Weekly Reflection

Teaching has been an amazing experience so far. Every day I go home having learned more than I ever could have imagined. This week has been great for me for a couple of reasons. It has taught me a lot about the career path I'm interested in. It has let me experience different learning styles and how to deal with them. It has helped me with communication both with co-workers and with students. It has also helped me further understand the hidden features in a teacher's life. I have been running around to meetings, teaching classes, and helping kids out during some free blocks. The amount of planning that goes in to each day is truly spectacular. This past week Mr Sperling and I were planning for four classes, most of which are completely different subjects. This means that when planning you must take each class and plan for them separately. For me this last week has been hard because I've yet to master the art of teaching these kids. I constantly am getting frustrated with myself when a kid doesn't understand a concept. I have come to realize that teaching them a concept they don't understand by just repeating it, won't work. You need to rephrase and help them understand it in a different way. You need to have more then one way of looking at a problem or else not everyone will grasp the concept. Working with Mr Sperling has been great so far and I look forward for the week to come. I feel that I have completed most of my goals for this project except for the actual teaching of the class. I think that this week Mr Sperling and I will plan a class for me to teach on my own and create the days activity. This will be a really good test for me and it will challenge me a lot. I've said this in my blog a lot already, but the support I've been given by both Josh Norris (my mentor), Mr Sperling (my sponsor), and the faculty at LFCDS has been both inspirational and helpful. There has not been a time where I didn't feel comfortable doing this project and that is both because of the prep work at Proctor and the relaxed environment at LFCDS. I hope that I can further my understanding of the teaching world this upcoming week and really shine as a teacher myself.

Hands-On

Day Five- May 14, 2001 8am-3:30

Coffee and go, coffee and go, coffee and go! It's been working so far, why stop now? I was alert and ready this morning for my last day of the week. It's both exciting and sad because I am doing so well and I hate to think that I only have one week left. The 7th graders this morning played around with another visual aid/learning tool called "Hands-on equalities" It is a way for kids to see a problem in front of them and be able to manipulate it with their hands rather than their brains. It's quite the tool when dealing with different types of learning styles.

When the advanced 7th grade class came in I was very excited to teach them my calculus lesson, but Mr Sperling postponed it another day because they needed to get one more day of quadratics, CTS, and discriminants. The challenging lesson will be given completely by me on monday, then we will give them a packet to help them review for the "red test." The 8th graders continue to work on their cartoon projects and seem to be a very diligent job on them. There are still some students struggling to grasp the concept of time management, but they are slowly starting to understand the importance of the project. After class I needed to run home and grab my time sheet so that I could get it signed by Mr. Sperling. While out I decided to grab a bite to eat with some friends, which was a nice change of pace from work.

When I got back the 8th grade honors section was ready to get some work done. We talked more about the quadratic formula and the discriminant and gave them a packet to work on over the weekend. They weren't to happy about the packet, but more practice could do them some good. During our last block of the day Mr Sperling and I sat down to talk about next week. So far, for the most part, I have been observing and helping out when needed. I think that one goal we should have for the end of next week is for me to plan a lesson for not just one of the classes, but all of them. This will help me really understand the prep-work that goes into each class, not just one.

Next week will be a more stressful one for sure, but I hope I can pull it together and create some good classes for these students. I feel so accepted at the school by both teachers and students that I don't feel nervous or uncomfortable being there. That is really something to brag about because without the support of everyone at the school this project could be so much harder. They are making teaching seem really pleasant, even though I can see right through them!!!! I'm just kidding of course. Teaching is quickly making its nest in my heart. Every day I help a student further understand a concept I get this tingle inside. As lame as it sounds to those who don't teach, those who do know exactly what I'm talking about.

Which one is me?

