Week 17 - My Story is Just Beginning

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-15


This week was about endings at student teaching. My students each day saw more things come off the walls as my teacher begins packing the classroom. I taught them for the last time on Monday, then spent the rest of the week assisting as necessary, finishing grading, or just observing. I attended the declamation end-of-the-year party with some of the funniest and most energetic students. I turned my technology tools back in to the tech office. Then I walked out of the door for the last time on Friday afternoon. For this reason, I thought about starting out this post with 2 Timothy 4:7: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” I must say, this semester – and this college experience – may have seemed a bit like a marathon at times, or a battle, and I do feel a bit victorious.


Yet, it isn't the end in many aspects. Instead, I'm striving forward towards where God is calling me next. This placement has prepared me for that. The principals gave me great advice in a mock interview Thursday which I carried into my first interview on Friday. In that interview, I was asked to talk about what this student teaching has taught me – and it has certainly taught me a lot about management, about planning, about connecting to students, and about how to implement all the knowledge and passion inside of me into the classroom daily.


Thankfully, I've also had two other calls for interviews and more applications continue to be filled out. Even so, I'm struggling to rely on what God has planned. I'm fearful about the future, afraid that I won't get a job or that I won't have money. I've taken a hard hit not having any income for this semester and I don't know when I'll start making money again without confirmation of a position. God is breaking me, bringing me to a point where my next step is fully reliant on what He decides will happen. I just keep pressing on, though, filling out applications, preparing for interviews, and knowing that God will open the correct doors at the correct time and not a moment sooner.

Week 16 - The final laps

Can it possibly be? Can this be my last week? Can it be that I find myself floating above the current of stress and anxiety, done with nearly everything for this semester?


Can I be going into my weeks of lasts here at Trinity?


Okay, the final line here is probably the saddest and I'm really trying not to dwell on it. The rest of it has me singing “hallelujah!”


Tomorrow marks my last day actually teaching in the classroom. Ms. Lynch has a day off, so I'm pretty much just teaching what she would be if she were there, and then Tuesday-Friday it's all her while I assist. One of my friends commented how I can say I came out of this experience alive, but I suppose I shouldn't speak too soon.


This past week was overall pretty average. I've found that in the structured instructional time I have a groove and usually feel in control of the situation. There are certain periods on certain days this isn't true, but overall it wasn't a bad week. The Dojo system works well for some kids, and others just continue what they were doing regardless. Fourth and fifth periods cause me the most issue, which is ironic since originally Ms. Lynch told me those were two classes that were her easiest to handle. I have students sending each other pictures the whole class period during fourth and students threatening to pee themselves or feuds breaking out during fifth. I'm not always perfect with how I handle these situations, but in my opinion I'm glad I experience this for the first time now while I can ask advice and support so when it comes up in my classroom later I'm ready.


Some are even acting up just to spite me. One kid told my cooperating teacher during his detention that he just wants me gone, so will break all of the rules until I leave. Since they were Ms. Lynch's rules (something she reminded him of), we'll see how that works out for him the rest of the semester. Others have expressed this same desire – to see me go – so some of the behavior stems from this. As the assistant principal told me, this attitude of wishing me gone might not last once I actually leave and I'll have kids trying to find me on Facebook.


One of the most impressive and exciting parts of teaching was the way that seventh hour is learning and responding. This was the class that my teacher warned me about, that she said was just awful all of first semester. Most of the kids in that class are either low academically or high behaviorally or both, so accommodations and differentiation is important in that class. However, this week I got some really thoughtful and insightful responses, more so than any of my other classes – including the class that is supposed to be accelerated. These students were really getting what we were reading, really thinking about it and analyzing it. It was great and I'm pretty thrilled about it.

Another impressive thing this week was the middle school's performance of The Little Mermaid (Jr.). Being a theatre geek, I was interested to see what they put on. It was fantastic, and some of my students blew me away with their talent. Seeing them in class I never would've guessed that some of them had that kind of singing voice or stage presence. I thoroughly enjoyed it and applaud all those involved with the scenery, the acting, the music, and more.


As mentioned, I turn over the reins this week Tuesday. We've finished Poe and I can't help but shake my head at how worried I was. This unit has been the best one yet. I've learned a lot from it, since I didn't know much Poe prior to this, and the kids were pretty hooked as well. The next unit my teacher is transitioning into is fairy tales and considering stereotypes. Though this would be fun to stick around and be a part of, I am definitely ready to bow out and move on to what these final weeks at Trinity will bring.


Since I've been so focused on student teaching, I was honestly a little taken aback when talking to my friends and realizing I'm already taking part in so many lasts here at Trinity, lasts of things that were important to my time here. Now that I have a weight off my shoulders, I am not letting these final days slip by unnoticed or unappreciated. This school has been amazing to me and while I look forward to what God brings in my future – a new marriage, a new job (interviews this week!), a new living situation – I will cherish everything I've experienced here and will not let go easily.


But before we get into all of that sentimental stuff... I do have one week left at school, and two at Trinity. It's time to carpe diem!

Week 12 - Chin up, I'm pressing on

After this placement, I'm a pro at dealing with standardized tests in my planning. Yes, I planned around a third standardized test this past week. It's getting to be a little nuts but I think I'm clear for the next two weeks.


The beginning of my week was quite eventful, but in a good way. I excitedly told my teacher I had the best Easter weekend of my life the first thing Tuesday morning and showed off my left hand a little. She was so excited that she sent out an email to the whole staff – and that's a lot of staff. It was a fantastic day after that, with teachers coming up and congratulating me all the time. I felt a part of the staff in a way I haven't yet. My homeroom students caught wind of it right away in the morning, and so they also spread the word a little (although I found out later a majority of my classes actually didn't know until Thursday, but not a big deal).


We also had MAP testing on Tuesday and Wednesday, which meant I didn't see all of my classes for either of those days. Though I thought it would seriously mess with my planning, because I worked it all out about a week and a half before, it all ended up working quite perfectly.


Thursday things got rough again. I encountered disrespect towards me, students ditching class, and disregard for what I was saying. Yet, that being said, that was a small minority of the students, and most of the actual instruction time was what I've typically faced. However, I stuck with the behavior system and put in some negative marks, and students received necessary consequences. I think that had some effect on how students behaved Friday, because most stayed in line during instructional, Language Arts time. Advisory that day was chaos, though; it's a somewhat long story that I won't go into. Yet, somehow that also turned into a blessing. Because I felt I had been dropping the ball and should've had better control over the students, I was feeling pretty down after classes ended and sent an email apologizing to another teacher for dropping the ball. She came down to encourage me, and as she was building me up and being my sounding board, the assistant principal also came in the room and tried to encourage me. Though I was still shaken up, their support was what I needed and I can go into the next week knowing a have experienced teachers knowing my pain and actually feeling the same way I am right now.


On another bright note, I'm loving this unit and not feeling near as stressed. Partially this is because my teacher is a Poe expert and has so many resources at my fingertips. Also, it's because I'm actually able to read with the students – for once! - and I find it easier to bring in supplemental material when it really is supplemental to the main part of the lesson, which is reading a poem or story. I believe I'll be transitioning out of the full-time by the end of the week, but I'm glad I got to brush up my Poe and am laughing at how stressed I was that I was going to mess this up.


Eighth grade right now is rough. They know they're moving on, so don't care as much about academics. Some have already lost end of the year privileges, so really don't care about their behavior either. I stay strong in front of the students, and never let them know if they get under my skin, but I can only take so many hits before it does affect me. I know I'm doing my job and that's why the kids don't like me right now; I know I'm not superwoman and can't see everything. I can only do the best I can and with the back-up of others around me, that's how I'm going to go into these final weeks.

Week 15 - Going Up

This past week improved quite a bit from the previous two weeks. Though the kids were still talkative and occasionally disrespectful, I felt better about the week and I think the kids enjoyed, mostly, what I was teaching. This week I was introducing the students to Poe, which is the next unit we begin. Despite my nerves about it, once I found a mystery story to read, I was excited to go through it with the students. And the students seemed intrigued, too, and after the first day some even read ahead to find out the ending. I could hardly discourage that, although I encouraged them to keep some details a secret. The story ended up taking the whole week, which was unexpected, but actually allows for me to have more planning ahead for the week to come. In the end, I'm more excited about the Poe unit than I was a week ago.


Another positive that came toward the end of the week is another new behavior system, which my cooperating teacher was planning to implement in the last unit of the year anyway. It involves Class Dojo, and marking when students display a negative behavior. My teacher and I discussed which behaviors need to be cut down, and what consequences we will enforce. It was then explained to the students, and has already been implemented. I'm hoping this also improves the students' behaviors or reinforces what's appropriate for the classroom.


I am hoping these next three weeks remain on the higher side as far as good behaviors and fun with the students. I want to have positive relationships with these students, and I love it when I can laugh with them. I want to end this semester on a high note, including with my students. With only three weeks left, I am leaning on God's strength to carry me through.

