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 6th-8th. 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 7th 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment