This year, I definitely can look back and see some of my failures and weaknesses. I think my biggest failure was to those students I knew would not pass the state test. Most of them were my IEP students. Yes I worked with them, answered questions in class, sent work to their learning strategies classes, and did a lot more. What I didn’t do was find time outside of class to work with these students. Also I called their parents around the end of each nine weeks and at the beginning of the year. In doing all this, I believe I failed. These students are embarrassed many times to be IEP students. Therefore they won’t come to detention or seek help. I should have called home and set times up, or pulled them from an elective, to go over the material again with them one on one. This extra attention would have been priceless. I should have also called home much more. Many IEP students have parents that care. The parents would have appreciated and really helped make these extra times for tutoring happen. Special Education students need even more attention. This attention can’t always happen in class, BUT it needs to be forced outside of class. Learning strategies are great for them, but that teacher many times either isn’t qualified or doesn’t really teach. The students need the actual teacher to break the material down for them even more, show them steps on the calculator, teach them key words, since many of them can hardly read, and to just show a real interest in their success and in their lives. This coming year, I need to make sure that I get my IEP folder immediately, and instantly set up parent conferences with parents to make sure that we are all on the same page. This will be great in helping the parents aid their child, and help me in helping their child pass the state exam at the end of the school year. Quite a few of my special population students did pass the state test, but it was still less than half of them. This really bothers me. I know I could have done more for these students. They deserved more. This year, it is my mission, to see that the majority of IEP students pass the state test. It is essential for their morale, academic future, and life. I am their teacher and so I am responsible to see them succeed. Failure should not be an option I, as their teacher, bring to the classroom.
06/24/2010
Success 2010
This past year was one of relearning how to be successful. One success that stands out to me is getting two particular students to score proficient and advanced on the state test. At the outset of the year, I had been told by a few teachers that these students would be rough and not really worth spending time on. As I got to know both of these students, I thought otherwise. I talked to the counselor and found out that both had been involved with abusive dads and grandfathers. They had trust issues and therefore behavior issues. During the year, I looked for ways to encourage them and work with them. I called their mothers early and often to see how I could better reach their child. At first it was hard. Yes, I had to send them to detention and even ISS. Yes, on one occasion I had one of them suspended. But no, I never gave up on them. I constantly encouraged them and tried to show them that they could succeed. Whenever they would come in not themselves, I would put them in the hall and say, “I’m not going to mark you tardy. I want you to take up to five minutes to get yourself together. I know something is wrong but we have to work today to pass the state test. So when you are ready just come in quietly and work. I know you can do it.” This seemed to work. When they wanted to give up in class I’d say, “[student] take a deep breathe. Relax. It’s going to be ok. Now put your pencil down. Take three deep breathes. Ok now where are you getting confused.” These two things seemed to help these two students so much. They enjoyed class, worked hard, and excelled. By the end of the year I had one of these two students explaining stuff at the board. The other student, when we did our architecture unit, saw real world math application and loved it. This student’s house was great. The point is that I did nothing special. I tried to understand my students and see how I could reach them. Never give up on a student that you have never taught. Yes you hear plenty of negatives, but you never know what circumstances could have lead to that teacher’s opinion of the student. Think for yourself and give students what they need to be able to in turn learn on their own and excel!
05/26/2010
Summer School Practice
Teacher Skill One
Set
As I said in my last post, my sets left something to be desired. There were most of the time non existent. I felt as though I had so much to cover and so little time that I wanted to get right into the meat of the lesson. Next year I need to make sure that I am consistently completing my set. It is important for the students to see the real life examples. When they see these connections they will be more likely to work hard or at least be more interested in the material at hand. Sets, although sometimes frustrating to come up with, are useful and help students interact with the lesson more proficiently.
Teacher Skill Two
Closure
Closure was almost non existent in the first semester. This is something that I worked hard on the second semester. I definitely need to continue to improve my closures. As I improved them I could tell that my students were better grasping the material. It also became easier for me to check whether or not the students were comprehending the material. The better my closure, the better grasps the students and I had as to where they all were at with the material.
