Artistry, Equanimity, & Power

After-school program

2008-07-16T08:38:00.000-07:00

This is a short video showing part of the field experience for the Introduction to Urban Education course during the May, 2008 semester.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbkaVs92KKw
As part of this experience the TCNJ pre-service teachers developed four curriculum components. These components were dance, cooking, and arts and crafts. Students were divided into four groups and participated in a different activity each day. It was decided to have two distinct art groups instead of just one because funding for the school's art program had recently been cut and the students do not have the opportunity to engage with artistic projects. The first arts group created scrapbooks using pictures of their peers. The second art group created paper mache pinatas. The dance group learned three types of routines -- Latin, Chinese, and Middle Eastern. Finally, the cooking group made homemade salsa, desserts, smoothies and pizza.

Did I Miss Anything

2008-04-09T06:52:00.000-07:00

Did I Miss Anything

Tom Wayman

Originally from: The Astonishing Weight of the Dead.
Vancouver: Polestar, 1994.

Did I Miss Anything

Question frequently asked by
students after missing a class

Nothing. When we realized you weren't here
we sat with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the full two hours

Everything. I gave an exam worth
40 per cent of the grade for this term
and assigned some reading due today
on which I'm about to hand out a quiz
worth 50 per cent

Nothing. None of the content of this course
has value or meaning
Take as many days off as you like:
any activities we undertake as a class
I assure you will not matter either to you or me
and are without purpose

Everything. A few minutes after we began last time
a shaft of light descended and an angel
or other heavenly being appeared
and revealed to us what each woman or man must do
to attain divine wisdom in this life and
the hereafter
This is the last time the class will meet
before we disperse to bring this good news to all people
on earth

Nothing. When you are not present
how could something significant occur?

Everything. Contained in this classroom
is a microcosm of human existence
assembled for you to query and examine and ponder
This is not the only place such an opportunity has been
gathered

but it was one place

And you weren't here

Advice for new teachers (from veteran teachers)

2007-07-12T09:34:00.000-07:00

All of our graduate students conduct an oral history with a veteran teacher. Below are short excerpts from those interviews.

"...a first year teacher should make friends with grade level colleagues and if they offer their help, always take their advice and smile, despite if you agree with them or not. He advises a beginning teacher to get familiar with the school as well as the district as a whole. He encourages organization and to ask other teachers for advice to get classroom supplies. Most importantly, Anthony feels that whatever happens during the day, ends that day. If you have a bad day with a class, the worst thing to say to them the next day is, “We are not going to have a day like yesterday!” He advises a beginning teacher to go on from that point and don’t look back. Finally, Anthony emphasized the use of a mentor. He feels that a mentor should be one of the most important people in a beginning teacher’s career."

"...go into the classroom with a positive attitude and an open mind. The classroom can be a scary place at first. Most first time teachers are overconfident. The classroom takes a few years to get used to and it gets very frustrating at times. I remember when I first started teaching I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t have much of a plan. I heard in college that if you try to be your students’ friend they will eat you alive. I became too strict as a result. I gave too much homework and I wasn’t lenient enough.”

"I asked Mrs. Smith to describe what I can expect from my first few years of teaching based on her experience. The first word that jumped out of her mouth was insecurity. She remembers questioning herself every day if her lessons were getting through to her students and at times, feeling helpless when there was a lack of progress. “I learned to increase my knowledge of the school’s curriculum and plan lessons that engaged students by incorporating their interests.” Mrs. Smith also described how it was initially difficult to discipline her students. She explained that she learned two things rather quickly; first, positive reinforcement will give students confidence and help their behavior and second, perhaps most important, is to remain consistent. “If you say that there will be no “fun time” if someone misbehaves, then you always have to follow through on that,” she described. “Also, if you promise that a student will be rewarded for doing something, then you must always provide that reward.” Mrs. Smith reinforced that after a short time, I will learn how rewarding it feels when I see that a struggling student starts to “get it”. “It’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had,” she exclaimed."

"Not only are you a teacher, you are a social worker, counselor, disciplinarian. You have to provide resources to your students. You can do this by changing gears. You are constantly learning as a teacher.”

Perspective on the "American Dream"

2007-06-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

by Anna Larkin

“The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called truth" ~ Dan Rather.