Chaos Isn't Always Bad

Day Four- May 13, 2010 8am-4pm

It was a hard day to wake up to. It was cloudy and a little rainy, but nothing I haven't seen in New Hampshire recently. Went to work at noticed something weird. The secretary wasn't there this morning who I usually exchange a quick wave with. Kept walking and a teacher said "you made it!" Kept walking and I arrived at my classroom. Apparently last night it had rained a LOT and it was taking people 1-2 hours to get to school, when normally it would take them 10. Peoples' basements had flooded and some teachers weren't even at school yet. This is when I was also informed that a math teacher was not going to be here, which meant Mr. Sperling and I had to absorb her 7th grade honors class first block, which is our regular 7th grade class. At first I was worried, until I realized there were only four kids from our normal morning class at school. The four kids we had got to grab a computer and do some fraction work. While they were on the computer and I went around keeping them focused and on task, Mr Sperling was teaching the Honors class the exponent rules. (Something I need to brush up on before I start giving advice. Ha!) Then our normal 7th grade advanced class came in and started going over some homework on quadratics and discriminants. The managed to lucky skip out on my lesson on derivatives, but that won't be for long. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to challenge their minds with some calculus.

Then we had our class of 19 8th graders come in, but this time I was the only one in the classroom. This for me was probably the most intimidating situation I've been in since coming here. Mr. Sperling had to go and teach a 6th grade class due the the missing faculty and I was left with 19 energetic, to say the least, kids. Fortunately, I apparently have managed to gain enough respect from the kids to calm them down and get them working on their cartoon projects. Many of them have shown amazing progress on the projects, while others are still searching the web aimlessly for pictures. I hope they start working a bit harder or they will be in some serious trouble when due dates start coming.

After class I came to the conclusion that my basement must be flooded. It has flooded before and everyone else's is flooding, so I decided to drive home real quick during our planning block and check on the situation. Sure enough there was water all over the basement floor. I quickly dried the floors and laid down more towels in case more rain came. Crisis averted. I went back to school calm and collected, which was a nice change of pace. Mr. Sperling and I went out again to grab a bite to eat and we had an interesting conversation. For some reason we started talking about the future of this school and how he wants the school to have a better system of communication. It's hard to describe on paper, but what I am talking about is similar, if not identical, to Proctor's NTA system. This is a Notice To Advisor, used to communicate to the parents, the advisor and the student themselves about their success or struggles. For instance, if little Johnny got a 100% on his last English test, then the teacher would write a quick email saying that he is doing very well in class. This email would be sent to Johnny, his advisor, and his parents. This system can also be used for negative things such as; Johnny was misbehaved during math class today and he has been a distraction to other students. He also hasn't been fully completing his homework. His next assignment is a big one and I hope he can change things around. With this new system in place it could encourage kids to do better in school and also reward them publicly, which most kids love, when they do exceptionally well.

The day got a lot quieter and less hectic after lunch when we heard the storms were over. Teachers were all in and everything at LFCDS was back to normal. The 8th grade class came in and learned more about the quadratic formula and also the importance of the discriminant. After Mr Sperling and I sat down for a bit and attempted at making a "red test" also known as a problem set at Proctor. It was difficult to come up with what we were looking for and ended up getting distracted a bunch. We will most likely finish it tomorrow, no rush really. Tomorrow we will also talk about me teaching a couple classes next week. Should be an interesting prep day tomorrow. I ended up walking outside with my jaw dropping to the ground. It was warm, somewhat sunny and all the rain pools had disappeared

Repetition

Day Three- May 12, 2010 8am-3:30

To be honest I am SOOOOOOO glad we rescheduled the six flag trip because today was a terrible day. It was cold, rainy, windy when I started my day and cold, cloudy, windy when I ended. The good news, however, is that I was inside having a great time teaching and molding the minds of young children. This morning I grabbed a muffin and some coffee and headed to work. The 7th grade class is not always the easiest group of kids to deal with in the morning, but today was a nice and relaxed day. We decided to go further into detail with two step equations and use an online program to strengthen their integer rules, which some were struggling with. Something Mr. Sperling said that I thought was interesting was that with these age groups you can't just pound them with new material and lectures every day, but instead you need to take some time out of the week to let them do an on your own pace activity where they can be more relaxed in class.

