The semester is over.
Comparing now to the beginning of the year... well, my job has stayed the same. A lot of people's job titles have changed. Bilingual gives you stability, because they don't have anyone to take your spot. It probably also means that some bad teachers get more security.
I still need to do better at making sure the kids have the vocab they need to succeed. I need to do better at a lot of things. Their average performance on certain things is still very low--I know there need to be way more efficient ways. I know you can always improve, but I want to improve a lot, now.
Today I saw at least one kid reading the book I gave him for Christmas. Good. I got a lot of mugs--certainly something I can use. I think the only thing most of them could think about me is "he drinks a ridiculous amount of coffee."
I go in tomorrow to clean up, do permanent folders, and take care of a couple other tasks, and then we don't start again until January 3. Now, to do some Christmas shopping...
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Quick jolly comments
I hate holidays.
Anyway, tomorrow evening I have a final exam, which will be preceded by the merriment of the class holiday party. I got everyone from the class books--which hopefully are matched up well to their interests. Some are lightly used, some new. I hope they'll actually read them...
Today we had the school holiday assembly. Or, I should say, Christmas assembly. There aren't any other holidays. In fact, the kids sang some Jesus song (I don't know what it's called because I don't know what any of them are called) and there was actually a Joseph and Mary on stage, with a little plastic Jesus.
Ah, Texas.
Anyway, tomorrow evening I have a final exam, which will be preceded by the merriment of the class holiday party. I got everyone from the class books--which hopefully are matched up well to their interests. Some are lightly used, some new. I hope they'll actually read them...
Today we had the school holiday assembly. Or, I should say, Christmas assembly. There aren't any other holidays. In fact, the kids sang some Jesus song (I don't know what it's called because I don't know what any of them are called) and there was actually a Joseph and Mary on stage, with a little plastic Jesus.
Ah, Texas.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Holiday season
HISD is almost ready to dismiss... we have 3 1/2 more useless days. Many of the teachers say that there are too many distractions at school. I think they are right. I would like to be able to focus with my kids, but...
Last week we started giving the "benchmarks," that is, practice standardized tests (TAKS). However, they weren't real TAKS release tests (you can find those online, by the way, if you want to know what my kids are going to take). They were TAKSMaster, that is, by a private company, and they were way harder than the TAKS. It is useless for me to know that my class can't read them, because I already knew that. They scored 39 percent on reading and 50 percent on math (that math score actually makes me rather optimistic, because there wasn't a lot of variation, and once we get through measurement, fractions, and decimals, I think they will be closer to 70-80 percent on a test that was harder than TAKS). Still... had it been real TAKS it might have been worth my time. Giving these harder tests depresses them, depresses me, and wastes my week.
So tomorrow, we are doing it again, this time for writing. Their writing is gradually improving... they generally have good ideas, but struggle with execution and providing details. I am optimistic that, in the end, they will be OK with compositions. What worries me is the grammar. Their grammar is horrible and not really getting better. We are going to focus intensely starting in January, so hopefully they will get there, but...
Tuesday the After School Program is presenting their holiday songs, and Tuesday is a short day anyway because I have my horizontal team meetings, so not much I can do. Wednesday we have our holiday party, Thursday is early dismissal and ends the week. So basically they didn't learn all that much last week and won't this week either. They need so much work that it really worries me that this time is being wasted.
I'm sure I've got plenty of other thoughts right now, but I'll wait until I've had time to put them together in some sort of comprehensible order. Happy holidays!
Oh, and just for everyone... a shot of my classroom:
Last week we started giving the "benchmarks," that is, practice standardized tests (TAKS). However, they weren't real TAKS release tests (you can find those online, by the way, if you want to know what my kids are going to take). They were TAKSMaster, that is, by a private company, and they were way harder than the TAKS. It is useless for me to know that my class can't read them, because I already knew that. They scored 39 percent on reading and 50 percent on math (that math score actually makes me rather optimistic, because there wasn't a lot of variation, and once we get through measurement, fractions, and decimals, I think they will be closer to 70-80 percent on a test that was harder than TAKS). Still... had it been real TAKS it might have been worth my time. Giving these harder tests depresses them, depresses me, and wastes my week.
So tomorrow, we are doing it again, this time for writing. Their writing is gradually improving... they generally have good ideas, but struggle with execution and providing details. I am optimistic that, in the end, they will be OK with compositions. What worries me is the grammar. Their grammar is horrible and not really getting better. We are going to focus intensely starting in January, so hopefully they will get there, but...
Tuesday the After School Program is presenting their holiday songs, and Tuesday is a short day anyway because I have my horizontal team meetings, so not much I can do. Wednesday we have our holiday party, Thursday is early dismissal and ends the week. So basically they didn't learn all that much last week and won't this week either. They need so much work that it really worries me that this time is being wasted.
I'm sure I've got plenty of other thoughts right now, but I'll wait until I've had time to put them together in some sort of comprehensible order. Happy holidays!
Oh, and just for everyone... a shot of my classroom:
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Enjoying the experience?
I don't want to say yet that I fully enjoy being a teacher. I'm not very good at a lot of aspects yet, especially organization and record keeping, I'm inefficient, I'm not always the best at, really, any part of the job. But I am interested in the job. I don't mind the planning that goes into it (as always, my planning outpaces my execution). And it's something I could actually see myself doing.
Last weekend we went to the Renaissance Festival ("we" being myself and seven of the kids). Had a great time--they even had steak on a stick, something I've been casting about for for a while. This week we didn't have all the time we needed, but I managed to teach a few things. They're struggling a little bit with 2x2 multiplication but I think that they're mostly getting it. I'm finally getting a little more coordinated with the teacher who works with my students in tutorials.
At a TFA development event last week I met another 4th grade bilingual teacher. She said she is the only one in her ('05) corps who teaches 4th grade transitional (i.e. her kids are transitioning to English). In my corps there is myself and one other teacher I believe (my induction roommate). Possibly one or two more. It is a very difficult position... and we'll see what my results are like. That will probably determine whether I am back, and how much, exactly, I enjoy teaching...
Last weekend we went to the Renaissance Festival ("we" being myself and seven of the kids). Had a great time--they even had steak on a stick, something I've been casting about for for a while. This week we didn't have all the time we needed, but I managed to teach a few things. They're struggling a little bit with 2x2 multiplication but I think that they're mostly getting it. I'm finally getting a little more coordinated with the teacher who works with my students in tutorials.
At a TFA development event last week I met another 4th grade bilingual teacher. She said she is the only one in her ('05) corps who teaches 4th grade transitional (i.e. her kids are transitioning to English). In my corps there is myself and one other teacher I believe (my induction roommate). Possibly one or two more. It is a very difficult position... and we'll see what my results are like. That will probably determine whether I am back, and how much, exactly, I enjoy teaching...
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Status check... and only two weeks 'til a break
Well...
First of all, if you only read this blog, I sometimes post over on my other blog--but that's an explicitly nonteaching, all-my-other-thoughts place (if they don't get on Facebook notes, that is).
Second, in the spare time I have to blog, I often don't like to talk overly much about my teaching problems--I want to escape!
That is my explanation for why my blogging is so sporadic. As I've said before, I'm not too good at this whole thing, but sometimes I like to try and pretend that I can do it. :)
What's going on right now? Well... crazy stuff. My disorganization has caught up with me and I'm in the process of trying to make everything straightened up. Perhaps related, perhaps not, my kids aren't doing that well on the assessments we just gave them. That is, they really aren't doing that much better than they would at the beginning of the year, I don't think. Mitigating factors are perhaps the following:
(1) Their English still needs lots of work, and when it gets better, so will their math scores (since they'll actually understand all the problems);
(2) The subject I have taught in the most uniform fashion, English grammar, was their best subject on the assessment.
The biggest issue is that I still have such a range, and some of them are just so low that it's unbelievable. I thought the point of the bilingual program was that they would be phasing into English, and while a lot of them are, some of them are just not doing well. It's tough for me to teach anything in Spanish, too, since they are testing in English.
The other problem I think I have had this year is I have not asked enough questions or gotten enough help on my own. The approach my administration has generally had is "we are too busy to watch you" (not explicitly given, of course, but that's been the reality). This has been good insofar as I've escaped direct sanctioning for anything I've done or not done, but been very negative as far as offers for help are concerned. I'm making a concerted effort now to understand what resources I have and use them appropriately.