Week 14 - We're Getting There

In light of what I wrote about last week, I'm going to start out this week just listing some of the positives:

• 2 days this week, I taught only 3 of the Language Arts classes and the advisory class because the first two classes were taking PARCC testing in the morning. While this had some negative effects as well, easing into the morning just silently watching kids take a test was a pretty nice start to the day
  
• my cooperating teacher had me implement a system she's used before to get the kids to be quiet quicker – hold up a timer and time how long it takes. If the class gets to 5 minutes by Friday, they all have a lunch detention. It did seem to work better for getting them to get quiet quickly, and no class got to 5 minutes
  
• CST traveling company performed A Midsummer Night's Dream for us Friday and it was fantastic
  
• Friday we were able to go outside during advisory class because it was so gorgeous and sunny
  
• some students in 4^th hour commented on Friday how I was a nice teacher, which was good in light of some other comments I'd been getting that day and the previous day
  
• I didn't feel as behind on my planning as previous weeks
  
• I was in bed by 12:00 or 12:30 most nights
  

I'm not going to go on to list negatives because no one wants to read a list of complaints, and really my footing seemed surer this week. However, I will go on to give you a window into some more portions of my week.


This week we continued our Shakespeare unit, though it was basically the last week. Monday's lesson went all right, because it was mostly reviewing who all of the characters of A Midsummer Night's Dream (AMND) are – it does get confusing! I also showed some clips I found on youtube of some of the scenes, which is how Shakespeare was intended anyway – to be seen. The kids were pretty talkative on this day, though, but I started the new timer system. However, advisory did not go well. The students wanted to go to the gym, like we do many days, but I was told to just keep them in the classroom today while my teacher finished with the PARCC students. They had an assignment – check their grades, make a plan for how to improve them – and then just had quiet time to read or work. However, most of the students didn't want to stay in the classroom and were pestering me most of the class. One student kept getting up and going to walk out the door, but then would come back. However, eventually, he ran, saying he was going to the gym, and slammed the door in my face. I stepped into the hall and he was nowhere in sight. Just at that moment, my cooperating teacher was coming down the hall and I told her. She called the office just before the student returned. He told the principal he was going to go to the bathroom, but he was given a consequence anyway because he had not indicated anything to me other than that he was gone. However, this student continues to challenge me (and honestly, most of the teachers). He has taken to calling me by my first name, mostly to get a rise out of me, which is why I show little reaction. He also refused to listen the rest of the week in advisory and told me repeatedly this week how all the students dislike me. Thankfully, I have a thick skin in regards to his comments and am also aware that he's just trying to get to me. But it doesn't exactly feel nice either.


Tuesday's lesson was a flop, really. I was trying to do a jigsaw activity with an article about what Shakespeare used as sources for some of his characters and plot points of AMND, but few were understanding what to do, even after it was laid out step by step on the board, and they refused to go with the groups I split them into. As a reflective teacher, I realized by last hour this was going nowhere, so switched up some tactics and worked through the article as a whole class instead.


Wednesday improved. We watched portions of the movie version of AMND and looked at specific, important quotes to try to decode some of the language. Most students appreciated watching the movie clips and that kept them quieter.


Thursday was better still. The students were assigned a short writing piece – 2-3 paragraphs – arguing why Puck is the protagonist of the play. We first discussed who they thought might be the main character, and why. Students seemed engaged in this, and then I explained that we'd be specifically considering Puck as a protagonist (as required by my teacher). After laying out the guidelines for what I expected, including explaining setting up quotes using the analogy of an Oreo, students got to work and worked on this again on Friday.


Friday was by far the best day – students worked for the whole period, we saw the play, and it was a sunny day. However, I got more comments from a couple other students that I was not being nice to them and was only ever picking on them. These came after I had circled the room a few times, reminding them and several other students in other areas of the room to stay on task and get to work. Now, I know that I was giving other students reminders to stay on task and so I wasn't singling them out, as they claimed. Additionally, I never raised my voice to them, only redirected them away from conversation. However, as a reflective teacher, with about 4-5 students in the week making comments about either disliking me or thinking I was mean or unfair (one student had similar comments Thursday because I wouldn't allow him to eat in the room and I was telling him to quit talking numerous times), I couldn't help but wonder if something in me this week was more harsh than usual, or if this was the students just getting defensive and I was in the clear. Most of me says, after thinking about it, that because I've started being more firm and giving stricter consequences, students are reacting. I would need a third, adult opinion about my behavior this week, though, because maybe there was something I wasn't seeing in how I interacted with students. Yet, the attitude I display for students will be something I will keep in mind going into this week.


We're beginning Poe this week, and it honestly has me quite nervous. I'm supposed to be teaching them the biographical information about Poe and other background material, and then after Easter starting “The Raven.” Poe is someone I have learned very little about as a man himself, and the last time I read “The Raven” was junior year of high school. To add pressure, my teacher is a Poe fanatic and was describing how she had to plan and provide materials for the other Reading and Language Arts teachers because she wants this unit done “right.” As a positive, I do have the long weekend to think about “The Raven” and we are only easing into Poe this week because Reading isn't ready. Yet, MAP testing is also throwing a wrench into plans because a) my students take them Thursday then the following Tuesday and Wednesday and b) the teams decided that instead of shortening all classes to just change which classes we see each day. So with break in there, there are some classes I don't see for just under a week, so I can't plan anything big that they will forget when they don't have class or anything that bridges the weekend. On the plus side, working with this schedule at least prepares me for standardized testing schedules when I'm a teacher!


I have 18 school days left at this placement – 2 four day weeks and 2 five days weeks. At this point, I don't know when I'll be transitioning out of full-time teaching – if that will be at the end of April, at the end of the Poe unit, or if I will be teaching 6 classes right up until May 9. I'm just taking it a week at a time, trying to do everything that's needed, no matter how much time that takes. I'm hoping that soon I will have time to actually enjoy my last weeks with my friends, with the Trinity community that has meant so much to me over four years, before graduation and we all spread to different parts of the world (literally... I have friends going global), even if that means just an hour a day that I take a breather from schoolwork and planning.


In this week of Holy Week, I also hope to be filled and reminded daily of what this week means to our faith. Thus, though I may not be getting spiritually filled at school, I pray that I be granted ime to be filled by doing special activities this week on campus that will then allow me to pour out an extra measure of love in the classroom.

Week 13 - Take a Deep Breath

 Though we had just returned from Break, the schedule immediately threw us, teachers and students alike, back into the thick of things. We started the Shakespeare unit, which is a combined unit for Reading and Language Arts classes. The unit will culminate in a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Central's auditorium on the 11^th. In Reading, they're reading an abridged version of the play and Language Arts is supposed to supplement that with information about Shakespeare, the language, the time period, or reviewing material they need more exposure to because they aren't understanding it in Reading. The unit has actually been going well, at least on the Language Arts end, so far. I had a feeling these students would not see the relevance of Shakespeare, and being a Shakespeare fan myself, I wanted to find ways that Shakespeare might be fun for the students. I gave them an in-class project to show how many stories we watch on film or read in books today were based on Shakespeare, in order to bring more relevance to Shakespeare. We did an activity with Shakespearean insults because it's part of the more fun and humorous parts of Shakespeare and his language. Though there's still students who choose to grumble, overall they seem to be enjoying the lessons I teach thus far.
It is, however, strange for me to not be reading the play in conjunction with what I teach. I like these lessons; however, to me it would make more sense if I was also reading the play with them. That is where these lessons have true value – in connection to the text and performance. It also, apparently, is hard for the students to make that connection between Language Arts and Reading still, despite the fact that in reality it's all the same subject. Some students made comments questioning why the teachers are all wanting to talk about this play; I explained that Reading is connected to Language Arts, and we're helping each other out, but they still aren't sure why it's covered in two classes that they view as wholly separate. Another student told me I shouldn't have chosen to give them homework – and a quiz on that homework, per what my teacher constructed – on Midsummer since they are learning it in another class so already know some of the answers. I explained to him again that's the point – we want to continue to integrate these classes together and emphasize what is taught in each.
One challenge, however, is PARCC testing. This is the test that is supposedly taking the place of ISATs next year. On Monday of last week, we had a training for the test. Then the test happened on Friday, and continues this upcoming Monday and Tuesday. This wouldn't be that big of an inconvenience, except for the fact that only two of my classes are doing this test, during 1^st and 2^nd hour. Students in the following 4^th, 5^th, and 7^th hours don't do it all. So I have to carry on with lessons for them, but it has to be lessons that it won't matter that 1^st and 2^nd hours miss. It's a weird schedule to work with. However, I've been able to find some filler activities on Shakespeare that are valuable but unnecessary to all classes.
Honestly, this placement is starting to wear me out. I'm staying at school after other teachers have left, working on plans the night before I teach them, then grading, grading, and grading some more. Ideally, those plans would be made during the weekend, but weekends are for me to apply for jobs and work on classwork. I'm stressed about the fact that no one, in all the applications and feelers I have out there, has contacted me for interviews, despite the fact that I have been applying since January and others have had many interviews and even have jobs. However, I'm hoping this will turn around soon. I've finished grading narratives (and rewarded myself with a customary Cadbury crème egg), so I won't have that to do every night. I am nearly 2 days ahead on the plans for the week, so hopefully that pattern will give me some space.
In addition to the hope I have, I have good friends. All of this busy-ness has kept me from making a lot of contact with my friends. But this weekend I spent some meals with some close friends on campus. During those conversations, one friend stopped me and asked me to tell her three positive things about school. I did, and she's made it her mission to find out three new positives each day. She told me she doesn't want to see me coast through the next five weeks or grow negative. I know I need that accountability or I may start losing heart and focus. I do love what I'm doing; I love the topics I teach, and I do have some fun with my students. I still feel called to teaching. I just needed good friends and reminding to smile about that.

