Today I went to Stevensville because I had the opportunity to teach my grade 3s without my associate teacher being at the school (he was away at a meeting). Before I knew it was a Reading Day, he had asked me if I wanted to come up with a lesson for the afternoon that I could faciliate under the supervision of the supply teacher. I eagerly agreed before I realized it was Reading Day, and I did not feel it was right to go back on my word. So I came up with a fun lesson that went along with my classes' media unit. I taught them about advertising, and then the students had time to get into pairs and create a commercial about the product of their choice.
I have to say, my teacher makes it look a lot easier than it actually is. He is extremely laid-back, so he is usually "okay" with his students interrupting and having kids come up to him and ask questions while he is with other students- I am not okay with this. When I am with a child discussing something, I do not think it is appropriate for other students to come and completely interrupt us (unless it is imperative that they speak to me). Today I had students stand directly in front of the student I was speaking with, in order to get my attention...and the funny thing is, they didnt see anything wrong with this. I think this is because my teacher usually "lets this go". This became a problem for me today because my students were being a bit disruptive and interrupting each other (and myself) during my lesson. The lesson overall went great, and the end results (the commercials) were AMAZING. The marks I gave ranged from B to A+ so they definitely understood the concepts and used their imaginations...but their behaviour was not something I would applaud.
The grade 2 teacher (who had my kids last year) asked me how my lesson went (apparently the whole school knew how nervous I was- haha), and I told her I had problems with class management in the sense that I did not want to be "too strict" because thats not at all what my teacher is like with the students. She made it very clear that last year when she had my students, they were EXTREMELY well behaved, because they knew that the kind of behaviour that they were exhibiting with me today (which is normal for them) was unacceptable. She gave me some great suggestions and insight for when I have my own classroom someday:
She told me that classroom management is something you need to start the first day of September. During that entire first month, you need to show your students WHAT type of behaviour is acceptable vs. unacceptable. She uses CHAMPS in her classroom, and uses statements such as "CHAMPS walk to the carpet quietly"- and cues like this are enough for the students to walk over to the carpet without a sound. She believes that if you do not start molding your class into well-behaved students in September, it is very difficult to change those "bad habits" later on. She also said that she believes effective teachers can use simple cues and those should be enough to let the students know what is acceptable. For example, when she does a certain motion with her hand in front of the class, the students know it is time to quiet down. This is because in September, she started showing the class what behaviour is expected when she does these cues- by the end of October, the students are usually successful at recognizing those cues and what behaviour is associated with them.
I learned a great deal with my chat with this teacher. She is an incredibly dedicated woman and will actually be retiring this year, so she has MANY years of experience under her belt. I really appreciated the advice that she gave me, because she understood why my situation was frustrating me. Although I do not feel it is right for me to employ any of the methods she discussed with me in my placement classroom (since I am not the teacher), I will definitely do so when I have my own classroom someday.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
School (Parent) Council Meeting
Last week, myself and two other student teachers went to the Stevensville school council meeting. I had never attended any kind of "parent" meeting at a school before, so it was very interested to see how they were run. The principal was there (which surprised me- boy does he do a lot!), as well as a teacher representative and 5 parents- not the greatest turnout. We sailed through a few of the topics (mostly having to do with fundraising) and we had a great time discussing the school's Christmas Bazaar. During one of the "Parent-Teacher Interview" nights, the school holds a Christmas Bazaar where they serve food (chili and hot dogs- yum!), have a huge bake sale, sell Christmas baskets, do a raffle, and even have something called "Trash/Treasure". This topic brought up some disagreement between the parents.
Trash/Treasure is like a yard sale- the students (and their parents) donate their old ANYTHINGs really (anything you would donate to goodwill) to the school, and the school put its all out on giant tables and sells it for 25 cents- $1. Its a great way for the school to make some money and it helps families de-clutter their houses. One of the parents had a huge concern because apparently some families decide to donate their trash- half-coloured colouring books, broken (non-usable) items, etc. So there was a discussion if it was even worth it to have this event at this year's Christmas Bazaar because they wanted someone to go through EVERYTHING before putting it out to ensure we are not putting out any inappropriate things.