One thing I am doing to change my approach is moving to a more uniform, textbook reading format. I just don't think that I, or they, have the capability right now to extract large gains from independent reading. They'll still do it, particularly at home, but as for expecting that to be the bulk of their in-class reading as I have been trying for a few weeks, that is over.
There are more issues than that right now, of course, and everything is complicated, but that's about all the time I have right now.
First of all, if you only read this blog, I sometimes post over on my other blog--but that's an explicitly nonteaching, all-my-other-thoughts place (if they don't get on Facebook notes, that is).
Second, in the spare time I have to blog, I often don't like to talk overly much about my teaching problems--I want to escape!
That is my explanation for why my blogging is so sporadic. As I've said before, I'm not too good at this whole thing, but sometimes I like to try and pretend that I can do it. :)
What's going on right now? Well... crazy stuff. My disorganization has caught up with me and I'm in the process of trying to make everything straightened up. Perhaps related, perhaps not, my kids aren't doing that well on the assessments we just gave them. That is, they really aren't doing that much better than they would at the beginning of the year, I don't think. Mitigating factors are perhaps the following:
(1) Their English still needs lots of work, and when it gets better, so will their math scores (since they'll actually understand all the problems);
(2) The subject I have taught in the most uniform fashion, English grammar, was their best subject on the assessment.
The biggest issue is that I still have such a range, and some of them are just so low that it's unbelievable. I thought the point of the bilingual program was that they would be phasing into English, and while a lot of them are, some of them are just not doing well. It's tough for me to teach anything in Spanish, too, since they are testing in English.
The other problem I think I have had this year is I have not asked enough questions or gotten enough help on my own. The approach my administration has generally had is "we are too busy to watch you" (not explicitly given, of course, but that's been the reality). This has been good insofar as I've escaped direct sanctioning for anything I've done or not done, but been very negative as far as offers for help are concerned. I'm making a concerted effort now to understand what resources I have and use them appropriately.
One thing I am doing to change my approach is moving to a more uniform, textbook reading format. I just don't think that I, or they, have the capability right now to extract large gains from independent reading. They'll still do it, particularly at home, but as for expecting that to be the bulk of their in-class reading as I have been trying for a few weeks, that is over.
There are more issues than that right now, of course, and everything is complicated, but that's about all the time I have right now.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Only six weeks 'til Thanksgiving! (I think)
So... the time until Thanksgiving is counting down, very slowly. I'm sitting here compulsively avoiding my prep for tomorrow (because I really just don't feel like doing it). Really, 75% of the work I have to do just involves cleaning up my own stuff around school, and I can't do that until tomorrow morning. Of course, when I'm at school, I just compulsively delay doing that too. I really need this Thanksgiving vacation... now.
We're going to start reading a book as a class tomorrow; I've borrowed a set of books from another fourth-grade teacher. I think it will only take a week, because this is a pretty easy book. Our grade is loosely starting a "Middle Ages unit".
I have one dilemma that I'm facing. One of my students still isn't showing a lot of improvement in spelling. When I say "not a lot of improvement," really I mean that she still spells everything phonetically in English (as well as in Spanish when there is some question, e.g. with silent "h", c/z/s mix-ups, etc). The question here, then, is whether this is some sort of disability. She doesn't recognize sometimes that she's spelled some words wrong until it's pointed out, and she clearly is making an effort to distinguish spellings (on tests I see her sometimes writing out multiple possibilities as a backup). She's repeating the fourth grade already, but last year was her first and only year chiefly in English. I'm not sure what the best thing to do is in this situation--there's got to be at least a better way of having her practice spelling, but I don't know the process for obtaining the information, which means that I've got to do some research.
I got about two-thirds of a weekend, because I spent Saturday morning at school filling out some useless paperwork. So I'm going to leave this entry rather disorganized as it is. Don't tell my kids that the paragraphs are of grossly differing lengths--they'd lose their respect for me as a writer.
We're going to start reading a book as a class tomorrow; I've borrowed a set of books from another fourth-grade teacher. I think it will only take a week, because this is a pretty easy book. Our grade is loosely starting a "Middle Ages unit".
I have one dilemma that I'm facing. One of my students still isn't showing a lot of improvement in spelling. When I say "not a lot of improvement," really I mean that she still spells everything phonetically in English (as well as in Spanish when there is some question, e.g. with silent "h", c/z/s mix-ups, etc). The question here, then, is whether this is some sort of disability. She doesn't recognize sometimes that she's spelled some words wrong until it's pointed out, and she clearly is making an effort to distinguish spellings (on tests I see her sometimes writing out multiple possibilities as a backup). She's repeating the fourth grade already, but last year was her first and only year chiefly in English. I'm not sure what the best thing to do is in this situation--there's got to be at least a better way of having her practice spelling, but I don't know the process for obtaining the information, which means that I've got to do some research.
I got about two-thirds of a weekend, because I spent Saturday morning at school filling out some useless paperwork. So I'm going to leave this entry rather disorganized as it is. Don't tell my kids that the paragraphs are of grossly differing lengths--they'd lose their respect for me as a writer.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Backwards-planning my future
Well... guess I probably owe everyone a post. Thanks to those who have asked when my next post is coming. It's been a busy time, as always.
This weekend was a three-day weekend and I'm not returning to school tomorrow--I'm going to go ahead and barge in on a training that I'm on the wait list for. Bet a bunch of other people do the same. (To be fair, I believe I'm #1 on the waiting list).
Anyway, true to myself, this weekend prepping for the next week has been priority #2, after priority #1: keeping up with all the elections news. In particular, the Liberal "Super Weekend" in Canada, the presidential elections in Zambia and Brazil, and parliamentary polls in Austria and Bosnia. There will be no commentary, since this isn't where that goes, so moving on...
It's interesting to see how many people by this point are talking about their post-two year plans. Everywhere I go it's a topic of conversation. I think it comes up so much because of the frustrations that people feel about not being instantly good teachers; I'm certainly not saying I don't think about it, it's on my mind a lot to be honest (though my intentions still belong to me alone, and let it just be said that I'm open minded). But you can tell who really loves it so far and who's natural, and who's just pretty good (I'm in that group, I think), and who's struggling--there have been a couple who have left already.
Of those who are leaving, well, perhaps they were just misplaced. After all, I went into this wanting to teach high school social studies, not fourth graders. While I love my fourth graders, and I certainly don't deal with the same sorts of discipline and home issues that high school teachers have to, I certainly couldn't have taught pre-K; I would have quit. I just don't do 3-year-olds. (And luckily, I'm certified 4-8, so they can't move me down there).
So, how is teaching going, you ask? Fairly well, I think. I went in with all the ambitions to do everything that they tell us to in TFA, then got entirely off track because it's so freaking difficult. And now I'm coming back to where I should be: I'm developing a tracking system to make sure that students are meeting objectives, I'm backwards planning the rest of the time before Christmas (this is a TFA term for long-term planning and I'm not sure what the "backwards" part is), I'm getting my LPs done at home so there's no laptop at school, and, very gradually, my classroom is getting more organized and procedures are taking shape.
The one thing I'm a little worried about is parent contact, though I'm trying to pick that up a bit. I have trouble with a couple kids and I need to be talking to their parents more than I am (as well as everyone else's parents, in theory). I'm hoping that's not what's getting some kids to say "no" to the San Antonio/Austin trip is that their parents don't know me. So far exactly half of my class is going and a few aren't. I feel bad for those that aren't, but I also have the most socioeconomically disadvantaged class in the fourth grade (being the kids whose parents don't speak English, and who aren't GT--i.e. are from the immediate neighborhood), so perhaps it's just too much to overcome in any event.
So those are some quick reflections on life to date. Just prepping for the big dip in energy that's supposedly coming...
One last note: over the weekend I got set loose in Borders (my mistake) and bought a copy of the biography of Khrushchev, by William Taubman. I'm very excited.
This weekend was a three-day weekend and I'm not returning to school tomorrow--I'm going to go ahead and barge in on a training that I'm on the wait list for. Bet a bunch of other people do the same. (To be fair, I believe I'm #1 on the waiting list).