Trying to Find Respect - week 11

This week was mostly about fine tuning. On Monday, I reviewed dialogue rules with the students, hoping to improve this portion of their narratives. Tuesday and Wednesday we reviewed some of the comma rules students had already learned but were struggling to remember how to use in their own writing. The reason behind these review sessions was because as I conferenced with students on their writing, I saw people struggling with these rules, and instead of just picking out every little mistake I wanted to teach students to take responsibility for themselves. In doing this, and giving students the responsibility of fixing their writing themselves, I was aiming to have them construct their learning, and then hopefully that rule might stick better the next time they write. Thus, I built into the lessons time to have students look for places they needed to incorporate the rule we had just discussed in their writing. I was trying to give relevancy to grammar lessons, because too often grammar gets separated from its real goal – to improve writing. Did every student use that time effectively? Maybe not. Yet, it was explained that I would then be checking carefully for the use of these rules, and it would affect their grade, and so far I have stuck to that promise. I want students to see that grammar does matter and does need to be included for clear writing.


The second half of the week we watched Hoodwinked. This was a nice break for me and for the students, and yet it also had relevancy to Language Arts and narrative writing. In Hoodwinked, the story of Red Riding Hood is told from four different people's perspectives. Thus, I set up the movie by reminding students about point of view, and asking that they consider how different points of view affect how the story is told. They also had a brief worksheet that asked them questions about the same idea.


The biggest struggle of the week was battling issues with respect and complaining. There were numerous times I would ask students to do something, and they would straight out refuse or give me some back talk. I'm not easily riled up with students, and I don't hand out consequences like detentions very quickly. However, this week it became a necessity to hand out some detentions, because the vocal correction was not cutting it with some students. Furthermore, some other teachers would step in and reprimand students for not doing as I asked, reminding them that I was the teacher and I got to tell them what the rules were.


Further, I daily battled complaining. There were whining complaints like “This is so boring. Why are we learning this?” or “I hate Hoodwinked. It's so dumb.” There were challenges to what we were doing, such as “We already know this. This is stupid,” “Can't we just talk instead of watching this movie? Why do we have to watch it?”, and “Let's watch Frozen! That's so much better. Hoodwinked sucks.” When these came up, I've learned in other teaching experiences to give them a rational response to their questions. So I would explain why we were reviewing grammar, or I would remind students how Hoodwinked related to what we'd talked about for narratives. I also presented students trying to bring up their own ideas for how class should go during the movie day with the options for the day – grammar lessons or a movie. I was fully prepared to back myself up on this one if they kept complaining, already having a couple plans in my head of what might be some grammar to teach them. I wasn't trying to be sarcastic or talk back to my students; I stayed calm and gave them a rational, true response to their queries. I needed to give a firm reminder that I decided the plans, not them.


Through these complaints and the lack of respect to my instruction, I've seen that somehow I have not set up my presence as teacher in this classroom firmly for students yet. I'm dancing a fine line, because I love building rapport with my students; yet, they definitely need to respect me as well and I have to be a firm authority presence.


Now we go on spring break; even that has taught me about what being a teacher really means! The narratives aren't going on third quarter, so aren't required to be finished in a week, but the students probably will ask. So, here I am, the night before I leave for Cancun with some of my best friends (coincidentally, our spring breaks lined up, and we planned this trip in November), downloading some of the narratives to grade on the plane. I want to be one of those on the ball teachers, so I hope to get done as many as I can on the plane rides, and even in the hotel, before I return to school a week from Monday. People may claim teachers have a lot of break time, but really, our work doesn't end when we aren't in the “office.”


This spring break came at a much needed time. However, we jump right back into a crazy week when we return. We start learning about Shakespeare, as the Reading class reads A Midsummer Night's Dream, which will be fun for me, but I know will cause even more of this complaining. I'm coming up with ideas now to show them how relevant Shakespeare's stories remain in today's movies, plays, and books, and hopefully that will hook them. Then, PARC testing is occurring, but only for 2 periods, so the other periods have to be taught something that it's okay for 1^st and 2^nd to miss. Crazy.


For now, I'm eager to escape this weather. 80's and sun, here I come!


Oh, but now back to grading.

Week 10 - Exhausted Yet Finding the Blessings

This week was going to be a quiet week; while the rest of my friends departed campus, I was still around, preparing myself for a full week of work. In the end, it was a blessing that few people were around this week; the quiet was what I needed as I worked from the moment I got home until my head hit the pillow.
It's been rare that I have been as emotionally, mentally, and physically drained as I was this entire week. My days went from supporting students in class and still getting a feel for the school to fully being in charge for a straight seven class periods. In addition, I was working through 35 narratives each night to get through the writing of my nearly 100 students by the end of the week, and then starting the second cycle of read-throughs on their narratives. I was resisting complaining students about the guidelines I set, and students who decided to break those rules anyway. I was dealing with students who simply laughed in my face when I gave them instructions to follow or corrected their behavior and other students flat out ignored me. When I came up with what I thought would be good ideas for advisory, they ended in chaos. On top of all of it, I was also working on job applications for the reality that is coming my way in just 7 weeks. It was honestly exhausting.


To break some of this down a little more, let's take a look at the week. Monday I introduced narrative writing, gave them prompts to choose from, and started the students brainstorming what they wished to write. Then we began the work days, which were days that I had to fight the most to stand my ground. I instructed them that the noise level had to be a whisper, that they could not use iPads while writing since they already Chrome books for any internet needs, they were not to use ear buds, and they could not move seats. The first day, it was trying to keep a couple students in line, and the noise level in most classes was not even close to a whisper. The second day, Wednesday, the students in all but one or two of the seven periods had moved around so much when I went to tell one student to move back to their seat, another student was sitting there, and when I told that student to move, another was sitting there, until I couldn't count how far down the line I had to go to find original seats. Meanwhile, I had some students nearly completely finished writing on Thursday, while some had yet to type their second sentence. The students who had gotten a lot of work done in those two days were now bored, and rowdy. The students who didn't have much completed were also not remaining on task, hence they weren't getting much done.


Thursday I came in ready for some protesting students. I had discussed with my teacher the fact that I needed to be able to give consequences for moving seats or having ear buds because the message wasn't getting through to the students, even when I put in bold letters on the screen, said it aloud three times, and individually warned several students. So this time I put it in all capital letters on the screen, and stated at the beginning of class the possibility of consequences. Surprisingly, Thursday was my best day and students didn't give me near as much hassle as I expected. Friday the students were “squirrely” and loud, but at least most of them remained in their seats. I also had created lists of students who didn't have work done, and started checking in with them repeatedly during class, reminding them over and over to get to work.


Advisory periods are a whole different beast. I had no idea going into this that I would be expected to also take over this period, which meets with the small homeroom group for teacher-planned activities or lectures, for half an hour. In my idea, I was taking over some of the normal lessons with continual teacher support, and she would guide me more gradually into supervising advisory, since in this group that period is chaos. Yet, my teacher had other work to do, and Tuesday I found myself in charge of this period in addition to the other six. So I pulled out camp games and team-building exercises. The team-building went off terribly; the students refused to even stand in a circle in small groups. So I switched to a non-academic, non-strenuous game. There are students in the class who refuse to participate in any plans, but I thought that was mostly because they didn't want to run around or do something athletic. Yet, I found it a struggle to even get students to participate in the game that required them to sit in a circle on the floor and only move if they get “killed off” by the poison dart frog (who sticks out his or her tongue at their victim, trying not to be caught by the “detective” in the middle). Then that day, when we got back to the classroom, there was a tussle that ended in some serious consequences for those students. Wednesday and Thursday weren't much improvements, though I kept the activities limited to academics like cleaning out their lockers and checking their grades, as the teacher suggested. Friday we tried a combined activity with another class, and when we had to return to class we continued the activity. I thought it was going well; the students who didn't wish to participate could work on homework while others played and it all seemed all right. There were some students who started getting out of hand, and I shut it down soon after. However, reports that it was chaotic got to my cooperating teacher. I'm running out of ideas to keep this class content and subdued.