This is what today was like for most of the classes. They were activity based classes, mostly online activities that helped guide them through algebraic processes. Then the 7th grade advanced class came in and used an online program called "Explore Learning" that helped them visually see what happens when you manipulate the different variables in a quadratic equation. Next up was the 8th graders, where we introduced their end of year project. They were very excited to hear that there will be no more new concepts, but what they don't yet understand is that this project is quite time consuming. I hope that we can keep them focused and on task for the next two weeks. With this certain class being 19 kids it will be a difficult task, but one that we can handle. During one of planning blocks today we gave a couple kids some extra help. This was my first time doing a small group session, but I actually observed today to see what styles and tricks Mr Sperling had in store. Some things I saw was that he was very patient and supporting. I think that these are very important qualities when helping a student who struggling to understand a concept.

During our lunch break Mr. Sperling and I went out on the town, if you will, and grabbed a quick sandwich. We talked about private school vs. public and what it means pay wise whether or not you have you masters. It was really interesting to hear the information about college degrees and the business side of teaching. When we got back we had a meeting with a couple of other teachers who were discussing student issues. This is much like Proctors round tables and I know that 4 years ago I was probably one of the students they were talking about. HA! Next we had the second group of 8th graders in the Honors section. The class went over homework and then I went to the computer to help explain to the kids what the quadratic formula is and how you use it. The way the system is set up in the room is that the computer is hooked up to a projector that shows the screens image on a bigger screen. Mr. Sperling has a cool program much like Proctors smart-board and it helps with creating lessons and reviewing homework.The kids also used "Explore Learning" after the lesson to get a better understanding of the subject. Our last planning block I decided that I wanted to create a mini lesson plan for the 7th grade honors students. It will be a difficult one and honestly something that took me forever to grasp, but I have a feeling that once I teach it they will not only fully understand, but be able to ask me questions about it I won't be able to answer. Mr Sperling and I decided it would be a fun change of pace and that he, too, is interested in whether or not they can grasp the concept of DERIVATIVES!

Tomorrow should be an interesting day for me because this will be my first time standing up in class and giving a lesson. I have faith in myself to stay calm and not get nervous, but I also know that I may mess up and I need to just keep moving forward. This teaching job isn't so easy after all, but it wouldn't be as fun if there weren't any challenges.

Constant Movement

Day Two- May 11th 8am-3:30

The day started with a cup of coffee and ended with a larger cup of coffee. This seems to be a theme on my senior project. Teaching is draining, but also fueling for me. I love the excitement of a kid understanding the topic, but the amount of time you spend on them comprehending it drains you if you are trying hard enough. This balance is something I am still working on.

Since this is day two I am still trying to get into the swing of things. From observing more today I have found the typical class schedule to look like this; start with homework grading and review, then re-teach concept to make sure they understand, then teach new concept, then give a little time for them to start homework and ask questions. This schedule is important for me to know because I soon will be planning and teaching a whole class on my own. If I want to succeed I should stick to what the kids know and understand. Structure is very important when teaching 7th and 8th grade students. Today the first group of 7th graders re-learned how to solve two step equations, but this time with a more visual approach.

What you are seeing here is what Mr. Sperling calls "Lab Gear". The sheet is separated in the middle by a line which is the "=" sign of the equation. The blue bricks are "X" or the variable you are solving for. The yellow cubes are the constants. This is a very useful tool in teaching these kids because it is visual and shows them why we can take one number and move it to the other side of the equation. This is difficult to articulate really, but what you are looking at on the sheet is the equation 2x=6. The answer they would get to is x=3. The advanced 7th grade algebra class continues to amaze me with their understanding of anything we throw at them.