Anyway, true to myself, this weekend prepping for the next week has been priority #2, after priority #1: keeping up with all the elections news. In particular, the Liberal "Super Weekend" in Canada, the presidential elections in Zambia and Brazil, and parliamentary polls in Austria and Bosnia. There will be no commentary, since this isn't where that goes, so moving on...
It's interesting to see how many people by this point are talking about their post-two year plans. Everywhere I go it's a topic of conversation. I think it comes up so much because of the frustrations that people feel about not being instantly good teachers; I'm certainly not saying I don't think about it, it's on my mind a lot to be honest (though my intentions still belong to me alone, and let it just be said that I'm open minded). But you can tell who really loves it so far and who's natural, and who's just pretty good (I'm in that group, I think), and who's struggling--there have been a couple who have left already.
Of those who are leaving, well, perhaps they were just misplaced. After all, I went into this wanting to teach high school social studies, not fourth graders. While I love my fourth graders, and I certainly don't deal with the same sorts of discipline and home issues that high school teachers have to, I certainly couldn't have taught pre-K; I would have quit. I just don't do 3-year-olds. (And luckily, I'm certified 4-8, so they can't move me down there).
So, how is teaching going, you ask? Fairly well, I think. I went in with all the ambitions to do everything that they tell us to in TFA, then got entirely off track because it's so freaking difficult. And now I'm coming back to where I should be: I'm developing a tracking system to make sure that students are meeting objectives, I'm backwards planning the rest of the time before Christmas (this is a TFA term for long-term planning and I'm not sure what the "backwards" part is), I'm getting my LPs done at home so there's no laptop at school, and, very gradually, my classroom is getting more organized and procedures are taking shape.
The one thing I'm a little worried about is parent contact, though I'm trying to pick that up a bit. I have trouble with a couple kids and I need to be talking to their parents more than I am (as well as everyone else's parents, in theory). I'm hoping that's not what's getting some kids to say "no" to the San Antonio/Austin trip is that their parents don't know me. So far exactly half of my class is going and a few aren't. I feel bad for those that aren't, but I also have the most socioeconomically disadvantaged class in the fourth grade (being the kids whose parents don't speak English, and who aren't GT--i.e. are from the immediate neighborhood), so perhaps it's just too much to overcome in any event.
So those are some quick reflections on life to date. Just prepping for the big dip in energy that's supposedly coming...
One last note: over the weekend I got set loose in Borders (my mistake) and bought a copy of the biography of Khrushchev, by William Taubman. I'm very excited.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Labor Day relaxation
Well, the three-day weekend was definitely needed, even though I didn't do everything that I should have. Instead, I went to College Station to see the A&M football game thanks to a friend who went to A&M, we had an apartment barbecue on Sunday, and then today I lounged around and got around to planning parts of next week. Just in time, too, because real observations will be starting.
I haven't said anything yet about the saga at my elementary school. Turns out our outgoing principal overbudgeted at the end of the year. Significantly. By about 60 students. That means that of the four new hires (all TFA), two got let go, because they couldn't figure out a way to save money otherwise. It's a horrible situation. I was safe because I'm bilingual--they can't get rid of me since nobody else is certified (not that I'm "certified").
So... as for learning... they did a bit better at some things last week... I slowed down some instruction as well. Wednesday was early dismissal and parent Open House--all my conversations in Spanish, and they went all right, although I was mentally tired by the end.
And how is the rest of the corps? I meet up with them occasionally... saw a few at happy hour this last Friday. Some of the Pre-K teachers aren't doing so well. Understandable. I would have quit had I been assigned to Pre-K or K; I'm just not cut out for it. I'd be better used as a lumberjack. I feel luckier the more I talk to others and figure out the school situation that I'm in compared to theirs. I hope my principal survives... he's up all hours trying to get things figured out and put in place at our school. Sure, my textbooks are still coming late, and I have no idea how to teach bilingual, or teach in general, but I feel like the tools are there. So if I fail... well, we know who's responsible.
I was talking to someone the other day and she commented that all teachers should probably have that attitude--it's the only one that will really lead to success. I guess that's true. But it's very high pressure.
After my limited time so far, I've definitely concluded that the administration and the teacher are two major indicators of student success. Schools have enough money around here--the question is if there are competent people managing it and the teachers, and if the teachers believe in their students. Another thing I feel, as unpopular as it might be to say, is that there is a difference between communities as far as educational values and expectations go. That's not to stereotype, or lump everyone in--but I see a very respectful attitude in my community to teachers, as the parents are very deferential, and even my worst students aren't that bad. This is in sharp contrast to what some other teachers are experiencing.
The one place where more money would be useful would be in attracting teachers who don't need to be bribed to get good test scores and who are innovative and have fresh ideas. The problem is that by tying test scores to bonuses, everyone teaches to the test. We need teachers who understand and care about their students and don't need that incentive--then students will really learn. This is illustrated by the "professional development" events that we go to. They are, in general, a ridiculous waste of time that caters to the LCD which needs ideas pounded in their heads before they will accept them. The major piece of knowledge I learned at my certification class last week was: if 30% of your students are going to fail, then drag up a student who put in a lot of effort and give him/her a D so you don't get investigated.
If 30% of my students are going to fail, I'll shoot myself.
(So, higher standards for teachers, anyone? And higher pay to go along with it?)
Anyway, starting this week: Stuart Little. I'm trying to put together my own reading unit around it. We'll see how it goes...
I haven't said anything yet about the saga at my elementary school. Turns out our outgoing principal overbudgeted at the end of the year. Significantly. By about 60 students. That means that of the four new hires (all TFA), two got let go, because they couldn't figure out a way to save money otherwise. It's a horrible situation. I was safe because I'm bilingual--they can't get rid of me since nobody else is certified (not that I'm "certified").
So... as for learning... they did a bit better at some things last week... I slowed down some instruction as well. Wednesday was early dismissal and parent Open House--all my conversations in Spanish, and they went all right, although I was mentally tired by the end.
And how is the rest of the corps? I meet up with them occasionally... saw a few at happy hour this last Friday. Some of the Pre-K teachers aren't doing so well. Understandable. I would have quit had I been assigned to Pre-K or K; I'm just not cut out for it. I'd be better used as a lumberjack. I feel luckier the more I talk to others and figure out the school situation that I'm in compared to theirs. I hope my principal survives... he's up all hours trying to get things figured out and put in place at our school. Sure, my textbooks are still coming late, and I have no idea how to teach bilingual, or teach in general, but I feel like the tools are there. So if I fail... well, we know who's responsible.
I was talking to someone the other day and she commented that all teachers should probably have that attitude--it's the only one that will really lead to success. I guess that's true. But it's very high pressure.
After my limited time so far, I've definitely concluded that the administration and the teacher are two major indicators of student success. Schools have enough money around here--the question is if there are competent people managing it and the teachers, and if the teachers believe in their students. Another thing I feel, as unpopular as it might be to say, is that there is a difference between communities as far as educational values and expectations go. That's not to stereotype, or lump everyone in--but I see a very respectful attitude in my community to teachers, as the parents are very deferential, and even my worst students aren't that bad. This is in sharp contrast to what some other teachers are experiencing.
The one place where more money would be useful would be in attracting teachers who don't need to be bribed to get good test scores and who are innovative and have fresh ideas. The problem is that by tying test scores to bonuses, everyone teaches to the test. We need teachers who understand and care about their students and don't need that incentive--then students will really learn. This is illustrated by the "professional development" events that we go to. They are, in general, a ridiculous waste of time that caters to the LCD which needs ideas pounded in their heads before they will accept them. The major piece of knowledge I learned at my certification class last week was: if 30% of your students are going to fail, then drag up a student who put in a lot of effort and give him/her a D so you don't get investigated.
If 30% of my students are going to fail, I'll shoot myself.
(So, higher standards for teachers, anyone? And higher pay to go along with it?)
Anyway, starting this week: Stuart Little. I'm trying to put together my own reading unit around it. We'll see how it goes...
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Two weeks down
First two weeks are over, plenty of weeks to go. I lugged home some huge boxes of material this weekend so I can get started. There are some fun party events going on this weekend but I'm not sure where people are getting time to attend them... I work better when I work in small bits, so I'm taking the weekend to decompress mostly by myself, sleep, watch TV... that whole bit. And, of course, blog.
