The Week of December 3

My almost last week of classes. It's the first week that my C.T. took back some classes. I'm not going to lie.. I felt a bit reluctant giving back the class. It's like they're my children.. I know, I probably should think that way, but I just can't help it. As I sat in the back of the classroom, I was able to take notes on things she does differently than I do. How does she manage the class, how does she teach this content, what is her routine, etc. Well, I've learned a lot in that past week, as well as had some time to just sit back and watch.. It's amazing how nice it feels to be off of your feet! :) 

This week, my students entered some "wintery" art in ABC's Weather Sketchers. We've been waiting to see if our school gets announced! The students created an acrostic poem using the word "SNOW" and then illustrated it. I thought it would be a difficult concept for them to understand, but some poems were REALLY good! :) Here's the link if you'd like to check out requirements to enter: 

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=weather/photos&id=5793074

In some of my posts, I've mentioned an Officer visiting our class on behalf of a gang prevention program. Well, the program is over! The kids had a graduation ceremony at night time- I was the only fifth grade teacher there. The kids were so proud to be there. 15 of my 29 students showed up and I had 15 enthused, proud parents sitting on the bleachers, cheering for their students as they walked across the gym floor. It was a really great opportunity for me because I saw parents out of a regular setting, I got to converse with the officers of the program and I got to have some quality time with my principal. She thanked me for being there and we discussed future plans of potential employment. 

"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence." Robert Frost

Schmidt

In Chapter 7, Schmidt encourages to bring in the community to the classroom. I think our school somewhat does that. Gang activity is a BIG deal in the community I'm in. We see the problem, and thankfully we are not conforming to the patterns that are beginning to set in stone. We are taking an active approach to the students making better choices. I cannot count the times when students have  came up to tell me something that is about to happen because they remembered what Officer Friendly said in the session. In addition to this, I began giving the students a prompt that says if you could change one thing about your community, what would it be? I have a variety of well written responses. :) 

In Chapter 12 of the book, it's reinforcement of why I became a teacher. As I read along, I felt normal. I thought I was the only one who felt overwhelmed or watched or the one watching, eager to do anything I can to better the learning of my students. One thing that has been happening a lot at my placement is the complaining from teachers. I hear a lot of comments like "If I were single..." it's discouraging at times but if Anne Brown can do it with four kids and mentor, so can I! I saw a lot of great things and decided that one day I want to be one of those great teachers, who changes the world, one student at a time. 

Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Life was meant to be lived and curiosity be kept alive. One must NEVER for what ever reason, turn his back on life." 

The Week of November 26

This week felt like it flew by. Over two months have passed in which I've had the whole class to myself. This upcoming week my teacher will be taking over Reading. It feels odd because I've finally gotten used to doing my guided reading groups. It's taken a lot of time and research to find the best methods, standard 2 states, "The competent teacher has in-depth understanding of content area knowledge that includes central concepts, methods of inquiry, structures of the disciplines, and content area literacy. The teacher creates meaningful learning experiences for each student based upon interactions among content area and pedagogical knowledge, and evidence-based practice." Sitting down and meeting with my small groups is one of the best way to get to know my students. I can also cater to their individual needs.

I feel more confident in all of my teaching. In Science, we began a new unit so I assigned a research project. I've never seen a group of kids more excited to do work. They've been visiting the    Computer Lab and taking turns using the in class computers. They are working hard and really into what they are doing.

In writing, I've been trying to get them to write more. For the past few weeks, I've had them create articles, make post cards and write me letters of places they think I should visit. As an educator, I believe it's important to have students connect on some level to their work. They have really gotten into their work, into self editing, revising and peer editing. I feel very successful.

In Math, we're starting the unit on Division. The students have found division to be very "easy" for now-- I've only done 2 lessons yet.

I'm really starting to feel withdrawn from my students. I only have 2 weeks left, but it feels like 2 days.  I'm excited to what will happen in the next few days. 

The Week of Thanksgiving

I felt like a true teacher this week. Primarily, because I was. :) It's barely sinking in, that this is what I'm going to do forever. On Monday, Mrs. E. wasn't there. So, I had a substitute teacher. (She's been our sub for each time Mrs. E. is absent so the kids and I have grown a beautiful friendship with this woman.) Like last time, she came in with crafts that the kids and I would love. Since I had anticipated the five day weekend, I ended most of my units Friday. So Monday and Tuesday we did our regular subjects with a Thanksgiving lens. It was awesome! 

