I’ve been thinking a lot about the little ones I worked with for my observation hours. I really miss the time in the classroom. What is sticking with me at the moment, however, are some particular moments with specific children. I guess the reason is because I have been catching up with some reading and one of the blogs I read has some very enlightening stories about a new teacher’s first year on the job. I love it because it really paints a picture of what that first year is like, without sugar coating and without over dramatizing. Plus, the writer offers several lessons learned which are good to take note of.
Since discipline, structure and respect have been on my mind a lot, I keep thinking about a particular incidence that occurred when I was doing my observation. This was between me and one of the children with a behavioral disability. This particular child was set to be moving into a LRE for fall. On the surface he seemed like a great kid, and he is extremely bright, but when something triggered him he was out of control with anger. We had a particular problem with him on the playground, where he would often start fights (particularly with smaller and more vulnerable children), he would run away, throw things, and act out in several different dramatic ways. We managed the playground by each taking a post on one side so that we could keep count of the children in our class, know where each was and keep an eye on what they were up to. This child happened to have a meltdown in my area and I had to deal with the situation.
As a student early in my career, and not trained in dealing with ED, I felt very uncomfortable with the task of confronting this child, but in the moment, I had no choice. Even more uncomfortable was the fact that there were other teachers standing nearby watching my interaction. Talk about pressure to do the right thing! At first the child would not listen to me. I felt as if I was telling a brick wall what to do. Then it finally hit me that asking politely doesn’t work the same way with children as it does with adults, and definitely not with children who have a dysfunction in their processing of emotions. So I told him he has a choice to make, he can either do what I asked him or go inside and not be able to watch the Magic School Bus (which was that day’s reward for positive behavior.) Then I stepped back and said the choice is yours, I hope you make a good choice. He proceeded to do what I ask, but not before he screamed “I hate you” and then ran off in a mad fury, pushing down a small child on his way, at which point I yelled for the TA to catch him when he ran by. I felt like I took one step forward, then two giant steps back. His behavior problems escalated that day, and the days surrounding that one were just as bad. He had been showing up to school in a certain form and getting worse as the day went on. We finally figured that something must be going on at home that triggered him before he even got to school. None the less, I felt like a failure. I didn't know how to handle the situation myself.
Lately though, I wonder how much of this problem is the ED, or how much of it is typical problems that I will encounter with kids. It’s easy to think that this boy was different, but maybe he isn’t as different as I think. Just because he had the ED label placed upon him doesn’t mean there aren’t other kids just like that who don’t have that label but do have the problems addressing their emotional needs the same way he does. Plus, when I consider that this child was being moved into an inclusive classroom, I realize that he has now become part of the mainstream and those problems will not be dealt with by someone with specialized training in behavioral disorders, but are now the responsibility of the general education teacher.
The big question hangs in my mind, how does one prepare themselves for dealing with difficult children? I don’t think positive re-enforcement is enough for this child. I’m not sure what will be most effective. I kind of wish I could observe him for a while longer and see how he reacts to his new environment. I wonder if it will be better for him or if it will be a trigger? There are so many questions floating in my head as I think about his journey into the second grade. I really wish I could be there to learn some more from him. I can’t even express the lasting impression all those children have had on me.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Thoughts on a Collaborative Approach
While blog surfing today, I found a link to some free online professional development. I may not be a professional as of yet, but hey, free opportunities to learn right? So I read and learned a bit today about Cooperative and Collaborative learning. This was very interesting to me because I view this approach to learning as fairly new at the elementary level, since the collaborative approach was not as prominent 20-25 years ago when I was in elementary school (at least I don't recall spending much time collaborating with peers.) It makes me wonder if that is why I have an aversion to group work as a college student and why I tend to take the frame of mind, in my current career, that I would rather do things myself than accept the help of others. Effectively, anything which will have my name stamped on it, I want to be in control of. Is this an issue of trust or an inability to work effectively with a team?
I don’t consider myself bad at team work, In fact I usually have a strong role. I participate, I accept other’s ideas with an open mind and am actively involved with the production of a final product I can live with, but is it a final product I am proud of? I have to admit that in most cases usually not.