So I have a few kids who are a little bit troublesome. But I half blame myself for the difficulties I am having in controlling them. I haven't been able to do individual conferencing yet, or start helping my kids on an individual level, because I have to keep the whole class under control. Nobody knows what to do and they're awful at following directions on worksheets. Meanwhile I have to teach out of the textbook because I don't have anything else. I'm sure this is a fate that befalls many first-year teachers but I want to make things more exciting!
Even worse is the way things are working out for my lower-English students (especially the one who speaks zero English). She doesn't know what's going on during our discussions and it is a problem for her (and it would be for me, too!). I need to get her going on the Spanish reading program, which I just received at the end of last week. Hopefully I will be able to work out a plan where she can read by herself. I believe she is the only one in the class who will take the TAKS in Spanish. I have another kid or two whose English is very, very low, and for them I think I need to have them working with sight word flash cards to start off as well as getting lower-level readers so that they can better comprehend the stories they are reading.
All of them need a lot of extra practice. I am definitely not sure to begin where to talk about writing strategies. I am not sure what they can write. In our free writes, some of them can write a lot, some of them can't; it's a matter of vocabulary, I think. As much as my program director at TFA told me not to explicitly teach vocabulary, I'm going to start teaching spelling patterns and vocabulary explicitly next week because they need to recognize (1) sight words if they don't already and (2) patterns!!!!
So the schedule is going to get busier. This week we have a Wednesday open house instead of class in the afternoon. Thursday I have a training, and I won't be in class, which is really bad... I need to cover a lot of material on Wednesday (but they get out early) so I'll have to figure out how that is going to work....
More later, perhaps I can update on some of the ups and downs of the last couple weeks, but for now I'm captivated by the planning... :)
So I have a few kids who are a little bit troublesome. But I half blame myself for the difficulties I am having in controlling them. I haven't been able to do individual conferencing yet, or start helping my kids on an individual level, because I have to keep the whole class under control. Nobody knows what to do and they're awful at following directions on worksheets. Meanwhile I have to teach out of the textbook because I don't have anything else. I'm sure this is a fate that befalls many first-year teachers but I want to make things more exciting!
Even worse is the way things are working out for my lower-English students (especially the one who speaks zero English). She doesn't know what's going on during our discussions and it is a problem for her (and it would be for me, too!). I need to get her going on the Spanish reading program, which I just received at the end of last week. Hopefully I will be able to work out a plan where she can read by herself. I believe she is the only one in the class who will take the TAKS in Spanish. I have another kid or two whose English is very, very low, and for them I think I need to have them working with sight word flash cards to start off as well as getting lower-level readers so that they can better comprehend the stories they are reading.
All of them need a lot of extra practice. I am definitely not sure to begin where to talk about writing strategies. I am not sure what they can write. In our free writes, some of them can write a lot, some of them can't; it's a matter of vocabulary, I think. As much as my program director at TFA told me not to explicitly teach vocabulary, I'm going to start teaching spelling patterns and vocabulary explicitly next week because they need to recognize (1) sight words if they don't already and (2) patterns!!!!
So the schedule is going to get busier. This week we have a Wednesday open house instead of class in the afternoon. Thursday I have a training, and I won't be in class, which is really bad... I need to cover a lot of material on Wednesday (but they get out early) so I'll have to figure out how that is going to work....
More later, perhaps I can update on some of the ups and downs of the last couple weeks, but for now I'm captivated by the planning... :)
Thursday, August 17, 2006
It's official
I am a teacher.
I am a first-year teacher.
As such, I don't really have time to be on here blogging... I should either be sleeping or planning, by all rights. There is so much to talk about, though, after just four days. It's been amazing.
The kids are savvy. They undoubtedly can outpace me. What I feel unsure about is my ability to provide engaging lesson plans. I feel like they need a really hands-on experience that I am not very good at providing. Even so, they have been very well behaved. They all really, really want to speak English. I tried doing a lesson in Spanish the other day and they all wanted to switch to English. My Spanish certainly isn't perfect, but I think it was more their desire to get better at learning English.
They are motivated. I believe the community has a passion for learning. You can see it in the kids--their parents or family know they need to learn and have infused the children with that passion. It's the only way out of the neighborhood--and it is tough neighborhood. The kids probably know more than I do about many aspects of life, even at only 9 or 10 years. They reacted positively to our goal--what I have to do is keep enforcing it.
The kids have four aspects to the goal. They are going to fill out their passports, which I am using to track their progress in the objectives that are set out for them. They are going to get 100 AR points when the goal for them is 60 (one asked me today about it, he was reading the chart on the wall with that goal and said "but we are going to get 100?". And I said "yep, you can show them. Get 100!..."). Okay, they are all going to pass the TAKS, reading, math, writing. Writing especially will be a feat. More on that later. Their last goal is writing too--being "three point writers" on the four-point TAKS rubric.
This is crazy. I almost felt guilty after giving them this goal becasue I am so unsure of my ability to get them there. But that is part of it--now I am trapped and committed to doing it for them. They are such great kids. Even the "worst" of them, behavior-wise, just talk too much, don't follow instructions. They're not hitting people, throwing things, anything like that--at least not in my classroom.
I have a very wide range of abilities. Writing ranges from the kids who write a whole page in their morning journals to those who write a few sentences to those who write two sentences. They all want to get better, I can feel it, but some don't know where to begin. What they need is just lots, lots, lots, and more vocabulary. That means more reading and listening exposure, but at the correct level. And therein lies the vast challenge. I gave reading diagnostics today. I have (according to Cloze) kids who can't read English [that was obvious before, of course] and, on the other end, kids who are at a high fourth-grade English reading level. Somewhat of the majority is probably second or third grade level. And, of course, I have to teach to the two kids who don't really speak English and who, I assume, are going to be testing in Spanish (while working at improving their English too, so they will be ready to move on). At least the ideas are the same, but it will be an uphill battle.
They also don't like to open up. I get along with them fine--they respect me, I respect them--but it is difficult for us to get beyond that. They don't like giving public compliments. They don't share things, yet, with me, though they might in the future. Yet at the same time they come together around each other. One kid cried today in class. Some of the girls were trying to help him out and they said things like "everyone cries...". Nobody laughed. Nobody made light of it... even my "bad" kids, who aren't that bad.
Okay, I'm tired and still have plans to finish. But there is more to be shared later!
I am a first-year teacher.
As such, I don't really have time to be on here blogging... I should either be sleeping or planning, by all rights. There is so much to talk about, though, after just four days. It's been amazing.
The kids are savvy. They undoubtedly can outpace me. What I feel unsure about is my ability to provide engaging lesson plans. I feel like they need a really hands-on experience that I am not very good at providing. Even so, they have been very well behaved. They all really, really want to speak English. I tried doing a lesson in Spanish the other day and they all wanted to switch to English. My Spanish certainly isn't perfect, but I think it was more their desire to get better at learning English.
They are motivated. I believe the community has a passion for learning. You can see it in the kids--their parents or family know they need to learn and have infused the children with that passion. It's the only way out of the neighborhood--and it is tough neighborhood. The kids probably know more than I do about many aspects of life, even at only 9 or 10 years. They reacted positively to our goal--what I have to do is keep enforcing it.
The kids have four aspects to the goal. They are going to fill out their passports, which I am using to track their progress in the objectives that are set out for them. They are going to get 100 AR points when the goal for them is 60 (one asked me today about it, he was reading the chart on the wall with that goal and said "but we are going to get 100?". And I said "yep, you can show them. Get 100!..."). Okay, they are all going to pass the TAKS, reading, math, writing. Writing especially will be a feat. More on that later. Their last goal is writing too--being "three point writers" on the four-point TAKS rubric.
This is crazy. I almost felt guilty after giving them this goal becasue I am so unsure of my ability to get them there. But that is part of it--now I am trapped and committed to doing it for them. They are such great kids. Even the "worst" of them, behavior-wise, just talk too much, don't follow instructions. They're not hitting people, throwing things, anything like that--at least not in my classroom.
I have a very wide range of abilities. Writing ranges from the kids who write a whole page in their morning journals to those who write a few sentences to those who write two sentences. They all want to get better, I can feel it, but some don't know where to begin. What they need is just lots, lots, lots, and more vocabulary. That means more reading and listening exposure, but at the correct level. And therein lies the vast challenge. I gave reading diagnostics today. I have (according to Cloze) kids who can't read English [that was obvious before, of course] and, on the other end, kids who are at a high fourth-grade English reading level. Somewhat of the majority is probably second or third grade level. And, of course, I have to teach to the two kids who don't really speak English and who, I assume, are going to be testing in Spanish (while working at improving their English too, so they will be ready to move on). At least the ideas are the same, but it will be an uphill battle.
