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! :) 

The Week of October 15

This was an extraordinary week! On Tuesday, I volunteered to help out at Family Fun Night and read a picture book in Spanish. Turns out my principal was very impressed and asked me to help out again the week of Halloween. Then, I was offered a co-leading position for Math Club! To think that they would ask me, the student teacher, was really rewarding. I know that there's a lot of work to be done now, but it's worth seeing students succeed in the long run! 

For the week, we had our usual subjects, but there must have been an energizer bunny in my tea this week! I felt overly passionate about every subject we covered. I'd start talking about something and the next moment I found myself doing something weird and exciting. I even got a comment, (but I'm not sure it was really a compliment) he raised his hand and said, "Miss Sanchez, you teach funny!" In my head, I thought, "What does that mean!?" I brushed it off and just took it in. 

Every Wednesday we have 5th grade teacher meetings during our planning period. This Wednesday I felt like part of the team. We were all exchanging ideas of how to teach different things and I think I had a lot to contribute. I had just finished teaching multiplying multi-digit numbers and for some reason it was hard for my students to understand. So I told them that the bottom numbers were popular numbers and that they wanted to high-five everyone! 
For example: 
 897
x 23
Would be 3 high-fives the seven, nine and eight, but then the two gets jealous and also wants to high-five everyone also. they really liked that concept. The teachers did too. I had a few of them tell me that they incorporated it into their teaching. I felt sooo cool! 
I also had the opportunity to visit another classroom and see them teach math. It's really odd that many people know who I am. I walked in and I heard, "That's Miss Sanchez." I really hope that was a positive remark. 

Something out of the ordinary happened this week. One of my students was punched in the face by a sixth grader. It happened during recess so I wasn't there. But I had gotten really overprotective over my student. My teacher said I had to just let the office handle it. So I did. I told my own students that we needed to focus on things that would help them and focusing on the punch wouldn't help anyone. That went over well. After the day was over, I found out that my student hadn't punched the other student back. He stood his ground even if he looked like a wimp. I'm so proud! :) 

Schmidt
Writing. It's a subject that you like or don't like. There's never an in-between. Many people (myself included) are so traumatized from the red ink on the paper, there is never any motivation to write. One solution Schmidt gives to that is to use "highlighting improvements." She says, "The more yellow, the better." How was this ever a good thing? Back in my day, the more ink the more you had to fix. However, I really like the positive approach she takes to this method. I think this is definitely a method I would love to incorporate! 

Currently, I'm not teaching writing because we are just starting writing workshop and my teacher is in charge of that, however, I since last week, I have been asking them to write out some scenarios in their writing journals. It is so great to have them write something out and then act it out. It has inspired them to write more and more so the skit can go on a bit longer. 

With this being said, I also have some of those minimalists in my class. The always ask, "How long does it have to be?" I can't wait to try and test those minimalists. One approach I've used is to say that I'm looking for "fifth grade sentences/ideas" not third grade. Taking an approach like that really does challenge the kids to do a better job. Standard 6 states, "The competent teacher has foundational knowledge of reading, writing, and oral communication within the content area and recognizes and addresses student reading, writing, and oral communication needs to facilitate the acquisition of content knowledge."

Something Schmidt pointed out that I had never thought about was the fact that writing is a subject that causes the student to be vulnerable. Whether it be mental, emotional or social, they are sharing a part of their life. It's really a beautiful thing that should be used to the teacher's advantage. Being in a placement of low-income, it is really an eye-opener for me to see some of the issues my students are going through. For example, in health I had the students make a flip-book of different emotions and on the inside flap, they had to write me a story about that specific emotion that they had experienced. It had gotten really intense for some and really personal for others.Writing really is important. 

In the students' writing, I have found that they make a lot of spelling/ grammatical errors, but I try not to focus too much on those. I want them to be able to express their ideas without having them focus on their conventional mistakes. After all, the big idea behind writing is " capturing and preserving ideas."

