Week 6: Get Out That Bag of Tricks

Anyone who has ever taken an education course has probably heard something like this; "make sure you keep this activity and use it when you're in a pinch, add it to your bag of tricks" or "add it to your toolkit" or "keep it in your back pocket."  As I get further along into my teaching experience I have had more opportunities to open this "bag of tricks."  

image - translorial.com

This week was a perfect example of that: Upon my arrival to school, I realized that my fantastic lesson on Renaissance artwork, which was entirely reliant on the use of very colorful and entertaining Renaissance artwork postcards, would have to be post-poned; I left the postcards at home!  My first reaction was utter panic - I had about 50 minutes to either re-work that lesson or scrap it and make up something else.  As I was really proud of my work on the original lesson, I decided to whip up something else instead.  So I did an introduction to some of the great Renaissance thinkers Francesco Petrarch and Leonardo da Vinci.  Now lecturing and having students take notes is straightforward, but the "bag-of-tricks" idea was pretty great.  As most historians know, Leonardo was famous for mirror-writing, or writing all of his letters and words backwards from right-left across a page.  So I demonstrated this for my students on the board (being left-handed myself I used to practice this when I was bored in class, I've developed a certain skill) and they were fascinated.  So I told them to try writing a sentence using this mirror-writing technique.  Then, as I knew would be the case with adolescent females, a few girls whipped out their mirrors and they were passed around the class so people could see how well they'd done.  A simple fun fact turned into a 10 minute activity that truly engaged the students in the subject matter - DEFINITELY keeping that in my bag of tricks.


While I usually try to keep my posts to one major topic, I just can't help but mention my first experience with  student assemblies. Today, each grade met during a different period to receive information about their course selections for next year.  Most teachers didn't remember this was occurring until yesterday afternoon, and most thought it would last the entire period.  


Fast forward to this morning, teachers find out that the assembly only lasts about 20 minutes and I am teaching a class in 15 minutes that I have NOTHING prepared for... (might I add this is only my 2nd time teaching this class)  Luckily, my cooperating teacher opened up her bag of tricks and saved the day. 


 So, I guess I really only had one topic, but I finally understand why my teachers in high school would get so frustrated and dread assembly days; not even a math teacher can formulate how to lesson plan for a class period that is lasting x amount of minutes starting at t time with a 50% margin of error...


-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)

Week Three: Notes? Pages of Notes?

Third week done and I think I've almost got a handle on this rotating schedule.  The fact that I can look out at a class and say with confidence, see you Tuesday, because my mind has already worked through the mathematics that says that period is dropped on Monday means I'm in a groove.


Speaking of grooves - nothing throws you off your teaching groove quite like having a 30+ year teaching vet come sit in the back of your classroom and take literally 15 pages of notes!  As she pointed out during our debriefing, I had nothing to be concerned about, she just wanted to write down EVERY word I said.  However, I made more mistakes (rather, had more things that needed correction or improvement) than I thought possible in a 68 minute time-frame.  Though, I suppose if I was so good that I needed no direction, anyone could become a teacher at the drop of a hat.  It is, however, amazing to consider that one person has so much knowledge about teaching locked up in one brain!  She has an answer to every question, a suggestion to every comment, and a compliment (there were a couple) for every job well done.  That being said, I'm not entirely enthusiastic to cross paths with her again on Feb. 13th...


But what about the students, you ask? Well, I have to say I burst a few (and by that I mean all) bubbles this week when I not only assigned homework, but a project AND told the honors class they would be having a quiz next week.  I guess you can say the honey-moon is over, and they're starting to realize that I'm not going to  just be all fun and games (though, I wouldn't MIND playing 7-up if there was a way to make it educational.... yes, a girl asked to play that this week).

Image - www.cartoonstock.com

But some of the best moments of the week did not occur in the classroom, instead they were in the hallways in between classes or at the end of the day.  There is nothing more gratifying than seeing a student in the hallway and hearing "hey Mr. B!" or "Have a good weekend Mr. B!" because whether or not they enjoy your class (and I'm not naive to believe they enjoy it at all...) they at least acknowledge your existence and it feels nice.  One girl, who is totally vying for the favorite student/teacher's pet award, even told me after my supervisor had visited that she thinks I'm going to be "a great teacher someday."  Regardless of the underlying motivation, it was nice to hear.

Now for the Super Bowl and some Patriots action! - wouldn't mind if the weekend dragged just a little...


