I believe this book was written for me. When I sat down this morning to start reading, I have to say I wasn’t really looking forward to it. I had heard this book was good, but frankly, it was Saturday, and if I’m not lesson planning, I don’t want to think about school or children. It didn’t take long for me to change my mind, though. It happened on page nine, paragraph one, otherwise known as the very beginning of the book. Mr. Rubenstein’s story sounded very similar to mine. I knew after that first short chapter, this book was going to be good. As I continued reading, I started jotting down page numbers that contained any funny or practical advice. I figured I could reference some of those stories in this blog. Before I knew it, my little post-it was covered with page numbers. I couldn’t possibly reference them all in my post because I’d basically be re-writing the book. It’s safe to say I enjoyed the read and ended the book with a much more positive attitude than when beginning it. I’ll reference a few parts that I particularly enjoyed. Page 17 - Mr. Rubenstein uses the word “roasted” when talking about how his students treated him. This reminded me of a word that a second year teacher used when referencing a lesson she taught from last year’s summer school – “crucified.” Both sound like torture techniques form the medieval days. Page 27 – Mr. Rubenstein talks about observing good teachers. This only made me think of my team teacher. His effortless, yet incredibly effective lessons are a joy to watch. Somehow I just can’t reproduce them though. I guess that’s a skill that’s developed with time and much practice. At this point I’m going to skip some pages I marked and move ahead page 41. Here, Mr. Rubenstein caught me. It deserves to be quoted – “What I didn’t realize, of course, was that the first few days of school are usually easy. Teachers fondly call this the honeymoon period. It begins the first minute of the school year and ends when the teacher, while trying to silence the class, first plaintively utters the phrase, ‘Come on guys.’” GUILTY. I couldn’t help but smile after I read that. All I could picture was the handful of times I throw up a hand and said those exact words to my class. Damn. Anyway, on to page 74 where I finally read something I wanted to hear. Mr. Rubenstein writes, “Once they are convinced you are a real teacher, you can slowly morph into the kind of teacher you’ve always envisioned yourself to be.” FINALLY! Too bad you have to go through that whole Nazi dictator phase to get there. Well, each person has a mountain to climb. Guess I signed up for Everest without knowing. There were many more awesome parts to this book, but I just have to skip to the very end. The last section is titled – “Don’t teach summer school.” What am I doing this summer? Teaching summer school. What will I be doing next summer? Teaching summer school. I just had to laugh that one off. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book, just like everyone said I would. : )
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
The Gospel of Classroom Management
sUmMeR sChOoL
Saturday, June 19, 2010
My good old pot
On Thursday, I used the cold calling technique Dr. Monroe talked about in class. We cut up a copy of the seating chart and put all the pieces into a small flower pot. As usual, I got to a point in my lesson when student participation came to halt. It’s either zero participation or the same hands I always see after every question. It was time for the pot, and my literal words were, “I have a little pot over here.” The meaning didn’t even cross my mind. The class laughed, but the class laughs at everything so my word choice didn’t even faze me. It wasn’t until after class that Mr. Walker told me what I had done, and of course, it was while Mr. Roth, the principal, was observing my lesson. I guess everyone picked up on my special choice of words except me. I say it’s a testament to my clean, drug free mind, and everyone else’s can stay in the gutter. : ) D.A.R.E worked on me.
Okay, so now I should talk about the result of my little pot. I have to say, I wasn’t the biggest fan, but that’s more because of the way I approached it. The little cut up pieces of printer paper were hard to grasp, and it took more time than expected to grab a name. The students did seem a little more afraid and on the edge of their seats. Also, I kept drawing absent people’s names or the same name over and over. I know there was one girl who didn’t look too pleased by how many times her name came up. I like the idea in theory, and I will try it again, but next time I will use index cards. I would much rather hold a stack of names that I can just shuffle in my hands. The process would also go a lot faster.
On Friday, I watched another teacher use the method, and I believe she had better results with it. When I used the technique, it was the first time the students had seen it. I’m not sure they always pick up on what’s going on the first time. It usually takes time for it to sink in. Anyway, they seemed more responsive on Friday. When she threatened the “cup” (not the pot haha) more student’s hands shot up. I found it interesting, however, that students are more inclined to raise their hand if the cup is threatened. It appears that they are willing to “save” their more clueless classmates from having to answer. She would hold off on the cup if she saw more hands shoot up, but I think the cup should still be used. The cup keeps those students who NEVER raise their hand still in the running for participation. Anyway, those are my two cents on this cold calling technique.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Delta Autumn
I don't really know much about Mississippi. I've never been here prior to two weeks ago and about the only thing I knew was its capital. I only just learned where the delta actually was...and to my amazement, it was nowhere near the coast. Needless to say, my knowledge of Mississippi is quickly growing and the first chapter of Delta Autumn opened my eyes to its very storied educational past. After reading the first chapter, it's completely clear why the MS educational system is in its current condition. The state's fate was sealed long ago, and it's incredible that it has taken this long for programs to start addressing MS educational problems. Reading the book definitely reinforced my decision to be here.