The Week of October 8

This week didn't feel like a full week. We had Monday off and then the students had a half day on Wednesday. I feel like it was a week of craziness, the right things weren't being covered and there was a lot of last minute ideas that needed to be done. I'll tell you, it was quite a week! 

Tuesday was our Monday, but I really didn't want to dig in too deep in some topics because I knew  we would need two consecutive days. Then to top it off, my teacher had taken a half day due to some family things and when the substitute came in, she offered a lot of "fun" ideas. I told her that she was free to do what she wanted. Our sub's name was Mrs. S. She is a retired teacher from the school. She had been working there for quite some time and I knew she had wonderful things under her belt. So we spent our morning doing Math, Science, Social Studies, then I touched Reading and the rest were Halloween activities. I didn't mind. For me, it was good to see someone not stick to the schedule for a change; it was a long awaited breath of fresh air. 

Wednesday was a half day and during most half days we need to cover the schools rules and regulations with the kids. My school is very big on PBiS so we did a few activities that had to do with having a "Peaceful Playground." It was fun because we had the opportunity to go outside and what person doesn't like going outside. (I found that I was super happy to go outside.)

Thursday was semi-normal; Thursday is like a typical Friday for me. It's all the concepts and ideas you start gelling together and putting to practice. The reason it's set-up like this is because we have an officer come into our classroom on Friday and he gives a class on gang, and drug resistance. The kids love having him over, not because they get out of History, but because they really value what he has to say. It's a G.R.E.A.T program, literally. 


Schmidt
Something Schmidt points out is the good use of multiple intelligences in both chapters. I've noticed that she is a big guru for that type of learning! I couldn't agree more. Since I'm teaching almost the whole day now, I can see the boredom in some of the student's faces. 

A great perspective I got from Chapter 8 was that Students hate the way we teach history. I was chatting with my brother who is now a sophomore in high school and I asked him if he liked History, he gave me this disgusted look and said, "No, that's boring." Who's to blame him, taking AP history courses during high school, I know that all it consists of is searching the book for the answers on the worksheet. One great piece of advice I received was to use the textbook as a resource--that means I have to go out there and look for additional things for my students. Luckily, our text is called "History Alive!" and it's a very interactive book, it comes with an "Interactive Student Notebook" and the students fill in and complete different activities. It's so much better than what I remember having. 

"Most of us spend too much time on the last twenty-four hours and too little time on the last six thousand years." --Will Durant

One of the big ideas Schmidt gives about art is, "The arts are a way of knowing." It is so true. I think even though most teachers are aware of the multiple intelligences, they limit a student's ability to express themselves through an art just one period a week. I think as a teacher it is so easy to forget about the students who learn through art. Personally speaking, it's easy to find myself looking at what assessments need to be completed. It's not that, that is my preferred method of teaching, but it's what the district requires of me. 

Another idea I find myself struggling with is the incorporation of the arts. The book gives me many great ideas but how do I do it? It's something I read on paper, but to put into practice is a whole other mile! For me it's hard to do something that makes the most of all worlds meet. I think it's something that will come with practice; I just need the model. 

Standard 1 of the Professional Teaching Standards states, "The competent teacher plans and designs instruction based on content area knowledge, diverse student characteristics, student performance data, curriculum goals, and the community context. The teacher plans for ongoing student growth and achievement." I think that this standard encompasses a big idea of multiple intelligences without mentioning it. It's not only about the instruction, but also how the assessment is used. In the book, Schmidt talks about authentic assessment. She really challenges me when she says, how can you make learning interactive then turn around and give a 100 multiple choice question test? It's so true, and knowing how my students are some times I need to modify the things I do. For example, I know some of my students are intimidated by words, sounds funny, but it's true. So I have him draw or tell me about how he understands, my students create posters and write stories. This past week I gave a History test, and part of my test was to draw out a comic strip showing me how two different tribes would trade. It's interesting to see soooo many different answers.