Dictionary.com provides two conflicting characterizations for the meaning of truth: conformity with fact or reality or agreement with a standard; a verified fact of honesty, integrity, truthfulness. Truth is a central component in understanding and advocating for urban school children, curriculums and overcoming the archaic structure of American education. Unfortunately, the truth is that most urban youth are not reaching their full potential because urban school infrastructures for various reasons provide only the basic necessities of education for this majority of minorities.
My exposure to research data, miscellaneous text and personal interaction/discussion regarding poverty and oppression in my sociology classes at TCNJ facilitated personal internalization of certain truths and social inequalities. Further theoretical data and practical experience in this urban teaching seminar placed a face on that oppressed minority: students at Gregory School and a system of equal public education that is anything but equal. What I observed through tutoring in the after school program was primarily school work defined mainly as rote and drill assignments. Students lacked most school supplies down to the simplest items like paper and pencils and I do not recall ever seeing a journal or textbook of any kind.
“Schools have radically transformed over the past century” (Howard, 2003). Tyrone Howard charges colleges with the responsibility of dispelling stereotypes of urban deficit. It is absolutely clear the current problems in education are varied and complex. There is no absolute problem or solution however, it seems fairly obvious that the problems are easily identifiable and solutions plausible. Other scholarly data presented in this class (Kozol, Berliner) points out effectively how multiple elements of run-down urban communities, gang presence and street socialization, overall teaching profession, school district funding, curriculums, segregation, socioeconomic disparities, discrimination, stereotypes, and manipulated social oppression of the poor by powerful decision makers (wealthy and government officials) all contribute to failing schools, neighborhoods and student neglect. Martin Haberman exposes the deliberate practices of direct authoritarian instruction of most urban teachers with the sole purpose and presumption that urban minority students are capable of learning only basic skills. Jean Anyon likewise presents data on five diverse curriculums from authoritative direct instruction in what she labels as working class urban schools to student directed curriculum in affluent suburban schools. The former limits students in a “hidden curriculum” of learned obedience with the projected target of labor.
In the past two years, I evolved from total ignorance that racial prejudice, discrimination and white privilege even existed to acceptance and finally to the frightening reality of what seems like a covert operation to contain social classes and status quo in America. I always knew my compassion and hard work could make a difference in other children’s lives as a teacher and advocate but I question whether I can overcome the multiple obstacles urban schools currently face and still maintain effective quality teaching? Spending three weeks in an urban school setting as we have done is a mere introduction to the reality of teaching in urban schools and student needs. I will continue my teacher preparation during student teaching this fall in the Trenton Public School District.
I believe that all children deserve the challenge of reaching their full potential and education should provide that human right with every citizen sharing responsibility. A successful system of pedagogy needs to be supported by a continuing comprehensive system of reform and unification in all public schools. I cannot predict whether my abilities are sufficient to be an effective urban teacher but I know my desire and will are. Until the dream of equality becomes a reality, dedicated teachers will continue to push students to reach their full potential, fight conformity of stereotypes and promote the truth of integrity and honesty opposed to the standard of cultural majorities that proves to be the bane of urban education. It is a social tragedy educating a majority population to conceivably be “unemployable, unable to think and make moral choices” (Haberman).

Portraits and Beliefs

2007-05-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

"I want my classroom to be a place of discovery and exploration."

"Facts are important, but students also need to be able use their knowledge in everyday life."

"When a student is happy about learning, a teacher is equally joyful."

"Understanding the diversity of learning styles and student experiences is vital in giving every student the opportunity to succeed in the classroom and become a lifelong learner."

"I like to see smiles on student’s faces because I know that they are enjoying and have fun with their work."

"I’m sure I do not remember all of the content taught to me in grade school, but I do remember teachers who have affected my life and made me always want to become more; Now that is what I want to do."

"I strongly believe that all students need a safe and secure learning environment where they can feel comfortable to express their opinions and inquire about the world around them."

"Children learn so quickly and I think it is absolutely amazing to watch them learn and make connections."

"My classroom will be a safe place where students can share ideas and become a family of learners."

"I am looking forward to meeting my future students, and I am looking fondly towards the many years I will be in the classroom."

"Loving what you do day in and day out is essential in the teaching profession. "

"Everyone makes mistakes, but I want my students to see every mistake for what it is: the chance to do better."

Classroom Management in Middle School

2007-05-03T06:05:00.001-07:00

by Jenny Sabbagh

Before teaching at Lawrence Intermediate School, I was always afraid to teach middle school. I thought that middle school students were impossible, filled with attitude and drama. Although a lot of this is true, my biggest success at Lawrence Intermediate School has been learning how to manage a middle school classroom. When I first started at LIS, I spent a good portion of the class time just trying to organize the students and get everyone focused so that they could pay attention to me. I spent so much time on this that learning almost took a back seat. As I got to learn the students and feel more comfortable, I found different ways to implement routines into our classroom. It was important to take into consideration individual children’s behavioral style. For example, some students that talk constantly had to be given three warnings and had to be dealt with more aggressively. Seating arrangement plays a big role in this as well. When arranging my seats for my unit, I strategically placed my students. Obviously, students that will talk were not put next to each other. Although there are obvious reasons for placing students in a certain way, I had no idea how complicated something like seating arrangements can be for a teacher! Surprisingly, where the students are seating greatly contributes to the overall atmosphere and success of the classroom. One particular student that I had constantly wanted to know EVERYTHING that was going on. It could have been the color of my hair tie that day, he had to know everything. This student needed to be in the front so that he paid attention, but I also made sure that he was not by my partner and me or our cooperating teacher. Although seating arrangements helped me with classroom management, I found routines to be the biggest help. When the students entered the classroom, they had to go to their seats and work on their vocabulary. If they didn’t have their vocabulary, they automatically start to talk and move around the classroom. Students were also told that they should not go to the bathroom if I am in front of the classroom teaching (unless it is an emergency, of course). These, along with many other routines, really help to make the class time run a lot smoother. If these routines were not put into place, a lot less learning would occur and so much more time would be spent on organizing and punishing the students.

