Highlight of the Day

I was at the mall yesterday at one o'clock in the afternoon, and as I walked out of a store I hear, "Miss Blanchard!"

I turn to see one of my students standing there with her mother. "Hello, Tasia!"

"I thought I'd never see you again!" she said, giving me a big hug.

"I'm glad you did. Hey, shouldn't you be in school?"

"The teacher's boring. I got out early."

"I can see that. Well, have a good holiday break, okay."

"Okay... Hey, Miss Blanchard."

"Yeah."

"You look twenty-one now."

"Thanks, Tasia. Have a good day."

"Bye, Miss Blanchard!"

"Bye, Tasia."

Last Day

Yesterday was my last day working with my seventh grade students. As I completed their final lesson, I was met with mixed emotions. I was relieved to have survived my first self-constructed unit plan, but I was left with the feeling that I could have done better by them. I put everything I had into this unit, but I was learning so much each day about teaching and relating to students that I know I got monumentally better by the end, and I only wish I could have started how I ended. Fortunately, that is what next semester is for.

I found out about my new placement, and I couldn't be more excited. I am in a rural school at a freshman campus teaching English. I have already found out that I will be responsible for teaching the Odyssey and parts of speech. I met my new CT and one of her classes of students. Everything about this new placement seems wonderful. The students were welcoming, the principal and the two assistant principals all introduced themselves to me on the first day I stopped by. And, best of all, my new CT loves her job. I can already tell that her positive energy is going to be infectious. She is very well liked by her students and has a good report with her fellow staff members. Though I know I will miss my current placement, I also know what I have ahead and I cannot help but be excited.

Highlight of the Day

Today I began grading my sixth grade students' website projects on volunteering. Each was required to do at least one hour of service this month, and I was impressed by the results. I was so encouraged to read student after student explaining why volunteering is so important to their community and how they intend to continue to do service for others. That is my best wish for my career, that I can inspire students from inside the classroom to make a difference outside of it.

Final Observations

I survived all three of my observations this week! Not unscathed. Not without tears. Not without a significant amount of personal reflection. But, I survived, and I learned something along the way. Teaching is not easy. There is not a magic formula for it that satisfies every observer. There is not a singular means to success or failure. In fact, what someone may praise, someone else may harshly criticize. This I learned first hand.

Observation #1- The Principal

She sat in my class for an hour and left before I concluded my lesson and never issued me feedback. It is hard to correlate two very busy schedules and after three days we have not found a time to meet for reflection. I did hear through the grapevine that she had a lot of points for improvement. At first I heard that she disliked my classroom management (a continuous point of contention for me), but then I heard that she was satisfied with my performance, seeing as I am new at this whole gig, but that she thought I was wasting my time spending five days on the Arab Spring. If that is the case, I can of course defend myself both with Michigan's state standard for seventh grade that requires them to take an in-depth look at a contemporary issue and by explaining the relevance of the major revolution that is bringing democracy to the Arab world. Though criticism is hard to hear, it does give me an opportunity for improvement.

Observation #2- Content Professor

Though I feared this observation the most, it honestly made me realize the progress I have made this year. My list of things to work on is not necessarily getting shorter, but the severity of the issues I am having in the classroom is certainly diminishing. This is the only observation I was required to write a reflection on, and in the end it is the observation I learned the most from. I was also video taped (which is nerve wracking) but it is actually interesting to see yourself as the students see you and to realize how you come across from their perspective.

Observation #3- College of Ed Professor

This was my final observation of the semester, and I have to say that I ended it on a high note. I was reassured that I am well prepared for my student teaching experience part I and that there are no glaring issues with my performance as an educator. He even said that there were no unusual issues with my behavior management. He said that it could improve, but that it was normal for me to still be struggling with classroom management at this point. He had mostly positive feedback for me so I was reassured that I have chosen a good career path.


Though it is nerve wracking, and though I am my harshest critic, there is a lot to be learned from others who observe you in the field. I still take what they say about my performance personally, but that is the best motivator for me to continue to work to improve. I am hard on myself because I want nothing short of the best, and I expect nothing short of the best from myself. Students deserve it.

Observations

I can think of nothing more anxiety provoking than an observation of my teaching. The very intention of the authority figure in the room is to judge and criticize you. You must sweat in front of the 30+ kids in the classroom for an hour while that person sitting in the back scribbles furious notes down on their paper, scowling. They are always scowling. Are they scowling for effect or to disguise how they really feel? I don't know, but they are always scowling. Are they scowling at you? At the kids? At an event that occurred prior to their arrival that has tainted their whole day?? How can you know? All you see is a frown sitting there, judging you, waiting for their opportunity to reveal their observations, the good, the bad, and the ugly, regarding every detail of your lesson, your style, your speech, your examples, your teaching, your demeanor, and your perceived ability as a teacher. It is downright torturous.

I have three observations in a row this week. I thank you in advance for any positive energy you can send my way from approximately 8:40-9:33 for the next three days.

Relevance

I have recently completed writing my official Teaching Philosophy paper for one of my final College of Ed classes and have discovered that my whole philosophy revolves around the concept of relevance. Relevant skills. Relevant knowledge. Relevant tasks.

With the Arab Spring, the unit I am teaching my seventh graders now, relevance is easy. It is a world-changing event taking place on the other side of the globe as we speak, but making it relatable is more of a challenge.

Oddly enough, it was easier to make our study of Mesopotamia relatable because my focus of the unit was on the similarities and differences between the social structures of today and ancient times. Relevance was challenging, however, with this topic.

Relevance and relatability should go hand in hand, I think. Students should be able to relate to what is relevant to their lives. To hold true to my own teaching philosophy, I should strive for both, and hopefully my students now and far in the future will benefit from the effort.

Can boring be better?