The Week of October 1

I cannot believe that I've been at my placement for over a complete month now. It seems like just yesterday I was at orientation, preparing for the unexpected. However, I guess the saying is right, "time flies when you're having fun!" 

For this week I took four-fifths of the class. I must say, it's pretty exhausting! Teachers are the real deal! A glance into my day starts off at 8:15ish, when I usually arrive at school. Once I'm there I plug in my flash drive to the SMARTBoard, the morning assignment goes up, my lessons are ready to be opened at the right time and my desk is in order. The students come in at 8:40, put their backpacks away and start on the assignment. During this time, I take attendance and lunch count. At 8:50 we stand up and say The Pledge of Allegiance with the rest of the school and we're off to start our day!

Social Studies
The unit we've been covering has to do with Native Americans, their tribes, regions, and cultures. It's been a really great topic to teach since many of the students have a typical view of "an indian." It has really been great to see them change their opinion as to what a Native Indian looks like or behaves like. The most successful lesson I had included four groups of students researching a specific Native Indian tribe. They became the experts and on Thursday we had a video producer (played by yours truly) come to the classroom and cast roles for a documentary she was filming. In every "interview" she would bring up certain stereotypes and ask them if it were true. They gave all the information they learned: what men did, what jobs women had, different foods they would eat, what kind of house they lived in ect. Their assignment for that was to write a letter to a director telling her why making assumptions of people was so wrong. It was great! 

Math
In Math we've been learning about Geometry. The topics vary from how many sides does this shape have to how many degrees are in this shape. We're a bit all over the place! Geometry is a review to them and they let me know it all the time. I use that to my advantage. When I post their objectives for the day it starts off, "Today is October 2 and you will be experts at:" They recept very well to this. I also use that phrase as noise control. When they start chatting, I just say, "I'd move on, but it sounds like some students don't want to be experts." They have been doing well. 

Science
Of all the subjects this one has brought the most controversy (and my most favorite)! We are doing our Chapter about Reproduction and Change. A touchy subject, if you will. On Monday we read through how cells replicate and divide. I had a student stand up and say, "Teacher, the cells make babies?" I my response was a no and I explained how cells are like copies not babies. Well, this one question turned into daily tormenting that cells make babies. I'm personally glad that they want to argue because that gives more room for instruction and guiding. It allows me to give them assignments that involve research and ways to explore the world. I had a few students tell me that when they become scientists they were going to prove me wrong. :) No complaints from me! 

Reading
Reading single handedly is the most difficult subject to teach. The curriculum calls for a daily, uninterrupted 90 minutes of Reading. Within these 90 minutes, the students receive a 20 minute mini-lesson on a skill like how to summarize. We go into guided reading groups and everyone is to read silently. My teacher has established that the students can only read silently for 20 minutes and then they need to do one of the group assignments. It was only my first week, but I felt soooo unprepared. Hopefully, I'll feel more comfortable with this subject in the upcoming weeks.

So there ends my day. Quite cookie-cutter perfect, huh? Please don't be deceived! I know I've talked a lot about how classroom management has been an issue. Well, I've found something that works quiet well for me.. 

Yes! it is my very own Noise-O-Meter! I found the idea on a website and decided to make it my own. The students were a bit caught off guard when I explained this to them. I told them that this was my expectation of them and it was something I should have to continually remind them about. It is really nice to just say, "ladies and gentlemen, level 0 please" and they diligently obey. 

As for my "troublemaker," he had a fabulous week. We decided that he needs more positive reinforcement than the rest of the students. He responded very well to it and he got to move his desk back to his group. He was pretty pumped about it. 