Now, I love garage sales. I would even consider myself the queen of garage sales- when there is one, I am there, and I've been going to them for years and years. Now, myself being this garage sale junkie, I decided to volunteer to collect and organize ALL the trash/treasure before the event so that way theres no giant "mess" out on the tables, and the school is not selling half-eaten chocolate bars. Its great because the event is on November 29th which is our second last day at Block, so I will have all of November at the school to collect and organize the materials. And (something I just realized): I get to see all the stuff before it goes out- do you think I can put items on "hold?" :)
The rest of the meeting focused on EQAO results, and the good news was that our school was above the board and the province- the bad news: there is still lots of improvement that needs to be made- in some cases, the percentages of students at the provincial level was in its 60s- that means that there are still a great deal of students at Level 1 and 2 that need a lot of help. I also found out that the students actually receive their individual results- I had no idea the schools release these to the students and their parents (I thought it was confidential except for the teachers). In a way I think it is good because they can see how they did (since the test was probably very stressful for them), and they can see how they rank compared to the province (and their school)- this may motivate them to try harder...BUT at the same time, for those students who did not do well, they may feel discouraged after seeing these results, and some students still fail to believe that their mark on the test does not go towards their report card.
The meeting was only an hour, and in that time I learned so much- its great to see parents getting involved in their childs' school. Hopefully more parents will begin to do so as well.
Trash/Treasure is like a yard sale- the students (and their parents) donate their old ANYTHINGs really (anything you would donate to goodwill) to the school, and the school put its all out on giant tables and sells it for 25 cents- $1. Its a great way for the school to make some money and it helps families de-clutter their houses. One of the parents had a huge concern because apparently some families decide to donate their trash- half-coloured colouring books, broken (non-usable) items, etc. So there was a discussion if it was even worth it to have this event at this year's Christmas Bazaar because they wanted someone to go through EVERYTHING before putting it out to ensure we are not putting out any inappropriate things.
Now, I love garage sales. I would even consider myself the queen of garage sales- when there is one, I am there, and I've been going to them for years and years. Now, myself being this garage sale junkie, I decided to volunteer to collect and organize ALL the trash/treasure before the event so that way theres no giant "mess" out on the tables, and the school is not selling half-eaten chocolate bars. Its great because the event is on November 29th which is our second last day at Block, so I will have all of November at the school to collect and organize the materials. And (something I just realized): I get to see all the stuff before it goes out- do you think I can put items on "hold?" :)
The rest of the meeting focused on EQAO results, and the good news was that our school was above the board and the province- the bad news: there is still lots of improvement that needs to be made- in some cases, the percentages of students at the provincial level was in its 60s- that means that there are still a great deal of students at Level 1 and 2 that need a lot of help. I also found out that the students actually receive their individual results- I had no idea the schools release these to the students and their parents (I thought it was confidential except for the teachers). In a way I think it is good because they can see how they did (since the test was probably very stressful for them), and they can see how they rank compared to the province (and their school)- this may motivate them to try harder...BUT at the same time, for those students who did not do well, they may feel discouraged after seeing these results, and some students still fail to believe that their mark on the test does not go towards their report card.
The meeting was only an hour, and in that time I learned so much- its great to see parents getting involved in their childs' school. Hopefully more parents will begin to do so as well.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Rain Day = Crazy Day
So today I had my first experience in my block where I had to raise my voice with my students. For some people this may be deemed traumatic, but I thought that today at Stevensville was probably the most beneficial day I have ever had, and the biggest learning experience.
The day started off with the scariest experience of my life- the office buzzed down to ask us to send a child down to the office (my student with ADHD)...but he had not come to class...At first we didnt think anything of this, but then the secretary came to our room in a panic (thinking out teacher was kidding when he said he was not in class) and explained to us that the boy's father was at the school to drop something off to him- and he was the one who had dropped him off at the school this morning. This is where the panic set in- we had an 8 year old boy with ADHD missing- I searched the whole school and finally, after putting an annoucement on the PA system, he emerged from the bathroom he had been hiding in. His reasoning for this scare? "I hate school and its boring"...
The rest of the morning went quite smoothly: the kids had a spelling test, I did some PM Benchmark testing with them, they had a science test...and then things started to go a bit downhill. After informing a boy that he could not stay indoors for recess to colour a picture, he threw his chair. Now, he's in grade 3 and the sweetest child in the world, and I dont think he really MEANT to act up- but he did. I was in the room with him and did not raise my voice but calmly told him to pick up his chair, and he apologized.
Then, during recess, a boy in the class slapped a girl in the face...This same boy about an hour earlier had grabbed another child (with force) and tried to throw him into the recycling bin-while both myself and my teacher were in the room, he did not see what happened; I did. For this reason, I felt it was appropriate for myself to handle the situation. I raised my voice, told him to let go of the other child, apologize, and reminded him that we keep our hands to ourselves in the classroom (using the statement in a positive way instead of saying "dont touch other students"). As a side note, my teacher was extremely impressed and proud of me for handling the situation appropriately because he "didnt think I had it in me" (the raising of the voice).