I have one week until spring break. We're wrapping up the writing this week, and after spring break get to discuss Shakespeare while the Reading class reads the play A Midsummer Night's Dream before students see a performance of it. Hopefully that lightens some of the nightly paper reading load. I'm interested to see how into Shakespeare these eighth graders get.


Despite the chaos of the week, I do find joy in some things. First of all, there are some students who are really working hard on this unit and taking my input to heart. They are eager to learn about writing and want to make great narratives. Second, I've read some amazing stories. Some of these students have mad talent, and I'm completely wrapped up in their story. Others, who are putting forth the effort, have some great ideas their working with and simply need some polish. Third, I know that this placement is truly preparing me for teaching. In talking with my cooperating teacher, I noted that I guess I'd rather have a tough group of students while I'm student teaching, so I can go into my teaching career with more confidence in these situations. Finally, I have continued to be challenged through Bible study and songs on the radio to be an image-bearer of Christ to those I encounter, and this placement has certainly given a lot of opportunity for me share that love, even when it's hard. I have to be firm with these students, but I hope in that firmness, I am also able to show my positivity, my continual belief that these students can succeed if they try, and a caring attitude about the individuals in the class.



I have to make it one week. Then I get a short reprieve from the daily grind, and after that it's only five weeks. I have more work on the way, with finish the edTPA, taking the APT test, and continuing the job search process. However, I know better than ever that God will give me his strength on those days I can't find any on my own. And as a cute blue fish, Dory, would say... “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

The Full Week - week 9

“See you for another fun-filled day tomorrow” is usually how my teacher says goodbye for the afternoon. This week, each day may not have always been completely full of “fun” (depends on the definition of fun) for students or teachers, but the days were certainly filled!


It was ISAT week at Central. This was probably the part of the day that was least thrilling for both staff and students; however, it is important to these students' futures so was taken very seriously. My task during this time, as someone who was not legally allowed to proctor the exam, was to pass out calculators and scratch paper, keep an eye on the students, walk around, and make sure they weren't going on their iPads. Students filled in their bubbles and put some of that practice we did last week to use as they answered extended response for both math and reading tests (who knew you could write an essay for math). Obviously, I couldn't make comments at the time but it appeared when I read a couple students first sentences as I walked around that they were off to a good start, so that was encouraging. However, I did note one thing that could've been done differently in practice considering the test. For the reading extended response, students had a few multiple choice questions they had to answer first and then with the remaining time they wrote the extended response, and all of this was done in 45 minutes. Last week, Ms. Lynch gave the kids a class period to read the passage and plan, then a timed 45 minutes to write. Though I think this was good to give them time to write, if we're trying to get them to practice the timed aspect, I think the time should've been modified to be closer to the conditions under which they would actually be writing. It's just a note to tuck away for when I'm a teacher and helping students prep for any testing.


After two and a half hours of testing, the rest of the day was compacted into the same amount of periods with less time for each. In these periods, students read narrative writing examples, marking them for ten different elements including several types of figurative language, dialogue, and imagery. The reason behind this exercise is to prepare students for starting their own narrative writing next week, when they'll have to use all of those elements themselves in their writing. Figurative language, dialogue, and imagery have been the topic of study for weeks so students will only need to be reminded rather than taught what these all mean. I think having students work through examples themselves was a really great choice, because it just continually reinforces the concepts in their mind and gives them time with models before they then go through the practice themselves.


This exercise took up Tuesday-Thursday, then Friday we discussed plot pyramids. Thursday before I left, Ms. Lynch mentioned she was thinking of having me teach some of the periods the lesson Friday. I came in Friday and she asked if, after shadowing her first period to see what she wanted to explain, I would take over the following six periods. So here I was, jumping in! It was a pretty straightforward lesson, but I did have some fun with it. Ms. Lynch had mentioned using the analogy of a roller coaster with the plot pyramid, but hadn't brought that out much in the first hour. I, however, grabbed that analogy and hammed it up. The students probably all think I'm pretty dorky, but I say “yup that's me!” I am passionate about Language Arts, and yes I will do goofy things; but those goofy things are what students will remember. For the most part, they paid attention and didn't disrespect me much, which is one of the concerns with this class. I even taught the seventh hour, which is the most difficult because many kids have behavioral issues, are low academically, or combine those two. Plus it was a longer period than the other six. So though I used the roller coaster example in this period, I also used other examples, making up a rough story on the spot and explaining what I might write for each of the parts of the pyramid as well as pulling in Remember the Titans. For the most part, the students participated and were attentive, except for about three students who are consistently causing issues in the classroom. However, Ms. Lynch did have a talk with one of the students about respecting me more and when I brought in Remember the Titans, one of the other students who was causing problems latched onto that and didn't make as many off-topic comments. It will be a daily toss-up with this period, and actually most of the other periods, for how the day might go behavior and respect-wise; however, that's teaching in general – you never know what to expect out of the students. Yet, my teacher told me before I left that she thought I did a really good job and to not let some of the students get to me. It was nice to have that support and encouragement.


Now Monday it begins – it's all me, all seven hours! We start the narrative writing itself, and my teacher has already provided general materials that she has given me permission to tweak, use, or toss out and use other ideas. I'm looking forward to how the lessons will go; I think it's a really interesting unit and has the potential for a lot of fun for the students. After all, it's pretty much just writing stories, which, if you ask me, is more engaging writing on its own for the average student than, say, research papers. However, the nerves about what the students behaviors might be like, in all the periods, weighs on my mind.



Early in this week, I was listening to the radio and heard the song “Let Them See You” by the JJ Weeks Band. The chorus says: “Let them see You in me. Let them hear You when I speak. Let them feel You when I sing. Let them see You, let them see You in me.” And I just felt convicted that this was the mindset with which I was supposed to approach that day, and this placement. It is different, and I won't be having my faith explicitly supported by staff or students. In fact, I've already found my values don't line up with the values of others there, including staff members. But God is leading me “where my trust is without borders... wherever [He] would call me” (“Oceans,” another song I heard on the way home that same day that's also become a challenge to me). And as he stretches me, calling me to this class where behavior management is a daily challenge and I feel slightly isolated, He is calling me to show them Him through what I do. Ready or not, here I go, to shine His light.

Week 8 - Welcome to CMS

This week was adjustment week. I am living again with college students in a small apartment. It isn't expected that meals are shared. I went from high school classrooms to middle school. I don't get free lunches from school anymore. I can't name every student in all six periods yet. I don't even know who half the staff are. I went from the West Michigan bubble to Chicago suburbs. I don't get to teach much literature anymore – just writing. I went from a Christian school where I was filled through weekly chapels and devotion time and free to discuss topics from a Christian worldview to hearing people in the classrooms and hallway bashing Christian views and daily using inappropriate language. Now, I'm not trying to complain because really Christian school kids aren't immune from the same vices, I'm open to teaching in public or private schools outside of the bubble, Central is a good school, and I'm starting to find my groove here. But the fact of the matter is this week was all about adjusting and still things haven't quite settled all the way yet, both at Trinity and at Central.


Okay, so now for more about what's going on in eighth grade at Central.

First, a quick brief facts about the school itself. The grades at Central Middle are 6^th-8^th. The place is bigger than NorthPointe, though. I'm figuring out my way around, but it isn't as simple as my alma mater or NorthPointe. I'm in the eighth grade Language Arts class, and teach periods 1-5, break for lunch, then teach 7^th period before getting a break for plan periods – which usually include meetings. It's quite a marathon. Technology-wise, I'm once again blessed. All the students have their own iPad, but they must pick it up before school and can't bring it home. In the Language Arts classroom, they also have chrome books (like netbooks, made by Google) that they leave in the classroom but work with when writing. I got my own chrome book and iPad as well. Though this technology is really useful, it's also the first thing students use to disengage from the class. It will be something I will have to be aware of and try to make sure it's being used productively.

Now, into the classroom. The students were ready and waiting for me. Apparently my cooperating teacher, Ms. Lynch, has been telling them that I was coming and they've been asking all sorts of questions. They wanted to make sure I was nice. It was sweet, and I'm trying to show them my personality as much as I can. Also, Ms. Lynch has been really good about getting me involved right away. On the first day, she had me introduce myself and the rest of the week she had me walking around, conferencing with students on their writing and I graded almost all the students short essays. This class, as briefly mentioned, is separate from the reading class, so the focus is not on reading but on writing and grammar. It's weird for me to have the two separated, but completely normal for these kids. When I said I was going to teach Language Arts, one student asked why I wouldn't want to teach reading; for her, Language Arts isn't reading. I told her I could teach reading too, as could Ms. Lynch, and she was shocked. I'm going to have to get used to using separate vocabulary for referring to the separate classes.