The week of September 24

This week, I conquered three fifths of the day. (Like my math, there?) It has really been a time for me to learn about myself, my teaching techniques and other stuff. There are some really hard days and in all honesty, I just want to go to bed. There are things that I really don't want to do. 
My biggest issue is still classroom management. There are so many mixed models out there. For example, when the teacher is teaching and a few students start chattering the teacher has two options. 1. They stop their teaching and ask the students if they would like to share with the whole class what is more important than the subject they are learning. 2. They continue teaching hoping that the students will realize that they really need to pay attention. I get very frustrated, not at their chatter, but at the million questions after, "what do we do,again?" "Wait, I don't get it." "Can you help me?" It's instances like this where I take advantage and say well, this is why it is so important not to talk during the lesson and pay attention. Then I get the infamous, "I wasn't talking. It was my neighbor." Then the whole conversation loses purpose because you get into a different subject. The students need to learn how and when to be quiet and how and when they can be loud. 
The curriculum is not too bad for the school district. However, it keeps changing. I'm in the middle of a geometry unit and the new pacing guide tells me that I should be teaching multiplication. The problem is that the students have monthly math assessments that are made up by the entire team the district. Stuff that we should be covering in class. Well half way through the unit, it is tough to just change things around. 
The student I talked about last week had lunch suspension for 3 days and he had a couple of meltdowns in class. We decided to form an alliance in efforts to help this guy out. The school Dean, Social Worker, Homeroom Teacher, P.E. Teacher, last year's Homeroom Teacher and myself all joined efforts to find ways to keep him motivated and on task. I think we came up with a couple great ideas. I cannot wait to implement them! :) 




Schmidt
In the chapter entitled, "Teachers can Speak Tongues," I really wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. As I started reading, I realized it had to do with parent communication. I really learned a lot of things I didn't know before. Having experiences that vary from summer camps to administration I thought I had an advantage to communicate with parents. Thankfully this chapter shed some light on the situation. Standard 8 states, "The competent teacher builds and maintains collaborative relationships to foster cognitive, linguistic, physical, and social and emotional development. This teacher works as a team member with professional colleagues, students, parents or guardians, and community members." This is exactly what Schmidt talks about in her chapter. She notes that parents and teachers are commonly ships sailing at night; we pass one another awkwardly and don't know how to interact. It's all about being enlightened. Each brief encounter we have with a parent allows us to see a bit more into the life of the child. "Parents quickly discover that by talking to the teacher they get a more accurate picture of their child at school and what they can do to encourage learning." Basically, it's a two way street. We want to learn about the student, but we also want to share. Share the student's growth and knowledge, not just the negative stuff.
After this chapter, I think about the stuff we send home, how to make it look, how to think like a parent. The list of the 10 essential notes on effective communication stood out to me the most. Parent teacher-conferences are in November and we've had quite a interactions with parents already.. It will sure be exciting! I now know that I need to be more blunt and to the point with the parents and not beat around the bush. I cannot be afraid to contact them but I also cannot bash their child for their behavior.

