Fall Quarter: Wrap Up

This has, without a doubt, been the most challenging quarter in the program so far. It has also been the most rewarding. Interesting how that works out. The course load was something that seemed out of my ability, but somehow I pulled through (barely) and am ready to recharge for the next quarter. One of the peaks of this quarter includes student teaching. This was the only part I really enjoyed. I was sad to leave my main placement for the dyad experience, but in the end the dyad experience was amazing. I was paired with a great partner and we worked well together. The 6th grade students I worked with will always have a special place in my heart. I appreciated my cooperating teacher allowing us so much freedom of expression in her class. I had the opportunity to teach several lessons on my own; some were even on the fly! I realized that middle school is where I want and need to be. If I was a puzzle piece, it would be the piece that fits right beside me. On the other hand, being back in my main placement is exciting. I love the 2nd graders for all of their energy, curiosity, blatancy and eagerness. They help me to see all the positive things in this world.

I am emotionally and mentally fatigued. It feels good to be with a group of other individuals who have been working just as hard, if not harder, and be able to share similar feelings. No one but us knows what this exact experience has been like and it is always refreshing to see my cohort and commiserate about the quarter together. Shortly we will be fully immersed in winter quarter, but until then I will be enjoying friends, family and the holiday season!

X12

Tweet Tweet

I was one of the people who completely refused to create a Twitter account. Facebook was enough for me. I thought of Twitter as another social networking site that everyone updated minute by minute what they were doing at that exact moment in time. So, I was not interested. However, as a course requirement, I hesitantly created an account. I then did not return to Twitter for weeks. Once I did though, I decided to start finding professional educators to follow and in this search I happened to come across some really valuable information. I began to think about all that Twitter can offer. If you decide to steer clear of the irrelevant information and are particular with who you follow, then there is a lot that can be gained. Instead of searching numerous different sites and search engines for educators and information regarding education, you can simply go to one site, Twitter, and find it all there (or at least a lot). It is inevitable with any social networking site, that you will find a bunch of extraneous material. Yet, if you search for a specific purpose there will worthwhile evidence of brilliant thinking. And this evidence is current, considering that they whole basis of Twitter is to post information on a continuous basis. Post length is limited to 140 characters (called Tweets), so they are short and sweet. You do not have to read through mass and pick out select information. It is all found within a couple sentences.

In addition, the site is free to join, which is always a bonus is a society where everything seems to have a price tag.

Dinner Time Talk

Why is that most elementary students go home and are eager to share their school day with their parent/guardian, but once middle school hits that same zest for school loses its appeal? In my main placement, my second grade students constantly tell me about dinner time stories. The other day one of my students spouts off, “Ms. Mauge, I told my mom about how we decorated pinecones in class yesterday and how I got green paint all over my face!” I appreciate hearing these stories from home because it signals to me that these students genuinely enjoy what they are doing in school. They are so fond of school, that when they leave and are at home in their own element they are still thinking about the classroom. So, why is that once they hit middle school these stories seem to disappear? Is it because the activities happening in class are not as exciting and students are not as engaged in learning? Or is it because dinner time is spent alone and not as a family anymore? Are there stories told at dinner, but teachers just do not hear about those stories anymore? It is probably somewhat of a mix of all these factors.

I know that once I reached the 6th or 7th grade, I stopped telling my parents what was happening in school because none of it seemed as interesting as the rest of my personal life was. Plus, all the hormones coursing through my body made things completely different. However, I constantly wonder how we can get older students to go home and tell their parents /guardians what is going on, regardless of their age and whatever else is going on in their lives. Maybe parents/guardians need to break through their teen’s image and get to the bottom of it. Or maybe what is going on in school needs to become more inventive, more innovative, and more imaginative so that these students want to share stories. If adolescent students become more eager to communicate about their school day, maybe parents/guardians will also become more enthusiastic and in turn their involvement in their child’s school will also increase.

Hole-in-the-Wall

This "minimally invasive education" that Dr. Sumatra Mitra speaks of is remarkable. Basically, the idea of allowing children to teach themselves based on pure curiosity fueling their motivation to learn. It is astonishing to witness children, with barely a basic education, learning how to use a computer in somewhat complex ways all on their own. I appreciated the social aspect that the computer brought to this experiment, as well. Students were able to interact with one another, teach each other and collaborate with one another to figure out new aspects.

I agree that children must be computer-literate in today’s world, but it is hard to imagine how these kids will now use these basic computer skills to further their future in the slums. Was Dr. Mitra’s intention to simply show how individuals can teach themselves how to use a computer without any explanation? Or was there a larger goal to be reached for these children in context? Either way, I think the essential idea is that technology is rampant in society and we should rely on it. These children in India that do not have an impressive education, and probably will not anytime soon, can increase their knowledge on their own a considerable amount just by having a single computer. I keep thinking that if this is the case, then the necessity for teachers seems to drop a bit. So much can be learned with the use of technology. It is something to keep thinking about for sure.

