Dear Natalie Skidmore,
Congratulations on finishing your student teaching semester with your sanity still (mostly) intact. This may be premature, as there are still a couple of required weeks left, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm sure you'll make it through! This semester has been a whirlwind of activity, I know, but I hope you feel that you've learned a lot and have become a better teacher because of it.
When you first began student teaching you were enthusiastic, excited, and passionate about the craft. NEVER LOSE THAT. There is a reason teachers start out with passion, and I believe it is because this profession is one of the greatest in the world. What could be better than waking up each day and getting to go work with young people and educate the future of our country? Not much. However, I do need you to realize that the students will NOT always appreciate how hard you work, how much you care, or how much thought you put into the class activities. This is not because they hate you, or think you're weird (even though they definitely do), or want to make your life miserable. They will act this way, on occasion, because they are teenagers, high schoolers, essentially still kids, and they haven't learned how to act appropriately yet.
At times this will be overwhelmingly frustrating. Your late nights spent planning and replanning lessons to engage the students and make learning fun will occasionally seem useless. That "awesome" activity you worked so hard on will be received with statements like "This is stupid. Why do we have to do this?" And you will have to take a deep breath, remind yourself that they are not attacking you personally, and use these questions as a learning opportunity. You will spend entire days reminding students to get to work, and trying to explain why your activities and assignments are important. But, you WILL make sure that you can justify every assignment you give, because you know that work without a purpose only hurts you and your students.
Above all, use what you learned during student teaching to become a better person and teacher. There have been good and bad experiences, but they are ALL learning opportunities. Don't get caught up in petty, meaningless thoughts and discussions. Keep your head held high, and always think about what is best for you and your students. You may be a student TEACHER, but this is a learning experience. And you will experience a lot.
You will be proud.
You will laugh.
You will get to know students and never want to leave.
You will cry (but only when no one is around)
You will experience more frustration than you have ever known.
You will be overwhelmed by pride.
You will doubt yourself.
You will be proud of yourself.
You will work hard.
You will work harder.
YOU
will succeed.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Romeo, oh Romeo
I have to admit, I'm not a Romeo and Juliet fan. Yes, I realize Shakespeare is brilliant the play is a classic but...I'm just so over it! After taking many, many English classes over the course of my educational career, I have come to love many of Shakespeare's plays. Titus Andronicus immediately captured my attention, and I absolutely love the story. Maybe I'm just into creepy, dark tragedies, but Titus' story enthralled me. There are so many excellent things about Shakespeare's other works, and I've always felt that it was sad that Romeo and Juliet continues to outshine them all.
However, I am in a 9th grade English classroom, and the themes in Romeo and Juliet definitely apply to many of the life issues my students are currently dealing with. Forbidden love, family misunderstandings, lust; all of these themes can definitely be related to a group of 14 and 15 year old students. In my high school experience, we discussed the story of Romeo and Juliet as the tragic story of two young people who were desperately in love, and were forced into taking desperate actions.
I disagree.
I've always looked at Romeo and Juliet as two confused (and possibly not so bright) teenagers who chose to make a series of ridiculous choices without thinking. Over the course of three days, the lovers decide that they cannot bear to live anymore since they can't be together. I think it is important to focus on these details, because they play an important role in how students interpret the story. In my classroom, I would like to address these issues, and find new ways to present the story we all know so well.
I love incorporating reader's theater into my classroom, and I think Shakespearean text works wonderfully for this activity. Students really get into acting out the different scenes, and they tend to remember the main points and understand ideas more clearly when they actually perform a section of text and write it in their own words.
I recently read a blog on edutopia.org that discussed one woman's choice to have her students put on a modern performance of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet for a fundraiser. She stated:
"So, I sat down with the Drama Club and presented this year's play: Romeo & Juliet: The Ferguson Way! And I wanted their help. How can we bring Shakespeare's romantic tragedy into the 21st Century? Who would the feud be between? Juliet was 13 in Shakespeare's version. In today's world, would a 13-year-old girl fake her own death? Would they get married? How can we have this sense of drama, yet make it realistic? Should they die? From these early meetings came the framework for our script."
I love the fact that she made her students think about how the events in the play would unfold in today's world, and how she connected the story to her students' personal lives. Creating meaningful lessons and connections to the text is so important, and activities that encourage student involvement really make a difference!
However, I am in a 9th grade English classroom, and the themes in Romeo and Juliet definitely apply to many of the life issues my students are currently dealing with. Forbidden love, family misunderstandings, lust; all of these themes can definitely be related to a group of 14 and 15 year old students. In my high school experience, we discussed the story of Romeo and Juliet as the tragic story of two young people who were desperately in love, and were forced into taking desperate actions.
I disagree.