The first couple of days the students did an exercise that I thought was really great and something I may keep in mind. They watched a one minute clip from Mulan, and had to then write a descriptive essay, using figurative language, dialogue, and imagery, all which they have been learning about. Apparently prior to this they did the same with a longer Lion King clip. It's a good idea for writing, I think, because Disney movies are so loved, so it's fun for the kids to engage with that and write about it. Also, since I ended up grading most of the short essays using a rubric the teacher provided, I got to see their writing and there are some really impressive writers in this grade! It makes me excited to read and work more with them.


The second half of the week was ISAT practice. Students practiced the multiple choice section as well as the extended response. I again walked around while students wrote, keeping them on task and coaching them on their responses. Since they won't get this help on the actual test, the goal was to give them the coaching now so hopefully it will help them improve on the test. This helped me to continue to get to know the students, and for them to be comfortable around me, which will be a great help in the weeks to come.


However, I am already aware of some challenges in this placement. First of all, there are a lot of students with different behavioral or learning needs. My teacher has been good about briefing me on these different issues, but it's definitely going to be a struggle to remember what student needs what, figuring out how to manage the classroom, and motivating the students. Second, there's a lot of small routine things I'm not used to. We have to stand in the hall between every class. I have to make sure all the students in homeroom get lunch cards, including a student who takes high school math and comes later. Students can't get zeros without the teacher notifying the parents, nor do they (seemingly) get docked for late work (I'll see how true that is when I really get into the grading). I have to do bus duty every day. Once I get my swipe card, nearly every door I encounter (besides the classroom) I have to swipe in to enter and swipe out to exit. Students get detentions at lunch, and I have to sit with them as they serve their time. I have to fill out referrals if I do give out a detention. There's more, and my teacher is nice enough to make a list, but these are things I didn't deal with previously.


As we head into ISAT week, I have a couple of goals. First of all, I would like to meet more of the staff. My teacher eats lunch in the room, and so I usually do too, but I miss out on that community time during lunch. I want to know more people, because I appreciated that additional support when I was at NPC. Second, I'll be getting more ideas of where my plans are headed for the next couple weeks, so I am to really get more ideas nailed down for where I am going from here.


It is an adjustment being at Central. I had such a great placement previously, which is a blessing. However, I am looking forward to what this placement will teach me, especially about dealing with students with different behavior needs. My worldview and perspective are different than many of the students and staff at the school, and being aware of how that will affect my teaching follows the Illinois Professional Teaching Standard 1F, which says that “a competent teacher understands his or her personal perspectives and biases and their effects on one’s teaching.” As I teach these students, I trust that God will give me the strength and I hope to shine for Him.

Week 7 - Goodbye Mustangs

I remember being nervous about this placement and freaking out about it the night before I started. Now, my heart was breaking as I pulled away from the parking lot Thursday afternoon. I had no idea seven weeks could feel so long but so short; so brief, yet so impacting.


It was my final week of teaching the NPC Mustangs. And it was a bit of a crazy week, but it ended really well.


Monday I continued my stint of teaching (or supervising) all seven classes (my cooperating teacher was training for leading a group of students on a Europe trip later this spring, so I took over supervising her French classes in addition to the English classes I already was in charge of). The freshmen were simply finishing their final drafts, so weren't too much of a problem. The seniors discussed “Ozymandias,” and actually got into a lively discussion about celebrities who, like the statue, had fallen from prideful heights. It was encouraging to see them connecting to their homework and having so much participation. Though Monday didn't prove too much of a problem, I was ready to have my cooperating teacher back so I could a) have a plan period again and b) to have someone to support me after some challenges the previous week.
Then I got the text – she was stuck due to a canceled flight. Having finished my unit, and not being sure of what unit was next, I came up with a plan on the fly. The students took part in four stations, each with a different Language Arts related activity. I was proud of myself for thinking up this idea, and actually had a student comment on how she was impressed as well. To add to the challenge, Tuesday morning there was a two hour delay, so I had to plan for shorter classes as well. Hey, if nothing else, I have definitely learned to be flexible with my plans in this placement! Wednesday marked the return of my teacher and a phase out of my duties in that classroom.


The senior class, meanwhile, finished their Romanticism unit and I wrote and administered my first full-blown test. I gave it on my final day there; however, a very small percentage of my students actually took the test that day. First of all, not everyone was there, being the day before mid-winter break. Second, with so many tests that day, they had been given the option by my cooperating teacher to opt out until Tuesday. Those who did take the test did okay; for those that didn't do as well, it was because they hadn't taken responsibility for their studies. I felt had given them the supports needed; they had received a study guide and gone through a review activity, and the questions came straight from that. I also asked those who were there to fill out a post-assessment about their feelings and impressions of the unit; however, with so few in the room with me, I didn't get a good representation of the class's reactions.


My final day was a good way to end. I had brought candy and wrote the class notes. In the freshmen classes we also had cookies to share. I wish I had been able to say goodbye to more of the seniors and staff members, but many students did come and express their appreciation and say goodbye to me. Now, I just have papers – loads of papers – to grade before I head off to Illinois on Sunday to start my second placement with the Central Middle School Twisters.



This placement at NorthPointe was incredible. Never before have I felt so supported by the staff as a whole in a placement, and especially supported by my cooperating teachers. I also felt connected to each of the students, and have many fond memories, funny stories, and lessons learned that I take away as I leave this placement. I didn't know when I began just how much these seven weeks would mean to me. It really felt like a place I belonged; I was a staff member, I was trusted, and the students really became my students. I come away from this placement with more confidence for the future, with things to continue to work on, and a greater love for what I'm doing. Now, on to the next step and the next lessons God has in store for me. But I am incredibly grateful for all the blessings he showered on me through this time at NorthPointe.

Week 6 - The week of laughter and challenges

This week I wore a football jersey, and the next day my arm was in a sling. Then I encountered one of my freshman boys wearing a coconut bra (on top of a shirt) and a grass skirt. Finally, my classes became a sea of blue and yellow. No, nothing was wrong. It was homecoming week at NorthPointe.

Once again, it was an abnormal week. Thankfully, this time it wasn’t because of snow days (although a five day week this semester really does seem abnormal). However, in most cases, the fun dress-up days didn’t affect the learning.

Once again, let’s take a brief review of what went on this week:

Class of 2014

The Romanticism continued in the senior class. Monday was a little rough; I don’t think I’d assign “Kubla Khan” again other than the kids had to laugh at how crazy it was. The next two days were a lot better. I had found an audio recording of “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (a poem I really love), and so during class we played that while reading, which not only saved my voice but made it more alive than I probably could have. There were three different actors, and the man who read the mariner was superb. Anyway, we stopped it occasionally and I would ask questions or explain something a little further. The students had a couple of assigned questions those nights, but overall it was more relaxed of a week for them. Plus there was pretty good participation during class. I was pleased with this choice, though, and would probably use it again if I teach “Rime.” Additionally, it aligns with Illinois Professional Teaching Standard 6J, which states that the competent teacher “selects, modifies, and uses a wide range of printed, visual, or auditory materials, and online resources appropriate to the content areas and the reading needs and levels of each student (including ELLs, and struggling and advanced readers).” I know that often my cooperating teacher reads the poems, because he thinks the students understand it better when they hear it; I haven’t read all the poems, because I give them the option of listening to the videos I put on a website for them during homework. However, I would agree it helps students understand poetry to hear it read by someone who knows the poem already. Further, there are some ESL foreign exchange students in the class, and this aid is probably very useful for them.
We ended the week with Byron. Friday they had an end of the day assembly, shortening every period, and the students were antsy for the big day, so the lesson didn’t go as well as expected. However, I did still get across all I had hoped and the students have been asking good questions that show they’re thinking deeper than the surface about some of these lines.
Another thing I’m pleased about is the rapport I have with some of the seniors, especially fifth hour. I went to the Calvin vs. NorthPointe game Tuesday, and sat in the middle. The next day, the students were talking about seeing me and asking my opinion about the game. Then several of them asked if I would come to the homecoming game (I couldn’t this time). I’ve also been able to use some of their slang or stories that I know they can relate to when trying to explain some of the concepts of the poems, which they seem to appreciate.
My goals for the final four days:
- edTPA, edTPA, edTPA: I’ve started work on these tasks, but the next two lessons are part of the segment I planned for the edTPA. So now I just have to try to keep that in mind in my planning, hoping to get the required parts into the lesson and good footage of some of the insights students have been having prior to bringing the camera into the classroom.
- Continue to make connections: As I finish, I’m really trying to emphasize those connections between poems and between their lives and the poems. I don’t want these poems to just be something isolated - they interact with the same themes we’ve studied, the same topics, and moreover students can still pick up on some of the themes in today’s society. Thus, I hope to continue to demonstrate these connections
- Finish strong: I have two more lessons to teach, a review day, and a test to give. Though I’m starting to feel like coasting lesson-wise, having all the work done for this week already, I know to make the lessons successful I can’t coast yet. I have to keep reviewing my lessons, keep thinking about what to add or build on from day to day. Then I want to see the students finish strong too, and hopefully demonstrate their knowledge and learning on the test Thursday.