They also don't like to open up. I get along with them fine--they respect me, I respect them--but it is difficult for us to get beyond that. They don't like giving public compliments. They don't share things, yet, with me, though they might in the future. Yet at the same time they come together around each other. One kid cried today in class. Some of the girls were trying to help him out and they said things like "everyone cries...". Nobody laughed. Nobody made light of it... even my "bad" kids, who aren't that bad.
Okay, I'm tired and still have plans to finish. But there is more to be shared later!
Friday, August 11, 2006
60 hours to go
Wow. A lot is happening these days. In 60 hours--less than that, more like 56--I will have my kids in the classroom and will be attempting to show them that I'm not a pushover. Not smiling the first day is what everyone at my school recommends--I plan to follow such advice. I'm told they're pretty good kids, might have some English problems, but good kids.
So I haven't blogged on here since I started at my school. Guess I should probably talk about how that's going. I know that I promised to talk about orientation but that seems less relevant the more time goes by. Point being that most of the time wasn't necessary. We had district training the week after that, which made me wish for TFA again. The first day of district training was at a hotel where there wasn't nearly enough parking--I parked in a section of the lot full of broken boards, gravel and (apparently) rusty nails. Luckily my tires survived it. The rest of the week wasn't all that much better organized, and whatever was organized, we already mostly knew.
Started school last Thursday (the 3rd). I like my principal, he's new (and increasingly tired as school draws nearer), and the staff is pretty cool, though gossip is big here. I try to steer clear of that as much as possible. I will definitely be the guy who is not in the teacher's lounge at all. We have some pretty good resources at our school and everyone is very cooperative if you need something, although I have not received all that much in terms of concrete, hands-on things. I have a serious need for storage bins for supplies (and supplies, too). Some schools took their new teachers to go on a shopping spree at stores... ours didn't, although I get the idea that if I am going to order things, I should order them now. So once our principal's secretary gets back from vacation next Wednesday, I'll submit an order.
The school is fairly well equipped. I have a TV that I can use to play DVDs off the computer (the kids have 5 computers in my room and I have a new computer too--attendance and grading will be all computerized). That means I can do Powerpoint, to my delight, although I have to be careful since the TV isn't as big as a projector would be. However, as for materials, as I said I am short. I think the teacher who preceded me took a lot of stuff... I barely have any books or manipulatives.
The worst part of the whole thing is that my room has mold, which we found when we headed into it. The teacher next door was the first to notice it. The plan was to bump me to another building (where the 3rd graders are) but then they decided that they'd get it fixed in time and I could stay in my room with the 4/5 classes. Okay, but it's still not done... the boards are clean, but the furniture needs to be cleaned badly. So I haven't done anything in the room... I have stacks of things scattered around the other room, and I've been trying to prep posters and other things to put up. I've bought a world map, and a globe tonight, and I'm trying to get all the stuff I need together (though I'm pretty disorganized at this point to be honest).
The staff, as I said, is very nice and people offer to help frequently. My mentor has given me a lot of supplies that he didn't need (the best was the CD set of National Geographic magazine from 1880 to 2000!). Hopefully I will be able to count on some help to set up. The computer system (run by the district) has been annoying, though, and I didn't get a class list until today (well, I still don't really have the list, just the kids' ID cards). I'll have 20 kids, a couple of whom were retained, I believe, but most of whom were in the same class last year (I'm the only teacher with my specific position, and so is the teacher below me in the vertical alignment).
The thing I need the most is books. If you have some of your old childhood books or know people who do, please contact me--you know how if you're reading this blog--and talk to me about getting them down here. I'll take care of the costs.
I probably won't be on here again for a few days at least, so wish me luck with the kids on Monday... I need to finalize my lesson plans for them for Monday and Tuesday so that I can "interalize," as they say. And it's late out here, and I need sleep someday... so hasta entonces...
So I haven't blogged on here since I started at my school. Guess I should probably talk about how that's going. I know that I promised to talk about orientation but that seems less relevant the more time goes by. Point being that most of the time wasn't necessary. We had district training the week after that, which made me wish for TFA again. The first day of district training was at a hotel where there wasn't nearly enough parking--I parked in a section of the lot full of broken boards, gravel and (apparently) rusty nails. Luckily my tires survived it. The rest of the week wasn't all that much better organized, and whatever was organized, we already mostly knew.
Started school last Thursday (the 3rd). I like my principal, he's new (and increasingly tired as school draws nearer), and the staff is pretty cool, though gossip is big here. I try to steer clear of that as much as possible. I will definitely be the guy who is not in the teacher's lounge at all. We have some pretty good resources at our school and everyone is very cooperative if you need something, although I have not received all that much in terms of concrete, hands-on things. I have a serious need for storage bins for supplies (and supplies, too). Some schools took their new teachers to go on a shopping spree at stores... ours didn't, although I get the idea that if I am going to order things, I should order them now. So once our principal's secretary gets back from vacation next Wednesday, I'll submit an order.
The school is fairly well equipped. I have a TV that I can use to play DVDs off the computer (the kids have 5 computers in my room and I have a new computer too--attendance and grading will be all computerized). That means I can do Powerpoint, to my delight, although I have to be careful since the TV isn't as big as a projector would be. However, as for materials, as I said I am short. I think the teacher who preceded me took a lot of stuff... I barely have any books or manipulatives.
The worst part of the whole thing is that my room has mold, which we found when we headed into it. The teacher next door was the first to notice it. The plan was to bump me to another building (where the 3rd graders are) but then they decided that they'd get it fixed in time and I could stay in my room with the 4/5 classes. Okay, but it's still not done... the boards are clean, but the furniture needs to be cleaned badly. So I haven't done anything in the room... I have stacks of things scattered around the other room, and I've been trying to prep posters and other things to put up. I've bought a world map, and a globe tonight, and I'm trying to get all the stuff I need together (though I'm pretty disorganized at this point to be honest).
The staff, as I said, is very nice and people offer to help frequently. My mentor has given me a lot of supplies that he didn't need (the best was the CD set of National Geographic magazine from 1880 to 2000!). Hopefully I will be able to count on some help to set up. The computer system (run by the district) has been annoying, though, and I didn't get a class list until today (well, I still don't really have the list, just the kids' ID cards). I'll have 20 kids, a couple of whom were retained, I believe, but most of whom were in the same class last year (I'm the only teacher with my specific position, and so is the teacher below me in the vertical alignment).
The thing I need the most is books. If you have some of your old childhood books or know people who do, please contact me--you know how if you're reading this blog--and talk to me about getting them down here. I'll take care of the costs.
I probably won't be on here again for a few days at least, so wish me luck with the kids on Monday... I need to finalize my lesson plans for them for Monday and Tuesday so that I can "interalize," as they say. And it's late out here, and I need sleep someday... so hasta entonces...
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
What I learned at institute...
As I continue my efforts to try to catch up, I realized I have left out a few things. So...
**I passed the Texas high school graduation test, the THEA, though I didn't get a perfect score on my essay somehow. Apparenly a 10-minute, 5-paragraph essay is only worth 7 out of 8. It was worth the extra few minutes of nap time on test day, though.
**I also passed the short bilingual test we were required to take, but we have a bigger one coming up.
All right, I can move on to explaining something else I left out:
Institute learning
I know way more now than I did when I started institute. I have a higher opinion now of institute than I did when I was there (when it was sheer torture) and I almost (though not quite) understand why people go back to be CMAs and so forth.
This additional respect for what we did at institute has not extended so far to giving "generosity of spirit" (as we would say) to other things I am told to do, such as orientation, but more on that later.
It was, mostly, worth it in the end. There are things that could have gone better. I would have had a way better summer had I bought into it myself, but I didn't because the unit plans provided for us were not on the correct page for our students. My students were, in retrospect, quite underinvested.
But of course, I'm not sad to leave behind the condemned Moody Hall, or RFoC, or anything else about U of H...
A week off!
Yes, I received an awesome week off, though I did not get such valuable things done such as registering my car (since I was missing some documentation). I did get a desk and a bookcase from IKEA, a store which I do not wish to see again, at least for another two years. My room is set up, kind of.