The end of the day resulted in even more rambunctiousness on the part of the students, and it resulted in my teacher raising his voice (loudly) with his entire class (which he almost NEVER does). He explained to me that some days (Friday afternoons/indoor recess days), the kids simply have a "bad day" and get out of hand. They also take advantage of the situation, so the teacher sometimes has to raise their voice to remind the students of where they are, and to remind them to respect their teacher (and one another). I thought it was a very valuable lesson that I learned today- I did not like to have to raise my voice, and I know most of us hope that we never have to- but today I realized that sometimes it is okay to do so if you have tried other tactics and they do not work- I do not agree with teachers constantly yelling and raising their voices with their students on a daily basis, but once in a while when the students are having one of those "bad days" and they need to be reminded that they are in school and are there to learn and show respect, then I think that it is acceptable, if done properly (and fairly).
The day started off with the scariest experience of my life- the office buzzed down to ask us to send a child down to the office (my student with ADHD)...but he had not come to class...At first we didnt think anything of this, but then the secretary came to our room in a panic (thinking out teacher was kidding when he said he was not in class) and explained to us that the boy's father was at the school to drop something off to him- and he was the one who had dropped him off at the school this morning. This is where the panic set in- we had an 8 year old boy with ADHD missing- I searched the whole school and finally, after putting an annoucement on the PA system, he emerged from the bathroom he had been hiding in. His reasoning for this scare? "I hate school and its boring"...
The rest of the morning went quite smoothly: the kids had a spelling test, I did some PM Benchmark testing with them, they had a science test...and then things started to go a bit downhill. After informing a boy that he could not stay indoors for recess to colour a picture, he threw his chair. Now, he's in grade 3 and the sweetest child in the world, and I dont think he really MEANT to act up- but he did. I was in the room with him and did not raise my voice but calmly told him to pick up his chair, and he apologized.
Then, during recess, a boy in the class slapped a girl in the face...This same boy about an hour earlier had grabbed another child (with force) and tried to throw him into the recycling bin-while both myself and my teacher were in the room, he did not see what happened; I did. For this reason, I felt it was appropriate for myself to handle the situation. I raised my voice, told him to let go of the other child, apologize, and reminded him that we keep our hands to ourselves in the classroom (using the statement in a positive way instead of saying "dont touch other students"). As a side note, my teacher was extremely impressed and proud of me for handling the situation appropriately because he "didnt think I had it in me" (the raising of the voice).
The end of the day resulted in even more rambunctiousness on the part of the students, and it resulted in my teacher raising his voice (loudly) with his entire class (which he almost NEVER does). He explained to me that some days (Friday afternoons/indoor recess days), the kids simply have a "bad day" and get out of hand. They also take advantage of the situation, so the teacher sometimes has to raise their voice to remind the students of where they are, and to remind them to respect their teacher (and one another). I thought it was a very valuable lesson that I learned today- I did not like to have to raise my voice, and I know most of us hope that we never have to- but today I realized that sometimes it is okay to do so if you have tried other tactics and they do not work- I do not agree with teachers constantly yelling and raising their voices with their students on a daily basis, but once in a while when the students are having one of those "bad days" and they need to be reminded that they are in school and are there to learn and show respect, then I think that it is acceptable, if done properly (and fairly).
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Guest Speaker
Today in counselling group we had a guest speaker come in and speak to us about Classroom Management. Colleen was EXTREMELY informative and was full of so many good examples of all the techniques that she discussed. I was very impressed that she practiced what she taught (as a teacher and as a principal) and her techniques worked. I have a child in my class with ADHD, so it was great to have her remind me that children with this disorder do not remember/consider the consequences of their actions. This explains why my student engages in the same innappropriate behaviour over and over again.
I love that she told us about "positive" statements and how they should be used instead of negative ones...so for example saying "We walk in the hallway" rather than "We do not run". It makes sense that the students will focus on the word "run" and do the action anyway so this is a great solution.
I think it was also important that she spoke of consistency. Like Colleen, I believe that consistency is very important in the classroom, because it will allow the students to know what to expect (they learn to predict the outcome of their actions).
I thought it was a great idea to have a guest speaker in, because I think that in the Faculty of Education, unfortunately we are not taught enough about HOW to teach or different techniques we can use that WORK- having Colleen come in and speak of her personal experiences was extremely valuable to my own learning, and hopefully to the learning of everyone else in our counselling group as well.
