Having completed my third semester of observations and approaching the end of my on-campus college experience, I feel as if I'm approaching a level of readiness to approach my own classroom. Classes have taught me a lot of information to help me manage my own classroom and develop a sense of who I am as a teacher, what I want as a teacher, and what I want from my students.
Though I will be sad to leave college behind, I feel ready to approach a new chapter in my life, coming into the real world and finding my place in society.
So I am looking forward to my student teaching placement and seeing myself as a professional teacher.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
I Think I Can...
This Tuesday I taught my solo lesson. It was my first time doing so, and it was incredibly encouraging that it went alright. I was a bit nervous in front of a classroom, but it was only my hands shaking slightly. There were 11 students, so it wasn't really that bad of a classroom. I was really encouraged because it made me feel like I could actually do this for a living, whereas previously, I hadn't really confident that I could. So I was pretty excited.
I hope to have similar good teaching experiences.
I don't know where my placement will be for student teaching, but I'm excited to find out. My first choice is the Arlington Heights are. It would be rather convenient.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Second Semester in the Classroom
This semester, for student observations, I'm in Decatur, at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. It's very different from the school I was at last semester. I loved my co-op last semester and loved the school. It's taken me a bit of a while, but I've warmed to Decatur and even come to like it. Driving an hour to get there in the morning is a drag, but the school itself isn't so bad. It's got a whole lot of flavour, and I think I'm learning a lot there. The two classes that I observe (70-minute classes), are very different. One has 12 students, is co-taught, and the students are all pretty well-behaved. The second class has 20 students, they're all rowdy, and is taught by my co-op teacher alone. So this past Tuesday, the girl I co-observe with and I taught both classes. Teaching the second class was definitely a lesson in backbone in a classroom. They weren’t too bad, but I don’t think I was really prepared for their exuberance and energy. So it was definitely interesting trying to teach the type of students who aren’t always going to behave, who might have to be kicked out of the classroom, who might have to be reminded every two minutes to stop talking, who might have to have notes confiscated (Which I did and it was slightly thrilling), who might have to be treated harshly, or who might have to be ignored. In any case, they aren’t the stereotypical ‘good’ kids. However, having three bodies moving around, working to keep these kids under control made it not so bad. They’ve all got personality, and it was kind of fun to work with them. The lesson we did was on haiku, and I think they liked it. I teach solo next week. I’m not sure if I’m doing the full 70 minutes, or if I’m just going to do a half hour or something like that. In either case, I’m fairly terrified. While I’ve grown more comfortable in front of students at the front of the classroom, this time, I don’t have another person on whom I can rely and I have to create the lesson plan all by myself. So this will probably be another good teaching experience, if only to test the waters of being in front of a classroom. It’ll be more like student teaching. Except, perhaps, for the part where I’ll have a teacher at my back, ready to step in if I falter. So there’s a safety net. Which is somewhat comforting. We’ll see how it goes next week.
Anyway, with the semester almost over and only one semester left on campus, I feel like the real world is drawing nearer. And with the real possibility of teaching on the horizon, I get kind of panicky when I think about it. (So I don’t when I can help it.) Luckily, I’m relying more and more for God to take care of me. I trust that if this is where He wants me, then I’ll do okay. So I’m just trying to take it as it comes and rely on Him to catch me if I fall. So I guess that’s where I am so far.
Anyway, with the semester almost over and only one semester left on campus, I feel like the real world is drawing nearer. And with the real possibility of teaching on the horizon, I get kind of panicky when I think about it. (So I don’t when I can help it.) Luckily, I’m relying more and more for God to take care of me. I trust that if this is where He wants me, then I’ll do okay. So I’m just trying to take it as it comes and rely on Him to catch me if I fall. So I guess that’s where I am so far.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Moving on...
Having finished my first semester in the teaching program and beginning my second, I found myself much more comfortable in the classroom. This semester's observations have not begun yet, however, I am somewhat looking forward to them. I had an excellent co-op last semester and adored working with her.
This semester's classes are helpful in expanding the knowledge base. While last semester was more concerned with forming a narrow base, this semester fleshes out the knowledge that we learned last semester. I'm excited to see how this semester turns out.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Journey to Technology
Technology, for all of its benefits, can be incredibly infuriating.