Tuesday, I had the opportunity to have my first Spelling Bee! We used Thanksgiving Day words. The students really had fun and asked if we could have another one again soon. I told them that before I left, we would have a Winter Spelling Bee. Thinking it over, I think it would be really cool to invite other fifth grade students! 

There is something about holidays that make the students really "gooey" on the inside. This week, they were really calm and collected. Some of them were emotional for no reason. I already have some students trying to bribe me to stay until the end of the year. I'm already getting sad and preparing to leave. I'm in my third to last week; it's scary to think what I'm going to do without them. 

I also gained the courage to talk to the first year teacher. She was so nice! I learned a lot and was able to get some good mentoring in. She had a lot of insight about the interview process and what being in a class all alone was like. It was good to hear that I wasn't the only one who was overwhelmed. Romans 12:15 says, "Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep." Having a brief meeting with her really brought this verse to mind because it reminded me to look for help when I need it and that people close to my heart and strangers will always be willing to lend a listening ear. 

Week of November 12

Gosh! How time flies by! Less than a month is left here at my placement and I must say, it's been quite a journey I never thought I'd have! 

Through my experience at my school, I've learned that being a teacher is tough work. Even though we get told this every day. I don't think people really understand how hard teachers work until they experience it for themselves. Even though I'm going onto more than 2 months of all day teaching, I still feel lost sometimes! Talking with a few veteran teachers, they say that sometimes they feel the same way. It's reassuring that I'm not the only one under tons of pressure and it's also reassuring that I would have a community that understands my problems and would be able to help me. 

This was a calm week compared to last week. The atmosphere of my classroom was like the peace after the storm. The students knew what had to be done and when without me having to repeat it a million times. There were a lot of times this week that I had a lot of successful instructional time. 

One great example was Veterans Day. I created a PowerPoint to teach the students about what the holiday signified. I was a bit nervous because of how the different cultural pride would make them feel. Being Mexican and being raised by first generation Americans, I know that we have a lot of pride for a country. I had thought that the students would stand and boycott me! Surprisingly, they didn't. I was able to share some personal stories about how my uncle had served in the U.S. Army and how I had the chance to live on the base with him and his wife. They were really enthusiastic to hear and learn. I asked them what we could do to honor the veterans and they decided to make ribbon/badges. On the front, I asked them to pick an adjective that could describe a veteran, like: hero, honor, courage, brave, etc. and on the back they were to write a thank you note. You wouldn't believe the things the students were thanking the veterans for. They would say, "Thanks for fighting for the country, now I can say whatever I want." It was cute, but it honestly reminded me of all the liberties we have and sometimes take for granted. This was a teaching moment that taught them, but unexpectedly taught me also. 

I've been trying to focus on writing a lot in my class. First, I noticed that my students LOVE to write! However, their grammar and mechanics is a bit out of control. I've created a rubric that emphasizes creativity just as much as mechanics and spelling. This week's assignment was writing a  postcard about an "exciting experience" they had. The first day I focused on details. I did the activity from the Schmidt book. I started off with "The cat sat." I explained that it was a sentence, but that a Kindergartener could have written a sentence with more detail. So we built off of that. Tuesday, we checked for details. Wednesday, we did one-on- one conferences and started creating the back of the postcard. Thursday I gave them a mini-quiz on what to look for when editing. They did well. So we did some editing in class and it really helped with finishing up conferences. It's really hard to do something that you haven't seen done before. I've never seen my teacher do writer's workshop, so sometimes it's out of control. I don't get corrected so I assume I'm doing it right. (Hope I don't get in trouble!) 

This week we also had a School Improvement Day. Which is a long name for: the day the students get a half day and teachers get to sit in meetings until 4:30pm. However, I was really honored for this meeting because: 1. I made it on the slideshow of School Stars! 2. I was asked tons of questions about the Common Core and 3. My principal asked me to sit on a panel of Math Talks! I was pumped. I really felt like I was part of the team. Being welcomed and accepted and being counted makes all the difference! :) 

As my last few days, get nearer, I keep wondering how am I going to transition from being a student to a teacher. Is it hard? I've been a student for 17 years now. Pre, Pre-K until now. It's sort of a big deal and honestly, it's a frightening thing to think about. There is a first year teaching in the building and I've been wanting to ask her tons of questions, but I don't know what to ask her. I don't want to bombard her but at the same time, I really need her advice! Like: what's classroom management like? how was the transition from student teaching 4th grade to working in a 1st grade class? was it easy to get a job? do you feel confident in your teaching? This is only the beginning, but you might be able to see how these questions are loaded. Hopefully, I gain the courage for this week to ask her some not so difficult questions. 