Mr. Sperling and I decided that they were ready for the quadratic formula and learning about the importance of the discriminant. They both understood and quickly could put it into context. The 8th grade class had a quiz today on solving systems using the elimination method. During the quiz I popped over to the science lab to check in with the science teacher leading the trip to six flags. He wanted us to teach the kids about the law of sines, which is definitely not an algebra concept, but rather a trigonometry concept. Regardless, I managed to get dragged into teaching two of the classes the law of sines and how we will be using it on the field trip. It was my first real teaching experience at LFCDS and it went very well. I attended a math department meeting, which wasn't too interesting, but needed to be done. Then I came lunch where I had to monitor the kids as they ate, which was a very weird experience because I remember being in the kid's shoes and being frustrated with the teachers hovering over us telling us not to goof off. Ah, the memories of being a student here come to me almost every minute whether it be a story told by an old teacher of mine or just simply walking through the halls. After lunch we had the advanced 8th grade class, which consisted of showing them how to use completing the square when the "a" term is not equal to one.

The day ended with a meeting with Mr Bullard and Mr. Sperling talking about graduation speakers and speakers for the sports award ceremony. I unfortunately have some bad news for my few readers! I won't be going to six flags tomorrow because of the weather, but instead we will be going next wednesday. This is good and bad for Mr. Sperling and me. We had to rush to create plans for tomorrow's classes, but we do get more time to introduce the topic of the law of sines. Another great day at the school that taught me for 11 years of my life!

Day One in the Life of a Teacher

Monday, May 10 - Day One, 8am-3:30pm

I apologize if I fall asleep during this post. It has been a tiring day, way more tiring than I could have ever imagined! It was a busy day that started with getting to school around 8. I then met up with Mr Sperling (my sponsor and head of the math department) where we jumped right in to first block. During the day I have four math classes. They are two seventh grade classes and two eighth grade classes. In between them are "planning blocks" That tend not to be a block for planning.

A quick start in the morning with a 7th grade class that is learning pre-algebra curriculum, specifically today they learned about basic two step equations. Next we moved in to second block where we had another 7th grade class. They are a very advanced group of kids that are actually learning algebra 1 concepts like todays activity, which was solving equations by completing the square. The next class was a group of 8th graders that were a bit harder to deal with, but fun at the same time. They are currently learning solving systems through elimination. Mr Sperling and I decided to grab an early lunch because we had a couple "planning blocks" ahead of us. After the quick bite to eat, at the cafeteria I haven't missed much since graduating, we went over to a math colleague of Mr. Sperling's and an old teacher of mine. We made groups for a physics field trip we will be going on during Wednesday.

It is a trip to Six Flags, where the kids will be learning about forces. After that meeting we had a "Team Meeting" during our scheduled lunch break. This consisted of all 7th grade teachers across the board meeting and talking about issues with scheduling, kids, and other topics for the future. This was both very interesting and productive. I even managed to participate by giving an alumni/kid's perspective on some topics. Back to the classroom we went, where a group of 8th graders were waiting for us, ready to get to work. At least that's what I believe they were doing.

This 8th grade class is an honors course that is learning how to solve equations by completing the square. You may be saying to yourself, "Aren't the 7th graders doing that?" The answer to the is, yes. The 7th grade class is actually so advanced that they have managed to catch up with the 8th grade Honors course. This also creates some interesting drama due to the fact that there are siblings in these classes. For instance a very smart young girl I met today in the 7th grade advanced class helped her brother (in the 8th grade honors course) with the homework the night before. Quite interesting and, as Mr. Sperling said, rare. We ended the day with what I would consider the most relaxing part of the day; our first actual planning block, where we printed out assignments for the next week. Laying on the desk as we walked out the door was the week in lesson plans and assignments. All in all it was a great first day, but also a tiring one. I plan to take a nap not only today, but everyday. I never really knew that it was this difficult, not only to just stand there and be engaged all day, but to also be running around to meetings and getting work done for the days to come. I am already learning so much and it is only day one. Tomorrow has a lot in store for me. I will be getting more involved in the class, rather than just observing, which is what today mostly was. Both Mr. Sperling and I are energetic and excited for what these next two weeks have in store.