I love that she told us about "positive" statements and how they should be used instead of negative ones...so for example saying "We walk in the hallway" rather than "We do not run". It makes sense that the students will focus on the word "run" and do the action anyway so this is a great solution.
I think it was also important that she spoke of consistency. Like Colleen, I believe that consistency is very important in the classroom, because it will allow the students to know what to expect (they learn to predict the outcome of their actions).
I thought it was a great idea to have a guest speaker in, because I think that in the Faculty of Education, unfortunately we are not taught enough about HOW to teach or different techniques we can use that WORK- having Colleen come in and speak of her personal experiences was extremely valuable to my own learning, and hopefully to the learning of everyone else in our counselling group as well.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Microteaching
Today, myself and the other 3 student teachers at Stevensville Elementary had our microteaching. I had butterflies in my stomache all day today, leading up to my lesson (which was the last of day)...and boy am I glad its over!
My kids were AMAZING- they were so well behaved and barely even realized there was a camera filming their every word- I was so proud of all of them. My microteaching (for the most part) went quite well. It was interesting to hear the feedback from the counsellors and from my peers, since when I was teaching the lesson, it was hard to focus on exactly WHAT wording I was using. The good thing was, I didn't say "gonna" or "you guys" AT ALL...the bad thing: Apparently I love the word wonderful...because in my 20 minute MT, I probably used it about, oh 15 times...I didnt notice this at ALL until my peers (and counsellors) told me I overused the word- then when I went home to watch my tape, it was actually embarassing to see how many times I said it...embarassing, but actually kind of funny because I never even knew I use the word wonderful.
The experience was definitely valuable and it was nice to hear the suggestions as well as the compliments from my audience. Some of them I may not necessarily have agreed with (such as my "bubbling" personality eventually causing me to burn-out quickly in the future) ....but I definitely value the opinions of others. It was also interesting to see just how our teaching styles differed (and boy were they different).
Overall I'm happy with my performance, and I think we all did a great job. I cant wait to get to started teaching lessons in the classroom for the whole class :)
Oh...and as for a volleyball practice update: I got nailed in the face with a ball today- it was numb for over half an hour...but I swear the girls are getting better! :)
My kids were AMAZING- they were so well behaved and barely even realized there was a camera filming their every word- I was so proud of all of them. My microteaching (for the most part) went quite well. It was interesting to hear the feedback from the counsellors and from my peers, since when I was teaching the lesson, it was hard to focus on exactly WHAT wording I was using. The good thing was, I didn't say "gonna" or "you guys" AT ALL...the bad thing: Apparently I love the word wonderful...because in my 20 minute MT, I probably used it about, oh 15 times...I didnt notice this at ALL until my peers (and counsellors) told me I overused the word- then when I went home to watch my tape, it was actually embarassing to see how many times I said it...embarassing, but actually kind of funny because I never even knew I use the word wonderful.
The experience was definitely valuable and it was nice to hear the suggestions as well as the compliments from my audience. Some of them I may not necessarily have agreed with (such as my "bubbling" personality eventually causing me to burn-out quickly in the future) ....but I definitely value the opinions of others. It was also interesting to see just how our teaching styles differed (and boy were they different).
Overall I'm happy with my performance, and I think we all did a great job. I cant wait to get to started teaching lessons in the classroom for the whole class :)
Oh...and as for a volleyball practice update: I got nailed in the face with a ball today- it was numb for over half an hour...but I swear the girls are getting better! :)
Saturday, October 6, 2007
P.D Day- A Taste of Tribes
This past Friday was a P.D day, and unlike the last (where we attended staff meetings for the morning and had planning in the afternoon), we had the opportunity to attend teacher workshops. This was a great experience, and it was amazing to see just how many teachers come out to all the workshops.
I attended a "Taste of Tribes" workshop that was run by a teacher at my placement school. She is the grade 6 teacher, and she uses "tribes" in her classroom, and encouraged me to attend this workshop so I could get a feel for it. It was truly eye-opening.
Tribes is not something that you add to the curriculum- it is a WAY of teaching and enriching the curriculum. It focuses on community and respect, and there is a pathway that the teacher leads the students through in order to achieve the end result (which is respect for oneself, and for each other). Tribes does include group work, and this is great because it encourages students to work with individuals in their classroom that they may not have really spoken to before.
It also includes activities called "energizers". These are quick-thinking/high energy activities that do 1 of 2 things: they "wake up" the students in class who have lost focus and have drifted off, and they also "calm down" students after recess in order to get them ready for thinking and for participating in their work.