The Week of September 17

For me it was a long week. It was the first week that I had the opportunity to teach three subjects: Math, History and Science. We had a quiz, a test, and an observation. Not to mention a staff meeting that went from 12-4:20pm. Color me exhausted! I knew and was warned that Student Teaching was no joke, but I didn't think I would be so tired. By Wednesday I was getting home and faithfully taking a nap. It was glorious, but at the same time, I was wasting time and having some trouble going to bed at night. However, there was a bright side to this. Monday morning, the students were surprised that I was teaching History and I saw excited faces! They asked, "Miss Sanchez, are you teaching all day today?" When I would laugh and say no they would go into a rehearsed "Awwwww, but Miss Sanchez!" It's very rewarding to know that I'm not wasting time or energy. They are learning and understanding a lot of things. I even got a note on my desk, thanking me for my hard work. They set their own short goal and said they could achieve it because they knew I was there, willing to help them. What an amazing encouragement. 
In the classroom this week I found out a particularly intriguing fact, I have the school's "MVP of bad behavior." When comments like that are thrown around, I realize how much negative impact that can have on me toward the student. I find myself scolding that child, but I usually catch myself and try to turn the negative into positive. He has a lot of good in him, it is just a struggle for him to contain and control himself. This week he received two lunch detentions and rolls into next week for and extra 3 days without recess. Having 6 years of after school/summer camp expertise, I spoke up in a meeting as said we should create a behavior tracking schedule, set up so that after every period, he would check in and say, "In Math, I did..." or "In Science.." Just so that we can teach him that there are immediate consequences and rewards for behavior. The school social worker stands behind me and supports the idea.. I hope it works! More details on that one next week.  
Schmidt
In Chapter 3, Schmidt talks a bit about how students learn. Personally, I wish I would have read this chapter by day 1. As previously mentioned in other posts and reflections, I have a hard time with students keeping quiet during a test or during assignments. They seem to love to chatter. Even if I call their attention they are quiet for 5 minutes (if I'm lucky) and continue their chatter. As a teacher, this can be a bit flustering at times. I have as student who yells, "Maestra, que dijiste?" (Teacher, what did you say?) As I am standing in front of him while I give directions. Schmidt tells me not to worry. These are all self-accommodations. Self accommodations are "behaviors that can be odd or annoying, in hope that they, too, can experience satisfaction, recognition and maybe even garner a little praise, making self-accommodations to gain their share of school's simple pleasures." Under Standard 3 in Professional Teaching Standards, it states, "The competent teacher plans and designs instruction based on content area knowledge, diverse student characteristics, student performance data, curriculum goals, and the community context. The teacher plans for ongoing student growth and achievement." Basically, I have to accommodate to these accommodations. How can I help the student grow and not make them feel like they are at a loss? What I started doing was making every child feel as if they can succeed. I have mini-math conferences with them. If they turned in a paper that was a +0, that means they received an F. I tell them that in my home F means "for not trying." I ask them if that's the grade they deserved and they shake their head no. Or I ask if they are satisfied with such a grade and many of them respond that, that is the grade they are accustomed to seeing. It breaks my heart but it also challenges me to stay dedicated and try to achieve a higher range of learning. 

The Week of September 10

It was the first full week of school! It was a long one because I was lucky enough to get sick, I was observed, we had our weekly building meeting (that goes to 4:20) and Thursday was our Open House. YIKES! For the week I stuck to teaching Math and on Wednesday I picked up Science. Thankfully, I'm feeling much better than I did during the week; that's always good news.

As days go by, I realize that I find myself more and more discouraged after I teach Math. It seems as if the kids totally understand what they are doing when we go through the questions on the board; they get the examples we do together and when I do exit slips, there are never any questions and everyone gives themselves a perfect 10. However, when it comes time to do homework there are at least 7 hands in the air, "Miss Sanchez, I don't know what to do!" "Miss Sanchez, Miss Sanchez, I need help!" or my favorite, "Teacher, Teacher, 'que hago?'" It is hard not to beat yourself up when it seems like your kids don't get it.

Another problem I constantly find myself in is going over my scheduled time. Math is only 45 minutes, then we have approximately 25 minutes of Science we go to lunch and after lunch we finish up Science in 20 minutes. Since I've been having the comprehension situation, Math goes until Lunch and I feel bad, because I don't think it's fair to my teacher to push back or rush her lesson. I've talked to her about it. She says that it happens and I just need to get in the hang of it. She mentioned that it is especially hard when you're with them all day. We talked about maybe bringing in a kitchen timer. Also, now I've decided to only do a mini-math lesson for 30 minutes and mini-conferences/homework for 15 minutes.