Class of 2017

 The freshmen had a lot of working time this week. We had one more lesson on Monday, but after that it was working on their rough drafts. However, they didn’t always make it easy on me this week. Some students didn’t even have their research complete. Others had finished their research, only to realized they’d only used internet sources, when we told them a number of times, and wrote it in the requirements on the website and in hard copy form, they could only use two. Then, there were the behavior issues. Without my teacher in the room at the end of this week, some of the students seemed to try to take advantage of that and see what they could get away with. Some of how I handled it I feel good about; however, the steps I took probably wasn’t enough for some of them. But it did give me examples to build on, and I was able to formulate plans for handling those situations the next time they arise, and implement them. This is what student teaching is for, in some respects; to try out some of what works now, while I’m still being supported.
I really only have two days left to teach most of my freshmen students, since most of them have final drafts due Tuesday. I may end up still teaching Tuesday; my teacher is currently out of the country, so I don’t know if she has plans for Tuesday. For these last two days, my goals include:
- Keep a lid on it: I need to work to control a couple of the students who are challenging my authority and slacking off. This is my test on classroom management. Now that I know some of what behaviors they’re exhibiting, I can figure out what to do about it.
- But don’t let others slip through: Even while I manage some of the troublemakers, I have to also be supportive of those who are working, which is pretty much everyone else. I don’t want those who are being good students, but want some assistance, to slip by
- Finish strong here too

I still don’t really want to leave these students at the end of this week. I do miss Trinity, and my friends there. I miss dorm life. But I don’t feel it was near enough time with these students. If we could just move Trinity to Michigan, or NPC down to Trinity, that’d be great. Yet, I am interested to see where this next placement leads, and what challenges, rewards, and lessons it brings.

Getting Down to the Wire - week 5

    Well, it was an almost full week at NorthPointe. Wednesday marked the 6th snow day since I’ve been there. My units are pretty much down to the wire, and I’m just hoping no more cancellations will happen as I finish the last 9 days I have at the high school. By the time I become a certified teacher, I will definitely be well-practiced in rethinking my plans when unexpected cancellations or shortened classes occur!

    I taught both the seniors and freshman all week. Teaching-wise, it was kind of a mixed bag week. I had good and rough lessons. The students were tracking with me some classes and other classes they were pretty out of it. But that’s also the life of student teaching; some things don’t always work out.

    A quick review of the week:
The seniors
We got through Wordsworth, so still have four more poets to look at before the test. The Blake discussion was okay in both classes, though had limited participation; only a few people in each class were actually contributing. Since I still had yet to really know names, I was at a loss for how to call on specific students. The “Tintern Abbey” discussion was the rough day in the senior class this week. Though the fifth hour class was at least able to answer some of my questions, sixth hour wasn’t getting it at all and were quite disengaged. The cooperating teacher told me he doesn’t usually assign it as homework, but works through the poem in class instead, or at least gives them a paraphrase of the poem. It gave me something to consider for the future; how can I challenge them appropriately and yet still support them? When I get my own class, I may be able to gauge this fine line better, knowing them from the beginning of the year and sticking with them year-long. The second day of Wordsworth was better; the poems were shorter, they were at least understanding enough to engage with me through the assigned questions and the questions I posed in class, and I was able to engage more people by specifically calling on them since I was picking up on their names.
I was pleased that I could include a couple of shorter activities to extend the poem into their own lives; there was a free write about their favorite place one day and a humorous video connected to Wordsworth’s passion for nature another day. They were able to think about and discuss our call from God when it comes to nature, and they also answered some homework questions that asked them to tie the poems to modern culture or give their reaction.
As I move into the next weeks, the main areas I’m thinking about are:
- Keeping more students participating. The nightly homework reflects that these students do have answers, and some of them have really thorough answers, to the questions about the poems. I want to hear more of that in class. Being able to ask specific students what they think about something does help get more students participating, and hopefully also shows them they will be called upon if they are visibly disengaging or haven’t said much in the class period.
- Is it possible for me, in less than two weeks, to transition into having the students really holding the discussion among themselves? Right now, it’s mostly me posing questions and they’re giving answers. I try to stick to questions, which I think is good if I want to remain mostly the facilitator and give them ownership of their learning. But it’s still me in control as far as moving the discussion forward, especially in 6th hour. It’s a tall order for me to change their discussion tendencies in less than two weeks, in the second semester. I’ll do what I can to remain the questioner and the facilitator, but I don’t know for sure that they will get to the point of commenting and building on one another with me having limited say before I leave.
- The 5th hour class is the focus group for my edTPA, and I really need to pick up on getting some of that work done
- I want to continue to find little ways to get the students to connect the nineteenth century poems with their lives. A lot of this comes through assignment questions and questions posed in class, and I have some plans already in place, so I hope that these plans go over successfully

The freshmen
    We are nearly to the point of drafting our papers, so not too far off track from the original plan before the past 4 snow days. However, there is an array of points of completion across the class. The majority of students are right where they’re supposed to be, doing no more nor no less; others have nearly 40 note cards, or had an outline drafted at the start of the week and have begun to write the paper; and others have only just begun the research. It’s an interesting position to be in, and one I know I will navigate again and again as a teacher. To an extent, it’s on the students; I can’t do the work for them. But it’s also about me -- how do I keep the students who are behind on task? How far do I extend deadlines for students who are behind because of sickness? And for those who are ahead -- how do I keep them challenged? How do I make sure they’re still doing the work correctly when I have so many other students who are behind them? This next week will be an interesting one, as I work with students at all of these levels, who are either ready or not ready to draft their paper.
The lessons themselves had ups and downs. I would think the explanation had gone well, but when I asked them to practice I realized less understood than I thought. Since I did include practice with the different writing elements that I taught, I was at least able to  work with students when they didn’t understand, so that was a plus. And like it goes with most of teaching, certain students or certain periods as a whole would get it quickly, so the lessons were useful. Plus, even if students struggled, they usually understood part of what was said so could either ask more specific questions or at least indicated something in the lesson was getting through. However, towards the end of the week, we started falling behind because we weren’t able to get through the full lessons I had planned, partially due to snow days, or due to time being taken up by students handing in their homework, and also due to my possibly over-ambitious planning.
As I move forward with this class, the main areas of focus include:
- Keeping students on task, especially if they’re in the group that haven’t been sick but are still behind. I’ll also have to focus on those students who were sick, and re-teach the  elements they may have missed or still don’t understand.
- Making sure what we’ve already learned is still being understood and used as they move into writing the paper
- Getting the students all the information they need, and remaining a support to students -- even those who don’t explicitly ask questions, because they may be those who need the support

    Remembering that I’m leaving after 9 more school days in this school is really sad. I would absolutely love to stay at NorthPointe. I feel like I’m just getting to know some of the seniors, I don’t want to leave behind my freshmen, and the teachers are such wonderful people to work with. I am going to make the most of the rest of my time in this supportive environment.

The 2-day week - week 4

This placement sure is teaching me flexibility! I thought I had a plan and then school was cancelled... for three days in a row. So everything had to shift, and I had to figure out how to still get everything accomplished in a decent time -- and, most of all, before I go back to Illinois! Once I did get back to school, the lessons in flexibility didn’t stop. I’m learning to bend as assemblies intrude, or when I might’ve a been a touch over-ambitious in the assignment. Being a girl who always has a plan, I think it’s good that I’m being forced to reorganize my thinking and go with the flow. It’s definitely a characteristic that’s needed when I have my own classroom next year.

Since we had three snow days, I only taught two days this week. But they sure were a full two days! Thursday, I taught for 5 periods. I talked about evaluating sources and taking notes in my freshman classes, and started to introduce Romanticism to the seniors. I only taught about forty minutes to the seniors, and didn’t get through my whole lesson, but again, I’m being flexible, and adding what I didn’t get through to my Monday lesson (the students took a test on 18th century literature Friday). The freshman lesson had mixed feelings; it grew in strength as the day went on, and I felt more confident by 7th hour than I did in 2nd hour, but there’s still elements to develop.
Friday became the real test of the effectiveness of Thursday’s lesson for the freshmen, as they now started researching and taking notes as I had instructed on Thursday. Overall, the kids worked hard on the research and I was proud of them for that. As far as the effectiveness of my lesson, it was understood better by some hours than others.  I ended up taking a few minutes to re-explain the note-taking methods again to the whole class for each hour, and after that (and for some students a second or third explanation), they were off and running. I could tell 2nd hour, the one I thought went the roughest, was probably the one hour that didn’t understand note-taking as well and needed it re-explained more thoroughly, so I was right in my post-assessment of my teaching the student learning in that class -- they needed to be more engaged. Now, the students seem to grasp at least how to research. We start with the more detailed parts of writing -- thesis statements, outlines, topic sentences, transitions -- next week, interweaving those mini lessons with more work days on research.
I was doing a lot of walking around Friday, answering many questions, but I actually loved that. I got to talk to students one-on-one that I haven’t interacted with much. I was able to it “click” for some students. Writing is the area I feel most comfortable in, and feel I am strongest in teaching writing papers. I hope that at the end of the unit, the final products come out strong and show evidence of a good ground-level of writing ability, as these students will continue to encounter more and more writing as they continue on in school.


