The Beginning of the End

 
     This week my CT and I have begun teaching Hamlet to the eighth graders. They are reading a "middle school version," in which the text is condensed to make room for easier comprehension. The way in which we are approaching reading this text is by assigning students characters to read and having them come to the for the room to act out their part. Although this is not an in depth reading of the play it will familiarize students with the language and provide them with an abundance of background knowledge for when they fully take on Shakespeare in High School. Also, we have been showing movie clips of the play so that students can visualize the scenes as they act them out.

     What I have learned most from this week has been my recent role as a teacher in an after school credit recovery program. This program was designed to provide credit to students who have failed the previous semester. We meet Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 2:30-4:00 for three weeks. Although very challenging it is a great opportunity to gain experience with some of the most challenging students and to work with them in a small group setting. On the first day I had all the lesson plans for the week laid out in my mind, however, once I found out it was all boys I knew that I would have to change things around and that the classroom environment was going to have a different aura since there are no girls. My class consists of six sixth grade boys who either have behavioral or motivational issues, which lead to the previous failures. My biggest obstacle with this class is definitely classroom management! Since it is all boys, a small group setting, and an afternoon class they tend to view it as somewhat of a recess period. There is one boy who it the number one RIT kid in the grade who has been acting completely out of control and making it almost impossible for the other kids to learn. I decided to meet with his team of six graders to get some advice as to how to deal with the situation. It’s great to know that I have the help and support of his teachers along with those in charge of discipline even though not much seems to motivate or intimidate this student. His behavior has been better but tends to get back to being disruptive after the first half hour. I spoke to him one on one after class the other day to tell him that I want him to pass sixth grade but that this behavior cannot continue and to see what he himself thought we should do about it. He didn't really give me an answer but instead got a little shy and more respectful when I brought it up, which makes me somewhat hopeful that if more respect is there then the behavior will at least become less disruptive.

     While half of the boys are perfectly behaved the other half tends to feed off of each other and get into arguments by yelling at one another for being the main cause of disrupting the class. What I've realized through working with these challenging boys is that if I want them to actually work then I need to form the content 100% around their interests. While doing a journal prompt on "Whether or not sports players get paid too much?" they all were extremely engaged and well-behaved! Since this isn't a typical class and all students who attend automatically pass even if they do not do any work I will approach it differently than planning for a regular class. Working in such a small group setting had allowed me to form a bond with the boys despite some of the management issues. They like sports, the military and debatable topics so that is what I will focus on in an effort to get students who typically do nothing to at least become engaged in something.

     On a scarier note, the school went into lockdown yesterday afternoon; 15 minutes after credit recovery program began. The boys were fully engaged and actually very well behaved before the lockdown alarm sounded off. It took about twenty minutes before we knew that it was a false alarm and that everyone was safe. Although some of the boys can't stop screaming at each other in class they were fully compliant and quiet during the lockdown, which showed me a different side of them. Experiencing my first lockdown was very scary but gave me experience as to what I should do in that type of situation and gave me insight as to how I react in an emergency. My CT and I were discussing how years ago if such an alarm went off everyone would simply assume it was a false alarm but that sadly, in today's world, judging by the looks on all of our faces during the alarm, everyone panics and expects it to be real.

     I'm excited for the next two weeks to come and want to make the best out of my time spent with my students. I'm also very excited to try new things with the credit recovery boys to test out what can work and what does not work with even some of the most unmotivated and disruptive students in the sixth grade. I am actually really glad that I am faced with this challenge as I know I will learn from it more than I ever would if I was working with the "typical" behaved and somewhat motivated students.

 

First Conference

This week at Alan Shawn Feinstein Middle School I had the opportunity to attend my first parent teacher conference. This conference was far from the stereotypical idea of the parents coming into the classroom to speak with the teacher for a certain amount of allotted time. This conference was set up in the form of a Renaissance fair, in which parents would come in and take a gallery walk of students work and then speak to teachers if needed. All week long students have been creating the scene in which their Renaissance topic would have taken place in. For example, those who chose cooking as their topic created scenes that depicted kitchens, food cabinets, or ovens. The final poster boards consisted of a variety of scenery ranging from castles, torture chambers, art galleries, Italian dinner parties, museums, weddings, etc. It was amazing to see students who typically have behavioral issues and refuse to do any work being so focused and motivated to create their scene. This week of building and creating scenes allowed my-self to see a whole new side of these students who typically get sent out of the classroom. This made me realize that even though writing and reading may not be a student’s specialty that does not mean they are not capable of succeeding at other tasks within the content area.

            It was great to meet student’s parents and speak to them about their concerns and interests in their child’s academic lives. Knowing that your not the only one hounding a child to complete assignments is a great feeling. Seeing parents who so involved and strict with their children was reassuring to myself as a teacher to know that many students do have a strong and challenging support system at home. Although I could not speak to parents too much regarding their children due to the fact that I would have to have had more time with them it was still a great experience to introduce myself and interact with parents.