My final problem is classroom management. It's not that my students are very chaotic, they are just very talkative. For example, it is common sense that you are to be quiet when taking a quiz. Well, it’s not common sense to my students. It is as if I told them it was a partner quiz and yell crazy things across the room. I repeatedly had to tell them to stop talking. (I was alone in the classroom.) After scolding them about 5 times, I decided to reward those who were doing what they were supposed to, so I walked around the room with a marker and signed quizzes; giving students and extra point on their work. That did the trick! I had quiet students within 3 minutes. But is there a better way to handle a situation like this? Advice is much appreciated.

Even though it seems like these problems make my life miserable, it makes me appreciate them more and more every day. They challenge me to give them my best. It's like they are yelling out from their little hearts asking me to not give up on them. It is so rewarding to see them in the morning with a smile on their faces and a story about their night or something that had happened to them. All these tiny glitches are worth it knowing that they trust me. 

Open House this week was pretty great! Out of a class of 28 students, we had 14 families show up. Like I've mentioned in previous posts, this is a majority of Latino (specifically Mexican) students. The days leading  up to the Open House many students would ask me if I was going be there Thursday night and if I was going to translate. I said that if parents wanted me to do that I definitely would! I could see relief in many parents' eyes. They would greet Mrs. E and then ask me more specific questions. It was great to relate to parents on a one-to-one level. A number of them told me that they thought it was amazing that I was in the classroom with their kids. (It seems like the kids talk a lot about me at home.) Many of them also exclaimed that I should ask about open positions there because I was "perfect for the job."  I went home that day with a giant grin on my face. :)

Schmidt

Being a Mexican American at a predominantly Mexican American school has its perks. First of all, I know a lot about what it's like at home. I'm not saying that you can cookie cut a Latino, but I'm surrounded by my own culture and I know what it's like in different homes. Also, I have the language advantage. So when the kids need motivating I do one-on-one Spanish meetings. Or when they are trying to express themselves, sometimes it's easier to do so in Spanish. However, I think that something the author is missing is the perspective of generations. I've encountered that a lot in my classroom. For example, my mom was raised in Mexico until she was about 12, then she came here. So I am raised under more American traditions as opposed to Mexican ones. In the class there is a variety of them. Some students don't even speak Spanish and others are fluent. Some know the ins and outs of what they know their parent would see as unacceptable and others really don't care. 

However, I think that Schmidt points out a lot of great ideas! Can I start off by saying that reading about Rafe Esquith really inspired me! :) Schmidt encourages the teachers to challenge what the students are learning to make sure that it really serves justice and that it is equal. Since a lot of curriculum is loop-sided in who it caters to, it makes sense to point that out.

Standard 1 states, "The competent teacher understands the diverse characteristics and abilities of each student and how individuals develop and learn within the context of their social, economic, cultural, linguistic, and academic experiences. The teacher uses these experiences to create instructional opportunities that maximize student learning." That's what Schmidt is tell us to do. She says to infuse ourselves with the culture that surrounds us. By doing this we not only benefit ourselves or our students, it actually benefits the entire society. We learn, they learn and we are on the same page. There is not risk of being humiliated. 

The week of September 3

The second week of school is still in the getting "used to it" stage. We had Monday off in honor of Labor day. So "real classes" started Tuesday and immediately I had the opportunity to teach Math and some Reading curriculum. 

At the school, there is a huge emphasis on reading. Our school hasn't really reached their AYP in more than a couple of years. For reading it feels like there is a manual we need to follow. In fact, there is a manual. It's different to me in many ways, but nonetheless I asked my teacher if I could cover a few things such as how our library was organized, what genres were and how to chose a book. 

The most difficult, yet rewarding lesson I taught, I didn't really teach. It was a jigsaw activity on genres. I divided up the class into groups of 4, which worked perfectly--I had 7 groups of 4. Each group received a book on a genre. Their job was to read the book (or a chapter of the book) record some noticeable characteristics and check with me to see if they had gotten the genre correctly. If they did, I gave them the technical definition of the genre and some more characteristics. Once they were all experts at their genre I divided them again. Now there were 4 groups of 7 and each student had a different genre to share with their group. They loved discussing and sharing! BUT it took two days to complete the activity. In my methods classes it would take us anywhere from 40-60 minutes. It certainly took much longer than expected. It was worth it! 