Next time around... my complaints about "orientation," as well as my developing vision for the coming year!
**I passed the Texas high school graduation test, the THEA, though I didn't get a perfect score on my essay somehow. Apparenly a 10-minute, 5-paragraph essay is only worth 7 out of 8. It was worth the extra few minutes of nap time on test day, though.
**I also passed the short bilingual test we were required to take, but we have a bigger one coming up.
All right, I can move on to explaining something else I left out:
Institute learning
I know way more now than I did when I started institute. I have a higher opinion now of institute than I did when I was there (when it was sheer torture) and I almost (though not quite) understand why people go back to be CMAs and so forth.
This additional respect for what we did at institute has not extended so far to giving "generosity of spirit" (as we would say) to other things I am told to do, such as orientation, but more on that later.
It was, mostly, worth it in the end. There are things that could have gone better. I would have had a way better summer had I bought into it myself, but I didn't because the unit plans provided for us were not on the correct page for our students. My students were, in retrospect, quite underinvested.
But of course, I'm not sad to leave behind the condemned Moody Hall, or RFoC, or anything else about U of H...
A week off!
Yes, I received an awesome week off, though I did not get such valuable things done such as registering my car (since I was missing some documentation). I did get a desk and a bookcase from IKEA, a store which I do not wish to see again, at least for another two years. My room is set up, kind of.
Next time around... my complaints about "orientation," as well as my developing vision for the coming year!
Monday, July 24, 2006
I am a horrible blogger so far
Well, it's certainly been a while, a testament to what I went through at institute and what sort of break I needed. That said, yes, I am still alive, and doing much better.
So... what happened during the last 10 days of institute when I didn't write anything? A lot, I guess... the end of school was really sad... the kids drew pictures about how they would miss me and all that. Did they learn? They certainly learned something. A lot of them were way better at English than when they started, and it was really cool on the last day when one of them (who was a constant mumbler in both English and Spanish) finally started talking to me in understandable English phrases. A lot of them still had trouble distinguishing "ch" and "sh", and nobody except one or two could really write good English sentences, but they did improve and clearly had the desire to keep going.
I can't help but think of the ones that we didn't impact as much as we would have liked. One kid who was a perpetual discipline problem and actually got suspended from summer school... but he scored rock bottom on his real tests (the ones he took before we came), in Spanish reading as well as ESL, and I can't help but think it's that lack of success that prevented him from engaging at all. We had another student who was just always distracted, always fidgeting, and it will stick in my mind the one morning we were doing phonics as a class--I tried to go over and help him, and I just remember I would point to a letter and ask him "what sound does this make?", then when he just stared, "¿qué sonido tiene esta letra?"
But yes, they learned some other things too... when I brought my animal slideshow they all loved it, and some of them yelled "a larva! a pupa!" They liked the laptop too, of course, and I told them they'd need to graduate from college too to get one. I showed them pictures of my school and they all wanted go to there, at least for a day, and they loved some of the animals from the homeland that I showed them. They got so excited when we played "a verb is something you can do," and they understood and (I hope) retained what a verb was, after so many attempts! My idea, which was a joke, that "a noun is something you can poke" actually proved successful at getting some kids to learn too...
So yes, it was sad to leave the summer kids, although I'll never be mistaken for a first grade teacher. We had a pretty good sendoff speech from one of the other 2006 corps members, though I'm sure he'd given pretty much the same speech before. It was also sad to say goodbye to all the CMs from other regions, but I certainly didn't mind leaving Moody for my own new apartment...
I'll update more on the week off and the beginning of "orientation" (bleh) soon. Hope everyone is doing well, and feel free to call or email, I want to stay in touch with everyone :)
So... what happened during the last 10 days of institute when I didn't write anything? A lot, I guess... the end of school was really sad... the kids drew pictures about how they would miss me and all that. Did they learn? They certainly learned something. A lot of them were way better at English than when they started, and it was really cool on the last day when one of them (who was a constant mumbler in both English and Spanish) finally started talking to me in understandable English phrases. A lot of them still had trouble distinguishing "ch" and "sh", and nobody except one or two could really write good English sentences, but they did improve and clearly had the desire to keep going.
I can't help but think of the ones that we didn't impact as much as we would have liked. One kid who was a perpetual discipline problem and actually got suspended from summer school... but he scored rock bottom on his real tests (the ones he took before we came), in Spanish reading as well as ESL, and I can't help but think it's that lack of success that prevented him from engaging at all. We had another student who was just always distracted, always fidgeting, and it will stick in my mind the one morning we were doing phonics as a class--I tried to go over and help him, and I just remember I would point to a letter and ask him "what sound does this make?", then when he just stared, "¿qué sonido tiene esta letra?"
But yes, they learned some other things too... when I brought my animal slideshow they all loved it, and some of them yelled "a larva! a pupa!" They liked the laptop too, of course, and I told them they'd need to graduate from college too to get one. I showed them pictures of my school and they all wanted go to there, at least for a day, and they loved some of the animals from the homeland that I showed them. They got so excited when we played "a verb is something you can do," and they understood and (I hope) retained what a verb was, after so many attempts! My idea, which was a joke, that "a noun is something you can poke" actually proved successful at getting some kids to learn too...
So yes, it was sad to leave the summer kids, although I'll never be mistaken for a first grade teacher. We had a pretty good sendoff speech from one of the other 2006 corps members, though I'm sure he'd given pretty much the same speech before. It was also sad to say goodbye to all the CMs from other regions, but I certainly didn't mind leaving Moody for my own new apartment...
I'll update more on the week off and the beginning of "orientation" (bleh) soon. Hope everyone is doing well, and feel free to call or email, I want to stay in touch with everyone :)
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Ready to teach? Who knows...
I know it's been a while since I last wrote on here... things are so busy that there isn't too much time to update everyone on what's going on, and "three times a week" is definitely more like "three times a month."
Good news first. There's only a little over a week left in this endurance test, and I think everyone will be much better off for it. It's a really rough ride and it's led most people here pretty close to breakdowns if not directly to it. That said, the worst is over. Nobody need worry about me and thank you to those of you who have been supportive.
The difficult... I don't relate to first graders and don't really care to. I'm not motivated because I don't see any goals or reason for achievement. I think I've described all this before. Writing engaging lesson plans for first graders is remarkably difficult. I could keep an entire college lecture interested, I'm pretty sure, but a class of first graders is pretty much impossible for me. And I don't really see it getting that much better. Yeah, it's summer, and I have no idea if they know the material, and I only see them for an hour a day, and there's a language barrier... but none of that really makes it less of a downer to not be able to get the kids interested.
Other events... I went out to an Asian karaoke bar here in Houston where everything was written in Korean (I think)... for the Fourth, saw the fireworks which were pretty big... managed to get a new spare tire... the few bits and pieces of time I have outside of institute are fun and I do like this city, except the roads.
Unfortunately there's still much to be done tonight, so I have to go, but I promise to try to update everyone again soon...
Good news first. There's only a little over a week left in this endurance test, and I think everyone will be much better off for it. It's a really rough ride and it's led most people here pretty close to breakdowns if not directly to it. That said, the worst is over. Nobody need worry about me and thank you to those of you who have been supportive.
The difficult... I don't relate to first graders and don't really care to. I'm not motivated because I don't see any goals or reason for achievement. I think I've described all this before. Writing engaging lesson plans for first graders is remarkably difficult. I could keep an entire college lecture interested, I'm pretty sure, but a class of first graders is pretty much impossible for me. And I don't really see it getting that much better. Yeah, it's summer, and I have no idea if they know the material, and I only see them for an hour a day, and there's a language barrier... but none of that really makes it less of a downer to not be able to get the kids interested.
Other events... I went out to an Asian karaoke bar here in Houston where everything was written in Korean (I think)... for the Fourth, saw the fireworks which were pretty big... managed to get a new spare tire... the few bits and pieces of time I have outside of institute are fun and I do like this city, except the roads.
Unfortunately there's still much to be done tonight, so I have to go, but I promise to try to update everyone again soon...
Monday, June 26, 2006
Frustrations mounting, breakdowns approaching
This whole thing is pretty intense. Lesson plans due... then more lesson plans due... I know I said I'd try for three times a week. Three times a month seems more likely now.