The unit I planned for my students was stuffed with activities. We played games, watched videos, and looked at pictures. They designed timelines, wrote skits and comic strips, and compared ancient and modern social hierarchies. We did not read the text book or watch documentaries. We did not do worksheets, or drill vocab, and I did not lecture. I thought it was all fun and games. And it was. They were learning, but they were not piecing together all of the activities that I had planned. They could take any of them out of context and discuss them in detail, but they could not figure out how this whole unit tied together, except that it was all about this old place called Mesopotamia. On Friday, I had one student, then two, three, four....etc. asking to have something to read to piece the whole thing together.

What?! Students asking for something academic to read? So, I obliged, and I was impressed when they stayed focused on the article about ancient Mesopotamia I found for them for twenty whole minutes.

I read a section, then took volunteers, and I had eight or so students volunteer to read aloud to the class. Was it boring? Maybe a little. But did it help them make the connections they weren't able to in class? Yes.

I assumed that the students would be able to piece together the concepts I had laid out for them, but I was mistaken. Maybe in high school they would be able to understand what I was getting after, but not in middle school. One of my biggest struggles is figuring out what a seventh grade mind is capable of, but I realize now that above all else, they know themselves. They know all about themselves. They even know what they don't know.

I was glad they asked for a reading that tied together the loose ends of my unit, because without them asking for it, I would have never realized that boring could be better (when used in moderation).

Unit Midpoint

Anyone who assumes that teachers must get bored doing the same thing hour after hour, year after year has obviously never taught. I spent hours crafting each lesson plan and activity for my students, and they never go as planned. A student in one hour will ask an awe-inspiring question that demands a well thought out answer, and students in another class will create semi-relevant tangents that put you 10 minutes off your plan. Still in other cases activities will take twice, or even three times as long as anticipated, and the same activity may take no time at all in your next class. I have taught now for 6.5 days and I have already experienced each of these scenarios.

Students are masters at getting teachers off task. I am naive enough to assume that all students are interested in learning and that is why they are asking me semi-relevant questions that get me to blather on for 5 or 10 minutes. I make the mistake of addressing every question every student has thinking about the old teaching adage that if one person asks a question, most likely someone else has the same one. I am here to tell you that this is not always the case. It takes a special student with a certain level of cockiness to ask you to repeat all of the directions you just gave because they were not listening. This has happened to me. Twice.

From all of this, I am learning. I am learning that I need to be more patient. Not every issue that has come up over the course of this unit has been due to student error. Most of it is my error actually, which is hard to admit. I just keep reminding myself that flexibility and patience are key and this whole newbie gig is perfect practice for those virtues.

Like a saying reads that I recently came across, "Keep calm, and pretend this is in the lesson plan."

Imperfections

Nothing is perfect. Some days go as planned, some don't, but the expectation that any of them would be perfect is simply unrealistic. The world is an imperfect place, so it can be assumed that a room full of hormonal thirteen year olds with a teacher trying out her first lesson plans is also bound to be imperfect. As a perfectionist, sometimes this is hard to comprehend, but making this realization just might keep me sane. All I can do is learn from today and apply it tomorrow and not set my sights on the impossibility of perfection.

My First Unit

I started teaching my first unit today on the Middle East, and surprise surprise, we only got through 1 of the 3 things I intended. My CT insisted that was normal and I should expect no less. Now, I have a pretty ambitious unit plan, and I am expecting those kids to learn a lot, but at this pace, my 13 day unit plan will take 2 months! I have to strategize.

Here is my plan:

Set time limits on activities
Give explicit directions to avoid unnecessary questions
Ask students to hold questions unless they are for the good of the group
Improve my classroom management skills to eliminate time wasted on classroom discipline

Here is not my plan:

Give in
Let the students waste my time
Allow the foolish questions to continue

Piece of advice. I have often heard it said that there is no such thing as a stupid question. I have discovered from personal experience that this is simply not true. I heard many of them today uttered from the sly mouths of my seventh graders as a ploy to waste my time.

No longer!

We may not get through everything every time, but I will subject them to the majority of my unit plan because I planned in specifically with them in mind, and they will learn! I insist upon it.

I have said it and I will say it again; I will not give up on them. Together, we can get through this!

My First Test

On Friday of this week I assigned my students my first test. It was half matching and half short answer and despite their grumbles and complaints about being assigned a test on a Friday, they did very well. I was pleased with the creativity and obvious thought put into their short answers. I even let them cross off one of the short answer questions they didn't want me to grade, and most of them did, but I read their answers anyway and was impressed. Most of my kids knew their stuff! Now, there was a healthy curve with 2 Ds, 5 Cs, 11 Bs, 8 As and 2 100%s, but that is the sign of a good test. A good test lets students show what they know and what they don't know. From this experience I learned that despite kids complaints about laboring over paper and pencil for an assessment, it is always better to get them thinking rather than letting them mindlessly attempt a multiple-guess test or try their luck at true or false questions. Now, it took me 1.5 hours to grade those tests and write detailed comments to each student, but in my mind, it was 1.5 hours well spent. Hopefully it is an appreciated effort.

Highlight of the Day

So the following conversation took place between me and one of my sixth grade students, Max, today at the end of the hour.

"Hey, can I come in during lunch today?"

"Why?"

"I feel really behind on my notebook work."

"We started today. You're not behind. You can't be behind yet."

"Oh. Well, can I come in to get ahead for tomorrow?"

"Nope, you'll have class time to do that. I don't want you to get bored in class because you're ahead of everyone else."

"Hmm. Can I come in then to talk to you about a project I am thinking about?"

"You can do that before or after school or during class. You don't have to stay in during your lunch for that kind of thing."

"Oh, well, then tomorrow? Can I come in tomorrow?"

"Why? Why do you think you have to come into class during your lunch?"

"I dunno. I just want to."

"Oh, okay. Well, we'll see about that tomorrow then."

