Last Day :(

Today was my last day at Whitney Point and I was surprised at how sad I was to say goodbye to the students and my host teacher. One of the students even said that if she had known that today was my last day she would have baked me something! It made me feel really good that they were sad to see me go and appreciated my work with them. My host teacher also gave me some inspiring words of advice.  She told me that she sees a bit of herself in me which I thought was so flattering because I really respect and admire her. She also said that I am a little bit quiet and reserved in front of the classroom, as she is too, and that’s okay. The students can still tell when I am excited about what I am teaching.  I was so happy to hear all of these compliments. I don’t think I could have been paired with a better host teacher. What a great experience.

Stacia

A lesson gone well at Corcoran

Today I taught my lesson to a group of Juniors and Seniors.  The class just recently finished reading the novel “Native Son” so I was instructed to create models and prompts of some activities for the students to do.  The students seemed eager and pleased to have someone else “take over” the class for a block.  They were so attentive you could have heard a pin drop.  Many of the students appeared happy to complete a different type of writing; writing that revolved around them.

The first set of prompts I showed involved three poems based on three of the characters within the novel.

The second prompt I wrote a letter to the author.  I discussed major themes, conflicts, and stereotypes within the novel, that I either agreed or disagreed with, or that I thought still occured in society today.  Some of the students that HATE writing chose to write the letter.  They were ecstatic that they could involve their own personal experiences and issues. 

For the first time this semester, I observed students engaged and interested in discussion.

The lesson went really well and I cannot wait to see a different side of their creativty when I check their journals on Monday.  Also, my host teacher asked me to teach the lesson again to a different class on Wednesday.

Kristin

Looking up at Clary MS

So, everyone knows how my observations experience has been a rough one lately but I believe that it is getting better. Yay! I am actually finally talking to the teacher and accomplishing on gettinhg a relationship with her. We sat down and talked on Tuesday about the cirriculum in Syracuse City schools. She gave me a copy of the seventh grade one, and shared that the eighth grade does the same thing. My host teacher gave me a run down about how she does writing in the classroom, which I haven’t really seen yet. She reassured me that right now it is a lot of directed teaching because she is trying to get through this book, but typically it is not like this.

She does four big papers throughout the year, why only that? I don’t know. She sets them up ELA form which, to me isn’t that interesting but that is her thing. I always heard the students asking if they were doing their journals, and had no idea what they were talking about. She explained to me that every Friday, the students write in a journal connecting the book they are reading to the book, “We are the Streets”. The book touches on many issues that the students are experiencing in their own lives which is something I can’t wait to observe. I am going too go in on a Friday one day to see what all the ‘hype’ is about.

Then, we began talking about what kind of lesson and I am going to teach. Since they are finishing the book The Call of the Wild next week, she would really like me to help them write a new ending to the novel after spring break. I don’t really know how to make this assignment really interesting to students considering some of them didn’t even pay attention during class when they were reading it. If anyone has any suggestions, I would be more than happy!

-Theresa

Huntington!

I had a great day at Huntington today. There was so much going on and I was so impressed by my host teachers lesson. She always incorporates the students lives into her lessons, which provokes them to actively partipate and engage in class. The kids are very welcoming to me being in the classroom. She allows me to be a very active part of her class and her lessons and it feels great to have such a good relationship with my host teacher. I hope that in the future I may be able to student teach with Mrs. Buda. She is an amazing teacher and she really understands what students need! I can’t wait to go back on Friday!

Kaitlyn

The words started to blur!

Yesterday at my observation, the students we able to read their independent reading books for a good portion of the period. They had to answer some questions about theme as they were reading in preparation for a future oral presentation. Anyway, my teacher had saved stuff from last week and this week for me to grade so that I wouldn’t sit there bored and doing nothing. I was excited because I have fun grading things, I don’t know why. So I began grading vocabulary tests and some other quizzes on the books they are reading, “Their Eyes were Watching God” and “The Glass Menagerie.” My teacher expressed her apprecition for me grading these items because she said that grading is not her favorite part of the job. So, off to work I went and about an hour into it, the words were starting to blur on the page! I think it was because there were so many multiple choice questions that all those “A” “B” “C” or “D” answers were starting to drive me crazy! I think that maybe it would be better for the students and the grader if they were doing something besides multiple choice. Students are not really using critical thinking by choosing a letter. Well, I still enjoy grading, I just wanted to point out that I wish schools were allowing students to use thier minds in more creative ways on tests!

 Stacia

Another day at Clary

I feel like I haven’t had any luck yet in my observation. First off, my teacher is hardly ever there. She either calls out sick or comes late to school which hurts me in the end because I am only there for first and second periods. The students also had a math test during first period so that also set the classes back a bit. There really hasn’t been one time that my teacher and I have had a conversation. I feel very disconnected with my host teacher, not the students so much. The students seem to me interested in having me in class because before class starts some of them engage in a conversation with me, which is really nice. They notice that I am there and have asked me for my name since the teacher never introduced me. I had confessed my concerns to Dr. Stearns the other day and she told me that she thought that I had the guts to talk to my host teacher about so I did. I have sent my host teacher and email very nicely stating that I would like to participate in the classroom while I am there instead of just sit in a desk in the back of the room. I had also explained that I needed to teach a mini-lesson in and I hope that we get a chance to talk soon. I go to observation in the morning and I hope that we find a time that we can communicate. It is so much different this semester than last but I am trying to make the best out of it.

