Long time, no blog!

Wow, a lot has happened since I last blogged on here... I have now completed 2 blocks of the Teacher Education Program, and I only have 2 blocks left! I have met a new best friend for life named Cathy. I don't know what I would have done without her in my life these past 2 blocks! I have wanted to punch a lot of classmates in the face, and I've had some struggles personally that she has helped me understand and navigate through. She is great. OK, so in block one, we formed "Trios" on the very first day of class (which was a nightmare to get to since I couldn't find anywhere to park and I was 90 minutes late). In this trio, it was me, Cathy and Michelle. Michelle has not been my new best friend, but we made it through. In block 2 we got to work with a lot of different classmates on different tasks, enabling me to understand that if I were to student teach with some of them, I would need to drop out of the program. Block 1 was taught by Anne, Gina, Jane, and Natasha. It was OK. Block 2 was taught by Paula, Craig, Jane, Shelley, and David. I loved music and art in block 2! No one else did. :) This summer I'm taking an online class about reading and books and I love it. It's super easy and super informative. I also took some classes last summer and got A+'s in them! Nerd Alert! There were 2 math classes and a gym class. There was an online logic class that I only got a B+ in, but that's still kind of acing it. Outside of school, I've moved in with Drew and moved from one branch to another. Baxter passed away on February 14, 2012, and it might have been the very worst day of my life. I have never been so sad. And then, March 3, 2012, we decided to bring home a new baby beagle and named her Stella. She is SO cute, but she is SO bad! I can't stay mad at her if I look at her, so if she's ripping up carpet or ruining another shirt, I know I'm going to get mad and she's going to bark at me and that's going to be it. She went to puppy class with Drew and I, but I don't think she took any notes. Anyway, I think I'm up to speed for the past year. School life, check. Personal life, check. I'll let you know when anything else good goes down. For now, peace out.

Good Semester!

Well, its been a really long semester, but its just about over. I started out not loving my psychology class, but grew to love it. I didn't know about the teacher class, but it ended up being full of creative great future teachers. Math class did not make me cry that much and my test average was an 85%. Pretty great few months. I am looking forward to having the rest of my classes take place during the day. It was a struggle going to work all day then to class all night. It did help me to become super organized and shed some pounds. When you plan and pack your breakfast lunch and dinner and plan your workouts around work and school, it doesn't leave much time for getting off track. I was surprised at how determined and self motivated I was this semester. I think I only skipped class twice and that's nothing compared to my past skipping history! If I had a choice, I would not schedule myself for classes 4 nights a week, but I am glad I did since it helped me get into the teaching blocks this fall. Only summer school and then 4 more semesters! I'm almost a teacher!!! And I am still loving the journey.

Future Teachers

Last Thursday was the first night of the class teaching presentations. I missed a few due to my dog walking tardy, but the presentations I watched were very well presented. I am impressed with my group of fellow students for coming up with original ideas and being so prepared for this assignment. I taught a short lesson on yoga. I love yoga and have found it to be very relaxing. I shared this with my fellow future teachers as I believe we will encounter some stress in our future jobs! Yoga is a great way to focus on yourself and reduce the stress you're feeling, even if it is only for a short time. I felt pretty good about my lesson, focusing on all the good qualities of yoga, how I came to love it, and places you can practice yoga. I also included some class participation and had everyone do a little yoga right by their chairs. The other presentations I got to see were about autism, making string bracelets, preparing a school for different types of learners with behavioral problems, working with special needs students, and a self-defense lesson that focused on getting out of grabs from little kid hands without hurting them or getting yourself into trouble. My classmates did an outstanding job and I look forward to working with them these next couple of years. If their in-class presentations can transfer to their own classrooms, they will all do an excellent job. I look forward to the next class to see what's in store!

Recap

I wanted to take a minute to list some topics discussed this semester in Examining Yourself as a Teacher. I know there will always be a lot of issues around teaching, but I feel its important to be able to take a step back and look at the issues from another angle. Or I will be sure to go nuts thinking about all the doom and gloom! We've asked ourselves if we're sure we want to teach for sure and why in our Education Journey papers. That led to a good discussion about your rights as a teacher and whether or not you can just blog about any old crap just because you feel like it. (I still say NO since you are in a powerful position to children and their parents, you need to have a "teacher filter" at all times.) I sometimes feel like everyone thinks they have their own talk show and everyone wants to hear their opinions. We don't. We also discussed gay/lesbian issues on schools and how to treat that issue since gays are not in a protected class. Well, they are people and that means they should be treated like any other person. I was shocked at how high the suicide and depression rates are for gay kids. I think we need to focus more on treating people like people and stop jamming them into these little pegholes where we think they belong. Let's mix it up people! We talked about different learning environments like home schooling, elearning, communal learning, children-driven learning just to name a few. It was surprising to learn home schools and private schools really have no regulations. Just have class 180 days a year. That led us to ask if school curriculums should be decided by politics. No, but that's just my opinion. IEP's or Individualized Learning Plans were discussed and seem like an excellent idea for involving parents in their child's education and setting goals for the school year. Our class gave their ideas about the environment in the classroom. We designed the perfect "robo" teacher and incorporated all the features an awesome teacher would have to remind us that none of us are going to be perfect, so be ready to make adjustments all the time! One excercise I think that will be extremely beneficial for younger students is drawing what they know. What does a "teacher" look like to you? Draw it for me. That is such a great alternative to writing when the children are in early grades. I also like the idea of using pictures at the beginning and the end of a lesson. Another idea I have enjoyed discovering in class is the concept map, or learning map. You put one idea in a circle and list words from that to see how they all come together. Like drawing, it puts ideas from your mind out in a visual format.
This week I teach my lesson on my passion. 5-10 minutes, and I think it is going to be great!