That being said, creating a story-video was a fun adventure. Time-consuming, certainly, but it was a fun adventure. Animoto I found, you could do the most with. However, because you have to pay, it's limiting. It's also frustrating because you're confined to a time-limit.
With Scrapblog, you're pretty limited as to what you can do. It's kind of like an online scrap-book/power-point program. So it's pretty limited.
Voicethread is also fairly limiting. There's not a whole lot you can do to adjust the images and again, to make any sort of real editing, you need to pay to have an account.
Essentially, all of the programs, while potentially useful, do not have a full range of options that would satisfy the user's wishes. They were fun--if frustrating--to play around with, however.
That being said, creating a story-video was a fun adventure. Time-consuming, certainly, but it was a fun adventure. Animoto I found, you could do the most with. However, because you have to pay, it's limiting. It's also frustrating because you're confined to a time-limit.
With Scrapblog, you're pretty limited as to what you can do. It's kind of like an online scrap-book/power-point program. So it's pretty limited.
Voicethread is also fairly limiting. There's not a whole lot you can do to adjust the images and again, to make any sort of real editing, you need to pay to have an account.
Essentially, all of the programs, while potentially useful, do not have a full range of options that would satisfy the user's wishes. They were fun--if frustrating--to play around with, however.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Not-So-Secret Lives
It's true that there is a ton of information online. It is also true that anyone can access it. One of the things that Brittany said, "As far as the stories that spoke about kids falling into internet traps, using the internet as a forum to encourage their eating disorder or desired suicide, and taking pornographic pictures of themselves to post online, they all had one thing in common. The child involved had outside factors contributing to their individual issues, and in those cases, often something deeper is necessary to help them." It's true. The things that children got involved with all stemmed from outside issues. Like one of parents said on the video said, if they have an interest, they're going to find it online. There is a plethora of information available to any who search, and if not, then there are ways for people to create that place and people will end up flocking to it.
Parents on the video were often surprised by their children's secret lives. Would my parents be surprised? Would your's? I guess that's one of the questions that you have to ask when you go online. Would your parents be worried with the activity in which you got yourself involved? Because I somewhat agree with the fact that the children and teenagers choose in what the get involved. From a parent's perspective, I can see the temptation of paranoia. (Paranoia is also quite common on the child's side--There are things that I don't want my parents to see online. However, the fact that they want me safe has rubbed off on me, leading me to be more cautious online.) If you know your child is doing things that they don't want you to see, then, natural tendencies lead you to want to know what that is. It's frustrating. When I'm at home, I'll walk by my brother on the computer, and for even me he minimises any window that he has open that might have compromising information on it. However, I then only want to know more what it is that he's doing. He's my baby brother, and as much as he drives me nuts, I don't want him getting into anything questionable.
In Ryan's blog, he mentioned that "I think that online talk is almost as liberating as fiction." It's true. When you're online, behind a screen name, behind a myspace profile, behind a livejournal or xanga profile, you can be anyone. It's like a Savage Garden song, Santa Monica. The lyrics are, "But on the telephone line I am anyone
I am anything I want to be
I could be a super model or Norman Mailer
And you wouldn't know the difference
On the telephone line, I am any height
I am any age I want to be
I could be a caped crusader,
or space invader
And you wouldn't know the difference"
If you replace 'telephone' and 'telephone line' with 'internet,' then how applicable is this to our modern life? Who really knows you online?
The temptation to be someone you can't be in real life and do things you normally wouldn't in real life is extremely seductive. That anonymity pulls you in and allows you to do things you wouldn't normally do because you can't see people make fun of you. Granted, harsh words helped lead to Ryan Halligan's death, but it's that same sense of unguided freedom and intoxicating ability to do what you want that leads to some of that secrecy. I always hated (and still do) lectures from my parents. They repeated themselves a lot, and goodness knows I sure got sick of hearing it as much as I'm sure they got sick of saying it. But, it also let me know that they love me and are only looking out for me and my safety.
As Kelsey was detailing on her blog, her parents encouraged openness when dealing with the web. Her parents talked to her about internet safety. This is important. This is a talk that needs to be added to that list of "Talks That Parents Need to Have With Their Kids But Don't Want to." Parents need to encourage that level of openness with their children so they won't be surprised if they were to immerse themselves in their child's internet life. I believe that's very important, and as a teacher, we can encourage that same sort of openness in the classroom. Be encouraging of a student's self and he or she will be more willing to open up and share.
