Open Mic3?

I truly have enjoyed all of the things that we have covered in this program. When we first started over the summer of last year, I really thought that the classes were going to be long. But as it turned out, the classes were kind of fun, although gut wrenching at first getting in front of your peers. I have not implemented everything that I have learned, but I would say that I have used about 80% of it. I will work on implementing maybe up to 95% of what we have learned this summer. I just know that I will have a super year next school term, because I will have the time to work out the "bugs" in my current curriculum.

I have also enjoyed meeting all my classmates from different disciplines. Construction, cosmetology, construction, video production, nursing and others I have not mentioned. Everyone has been friendly and cordial. I have made some new friends and a good support system for my profession.

The instructors have been excellent and very knowledgeable in their content area. Every thing that we have learned they have done a great job using it to teach us. I now have a better understanding on how to apply cooperative learning, because we have done it in class. Overall, my experience has been positive and productive thanks to the excellence of our instructors.

See you all on Saturday.

Role as a Teacher

One thing I have learned about being a teacher is I’m always learning. In fact, I have been a student all of this time. I can’t remember when I haven’t stopped learning. Everyday in class, I learn something entirely new. For example, student’s reactions are still somewhat a mystery to me. Every day, students come with something new to try and get away with something. Everyday I have to come up with ways to counteract, deter or side step what the students throw at me. Despite what this sounds like, it is fun. I guess that is why I like teaching, because I am having so much fun learning. So you might say that I am more a student than I am a teacher.

Open Mic: My Typical Day!

Since this is open mic, let me just tell you about my typical day with 2 of my students. First block, I have 2 students that keep the class live. No matter what I put in front of them and any strategies I have learned, these 2 students will do what they like to do. Student 1 is the chatter box, can’t stop talking to save her life about everything about nothing! She has been in trouble with teachers, students, and her parents, because of her behavior. She has been suspended several times, but it has not had an affect on her behavior.

Student 2 is the instigator. This girl has been known to start at least 3 fights. She goes out of her way to target volatile students who will believe the proverbial “them”. “Them” or “they” are the all powerful force that seems to know everything and rules teenagers. Yes, student 2 uses “they” or “them” to start trouble between students. Then, she complains to me, of all people of all the drama that we have at school. Student 2 like student 1 has been suspended several times also.

One day, student1 and student2 were arguing in the hallway telling each other to shut up! I broke it up, of course, and reported both of them to the Assistant Principal. When I informed the Principal of what they were saying to each other, he burst into laughter and said, “Only if they listened to each other”.

I have more of this sort of day, maybe I will tell you about it on the next open mic.

What I've Learned

The most important thing I've learned about myself as a teacher in the past year is that I’m getting better as a teacher. When I first started, I had an experienced teacher working with me. He worked with me for an entire year at which point I felt more comfortable. All of the training I have gotten and still getting are very helpful as it is assisting me in different aspects of the profession. From dealing with students to creating an atmosphere of cooperative work, I am slowly getting a little bit better. In the past year, I have been implementing more project based activities, since I have a better sense of grading the students as a group and individually. I am discovering that I am having a better year this year than in the past. I don’t seem to be as tired when I get home each day from dealing with the students. I am now convinced that being a facilitator is much better than being the “teacher” to my students. Who knows, maybe in the future I will achieve “Master Teacher”.

What I know and learned about administrators

School administrators basically run the school. They cover all aspects of school function to make sure that the school is running smoothly. Some of what I learned from the administrators at my school deals with the following issues and tasks: Plumbing, Electricity, Phones, Water, Teacher Observations, Lesson Plans, Parent Moderators, Teacher Moderators, Student Moderators, Discipline, Hiring, Firing and anything else that comes up. All of the administrators at our school are former teachers. I’m not sure why they decided to become administrators, because from my point of view, teaching is easier! I understand that the pay is much better than a teacher’s, but the headache that seems to accompany the pay is discouraging. At least this is how I feel about an administration job right now. My opinion may change in the future.

What I learned about my students

The most important thing I have learned about my students this past term is they are incredibly persistent. What I mean by that is that when students get in their minds what they want to do, they expel an extraordinary amount of energy to do it. For some, unfortunately, that energy is focused on negative tasks. But, there are others who actually use this energy in their academics. This term is the first time I have taught Information Technology in a year and I have forgotten how students really enjoy tinkering. When I give them their lab to do for class, I see in their eyes a focused look. They worked on those labs with the kind of intensity of a class clown who is trying to disrupt class. I wish that I can gain that same interest with the students in my Computer Applications class! It is really quite the opposite in this class as it poses a challenge for me because I just don’t see the students enjoying themselves. They do the work, but I can tell that they are just going through the motions of doing the work, but not really enjoying it.

