All Hallows Eve Week

This week, I am finally gaining some confidence in teaching (even if it is short-lived). I'm also losing my keys and phone, misplacing everything, and forgetting whether I am coming or going. I'm sure it doesn't help that we are just finishing up Fall sports with our three children, my daughter is doing a drama production, my son is working and fund-raising for his robotics team and other academic clubs, and I'm helping with the sets for the play along with student teaching and everything else. Oh, and the band concert tonight.

Somehow, in the midst of the chaos and the crazy hyper K-12 art classes, I am starting to laugh and enjoy teaching. At first, I was super nervous and I'm sure the students noticed. I'm starting to find myself, laugh and have a little fun with it. In my tenth week, I know the students well and they know me. They still push it and try to get away with everything they can. I'm working on growing those "eyes" on the back of my head and getting better at multi-tasking. Always being aware of where students are, what they are doing and how they are doing is a must! My own children are not quite so adept at being sneaky but some students in my classes cannot be trusted. They do get caught stealing or destroying supplies or just causing a ruckus. If it can be done, they'll try it! I actually had a 7th period 8th grade student, a couple of weeks ago, climb a beam to the ceiling just like spiderman. I was a little shocked but politely ask him to stay seated. I never really thought that not bouncing off the walls or climbing them should be in the class rules.

Another thing I'm beginning to love is seeing the creative process evolve. I'm always pleasantly surprised to see how students execute projects. With 25 students there are 25 different interpretations of it. I never could have imagined all of the results. It it so cool!

This week, my goal is to just keep my head on straight, arrive on time and ready to teach! It's a crazy week with the Holiday season almost upon us. Last year, I noticed that students were pretty much excited and lacked focus from now until mid-January. There was about 3 months of solid instruction and getting the routines back after the holidays and then spring break fever hits! The sun stays out later and so do the students.

Student Teaching is like my "framework"

I'm learning so much everyday about teaching!

student teaching

F  frames a curriculum in my mind: from beginning to completion (or execution in Art)
R  running around with my head cut-off IS a great weight-loss program!
A  always be prepared for anything! AND always have students well trained for a warm-up project, first thing. This is hard if you don't know your students or what's developmentally appropriate.
M  me...  it's not all about me! Most of the time it's better to keep my mouth shut and just watch and learn from my students. But my high school students LOVE "All about Me" assignments. They are totally developmentally appropriate!
E  earning $  isn't everything!


W  work 24/7
O  organize everything: my desk, the classroom materials, supplies, projects, lesson plans, lesson plan ideas, piles of projects to grade (by class period) and show the students where and how to properly dry and store paint brushes. Stay on top of grading and always keep lesson plans out on the desk for administrators. And Pinterest is my friend for lesson ideas!
R  research for papers: Need to work on final papers for Classroom Management, Assessment, Philosophy of Education & Cultural and Ethnic Diversity…God help me!
K  - OK, I can do this!

Time to Teach

One of the most helpful tools I was given during the teacher training before school started was the "Time to Teach" curriculum by Dahlgren, Malas, Faulk & Lattimer. Ronan uses this curriculum for new teachers and the training was run by Mr. Johnston, the Middle School principal.

The main take away from the videos and training was the idea of not getting pulled into "doing the dance" with students. This means that students will try to test my patience or will talk back and be disrespectful or defiant but I need to have a plan and steps in place so I know how to handle it. Last year, as a para-professional, I didn't get any training on classroom management and I made a lot of mistakes as I got sucked into the dance. This year, I'm learning what is appropriate behavior for students, what expectations are and what is normal behavior for different ages and stages. My experience with special education last year, gave me confidence and especially helped me in relating and working with students in special ed.

I'm still working through my ideas of how to handle certain situations with student behaviors but what has helped me most is watching how Mr. Smith and Ms. Mallon handle it. I need to stay calm, cool and collected not let the situation get me flustered. It's always a bit shocking to me when students act out because I am not used to it and don't always know how to handle it. I think it's going to take more time for me to figure out what I'm comfortable with and how to enforce it. Studying the school's main policies is also helpful. It seems very simple but first off, I need to know what administration is looking for when doing evaluations. One thing they are looking for is if the school policies are enforced. In the Middle School one of the most basic rules is that students are not allowed to wear hats. This rule is a bit more lax at the Elementary school, especially when it's rainy and cold out. When I have major questions about how to handle a behavior I talk with my mentors, field supervisor and the vice principal.