Monday, barring another snow day, nothing stands in my way of full-time teaching. The 12th graders have officially finished their unit, and it’s Romanticism time. The 9th graders continue researching and writing. As I begin this full-time teaching, I know there are things I want to work on and grow in. The main area is classroom management. It’s always been my weaker area, and I know these classes will challenge me to grow and develop in this area. It isn’t always about keeping the chaos at a minimum either. It’s also about seeing who’s participating, and who’s tuning me out in one way or another. This is what I need to work on, in both grades.
Also, my goal for the senior classes is engagement. Unlike the 9th graders, they don’t have a project they’re working on. I do have some time planned to give them a brief lecture, mostly on the background of some of the authors or poems, but I want to see them participating too. A lot of my lessons hinge on the discussion portion. My goal is to really have the students leading the discussion, bouncing ideas back and forth, while I act as more of a facilitator. I don’t know if they’re used to that, so it may not get there right away, but I hope at the end of these three weeks they're closer to that point. Furthermore, I want to connect this material to students’ lives. “Romantic” already probably turns people off. I want to show those guys who hunt, or play sports, that this isn’t just some mushy, gushy, love poetry -- Romanticism actually doesn’t really relate to that connotation of the word. I want them to see what is interesting about it, and to at least participate in discussions about it. I want to make this unit have at least a little fun sprinkled into every lesson. Some people may think I’m hoping for too much -- this is poetry, after all, and these are seniors who just want to graduate. Call me weird, but it’s my goal to peak their interest in something I say or do in class, and in turn in some of the poetry itself.

 So I’m looking at Monday, again with the anticipation of jumping in with both feet. I’m also hoping for no more snow days; I may be working on flexibility, but with only three weeks to go, I still have to abide by time’s laws and get it all in!

Fitting In and Loving It - Week 3

    The week began like every week at NorthPointe -- with small group prayer time with the other teachers. It’s such a blessed way to begin my week; not only do I get nourished through prayer, I get to know the other teachers and their hearts for the Lord in a particular way as I pray for and with them. It’s these moments that are set apart from my other field placements that remind me how much I was blessed to grow up in Christian education and how I still love it today. It’s two chapels a week, with singing and speakers who make the real world connections to the teenager’s lives as Christians. It’s student-organized and student-led Wednesday morning worship, because these kids really want to have some extra time to worship the Lord. It’s being able to ask my students to include a section of their research paper that ties in the Christian perspective, or asking students to compare the piece of literature to what the Bible says. It’s knowing that in all I do, I’m working for Christ, and asking my students to do the same. I’m prepared for and comfortable in a public school setting; I have no objections to teaching in a public school during my career and am fully aware I can let my light shine in that setting. But there’s something about Christian education that holds my heart, and I’m grateful to once again be in that setting.

    There isn’t too much to report from the classroom when it comes to my teaching this week. Monday, the 27th, I’ll be teaching full time, both the 9th and 12th grade units. This week I was still mostly observing as the semester drew to a close. I have almost all the names of the students in all three 9th grade sections memorized, but 12th grade is harder mostly because there’s no seating chart for me to study. I know some of the students who participate a lot, but I’m going to have to think of something creative to learn all of their names.

    That being said, I did actually start some teaching this week! The 9th grade finished their unit, and I started the research paper unit on Friday. However, the beginning to the unit ended up being a strange start. I was on my 1st hour plan period, making copies of my materials, and contemplating what I might add into the lesson to lengthen it; as I reviewed it, I realized I might have some extra time to fill, and didn’t want it to turn into social hour. As I was thinking about this, the announcement was made that we would be releasing early because there was a blizzard coming; therefore, all classes would last 25 minutes. It actually worked out well, and I was able to get in what I needed to say. Some adjustments were made -- a short assignment was added because we didn’t have time to do it in class, and one activity’s writing portion became just a conversation portion -- but overall it went well and I still feel confident it was successful.

    I have noticed a couple of things management-wise that my teachers do, and I’m evaluating what my approach may be. In the talkative, energetic 9th grade classes (which is pretty much all of them), the teacher usually raises her voice to get their attention. This might work for me, and I certainly have used it with teenage groups before with effectiveness, but I’m thinking of other techniques I may try out. The teacher also adjusts the assignment, based on if they get everything finished in class or if they don’t because of interruptions. For example, she may not have an assignment planned, but because she was being interrupted too much, they didn’t get through all of what she planned for class, so it becomes homework. I think the assignment policy makes sense. For most of what I’ll be doing with the 9th graders, they’ll be able to complete the research in class so I don’t have a lot of assignments planned. However, if they aren’t using class time wisely, it makes sense that they then will have work on that outside of class. I’m creating benchmarks for where I expect students to be weekly, so if they realize they don’t have enough work done to reach the benchmark, they’ll be doing it at home in order to reach that goal (barring the exceptions of students with different abilities, which may have reasonable accommodations made). As I transition into teaching these classes, I will be testing management styles to find what gets through to the students; this may change from class to class or even day to day. However, in my one lesson I’ve taught, on Friday, all of the classes were pretty well behaved and quiet; maybe that will continue! Even with those hopes, I am fully prepared to have more management that needs to take place.
    In 12th grade, they are much more settled down and so not as much class time is wasted. That isn’t too say there aren’t students who are disengaged during class, because there are. As I’ve observed these classes, I’m mulling over in my head what I notice about those students that I can use in my lessons that might help to engage them more; it’s still a work in progress, and I may just have to do some trial and error the first couple of weeks. The main thing in this class that weighs on my mind management-wise is a policy on homework that I’m contemplating re-doing while I teach, but am struggling to figure out how. Students who don’t complete their homework on time are allowed to finish it in the hallway during the discussion time, getting half-credit for late work. I see pros -- they have to read it still and not just complete the answers given during discussion, plus they still get some credit rather than a zero -- and cons -- they miss out on the discussion time, which is important for the lesson and their learning. Since most of my lessons are based on discussion, I’m sad they’ll miss out on this time if they continue this policy. The teacher also recognizes this drawback, but this is what he has set in place. I don’t want to change this suddenly, plus I can’t figure out at the moment another policy that might still hold the same benefits. So, I may end up sticking with it until I think of something else.
    As far as my teacher’s support as I transition into managing the classes, they each are supportive but have different plans for being present (or not) in the classroom early on. In 9th grade, my teacher has said she’ll remain in the class to support me for the beginning, and then ease out of the classroom eventually to give me full control. In 12th grade, the teacher believes it will be beneficial for me if I’m in control of the class without his constant presence; he plans to sit in on half of the classes the first week to see how I’m doing, but transition out rather quickly so I can really have full management control. Either way, this will be the first time I’m left completely in control of a class on my own. It’s exciting, because I can hardly wait to be a teacher, but also nerve-wracking. We’ll see how it goes!

    I also got a new toy to help me teach lessons this week... a Mac book! First of all, NorthPointe has a one-to-one initiative they just began, so all of the 9th graders have Macbooks. So it’s also beneficial that I have a computer I can use to view their work (like on a shared drive) and so I’m familiar with the system they’re operating. Moreover, these classrooms don’t have classroom computers; rather, they have an Apple tv projector that syncs with Apple products and displays that screen on the projector screen in the classroom. Thus, in order to show the videos, slides, and pictures I hope to include in lessons, I needed my own Macbook. I was lent one from the school just for the remaining time I’m here, but it’s felt like I have to relearn technology because I’ve never worked on a Mac before. Even so, it’s fun and a good learning experience for me, and just goes to show how integral technology has become in education. I’m very grateful I was given this opportunity to be trusted with school property, and it does make me feel included in the teaching community at NorthPointe.

    In the middle of the week, I had the opportunity to go to a staff meeting. NorthPointe is in a middle stage of accreditation, so they were discussing next steps. It helped me to learn some about Christian Schools International (CSI) and the accreditation process; since my dream would be to teach in a CSI school, this was beneficial for me. More importantly, NorthPointe staff are doing a wonderful job of including me as a pseudo-staff member, which makes me feel much more professional and more like a teacher. It is also teaching me about collaboration and the outside-the-classroom work I’ll be participating in.

    It was a good week, overall. It was a week with a little more participation, but still allowing me to be an outside participant. However, now it’s the real deal. My teaching begins tomorrow, Monday, and continues daily until I return to Illinois to start over in a new placement. The overall feeling? I’m pumped; I’ve been planning for so long, and now I get to apply it. know not every day will be fantastic, but I love what I do and can’t wait to do some more of it.