ACB Reflection

2007-05-01T04:50:00.000-07:00

The night before our first ACB class I got no sleep, I was nervous, anxious, and totally scared. That morning I looked and felt like a train wreck, my stomach hurt so badly, that my professor actually asked me if I was going to be alright, needless to say I do not handle stress well. I found out that my placement was going to be in a sixth grade social studies classroom in Lawrence. I was so excited when I was told my placement and who my partner was. I love history, and I plan on taking the Praxis test for grade 6-8 certifications for middle school Social Studies and Language Arts endorsement.

This semester had its highs and lows. There were days when my cooperating teacher frustrated me (and I’m sure I did the same to him), times were my students were not prepared with this homework, but defiantly remembered to bring their attitudes, and days when I just felt that I did not have what it took to be a teacher. Despite the lows, there were definite highs that outweigh any negative experience I may have had. My students surprised me more than once with this eagerness to learn new units, and their questions/connections lead to so many insightful class discussions. My cooperating teacher was extremely patient with both my partner and I, and he would “debrief” after each lesson we taught while giving us lists of things to work on. He answered every question we asked him not only about teaching in the classroom but also things like “how do you deal with the administration, what type of organization do you use, and how do you handle a problem student?”

When it all comes down to it, ACB was an amazing preparation for student teaching. I struggled a lot this semester, and doubted myself more than necessary. I would not have been as successful as I was if it were not for my professor’s constant support, my AMAZING partner Val, my insightful coop, and of course my wonderful students. Never in my life has a semester made such an impact on me before as this one has.

Home/School Connections and Boundaries

2007-05-01T04:48:00.000-07:00

by Jenny Sabbagh

For my culminating activity, I am having the students write a newspaper article and then present the article in a news report fashion. We will be videotaping them, bringing in refreshments, the students are dressing up, etc. My partner and I sent home a letter to the parents inviting them to come at the beginning of our full time. We only heard from one parent. Although I realize that some of the students may have completely neglected to give these notices to their parents, and some parents probably have to work, but I was really disappointed with this count. I think that a home/school connection is so important and parents should be more involved with their students learning. Depending on where one works, I’m sure that the parent’s involvement varies. Even being with these students for the short time that I was, I have realized that the students that share the knowledge that they learn at school with their personal lives seem to gain much more out of the experience. This has inspired me to work very hard on this when I have my own classroom. I want to be sure that as many parents as possible are involved. As I have been thinking about ways to implement this into my teaching style, I came up with some conflicts. When is the teacher allowed to get involved and not step on the parent’s boundaries? How do you motivate parents to want to be involved in their child’s schoolwork? I think it is first and foremost important for the teacher and the parent to sit down and realize that they probably have similar goals for the child. The problem is how to achieve these goals. It would be beneficial for the parent and teacher to sit down together and discuss this in great detail so that they are on the same page. The teacher could also offer some more assistance than what is required on parent/teacher conference night. Many teachers call home when a child is misbehaving and/or failing, but it may be helpful for teachers to contact the house even when a child is right on track or did something great! The main goal is to form a relationship! I know this must be really hard, but I find this to be extremely important and I hope to be able to accomplish this when I have a classroom of my own.

Teacher/Mentor/Friend/Therapist…

2007-05-01T04:47:00.001-07:00

by Laura Brady

I think teachers do not get enough credit. I know, what student teacher/teacher wouldn’t say that? But in all seriousness, teachers have a lot more responsibility than many other professions. Teachers are supposed to be guides, mentors, friends, experts at subject areas, and even psychologists at times. This occurred to me the other day after we had taught one of our lessons. During the lesson, one of our students who usually participates a lot in class and is very outgoing, was sitting quietly and withdrawn at his desk. Even after going over and trying to help him with the assignments, he just sat there with a blank look on his face. When I tried to ask him what was wrong, he wouldn’t answer but looked like he was about to cry. Our cooperating teacher told us that he sometimes gets like that and to leave him alone for the time being and she would talk to him after the lesson was over – otherwise he would break down. After the lesson, she pulled the student aside and talked to him. The student was having very difficult issues at home and started to cry uncontrollably once the teacher started talking to him. She gave him a box of tissues, sat next to him and tried to soothe him as she gently prodded him to answer her questions to figure out what was wrong. After talking with him for about twenty or thirty minutes the student became a little calmer and the teacher called his home to try and work things out for him. While she may not have been able to solve his problems, she was able to calm him down and he returned to class after gym in his normal outgoing mood. The student once again felt safe and happy in the classroom and was able to put his full attention on the lessons he was to learn. It surprised me a lot that day to see our cooperating teacher deal with these issues with the student. She is a great teacher and mentor and I’m glad that I was able to learn from her the kind of teacher I want to be. I think I expected her to ignore the issue or send the student to the guidance office or nurse’s office to figure things out. Instead, she knew that the student respected her and trusted her and she took the initiative to do what she could to help the student. She had his best interest at heart and was able to help him move past his issues at least for the time being. Many people do not realize that teachers deal with more than just getting students to learn basic math facts or writing techniques. In order for students to learn, they have to have their basic needs met and need to feel safe and secure in the classroom. Teachers need to provide the students with safety, security, and trust in order to be effective teachers and that adds one more thing that we as student teachers need to remember when we prepare ourselves for student teaching again next year.

