I finished my first grading period a few weeks ago and I found I HATE grading. I must say, it was the one thing I need to get better at. That has to be the only part of my education training I didn't get. Somehow I got into an awful habit of collecting papers, and then sitting on them. I wouldn't grade them, I wouldn't return them; they just sat in my bag. So when the deadline for grades to be submitted approached, I panicked. Needless to say, I did not have enough grades and was forced to alter things to be fair (and even then it wasn't fair). My first solution to this problem is to collect less. I have also printed off class rosters/gradebooks. This way when I assign work/homework, I can come by and check if they completed their work instead of collecting it. I will mark on the computerized paper that they did or did not do it, assign points, and then move on. I have grades, but not the paper. This gives me a relief. I have found that it isn't a foolproof fix because I still have collected papers, have done little with them, and the paper I have been recording grades on, I have not put them into the grading program.
The main reason I have yet to put grades into the online grading program is because our administration is making the teachers have a school-wide grading allocations. Meaning a certain percentage of the students' grades go to a specific part. I believe it is something like Participation, Assignments, and Assessments. These are fine catgories for me, I just don't believe in the sub categories. This makes it hard for me to know where to put things when I don't agree that is the category it needs to be under. For example, under this list, homework should go under participation and class work should go under assignments... In my opinion, it should be in homework in assignments and class work in participation. But who am I?
I love my students, I love that I'm a teacher. However, I am finding more and more that there are people around me have their focus out of order. Students should be the goal, what's in the best interest for our students, having them succeed. Other people's goals are to pass the TEST, get the GRADE, and have the perfect IMAGE, when it isn't accurate. It is a constant struggle to not allow their negative thoughts affect the reason I'm a teacher. That is the end of my soapbox.
Last thought: Before the school year begins, make sure you take pictures of your room, the empty walls, blank bulletin boards, unorganized areas, etc. Once your class is what you want it to be, take pictures from all of the same angles to see your improvements. I took the beginning pictures and have yet to take the after. But after looking through the first pictures, I was amazed at all that has changed, how great my class truly looks. I'll take pictures this week and post them here later. So take before and after picture and be amazed at all you have done!
Maybe next time, I won't stay away so long.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Being Prepared
I believe I mentioned before that I didn't feel as if anyone really trained me to teach this particular curriculum. I know I'm education trained, so I should be able to do it. And I know I can and am. It's just that this math curriculum is unlike anything I've ever seen before. To add to it, this is the first time I've taught in 90-minute periods. I'm not sure that anyone, adult or child, has the attention span to get through a 90-minute period. I must say that being prepared to teach this is fairly difficult. I've been doing OK so far, but some classes work faster or slower than others, so at the end of the period, I'm searching for more to do. I don't like to give extra work as a punishment, so we have been doing trivia at the end of class.
After talking to one of my assistant principals, I have realized I need to work more on ice breakers in the middle of the class. Take those last five minutes from the end of class and do a break in the middle of the period. Do trivia then. Stand up and stretch. Bathroom break. Short non-educational game. Anything to give the class and me a break. I have some Marcy Cook brainteasers that could also be a good idea. I either need to put them on transparencies or get them on a slide, so that at any moments notice, I can pop up something unrelated to what we are doing. It changes the mood for those few moments, mixes things up. The only thing is that I would need to stress that as soon as those five or so minutes are up, we are back to business. I think that the class would appreciate it enough that they would get back on track. It would need some getting used to on everyone's part, me included, but it is definitely necessary to keep sanity (and take up some time) !! :)
Until later...
Ms. K
After talking to one of my assistant principals, I have realized I need to work more on ice breakers in the middle of the class. Take those last five minutes from the end of class and do a break in the middle of the period. Do trivia then. Stand up and stretch. Bathroom break. Short non-educational game. Anything to give the class and me a break. I have some Marcy Cook brainteasers that could also be a good idea. I either need to put them on transparencies or get them on a slide, so that at any moments notice, I can pop up something unrelated to what we are doing. It changes the mood for those few moments, mixes things up. The only thing is that I would need to stress that as soon as those five or so minutes are up, we are back to business. I think that the class would appreciate it enough that they would get back on track. It would need some getting used to on everyone's part, me included, but it is definitely necessary to keep sanity (and take up some time) !! :)
Until later...