Some kids are just too sweet for their own good :) 

'Sub'lime Insptiration

Inspiration can come in any form and at any time. Nothing proved this to me more than the experience I had today with a substitute teacher. Again, my classroom was faced with a sub, and on Halloween no less, but this sub was not like other subs. This sub was a former teacher, mother of two, and a pure inspiration. She did not give in to students, but she managed to give them even more than they were asking for. This sub defined her style as fair, firm, and consistent, and I would add affectionate. Students who had this sub before knew her name. They hugged her when they walked into the room. She met some of them by name. She referred to everyone as sweetheart because, to her, all of them were sweet. All of them had the potential for greatness, and what a disservice it would be to them to not help them see it. After watching her master every class with her kindness and unyielding confidence, I stayed one and a half hours after class was over just to talk to her.

She let me in on some teaching secrets I will not soon forget. Be positive and stay positive for your own sanity and for the sake of your students. This is what I took away from our conversation. Match every negative with a bigger positive, she said, and this applied first and foremost to students. Show them the good in themselves when they cannot find it. Show them the beauty they have inside when they cannot see it. Show them their potential when they cannot recognize it.  If they are pushing your buttons, put your buttons away. Don't let them see them. Your job is to help, support, and guide these children and if they are not on your side, if they are intentionally pushing your buttons, than you are not doing your job. It comes with time, she noted. And experience. Two things I am shy of right now.

What I am not shy of is a caring, genuine passion for education, and a joyous spirit. This is what she saw in me. She said if I can keep that up, all of my other problems will go away. She reminded me that these children do not need an adult teacher-friend. They need an educator, and guide, and a little love. They need support and attention. Aside from educating, these should be the top priority for teachers. Get the kids on your side and don't stop trying until you succeed. What wonderful advice. I was in need of a little inspiration today, and I got so much more. Wise words can come from anyone anytime, and I was glad I had my ears open today to hear them.

Service Learning

Currently under construction I have a service learning project for my sixth grade students. They will have to complete a service project of their choice and a slew of reflective assignments that tie service to citizenship. It is my hope that I can instill in them an inkling of the passion I have for service. In my mind, to teach is to serve your students, your community, and your collective future, and I hope that I will be in the service of others my entire life. To that end, I leave you with this quote and reminder by Shirley Chisholm, "Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth." 

My First Project

Today I assigned my seventh grade students my first ever project. They are to design a website that details key elements of five major world religions. They will have eight days to create a website with six different webpages, one for each main religion and a homepage that explains why it is important to understand world religions. My key objective here is to promote the acceptance of religious diversity, as it is so prevalent in my school and in my classroom. In my first hour class alone, I have a Buddhist student, a Hindu, Christians, and Muslims. This class already represents 4 of the 5 religions under study!  Long story short, this project got off to a great start.

The students love working on the computers, and for some of them, I could not get started fast enough. They wanted to jump right into the project and explore the possibilities. They played with web design, layout, images, text options, and titles. Their final projects are going to be as unique as they are, and I am so excited to see what they come up with!

The students followed my lead, followed my directions, and followed through with the project so far. Technology can be a wonderful thing, and I hope my students learn as much about it as they do about the religions we are studying!

Itchy

Today I worked with a student who was starting to get on my CTs nerves, if just a little bit. He would not sit still. He would not focus on his work. He would not even attempt to complete the assignment given to him in class. So, I pulled him out of the room and gave him a little one on one attention.

He told me that this class made him feel itchy. Itchy? I asked. Itchy, he confirmed. What on earth does that mean? I wondered.

He explained that when he felt pressured to work quickly it made him nervous, and when he got nervous he got itchy. So, this class was making him itchy.

We've been assigning our 6th grade students to write 4-5 sentences essays every day based on brief discussions we have at the beginning of class, and he said after the discussions that he does not feel like he has enough time to finish his work. It makes him nervous and therefore itchy.

What a bizarre situation. No wonder he couldn't sit still. He's itchy! There is always an explanation, no matter how odd. All it takes is asking to figure it out.

Suspension

One of my students was suspended for engaging in gang activity at school. What gang activity can an 11 year old engage in? What does that look like? I wasn't given any of the details, and thus I am left with a burning curiosity. How do I handle that as a teacher? This is a quiet, though often unproductive, student of mine who typically sits in the back of the class and bothers no one. What could he have done? I am sure the answer would shock me, and I am equally sure that I don't really want to know. But, what can a teacher do when a student comes in with a predisposition for particular behaviors? How do I convince my students of the dangers, physical and mental, of gang membership? I don't have a good answer for that, but that doesn't mean I am not going to try some things out.

Twice since he came back I have sat next to him trying to catch him up from his week long absence. He is polite, respectful, and complacent. What could this boy, not even 5 feet tall, have done to be suspended for gang activity? I sit next to him and want to ask, What did you do to get suspended? Or more importantly still, What did you do while you were suspended? Who was at home with you? Who looked after you? I am fairly certain that I would not like the answers I got to any of these questions.

What I am left with then is why at-home suspension? How is sending a student suspended for gang related activity home with little to no supervision the best option for the student? Isn't that what it should come down to? What is best for the student? Why, then, are we subjecting him to the high likelihood of the influence of the gang he was suspended for engaging in? I can not be the only one who sees the flaw in this plan. A child is suspended from school for 6 whole days for reflecting the behaviors he most likely sees at or around his home? I do not see the logic of this plan. My school has an in-school suspension plan, but his crime was considered too severe to stay in school. What message is that sending? We don't want to deal with you. We can't deal with you. We are at a loss as to how to deal with you. We've given up.

I haven't. I haven't given up. This student, whether he wants it or not, has just gotten himself signed up for Miss Blanchard's covert special attention list. Can I make a difference? All I know is I can't if I given up.

Inspiration

If you are a teacher (or anyone really) looking for inspiration, look no farther than to these two men:


Sir Ken Robinson- TED talks

and

Albert Cullum- A Touch of Greatness


Any videos you can find on either will be worth your time.