Goodbye, ACB

2007-04-30T04:49:00.001-07:00

by Elizabeth Abken

Wow, I can’t believe that this semester is over. ACB has been an experience. It’s been a good experience, a bad experience, a horrifying experience, and a satisfying experience – all at the same time. These past few months have most of all been a learning experience. And boy, have I learned a lot. Hopefully, my students have learned a lot too.
I have gotten to experience first hand the stresses and rewards of teaching. I have toiled over lesson plans with my partner, trying to make them interesting and exciting for the students. I have gotten satisfaction when on Friday as I left, students told me that they would miss me and asked why I wasn’t coming back anymore.
It’s been a challenge and while I have enjoyed my time at the school, I’m still relieved that it’s over! However, I am thankful for this experience. I know that it will prepare me for this time next spring when I am student teaching, and this time in two years when I will (hopefully) be closing out my first year as a classroom teacher.

Absences

2007-04-29T04:41:00.000-07:00

by Laura Brady

When we first started teaching our unit during full time, I was a little nervous and a little excited. I wasn’t sure how the students in our 6th grade special education class were going to react to having social studies lessons on Ancient Egypt every day. There are only six students in our class and our final culminating project was to have them write and publish a book with facts they learned from each of our lessons. They would keep an “Egypt Journal” and write at least three or four facts in it for each lesson we did. We thought this would be a relatively easy thing for the students to do with our help if they were able to attend and participate in most of the lessons. However, we seemed to have a problem with attendance during the two weeks. The first day of full time, there was a major rain/snow storm and three of the students were unable to make it to school. We had already scheduled to teach two lessons that day so that we would be able to fit everything in that we had to get completed. Our first two lessons were taught to only half the class. The second day was a little better but by the middle of the week, one of the students was sick and not doing much work in class, one student had been suspended and another had a breakdown in class and didn’t get much work done either. At the end of the week, only one student had been in class for all the lessons we had taught so far. Between our cooperating teacher having to get through what she needed to teach the students, and us trying to get through the rest of our lessons for the unit, there wasn’t much time to catch up the other students. We ended up taking time during the last two days to catch everyone up as much as we could, but some of them still did not finish their books by the final day. I was a little upset and disappointed that we couldn’t get more accomplished with the students. They were able to learn and retain a lot of information, which was so exciting. But it was hard not having all the students available for every lesson. Our cooperating teacher was helpful, but it makes me nervous about teaching my own class of 20 or more students. If you’re trying to teach an important unit, or prepare students for a test, how do you catch them up if they miss a lesson or two? You can’t take time away from teaching new lessons to the whole class just to review for a few students. But you don’t want to go ahead too far where the ones that were absent won’t be able to catch up. I guess it’s another one of those things that we’ll just have to learn with practice…

Facing the consequences

2007-04-28T14:16:00.001-07:00

by the artist formerly known as "L.Y."

As I am writing this, I am experiencing my first hosting of “Detention” for my fifth grade class. Upon starting a two week unit, the class was told that there would be an incentive for handing in completed work on time. Several students had already been having difficulties getting work completed (50% of the class handed in the last assignment late). Therefore, we wanted to challenge them and see who was able to meet the demands and alter their past performance.
The rules were set out in the beginning of the unit; out of two weeks, only four homework assignments could be handed in late, and even this was discouraged. However, if they had more than four late homework assignments they would not be able to participate in our incentive. The incentive, which was a movie and snacks on the last day of the unit, was not revealed to the students for fear that they might say it was not a great incentive and not complete their work anyway.
Well, since I have said I am hosting “detention” now, you can imagine somewhat how it turned out! Six students failed to meet the demands of the challenge, regardless of countless warnings they were reaching the borderline. Their response; crying from one, bribing to do extra credit from another, blank and upset faces, and my favorite, “well guys, we deserve it, we need to face the consequences of our actions!”
On the other side of the fence, participating in an incentive now are about nineteen students, several of whom had difficulty getting their work done previously and they pulled through! Many of these students made sure to ask questions about the homework to make sure they knew exactly what was expected and they went the extra mile to make sure to get it done. One student who had previous difficulty getting work completed had a perfect attendance when it came to getting the work completed!
Overall, I feel that the incentive was beneficial. It reduced the late homework by about 50%! However, having this particular incentive may not be the most practical or cost effective type that can be used during an entire year of teaching. Alternative incentives will have to be created.