The End is Near...

...the end of the semester, that is. I continue to be shocked at the success I am having in my math class this semester. I was so scared and nervous and all worked up because I had to take the placement test twice to test into this class to get the other math classes taken in time to get into the teaching blocks this fall, but it has all worked out beautifully! I got a 7/5 on the last quiz, and we got 10 extra credit points for staying to fill out the class evaluation! I couldn't help but write a ton of comments on the back of the evaluation. My instructor has been great and I think it is his laid back style of teaching the concepts that has helped me do so well. I struggled with math throughout high school and beyond so I was extremely worried about this class. But I have kept up with the homework, attended class even when I wanted to skip it, and my grade reflects my hard work. I am so proud of myself! I know I should be discussing how I am exploring myself as a teacher, but I think this life lesson will be a great story to tell to my students. I can relate to them on a very personal and emotional level. I know what it is like to struggle with a school subject and feel nervous and unsure of yourself when you are learning a new topic, and hopefully I can keep this memory fresh as I work with nervous students of my own. Watch out schools, I'm coming soon!!!

Winding Down...

Nicer weather is finally here! And the semester is quickly coming to an end. This semester has been a challenge with having class 4 nights a week whilst working full time, but it has flown by just like everyone said it would. I have kept up in all my classes, increased my referrals at work, joined a gym, put my condo up for rent, got the okay to go part-time at work, and turned a year older. There has been a lot going on, but the more I have to do, the more I am able to accomplish. I find it hard to make excuses to miss out on anything I want to do. When something comes up that I want to do, I make it happen. I feel very empowered and very capable. I have impressed myself with two math tests with grades over 90% and have kept up with all the homework for that class. I have accepted the massive amounts of reading associated with my Tuesday night class and all of that information is starting to come together and make a lot of sense relating to teaching. Thursday nights continue to raise questions about the teaching profession and even though Mark tried to scare us out of it at first with all the scary topics and issues, he's starting to get us talking about the positive parts of the job. I have also been accepted into the teaching blocks starting this fall! I am nervous but also excited. I will be renting my condo and living with Drew. I am not sure which makes me more nervous, the teaching blocks or living with Drew! I'm sure everything will work out just fine. I have really noticed this semester that I worry too much about things that I can not control and also that I can't control everything, especially other people. I am learning to try to relax a little and keep my emotions under control when things get busy, as I know that will happen daily in the classroom. I had a teaching presentation in my Tuesday class this week, and one in my Thursday class next week. I get nervous in front of a group of my peers, but somehow kids don't seem as intimidating. Tuesday's went well, so I'm hoping for the best next Thursday too. Two more weeks and a math final to go, then a week off work and school! I am so excited and happy to say I'm proud of myself!

Two Weeks Worth

Two weeks of class have gone by already since my last post. We had discussions about controversial blogs and how schools are all different and how they evolved into what they are today. Interesting opinions about the teacher who blogged about her students. Most of the class felt this was awful and you should never talk bad about a kid on the internet. A few supported her rights as an American citizen and her freedom of speech. I was on the fence. While I feel she should have the right to vent her frustrations to whomever she chooses, I also feel that as an educator it is her responsibility to protect her students from negativity. I am sure her students went right on the internet and clicked around until they found her posts. Yes she is able to make mean comments, but as a teacher, she should use her best judgement and not post her innermost feelings on the world wide web. I work at a bank, but I don't write on my blog about the ways customers bother me. That is rude and inconsiderate. Maybe she didn't feel that way when she was rude on her blog, but it sure is a big deal now.
We also talked about community learning in both the Reggio environment and another community for learning in Mexico. It gives the student the opportunity to pick what they learn and focus on instead of an administrator or politician making up the curriculum. We talked about the curriculum in a school and how we constantly add more and more to it, but take nothing away. I found it surprising that private schools and home schools have no regulations or rules to follow except to hold class for 180 days per year and take attendance. Its so odd.
The more we talk each week about the difficulties facing educators, the more the laws and funding for education make less sense. We discussed class size for a long time and its proven that smaller classes in lower grades produce more successful students. Why are we cutting funding and cutting teacher jobs to cram 35+ kids into a first grade classroom? It makes no sense.
One more brain buster. Why are teachers fighting and complaining about their salaries? Teachers have never made the big bucks, so why not fight for something that might benefit the students? Maybe fight for smaller class sizes or more funding for the performing arts. It bothers me every week that there is so much fighting and arguing going on about education. Let's just focus on getting kids to school every day and teaching them something. Kids don't care about funding and salaries, they care about knowing their teacher is going to be there every day as someone they can count on and trust and look to for guidance and answers. I think teaching should focus on the student, not all this other noise going on.

Melissa