The most frustrating thing is that I feel like I'm not getting anywhere in terms of the fall, even though I'm sure some of the things I do now will relate to my fall stuff. But I feel like this is taking away from my fall prep time rather than adding to it. I'd like to be able to see more fourth grade classes, read about what to do with fourth graders, and study the curriculum more than writing all these lesson plans for first graders.
I feel like the goal is very nonexistent or vague. I think I already covered how some points are rather unattainable in English due to the language issue. Well, my class is disorderly--I don't know how much of this is my fault and how much of it can be chalked up to (1) language barriers, (2) summer school vs. regular school, (3) the transition from one teacher to another, and (4) having three different teachers as opposed to one. I will admit that I'm not the best first grade teacher. I still don't understand them.
This evening, we had a very moving session on diversity. My only real complaint with the session was that it is very difficult to spare the time given the amount of work they are putting on us. That said, I was very moved by people's experiences and opinions. I feel like despite what I may have done, I am an odd one out, and one of the "low achievers" here, though I have no idea how accurate that impression is.
Today was a rough day for me personally. I'm behind on my plans--as plenty of people are, I believe, although my CMA is being easy on me, I will admit. I will also admit that the notes of "poor professionalism" carry some merit. To explain further, I avoid confrontation. Overly avoid confrontation. To the point where I don't like to discuss if I'm not going to get something done, but prefer to let assumptions be made, which hurts me severely in the end. It's something I need to deal with and, by the end of institute, I assume that I'll have advanced my skills in this area out of necessity, if nothing else.
I'm teaching literacy, which I still feel I know almost nothing about, and today was a nightmare with getting students to stay on task. I guess I "learned a lot," but I feel greatly underprepared and undertrained for this, and the time is much greater (I was teaching for 2:40 straight this morning).
To add to this, I got another flat tire today (to add to the one I got last month before leaving home). It seems to me as though this is a coincidence and it appears at first glance that the issue was just a large chunk of something piercing the tire, but I can't say for sure and now I'm rather paranoid about the tire pressure--I don't even remember what the tire pressure is supposed to be. On the plus side, thanks to that experience a month ago, I was able to change the tire out myself. And it looks like I'll have to buy new tires anyway since I don't have a spare anymore, so I guess who cares about the tire pressure? ...
Less than three weeks to go before it's over, I move into an apartment and I can concentrate on the fall, but it seems like a lifetime. I just hope that I survive it...
Apologies if the proofing in this is inadequate. My time is also inadequate.
The most frustrating thing is that I feel like I'm not getting anywhere in terms of the fall, even though I'm sure some of the things I do now will relate to my fall stuff. But I feel like this is taking away from my fall prep time rather than adding to it. I'd like to be able to see more fourth grade classes, read about what to do with fourth graders, and study the curriculum more than writing all these lesson plans for first graders.
I feel like the goal is very nonexistent or vague. I think I already covered how some points are rather unattainable in English due to the language issue. Well, my class is disorderly--I don't know how much of this is my fault and how much of it can be chalked up to (1) language barriers, (2) summer school vs. regular school, (3) the transition from one teacher to another, and (4) having three different teachers as opposed to one. I will admit that I'm not the best first grade teacher. I still don't understand them.
This evening, we had a very moving session on diversity. My only real complaint with the session was that it is very difficult to spare the time given the amount of work they are putting on us. That said, I was very moved by people's experiences and opinions. I feel like despite what I may have done, I am an odd one out, and one of the "low achievers" here, though I have no idea how accurate that impression is.
Today was a rough day for me personally. I'm behind on my plans--as plenty of people are, I believe, although my CMA is being easy on me, I will admit. I will also admit that the notes of "poor professionalism" carry some merit. To explain further, I avoid confrontation. Overly avoid confrontation. To the point where I don't like to discuss if I'm not going to get something done, but prefer to let assumptions be made, which hurts me severely in the end. It's something I need to deal with and, by the end of institute, I assume that I'll have advanced my skills in this area out of necessity, if nothing else.
I'm teaching literacy, which I still feel I know almost nothing about, and today was a nightmare with getting students to stay on task. I guess I "learned a lot," but I feel greatly underprepared and undertrained for this, and the time is much greater (I was teaching for 2:40 straight this morning).
To add to this, I got another flat tire today (to add to the one I got last month before leaving home). It seems to me as though this is a coincidence and it appears at first glance that the issue was just a large chunk of something piercing the tire, but I can't say for sure and now I'm rather paranoid about the tire pressure--I don't even remember what the tire pressure is supposed to be. On the plus side, thanks to that experience a month ago, I was able to change the tire out myself. And it looks like I'll have to buy new tires anyway since I don't have a spare anymore, so I guess who cares about the tire pressure? ...
Less than three weeks to go before it's over, I move into an apartment and I can concentrate on the fall, but it seems like a lifetime. I just hope that I survive it...
Apologies if the proofing in this is inadequate. My time is also inadequate.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Where is literacy?
Well, the weekend has been a very welcome opportunity to get some rest... but unfortunately now comes the part where I have to do stuff, since tomorrow I am teaching an actual class.
So I have a lot of institute complaints so far. I am not sure how close we will get to having them addressed, but I really, really feel like what I need to know (literacy especially in a second language - 2L) is not being addressed, and we are talking way too much about lesson planning and classroom management and such. Meanwhile, we are supposed to motivate everything by a goal, but there is no real goal for the summer, because there is no way our bilingual students can learn the English-language objectives that have been set for them. We will probably have to alter the final assessment so that they can meet it--and that's exactly what we don't want to do (not to mention can't do during an actual year).
You would think TFA would realize that the people here are pretty good at organization and don't need that much more training in, for instance, a five-step lesson plan. Yes, I need practice, but I don't need to talk about it forever. What I need to talk about is how to help kids read who don't know how to read as well as they should... and for all the rhetoric about how literacy is the keystone of education, at least in the test materials, I have no idea how to help anyone read. We did, however, have a motivating meeting on Friday where we were told about our competition to have a new cheer for our elementary school summer corps and a competition to rename all the TFA materials.
Meanwhile I'm getting really excited about the fall and my bilingual fourth graders (it's been confirmed). I'm hoping to visit the elementary this week and I'm reviewing the curriculum, hoping that I passed the TExES. We were required to take a test called the THEA yesterday, which was a joke and kind of an insult. The saddest thing about it is that it actually means something vis-a-vis high school graduates. A typical question would be something like this:
(1) x = 5. What is x?
a) 4
b) 7
c) 5
d) 8
Or perhaps:
(2) The White House is the official residence of the President of the United States. ____. It was burned by the British during the war of 1812 and rebuilt afterwards.
What sentence should go in the blank?
a) I don't like that President Bush and his Iraq war.
b) Golly, it seems like there have been so many presidents!
c) Building began after the Revolution and was completed in 1800.
d) It would be awesome to live in such a big house, wouldn't it?
[With, of course, the caveat that anyone selecting option "a" would be failed automatically].
The interesting thing about fourth grade is that it is Texas history year... so looks like I will be learning some curriculum along with my students after all!
So I have a lot of institute complaints so far. I am not sure how close we will get to having them addressed, but I really, really feel like what I need to know (literacy especially in a second language - 2L) is not being addressed, and we are talking way too much about lesson planning and classroom management and such. Meanwhile, we are supposed to motivate everything by a goal, but there is no real goal for the summer, because there is no way our bilingual students can learn the English-language objectives that have been set for them. We will probably have to alter the final assessment so that they can meet it--and that's exactly what we don't want to do (not to mention can't do during an actual year).
You would think TFA would realize that the people here are pretty good at organization and don't need that much more training in, for instance, a five-step lesson plan. Yes, I need practice, but I don't need to talk about it forever. What I need to talk about is how to help kids read who don't know how to read as well as they should... and for all the rhetoric about how literacy is the keystone of education, at least in the test materials, I have no idea how to help anyone read. We did, however, have a motivating meeting on Friday where we were told about our competition to have a new cheer for our elementary school summer corps and a competition to rename all the TFA materials.
