7: Week of October 3

This week I have bee thinking a lot about organization and how much this helps teachers. My mentor teacher is super organized, and this makes the day run so much smoother. First of all, it eliminates wasted transition time. She knows exactly what she is going to do next as she is finishing up one activity and can direct students on what to do. All the materials are laid out prior to beginning the activity so no time is wasted searching for things. She keeps the aid very informed about what she needs which eliminates a lot of miscommunication and keeps things running smoothly. Her lesson plans list everything out in a very easy to read format so they can be followed by anyone. Another thing I like that I have seen in different classrooms is having a place to put the materials for the week. For example, in my class there are hanging file folders for Monday Math and Monday Reading where you can find all the materials. In another class they use drawers. I like this idea because you can easily see if you have what you need. I have also been in very unorganized classrooms that encountered lots of problems because of this. Time was wasted, materials were not easy to find, and things did not get done. Especially for me, being a beginning teacher, I need to make sure I am organized to help make up for other problems I will encounter.

6: Week of Sept. 26

This was my first week in Kindergarten. So far, I love it! My mentor teacher is very organized, and I really like that about the class. Everything is very well planned so there is not that much wasted time. There are 22 students in the class and they have a very wide range of abilities. I didn't realize how much difference there would be in skills since they are only 4 and 5 years old. Already at this point, there is a definite gap. Many of the students have parents who work with them at home, and this makes all the difference. The gap is already wide, and it will only get wider if intervention does not take place. I was impressed that at only 5 weeks into the year my mentor teacher had already begun intervention and working with certain students to try to get them on the right track. I am most looking forward to seeing the progress made by some of the students and where they will be by the end of my time there. Another thing I really like about Kindergarten are how the students respond to activities and projects. They get so excited and try to do a good job. One of the main differences between middle school and Kindergarten is the motivation level. The middle schoolers did everything they could to get out of work, and it didn't matter what it was, they didn't like it. In Kindergarten, they love almost everything and will do anything. My question is, at what age do students decide that they suddenly hate school and why does this take place? In my experience, I have seen the change begin to happen around 4th grade.

5: Week of Sept. 19

This week was my last week in middle school. I was looking forward to having fun with the students on Friday, but my uncle passed away and so I was not in school. I learned how difficult it is to be a good teacher when you are upset about something. It is really hard to have a positive attitude and be happy towards the students when you are not happy at all. It was a good lesson for me to learn, although I wish I would not have had to. Other than that, I am excited for next week to start so I can go to Kindergarten. I am looking forward to beginning my research project too.

4: Week of Sept. 12

Since the beginning of school, my students have been working on their multiplication tables, something all of them struggle with. They have been using a computer to practice daily, they made flashcards, and they do practice problems. This week, we did 4's. Up until now, they have been pretty confident, but this week was different. They needed a lot more help and encouragement to try. On Friday, they took their test and they all did great! I was so happy to see their progress and that their hard work paid off. This coming week should be easy because they are all already very good with their 5's. I now have only one week left in this placement. While I am excited to go to Kindergarten, I will definitely miss the students I have now. Middle school is much different that elementary because the students are in the stage where they feel like they should be treated as adults, but still act very immaturely. I have a lot of respect for middle school teachers. Their job is anything but easy! The good middle school teachers have learned to balance treating the students more like adults, but also supervising very carefully because sometimes the students can get very out of hand. If I have learned one thing about middle schoolers, it is that most of what they do is in order to look a certain way to their friends. They will do anything to impress others. This can be scary at times! I want to try to have a great last week and enjoy what time I have left with older kids.

3: Week of Sept. 5

This week I was thinking a lot of September 11th and I wanted to somehow incorporate it into the lessons. I got to thinking, and realized my 6th graders were only 1 or 2 years old when the attacks happened! It seemed strange to me, but I guess it makes sense considering I was only in middle school myself. Ten years has passed so quickly! But anyways, I found a movie online that showed the attacks and had some different reactions and really gave a good idea as to what really happened. I asked questions ahead of time like "What city did it happen in?" and mostly no one knew. During the video, the kids had a lot of questions so I would pause it and answer everything. By the end of the movie, the students were all very quiet and you could tell it had made them think a lot. They said they were so thankful that nothing happened to their families. I saw a completely different side of the kids! (Normally they are all very goofy!) We talked a lot about what the attacks meant for us here, and how even though it was 10 years ago, we are still affected by it. Later, one of the kids came back to the classroom and asked me if i thought we would be attacked on Sunday since it was the 10 year anniversary. I told him I couldn't promise him that nothing would happen, but I was pretty sure they wouldn't target Bruceton Mills, WV! This experience made me think about how impressionable students are. I wanted them to know the truth and understand what happened, but I didn't want them to be scared. It is a hard thing to teach something that is so scary without scaring them! I came to the conclusion that it is okay for them to be a little scared, because after all, it was an extremely traumatic event. In the future, if I were to teach this again, I might spread it out over a few days.

2: Week of Aug. 29

This week I had the opportunity to do a lot of teaching. Since I am used to being in elementary school and am now in middle school, I had to change my strategies a little. Many of the activities that the younger students love, I am sure these students would think are stupid. During math, I noticed the students really did not have a good grasp on multiplication. It wasn't just that they didn't know their facts, they didn't understand the entire concept of what multiplication actually is. I went back to my notes from my Math Methods course and found lots of useful things to help them. (Thank you Sarah Selmer :)) Ive taught it in a few different ways now, and I am pleasantly surprised at the gains they have made in such a short time. The thing I am frustrated with the most is that I have yet to see a grade level math book! I have asked for one (not even the teacher's edition, just the student's) and keep being told that they are being ordered. All the other 6th graders have books, but my students do not. It is frustrating to see Special Education students not receiving the same materials as everyone else. My plan after the books come is to see what they are supposed to be able to do, try to work up to it, or "water it down" enough that we can still be doing the same things as the rest of the 6th grade.

1: Week of Aug. 22

This week was my first week back at Bruceton. It is different being there every day, all day, as opposed to what we have done in the past. I like it though, because now I get the real feeling as to what a teacher's day is really like, not just the 4 hours I used to see a few times a week. The first week was a little overwhelming starting all my classes, so it has made me realize that I need to be extremely organized this semester if I want to keep up. Falling behind is my worst fear because the catching up process is very difficult.

There are a few things I would like to accomplish this semester. First, I am excited to teach full-time because it will be a challenge, but I think it will give me a lot of confidence. Second, I want to learn more strategies for ways to teach older students (I am placed in middle school special education for the first five weeks). This has been a little difficult to get used to because I am more accustomed to younger students, however, I think it will be a great experience for me and I will learn a lot. The third thing I want to accomplish is efficient time management. Since I decided to get my autism certificate as well, my schedule is very, very full so I will have to work hard to get everything done. Last semester my goal was to gain confidence, and I really did accomplish that. Now, instead of being mostly nervous, I am just excited about teaching and trying new things. Overall, I am looking forward to this semester and hoping everything goes smoothly!