Reading Reflection5:
Looking back on last semester, I realized that my students
needed a lot from me. I came in and
created a structured, organized way of handling their homework assignments,
their reading, their vocabulary words and the up-coming assignments. I accomplished all of this by creating a
class website and ensuring that I updated the site everyday. Many students at the end of the year thanked
me for my organization of their class assignments and informed me that it
immensely helped them keep on top of their work. Something that surprised me that my students
still needed was a constant reminder of directions and rules. My assumption was that 11th
graders would be mature enough to fall into routine and stay in that routine,
my mistake. The students constantly
needed to be re-reminded of the classroom rules and they would receive
punishments after ample reminders were given.
Again, I do not think that the gap is very wide between my
students and myself. I think that I
understand them to a certain degree because many of the things that they like
and are into are things that I like and that I am into. I also have the advantage of having a little
brother in high school that keeps me on the up-and-up with current slang and
what’s going on in schools.
With regards to understanding my students’ needs I think
that I said it best in my philosophy paper, my students need structure,
guidance, and someone that believes that they can achieve more than they ever
thought possible. I believe students
need differentiation and acknowledgement for the good that they do. We need to do what my mother’s school did
constantly and “catch kids being good.”
It does not have to be a formal award like they do in elementary school,
rather acknowledging when a struggling student has succeeded, or when an unruly
student remained quiet and on task. It
is these simple things that could make all the difference in the world to a
student.
I had an issue last semester with a student who was refusing
to do the work put in front of her because she was absent and essentially no
one acknowledged it. This student, after
several attempts to ask her to begin her work became out of control. She began yelling at my cooperating teacher,
she used every cuss word that’s in the book, yelling and becoming violent in
the classroom where she finally threatened to hit my CT; all the while the rest
of my class was trying to write an in class essay. It was this moment that frustrated me most
because I knew that this student needed help and intervention but I was at a
loss, being new to this type of outburst, as to what to do. She was sent to the office and was suspended
for her behavior, and rightfully so. But
as more information surfaced about this student, it seemed as though she began
at the school a shy, good working, freshman.
As she met the wrong people she began going down a negative path, she
started using drugs, stealing, getting into legal trouble and was failing
almost every class she was in. Her
parents didn’t seem very involved either, which broke my heart. This girl was smart, beautiful, and could
have done so well had someone intervened sooner, or had her parents taken more
of an interest. Though it was not a bias
or pet peeve I mentioned, I think a parent or guardian plays a pivotal role in
a students life and when they act as though they don’t care, the student will
in-turn stop caring. I hope that in my
classroom I keep my parents as involved as I possibly can as long as the
parents are providing a safe a loving environment for me to do so. It is difficult being a teacher, there are so
many obstacles to consider when it comes to educating a
child and doing it the way in which the child benefits most.
Reading Reflection 4:
Reading Reflection 3:
When I think about my biases in the classroom I relate them
to my pet peeves. I wouldn’t say that I
necessarily have biases but if a student falls in line with my particular
version of OCD or if my students commit one of my pet peeves I do feel that I
have a different opinion or way of treating them. For example, I have been diagnosed with a
specific form of OCD. Particular things
will trigger my anxiety while other things won’t bother me. In the classroom, if things are not tidy,
organized or have a proper place, this bothers me. One of the most difficult parts of being a
teacher candidate has been walking into another teachers classroom, considering
it my own, but having to deal with the organization that other teachers
consider tidy or put together. When it
came to my students I knew I had to have their things organized in such a way
that I felt ownership over it and I could feel at ease. When students didn’t organize their work the
way I asked them to, or if they didn’t put things away the way I wanted, those
types of things would eat at me and I would become agitated. I never let this resonate to the students but
it was an issue I had to deal with on a personal level.
There were
times when I was first grading work where I found myself being biased regarding
a students’ neatness in their writing, or the topic that they chose, if it
catered to my personal beliefs or not. I
think that this is an issue any new teacher will face; how to separate
themselves from their personal beliefs to grade assignments unbiased.
Another
HUGE pet peeve of mine in the classroom is when students are talking while I am
trying to give instructions. I find that
act to be the rudest thing you can do in a classroom. I pride myself on not being a lecturer and
allowing students the free time to talk amongst their peers so when a student
talks while I am talking, or even worse, while another student or visiting
teacher is talking, I take large offense to that. This is an area I am still struggling
with. I am trying to ensure that I do
not treat a student differently because they offended me at some point. All people deserve the opportunity to
sincerely apologize and receive clean slate.
This is an area I will continue to work on and improve upon.
For me, I believe that I greatly understand the needs of my
students in the 21st century.
I think that my students crave discipline, rules, standards,
organization and order. Furthermore, I
think they crave an educator that cares about their well being, an educator
that cares that they are in class everyday.
I think as teachers we need to make sure our students feel safe and
welcome at school. That they see school
as somewhere they want to be because the people around them make them feel
accepted and like they can be who they really are. I think my students also want teachers that
can connect with them on a personal level.
Teachers that can understand and appreciate their way of talking and
dressing, appreciate the music they are into or the newest trends. I also think
that our students crave NEW education.
Especially in regards to English; students want to read new books,
relevant books, books that their generation is into such as The Hunger Games. Students want to feel like education
understands them by giving them current relevant pieces of educational tools.
I’d like to say the gap between myself and my students is
big, however I don’t think it is as big as I’d like. Coming in as a young teacher for high school
students can be very intimidating and frightening. However, there are many things that my
students are into that I myself are into, I enjoy their music, clothes, life
styles, language, books, everything, so in that aspect I feel very young and
like the gap between us really isn’t that large. As an educator, I can show my likes and
dislikes and that we share common interests, but I must remember to keep it
professional and be friendly to my students, but not be their “friend.”
To make connections I think it is important to be honest
with your students. I think that you
should tell them about your high school experiences, let them know you’ve been
there you’ve felt the way that they do.
I also think that by letting them know some things about you, your
favorite music, or where your from, they can begin to see you as someone
approachable and someone relocatable rather than the scary authoritarian figure
most students see teachers as. At the
same time, it is important to instill the notion that you are the teacher, you
are the boss, but that does not mean you are the mean boss.
Reading Reflection 2:
Respond to the following questions: What is it like to be a student in
my class? What is it like for a student to move through classes in a day
at my (CPI) school?
If you were a student in my class you would experience a fun, organized, engaging and education atmosphere. My classroom is extremely organized. As a student, you would be able to find any pertinent information from a day you missed in my homework binder You would also find any warm-up activity complete with instructions as well as any hand outs in the homework binder as well. Any homework or assignments that have been graded would be found in the period specific filing bins, you would find your work in your personal folder. In addition to the homework binder, any information you missed could be found on the class website. The class website includes any reading assignments, printable handouts, graphic organizers, and vocabulary lists. The lessons I teach in class are structured to meet the needs for many learning modalities as well as differentiation strategies. As a student you will read, write, draw, color, speak aloud, work with groups, work in pairs, and work individually. Your opinion is greatly appreciated in my classroom and as a student, if you can articulate your opinion in an academic, respectful manner, I urge you to share your ideas. Finally, as a student in my class, you will constantly use various technologies whether it be interacting with a PowerPoint, playing vocabulary Jeopardy, researching using the internet, and more.