Meanwhile I'm getting really excited about the fall and my bilingual fourth graders (it's been confirmed). I'm hoping to visit the elementary this week and I'm reviewing the curriculum, hoping that I passed the TExES. We were required to take a test called the THEA yesterday, which was a joke and kind of an insult. The saddest thing about it is that it actually means something vis-a-vis high school graduates. A typical question would be something like this:
(1) x = 5. What is x?
a) 4
b) 7
c) 5
d) 8
Or perhaps:
(2) The White House is the official residence of the President of the United States. ____. It was burned by the British during the war of 1812 and rebuilt afterwards.
What sentence should go in the blank?
a) I don't like that President Bush and his Iraq war.
b) Golly, it seems like there have been so many presidents!
c) Building began after the Revolution and was completed in 1800.
d) It would be awesome to live in such a big house, wouldn't it?
[With, of course, the caveat that anyone selecting option "a" would be failed automatically].
The interesting thing about fourth grade is that it is Texas history year... so looks like I will be learning some curriculum along with my students after all!
Thursday, June 15, 2006
And I haven't even taught yet...
Wow. What a week... everyone's definitely already pretty frayed but we're hanging in there. Sort of. I still am suspicious that Lord of the Flies will break out anytime.
We start teaching summer school on Monday. For me, that means first grade bilingual, and it means that I'm supposed to teach a bunch of English-language objectives with a class of whom half don't speak any English. Interesting. It's a three-person team exercise, and at least I am bilingual and the other two understand some Spanish, better than the kindergarten team in my group, only one of whom speaks any Spanish. We don't understand why they asked us to teach objectives to these kids in English; it doesn't make any sense for them. It might be good for them to hear the English, but their ability to meet the assigned standards is probably questionable at best. (Not, of course, that I doubt my ability to get them to meet those standards; that would be a TFA sin).
Other things here... everything is really inconsistent as far as assignments go, it was a mess of paperwork until today when our CMA made us a summary of what we're responsible for. We've been doing things in a order that seems haphazard and it seems like we started actual planning really late and had a ton of things dumped into our laps. If they're organized enough to get all this set up, can't they be organized enough to better explain our timeline and responsibilities? And the joke in all this, it seems, is the kids, especially since (as previously mentioned) we're doing bilingual with some people who are less than that, and using strategies that seem more suited to a regular school year than to a summer session.
My fall placement is now up in the air. I thought I was going to be doing fourth grade bilingual, which is older kids and mostly in English; but the placement form I got today says second bilingual, younger (obviously) and mostly in Spanish. Huh. Of course, I'll be expected to accept the second-grade placement, since I am a flexible TFA corps member with no incoming abilities or preferences except a strong desire to close the achievement gap. I'll find out for sure shortly what the story is, and if I am indeed switching to second. The plus side is more Spanish-language experience for me... the minus is that the littler they are, the more foreign they are to me, and I was really hoping to get to work with fourth-graders. If I complain, what will happen? Maybe I'll get to go through the placement process again... but I'm already in a good school, so do I really want to take that chance? Or wait around without a job, and have to interview again in a month?
Finally, we saw the legendary Wendy Kopp on Monday night at our welcome. She delivered the same speech that she's undoubtedly delivered thousands of times--it's about the same as her quickly-written account of TFA's creation that I read after getting it at the regional info meeting. It was surprisingly dispassionate (and not without some "you know"s), although there were motivating speeches from others, including moving speeches from three alumni about the effects that they had on individual students.
Well, it's time to try to get my last classroom procedures done... so I will be back with everyone to report when I have the chance.
We start teaching summer school on Monday. For me, that means first grade bilingual, and it means that I'm supposed to teach a bunch of English-language objectives with a class of whom half don't speak any English. Interesting. It's a three-person team exercise, and at least I am bilingual and the other two understand some Spanish, better than the kindergarten team in my group, only one of whom speaks any Spanish. We don't understand why they asked us to teach objectives to these kids in English; it doesn't make any sense for them. It might be good for them to hear the English, but their ability to meet the assigned standards is probably questionable at best. (Not, of course, that I doubt my ability to get them to meet those standards; that would be a TFA sin).
Other things here... everything is really inconsistent as far as assignments go, it was a mess of paperwork until today when our CMA made us a summary of what we're responsible for. We've been doing things in a order that seems haphazard and it seems like we started actual planning really late and had a ton of things dumped into our laps. If they're organized enough to get all this set up, can't they be organized enough to better explain our timeline and responsibilities? And the joke in all this, it seems, is the kids, especially since (as previously mentioned) we're doing bilingual with some people who are less than that, and using strategies that seem more suited to a regular school year than to a summer session.
My fall placement is now up in the air. I thought I was going to be doing fourth grade bilingual, which is older kids and mostly in English; but the placement form I got today says second bilingual, younger (obviously) and mostly in Spanish. Huh. Of course, I'll be expected to accept the second-grade placement, since I am a flexible TFA corps member with no incoming abilities or preferences except a strong desire to close the achievement gap. I'll find out for sure shortly what the story is, and if I am indeed switching to second. The plus side is more Spanish-language experience for me... the minus is that the littler they are, the more foreign they are to me, and I was really hoping to get to work with fourth-graders. If I complain, what will happen? Maybe I'll get to go through the placement process again... but I'm already in a good school, so do I really want to take that chance? Or wait around without a job, and have to interview again in a month?
Finally, we saw the legendary Wendy Kopp on Monday night at our welcome. She delivered the same speech that she's undoubtedly delivered thousands of times--it's about the same as her quickly-written account of TFA's creation that I read after getting it at the regional info meeting. It was surprisingly dispassionate (and not without some "you know"s), although there were motivating speeches from others, including moving speeches from three alumni about the effects that they had on individual students.
Well, it's time to try to get my last classroom procedures done... so I will be back with everyone to report when I have the chance.
Monday, June 12, 2006
First days in Houston
My allergies have, unfortunately, not gone away in the wonderful City of
(1) It is extremely large. My home city could probably fit into it approximately 617 times.
(2) The lack of zoning laws has made for an interesting experience in many ways. There are run-down areas next to very nice neighborhoods. The spirit seems to be “if it decays, leave it,” and move on to a new place further out, since there’s plenty of space.
(3) Many drivers are insane. Today, I saw approximately five cars make a left turn on a red light when the oncoming lane got a green.
(4)
(5) There’s a lot of nice architecture, but the city plan (or, of course, lack thereof) is awful.
(6) The roads are in a horrid condition. Downtown, the cross-streets differ in elevation by about a foot, making for a pretty bumpy ride. Others are just full of potholes or inconsistent paving.
Induction was a fun experience. I certainly got to meet a lot of very interesting people from all over the country; the Midwest and South-Central (i.e.
The jest has begun about TFA lines, the phrases like “work relentlessly,” “execute effectively,” and so on from Teaching As Leadership. And they certainly do hammer it in. But it’s important stuff, and right now at least, I truly give credence to the effects that it can have on teaching. What is disappointing is the boring repetitiveness and unnecessary nature of the other things that we have done. Honestly, optional workshops might have been a better idea for this period of time, as well as actually getting out into the city more. The activities were slow, dragging and not particularly challenging.
And so now institute has begun. The first day was long. We don’t start teaching until next week, but I am already tired… my roommate likes to go to sleep rather early (can’t blame him), so I’m in a computer lab typing up this entry. On the bus around 6:45, workshops all day… without coffee, too. It tires one out. They have insinuated that they will collect the pre-institute work (which I had trouble doing due to my late graduation) tomorrow, so I’m also trying to get that done simultaneously to typing this entry. We’ll see how far I get. The reading is interesting, and I did most of what was asked, particularly on the car drive here; but the questions are really not necessary and this is a waste of my time.
The purpose of this blog
For those of you who don’t know, having graduated from college I have joined the Teach for
This blog exists to give my friends and family a picture of what I am doing down here, and what my thoughts are on the experiences I am having and what I am learning as a result. Other names are either changed or just dropped; this is not a gossip page, and I certainly don’t think there are other TFAers reading it, though I certainly don’t know for sure. I am trying to keep this focused to my thoughts and experiences, and away from other events that occur around me that don’t impact me directly. That is for another place and time.
I am trying to figure out security arrangements so that I can make this a private, passworded space, either here or at another address; but, for now, I have no time to do so. I have done this in a blog format, though, as the only other option was e-mail, and I did not want to fill up anyone’s box who would become frustrated about it. I also apologize in advance for perhaps not updating as often as I’d like; I will try for three times a week, or more, but time constraints may get in my way.
Thanks, and happy reading!
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