Well, that's true. But you have a lot to learn." I replied.
"Yeah, that's true, too." she smiled.
I think they see what I'm trying to do for them, and they appreciate it. I haven't had any complaints so far, and have even had a few compliments and thank you's. ...So, I'll just keep doing what I think is best. :)
Monday, August 15, 2011
1st Week Back: My Feet Are Killing Me!
This has been the smoothest 1st week back to school that I can remember. All of my preparations during preplanning really paid off, and classes have run nicely. Thanks to my seating charts, I know almost all of my new students' names, and I already have 2-3 grades for the students in each class. About the only thing that is bothering me so far is the fact that my feet ache horribly by mid-day. I know that some teachers take house shoes to wear in the classroom, but I feel like only teachers who are 50+ can pull that off in an endearing way. If I did it, I feel like a slob. :) So, I'll suffer for the sake of professionalism.
A few thoughts about my classes:
Language Arts Level II--my seating chart has proven ineffective in this class. Of course, class goes smoother when students who feel comfortable with each other can sit near each other and/or work together. What is interesting is that 5 of 17 students there are mostly using Spanish to communicate, and the other Hispanic students have requested to be moved away from them so they can practice their English with the Asian and French-speaking students. So, the left side of my classroom is made up of a very wide variety, while the right side has 5 Hispanic students. As they all feel more comfortable with each other, I'll mix them up again. For now, I'm going to learn more about each of them and their levels of English ability.
Junior American Lit--my evil 6th period class and my heavenly 1st period class from last year have both combined into 7th period JR LA. This class is a non-stop chatter box. I've decided to work with it, though, and give the students plenty of work that is group-work friendly. That way, they can interact with each other, but if they don't get their work done, it's on them. I fought 6th period to the very end of last year, so I know that it's futile to try to mold them into quiet, studious, attentive pupils. They are an unfortunate mix of loud, hyper, attention-seeking individuals, and this year I'm putting all of the responsibility on them. One-on-one, each of them is awesome. Put them together, though, and it's a 55-minute "Let me top that!" routine.
Sophomore World Lit--I have some repeaters in these classes, so it's been fun to find out how much they remember from last year. :) They actually remember quite a bit from the story of Gilgamesh so far, which only reinforces the fact that they failed more from laziness and incomplete work than a lack of learning. Hopefully, they'll apply themselves more this year. The new students seem interested in what we're learning so far. Sometimes I wonder if I break down the information too much, but so far we've had good discussions about archetype, epics, and the plot of Gilgamesh. I'm going to walk them through annotating a text tomorrow using the Ladybug projector I mentioned in a previous post. I'm not sure yet how to make them understand what it means to engage a text...I'm hoping I'll have a stroke of genius in the shower or something before I get to school in the morning. :)
Language Development Content 3--I've been using the Visions: Level C text for these students, but I can tell that it's a little too easy for some of them. The good news is I'll be teaching Night soon since freshmen LA classes study the novel, and I'm charged with teaching all FR LA supplementals to my LDC 3 class. A couple of teachers at school have offered to help me out with the materials for Night and a couple of other texts since I've never taught them before. I always hear good things from ESOL students about Night, though, so I'm excited to teach it. Hopefully, it will go well....
Well, I'm already behind in my grading, and we're only one week in! :) It's alright, though. I'd rather be a little behind than fall into bringing work home in the evening.
This week's The Good & The Bad
The Good: A student who other students have nicknamed "The Sleeper" was transferred from my class. I have only harbored chronic dislike for a student once before, but this one has made my list. The reasons go back almost a year (long story), but it's just such a relief that I don't have to look at him anymore.
The Bad: Did I mention my feet? :(
A few thoughts about my classes:
Language Arts Level II--my seating chart has proven ineffective in this class. Of course, class goes smoother when students who feel comfortable with each other can sit near each other and/or work together. What is interesting is that 5 of 17 students there are mostly using Spanish to communicate, and the other Hispanic students have requested to be moved away from them so they can practice their English with the Asian and French-speaking students. So, the left side of my classroom is made up of a very wide variety, while the right side has 5 Hispanic students. As they all feel more comfortable with each other, I'll mix them up again. For now, I'm going to learn more about each of them and their levels of English ability.