-Theresa

“That is so ghetto”

Today was a very interesting day at observation.  In both classes I observed, the students had to write a short summary on what they had read so far in The Outsiders.  One of the students said that something was “ghetto” which caused my host teacher to have a mini-lesson on the meanings of ghetto.  First, she had the students give examples of something they believe is “ghetto.” Such answers included making grilled cheese with an iron and using a hanger as an antenna.  She then asked who is associated with being ghetto, and they responded by saying poor African Americans.  The students seemed extremely engaged in this discussion because it directly related to their lives. My host teacher wrote on the board the definition, which was “people of the same ethnic group who live together in a certain area.” Many of the students did not know this definition, and thought of “ghetto” in a negative way because of their understanding of it.  This allowed the students to see its true meaning, and how it can be applied to different groups of people instead of only African Americans.I think that this was beneficial to the students.  They were able to see the real meaning of ghetto and how it can be applied to different groups.  I think that this helped them with their ethnic identity because they were not being looked down upon which they often believe they are.Just wanted to share this with everyone and wanted to know what you think :)Alexis 

Clearing up at Clary

I went to my observation yesterday very nervous because things were not going that well the first couple of days.  However, everything was THAT much better.  The students are beginning to read The Outsiders, which I found funny because I created my unit plan on it last semester.  As a pre-reading exercise, the students listened to a short reading of S.E. Hinton’s autobiography and had to take notes on the reading.  I thought this was great because while it incorporates an ELA standard, it also has something to do with what they are learning about.

 After they listened, the class got into six groups.  My host teacher put questions on the overhead that the students had to answer based on what they wrote down.  Some of the questions had to do with problems that S.E. Hinton went through when she was younger,  which I found engaging for the students because they are going through the same things now.  My host teacher constructed this like a game, and each group gained one point for each correct answer.  The students worked well together and tried their best to earn extra credit points. 

 At the beginning of the activity, I have to admit that I stayed in the back of the classroom.  I was nervous that I would not be able to relate to the students and they would see me as an outsider. However, I did get up and was responsible for reporting three of the groups’ answers.  They saw me as part of the classroom, which made me very comfortable.  My host teacher appreciated it as well because she did not have to fun all over the room.  Everything seems to be getting better, I am excited for the rest of the semester!!

 Alexis

A tale of Syracuse Inner City Schools…

I don’t know why, but I just seem to have no luck what-so-ever with observing this semester.  But enough of my complaining.

When arriving at Corcoran this morning, I was informed that today was a half day. (And no, I was not informed of this information prior to me walking through the door)  While Krystina and I observed Mrs. Smith’s* first class, the students were not required to do any reading, writing, or even thinking.  Since the class was only forty minutes long, Mrs. Smith* allowed them to watch a film for the entire period.  While two students read and another caught up on her journal entry’s, I sat in my seat wondering what I was suppossed to be learning from this situation.

However, I was slightly apalled (spelling?) when comparing Mrs. Smith’s first class and second class.  While the first class was male dominated, African American students, the second class was all female except for one student, and all Caucasian.  What’s the big deal you may be wondering.  Well, here is my issue:

The first class was not expected or required to do any work.  Everyone, including the teacher, sat around, watched the film, and talked small talk for forty minutes.  On the other hand, the second class was to begin reading, begin a quiz, and dicuss racial conflicts they noticed throughout the first part of their book.  Some students even broke off into a group and read aloud to each other.

Why were there no standards/expectations for the first class, yet there were several for the second class?

Kristin

Clary chaos.

Today was a very interesting day of observation.  After I peeled the ice off my car, I started driving.  Unlike many schools in the area, Syracuse City Schools were open and did not have a delay.  When I got to the school, my host teacher was not there.  I found my AVID teacher and she said that 22 teachers called in sick.  Clary MS is very small, and this number seemed outrageous.  While the weather conditions were bad, I could not believe 22 teachers did not come in.  I believe that this sets a bad example for the children-if they teachers do not have to be there, why do they? Finally, I found my host teacher and went to the class.  For some reason, today was a half-day, and the schedule was periods 4-6.  In the class I observed, some students who are in the AVID program came in and said they knew me and I was Miss. Koala. Although this is not my name, it is very close, and I was extremely surprised (and glad) that they remembered me after only being in the AVID class twice.  It made me realize that these kids need positive role models in their lives, and I appreciated that they remembered who I was.

In the class, the students recently finished reading The Outsiders.  Today, they watched the movie.  Throughout the movie, kids were talking and passing notes. They only really paid attention when one of the characters cursed.

After class, I spoke to my host teacher, who does not teach period 5 and she could not believe that  I drove to Clary for one 40 minute class.  I informed that I would stay for more, but I did not realize the schedule.  We traded phone numbers and she said she would let me know when there is a snow day or forgot to tell me something in  class.   This made me feel better and more relaxed.  Hopefully the next time I go won’t be as chaotic. 

Alexis