Last day

2007-04-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

by Leeann Perry
When I started the practicum at the beginning of the semester, I was more than a little bit hesitant about being in a 6th grade classroom. I had zero experience at this level. How would the students act? Could I talk to them like adults or should I still give my lessons as if they were children? How in the world can lessons last a full 90 minutes? Is it true that the Middle School years are the hardest to teach? These were just some of the questions running through my head when I was given the placement.
The first few weeks ended up being rough on me, especially since I know that our first attempts at lessons were rather pathetic. I just kept dealing with it and working to get through the experience with the sole goal of surviving until my real student teaching next year. After several weeks of being in the school just on Thursday s and Fridays I finally came to the realization that I was allowing my mixed feelings about the grade level to affect my teaching ability. Irregardless of whether or not I wanted to be in that class, these students deserved the best junior year student teacher they could get!
This determination brought me up to the point in the semester where we were responsible for creating a two week unit that would be taught in our last two weeks at the school. Although it involved an extreme amount of planning, effort, and time the unit was actually exciting to create. We were making our lessons our way and not merely following the directions of the co-operating teacher. Also, the lessons were being taught back to back, and not once a week.
Building on the excitement and pride in my own lesson plans and my new found determination to thrive in my placement, I started the last two weeks with what could be described as a passionate desire to teach these students about poetry. It was great and my teaching ability greatly improved, just by changing myself on the inside.
The first few days of the unit were stressful and tiring. It did not seem as though the students were learning anything at all. They were unable to complete the writing assignments. Resolved to not let circumstances block my path to success, I kept at the lessons, hoping that somehow the information would suddenly make sense for the students. Each day got a little bit easier.
Yesterday was our last day in the school, which meant the students were presenting their original poetry to the class and any interested parents. Listening to the students read their poems allowed me to see just how much each and everyone understood from all our lessons. Strangely, reading the student work and grading their writing was not nearly as meaningful to me as hearing them be read. Our efforts were not in vain. During the second class, they had a few minutes left at the end of the class period when they were given a few minutes of free time. This meant that all the students went up to the board and started doodling. As a class they decided to write “We heart Ms. Perry and Ms. Hatrak” and signed their names underneath. That alone made my all my effort this semester worth it. The students kept asking if we could come back because they really enjoyed having us. To totally blow my mind away, we were each given a thank-you card signed by all the students. Teaching may have a lot of stress and work connected to it, but everything will be validated by the impact one has on one’s students.

The importance of home-school connection

2007-04-26T18:29:00.000-07:00

by Krista Going

Home-school connection does just that in connecting the school life to the home life and is an important aspect of teaching. This connection is more than just letters home to parents or guardians and the once or twice a year conferences, rather it is about regular phone calls home, parent or guardian signatures on any and all work that is less than satisfactory, and continually keeping the home updated on what is going on with the student both academically and socially.
In all my teaching classes and throughout my in-school observing and teaching, I have rarely been taught the importance of the home-school connection until this semester. Home-school connection was one of the sections that was a requirement for our unit in which we had to describe how we would achieve a home-school connection while teaching our two week unit. Even while writing this section, my partner and I took it to mean a letter home in encouraging parents or guardians to practice origami, which was one of our tools in teaching and reinforcing the concepts of geometry. It was not until our two weeks of full time, as we taught our unit, that I really realized what home-school connection meant.
Our cooperating teacher is very big on the home-school connection in keeping parents up to date. If a grade is received on a test that is less than a 70 then it requires a parent signature. If a homework assignment is missed then the student either pulls his/her name from the card box and a parent is called during the class to notify of the missed assignment or a ‘missed homework pass’ is sent home with the student to be returned the next day signed by a parent. I think getting a parent’s signature on poor grades and missed homework is a great way to keep parents notified on how students are progressing and the work they are doing as a signature ensures the parents are aware.
My cooperating teacher will also call home to talk to the parents about a student’s behavior, whether good or bad. This particular aspect of home-school connection was what really helped me to realize that importance of a good relation between the teacher and the home of a student as it was demonstrated during our two week unit. One particular student has disruptive behaviors in calling out, being talkative, and/or rudeness and the teacher called home after a particularly bad day with this student. The next day we saw a complete 180° in the student’s behavior and after two days of good behavior and participation during the lesson our cooperating teacher called home again to compliment on the student’s good behavior.
I think calling home for good and bad behavior is a great way to not only keep the parents notified but it is also a very effective way to create a change. When the punishment for bad behavior and the acknowledgement of good behavior comes from both home and school and the two work together, the effect is much greater. Also, calling home for both good and bad reasons allows parents to be more willing to listen and help rather than scared to take a call or ignore one because all calls from the school are negative. Calling for positive and negative reasons keeps the lines of communication open and is a major aspect of home-school connection.