The information I read on cooperative and collaborative learning stated that this approach teaches children very important skills with respects to working with others, which is essential to success in most employment scenarios, but that teachers should be careful not to rely on this approach more than independent work. One of the points that were made is exactly what bothers me about group work: For some students, particularly detail oriented perfectionists, such as myself, the pressure of the group model may be too much to bear. Interestingly, this is a self inflicted problem. Even in a well balanced group, some students will shoulder more of the responsibility, sometimes that responsibility will be physically doing more work than other participants, other times the responsibility will be psychological, as the student feels less control over their own academic outcomes when placing trust in their peer(s) to perform at the level they would perform at on their own.
Despite these realizations, I am still a supporter of using this approach in the classroom. I think it offers a broad scope of benefits for students to learn life skills as well as critical thinking skills. The key is to know when this type of approach can be most useful.
I asked myself, “Where does a collaborative model work? What disciplines require different types of minds, different ideas, and objective viewpoints to lead to successful outcomes?” My feeling is that collaboration is best suited to the sciences.
Science curriculum is where I see myself using this model most effectively in a classroom experience. It offers an opportunity for students to discover aspects of the world around them and explore them with the input of several difference intelligences. Since we all have a unique perspective of the world around us, there is great potential for students to learn from each other and open their mind to different viewpoints.
I view mathematics as a subject which is best absorbed through visual and tactile learning, where each student works somewhat independently because they need to find their own way of understanding the concepts.
I view reading comprehension and writing as another subject where students are best left to their own thought process as they learn to analyze and question their own understanding of material and apply it literally and metaphorically, all though I do think that sharing completed work is extremely beneficial so that students can see the variety of creative thoughts that can be conceived through literary analysis.
Topics in social studies I believe to be best relayed through a variety of techniques experienced as one large group, whether it be pictures, group discussions, lecture, field trips, or creative interpretations through role playing, art, ect.
I think the most important thing is to utilize several different methods of delivery so that all students feel they have an equal opportunity to let their best characteristics come through. I think it is good also for teachers to attempt to focus on each child individually, at some point, in order to figure out where they best fit in to this model. We might be able to take a child who otherwise would recoil when it comes to a collaborative model, and find a place within that model where they can flourish.
Of course, in the perfect world within in my student mind, I am also assuming that teachers have time and energy to give sufficient attention to these projects. I hope that is the case in the real world, when I finally get there!
I don’t consider myself bad at team work, In fact I usually have a strong role. I participate, I accept other’s ideas with an open mind and am actively involved with the production of a final product I can live with, but is it a final product I am proud of? I have to admit that in most cases usually not.
The information I read on cooperative and collaborative learning stated that this approach teaches children very important skills with respects to working with others, which is essential to success in most employment scenarios, but that teachers should be careful not to rely on this approach more than independent work. One of the points that were made is exactly what bothers me about group work: For some students, particularly detail oriented perfectionists, such as myself, the pressure of the group model may be too much to bear. Interestingly, this is a self inflicted problem. Even in a well balanced group, some students will shoulder more of the responsibility, sometimes that responsibility will be physically doing more work than other participants, other times the responsibility will be psychological, as the student feels less control over their own academic outcomes when placing trust in their peer(s) to perform at the level they would perform at on their own.
Despite these realizations, I am still a supporter of using this approach in the classroom. I think it offers a broad scope of benefits for students to learn life skills as well as critical thinking skills. The key is to know when this type of approach can be most useful.
I asked myself, “Where does a collaborative model work? What disciplines require different types of minds, different ideas, and objective viewpoints to lead to successful outcomes?” My feeling is that collaboration is best suited to the sciences.
Science curriculum is where I see myself using this model most effectively in a classroom experience. It offers an opportunity for students to discover aspects of the world around them and explore them with the input of several difference intelligences. Since we all have a unique perspective of the world around us, there is great potential for students to learn from each other and open their mind to different viewpoints.
I view mathematics as a subject which is best absorbed through visual and tactile learning, where each student works somewhat independently because they need to find their own way of understanding the concepts.
I view reading comprehension and writing as another subject where students are best left to their own thought process as they learn to analyze and question their own understanding of material and apply it literally and metaphorically, all though I do think that sharing completed work is extremely beneficial so that students can see the variety of creative thoughts that can be conceived through literary analysis.