Junior American Lit--my evil 6th period class and my heavenly 1st period class from last year have both combined into 7th period JR LA. This class is a non-stop chatter box. I've decided to work with it, though, and give the students plenty of work that is group-work friendly. That way, they can interact with each other, but if they don't get their work done, it's on them. I fought 6th period to the very end of last year, so I know that it's futile to try to mold them into quiet, studious, attentive pupils. They are an unfortunate mix of loud, hyper, attention-seeking individuals, and this year I'm putting all of the responsibility on them. One-on-one, each of them is awesome. Put them together, though, and it's a 55-minute "Let me top that!" routine.
Sophomore World Lit--I have some repeaters in these classes, so it's been fun to find out how much they remember from last year. :) They actually remember quite a bit from the story of Gilgamesh so far, which only reinforces the fact that they failed more from laziness and incomplete work than a lack of learning. Hopefully, they'll apply themselves more this year. The new students seem interested in what we're learning so far. Sometimes I wonder if I break down the information too much, but so far we've had good discussions about archetype, epics, and the plot of Gilgamesh. I'm going to walk them through annotating a text tomorrow using the Ladybug projector I mentioned in a previous post. I'm not sure yet how to make them understand what it means to engage a text...I'm hoping I'll have a stroke of genius in the shower or something before I get to school in the morning. :)
Language Development Content 3--I've been using the Visions: Level C text for these students, but I can tell that it's a little too easy for some of them. The good news is I'll be teaching Night soon since freshmen LA classes study the novel, and I'm charged with teaching all FR LA supplementals to my LDC 3 class. A couple of teachers at school have offered to help me out with the materials for Night and a couple of other texts since I've never taught them before. I always hear good things from ESOL students about Night, though, so I'm excited to teach it. Hopefully, it will go well....
Well, I'm already behind in my grading, and we're only one week in! :) It's alright, though. I'd rather be a little behind than fall into bringing work home in the evening.
This week's The Good & The Bad
The Good: A student who other students have nicknamed "The Sleeper" was transferred from my class. I have only harbored chronic dislike for a student once before, but this one has made my list. The reasons go back almost a year (long story), but it's just such a relief that I don't have to look at him anymore.
The Bad: Did I mention my feet? :(
Friday, August 5, 2011
Ah...A Whole Week of Preplanning!
I don't even know how many years it's been since teachers in my district were allowed a full week of preplanning. With furloughs being the newest, most popular way for school systems to save money, planning days are often the ones to be cut. So, we've had to accomplish (or do what we could) in 2 days what usually takes 5.
This year, I feel READY! :) My biggest "to-do" items where:
1. Plan at least 2 weeks for each class, implementing some of the new ideas I got from the Literacy Institute and other professional learning this summer.
2. Make seating charts for each class
3. Fit enough desks into room for largest class
4. Organize room so I'm ready to go on first day
Among all of the other chores, tasks, meetings, and required activities I did this week, I accomplished all of these big tasks as well! Even better, I planned the entire month of August for both my World Lit and American Lit classes; AND was able to arrange my seating charts so that almost no one is sitting next to more than one person who speaks the same languages as he or she does! This will be a huge help in the lower-level English language classes. I already feel so much better about this year than I did about last year.
A colleague and I were talking today, and we agreed that we are going to be more positive this year. We both had pretty challenging experiences last year and refuse to repeat the anger, frustration, and depression. We agreed that if we say something negative about work, we have to say 2 positives as well. :)
This morning, the last day of preplanning, we were treated to a presentation by Mr. John Antonetti. I wish there was a video clip online of him speaking, because he is one of the most engaging and relevant speakers on education I've heard. His comments and stories were honest and moving, and he had the whole crowd laughing the entire time. The focus of his presentation was on engagement: that students aren't going to pay attention to something they don't have an emotional connection to or a personal experience that relates. So, we have to present the material in such a way that makes it relevant and then allow them time to FIND those connections. He said so many interesting things that I took pages and pages of notes! I'm sure I'll refer to him again in future posts.
Incidentally, my motto for this year (More on them, less on me.) goes along very well with this year's focus in my district on student engagement. Huzzah!
On a different note, I am super excited about a new addition to the Media Center: the Ladybug Lumens. I've wanted one of these since my first year of teaching when one of the presenters at my county's "New Teacher Orientation" used one. I've already checked it out to use on the first day to show my levels 2 & 3 students examples of an activity they'll complete. More importantly, though, I'm going to use it to teach my SOPH and JR level students how to annotate their texts. So, I'll make copies of certain texts that will be especially challenging or dense, and we'll work through it together (with Ladybug's help!) to annotate, discuss, and make sense of it!