Road to being a Master Teacher

I am not comfortable yet with the title “Master Teacher”, but I’m sure I will get over that issue eventually. Anyway, I’m simply better, because I have a whole host of techniques and tools that I can pull out of my notebook as needed. Yes, I still have that NTI notebook and keep it close. It is hard for me to pinpoint exactly with what lesson or particular day that happened, but overall I can see the difference in the way I teach over the past few weeks. I’m looking for more and more ways to use cooperative learning at least in one of my class (Information Technology). I find it very easy to implement in this particular class. It is still quite a challenge for my Keyboarding and Computer Applications Class. I’m not sure why, but I feel that this class is best suited for “lecture”. That is almost scary word these days, because I would really love to find a way to make this more project-group oriented type class. When I figure out how to do this for the Keyboarding and Computer Applications Class, hopefully by the end of this school year, I may feel more comfortable with the title “master teacher”.

Survey

Done.

Portfolios

Here is my dilemma; I have hard time thinking in abstract. These requirements are a difficult for me to decipher. Every time I read one of the requirements, I get stuck! It is so bad that getting started seems impossible. Though, when I read everyone’s response on this blog, no one seems to have a problem but me. I’m sure that the portfolio is to help us with our professional growth, but I have to read the standard items 3 to 4 times to make sense of them. I’ve never really been asked to prove what I am doing and I assume in this case the challenge is categorizing what I do. As far as using a portfolios for my students, I have done something in the past and am doing something similar now with the creating a notebook. But Google sites provide an alternative for my students to do this electronically, this may be something I can implement in the next school year.

Elluminate Class

There’s really quite a bit to consider when designing an online course. The first thing I actually will consider is what it is I want the students to learn and then move from there. I will then check the state standard requirements and match that to the curriculum I am trying to make. The next thing I will consider is the types of materials that I and the students will need. Lab equipment if there is some sort of lab, tests, and notes. Let’s also not forget about the lesson plans. All this of course must be electronically done to transmit over Elluminate. The cost must also be considered due to budget limitations for labs. I also must consider breaking down the teaching aspect and the timing of teaching the various parts of the material. Lots of PowerPoint presentations may be the best thing during the lecture. The labs for the class must be considered as well, how much space, procedures and maintenance of equipment. I would have to assume that all the equipment the student requires will have to all be available to the student before the session starts. I am assuming of course that the student will require some sort of hardware and then get on Elluminate. Since everything I just said is a rough draft, I am certain that I may have to revise some procedures as I learn how to really teach online!

Counselor Interview

With this interview, I am hoping to establish the kind of relationship with the school counselors that I have never had before. For example, the interview may create an environment where I can request not to be “dumped on” as my class seems to fill up with students that hates being in my class. It is very difficult to actually manage a class when you have half the students in your class did not sign up for it. It may also give me an insight in the protocols or procedures counselors follow to create schedules. Sometimes I often wonder about what it is they are thinking about when they make these schedules. From my finite point of view, because I do not do the job of course, counselors seem to just throw people in my class because of convenience! I could be wrong, but the result is always undisputable. The students that end up in my class are wonders why they are in there.

LLL

I must say that the videos where quite entertaining and at the same time brought a tremendous amount of insight into my views of special needs children. I do not teach “certified” special needs children that I know of. But by watching the videos, I realize that I teach a lot of special needs students or are they? In one of the examples in the videos, the instructor talked about a woman in an empty auditorium and someone sits right next to her. To the average person, this is quite weird unless there were more people in the auditorium, but a special needs person would not know this was strange in any way. To that analogy, either many of the kids I work with are special need or simply ignorant. To that same analogy from the video, I meet the parents of some of these kids and find it impossible that these parents have raised the some of the kids I teach! On the other hand, I understand where some of the kids get their strange ideas about how life should work. Yes, the videos made sense, but I am just as confused after watching the video.

Reflection

This semester, I have really learned how to be more efficient in managing my classes. Having the tools to manage the class properly in the beginning and close it properly in the end was very useful. There used to be a time where I would literally run out material during a 90 minute class period with 20 minute left in class and the rest of the class time was in disarray. But with all the added material where I would do a set induction, a review in the beginning, and closing and cleanup at the end eats up that 20 minute gap that I used to have. I notice that it is also easier for me to manage the class by setting the expectations with written objectives and have the class follow it. I have been told that I do a good job with the "look" but I haven’t quite bought into that yet, but I am certain that I have perfected the “choice” as a discipline tool. I use that as much as I can. I also feel that the kids I have do like the class better because of the routines and expectations that I provided from day 1 of my ‘introduction’. Overall its been great, the visits from our advisor have been very helpful and I will continue to use all of the things that we have learned. I have not implemented all of the knowledge that we have learned in with group dynamics, but I am gathering the tools as we speak and have a plan to implement some, if not all of the things that I have learned this semester for next semester!

Thankful for . . .

First thing I would like to be thankful for about my job is that I have it. With the economy as it is, it is nice to have it. That being said, there are other things about the teaching profession that I am thankful for. This job keeps me sharp. Kids are very inventive in trying to get one by you that you must be aware of. This occupation is rewardingly challenging, because I simply enjoy it. I really enjoy being around the students even as annoying as some of them could be. This job allows me ample time to spend with my family. Also, if I want to learn a new skill, I have opportunities to try and do so because of the time off that I have during the summer. I am not sure what other avenues this occupation will take me, but for now I am having a great time with it.

