Week 11: Excitement and Anticipation

This might go down as my high point as far as my mental and emotional status at any point this semester (and not just because the week ended on a Thursday).  All week there has been this energy, this excitement that I've finally figured out who I want to be as a teacher.  No I don't have all of the answers, nor do I think my current teaching mindset will necessarily survive a few years into my career.  But right now, I know what makes me comfortable in front of a class and how I can use my personality to engage my students in the topic at hand.


I realized a couple of weeks ago when a few of my students in different classes asked if I was angry that I wasn't exhibiting my enjoyment for teaching to the degree that the students were feeding off my energy.  A dry sense of humor is great, but it needs to be balanced with some positive and high energy moments.


The first of these occurred yesterday while talking about Sir Isaac Newton.  Science has always fascinated me on the surface, but I've never truly enjoyed delving into the complexities surrounding any topic other than space.  I credit a lot of this passion for space to my eldest brother who just so happens to be a rocket scientist (no, seriously, he has a degree in aerospace engineering).  While describing gravity to the class I mentioned the lack of gravity in space, for example on the International Space Station.  Turns out, over half the class had no idea what the ISS was!  *quick stretch* here we go! I proceeded to get quite animated and vocal in my explanation of the space program which sparked question after question! Fifteen minutes later it was time to get back to my lesson plan but it was exhilarating to be able to answer questions and truly engage the students in a subject.


Today, I used the same vocal presence and animation to lead a very intriguing conversation on a comparison between oil dependence on politics and herb/spices dependence on politics in the 1600s.  My students were a little taken aback by my excitement, but they were active participants in discussion and some of them became animated themselves!

Image - http://elearningr14.blogspot.com

This week has led to some serious anticipation of my future as an educator.  I cannot wait to get back into the teaching mode after this semester of student teaching comes to an end.  Hopefully, I don't have too much longer to wait before I can call a classroom my own and truly begin my career as a teacher.


-MB

Week 8: March Madness

This past week included a whole bunch of March Madness fever!  Between dress-up days, shamrock scavenger hunts and two, yes TWO afternoon assemblies where competitions ranged from sumo wrestling to "Don't forget the lyrics" I have to say it was a very exciting week.  It's always good to let off a little steam and have some fun with the students. 


Next week is back to work though. It's difficult sometimes to find the balance between hardwork and a little bit of socializing time.  While the amount of information that needs to be covered seems daunting, I've received some good insight this week that it all gets done, and it's more about quality than quantity.  So whether or not the students skim from the beginning of civilization through to the Industrial Revolution all in one year doesn't make too much difference so long as they have a really good understanding of what they've covered.


I've also tried to find the balance between teacher-centered and student-centered activities.  I think this will be a work in progress for the rest of my career.  There are days where it seems the only way to get across the information is through lectures and note-taking.  Other days there's an activity that takes up the entire day.  It's not too often that I've been able to find a middle ground or consistency with these and often find myself giving notes day in and day out.  Hopefully through continued work and some help from my very helpful and supportive colleagues I'll be able to find the happy medium and keep it going.


I had a wonderful opportunity last night to be a judge for a pageant/talent competition for the senior guys at my high school.  It was very entertaining and I really felt like I've become a member of the community.  It's amazing how in such a little amount of time you can make connections with students, faculty and staff on many levels and I look forward to having a long-time career in a high school much like this.


Now, it's St. Patrick's Day so I'm going to go and enjoy my afternoon! 


-MB

Week Five: Buzzword- "Vacation"

I can recall my days as an elementary and high school student to a certain extent (they weren't THAT long ago), but I seem to have forgotten one of the key elements in the rhythm of the school year - vacations.  Starting at 1:50pm on Monday afternoon, each and every student flipped the internal switch that started a countdown to vacation.  Lesson learned - you have to be extremely motivated and over-prepared to have a successful lesson once this countdown has commenced.  The week inches on slower than a normal week, with each day seemingly lasting an eternity (for both students and teachers alike!) culminating in the infamous "X-day."  What is "X-day" you ask? Well, it's a made-up day where all 7 periods meet from 7:30am to 10:50am including a lunch block.  Essentially, planning a lesson for 20 minutes is all but impossible, and yet, about 50% of teachers found a way to sneak in that one last quiz, PowerPoint, or activity before the vacation.  

Image - suzysaid.com

Taking a more panicked, under-prepared approach, I used these 20 minutes to try and get all students caught up on their missed assignments so that their progress reports would accurately portray their performance at this point in the semester.  The little time that was left over was a perfect opportunity to build a report with the students I might not otherwise have a chance to reach out to during class.  From what I can see, the small inroads made in a side-bar conversation can sometimes be all it takes to connect with students on a level that they can comprehend and to remove some of the stoic teacher image that tends to turn students off to interaction, socializing and humor.

Speaking of humor - I am well aware that not all people will find jokes about history funny, however, that does not stop me from routinely making bad jokes or puns about the topic of the day.  It was extremely gratifying to have one student chuckle at one such bad joke about an image of a party of skeletons from the black plague.


With my second observation under my belt (went much smoother than the first one) I am starting to feel a sense of comfort when in front of the class.  Hopefully, with a week to recharge the batteries, I can head into the next 8 weeks of the semester with a vigor that will keep my momentum going to the end.


-MB

Week Four: What Makes Them Tick?

It's. Friday.  No, I'm not quite that excited for the week to be over, though the prospect of not having to project my voice over the masses for two days will be rather nice.  I almost forgot that I needed to sit down and write this weekly reflection due to the fact that it was nice to sit down and do nothing!  I would like to take this brief moment to thank all of the teachers I had throughout my years in school for all of their hard-work, dedication and patience in working with the under-appreciative, and sometimes unwilling participants in education, the students.  Not that I was naive in thinking teachers had it easy, but I may have underestimated the physical wear and tear on the body after a week of being on your feet, moving around, and talking above the din.  While I wouldn't go as far as to call it manual labor, it's no office job either.


My first experience with student projects occurred this week.  Many students rose to the occasion and turned in creative, dynamic and otherwise insightful posters.  Then there were the two or three who "left it on the kitchen table" and will be sharing their posters with the class next week at a "discounted rate."  And then there were a couple who didn't turn in anything, nor did they come up with excuses, they simply didn't do it.  These are the students I hope to appeal to over the course of the next couple of months. The highly self-motivated will turn in perfection at the drop of a hat, the chronic procrastinators will turn it around after a few kicks in the pants from bad grades, but the truly unmotivated, disinterested and otherwise unaffected students are the ones I hope to crack.  I want to learn their story: What do they like? What are their hobbies? What makes them tick? Again, do not mistake my desire/motivation for naivety, I know that my chances of succeeding in this mission are slim, but that does not mean I shouldn't try.

I suppose the best way to sum up my experiences this week is to say my passion for teaching increases each day, and while I have a LONG way to go before I can call myself a successful teacher, I will make it.  Each morning I wake up and the first thing I see (after the time on the alarm clock... ew.) is a plaque my parents gave me for Christmas that reads: "To teach is to touch a life forever."  Sure, we've all heard it before, but I make it my goal each day to live that message and take all the outside pressures in stride.


-MB

ps. my favorite line from a crusade recruitment poster was: "Join the Crusade and whet your blade" (this is why I love high school)