Topics in social studies I believe to be best relayed through a variety of techniques experienced as one large group, whether it be pictures, group discussions, lecture, field trips, or creative interpretations through role playing, art, ect.
I think the most important thing is to utilize several different methods of delivery so that all students feel they have an equal opportunity to let their best characteristics come through. I think it is good also for teachers to attempt to focus on each child individually, at some point, in order to figure out where they best fit in to this model. We might be able to take a child who otherwise would recoil when it comes to a collaborative model, and find a place within that model where they can flourish.
Of course, in the perfect world within in my student mind, I am also assuming that teachers have time and energy to give sufficient attention to these projects. I hope that is the case in the real world, when I finally get there!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
A Much Needed Break
Tonight I take my last test for this semester and then I get a glorious 3-week break from school! Part of me thinks I should get ahead with reading for my Literature course and keep working on math since I have section two of this course coming up next semester, and I probably will keep working to some extent, but it will be so nice to not have to do anything! I am so completely burnt out after this semester. It was supposed to be easy but instead it was extremely challenging and demanding on my time. I feel fortunate that my personal relationships survived this semester since I have had virtually nothing left to give.
Each step closer to the end I begin to feel more and more anxious. I love reading about teachers heading back to school, preparing their rooms, planning the year and in general anticipating all that is to come. I think about how even on the hardest days, one funny remark or crooked tooth smile from one of the kids can make it all seem ok.
This comes to mind after the atrocious week I have had at work dealing with very childish adults. I would so much rather be with real children!
Hopefully on my break, I will get an opportunity to do some reading from my list of education related books that I am meaning to read someday. Too bad I don’t have a break from work as well!
Each step closer to the end I begin to feel more and more anxious. I love reading about teachers heading back to school, preparing their rooms, planning the year and in general anticipating all that is to come. I think about how even on the hardest days, one funny remark or crooked tooth smile from one of the kids can make it all seem ok.
This comes to mind after the atrocious week I have had at work dealing with very childish adults. I would so much rather be with real children!
Hopefully on my break, I will get an opportunity to do some reading from my list of education related books that I am meaning to read someday. Too bad I don’t have a break from work as well!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Building a Philosophy
As I begin to concentrate on courses related to my education degree, there is an increasing importance placed on starting to develop a teaching philosophy. I am supposed to start thinking about what my goals will be as an educator and what approach I feel is most conducive to learning; whether I support a teacher centered approach or a student centered approach.
Despite the political references attached to “choosing a side” so to speak, I think that I fall in line with the student centered way of thinking. While I understand the big picture of the teacher centered approach, I think that it leads to the “one size fits all” curriculum problem that I often observe teachers complaining about. It's a factory approach, where children are part of an assembly line and are molded into one final product where we expect them all to be exactly the same at the end; and by same I mean productive members of society that are competitive with the ranks of other countries. Much the same way our military values sameness, conformity obedience and dominance I feel that the teacher center approach demands the educational equivalent of the military; an annual crop of graduates who educationally represent our country and who seek to take precedence over the global economy. The image I get in my head is quite dramatic!
I support a more personal and holistic approach to education. Rather than make several equivalent graduates, I would like to see our country producing highly intelligent unique individuals. Are we completely forgetting the power of creativity and individual thought? Our country needs to be nurturing the differences in people so that we can generate creative thinkers. I guess I believe that true greatness comes from being innovative. That is why I support a student centered approach, which focuses on seeking out the unique abilities of each learner and building a solid curricular foundation which best utilizes those qualities, as opposed to regurgitating information. I think that each individual is capable of being really great at a few certain individual things instead of mediocre at a bunch of things and education should help nurture those finer qualities so that they can be used to contribute to society in their most meaningful way. We should focus, as educators, on helping students find what excites them and building confidence and a way to learn using that excitement as the platform for all other subject content.
I suppose for where I am at in my education, I should expect my thoughts and opinions to change some and develop more shape and definition, but I think I am well on my way to developing a solid philosophy.