While on the bus to Holly Springs, I was reading chapter five which references students with special needs. On the first page of the chapter, I came across the line, “Teachers quite often are alone in the process of developing appropriate classroom responses and modifications for these students.” The quote was talking specifically about being alone in dealing with students that need special attention because of learning disabilities. The part that resonated with me, however, was the very beginning - “teachers quite often are alone in the process.” Before finishing the sentence, I remember looking up and staring out the window for much of the remainder of our ride. I guess it hit me at that moment, that when I move to the delta in August, I’ll be alone in my classroom. Yes, I’ll have fellow MTCers at my high school, but in my classroom, it’s just me. That realization of immense responsibility hit me like a bag of bricks. It’s crazy to think that only a month ago I graduated from college, and come August, I’m in charge of a classroom. The thought will definitely take some time to get used to, but right now, I take each day as it is.
On a different note, I found this book to be an invaluable source of knowledge and advice. At any point where I found an interesting idea, good piece of advice, or crazy statistic, I put a check mark in the margin. Before August, I’ll probably go back and re-read all those areas with check marks, scrutinizing over every detail and trying to read in between the lines. It's a good thing that Dr. Mullins gave us this book, and it's a better thing that we have to blog on it (mainly so I would actually read it). There were good parts, funny parts, and scary parts. The section on fights was not the most uplifting read. The second sentence of that section reads (with regard to fights in school), "They do happen, and they will happen in your presence." This is not exactly what I want to read, but it's good to hear the truth and be prepared for everything. After all, that’s what this summer is all about anyway – to be prepared. So as I lay this book down, I know that very soon, I’ll be picking it back up, maybe just to skim or maybe just to look at the checked sections, but I know I’m not done with this book.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
My First Week
So here I am in Oxford, MS. I don’t know if I ever thought I’d be saying that, but there you go. I arrived here about a week ago after a very long and tedious drive down from Iowa. Upon arriving, I was exhausted and sick of being in my car but at the same time sad to get out. I knew once I got out, my new life in Mississippi would begin. I had the same feeling when I arrived at Davidson four years ago. But now here I am in Oxford where the latest chapter of my life ends and a new one begins. The feeling is almost cyclical for those my age. Anyway, I arrived in Oxford optimistic and excited. I settled into my dorm and began those first few days filled with new places and faces.
Monday was my first full day here. It was Memorial Day and not everyone had arrived yet, but there were a few first years around. In the morning, I went for a run around campus to help familiarize myself with layout. I’m used to a very small campus where everything is less than a ten minute walk. Ole Miss is quite different. It’s very large, at least in my eyes, but it’s still a pretty campus. Later in the day, I made my first visit to the square which was quite an experience. A very stately white building was standing in the center of town. As I walked up, I felt like I was transported into Harper Lee’s southern town in To Kill a Mockingbird, and Atticus Finch was just bound to walk out of those courtroom doors. Oxford definitely has that small southern town feel that I’ve never experienced before.
It wasn’t until Tuesday when all of the first years had arrived and orientation officially started. Our morning was filled with introductions and those necessary annoyances that need to be taken care when first arriving on a campus like getting a school ID and a parking pass, and setting up a web ID account. We met our teachers and those in charge of MTC and we also got our first official tour of Ole Miss. I never knew how much history the campus had, especially involving the issue of race. Coming from Iowa, I have never experienced a place where racial issues were and are so prevalent. Iowa, on the whole, doesn’t have much diversity and as a consequence, we lack conversations about race. The tour opened my eyes to a world relatively new to me. I had experienced the south mainly through my college years in North Carolina, but the Mississippi south is quite a different world. It’s a very rich place, though, and I’m looking forward to my time here.
Wednesday was a rough day mainly because we were scheduled from 8am until 9pm. Granted, some of that time included social events, but still, I'm not used to having my entire day planned out. One of my favorite activities on Wednesday involved watching several videos profiling several MTC individuals. The teachers profiled were inspirations and their stories further solidified my decision to be a part of this program. We also watched several videos addressing fairly recent racial issues found on Ole Miss’ campus. Those videos again opened my eyes to a world otherwise unknown to me. I have to say, with some shame, that I wasn’t even aware that a KKK rally had taken place at Ole Miss within the past year. On Wednesday we also met our teacher for the summer. She’s a former elementary school teacher who seems to love what she’s doing. She definitely makes class time much less painful than I originally expected.
Towards the end of the week we met with the second year teachers that will be in our classroom for summer school. I was somewhat nervous for this activity, but after meeting the second years for my classroom, I was put at ease. They were all so friendly and knowledgeable about the entire process. I felt so much better after meeting with them. I already have the feeling that the second years, as well as our team teachers, will be such a great resource for us this summer. It blows my mind that come July they will be gone and it will only be up to us first years and our team teachers to run the summer school classrooms.
This first week has been quite the experience. It still seems so surreal. It was only three weeks ago today that I was walking across the stage to receive my diploma. In some ways my mind is still there in Davidson, wishing the time hadn’t gone by so quickly, but after this first week, I’ve come to terms with my current situation in Mississippi. I’m still apprehensive, and I'm still not quite settled, but with time everything will fall into place. All I know is that I'm happy right now, and that’s what’s most important. Til next time....
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
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