Observing the Mustangs - Student Teaching Week 2

The beginning of the week was filled with the hype of the “big game.” I heard a couple senior guys my first day of being in the classroom discussing the opposing team. There were flyers spread over the halls declaring the “neon out” the students would participate in for the game. There was announcements at the end of the day about it. Even in Tuesday morning's chapel, they briefly discussed positive cheering versus negative, the negative example being a chant of “Calvin sucks!” (meaning they would not cheer that way). Ms. Straayer glanced back at me during that chant, giggling. Later, she asked,
“When should we tell them where you graduated from?”


I graduated from Calvin Christian, the school NorthPointe now claims to be a big rival.


“I'll wait until after the game.”


Being my first week in the actual classroom, this week was focused mostly on observation and getting familiar with the students. Attending the game – in neon – was one of the ways I worked to integrate myself into the life of the school and form a connection to the students. Also this week, I attended a rehearsal for the school play. Ms. Straayer is the director, and since I've involved in theatre for 8 years and already miss it, I eagerly picked her up on her offer to attend any rehearsal I wished. I also attended a night set aside for parents thinking of coming to NorthPointe, spending time in the classroom with my teacher as parents and prospective students toured the school. Though my focus is on what goes on in the classroom, I want it to be evident I'm interested in students' lives outside of the school day as well.


There were also plenty of things to note from inside the classroom this week. First of all, I noticed both of my teachers have classrooms in which much of the hour is taken up with students doing work in class, applying the concepts they just learned or starting on work for the next day's topic. There may be some lecture time, but a lot of the time students are working independently on something that carries those concepts out. I like that students are involved in their learning in the classroom, and not just listening to a 45 minute segment of the teacher talking. As I plan, I'm trying to give time for the students to work in the classroom. In the 9^th grade unit, which will be researching and writing papers, this isn't hard; most of what they do daily will be researching sources, organizing materials, and writing the paper, with mini lessons to guide their researching and writing. In 12^th grade, which is Romantic literature, I have to be more aware, as those lessons could start to get focused on me talking all the time rather than students participating. One thing I do hope to change slightly in 12^th grade, which still gets students actively involved but isn't just about independent work, is more lengthy discussion times. From what I've seen so far (and 2 of the days were watching a video), they discuss the assigned reading and questions, but I hope to nurture this discussion period more. We'll see how they respond.


Speaking of thinking about and planning lessons like those for the Romantic period, that is the majority of work I've been doing this week and I have to say I'm pretty excited and pleased with it. I have multiple lessons written for both classes, and a rough calendar written out that I just have to put into formal lessons. I've gathered pictures, videos, and websites that will enrich the lessons. Both of these units are on topics I love, so I look forward to sharing them with the students. However, as I plan, there have been a couple of things that have been brought to my attention. First is a consciousness that I have to remember what it was like to be in high school when creating an assignment schedule. While reading five poems that are more than three or four verses is no big deal to me, to high school students, even seniors, it may be a bigger deal. I don't want to underestimate the students, but I don't want to push them away by giving them too much either. With this awareness, I've revised my original schedule a couple different times. The second component affecting my planning this week was a requirement one of my cooperating teachers shared with me. He mentioned that for students with IEPs and 504 plans, most of them need the whole unit's notes before the unit begins. So for a day or so, I worked further ahead than I was, writing notes about each of the poets we're studying and what terms I plan to cover in conjunction with those poets. It actually wasn't too much work, since the note-taking and lecture time won't be the main part of the lesson, as I aim to use the time for class discussions of the works rather than lecture. The 9^th grade has a similar request, but those notes are posted on the website weekly, so I only have to have them finished before the week begins. Even though it ended up not being a big deal for me to do, this reminded me to be aware of accommodations as I continue planning. In my pressing full-steam ahead, I am reminding myself to be flexible and always have a back-up plan on how to revise as needed.


I was also able to foresee challenges that may arise and how they were handled. Many of these challenges come in the 9^th grade classroom. The students are very talkative, which affects the focus and work in the classroom. Classroom management is probably the area I need to work on the most, and these students will certainly push me to do so. I can tell I'm going to need to be firm with some of them in order to be respected and for the class to be productive. Moreover, at the end of the week there was an issue with students using their school-given laptops to cheat or for non-educational purposes. Since most of the work for 9^th grade will be using the computers, I'm going to have to have a radar up to make sure students are doing what they are supposed to be doing, not goofing off. 12^th grade does not seem as rambunctious, but their age itself may pose the biggest issue. I have a brother who is only a year older than them, and I am only 4-5 years older. Though I know this may help form connections, I have to be sure that the line between student and teacher is still apparent.




In the midst of all this observation and planning, I did end up getting to (unexpectedly) lead classes for both teachers a little this week. It all happened on Thursday, actually. In 9^th grade, the lesson included reading two pages from the text aloud and covering those terms before students started an online activity finding colloquialisms. Just before the first class began, my teacher asked if I'd like to lead the reading and cover the terms. I ended up doing that for two sections of the 9^th grade; being that was the only instructional time for the period, I was really the main instructor at the time.
For the other teacher, I became the primary facilitator for half the day. The seniors had already been scheduled to watch a video of “Gulliver's Travels” for the whole class period, and my teacher was unexpectedly needed at home that afternoon. So he asked me in the morning if I'd be in charge of the class, starting and stopping the video and keeping them all in line. I was also asked to lead an honors course for juniors during his last hour, where they were to work independently on something they started the day before. There was another teacher next-door who was aware of the situation, and who I could have gone to with any problems. However, no problems arose, and it became a fun experience for me. I got to interact with the seniors a little before beginning the movie, chatting casually with them and sharing a little bit about myself (including where I went to high school). In last hour, I got to interact with students I won't see very often, as I'll be teaching a final section of 9^th grade on most days during last hour; that became a fun way to end the day. The students finished relatively quickly, and since I wasn't aware of what they are studying, I came up with a not-so-educational-but-still-entertaining activity to do for the final ten minutes (a game I played with the high schoolers I was a counselor for this summer). Even though I may not have been teaching them, even building those connections and allowing myself to show my personality was good for me to do. The whole day allowed me to be flexible and think on my feet, which is useful when looking to become a teacher.





Overall, the week was productive and useful. I have a good head-start on planning, which also allows time to revise as I learn about students needs and learning styles. I'm being incorporated into the staff well. I'm starting to get to know students. I even got involved in attending some extra-curricular activities, showing my interest in student life (and they were also fun for me to do). As I look into next week, there will be some more observation as both classes finish up their units before I start mine. I hope that I will be able to lead the class more this week, though, even for brief periods. Most of all, as I look ahead, I feel confident and eagerly anticipate what's to come. It won't be easy, but I seriously love what I'm doing, and hope I can make an impact in the life of these students before I return to Illinois.

Student teaching week 1

It was the first day of going to high school again.


Well, sort of. It was my first day of student teaching, which is at a high school. The fact that I am 22 and going to teach high school for these 7 weeks, not attend, didn't stop my parents from taking the “first day of school picture” before I left that morning.


So, here I am, off and running on this student teaching adventure. For the first seven weeks (ending February 21) I'll be at NorthPointe Christian High in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It's a private school on the smaller side, around the same amount of students at the high school I attended. After being at schools for previous placements with multiple stories, even when they only have three grades, a smaller school was a welcomed change.


I'm working with two teachers at NorthPointe, and teaching two grades - 12^th grade for two sections, and 9^th grade for three sections, with two planning periods. Though it's a bit of a jump, I'm excited to work with both of these groups. As planned with my teachers, I'll be teaching one unit on writing research papers to the 9^th graders, and a unit on the Romantic period in literature to the 12^th graders. Both of these units really excite me, because they're both topics in English that I am very familiar with and truly enjoy studying, explaining, and teaching.


This week, however, was different for NorthPointe. Not only did they not begin right away due to two snow days, but it was also j-term. All the students pick three 2-hour classes to take for the day, each of which is teaching on a topic that is not a normal piece of the curriculum. One of my teachers, Ms. Straayer (9^th grade), was the coordinator of j-term, so didn't teach any courses. Being that my desk (yes, I get a desk) is in her room, I spent the most time with her so didn't see many classes.


However, I did have a somewhat productive week in other ways than observation. The two teachers and I discussed a plan for the seven weeks, what units I'm teaching, and when I will start teaching full time - in about 2 weeks or less! I also got to know my teachers, and the other teachers in the school, by spending a lot of time chatting in a relaxed manner. I did attend three of the courses that I thought would be interesting, so got to know other teachers and some of the students that way. Furthermore, with extra time on my hands at school, I've started getting a headstart on my planning, completing a rough outline of how long I expect the unit to take and writing two lesson plans! So, though it may not have been a traditional week, I feel very good about it as I now already feel more comfortable in the school.


I can already tell this is going to be a wonderful fit for me. It's nice being back in a Christian high school, a setting I am initially quite comfortable in, but it's also a very welcoming staff and students. I look forward to meeting my classes this week and observing both of my teachers as they teach and care for these students.