Despite the political references attached to “choosing a side” so to speak, I think that I fall in line with the student centered way of thinking. While I understand the big picture of the teacher centered approach, I think that it leads to the “one size fits all” curriculum problem that I often observe teachers complaining about. It's a factory approach, where children are part of an assembly line and are molded into one final product where we expect them all to be exactly the same at the end; and by same I mean productive members of society that are competitive with the ranks of other countries. Much the same way our military values sameness, conformity obedience and dominance I feel that the teacher center approach demands the educational equivalent of the military; an annual crop of graduates who educationally represent our country and who seek to take precedence over the global economy. The image I get in my head is quite dramatic!
I support a more personal and holistic approach to education. Rather than make several equivalent graduates, I would like to see our country producing highly intelligent unique individuals. Are we completely forgetting the power of creativity and individual thought? Our country needs to be nurturing the differences in people so that we can generate creative thinkers. I guess I believe that true greatness comes from being innovative. That is why I support a student centered approach, which focuses on seeking out the unique abilities of each learner and building a solid curricular foundation which best utilizes those qualities, as opposed to regurgitating information. I think that each individual is capable of being really great at a few certain individual things instead of mediocre at a bunch of things and education should help nurture those finer qualities so that they can be used to contribute to society in their most meaningful way. We should focus, as educators, on helping students find what excites them and building confidence and a way to learn using that excitement as the platform for all other subject content.
I suppose for where I am at in my education, I should expect my thoughts and opinions to change some and develop more shape and definition, but I think I am well on my way to developing a solid philosophy.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
A Suggestion, Courtesy of My Subconscious
Last night I had this dream that played out as if I were watching a documentary about teaching. It was about the elementary grade levels and the attributes of each grade. I think it may have been the subconscious result of reading the Yardstick’s blog over the last month. The grade that stood out was second grade. There was a cartoon school bus full of smiling cartoon children driving along a road lined with bright green cartoon bushes, butterflies and flowers all around. Then the bus stopped, and the stop sign on the driver's side came out and the driver looked over and said, “next stop, second grade” then the narrator spoke about how second grade is one of the best ever. That it’s the year where creativity and art is utilized the most in instruction and where children are open and receptive to everything around them, hungry for knowledge so to speak. I woke up this morning thinking, “I really want to teach second grade!”
Plus, I was thinking, that the school bus scene would make a good back to school bulletin board.
Plus, I was thinking, that the school bus scene would make a good back to school bulletin board.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Math Shouldn't Make People Want To Quit Trying
In the wake of my days working at the school I feel very sad. I really enjoyed being with the kids and I enjoyed the teachers I worked with. I’m glad that the crunch on my time has eased a bit and I no longer have 14 hour days to contend with, but sad, none the less.
The class that this requirement was for is ending tomorrow and I admit I have checked out, mentally, already. This is only because it took all my energy to complete the requirements that my Math class has suffered miserably and its time I place my focus on that now. I’ve already ruined my Perfect GPA (pardon me while I take a moment to mourn 2 years of hard work:(…….
I couldn’t help it, there were just too many requirements in too short of a time and working full time sometimes makes perfection impossible, especially because I need my job to not only pay bills but also my tuition! As you can tell, this is bothering me immensely and I feel very defensive about it.
This math class in itself is a challenge. They shortened the course to 8 weeks, which I don’t understand. The term is 12 weeks long, so they could have had it go the full 12 weeks and it would have been at least a little more manageable.
It’s a Elementary Math teaching course which focuses on various problem solving techniques and several “algebraic” approaches to elementary arithmetic. Translation- it makes what was once very simple math a complex conundrum to even most adults. All this came from the revelation made by mathematicians that children need to start algebraic thinking earlier in the curriculum and that “rote memorization” of simply how to do math is simply not good enough. It also goes on the premise that teachers need to know how to approach math from various angles in order to help different types of learners understand. The later, I completely agree with. The former, not so much. I guess I don’t see any problem with the way I learned math. It always made practical sense to me. Some of these “algebraic thinking” concepts just seem far too abstract for elementary age children. Maybe I’m slightly old school when it comes to education, but I think that we should be careful about the expectations placed on kids. Education should be challenging, yes, but its counterproductive when it’s challenging beyond the cognitive capabilities of a child. We are at risk of causing them to tune out. I imagine that to children, some of these algebraic concepts may be the equivalent of the average adult attempting to read and understand, say… a study on Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia. Most adults would not be anxious or motivated to keep reading, so why would we expect the same of a child who doesn’t get the material?
