Drowning 5 Feet From Shore

One hand is outstretched above the surface of the tsunami of homework, and the undertow is dragging me down.

Seriously though, working full-time and balancing schoolwork has never been harder. Last spring, I had 7 classes, and this fall I only have 6, yet the workload seems to have doubled. And this isn't even the most hectic time of the semester. Couple that with the applying for graduation, student teaching seminar and all that entails, getting a physical, doing a portfolio, and on and on, I wonder how I can ever possibly get it all done in time for student teaching. Thus, it seems as though I'm drowning five feet from shore. I can see the bank, but I wonder if I can make it.

The bright spot has been my Practicum. I really like my school. And I know I have a lot to learn from my participating teacher. He's not some wise older man, imparting great wisdom to a doting follower. In fact, he's a wise young man, imparting great wisdom to a doting follower. When I sat where our 8th grade students now sit, he was in diapers, toddling around with a teething ring in his mouth. Yet, his wisdom belies his age. The man is a master of classroom management (my weak point).

I'm actually pretty nervous about teaching my 3 measly lessons.

I have learned something else in my time at Practicum. I've learned that it's often tough to work relevant lessons into the classes that aren't on the standardized tests that all districts are judged by. Right or wrong, these tests are the yardstick by which schools are assessed. And administrators are putting heavy pressure on teachers to (without saying these words exactly) teach to the test.

Last Tuesday was the 6th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America, yet I think my teacher felt guilty about taking the first 20 minutes of class to present a lesson on them. The thing is those attacks have impacted America so greatly. They are a pivotal moment in history, even if that history was only a few years back. Those attacks not merely changed the security in airports, they were instrumental in the case for war on both Afghanistan and Iraq. They've even impacted a lowly courier like me. While at work, I sometimes have to show a guard my driver's license just to enter a company where I must make a pick up. This never happened before 9-11. If a terrorist somehow sneaks a bomb or biological agent onto my truck, I'm accountable. A TSA (Transportation Security Administration) catches me with my delivery vehicle unsecured (read: locked) I could be fired and fined. Thanks to Osama, many common US citizens have loads of extra regulations, can be phone and internet tapped by the government more easily, and on and on. Yet this isn't important enough to teach to 8th graders? The Constitution has it's own specific day in the curriculum, shouldn't world events carry some weight?

I think we owe it to the students to teach them current events, even if they aren't on some test. And why shouldn't they be on the test? History is made in the present, too. The future is pretty dim if the future voters aren't informed about what is happening in their world.

Wow, that was kind of a rambling rant. Hope that made sense.

Individualized Education Programs For All

I am in my classroom for two full class periods and the beginning of the third. The first class is a regular education class with average students. The second class is a lower level class with kids that have IEP's. The third is an Honor's class. The difference between the three is eye opening. The teacher must plan three separate lessons around one main topic for each day because she has to adjust for each class. I never realized what a difference there is between the classes and how as teacher's it is our responcibility to make sure we challenge our students. Then I thought about this. If the lower level kids have to have IEP why don't the Honor's students? I know this may sound harsh but instead of NCLB, it should say "No Child Get's Ahead". No offense, but we aren't advancing our future teachers, engineers, doctors, lawyers. We're advancing the students who will do the menial tasks no matter how hard we try as teachers.

Another thing I've noticed is that the students do the same thing every day. The students go to class, copy out of their agenda, listen to the teacher lecture, do a worksheet, gets in groups if they are struggling with the worksheet, and they do home and do another worksheet. What are we trying to do as teachers? That's awlful, I would hate being a student in this class because I would be bored. The catch is, my teacher is one of the nicest people I've met and she is helpful when the students pursue her help. She wants students to be engaged, but it's like she has no idea how to do that other than to give them words of encouragement. I love talking to her though because she gives me very different points of view and she gives me ideas of how to interact with students. Although she is great for students in a social regard, I wish her classroom activities were more engaging. She admitted to that she never makes/uses lesson plans either...interesting.

The Lunch Room

Hey Folks,

I've learned a lot more this semester in my practicum placement in two weeks than I did the whole Admissions semester. Maybe the most eye opening experience is sitting with the other teachers during lunch. I get to her all the complaints and gripes about being a teacher. Like faculty meetings, testing, and all adminstrative stuff that really hampers teachers and there abilit to do there jobs. Not only do I get to hear the gripes, I also get to meet with my teacher for an extended time to talk about adjustments he or I need to make for the rest of the day or what to do for the next class. Meeting other teachers and picking there brains at lunch also gives me a chance to learn for more than one person. So, in conclusion, I suggest that if anyone gets a chance to go to lunch with there teachers I think it can be a positive experience.

Brian

out of control students

i shouldn't title this blog "out of control students" simply because they do what the teachers allow them to do!! in my classroom, the students are to sit @ their desk and do work in their workbooks. this only lasts about 5 minutes until the class in completely disruptive! i would like to control the class myself and engage them in some class work that we do as a whole, but the teacher is ok with them walking around being disruptive! so i felt that it wasn't in my place to quiet the students down if their own teacher didn't have a problem with it. this classroom is the typical classroom when a sub comes in to teach, but the problem is, is that this is their everyday teacher!! another thing that doesn't motivate the students to do their work is that if they don't finish their class work, they don't have to take it home for homework and this is because they are able to finish it in class the next day, and this is a continuing cycle!! i wish i could really step in and change the atmosphere in this classroom!!

Practicum - An Eye Opening Experience

I finally have been assigned to a teacher who is passionate about what he does (teaching history) and has a significant effect on his students mainly due to his positive attitude!!! The second day of practicum I arrived at 7:30 and stayed until 11:30 because I was taking in so much information through observation on how to get middle school students excited about being in the classroom. Thus far, I have had the opportunity to interact with the students while they were working on group activities. It has been quite a challenge getting some students "started" and movtivated towards reaching the goal(s) set for the day. However I'm getting better at it everyday I'm there.
My "eye-opening experience" occured last Tuesday when my placement teacher told me that a student of his had lost his mom to a drug overdose, his dad was working three jobs and was never at home, half of the roof to their house was missing so it rained inside the house and the other half of the house had an unlevel floor so the student had to push his bed up against a wall every night and his bed, with him in it, would slowly slide down the floor during the duration of the night. That same student also plays on the football team which my placement teacher helps coach. My teacher explained to me how some students look at him as more than just their teacher or their coach because for some of them, he's the only encouragement the student(s) have. My placement teacher also told me that he always tells his students at the beginning of the year that he cares about them and their success. He went on to tell me that he's seen students tear up, and sometimes even cry, because they are unnoticed at home yet at school someone does care about them and their success. The student I mentioned above was one he noticed tearing up on the first day of school when he told the class that he cared.
This was a positive eye-opening experience for me because everything my placement teacher told me that day can't be found in any textbook I read. I knew that some of the students didn't have the greatest life but I had no idea it was that bad for some. For the first time, it finally clicked on how much of an impact I will have on my future students.

Practicum Reflections

I have now been going to practicum for two weeks now. I have not been able to teach or really work with the students. My practicum teacher has not had the students work in groups at all since they have started school. In the classroom, the behavior of the student's is good some days and other days is not good at all. Like on Thursday the students were very disruptive. Since the students have not been able to interact with one another there has not been a lot of helping one another going on. They pretty much just sit in there seats for 50 minutes doing book work or working on worksheets. They are not aloud out of there seats. I hope in the next few weeks things get better and there is more peer involvment.