Honestly, I can't wait to get started. :)
This year, I feel READY! :) My biggest "to-do" items where:
1. Plan at least 2 weeks for each class, implementing some of the new ideas I got from the Literacy Institute and other professional learning this summer.
2. Make seating charts for each class
3. Fit enough desks into room for largest class
4. Organize room so I'm ready to go on first day
Among all of the other chores, tasks, meetings, and required activities I did this week, I accomplished all of these big tasks as well! Even better, I planned the entire month of August for both my World Lit and American Lit classes; AND was able to arrange my seating charts so that almost no one is sitting next to more than one person who speaks the same languages as he or she does! This will be a huge help in the lower-level English language classes. I already feel so much better about this year than I did about last year.
A colleague and I were talking today, and we agreed that we are going to be more positive this year. We both had pretty challenging experiences last year and refuse to repeat the anger, frustration, and depression. We agreed that if we say something negative about work, we have to say 2 positives as well. :)
This morning, the last day of preplanning, we were treated to a presentation by Mr. John Antonetti. I wish there was a video clip online of him speaking, because he is one of the most engaging and relevant speakers on education I've heard. His comments and stories were honest and moving, and he had the whole crowd laughing the entire time. The focus of his presentation was on engagement: that students aren't going to pay attention to something they don't have an emotional connection to or a personal experience that relates. So, we have to present the material in such a way that makes it relevant and then allow them time to FIND those connections. He said so many interesting things that I took pages and pages of notes! I'm sure I'll refer to him again in future posts.
Incidentally, my motto for this year (More on them, less on me.) goes along very well with this year's focus in my district on student engagement. Huzzah!
On a different note, I am super excited about a new addition to the Media Center: the Ladybug Lumens. I've wanted one of these since my first year of teaching when one of the presenters at my county's "New Teacher Orientation" used one. I've already checked it out to use on the first day to show my levels 2 & 3 students examples of an activity they'll complete. More importantly, though, I'm going to use it to teach my SOPH and JR level students how to annotate their texts. So, I'll make copies of certain texts that will be especially challenging or dense, and we'll work through it together (with Ladybug's help!) to annotate, discuss, and make sense of it!
Honestly, I can't wait to get started. :)
Friday, July 22, 2011
OK, so I'm still here.
About a year ago, I made my last post highlighting my frustrations and disappointments with the teaching profession. Well, I stuck it out and by 2nd semester, I found a "new groove" to keep up with having four preps and ever-growing classes. I won't go into details about that...I'm sure it will be clear as I post throughout this year. I'm going to try to post once a week again to reflect on my highlights and failures.
This week, I spent three days with my county's Literacy Institute: a professional development opportunity for exploring how to improve multiple literacies in students. Among the speakers was Mr. Jim Burke. Anyone familiar with language arts education knows what a big deal this man is. :) It was great to hear him speak, and what I took away from him was the importance of giving students choices on how they show their understanding of a concept or their ability with a skill. And for EVERY assignment, to move students through lower to higher level thinking--even with something as simple as a worksheet. After they fill in the blanks, have them write questions or observations in the margins. Then, have them write a paragraph in response to what they've learned through the worksheet.
Another speaker was Stephanie Harvey, and from her presentation I took away the importance of offering the students time to interact. The best way to comprehend and remember is to discuss what you are learning. DUH! But so much of the time, I fear giving students the chance to interact because I don't want them to swerve off topic. Then I lose 5 more minutes of class time just getting everyone settled again. If it's something they get used to, though, it will become a seamless part of class time. She says that she talks, they read, or they watch for 5-7 minutes, and then everything stops so the students can turn and talk or write a quick response, question, or reflection on what they are learning. This sounds wonderful! I can't wait to implement it in my class.
The final speaker of the conference was Alan Sitomer. This man was a born performer and educator. It was a pleasure to hear him speak, and so empowering to hear him acknowledge the fact that so many of us teachers live in a culture of fear these days. He reminded us that we became teachers because we love our subject area and we wanted to help students. He emphasized that we need to focus on that and continue to have fun with what we do. It seems so simple, but it's exactly what I needed to hear. :) Sitomer also inspired me to use more technology in my classroom, which is probably going to be the subject of quite a few posts. I sat in on a class that day that taught us about taking our students through the writing process using technology. I didn't understand much of it, but I bought a copy of The Digital Writing Workshop by Troy Hicks and have already learned so much! I'll have my kids using wikis, blogs, and social bookmarking in no time!