The Week of November 5

Usually, the weeks seem to fly by. However, this week felt fairly long. When I look back at my week, it was a long week. Tuesday the students didn't have school due to Parent/Teacher Conferences; which meant that my responsibility at school was from 10:00am-7:00pm. Then, Thursday, my classroom was observed for the fourth time. (It's pretty exciting and scary all at the same time.) And Friday, well, it was a long overdue Friday. 

One of the biggest experiences I had was being part of Parent/Teacher conferences. It felt odd being on the other side of the desk, but it was definitely exciting. In these conferences, I had the upper hand because I spoke Spanish. About 18 of the 29 families only spoke Spanish and being able to communicate in their language encouraged parents to ask specific questions about their student's progress. (Usually what happens is the school has translators available for teachers who request them ahead of time.) Honestly, it was great to see so many parents involved! Only 2 families didn't show up for conferences, which is a really good turnout for a community like the one I'm in. My school requires teachers to sign a contract between themselves, the student and the parent. It's a pact that each party will do their best to help the student strive at school. Standard 9 states, "The competent teacher is an ethical and reflective practitioner who exhibits professionalism; provides leadership in the learning community; and advocates for students, parents or guardians, and the profession. " I had the opportunity to interact with parents who wanted their students to raise grades or become more organized. Spending a few minutes with parents planning how to improve their student's performance was one of the best ways to build rapport with parents because they had the chance to see that I too was committed in seeing the improvement of our student. 

Thursday was the fourth time my College Supervisor came to observe the class. I always like to tell the students that she's coming to see how well they're learning in addition to how I'm teaching. They are always excited to see her. (I'm surprised they haven't talked more to her. They usually ask tons of questions about her!) This time she came during Social Studies. The students were learning about using graphs and analyzing information in order to answer questions. How many 5th graders that you know would be thrilled to learn about this? Not many. However, my students were engaged and excited about the learning activity. It was one of those days in which being a teacher is very rewarding. My college supervisor asked me, "Is this the population you can see yourself working with?" In that moment, I had to think, hard. Were all the hard days, tears, frustrations, and discipline worth 45 minutes of pure learning and comprehension? It wasn't an easy answer to give. So I slept on it. 

My answer came on Friday. A group of my kids got into fights with each other during gym, lunch and recess. During instructional time, all I got was attitude and defiance. No matter what I said, how many times I asked them to stop talking, no matter how many points I took away the tension in the room was unbearable. I had to step out. I had to pass the class to my cooperating teacher. I just couldn't do it. All I wanted to do was cry. Then, Dr. Meyer's question came to mind, "How is God leading your decision making?" If it weren't for God's calling in my life, I wouldn't be there. If it weren't for the ability to speak Spanish well, I wouldn't be there. He reminded me that all creation is made in His image. He reminded me that there can't be any rainbows without the rain. He reminded me that He was in control and all I had to do was call upon Him. Upon return to the classroom, I told the students that every decision they made had a result; whether it be a positive one, or a negative one. I told them they had to be responsible for the decisions they made. It wasn't fair that they yelled at me for the consequence they received. They sat, silently avoiding eye contact with me. It was already the end of the day when I told them that I understood it was a rough day, but they had to understand that, that was the end of the week. Come Monday morning, I wanted a fresh start. I wanted all the Marine Biologists, Scientists, Doctors, Lawyers, Teachers, Businessmen, Nurses, and Veterinarians to have the chance to learn not be distracted. I received a unanimous, "Yes, Miss Sanchez." 

So my response is Yes. These kids, this community is "Mi Raza, My People." Yes, it's filled with trial, but it's also filled with reward. Yes, it's going to be hard, but with God as my Shepard and His Holy Spirit as my guide, I can do all things. 

The Week of October 29

This week was a great week!

We had our first classroom party for Halloween! It was pretty exciting! Halloween at my school is a  BIG deal! We have a parade and a party afterward. However, academia still is a priority; so, the students had to stay in their uniform for the morning half of the day! At 1:00pm the parade began; we went around the school and down the block. It was really interesting to see so many parents line up around the students to cheer their children on! It made me realize that when something is important to parents they make a big deal out of it also. The morning half was normal. I taught math, social studies and science. They moaned and groaned, but I told them that I give them a lot of work because I expect them to become the best! 