Surviving ACB

2007-04-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

by Christy Corbally

The weeks leading up to my ACB semester were filled with nervousness and a sense of doubt. I had heard plenty of horror stories about the trials and tribulations of the ACB experience and I was not overly confident that I could handle a 20 credit semester. Thankfully, during the first week of class, some of my worries were eased when all of our assignments were laid out for us on four month wall chart. It was a relief to see that there was a definite end and that the work may not be completely impossible.
In the weeks that followed, the work started to increase little by little; it was very gradual. Having five days of class took a while to get used to, but the early alarm clock simply became part of my daily routine. We also started to develop a relationship with our 6th grade cooperating teacher and the 77 students in our three language arts classes. Soon we learned that our unit would revolve around a novel, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. I was excited to learn about our unit topic at such an early date, but I was also a little on edge about the responsibilities surrounding the teaching of a novel.
After spring break, the work really started to pile up. Not only were our units due, but we were also responsible for keeping the students on track with the novel on a week to week basis. It was a never ending cycle of class, homework, lesson planning, and a minimal amount of sleep. Again, once I found a rhythm, the workload seemed much more manageable.
Next came full time with our 6th graders. We had planned it so that the students finished the novel before our 2 weeks of full time began. This gave us a chance to do some lessons that our cooperating teacher needed us to accomplish, as well as lessons for our various professors. We did several lessons on prepositional phrases, vocabulary, and the interview process. The main part of our two weeks of teaching surrounded a newspaper group project. Almost everyday, students were given a portion of the 90 minute period to work on these group projects. As of now, we have seen about ten presentations and all of them represent hard work and good amount of group effort. Overall, I feel our project and our experience in ACB was a success and I feel as though, I received more from this experience than the students.

A Preposition Poem for you

2007-04-26T17:19:00.000-07:00

by Christy Corbally

After teaching far too many lessons on prepositions, I feel as though I should share my feelings from an artistic perspective. The following is a poem depicting my experience as an ACB student through the use of prepositional phrases.

Up very early we go
To the school each day
Along with Miss McCormick
With two cups of Dunkin Donut’s iced coffee
Toward the classroom we walk
Down the halls children gather
In the room we prepare our lessons
Around the room students are seated
In front of the room we teach lessons
About prepositional phrases
Along with adjective and adverb phrases
Between periods we prep
Despite our lack of sleep
Outside, I want to run away
But on we go again!

Interview delight

2007-04-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

Today was a success in the classroom! My partner and I planned to have a guest speaker come into our sixth grade social studies classroom to be interviewed by our students. The interviewee was a professor from our college who teaches courses only on ancient and modern day Greece. He has been a professor for fifty years, and is well versed with all the ins and outs of Greek culture. We prepared our students for today by telling them they were special because they were the only block to have the opportunity to speak to an expert on Greek culture. We told each of them to think of at lest 5 good questions to ask the professor.
The students came into class excited. They all shared their ideas with my partner and I before our guest came in. We went over some basic rules for an interview such as, a formal greeting (good morning, and welcome), no calling out or speaking over the guest, and a formal good bye/thank you. The students were instructed to take notes during the interview process, because any information they gathered may be used in their final project. I could tell that they were excited, but I was personally a bit nervous. In fact my partner and I were both nervous because the professor had not responded to our last three emails, and we were not sure if he changed his mind about coming.
However, he arrived at the school for the scheduled time, and our students greeted him with hardy hellos, and big smiles. At first I think the students were a bit intimidated. He had the appearance of a typical professor: tweed jacket and thick glasses; he used long detailed explanations to answer their questions, and a few times threw in words that were above their vocabulary level. However, he got the students laughing, sparked their imaginations about Greek mythology, and answered all of their questions with enthusiasm. Some students got into the interview process more than others, but almost every group (there were five) asked the professor questions.
Their questions ranged from topics such as: what advances did Pericles make before the Peloponnesian War, what achievements were made during Athen’s golden age, and what is the difference between a professor and a teacher? I was impressed with my students today; their questions and listening skills were excellent. I feel as though each student gained knowledge and information this morning, and I believe the professor was impressed with how much they already knew about ancient Greece. Hopefully this interview process not only inspired my students to want to learn more about the ancient Greek culture, but also showed the professor that young students are equally as inquisitive and bright as college students.

Looking ahead to student teaching

2007-04-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

by Dan Wolthoff

I am currently student teaching for two weeks in a 6th grade classroom in order to prepare me for full time student teaching next semester. I think that this experience is priceless in preparing future teachers for student teaching and ultimately a career in teaching. Getting up and ready for school everyday is something that I was not looking forward to, but now at the end of the second week I have been waking up an hour before my alarm clock and going to sleep at times when I was 10 years old. I thought that this routine was going to be hard to get into after living the college life for the semester, but I found it was not and I think that this will help me next semester when I student teach.
Along with getting into the routine of being in a school everyday, the time spent in the school with the students and teaching is priceless. I remember being so nervous having to prepare and teach a lesson, but now I do not have to think about it twice. I have talked to friends in education departments from other schools and they do not have the education curriculum we have. And I am thankful for The College of New Jersey’s education curriculum because I could not feel more prepared or confident for student teaching and my teaching career.