Highlight of the Day

When my students confide in me, I realize the impact I am making in my classroom and in my school. A student of mine today told me that her grandfather had recently passed and that she was struggling to cope with it. Though this was a hard time for my student, my realization that I have become a reliable authority figure in my school was an encouraging moment for me as a teacher. I want to be available for students like this one, and I want them to continue feeling confident in confiding in me.

What Does Diversity Really Mean?

Diversity comes in all shapes and sizes. Today I had the opportunity to speak with a Caucasian student from my school who told me a story that made me rethink what 'diversity' really means. He said that when his mother got pregnant with him her boyfriend of the time found out and instantly dumped her. She thankfully found a man who loved kids, and this man became the 'father' of my student who to this day does not know the identity of his biological father. His parents have since divorced with his mother pledging to keep him from his father figure forever. She moved to across the country in an attempt to separate the father and son. He has 5 half and step siblings, 4 of whom he is no longer allowed to see or contact.

What a traumatic ordeal for an eleven year old student. Never before in my life have I heard of a story to compare with that one. If this boy is not coming from a diverse background, I don't know who is. Diversity is so often linked to race and ethnicity that situations like this one I fear are often overlooked when considering diverse experiences. As I have mentioned before, every student comes with their own unique circumstance and every student should be treated like the unique young person they are.

Minilesson- Culture

What is culture? I asked my students to define it and this is what they said:

Culture is your set of beliefs,
your background,
the food you eat,
the language you speak,
what you celebrate,
how you celebrate,
when you celebrate,
your traditions,
your family,
your ethnicity ,
your faith,
and what makes you unique.

This thorough, complex, thought-provoking response came from my seventh graders! I was so impressed with their detail and insights, but then we shared about our own cultures and how we celebrate them, and I was entirely blown away.

We discussed the Chinese New Year,
Christmas,
Quinceañera,
Halloween,
Catholic Mass,
gifts,
Ramadan,
food,
4th of July,
Thanksgiving,
birthdays,
fasting,
and Nowruz.

Not surprisingly, my 5 minute minilesson blossomed into a 15 minute discussion, 15 minutes longer than any other discussion we'd had in class before. They were asking each other questions, and they were eager to share. It was a beautifully open and honest discussion about where we came from and what traditions we brought with us. I was sorry to have to end it but brief as it was, it was very telling.

I have known from the start that I am in an accepting school. There is a high tolerance of different races, ethnicities, abilities, and genders. Is it perfect, no. Is there occasional conflict, yes. But, when we can have an engaging discussion about our own culture without hate, dislike, distrust, or even dishonesty, we are setting an example of acceptance that I hope my students will continue to follow throughout their education, their careers, and their lives.

U.S. Constitution Day

For Constitution Day (Septemeber 17th) my classroom took a test. You may think that a cruel way to celebrate a federally mandated holiday, but I thought it was perfect. The test they took was the July 2008 assessment for US citizenship.

Of the 30 (out of 100) questions posed to my students, the highest score was 22. And they were highest by a long shot. Most students answered 10 or fewer questions correctly. Statistics came out recently stating that most students would receive an F on an American civics examination, and after my students deplorable performance on this test, I understand why.

My teacher elected to do this test because my school has a high percentage of immigrant families and many of the students, their parents, and/or grandparents had to take this test to gain citizenship. Not surprisingly, our non-native students scored highest.

Though naturalized citizens do not have to take this assessment to maintain their citizenship, that is not an excuse for them not to know this information. In my mind, all students should be able to at least vaguely summarize main events in US history and describe key elements of the US government and the democratic values we represent.

Civics is a subject by definition for all citizens and naturalized citizens should not be an exception.

My First Hug

I had been waiting for this. I know the student-teacher hug is a more common elementary school phenomenon than secondary, but I was still hopeful. I was still optimistic that one of my students, probably sixth grade, probably a girl, would give in to the temptation of a teacher's comforting embrace. Monday was that day. Sherry was that sixth grade student. I relished in it. In a small way, this felt like a success. My school participates in the Capturing Kids' Hearts program; my response, check, done, mission accomplished. I now have loftier goals of winning the hearts AND minds of my students. The hug was the first step. The first sign that I am becoming a comfortable figure to my students. Next, I will inspire them to learn. Now, don't get me wrong, this has been my goal the whole time, but a wise person once told me that your students won't care until they know that you do. Now they know I care. I always have. I always will.

Favorite Video: New Format

Taylor Mali- What a Teacher Makes

My Third Minilesson

For my third minilesson I found this great video online to use, and, after some trial and error with my first attempt to use technology in the classroom, I actually got it to work. It was this great little ditty about the five themes of geography done in the style of rap. We watched the video as a class and then I led them into group work using what they had learned from the video to help them answer a series of questions. As I walked around to supervise their progress, I heard one student in the back singing "Five themes of geography, we've got five themes of geography" in tune to the song! It made my day. 

My First Run in with Technology

It is a good rule of thumb that your technology will not act and/or operate as you anticipate. Be prepared with a Plan B when your video projector's sound fails and you still have 32 eager sets of eyes trained on you expecting to learn.

My Second Mini-Lesson

A teacher's classroom can become a very personal space and relinquishing control over that space and the students harbored there, I can imagine, is a challenge. That is why, I believe, I encountered resistance when attempting to run a mini-lesson today. My CT allowed me to craft and run my own lesson, but she wanted to share my spotlight instead of giving it momentarily up. I understand. I really do. These are her students. She is ultimately in charge of their learning, but she will come to realize that I am at least equally as dedicated to their education as she is. I share her passion for teaching, and I too thrive off of the experience of being in front of them. My CT and I are building our relationship, and I must remember to give it time to grow. Once she gets to know me, I feel assured that it will be all that much easier to share center stage because we are both working to the same end. We are both teachers, and we both love what we do.