I'm looking forward to the new year again, and it's a great feeling. Stay tuned....
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Burnout: it's not just for race cars.
This week, I posted this sentiment on my Facebook page: "I refuse to put this much effort into something that so few people truly appreciate, especially when I'm worth so much more." I am ready for a change. Teaching has never been what I thought it would be, to be sure. However, I was passionate and excited enough to overlook the constant disappointments, lack of respect, and overwhelming heap of responsibilities because I cared about helping my students. I put my job and everything that comes with it first, and put myself and my family last because I am often too tired or distracted to enjoy being at home. Following my parents' example, I try not to bring work home with me so I can enjoy my time with those who mean the most to me in this world. So, I go in to work an hour early every morning, and I stay 1-3 hours after work every day (without a minute of overtime pay, but I'll get to that later). After that, any work that is left undone (papers that needed grading, lesson plans that needed organizing, copies that had to be made, emails that went unanswered) constantly weighs on my mind and prevents me from fully enjoying my time away from school. Why should it be that way? I've slowly become more efficient in accomplishing these necessary elements of my job, but still constantly have things that are left undone or unfinished.
I am still unwilling to sacrifice my personal time for work, though. Why should I? To be a good teacher, we are told that we should follow the examples of the likes of Ron Clark (The Ron Clark Story) and Erin Gruwell (The Freedom Writers) and put aside our own needs and interests to complete focus on our students. While these individuals are amazing teachers, their personal lives are in ruins. To be a good teacher, we are told to look at the overtime we put in as our "professional responsibility" and to not complain that we don't get paid for all of the extra hours we put in. I'll admit, I have it easier than others. As an ESOL teacher, I teach no more than 100 students per day while there are teachers who teach closer to 150 students a day. With growing class sizes, more non-teaching responsibilities, less pay than expected, a decrease in maturity and sense of responsibility in the students, diminishing (if at all existent) parent involvement, and more pressure to deliver top results under these conditions, it's no wonder that I am feeling burned out!!!!
I was recently telling a friend about how disappointed I was this year to not feel excited about coming to work. I am usually extremely excited on the first day back to school, and I pretty much stay excited because I enjoy most of the lessons I get to teach. This year truly feels like work, though. I wasn't excited about the first day of school; instead I felt weighted down by the anticipation of everything for which I would be held responsible. I'm not excited about teaching my lessons; instead, I feel overwhelmed and scatterbrained by trying to prepare for 4 different classes of the 5 classes I teach in a day. I'm not excited about seeing any particular class or students; instead, I feel like they all need to learn better manners, responsibility, and self-control. (Believe me those "gem students" are become a severe minority in the classroom.)
Nevertheless, I put all of my effort into the lessons I teach, I am energetic and supportive during classtime, I treat each student as an important member of the class, and I try accomplish what is expected of me by my school and my county each and every day. It's the only way I know how to be. That is exactly why, however, I know it is time for a change.... I'm putting all of myself into something out of which I receive very little payoff, return, or fulfillment.
That being said, I'm starting to consider my options. I am an intelligent, quick-thinking, well-spoken, independent, motivated, organized, confident woman (Yeah, I said it!). I put all of my heart and effort into helping others, teaching others, and taking care of others. However, as Suze Orman has taught me, I refuse to give myself away. I'm not going to allow myself to do a job in which I constantly feel like a failure when I know I'm not. I'm not going to continue to work for pay that is less than what I deserve.
Teachers make up the majority of the work force in this country, and there are plenty of them who simply come to school and do the bare minimum to get paid. I can't be like that. It goes against everything that I believe about work ethic, job performance, and personal responsibility. So, to prevent myself from being taken advantage of and from become something that I hate, it's time for me to consider moving on. For now, I am one of those teachers who comes to school to do as much as she can to facilitate learning. I earn my meagre pay; and I don't expect people to praise me for doing my job, to get a special award for helping my students learn, or to become famous for my creative ideas and teaching methods. I just want to work under conditons that are fair and to be paid what I am worth. And yeah, I want to enjoy my job!
As they say in education, you never leave because of the kids. It's always the other stuff.... That other stuff is starting to affect me so much that I don't even want to think about writing about my classes this week. So, for now, I'm just another teacher complaining about her job. Those of you who truly know me must know, then, how deep my frustration must be.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)