I also had to go into school earlier than usual to input grades. Our quarter just ended and grades were due. This seems to be an important part of "collecting data," but in all reality it is important as teachers! Standard 7 of the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards states, "the competent teacher understands and uses appropriate formative and summative assessments for determining student needs, monitoring student progress, measuring student growth, and evaluating student outcomes. The teacher makes decisions driven by data about curricular and instructional effectiveness and adjusts practices to meet the needs of each student." In other words, it is important for a teacher to keep record of all this to monitor student progress. Having the opportunity to work with a software I've never worked with before and to be able to input all the grades was a rewarding task. I had the chance to see the students' progress from day one. 

One of the biggest things I learned this week was to overly over plan. I know that in school it is really overemphasized, but sometimes it escapes my mind because I know the kids always have a lot to keep their minds busy. On Thursday, I had planned to do Reading, Grammar and Spelling. Reading went well and I ended right on time. We were on to Grammar and I gave my lesson; everything was dandy. Well, then I passed out their practice worksheets. The students got started and it turned out that I had made copies of the wrong worksheet! They were working on a worksheet they had just graded and turned in. Wasting no time, I collected the worksheets and said,    "Well, now that you're experts let's get started on Spelling." In my mind, I thought I had it under control. It turns out that they flew right through the lesson and worksheet. I felt like a deer in headlights. It was 2:20 and I just had them start on homework. Thankfully, my teacher stepped in and gave them an amazing assignment! When we met, I apologized. I told her that after she stepped in millions of ideas came to mind of what we could have done in our last 20 minutes. She said that it is experiences like that, that helped one learn. I couldn't agree more! 

I've also been very intentional in seeing how my identity in Christ affects the environment in my classroom. It's been sort of easy. Since we are talking about why Europeans came to America, we've been talking a lot about religion. The students shared their religious background. It was interesting to see the differences and similarities. But, I see that the love I give them establishes a line of respect and approachability between us. It doesn't only affect my classroom but those around me. Some of the teachers have commented on "how nice" I am. Obviously, being people friendly isn't a gift that I gave myself, but it comes from above! :) 

The Week of October 22

I feel like this was a very eventful week. I took my first field trip, started Math club, AND received a hug from the "MVP of bad behavior." 

We started the week just like any other week. Monday morning, Social Studies lesson and activity. It felt like the week would be pretty nonchalant. However, I no idea that things wouldn't be as smooth sailing as I thought. In the middle of the day I had received a text message that said my younger sister had been taken to the hospital because she was experiencing heart pain. For a 13-year-old girl, this is very uncommon. I didn't get to see the text until I was halfway to my senior seminar class. What does this have to do with teaching? Well, I believe it has to do a lot. It teaches how to put personal matters aside for the sake of teaching and it also reminds us as teachers that our students have stuff going on at their homes also. Every day I came in, I had to leave my baggage outside the school; I couldn't be sad or unenthusiastic for something that happened at home and I also needed to remember to extend an arm of grace for my students. 

On Wednesday we went to see "The Magic Flute," an opera. It was so amazing! Personally, it was my first opera, ever! The twist to this story was that my cooperating teacher wasn't able to go; so, I was in charge! For most, this would be a scary experience. However, with all my years of summer camp counseling I had it under control. I think the biggest compliment went unsaid by my cooperating teacher. The fact that she felt confident enough to leave me in charge was such a confidence booster! :) 

Wednesday was also the same day that I received my hug. I was doing my usual polite conversations with my students and the "MVP" comes up and gives me a hug and says, "Miss Sanchez, you are the best teacher I've met." I almost cried. This is the same student who has temper tantrums and cusses out people, the same one who bullies others and who is infamously known around the school. In a circumstance like this, I have nothing to say but, "Thanks, Jesus." Honestly, it is the ability He gives me to see the beauty within the brokenness. It is His love that overflows from me to others. What a great experience! (And it has significantly changed his behavior in the classroom.)

I am also having a better handle on my classroom management. I've had them redo things like lining up or walking down the hall when it wasn't quiet enough. I know that it's time consuming but it is something that is has to be done to show them that as older students of the school they need to be the example of the school. I have adapted the phrase, "Show me your Bulldog best!" (Since the Bulldog is our mascot and the school has a lot of school pride!) 

I have noticed my teacher leaving the classroom a lot more. I'm getting so much more experience to having my own classroom! I can't believe I'm so close to what I want to do for the rest of my life! :)