I've always looked at Romeo and Juliet as two confused (and possibly not so bright) teenagers who chose to make a series of ridiculous choices without thinking. Over the course of three days, the lovers decide that they cannot bear to live anymore since they can't be together. I think it is important to focus on these details, because they play an important role in how students interpret the story. In my classroom, I would like to address these issues, and find new ways to present the story we all know so well.
I love incorporating reader's theater into my classroom, and I think Shakespearean text works wonderfully for this activity. Students really get into acting out the different scenes, and they tend to remember the main points and understand ideas more clearly when they actually perform a section of text and write it in their own words.
I recently read a blog on edutopia.org that discussed one woman's choice to have her students put on a modern performance of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet for a fundraiser. She stated:
"So, I sat down with the Drama Club and presented this year's play: Romeo & Juliet: The Ferguson Way! And I wanted their help. How can we bring Shakespeare's romantic tragedy into the 21st Century? Who would the feud be between? Juliet was 13 in Shakespeare's version. In today's world, would a 13-year-old girl fake her own death? Would they get married? How can we have this sense of drama, yet make it realistic? Should they die? From these early meetings came the framework for our script."
I love the fact that she made her students think about how the events in the play would unfold in today's world, and how she connected the story to her students' personal lives. Creating meaningful lessons and connections to the text is so important, and activities that encourage student involvement really make a difference!
Monday, April 15, 2013
Final Days, Final Projects!
As we approach the end of the spring semester, my students are beginning work on their final projects. My teacher has students create autobiographies at the end of each year, and from what I can see, these are going to turn out to be amazing!
We have copied a RIDICULOUS amount of sheets for the students to complete, and each of these sheets asks the students about their personal lives. Students fill out a "birth certificate" with all of the information about their family background, and physically describe themselves in a 'Mirror Mirror' activity. It was quite entertaining to watch students as they worked on these sheets. We all think we know what we look like, but when you have to describe literally every aspect of yourself it becomes a little difficult! I also had no idea how exciting a tape measure would be, but the kids were absolutely obsessed with measuring each other and figuring out exactly how tall they were. (Unfortuately, I figured out that I'm still only 5'4...barely).
Students are also writing about their typical day, favorites, and personality types. I've been doing this project with the students, and the personal reflection has actually taught me a lot about myself as well! I think projects like this are so cool, because it allows me to learn a lot about my students and their lives. I would love to do an activity like this at the beginning of the year to help me get to know my students right off the bat, but I don't think it would work quite as well.
By the end of the year we have made connections with our students that allow them to open up in their autobiographies. While it would be awesome if this could happen at the beginning of the year, I don't think it would be the same because students just are not as comfortable sharing personal experiences with a person who is basically a stranger. My CT has told me about the material he has received in the past, and students do share some very personal details. I think that tells you a lot about both the teacher and the students, because it means that the teacher has fostered an environment in which students feel comfortable sharing, and know they are respected.
Activities such as this autobiography project are so important in the classroom, because personal connections allow for authentic learning. Students are still practicing writing, reflection, and analytical skills, and they are actually having fun with it because they get to talk about themselves! I was reading a blog written by Stephen Hurley, and he had his students participate in the same sort of project. In his blog, he explained why he chose to have students tell their personal stories, explaining; "Throughout the year, we have been exploring how the arts can help us both understand our stories more deeply and express those stories to others." We have been doing the same in our classroom, especially during the Night unit, so the autobiographies were the perfect project to move on to. Hurley had his students actually present their work to family and friends, which I think is an excellent idea. We won't be doing that in our classroom, but I think that having students present their ideas through both speaking and writing would be very beneficial.
I can't wait to see what the students turn in, because they already have such great material, and we've only just begun!
We have copied a RIDICULOUS amount of sheets for the students to complete, and each of these sheets asks the students about their personal lives. Students fill out a "birth certificate" with all of the information about their family background, and physically describe themselves in a 'Mirror Mirror' activity. It was quite entertaining to watch students as they worked on these sheets. We all think we know what we look like, but when you have to describe literally every aspect of yourself it becomes a little difficult! I also had no idea how exciting a tape measure would be, but the kids were absolutely obsessed with measuring each other and figuring out exactly how tall they were. (Unfortuately, I figured out that I'm still only 5'4...barely).
Students are also writing about their typical day, favorites, and personality types. I've been doing this project with the students, and the personal reflection has actually taught me a lot about myself as well! I think projects like this are so cool, because it allows me to learn a lot about my students and their lives. I would love to do an activity like this at the beginning of the year to help me get to know my students right off the bat, but I don't think it would work quite as well.
By the end of the year we have made connections with our students that allow them to open up in their autobiographies. While it would be awesome if this could happen at the beginning of the year, I don't think it would be the same because students just are not as comfortable sharing personal experiences with a person who is basically a stranger. My CT has told me about the material he has received in the past, and students do share some very personal details. I think that tells you a lot about both the teacher and the students, because it means that the teacher has fostered an environment in which students feel comfortable sharing, and know they are respected.