Ms. K
Exhausted
Getting back into the swing of things has been a bit exhausting. I'll blame my hiatus on that! Since my last post I have finished my first two weeks of teaching. There has been much confusion, lots of good and and lots of bad. I must say that the kids have been pretty great so far. Not that is should be any different, but right now they are the best thing about my job. The administration and district is another story. I have just never seen a school or corporation so unorganized. Not that I have had a lot of experience in other schools and corporations, but it is a bit ridiculous, to say the least. But I'm going to try to stay away from that - stay positive. So let's talk about the kids and the teaching part.
I've only been teaching for two weeks and I am surprised how much I can tell that the students like me. It was my main goal to reach the students as quickly as possible. In the experience that I have had, I knew that if a student doesn't like you, doesn't believe that you can about him/her, that person will not perform for you. These are the strategies (if you want to call it that) that I have done to reach my students.
1. Talk to them like they are real people. Well of course they are real people, but I've heard many students say that teachers don't treat them like equals. Some teachers talk down to their students because they are "below them." I just don't believe this. I firmly believe that you must respect the students in order for them to respect you in return. It's a two-way street. Treat others the way you want to be treated. It is the golden rule.
2. This goes along with the first somewhat, but I talk to my students. Ask them how they are doing. Ask them about their lives, about family, sports, etc. This demonstrates to my students that I care about them. Children are not stupid; they can sniff out a fake very quickly.
3. I am fair. This includes not calling on the same students all of the time. So many times, we only call on the people that volunteer. It seems like it isn't fair that I would call on students that don't have the answers because they weren't paying attention. But I believe that by doing this it sends a clear message: I expect you to be on task at all times. And even if you don't know the answer, I won't embarrass you and will help you through the problem every time.
4. Again, this goes along with number 3. I work hard to be very clear about my expectations. As long as I am constantly going over what I expect and don't expect, they students can't say 'I didn't know.' While most students don't want to admit that they like structure, THEY REALLY DO. They want to know what to expect. So many students rely on school to be their constant because they may not get it at home. Stability is very important for students to find success.
This is just a short list, and it seems very simple to go by, but it does take careful thought and lots of work to get the students on your side. Middle schoolers are very unique children and it definitely takes a special person to work with them. It's a very crazy time in their lives and at times, it can be extremely stressful to teach this age. But I must say, that so far, it has been rewarding.
I've only been teaching for two weeks and I am surprised how much I can tell that the students like me. It was my main goal to reach the students as quickly as possible. In the experience that I have had, I knew that if a student doesn't like you, doesn't believe that you can about him/her, that person will not perform for you. These are the strategies (if you want to call it that) that I have done to reach my students.
1. Talk to them like they are real people. Well of course they are real people, but I've heard many students say that teachers don't treat them like equals. Some teachers talk down to their students because they are "below them." I just don't believe this. I firmly believe that you must respect the students in order for them to respect you in return. It's a two-way street. Treat others the way you want to be treated. It is the golden rule.
2. This goes along with the first somewhat, but I talk to my students. Ask them how they are doing. Ask them about their lives, about family, sports, etc. This demonstrates to my students that I care about them. Children are not stupid; they can sniff out a fake very quickly.
3. I am fair. This includes not calling on the same students all of the time. So many times, we only call on the people that volunteer. It seems like it isn't fair that I would call on students that don't have the answers because they weren't paying attention. But I believe that by doing this it sends a clear message: I expect you to be on task at all times. And even if you don't know the answer, I won't embarrass you and will help you through the problem every time.