Origami craze!

2007-04-23T15:02:00.000-07:00

by Jackie Festa

My partner and I are in a 6th grade math classroom, and the unit we are in the middle of teaching to two of the classes is on the basic concepts of geometry. We had decided to incorporate the art of origami while teaching these concepts because we felt this would engage the students and make it a little more interesting for them. We have so much to cover in this unit that we had to start two days earlier than the official two weeks of full-time. I was nervous before the unit began that the students would not like our idea of Origami, and it would not capture the students’ attention because they might find it to be too hard. However I found that I had absolutely nothing to be worried about; the students were so excited about folding Origami and learning geometry. I could not believe it. My partner and I found students folding whenever there was spare time; the other 6th grade teachers were also telling us that they were catching students folding all the time. I just hope that these teachers do not get mad at us because it is distracting the students from their other school work. Furthermore it was so encouraging because our coop teacher liked the idea so much and she gave us such positive feedback.
Seeing the students so excited about learning and folding makes me feel so good. It really gives me the determination to make sure I make learning fun for all my students now and in the future. I realize that students can even have fun and be excited about math, a subject that many students find hard and discouraging. So far the reaction from this unit has given me the confidence that I am actually more ready for student teaching next semester than I thought I was in the past. I hope this unit continues to be a success, and the students truly learn and understand all the concepts in geometry while having fun folding Origami!

A discouraging experience

2007-04-18T18:02:00.000-07:00

We have been teaching our units for three days now and after all the work we put into them, it would feel good to get feedback on our lessons. While my partner and I teach, our cooperating teacher sits at her desk and writes emails and has no idea what is going on in the lessons. It would be nice if she told us that it was a really great lesson or even provided us with constructive criticism. The students seem to be enjoying the unit, and that is what keeps me motivated to put a lot of effort into teaching the lessons.

The students will learn the content of the unit solely through the lessons that my partner and I created, and the cooperating teacher does not listen to hear if the correct information is being given. She does not seem to care if the students understand the information, nor does she look over any of the work that the students complete.

It seems as though she wants student teachers in her room so that we can do the work for her. We stay with the class for the whole day, but we do not learn anything from her teaching. We maybe saw one or two actual lessons taught to the class throughout our whole experience. It is really discouraging to see teaching like this, and from this semester I have learned the type of teacher I do not want to become.

Discussing controversial issues with elementary school students

2007-04-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

by Ariel Donohue

As most people know by now, the Virginia Tech community and people across the country are in the wake of a terrible tragedy. It is difficult for many of us to cope with this type of incident or to imagine the same thing possibly touching our own school. I cannot help but think of how I felt when hearing about violent acts as a child, particularly when they occurred in school settings. It always made me fear the idea of someone entering my school and harming my peers. At a time like this, I begin to wonder what is appropriate to bring up in an elementary classroom and how a teacher should handle fragile situations like this one.
This semester, I have witnessed students asking the classroom teacher questions about current controversial issues, but I have not been satisfied with her reactions so far. Is it acceptable to try to explain these issues to 5th or 6th graders? I think that this might upset some students' parents and there is also the chance of providing them with inaccurate information. However, the idea of ignoring their questions or refusing to satisfy their curiosity is just not an option for me. Students need to be exposed to what is going on in the world around them. They should be constantly encouraged to ask questions about their surroundings and the discourse surrounding current events. It gives students such a different view of their place in society and also gives them an advantage in terms of their understanding of their own lives.
As a teacher, how should situations like these be handled?
Skills like these are not normally part of our curriculums in TCNJ classes. Important social and political issues like come up quite often and I definitely think that it is something worth discussing. I assume that judging how to appropriately deal with these situations will become easier with time. The more time I have spent in the classroom with my students, the better I have already become with answering their random questions. Hopefully, the same will happen with discussing controversial, and often scary, topics with my classes.

Not "Acting Black"

2007-04-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

by Jennifer Slavin

There is a gap between Black and White students’ academic success. It is a big problem and schools are trying to close the gap. One of the main problems is that if a Black student works hard in school, they are made fun of and said to be “acting White.” Many Black students purposely slack off on their schoolwork because they want connect with other Black students. One of my good friends in high school was Black, and he was one of the only Black students in the honors classes. He worked really hard and wanted to get ahead in life and become a lawyer. He was friends with all different groups of people, both Black and White. In my senior year, a girl wrote an article about him in the newspaper saying that he was not a “real Black” because he did well in school and he spoke proper English. This article not only really upset him, but it started a lot of controversy in my high school. No one should be singled out and made fun of for doing well in school. Teachers should be aware that this problem is occurring in many areas and should try to break the stereotypes of who does well in school starting at a young age.