I am taking what I can from this class, but inevitably, some of it will be lost on me. I do have to say that I love the Lattice method of addition and multiplication, I like some of the base ten techniques, and I am always a big fan of using pictures and diagrams to sort information. So the class is not a complete loss, there are some helpful new techniques out there I see good use for in my target grades.
The class that this requirement was for is ending tomorrow and I admit I have checked out, mentally, already. This is only because it took all my energy to complete the requirements that my Math class has suffered miserably and its time I place my focus on that now. I’ve already ruined my Perfect GPA (pardon me while I take a moment to mourn 2 years of hard work:(…….
I couldn’t help it, there were just too many requirements in too short of a time and working full time sometimes makes perfection impossible, especially because I need my job to not only pay bills but also my tuition! As you can tell, this is bothering me immensely and I feel very defensive about it.
This math class in itself is a challenge. They shortened the course to 8 weeks, which I don’t understand. The term is 12 weeks long, so they could have had it go the full 12 weeks and it would have been at least a little more manageable.
It’s a Elementary Math teaching course which focuses on various problem solving techniques and several “algebraic” approaches to elementary arithmetic. Translation- it makes what was once very simple math a complex conundrum to even most adults. All this came from the revelation made by mathematicians that children need to start algebraic thinking earlier in the curriculum and that “rote memorization” of simply how to do math is simply not good enough. It also goes on the premise that teachers need to know how to approach math from various angles in order to help different types of learners understand. The later, I completely agree with. The former, not so much. I guess I don’t see any problem with the way I learned math. It always made practical sense to me. Some of these “algebraic thinking” concepts just seem far too abstract for elementary age children. Maybe I’m slightly old school when it comes to education, but I think that we should be careful about the expectations placed on kids. Education should be challenging, yes, but its counterproductive when it’s challenging beyond the cognitive capabilities of a child. We are at risk of causing them to tune out. I imagine that to children, some of these algebraic concepts may be the equivalent of the average adult attempting to read and understand, say… a study on Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia. Most adults would not be anxious or motivated to keep reading, so why would we expect the same of a child who doesn’t get the material?
I am taking what I can from this class, but inevitably, some of it will be lost on me. I do have to say that I love the Lattice method of addition and multiplication, I like some of the base ten techniques, and I am always a big fan of using pictures and diagrams to sort information. So the class is not a complete loss, there are some helpful new techniques out there I see good use for in my target grades.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Coming to a Close :(
My forty hours of field experience are over after tomorrow. When I first started this experience I felt completely inadequate and overwhelmed, but once I went to the private school for a day, I had a new appreciation for the public school experience and all that it offered me.
Now I feel very sad to see my time coming to a close and I feel each day like I am just trying to take in every moment that I have to interact with the kids. I feel like I have developed a good relationship with a few of them and also understand their disability much more than in the beginning. I have been having some successful interactions with the autistic kids. .
I also thoroughly enjoy working with the T.A.s, teacher and speech pathologist assigned to this group. I also really love being in the school environment. If I didn’t have to work, I would probably continue to volunteer my time until the end of the ESY in a couple weeks.
I also found out that as of the end of the year, I can apply for the IL state approved and NCLB approved Paraprofessional program. It would be great to get a TA job and gain a lot of experience before I get my teaching certificate. Financially I am unable to make that career move now, but jobs opportunities are not abundant now anyway. Probably my last year of school would be a good time to make the transition.
Now I feel very sad to see my time coming to a close and I feel each day like I am just trying to take in every moment that I have to interact with the kids. I feel like I have developed a good relationship with a few of them and also understand their disability much more than in the beginning. I have been having some successful interactions with the autistic kids. .
I also thoroughly enjoy working with the T.A.s, teacher and speech pathologist assigned to this group. I also really love being in the school environment. If I didn’t have to work, I would probably continue to volunteer my time until the end of the ESY in a couple weeks.
I also found out that as of the end of the year, I can apply for the IL state approved and NCLB approved Paraprofessional program. It would be great to get a TA job and gain a lot of experience before I get my teaching certificate. Financially I am unable to make that career move now, but jobs opportunities are not abundant now anyway. Probably my last year of school would be a good time to make the transition.
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