My First Disaster

"If she's the teacher, why can't you just let her teach?"

This was the response I got from one student when I came in front of a class for the first time that I had never taught in front of before, and it nearly broke my heart. I didn't skip a beat, and I didn't figure his inquiry was worthy of response, but what he said affected me inside though I tried not to show it outside.

Due to a half day, the students' schedule was reordered making 4th, 5th, 6th classes the first classes of the day. I had never taught this class before. I didn't know the names of these students. I didn't know their attitudes, interests, or needs as learners. I didn't know that an outright rebellion was on my hands. And we had a sub. Again. AND it was Friday. In sum, I had the recipe for a disaster and chaos ensued.

The mini-lesson that went so well the day before flopped. I didn't even dare play a game with the students because of their grave misbehavior. I couldn't keep them quite, or focused, or on task. I couldn't make them listen or do their work. I could get them to answer questions or listen to each other during the off-chances when someone spoke. Every minute of this one particular class period dragged on, dragging me along with it.

In my CT's words, I was eaten alive. I had the 'sub feeling' and the 'Friday feeling' all bundled into one nightmarish day.

I tried my very best to be firm, but not harsh, and consistent, but not unrelenting. I laid out the rules just like I had with the sub before, but they would not listen. I handed out warnings and threatened to take away their points for the day, but they did not care. I tried every technique in my Classroom Management Repertoire, but my four weeks experience on the topic was not quite enough in this situation. I fought every minute for the students' attention, and when I could not get it, I got going on their assignment with the students I could and talked to each other student individually to encourage them to get to work. Eventually, we got through the two sided worksheet after the entire class period, but it was a struggle. The whole class was a struggle.

At the end, I led a reflection over the morning's events and the kids admitted, in their own words, that they needed to improve listening, following the golden rule, respect, being polite, not using put-downs, acting responsibly, and not interrupting. I agreed with them whole-heartedly. I had to list 11 students' names for my CT for misbehavior, but I listed 12 for not contributing to the chaos. A third of the class behaved, a third did not, and the other third was along for the ride of the day. To somewhat resolve the issue of the day I strongly suggested the students get a new seating chart and a stern review of classroom behaviors with the Vice Principal whole 6 foot tall, 200 pound frame my reinforce the rules better than I did.

The sub said she felt I held my own well and that the students were simply pushing me to see how far they could go until I broke. Well, I didn't break. I stayed as calm as I could manage and never raised my voice. If I could do it again (which I would not readily do) I would be firmer. I would be stricter. I would better enforce the classroom rules and convince the kids to take me seriously. As it was, I learned. I learned about myself, my style, and a weakness I have for not wishing to dish out consequences on my students. I have to remember that not every student will ever like me every minute and maybe helping them stay true to rules and regulations today by holding up my end of classroom discipline I am doing them a favor in the long run.



Highlight of the Day:

Debriefing the disaster with the sub who offered me priceless advice for next time, though I hope next time is far off. Her advice was to be firm, stay firm, and don't waiver on discipline. She said by being firm up front, you avoid retaliation in the long run. She suggested that when doing group work, to partner students up myself to avoid friends distracting each other from their assignments. She also said to always have a Plan B (and C) in case Plan A busts.  Most importantly though, she said don't give up. For every day like this there are so many more that go so much better and they make days like this worth fighting through.

My First Substitute

On Thursday my students had their first substitute since my CT's return from maternity leave. A particular series of fairly fortunate events led to me leading the classes for the morning to my absolute delight. I relished at the opportunity to reclaim the spotlight and lead another lesson, even if it was not of my own creation.

The students came in saying, "Is there a sub? Are you our teacher today?" and gave them an enthusiastic "Yes!"

Though I was initially minutely concerned for the sake of myself and the sub, the students were actually very well behaved and listened to and followed my directions well. At first I feared the 'sub feeling' that overcomes classes like a sickness infecting students relentlessly with side effects such as excessive talking, spontaneous movements across the classroom, eruptions of loud noises, and the appearance of disrespect. Grave as this can sometimes be, the best cure is high and unwavering standards and expectations for behavior. If the classroom management plan is referenced and enforced, the 'sub feeling' is often wholly preventable.

Thankfully, I opened my class with, "Though your teacher is not here, her rules still are and I expect you to still follow them in her absence. Now lets get started!"

That is all I needed to say and the 'sub feeling' was (mostly) prevented. We made it through all of our work, and the students really exceeded my expectations. My lesson for the day was to remind students of the rules and their consequences, and as long as that is clear, discipline will be maintained.



Highlight of the Day:

Worksheet Question #20: Who is the best social studies teacher?            Miss Blanchard                

My First Mini-Lesson

What is a hemisphere?

This was the first question I asked of my students as a teacher. Yes it was only a mini-lesson and yes it was only review, but it was my mini-lesson and my review. It was my turn to be in front of the class. And, I couldn't have asked for it to go better.

My audience was my 7th grade Eastern World class, and they were great! They were responsive and engaged. They stayed in tune to my lesson, and I fed off their energy as much as they fed off of mine (which is really saying something for 8:00am).

We discussed the ancient Greek translation of hemisphere as 'half a sphere' and broke down the word on the board. We brainstormed spheres we were familiar with and talked about what half of that sphere would look like. I reviewed with them the latitudes and longitudes that divide the hemispheres on the globe and drew them on the board. We discussed where the hemispheres are, and four volunteers colored them in on diagrams on the whiteboard in front of class. Then we played a game. They tossed a globe beach ball around the room and when a person caught it I would call out a hemisphere, the equator, or the prime meridian, and they had to put their hand on it. They passed the ball between them until every student had a chance to play. I would have kept going, because their participation was great, but it was a mini-lesson after all.

Ten minutes later, my moment in the spotlight was over. I had fun, but more importantly, the kids did and they were able to learn at the same time.