4. Again, this goes along with number 3. I work hard to be very clear about my expectations. As long as I am constantly going over what I expect and don't expect, they students can't say 'I didn't know.' While most students don't want to admit that they like structure, THEY REALLY DO. They want to know what to expect. So many students rely on school to be their constant because they may not get it at home. Stability is very important for students to find success.
This is just a short list, and it seems very simple to go by, but it does take careful thought and lots of work to get the students on your side. Middle schoolers are very unique children and it definitely takes a special person to work with them. It's a very crazy time in their lives and at times, it can be extremely stressful to teach this age. But I must say, that so far, it has been rewarding.
Monday, August 17, 2009
First Day of Work
Last week I received and accepted my first full-time teaching position. After moving to Florida, I was extremely grateful to find a job in just over a week. I must be honest though; I wasn't exactly expecting to receive an offer at this school because the principal didn't even interview me. Either I just completely blew away the two other administrators with my skills or they were desperate. I'll just go with the first!
Needless to say, I was completely unprepared for my first day at the school. Luckily the students don't arrive until next week. I felt as if no one told me what to do, what exactly I was teaching, what my curriculum is, etc. Not only do I need to make my blank of a canvas classroom look acceptable, but I need to figure out what in the world I am doing. Luckily, I introduced myself to some other math teachers, and they attempted to fill me in. I still feel overwhelmed, but hopefully, I am a little more informed.
I've also realized that when you look up the stats on a school that it might be a bit deceiving. After doing my own research, I found that this school (we'll just call it WG for the sake of this blog) has about a 45% free and reduced lunch (or poverty level). My thoughts are, "Hey, this can't be too bad. It could be MUCH worse. I've taught in another school with higher statistics. I can handle this." After talking to the other teachers, I've been informed that the South is much different the the North, that I am originally from. I guess time will tell if these "southern thugs" are all that they are cracked up to be. I was also told today: "You're white. And you seem nice and sweet-natured. You can't be that when the kids get here." I know she didn't mean that in a negative way; she simply meant to tell me to be firm and in control come the first day or else I may never be able to regain control later. This is nothing that I didn't already know. I guess I must figure out exactly how to do that between now and then.
I'm making this blog as a way to express the frustrations and glories of my first year of teaching. Hopefully, I will be able to reach out to someone who is either going through the same, past or present. And so starts my journey. Currently, I'm overwhelmed. At this point, I need to make a list of all the tasks to accomplish and conquer them on at a time. Tomorrow's main to goal: one bulletin board, read the first unit, and get the curriculum.
Ms. K
Needless to say, I was completely unprepared for my first day at the school. Luckily the students don't arrive until next week. I felt as if no one told me what to do, what exactly I was teaching, what my curriculum is, etc. Not only do I need to make my blank of a canvas classroom look acceptable, but I need to figure out what in the world I am doing. Luckily, I introduced myself to some other math teachers, and they attempted to fill me in. I still feel overwhelmed, but hopefully, I am a little more informed.
I've also realized that when you look up the stats on a school that it might be a bit deceiving. After doing my own research, I found that this school (we'll just call it WG for the sake of this blog) has about a 45% free and reduced lunch (or poverty level). My thoughts are, "Hey, this can't be too bad. It could be MUCH worse. I've taught in another school with higher statistics. I can handle this." After talking to the other teachers, I've been informed that the South is much different the the North, that I am originally from. I guess time will tell if these "southern thugs" are all that they are cracked up to be. I was also told today: "You're white. And you seem nice and sweet-natured. You can't be that when the kids get here." I know she didn't mean that in a negative way; she simply meant to tell me to be firm and in control come the first day or else I may never be able to regain control later. This is nothing that I didn't already know. I guess I must figure out exactly how to do that between now and then.
I'm making this blog as a way to express the frustrations and glories of my first year of teaching. Hopefully, I will be able to reach out to someone who is either going through the same, past or present. And so starts my journey. Currently, I'm overwhelmed. At this point, I need to make a list of all the tasks to accomplish and conquer them on at a time. Tomorrow's main to goal: one bulletin board, read the first unit, and get the curriculum.
Ms. K
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