Activities such as this autobiography project are so important in the classroom, because personal connections allow for authentic learning. Students are still practicing writing, reflection, and analytical skills, and they are actually having fun with it because they get to talk about themselves! I was reading a blog written by Stephen Hurley, and he had his students participate in the same sort of project. In his blog, he explained why he chose to have students tell their personal stories, explaining; "Throughout the year, we have been exploring how the arts can help us both understand our stories more deeply and express those stories to others." We have been doing the same in our classroom, especially during the Night unit, so the autobiographies were the perfect project to move on to. Hurley had his students actually present their work to family and friends, which I think is an excellent idea. We won't be doing that in our classroom, but I think that having students present their ideas through both speaking and writing would be very beneficial.
I can't wait to see what the students turn in, because they already have such great material, and we've only just begun!
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Educating a Human Being, Not Just a Student
This week I have been thinking a lot about my role as an educator, and simply as a human, in stopping injustice.
I just finished teaching my unit on Night by Elie Wiesel, which we wrapped up by writing a mini research paper on current genocides. Over the course of this unit, my class participated in many discussions about the theme of bearing witness, and we explored how the questions about humanity Wiesel raises apply to our own lives. Listening to my students' thoughts about their role in stopping prejudice and social injustices was so inspiring. Their passion, empathy, and intelligence becomes so evident during these discussions, and it is so cool to see the light come on when a student realizes that they can connect, and that they play an important role in the way our society functions.
Many of my students were shocked to find out that genocide still occurs in the world today, and were upset that they didn't know about a lot of the instances of genocide and oppression that we learned about. I admitted regularly that I did not know about many of these instances either, and this stemmed some great discussions about WHY we don't know these things, and what that says about our society.
As the unit progressed we got into discussions about race, religion, gender, bullying, ect., and the students shared their experiences and thoughts about these subjects on a regular basis. I think that it is important to cultivate these types of discussions within a classroom, because education is about so much more than just learning content. I personally believe that, as educators, one of the greatest things we can do to prevent social injustices is to help our students see that they do play a role in preventing prejudice, and that they can make a difference.
I recently read an article that addressed this idea, and talked about ways that you can foster an environment within your classroom that supports these types of discussions. At the end of the article, it states, "Strom and Nelson say young people are moral philosophers. 'They care about the world they live in,' Nelson adds. 'They want to belong. They want to do right. They want to make a difference.' Help students show their smarts, not only to you or to their classmates but also to themselves" (Smith 2006). I love this statement, because I completely agree with it! We all want to live in a world where we feel safe, and unfortunately that is not the state of our society at the present moment. But our students want this too, and they want to talk about how people can make a difference! I believe that if we all work to create an environment where students can explore these ideas together, we will all benefit. So that's what I'm going to keep attempting to do!
I just finished teaching my unit on Night by Elie Wiesel, which we wrapped up by writing a mini research paper on current genocides. Over the course of this unit, my class participated in many discussions about the theme of bearing witness, and we explored how the questions about humanity Wiesel raises apply to our own lives. Listening to my students' thoughts about their role in stopping prejudice and social injustices was so inspiring. Their passion, empathy, and intelligence becomes so evident during these discussions, and it is so cool to see the light come on when a student realizes that they can connect, and that they play an important role in the way our society functions.
Many of my students were shocked to find out that genocide still occurs in the world today, and were upset that they didn't know about a lot of the instances of genocide and oppression that we learned about. I admitted regularly that I did not know about many of these instances either, and this stemmed some great discussions about WHY we don't know these things, and what that says about our society.
As the unit progressed we got into discussions about race, religion, gender, bullying, ect., and the students shared their experiences and thoughts about these subjects on a regular basis. I think that it is important to cultivate these types of discussions within a classroom, because education is about so much more than just learning content. I personally believe that, as educators, one of the greatest things we can do to prevent social injustices is to help our students see that they do play a role in preventing prejudice, and that they can make a difference.
I recently read an article that addressed this idea, and talked about ways that you can foster an environment within your classroom that supports these types of discussions. At the end of the article, it states, "Strom and Nelson say young people are moral philosophers. 'They care about the world they live in,' Nelson adds. 'They want to belong. They want to do right. They want to make a difference.' Help students show their smarts, not only to you or to their classmates but also to themselves" (Smith 2006). I love this statement, because I completely agree with it! We all want to live in a world where we feel safe, and unfortunately that is not the state of our society at the present moment. But our students want this too, and they want to talk about how people can make a difference! I believe that if we all work to create an environment where students can explore these ideas together, we will all benefit. So that's what I'm going to keep attempting to do!
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