-MB

Week Two: Neck-tie Rub-rash

It's FRIDAY! which means my first full-week of student-teaching has come to a close.  Also, my first week which involved some actual teaching action!  While I worked my first 40-hour week the day after my 16th birthday, there's something to be said about working a 40 hour week that involves interacting with high schoolers and trying to get them engaged in medieval history (ya... it might be more complicated than slicing deli meat...).


I started teaching an honors world history I class full of aspiring, energetic, and sometimes a little goofy freshmen.  Though there is still plenty of time for my other two classes to catch up, I have a feeling these students are running confidently to the finish of this marathon to be my favorite class.  After 3 days of failed attempts to pronounce my last name (one of which included Bergeron, which I replied would be a great last name thanks to the Bruin's Patrice) and complete refusal to stick to "Mr. B" they have settled with just saying "hey, Mr. Ba, Bi, Ber....?"  The actual content and lessons have been good, though fighting with the clock to make sure they don't have too much time at the end of class to "talk quietly among themselves" which always turns into some awkward teenage argument between a boy and a girl who CLEARLY like each other.  Overall, I have managed to keep their interest without having to make a complete fool of myself to get their attention (I am not above demeaning myself in front of students to get a point across).  


In activity outside the classroom, I attended my first department meeting and realized that nothing too spectacular happens at those secret meetings (though it was pretty informative).  I have started to get to know some of the other faculty and staff around the building AND most importantly, experienced my first copier jam! (no seriously, I was pretty excited to take it all apart with the secretary to find the source of the problem)  


So, while I'm utterly exhausted today and my neck will NOT be opposed to loose fitting t-shirts all weekend, I have to say I'll be excited and ready to go come Monday morning, and yes, I will be assigning more homework.

Image - mouthandcaptions.com

-MB

Week One: Keys to the Kingdom

Just finished up my first week of "student teaching" which in reality is more a week of paperwork, meeting people, and making sure I have met all of the requirements of the high school bureaucracy (I got my own set of keys!).  I have to say that overall it was a lot of fun to meet the students, meet the faculty and start getting a feel for the school environment.  Over the course of the three days I made three key observations:

1. Prep period is quiet time - if you happen to be in a classroom with a teacher during their prep, let them lead the conversation, you never know if they have work to do, or just want to stare blankly because a 4 straight hours with 30+ students in the room is definitely an earful....
2. Students are NOT shy - if a teacher tells the class that you are going to be working with them over the course of the semester and that ultimately you will be in charge of the classroom before you leave, the students minds start thinking immediately about how they can use you to their advantage. After only two days in and around the classroom I have already been asked permission to go to lockers, the locker room, bathroom, and another teacher's room, all in attempts to miss the first few minutes of class.  Be ready, they know you are probably unfamiliar with the finer details of the rules...
3. Lunch comes slowly and leaves fast - don't get caught up in too many conversations with other teachers during your 20 mins of lunch because the next thing you know the students are returning and you still haven't finished those last few Cheetos or that Pb&j.  Some of the most informative conversations happen during those 20 mins but remember, what's said at lunch stays at lunch...

So now that they have allowed me to get adjusted and feel some semblance of comfort, the word came down today that I will be teaching my first lesson next Tuesday, the topic: Henry II and Thomas of Beckett.  Should be some exciting stuff, though I have to say I'm disappointed I missed out on teaching a lesson on the vikings (always some good fun when you can take out a few monks and steal holy relics...)

Now it's time to enjoy the weekend, take the shirt and tie off and get ready for some AFC Championship football (I failed to mention that Sports Center has NOTHING on the male faculty of the high school history dept... we know the stats, we have our pics, look out Baltimore)

-MB

Big Day Tomorrow!

So it's Tuesday, which means tomorrow is Wednesday January 18, 2012, a.k.a. the first day of student teaching.  After meeting with my cooperating teachers and the head of the social studies department last Friday I can confidently say I feel ready for this adventure.  Yes, I'm likely to lose sleep tonight and many nights to come. Yes, the work will be very hard at times (the student teaching manual is 115 pages long...), but I'm ready to rumble!  


I will be teaching two freshman world history classes and one sophomore U.S. history class.  Two of them are honors and one is college prep which means I'll have a whole range of personalities and classroom dynamics to work with throughout my day.  From the looks of things, I'll be teaching topics ranging from the Renaissance to Colonization in World History and the early presidents to just before the Civil War in U.S. History (seeing as I'm a history nerd, I find these topics quite exciting).


For now I have to will the hours of the day to go by and try and stay busy so I don't drive myself into a panic.  For all the other student teachers starting their adventures tomorrow as well, I wish you all good luck!

image - www.cartoonstock.com

-MB