The Machine is Us/ing Us

In today’s society, there is no escape from technology, nor should there be. As a future teacher, it would be a disservice not to teach my students how to use technology and also incorporate into my teaching. However, I have to be honest, watching the video was a bit intimidating. The words and pictures passed by so quickly that I had trouble keeping up with the images and text, let alone be able to soak in the important intended message. This is kind of how I feel about technology. I am continuously in awe of the endless advances, but I have a hard time keeping up with everything. I find it embarrassing and surprising that I have to teach my struggling father how to "tab over" in Microsoft Excel, but then I am humbled when my driver's education students have to help me with certain "computer issues" I have while teaching their class. Each generation has a step up on the last in regard to understanding and utilizing technology. For teachers, this means they need to be even a step higher than their students. This is formidable for many teachers, so the easy choice seems to be not to integrate it at all. This is unfortunate, because as the video quickly shows, technology allows for so much learning and connectedness.

Just this quarter, our cohort was able to Skype with a graduate student from the University of Washington who is studying in Antarctica. The entire time I was thinking how this experience is so advantageous in so many ways. The rapid transmission of information being exchanged allows or quick learning and also a connection with a real person. It is not information we read from a lifeless article. Overall, technology is becoming limitless and there is so much to gain from it.

Recess Necessity

As I am back in my main placement, I am learning about a few changes that have occurred. One of the biggest ones is an extra morning recess for my second grade class and the other second grade class next to ours. My cooperating teacher arranged this with the principal, explaining that the class is so large (30 kids), with there being eight more boys than girls. These boys are rowdy, too! It seems they never stop moving, eating and taking bathroom breaks. I forget what it is to be a growing kid. So, because of these factors, this class is allowed to get a little extra play time. They take their morning recess from 10:30-10:45 am. It is less than an hour and a half into the school day, but already these students are raring to go! During these precious fifteen minutes, I witness a large game of freeze tag, continuous spinning of the merry-go-round, several circles of hand-song games, WWF style wrestling and so on. The amount of energy being exerted is amazing. When the class comes back inside I can sense a noticeable difference in behavior. Although most of the students could easily play all day, they are for the most part, more relaxed and able to concentrate on the next activity. In addition, these extra playtime minutes aid in building healthy habits for children, which is especially important for overweight America. Another added benefit is the social aspect. Students are able to develop connections with their peers. The pros far outweigh any cons.

Of course, none of this is particularly surprising. I think most students in this school could benefit from an extra fifteen minutes of recess. The logistics of putting it into practice would not be extremely challenging, either. Students could be allocated a block of time by grade level and teachers could supervise. There is an observable difference in performance with the students in this second grade class that it seems sensible to make it school wide. As a college student, I appreciate and need a break from class every once while. Once the short break is over, I certainly notice a difference is my level of attentiveness.

With the pressure of staying on course with the curriculum and passing standardized tests, it is understandable that recess gets the boot first. Some view it as a waste of time when time is always of the essence. However, when grade school students can barely sit still and concentrate for more than 20 minutes at a time, anyway, then a lot of information is going in one ear and out the other. This would be the ideal time for a break, like recess.

Middle School and The Sneetches

I was sad to leave my second grade class and move into my middle level dyad (even though middle school is where I initially wanted to be). I had become attached to the youngsters in such a short period and they were really pulling at my heart, knowing I had to leave for a while. However, the middle school experience has quickly changed my mind once again and I now want to pursue the middle level grades! I have had such an excellent experience working with sixth graders. They are such unique people; still at a children’s age, but also on the verge of those teenage years where so much changes.

I was anxious that the lesson I was presenting on the Sneetches was going to be a wash and that students would not take me seriously, be disrespectful or be completely disengaged. It was quite the opposite, though. The lesson went well and smoothly and the students were actively participating the entire time. I knew that this could easily change class to class and that it could be successful one day, but not the next. So, although my cooperating teacher commended the lesson, I know that so many variables exist. Teaching the same lesson three times is nothing in respect to how teaching middle school really is. Since the Sneetches lesson, I have taught a few more lessons and each one has gone just as well. Part of the reason rests on the fact that my cooperating teacher has such impressive classroom management already. Therefore, the class behaves just as well for me as they would for her. I understand that this type of experience will not always be consistent, but it inspires me to teach this grade. The way I can interact and joke with the students is on a completely different level than the way I interact with my second graders. I feel I can express more of my personality and communicate with this age much easier. Now, I am sad to leave this school and this age of students. This short experience has increased my level of excitement for teaching a sizeable amount.

"Working the Gap"

Reading about working the gap and observing a first hand account of the gap being worked is quite different. As I read Bill Ayers months ago, I envisioned these fantastical ideas that I would implement into my future classroom. Not to say that I will not still strive to meet these ideas, but as I begin to see the "real deal" happening I have a greater appreciation for the urgency of closing the gap.

I witness my cooperating teacher of 26 years teach a class of 30 students; students full of uniqueness across the board. Of the 30 students, 16 are ESL, 5 are ELL, 2 are ADHD and 1 is autistic. The culture in this classroom is amazing. There are students from Ethiopia, Japan and Mexico. The range of ability is also vast. Some students can read whole books well above their grade level and others can barely read at all. My cooperating teacher is graceful in so many ways, however her frustration is sometimes palpable. The struggle to get through any lesson where each and every student is on track seems unrealizable. Teaching this class is demanding. I am beginning to understand that even the simplest of tactics is important.

As I read Ayers initially, it was like watching a parachuter from the safety of the ground. Now, as I live in his words, it is like being the parachuter-free falling to Earth. The emotions are that much more intense and so much more is on the line. I enjoy and value the diversity in this classroom and I welcome the challenge, but I have so many questions.

For now, my biggest question is: How will I be able to best teach a group of diverse students that need a slower pace, when I have a curriculum timeline to adhere to?