Online Disconnection

Since I am a "tech" person, you may think that I enjoy doing everything online. On the contrary, I detest doing online classes. I simply do not have the feel for doing the online work, because I feel disconnected somehow. I would rather have a person in front of me lecturing me even if they are boring. It is not difficult for me to navigate around most online systems, I’ve even created some myself for others to use, but I’d prefer not to do it.
The blogging that we do for example, these discussions are so much more interesting to me when I can see all the expressions that accompany the discussions. But online, I see a lot of words, but I have a hard time getting the right “feeling” from the words of others. Let’s not forget about navigating around this blog site, it is not simple!
But there are advantages, however. Since I really do not have the time during the week to make it to class, it does give me the flexibility that I need for my busy schedule. I’m not sure what is my learning style is anymore, because I overcame my inability to learn abstract materials (materials that are not hands on), but online learning is not a problem for me. I still prefer interaction with people face to face.

Contacting Parent Epiphany, Repost

I have this one student who is a constant disruption in class. I have contacted his mother several times via e-mail only. What surprises me is when she asked me what she should do about her child. I am a parent, but I think that to give her any advice about how to raise her child is beyond what I should be doing as teacher so I referred her to the school counselor. I was dumb founded by this question until I met her during a conference. She looked like she could have been the student’s sister. The clichés “kids having kids” and “early parenthood” that I have heard before meant nothing to me until I met this woman. One thing about being a teacher is you get to see first hand a lot of society’s ills. It gets to a point sometimes that when I am contacting a parent, I hesitate fearing what I might find out! But it must be done because our school policy is to contact the parents at least once a month and make a note of it in a contact log. I rarely have any success with these calls, generally the student causes enough problems until they have to leave.

THE OPEN MIC, Repost

This is the best job I have ever had. I hear many complaints from other teachers about the difficulty of students. But, difficulty is all relative. I think that we are fortunate to have been in the "other working world" and then teach as opposed to going straight into education. I feel like I am making some difference in someone's life. In my previous job really did not feel rewarding as this. The reward is instantaneous when you see that the student is grasping what you are teaching. Let's not even discuss the amount of time off that we get as teachers. In previous jobs that I have had, taking more than one week off was really stretching it. I really could not even enjoy the vacation. But teaching is has given me more opportunities to relax than any other jobs than I have had. If done correctly, I rarely or ever take my job home. Unlike my previous jobs, taking your work home was mandatory!

Ba humbug!

I have a particular challenge with my second period. We are on a block schedule so we are in our class for 1.5 hours. On my second block is when we have lunch, and unfortunately, lunch cuts into the middle of this period. It is not an issue getting the kids focused at the beginning of class, but after lunch it’s a different matter. Currently our bells don’t work, as it was damaged by a thunderstorm. Because we have no bell, my students will roll in at different times and the last ones to come in from lunch are the ones that tend to be most disruptive. What ever conversation they were having at lunch, it spills over to the classroom, especially if it is full of drama. It may take me between 10-15 minutes to get everyone to refocus on any task.

This second period class is the class that I have the ring leaders of behavioral issues. You know how you have 1 student where they do just enough mischief and to you it doesn’t seem enough to refer them to any kind of worthy discipline, I have 5 of those kids in the 2nd period. Three of these kids have an IEP, and I can honestly say that only 1 requires it and the other 2 are using it as an excuse. Talk to me my fellow teachers! What can I do, what can I do?

Sadly Surprised

There is a young lady that I taught in her freshman year. Though she is not in my class anymore I still see her in the hallways. She is very bright, I have met both of her parents in the past and it "seems" that she is in a good home, unlike so many of her peers. She speaks well, and frankly she is a very well rounded student. On Monday of this week, was the first time I really realized that she was pregnant (much to my surprise). She hid it very well. She is not my child, but I really have high hopes for her. I am really disappointed when I see someone with so much potential make this kind of a mistake. This is her last year with us as she is graduating and I hope that she has the full support of her family. She is having a child when she is still a child really makes it that much more difficult to pursue any of her career goals. I just hope that the obstacles she will face will not be overwhelming, because it will be difficult. My 2 cents.

What worked and what did not

We are in our 4th week of school and I must say that I feel like I finally have a grasp on this teaching thing that we do. What has worked so far is the lesson plan that we have already done. I feel that I have more time to dedicate to my classes because I do not have to worry so much about the lesson planning. The set induction works quite well to get kids attention. I would normally use bizzare ethereal photos. I started using the class objective as their notes in the beginning of class. Other strategies for kids behavior like the look has worked for me, but I'm sure I'm not doing it like the man we saw on the video. His look is more like "you need to stop", my look I believe is more like "what in the world are you doing?".

What has not worked. I tried to implement the "notebook" like what we did in class this summer. I seem to have only 70% of my student on board with this. The other 30% I'm investigating to see what I missed. Also the closing remarks or questions, for some reason I seem to forget to do it. I can catch myself sometimes, but not always.