            It’s hard to believe how fast time is flying by! After these next few weeks the next time we will be in the classroom will be without the support and comfort of a CT. Although this is a little intimidating I am becoming more confident in myself as a teacher as each day goes by.

Transition Time

          Transitioning from high school to middle school has provided me with exposure to two completely different "worlds". Even though my eigth graders are only two years younger than my tenth graders were their maturity levels, curriculum, and overall treatment in school is extremely different. I'm both surprised and excited about the amount of creativity that is incorporated into a middle schooler's curriculum. Currently my students are working on literally building and constructing their own Renaissance scene whether it be a kitchen, and art gallery, whatever. These creations will be the primary focus of parent teacher conferences held in the form of a Renassance faire. The classroom is covered in student work ranging from rewritten song lyrics to each individuals astrological sign drawn out and decorated. Escorting students to lunch adds somewhat of an child-like complex to the students that has faded away in the high school setting. Although I believe that I do prefer middle school there are certainly some aspects of high school which I already miss.

           Currently, students have been working on their Renaissance reserach projects and three-sided-poster board scenes. Following the completion of those my CT and I will begin Hamlet with the students and work on teaching them about performances and the theatre. We have been implementing improv into everyday classroom activities. Although these improv exercises may not go perfectly the first time around it is still clear that students enjoy themselves and are having fun. I'm not too sure if these improv activities would have gone over so well with high school students but middle schoolers seem to enjoy any type of activity that gets them up out of their seats, no matter how corny it may be.

Goodbye Cumberland High

           This past week was my final week spent at Cumberland High, which means it was also my final week to learn more about my chosen student, Jackson. On Monday, the critical lens responses were due from all of my classes. I was excited to read Jackson's since I knew many of the prompts regaring "weak" people in society or whether or not sociciety or the individual is at fault for discrimination would peak his interest. Not to my surprise Jackson handed in a penomenal paper, which utterly blew my mind. To see a tenth grader using words such as "old-stock American" and homosexuals oppsed to simply writting gay people made me truly realize the immense amount of knowledge this student holds. When I shared his paper at group discussions during class both my group members were both amazed that a high school student could produce that type of work. Although it may appear that Jackson may have spent a lot of time on this I beleive that what he wrote was simply knowledge off the top of his head. The way Jackson speaks in class is in a very mature an extremely educated and aware manner. To catch his interest and allow him to write on historical or societal issues propably comes second nature to him.

           On my last day with my honors classes I conducted a Socratic Seminar for the very first time, which went amazing! One of the questions brought up during discussion of Of Mice and Men was, "If there was another mentally disabled person on the ranch besides Lennie, would the ranch-workers have been more accepting?" While many students said yes, Jackson pointed out that although Lennie would not be the only mentally disabled one anymore that he would still fall into the minority category and would henceforth still be discriminated against and oppressed. This lead into a more broader discussion of the inequalities of society. Many students exressed there belief that people are treated equal today and that laws no longer allow for segregation between whites and blacks. Jackson butted in by claiming that "there is a big difference between legal equality and societal equality." Although this was something that I always knew I never was able to articulate it in such straight forward understandable terms. The societal awarenss that Jackson possesses is truly impressive yet makes me wonder if he speaks with such knowledge in other classes, such as science or math. History is his forte and luckily enough for English teachers it is easy to incorporate historical or societal like elements into our content. Although my time with Jackson has come to an end I know that he has great things to come for him in the future and will make something of himself. I could see him becoming a great politician!

          On a side note, my first seminar went great and lead me to have some what of an epiphany. After hearing responses on hot topics, such as if mercy-killings are acceptable and whatnot, I truly realized that I really do have so much to learn from my students just as they learn from me. While I thought it was acceptable for George to kill Lennie in Of Mice and Men other students did not and backed up their reasoning by their deeply rooted strong morals that are engraved within them. I'm so impressed by some of the students and the maturity levels that they are on at such a young age in life.

A Boy Named Jackson

          The student in which I have chosen to write about is a male student in one of my tenth grade honors classes, named Jackson. Jackson typically comes to school every day in the same pair of jeans and blue hoodie. He carries around a huge binder filled with work and is always prepared for class. He is tall has bright blue eyes and always presents himself through a clean and well cut appearance. Jackson is very well-behaved and takes his school work extremely seriously. Although he can be quiet at times whenever you spark his interest then there’s no going back. Jackson loves any topic relating to History and knows way more historical information than you would expect any tenth grader to have the knowledge of. For example, while beginning our unit on Of Mice and Men I began by introducing students to The Great Depression and then using an anticipatory guide. He already knew basically everything there is to know about the Great Depression and even brought up other topics, such as the Jacksonian Democracy(no clue what that even is so I had to change the subject). During the anticipatory guide there was a question regarding whether or not an individual can overcome society. This question engaged Jackson so much that he began walking around the room with a debater/lawyer like persona and prompted a full on debate with one of his classmates.