Any grade will do

2007-04-16T06:35:00.001-07:00

I can not believe it is already time to teach full time for the next two weeks. At first I was not looking forward to teaching six graders because I always had my mind set on kindergarten but now I do not mind teaching an older grade. I did not think I would be able to do a good job with six graders but being in a six grade classroom now and seeing the students come in and seeing how excited they look when we are there makes me think that I am doing a good job. I realized that if I set my mind to something I can achieve it and I believe that is what I am doing now by teaching to these wonderful six graders. At times it can be hard trying to make them settle down and focus on what is going on but I think that I have been doing a good job.
I have already learned so much from this experience and I can not wait to teach the full two weeks because I know I will be learning more about my students and myself. Now, when someone asks me what grade I want to teach I do not think a particular grade matters anymore because I proved to myself that I could teach older grades. I have learned so much from myself this semester and it is sad to see it come to an end but now I know that I can do anything I put my mind too thanks to my teachers. I hope everyone will have a great experience the next two weeks!!!

Excitement, Rewards and What keeps it fun!

2007-04-15T03:54:00.000-07:00

I am getting really excited about the next two weeks! Friday was a long day, but also a very rewarding day. It was great to see the students so excited about what they were learning and what they were about to learn! I thought it was awesome that the students were so excited about the Origami. A simple thing like this had students really interested in the material and also they were learning! Good job ladies!! Larissa and I were making our decorations for the room in the hallway yesterday and the students were coming up to us asking questions and were genuinely interested and excited about what we were making. We were making the ionic Greek columns to put outside the doorway (they actually came out good. Stop by and come see them). We also made a sign that said welcome in Greek lettering. The students were all talking about what the sign said and they were excited that their room was going to be decorated like this. We also started hanging up the pictures of the Greek gods and goddesses on the bulletin board in our room and the students were all gathered around it talking about the gods and goddesses. This made me feel really great! It made all of the work that we put into it worth it. It is hard to explain, but I am sure you all know what I am talking about. It just made me so much more excited about teaching my unit knowing that the students were already interested and excited about it. I just really hope that I can keep them excited like this throughout the unit. I am hoping that what Larissa and I planned keeps them excited and wanting to know more. I know both of us really want to accomplish this and we both put a lot of time into deciding on our activities and assignments. We tried to include a variety so I am hoping that through all of the different lessons that we can spark the interest and excitement of every student at least once. I am excited for all of us! I just wish I could come see some of everyone’s units; I am sure there is going to be lots of talk about our lessons outside of class! Good luck everyone and see you on Monday!!!

Spare time to care

2007-04-13T03:50:00.000-07:00

Throughout my years as a student, I have had four educators that have changed my life in more ways than I thought possible:
In third grade I had a teacher that absolutely loved every student he had and showed it in the manliest way possible. He would be known to roll his wheelchair down the hallways, high-fiving former students, joking around with them, and inquiring about their progress in school since they left his class. Since then he has retired and moved across the country, yet he was still there for every major event of my life, such as my bat mitzvah and my graduation. To this day he still has students that reminisce about his class, and he even still calls some of us, we call him, and occasionally he has visitors that would spend hundreds of dollars on a vacation to visit one of their favorite teachers (I personally went this summer with both of my brothers, who also had him as a teacher).
In tenth grade I had a teacher that was so worried about my stress level that the amount of homework she assigned every night was inversely proportional to the size of the bags under my eyes that day in class. She was there for me through everything: she helped me through my first major break-up, she was my shoulder to cry on when my ex-boyfriend threatened to kill himself if I didn’t get back together with him, she was there holding my hand when the class bully got suspended when my mom found some of the bruises he left on my shoulder, she was there to protect me when he came back from suspension furious that he had to miss the class trip on which his group won a decent monetary prize that he couldn’t receive a portion of because he wasn’t there, she was my source of sound advice when I was faced with life changing decisions, and most of all she was my support group when I felt like the whole world was against me.
In eleventh grade I had a teacher that took pride in finding all of my strange little quirks that “make me who I am,” making fun of me for them but “loving me anyway,” mostly because she thought she was the only who noticed these quirks and it made her feel special, but…she loved me anyway. I still talk to her today, telling her everything going on in my life and going to her for advice on any major issues going on as well as with questions and suggestions for teaching (especially science) and she is still finding new quirks that I have all of the time. In fact, last year she even invited me to her wedding, despite my strange quirks.
And now, in college, I have this one professor who has also changed my life. After three years of college I have gotten quite used to professors that really just do not care about their students at all. They just go to class, present the material (present, not teach), assign homework, and leave, not caring whether or not the students understood the concept or if the assignments were really feasible. They especially do not care if there are outside factors affecting their schoolwork. Not this professor. In my most desperate time of need I was amazed that I could confide in her things that I could not even admit to myself. Not only that, but she made me feel like everything was okay, maybe even good.
The one thing that they all have in common is that they cared…or at least made me think that they did. They cared about me as a person, in ways that went beyond the classroom, and in turn I cared about everything they had to tell me, both in and out of the classroom. In fact, and I can’t say this for many teachers, if asked I could name at least five academic and five life lessons that I learned from each one of them. Never have I had a teacher that taught me more than these teachers did, both academically and personally. I can never thank them enough, if for nothing else, for showing me the kind of teacher I want to be.