I've also had the opportunity to begin teaching Math. I love math. There is something about solving a problem that makes me excited. I wanted to share my excitement with my students. I began this warm-up activity I learned in my novice placement. I call it "Number of the Day." With this technique, I have a number of the day and the students have two minutes to think of different ways to get to the number. For example, if the number is 25, how many different ways can YOU think of that add up to 25? Some answers can be 20+5, 30-5, 5x5, etc. This has been so helpful to me because we're learning about expanded and word form of numbers so the students get to review important details during our warm-up. As an educator, it makes me gleam when the students write out 635 in expanded form without me reminding them to do so. They have grown to love Number of the Day and when they hear it's only 2 minutes long there is a groan across the room. When we reach the point of 2 minutes I always get at least one student, "C'mon maestra, 1 more minute!" I can't deny them their love for Math, so I give in to a 20-second extension. After time is finally  up, I pick Popsicle sticks with their names on it for them to share. I write their strategy on the board. You wouldn't believe how much pride they have in their work! 

Even though they love Number of the Day, their love for regular stuff, isn't as great. I faced a challenging lesson on Thursday. The students just didn't understand how decimals worked. I don't blame them. When I was their age, it was a difficult topic for me also. It just seems so abstract and not really life relevant. I picked up some pointers from my teacher. She said, "Not everything is as easy as it seems. You'll learn that. Don't think that something is wrong with you or your method of teaching. One day, it'll just click." After a rough day, it was definitely the encouragement I needed to hear. We decided to do some reteaching on Friday and THEY UNDERSTOOD!! It felt so good to walk around the room and seeing students with correct answers on their page, ready to do more. I couldn't believe my ears when students were asking for more homework on a Friday night! 

This upcoming week is Open House, I'm excited to meet all of my kids' parents! I'm excited for them to teach me more than I think I know. I'm certain that the next 14 weeks or so will be a tug on my humility. Not to think that I have an answer or strategy for everything. :) 

Schmidt

In Schmidt's second chapter, we see that "great teachers are power brokers." This title captures the idea of building an environment for eptness. The technical definition for eptness is "a combination of capacities and meaningful activity." In other words, it's the search of each students' contributing quality to the classroom culture. To me, that's common sense. If I were to chose a word to describe myself, it would be encourager; I believe that God has created each child in His own image and not one is the exact copy of another. I believe that each one serves a unique purpose. Eptness is basically taking that idea and putting it to practice...searching for each child's special gift. I think Einstein said it best, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Our job is to find the 'genius' in every child.

Like many things in life, this is easier said than done. However, Schmidt gives us ten pointers that promote eptness. There are three strategies that I would like to practice in my placement now and in my future teaching career; these are encouragement, feedback, and to model being a learner. In the second chapter, Schmidt describes that encouragement "means to call forth the courage within." It's not the simple, "nice job, kid." It's not verbal praise. It is pin-pointing a specific task the student has done well and making a big deal out of it, showing him/her that what they have done has benefited their classmates. "Kids get smarter when you describe what they did and explain why it's important." I like to write comments on the students homework, especially when they show their work for math. I like writing positive comments thanking them for showing me their thought process. I think I need to work on doing it more verbally. I must really let the students know that they are doing an excellent job in order to stimulate an environment of higher order thinking. The most important part of feedback is providing "affective and cognitive information." Like stated earlier, I love looking at the good in people, that includes their work. Something that has always motivated me as a learner has been knowing that there can be more than one way to get the desired answer. My work doesn't have to look exactly like the student next to me in order to get an A. The idea of feedback gives students the opportunity to identify each student's best efforts. Finally, modeling being a learner is one of the best ways to show you're a human being. As a teacher, you make mistakes, you learn something new; I believe that, that makes you more approachable. 