         Jackson is definitely an interesting character and stands out amongst his classmates to a slight degree. Whenever he goes off on one of his historical fact sessions usually everyone in the class take a big sigh and braces themselves for the load of information that is about to come their way. He has a group of male friends, in which he usually sticks to speaking to and hanging out with outside of the classroom. He is a motivated learner and an excelled thinker (when he wants to be) and I have come to know this by observing him in class discussions/group work activities, as well as grading his work. My expectations for this student are very high since I know what he is capable of and the high potential that he possesses. I am not sure how Jackson acts in other classes like Math or Science but I can say with certainty that History is definitely Jackson’s nitch, which is strongly reflection in my English class whenever somewhat historical topics are brought up. I believe that when Jackson is learning something he is passionate about then he is capable of anything. I see a bright future for Jackson since he is certainly not afraid to speak his mind and challenge ideas that he feels strongly about.

"Student Teaching Gives You Wings"

This has been the first week that I am fully in the swing of things, now that I am teaching two A2 classes and two honors classes. I feel like I am finally getting a taste of what it is like to be an actual teacher and all the pros and cons that come along with it. With each day that passes by I can honestly say my "teacher wings" start to gradually form a little bit more as they await the day they can take off and fly solo. With every extra minute of annoying classroom chatter comes a more developed and stern "teacher voice." Although I could say so much about all the highlights of this week I will focus on 2 major nuggets that I have stumbled upon:

1. The subjectiveness and inconsistency of grading- the whole system of grading and its inaccuraties came up quite a bit this week as I graded my first set of quizzes. While I initialy had an image of a "4" (equivalent to 100 in Cumberland High School grading terms) I began to grade quiz responses based on this perception of what would qualify as meeting a four status. Then half way through I come across answers that raise the bar for a four as I reconsider if my original fours were really 3's. Keep in mind I went by a rubric which didn't seem to do much help. Do I go back and regrade them all? Also, after my CT recieved a complaint from a parent regarding an argumentative writing task in which she graded she asked me if I could grade it and see if I agree with the grade she had given to a student. To no surprise our grades came back differently, what she thought was a one I considered a two. Nevertheless, she ended up changing the grade to a two since I provided a fresh pair of eyes to the students essay. How can we assess students solely by a system that is so flawed, subjective, and innacurate? I guess the only way to alleviate this issue is to provide as much constructive feedback as possible since the legitimacy behind grades is debatable.

2. Engaging students through relatable and controversial topics is almost a guaranteed way to promote classroom involvement. On Monday I used an anticipation guide to prep students for the reading of Of Mice and Men. Some of the topics included statements such as "If someone is about to suffer great pain then it is acceptable to end their lives prematurely" as well as "those who do bad things unintentially or by accident should not be punished." Such topics ignited a full blown discussion even amongst students who do not typically speak out to the class. For next week I want to create a lesson that fosters the same levels of engagement amongst students. Although this is not also easy to do I am determined to incorporate one lesson a week that goes beyond the reading, beyond the characters and plot and instead directly relates to real issues today that students would actually care about.

For the weeks to come I am considering implementing a Scoratic Seminar with my Honors classes since I have been hearing so much about it yet have never witnessed one or enacted one myself. Yes it is risky, yes it could go incredibly wrong, but now is my chance to take advantage of the oppurtunities of experimenting and at the very least walk away with ideas on how to improve and what not to do. Now that half of the novel will be read by the beginning of next week I will be able to take a break from reading, discussing, and analyzing and include some extension activities that reach beyond the context of the book. Things are starting to fall into place and I am very excited for my last two weeks at Cumberland.

New Week, New Realizations

This week I finally taught my first classes and took over the leading role while my CT took the backseat.  I got observed on Wednesday as I taught a lesson about argumentative writing. The previous night for homework students were given argumentative articles to read regarding whether or not animals should be in circuses and zoos or if they should be freed. It was the student’s responsibility to highlight the different components of the argument and to come to class prepared the next day. My lesson started off great as all students came prepared and ready to work.  The overall assessment of the lesson was for students to make a brief claim and to then construct their own counterclaim. Based off of assessing students counter claims I was able to realize the strengths and weaknesses of the lesson. I realized I should have given students an example counterclaim as to what would qualify as a “4”. When I re-did this lesson with the three other classes I provided specific examples of what I was looking for and got better results when grading assessments.  The main lesson I learned from this week was to provide clarity on exactly what I am assessing students on and to be specific when providing feedback.  During one of the opportunities to re-teach this lesson to another A2 level class I was confronted with one of the many realities of teaching. As I began to begin my planned out lesson I realized that none of the students have even attempted to begin their homework from the previous night. In an instant I had to modify my lesson to make it work under the circumstances. I realize it is changes like these that occur all the time and as teachers we must always have a plan A/B/C/D ready to adjust to any type of situation. As I approach the fourth week I will begin to completely take over two of the A2 level classes and finally get a feel of what it is like to teach on a day to day basis.