Hightlight of the Day:

Watching my kids play having fun with a globe.

Do you believe?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAMLOnSNwzA

First Sleepless Night

I couldn't sleep last night. It had more to do with the large Coke I downed in fifteen minutes last night than anything, but do you know what was running through my mind as I tried to fall asleep? Lesson plans.

At 10:30pm, 11:30pm, and past midnight I was thinking about lesson plans! I had given a lesson to my peers in a college class that night, hence the Coke, and I was obsessing over perfecting the plan to use with my seventh graders. I thought of how it could be used in a unit, where it could be used in a unit, and how effective it could be. I thought of different ways to implement my lesson and different students I would anticipate participating.

And though my mind was racing long after my self-prescribed bedtime, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed being excited by my work and the impact I foresee my efforts having in the future. As if further proof were necessary, I feel yet again confirmed that I am meant to be a teacher.

Highlight of the Day

"Miss B.! Miss B.!"

"Yes, Lou?"

"I remember you like rainbows, so I made this rainbow colored pencil holder for you!"

"Thanks, Lou. It's beautiful." Lou had given me an empty toilet paper roll he had colored like the rainbow with a loose leaf paper taped to be bottom. To my eyes, it is beautiful and will live on my desk for the rest of the semester.

Interviews Concluded

Each and every student has their own story, and every story is worth hearing. That is why when assigned to interview a student, I elected to interview five. For each interview I heard a dramatically different story and was enlightened as to the struggles and triumphs experienced by sixth grades. I intentionally selected students I anticipated would have very different experiences to discuss, and I am glad that I did. I interviewed two males, three females, two African American students, one Latina, two Caucasian individuals, and one special ed. student.  The variety of responses I received for each of my questions made me further realize that the personal identity students bring into the classroom majorly affects their experience there.

Tamara

My first interview was with Tamara. She was very uncertain of herself. She answered as many questions with ‘I don’t know’ as she did with any other response. She could not come up with any words to describe herself, and she rarely gave a response to a question beyond ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ I did find out that she lives in a trailer with her mom and dad and older sister. She also has two brothers who are also older, but she does not know where they live or with whom. They only visit her family every two weeks and she said they are both mean to her. Her life primarily revolves around her family’s life and all of the music, movies, and television shows she likes she watches or listens to with her mom. She spends more time with her mom than anyone else, and when asked what she would do with one million dollars, she told me that she would give most of it to her mom and spend only a little on herself to buy new pants. Tamara is completely responsible for doing all of her own homework, which appears to be a challenge for her because she does not like to read.  She enjoys math, because, in her words, ‘it is fun.’ Though she was eager to help me out when I asked, she was reluctant to share anything with me about herself during the interview. I found in her interview, and in the subsequent four, that sixth grade students struggle with issues concerning their own identity until asked questions indirectly about what and who they like. Their understanding of their preferences is keener than their understanding of themselves.

Charles

Charles, my subject for the second interview, was the most comfortable talking about himself, but he still had a loose conception of his own identity. He described himself ‘friendly, nice, kind, [and] athletic.’ His last descriptor ended up best describing him. He plays on a soccer team through the school district and loves watching wrestling on TV. Even the videogames that he enjoys to play are sports related.  This is not a feature he shares with his family, however. Even though he admitted to spending more time with his mom and dad than anyone else, his parents do not enjoy the sports-related activities that he does. He also lives with his younger sister and since he can remember his grandmother has lived at his house. He has always lived in the same school district and overall he likes school. 

Sarah and Chelsea

 My next two interviewees were too nervous to interview with me by themselves, so I conducted a double interview with them to ease their concerns. Their names were Sarah and Chelsea, two best friends from class. They actually had quite a bit in common, which helped the double interview run smoothly. Both girls described themselves as shy, which explains their reluctance to interview alone. Chelsea said that she was ‘shy [and] honest’ while Sarah said she was ‘shy and athletic.’ Both girls play a slew of sports including volleyball, gymnastics, cross country, and horseback riding. They both like to eat and sleep, and that is most of what they do at home since they are both so busy. Chelsea lives with her two older brothers, an older sister and her mom, while Sarah lives with her older brother and her mom and dad. Sarah’s family moves every four years because her father is in the military, so she was born in Hawaii, she lived in North Dakota, and they will be moving again next year. Chelsea only moved once and it was before she can remember. Both girls spend a significant amount of time with their families. They both also like to read. Their favorite subjects are art and music, and they wish more of what they liked could be incorporated into their social studies classrooms. They like being creative and they feel that they don’t get a chance to express themselves often in their core classes. Because of their similarities, this double interview progressed seamlessly, and I was able to get to know both students.

Final Thoughts

From all of these students, I learned that the aspects of their identity inherited from their families are the most important. Each sixth grade student admitted to spending more time with family than friends, and among their family members they spend the most amount of time with their parents. This just goes to show what an influence their parents can have on their lives, and by extension, their education. None of them said that social studies was their favorite subject, but I got insights into their minds as to why and how that can change. From their interviews, I gathered that integrating social studies with other subjects would be the best way to engage these students. They want hands on activities in their regular classrooms and they want an outlet for their creative ability. There is a way to include all of these aspects into the social studies class, and it would be well worth the effort to do so if it means engaging more students in the social studies curriculum. The classroom should be fun, and that was their main complaint about the classes they did not enjoy, including social studies. I also learned that every student had some kind of text that they preferred, even if it was not a book. They may have only discussed books when asked about texts, but they almost all admitted to liking movies or TV, which can be easily added as a text into the classroom. Most students prefer visual stimulation, especially at that age, and there are numerous resources available to do just that. From these interviews, I learned about students’ preferences for activities and how they like to be engaged in the classroom, and though I found this information enlightening, it was not the most powerful thing that I will take away from this interview experience. What I will remember is that every student has a different story, and you will never know it unless you ask. So, ask .