Another big issue, I think, is that we, as parents, will have grown up with the internet. Our generation of parents have not grown up with that luxury. I believe it is for this reason that parents who try to set up password blocks on the internet often fail. Their children have the familiarity with the internet that they do not. As the one kid said, he just switched the screen that his father saw, leading him to believe that he was doing something else. Let me tell you, I would do something similar when I was on AIM in high school and supposed to be working on homework. It will be interesting to see what happens with our children. We grew up in the time of the internet and all of this technology, so I imagine we'll all keep on track with it and keep learning as we grow older, so our children probably won't be able to pull over some of these sorts of tricks on us. By then, though, there will be new tricks for them to pull to get away with doing other things.
What I think it boils down to is caring for our children, watching over them within limits, and encouraging that level of openness to where we will not be surprised by what we see in our children's online lives.
Parents on the video were often surprised by their children's secret lives. Would my parents be surprised? Would your's? I guess that's one of the questions that you have to ask when you go online. Would your parents be worried with the activity in which you got yourself involved? Because I somewhat agree with the fact that the children and teenagers choose in what the get involved. From a parent's perspective, I can see the temptation of paranoia. (Paranoia is also quite common on the child's side--There are things that I don't want my parents to see online. However, the fact that they want me safe has rubbed off on me, leading me to be more cautious online.) If you know your child is doing things that they don't want you to see, then, natural tendencies lead you to want to know what that is. It's frustrating. When I'm at home, I'll walk by my brother on the computer, and for even me he minimises any window that he has open that might have compromising information on it. However, I then only want to know more what it is that he's doing. He's my baby brother, and as much as he drives me nuts, I don't want him getting into anything questionable.
In Ryan's blog, he mentioned that "I think that online talk is almost as liberating as fiction." It's true. When you're online, behind a screen name, behind a myspace profile, behind a livejournal or xanga profile, you can be anyone. It's like a Savage Garden song, Santa Monica. The lyrics are, "But on the telephone line I am anyone
I am anything I want to be
I could be a super model or Norman Mailer
And you wouldn't know the difference
On the telephone line, I am any height
I am any age I want to be
I could be a caped crusader,
or space invader
And you wouldn't know the difference"
If you replace 'telephone' and 'telephone line' with 'internet,' then how applicable is this to our modern life? Who really knows you online?
The temptation to be someone you can't be in real life and do things you normally wouldn't in real life is extremely seductive. That anonymity pulls you in and allows you to do things you wouldn't normally do because you can't see people make fun of you. Granted, harsh words helped lead to Ryan Halligan's death, but it's that same sense of unguided freedom and intoxicating ability to do what you want that leads to some of that secrecy. I always hated (and still do) lectures from my parents. They repeated themselves a lot, and goodness knows I sure got sick of hearing it as much as I'm sure they got sick of saying it. But, it also let me know that they love me and are only looking out for me and my safety.
As Kelsey was detailing on her blog, her parents encouraged openness when dealing with the web. Her parents talked to her about internet safety. This is important. This is a talk that needs to be added to that list of "Talks That Parents Need to Have With Their Kids But Don't Want to." Parents need to encourage that level of openness with their children so they won't be surprised if they were to immerse themselves in their child's internet life. I believe that's very important, and as a teacher, we can encourage that same sort of openness in the classroom. Be encouraging of a student's self and he or she will be more willing to open up and share.
Another big issue, I think, is that we, as parents, will have grown up with the internet. Our generation of parents have not grown up with that luxury. I believe it is for this reason that parents who try to set up password blocks on the internet often fail. Their children have the familiarity with the internet that they do not. As the one kid said, he just switched the screen that his father saw, leading him to believe that he was doing something else. Let me tell you, I would do something similar when I was on AIM in high school and supposed to be working on homework. It will be interesting to see what happens with our children. We grew up in the time of the internet and all of this technology, so I imagine we'll all keep on track with it and keep learning as we grow older, so our children probably won't be able to pull over some of these sorts of tricks on us. By then, though, there will be new tricks for them to pull to get away with doing other things.
What I think it boils down to is caring for our children, watching over them within limits, and encouraging that level of openness to where we will not be surprised by what we see in our children's online lives.
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