Toward the end of the chapter, Schmidt brings a very valid point to the table, she says, "No matter how earnestly you promote a culture of eptness, your message will fall on deaf ears if your students don't feel safe in the classroom." I feel like Schmidt is my tenet twin; every time I pick up the book, I'm nodding my head at her as if she were sitting right in front of me. The safeness of a classroom, is an essential key to promoting an educational environment. Earlier in my week of teaching, one of my students was humiliated in front of a group of kids by another student. "You don't have a dad." Five very simple words had the world of significance to one of my students. It was so powerful that he started crying. My cooperating teacher pulled out the student and the student who had made the comment. I heard a wave of giggles and whispers. Standard 4 of the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards states, "The competent teacher structures a safe and healthy learning environment that facilitates cultural and linguistic responsiveness, emotional well-being, self-efficacy, positive social interaction, mutual respect, active engagement, academic risk-taking, self-motivation, and personal goal-setting." I knew that something had to be done. If I waited for the teacher to enter the room, it might be too late to address the issue. I had all the kids stop what they were doing and look at me. We had a quick discussion about how the student felt. Some people piped in, "I don't have a dad either, but I don't care that much." So I brought up other issues. We talked about what the definition of bullying is. We talked about name calling and how it can really hurt a person. After our discussion, they were more aware of others' emotions. Since that time, I really haven't had an issue with any of the students. 

La Semana del 27 de Agosto (The week of August 27)

"Hablas Espanol?" were the words that greeted me in the morning after two and a half days of training. The kids stood outside the school at 8:30 in the morning in their uniform with big back packs. Students looked at me in a bit of confusion as I held the "Classroom 313" sign. Many of them whispered, "Where is Mrs. E.?" Then one of them finally had the courage to ask the stranger, "Eres nuestra maestra nueva?" (Are you our new teacher?) With a smile and a giggle I answered, "No, I'm going to be your second teacher." At that moment all my Education classes came rushing to mind; inside I was ready to finally put everything in practice 24/7.

My classroom is made up of 27 Latino students and 1 African American student; 7 of those kids are in the gifted program and, according to the records we received, all of them should be above their reading level. They all speak English, but a lot of them are comfortable with Spanish and don't mind asking questions in it. Mrs. E. says that it's good that I can relate to them at such a level. 

Since we only had 2 full days we decided to do a lot of "getting to know you" activities, tours of the building, rules, etc. It went quite well. Fifth graders certainly have a lot to say, especially if you give them the chance to. 

A new experience for me was that I learned more about my students from their past teachers in the first couple of days. They told me some things to look out for, or interests they had. I know that it's not recommended to get the scoop, but for a new teacher, every little bit helps. I know that they are a whole year older, and being here until December gives me the chance to learn about them myself. 

week of August 20

It's the first week of my last semester! This means that it is the start of my student teaching.

I will be working at a local school working with low-income Latino students. I haven't necessarily been there yet. This past week I only attended the student teaching orientation at the college. I've been anticipating the day I  begin for quite a while; I'm not sure if  I can hold in my excitement much longer. The big day is August 29! 

SchmidtMy experience with the students from this community has led me to chose that in my classroom I want to incorporate a lot of kinesthetic teaching. Particularly in the Latino traditions kids are raised to "be seen, not heard." A lot of this has to do with sitting still; it is an idea I'm not very fond of. So, my goal is to challenge that and incorporate ways the students can "master" their body.

For "full brain learning" Lisa suggests several ideas, like making the curriculum 'interesting and problematic' but she also gives ideas such as 'make it real-world' and even hits the concept of differentiation by 'customizing activities.' Personally, I really like the idea of giving students a reason to learn. It's not about telling them "you're going to need these decimals everyday," but actually showing them, "this is when we see decimals, let's practice how we would see them at the store."