Tribes offers weekend-long training sessions (2 fridays and saturdays) where teachers have the opportunity to basically LIVE the tribes way, to see how they can use it in their classrooms. The statistics on this are truly in favour of the program, and in fact, many schools in the Niagara school board are enacting MANDATORY tribes training for all the teachers in their schools (especially for those schools in lower-income areas).
If any of you ever get a chance, I would definitely recommend finding out more about Tribes- it has worked in many difficult classrooms, and the respect that it brings about in students towards themselves, and towards others is reason enough to give this a chance.
I attended a "Taste of Tribes" workshop that was run by a teacher at my placement school. She is the grade 6 teacher, and she uses "tribes" in her classroom, and encouraged me to attend this workshop so I could get a feel for it. It was truly eye-opening.
Tribes is not something that you add to the curriculum- it is a WAY of teaching and enriching the curriculum. It focuses on community and respect, and there is a pathway that the teacher leads the students through in order to achieve the end result (which is respect for oneself, and for each other). Tribes does include group work, and this is great because it encourages students to work with individuals in their classroom that they may not have really spoken to before.
It also includes activities called "energizers". These are quick-thinking/high energy activities that do 1 of 2 things: they "wake up" the students in class who have lost focus and have drifted off, and they also "calm down" students after recess in order to get them ready for thinking and for participating in their work.
Tribes offers weekend-long training sessions (2 fridays and saturdays) where teachers have the opportunity to basically LIVE the tribes way, to see how they can use it in their classrooms. The statistics on this are truly in favour of the program, and in fact, many schools in the Niagara school board are enacting MANDATORY tribes training for all the teachers in their schools (especially for those schools in lower-income areas).
If any of you ever get a chance, I would definitely recommend finding out more about Tribes- it has worked in many difficult classrooms, and the respect that it brings about in students towards themselves, and towards others is reason enough to give this a chance.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Volleyball Practice
After school on Wednesdays, I was given the opportunity to help coach the Intermediate Girls' Volleyball team. I thought this would be a piece of cake, since my own sister (who is in grade 8) is a nightmare- but other grade 8s wouldn't be that bad...right?
Hmm...well, introductions quickly turned into scowls and mean looks as the taller-than-myself girls decided they did not need a female who looks like she is 14 helping teach them how to play volleyball. It didnt matter to them that I had been playing since I was 3, or that I myself had been on teams for years...
What mattered to them was that they had to call me "Miss K" and I looked no older than their younger sisters- and this for some reason irked them. It didn't matter how good I was or how much help I could give the team- what mattered to them was that their coach had introduced yet another authority figure that they would have to listen to...
Some of the girls are sweethearts...and the boys on the intermediate team are wonderful...but some of those girls give me looks of death. After discussing my fears of getting hit in the head with multiple volleyballs by those girls with the coach, he assured me that they are just like that- in class, on the court...some of those young ladies have hit that age where they no longer want to listen to authority figures, or be told what to do. This made me feel much better...sort of...
I have attended 3 volleyball practices thus far, each going better than the last. Yes, there is still the scowl from the odd girl when I make suggestions, but there is definitely an improvement...I know it will take some time, and some work, but I will do whatever I can to help those girls play to the best of their ability, and to earn the respect of those girls who refuse to give it.
*crossing fingers*
Hmm...well, introductions quickly turned into scowls and mean looks as the taller-than-myself girls decided they did not need a female who looks like she is 14 helping teach them how to play volleyball. It didnt matter to them that I had been playing since I was 3, or that I myself had been on teams for years...
What mattered to them was that they had to call me "Miss K" and I looked no older than their younger sisters- and this for some reason irked them. It didn't matter how good I was or how much help I could give the team- what mattered to them was that their coach had introduced yet another authority figure that they would have to listen to...
Some of the girls are sweethearts...and the boys on the intermediate team are wonderful...but some of those girls give me looks of death. After discussing my fears of getting hit in the head with multiple volleyballs by those girls with the coach, he assured me that they are just like that- in class, on the court...some of those young ladies have hit that age where they no longer want to listen to authority figures, or be told what to do. This made me feel much better...sort of...
I have attended 3 volleyball practices thus far, each going better than the last. Yes, there is still the scowl from the odd girl when I make suggestions, but there is definitely an improvement...I know it will take some time, and some work, but I will do whatever I can to help those girls play to the best of their ability, and to earn the respect of those girls who refuse to give it.
*crossing fingers*
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