Interviews with Students

***For the privacy of students interviewed, I used aliases for all students referenced in this and subsequent posts.


Students are amazing people with lives often as complicated as adults'. One of my first assignments from the College of Education this year was to interview a student about his or her conception of their personal identity and their identity as a learner. These were to be 5 minute interviews during which I could ask any number of questions. I focused on these:

1.      How would you describe yourself? What do you like to do? What are you good at? Do you like to watch TV? What shows? What kind of music do you like?

2.      Can you tell me about your family? Who all lives at home with you? Where do you live? Have you always lived there?

3.      What do you like to do outside of school? Do you do sports, or are you in clubs, or anything? Do you work? Who do you like to spend your time with?

4. What is your favorite subject? Why? Do you it could be more fun? How?

5.      If I could give you a million dollars, what would you do with it? 

6.      Is there anything else you’d like to tell me about yourself?

The answers I got were astounding. The sixth graders I interviewed were far more complex than I imagined possible. If one interview could be enlightening, would not five interviews be even more enlightening? So that is what I did. I asked these questions of five students and received an array of responses I never imagined. Here is the first of the five interviews, and the one that moved me the most.

Christopher-
 In class, Christopher is confrontational, often aggressive toward other students, and unrelenting. He does his work, and he does it well, but he takes personal offense to the misbehavior of others in the class. Though some may write him off immediately as a discipline case for his short temper, after the interview, I could never see him that way. Christopher has never lived with his biological parents. His grandparents raised them, until they both passed away recently in a very short span of time. He then moved in with his auntie, a single mother of two. He has two younger cousins in the house with him; one is three and the other is only a one year old. He plays a major role in their upbringing. A babysitter comes to the house from 3pm-6:30pm each weeknight after school while his auntie works. During this time he must complete all of his homework because once his auntie gets home, he has responsibilities to take care of cousins, who he calls his brother and sister. At 6:30, he helps prepare their dinner and feed the two children. Then, when required, he bathes them before getting them ready for and into bed. Then, he gets his own dinner and must get into bed himself shortly after. Is it any surprise that he told me that his favorite things to do are eat and sleep? For fun, if there is time, he watches cartoons with his cousins or reads comic books. He plays video games occasionally, but only every by himself. He does not have time to have friends over.

When asked what he would do with a million dollars, he said he would donate half to breast cancer research, because that is what killed his grandma, and the other half to his great-grandmother whose house is in danger of being foreclosed. He explicitly said that he would not keep even a dollar for himself. This young man wants to be a family practice doctor because he wants to help people, and I sincerely hope he makes it. Is it any wonder that Christopher has a short fuse? This 11 year-old boy is taking on grown up responsibilities willingly to help out the people he loves most. Every kid has a story, and every story is worth listening to. The next time you come across a challenging student, ask yourself, could he be a Christopher? You'll never know unless you ask.

Worth Watching

This clip is worth all 7 minutes and 42 seconds. Especially if you are a fan of public education and Matt Damon.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqOub-heGQc

The Meaning of Reading

No matter how you look at it, reading is a vital skill necessary for student success. That is why I willingly dedicated all of my 4 hours in the classroom today to assessing student reading and why I will do the same tomorrow and tomorrow's tomorrow until a team of 7 others and I have tested the reading level of every 6th and 7th grade student in the building. As an avid reader myself, to me, reading is both academic and enjoyable. Many students agree with me, but many, especially those who struggle with reading, don't. Reading for some is a laborious process that requires effort better spent on my self-indulgent activities. Until their reading abilities improve, these students will never understand the joy that comes from 'free reading' as I call it, or the academic freedom that comes with literacy.

The test today consisted of three short stories of varying difficulty that the student was asked to read aloud. A timer was set for 1 minute, and after that minute, the student was instructed to stop and move on to the next reading. Meanwhile, I read along on their score sheet and put a dash through each word they mispronounce or skipped. Students were not marked off for adding words, but they were for substitutions, even between 'a' and 'the' when there was no apparent change in the meaning of the sentence. I was instructed to allow variations on words due to differences in dialect, but no other exceptions could be made for the sake of consistency between test administrators. The final score on the reading test was a combination of the number of words read and the number of words read correctly. The score would result in the students being placed in tiers of reading ability and their scores would be distributed to all of their teachers. All of this in mind, I began testing.

Testing was hard. I wanted to coach and encourage the kids when they came to a word they didn't know, but I could only wait patiently for them to struggle through it, eventually giving up or settling for some butchered pronunciation. But, I had to keep in mind, this is a test of their reading, not my skills as a teacher or reading coach. I saw students fly through the texts flawlessly and students struggle with every 5 or more letter word. One student had a lisp, which made it challenging to determine what words he knew and which he did not. I administered the test to one English Language Learner who spoke slowly, but read with confidence. I administered the test to a female who read with such enthusiasm and with such great nuances that she actually made me laugh at the story I had heard two dozen times already. She didn't read the most words, but she read beautifully. Then there were the kids who sounded out each word, but read them all perfectly but with no nuance at all. There were students who read so quickly that they sacrificed comprehension for speed. And there were kids who with jittery voices, shaking with nerves despite my attempt at a calming demeanor. How can one test adequately assess all of these students?

Reading is more than a score on a test. Reading is a life skill necessary to succeed in American society. It is the key to intellectual freedom and the answer to intellectual curiosity. Reading is fun as well as enlightening. Reading can be a rewarding experience, but like any skill, it must be learned and honed. The reading test I administered today tested only basic literacy, and though the student's final scores fall neatly into a 3 tier system, there are not 3 distinct kinds of readers. Readers are as diverse as students, and each reader should be met where they are and encouraged and coached to improve. Literacy is the right of each student, but it is the responsibility of the teacher to guide them through the process of learning and to stimulate their interest in gaining this skill.

Highlight of the Day

The vice principal of the school came up to me in the hallway before school and asked, "How are you doing, Miss Blanchard?"

"Great, and yourself?"

"Great, too. Hey, were you ears burning last night?"

"Why?" I asked.

"Because we had a staff meeting last night and a couple people brought up how helpful you've been. You've really made an impression. Good work."

I blush and say, "Thank you."

My First Day

The first day of school was surprisingly less nerve racking than the open house. I feel like a teacher when I stand in the front of a class, and I get a natural high from 26 pairs of eyes following me as I stroll across the room. Instead of making me feel nervous, their attention makes me feel important, as if the next thing I say could really change their life, and in a sense, it can. You never can know how what you say influences your listener, and that is part of the magic of teaching. You may not always see the results, and the results may not be what you intended, but what you say as a teacher could have lasting affects on a student. With that, caution must be paid not only to your words, but also to your actions and reactions, because even when you are not speaking, you are teaching. Students look up to teachers for so many hours a day, and what they see should be exemplary. 

Even just after my first day, my classroom already feels like a second home. I will be spending about as many awake hours there as I will be at home this year, so it is reassuring to know I feel comfortable there and comfortable sharing this home with just shy of 80 learners. I did get butterflies each hour when new students would fill the class, but they quickly dissipated as the class got under way. As a student assistant, my main priority is to observe teacher and student behaviors, but by the end of my first day, I knew this would not be enough to satisfy me. I wanted to get my hands dirty, so I went to the lunch room. I volunteered to have sixth grade lunch duty every day. "You sure about that?" someone asked me. I responded, "Yes, yes I am."

Lunch is hectic. Crazy-hectic, but well worth my time. Lunch is a time for students to be casual and social, and seeing this side of them gives the teacher a better understanding of the student body as a whole. My first observation, the sixth graders are as hyper in the lunchroom as they were in the classroom. They are boisterous, clingy, cliquey, and every last one of them has the most important thing in the world to tell you every minute single minute. In class, they raise their hands for everything. If you make a remark, 10 hands go in the air to mention something related (or unrelated, depending on the student.) For example: I mentioned the university I attend, and a student raised her hand to say that her mom went there. That was it. So the teacher said that was nice and moved on. If you mention a place you've been, they've been there, too. If you mention something you'd like to do, they want to do it, too. If you mention that you have a dog, as the teacher did, they will ask if it is okay if they talk about their fish, or parrot, or lizard. Everything is important to these kids. What I learned from this behavior is two-fold. One, these kids want to share and feel connected to the people around them. Feeling included gives them a sense of security. Secondly, you have to allot time in the schedule for these comments and stories to take place. Especially with 6th graders, you want them to feel comfortable in the classroom and to do that, you must leave them time to share. Sixth graders on their first day are still elementary school students, and they will be for a few months before a combination of puberty, adolescence, and peer pressure kick in.

But back to lunch. I do not regret in the slightest volunteering for this duty. For many students, lunch is their favorite 25 minutes of the day, and I am glad to share that with them. The more time I spend with students, the better I understand them, and the better I can serve their needs as a teacher. Lunch time gives me insights that the classroom can't, and I look forward to continuing the learn from this experience.


Highlight of the Day:

The teacher shares with the class, "I have a dog and cat at home that I love very much."
A young man's hand flies into the air. "I have a lizard! Is that okay?"
"Yes, it is okay to have a lizard." The student smiles. "Thank you for sharing."

Open House

Wednesday August 31st, 2011 6:00pm- Open House

I was nervous. Nervous to meet my Cooperating Teacher (CT), nervous to meet the sub who would be standing in for her on her maternity leave, nervous to meet my 6th and 7th graders, and especially nervous to meet their parents. Now, this wasn't the knees knocking, teeth clattering kind of nervous. Just the butterflies in the stomach, racing heart, smile big so they don't see your lips tremble kind of nervous. A nervous excitement would describe it better.  And don't get me wrong, I was excited. I decided 5 years ago that I wanted to teach, and this was my big break. This was the first impression I could not afford to butcher. This was my chance to to teach and I wanted, no needed, the teacher, the sub, the students, and their parents to all be on my side.

Prior to the open house, my CT and I communicated via email and found out that we were both the same double major: English and Social Studies and that we have similar teaching styles and strategies and similar passions for education. In a few words, when we met, we clicked. I easily checked 'nervous to meet CT' off my list. I had a similar situation with the substitute who shares my passion for teaching, and I checked her, too, off my list. Now, I just had to meet the kids. And then the real test, the parents.

The families that came to the open house were as diverse as the student body. We had families with just a mother, just a father, just a grandparent, or a combination of all three. We had step-siblings, half siblings, adult siblings and kid siblings all in attendance. We had students wandering around on their own having walked to the open house from home. Seeing the students and their various guardians reminded me that diversity describes something beyond an individual's culture. Diversity is what makes me different from you and family structure is but one of a vast number of variants.

Of the forty families I met during open house, there was not a one I did not like. I love families that share my dedication to education and realize the importance of their son or daughters learning, even in these early years of their secondary education. One mother came up to my CT and I and flat out said that she supports teachers and schools and wants to play an active part in her daughter's education. That warms my heart to hear. I wish I could instill that excitement in all parents. Of the parents that came, most shared this commitment to their child's education, which made my night. Seeing that really shows a community's appreciation for education and makes me feel valued as an educator.

At the end of the day, my first open house went smoothly. My smile got bigger as the night went on, not to cover my nerves, but to express my sheer joy at being involved in this school. It is moments like this when you know you've made the right career choice.

Highlight of the Night

A mother of a 6th grader approached my CT and me and asked, "So, which of you's the teacher?" Without a pause, my CT responded, "We both are."


*** I will try and include a short story like this with most of my posts, for those looking for a highlights reel version of my experiences.