Teacher Skill Three
Consistent Parent Contact
Throughout the year, I was consistent in contacting students with behavior issues and regarding discipline. What I need to improve on this summer and next year is consistently letting each parent of not only behavior students, but also at risk of failing students know how their child is doing. This is extremely vital. Thankfully I don’t have too many kids that are failing but they ones that are should have had their parents contacted early on. I failed in this and need to make sure that I am ready to be in contact with each parent as the year progresses. This is something that I can definitely practice in summer school. I can call my kids in the class and continue to call their parents while I am teaching the summer school. If I get into a consistent routine I will be able to continue this routine in the school eyar. Parents deserve this and so do my students. I think this will help my year progress more smoothly next year and I will have much more in the way of parental support. The more parents on my side the better!
Year in review
Overall, my first year as a teacher went quite well. I definitely experienced quite a few things that I can wish upon no first year teacher. My strength was management and main weakness was an organized set and a thorough lesson plan. Management seemed more or less natural for me. Due to the fact that I worked in a juvenile correctional facility and have interacted with some difficult situations, asserting myself and making sure the kids worked was not overly challenging for me. I am very thankful that I had an administration that supported me. At times I made gutsy decisions with students, trying to make a point. My administration backed me, and therefore made my management successful.
I often left out a set. It seemed that I had so much to cover and such little time that I didn’t want to make silly applications or stretches to get the set taken care of. I need to figure out better ways to make direct application with making it feel forced or unneeded. The lessons that did have obvious application I did create a set. These lessons went well and students seemed quite engaged in the lessons.
Closure was something that was very lacking in my lesson the first semester. I worked very hard to include it in my lessons the second semester. Once I began to close my lessons, student grades improved a little and class seemed to go more smoothly. Next year, I want to definitely continue to improve my closures in order to check for retention of the material as well as how my lesson went as a whole.
Another thing I learned this year is don’t throw anything out! EVER! After the third nine weeks, I began to throw some tests, papers, projects, and homework out. This has proven to be a huge mistake. I have had a few parents come in asking to see work and I have had to tell them I no longer have it. Next year I am going to keep everything until the end of the year. This will help me become better prepared for parent conferences at the end of the year.
Aside from these few things, my year was a success. I enjoyed teaching and am very excited to continue teaching next year. The first year was quite interesting, challenging, and rewarding. I am hoping next year will prove to be even better then the first.
04/22/2010
Note to 2nd years
To the second years:
Thank you for all of your input over the course of the summer. It was great to be able to ask you all for your input while trying to learn how to teach. Thank you for all of your hospitality this summer and welcoming us to Mississippi.
I hope that where ever you go and what ever you do will be successful and full of memories. I hope that your time in Mississippi, if ending, has proven itself useful. I know that I have learned a lot in only one year and can’t imagine how much more can be learned after year two. I hope that you will be able to take your experiences and share them with others. I hope that it prepares you for where ever you go next.
Teaching is a great calling. I hope that most if not all of you will continue in this field. Kids need good teachers and there are few good teachers out there now. I hope that you won’t be run off from schools based on the rough schools we face here. For those of you staying, I hope that you will continue to do well in your particular school or whatever schools you will go to in Mississippi. Mississippi needs good teachers who are will to stay and help shape many of the failing school districts.
Ken – car-pooling was great this year. I think that every first year should have had the opportunity to travel with you. Your insight on management was priceless and helped me get started off on the right foot. Your “interesting” views on teaching, schools, students, and life in general were great in helping me think outside the box. I’m glad your staying on at Holly Springs and look forward to next year.
Sealand – thanks for the mentor lunches. You gave me some great ideas for how to teach some different topics as well as a few creative ways to make sure that I would be ready for parent conferences, such as making the students sign a paper saying they did not do their homework. Thanks for all the great volleyball and activities this past summer as well. It was great.
Thanks to everyone else for the fun this past summer. I hope that whatever road your travel next will be one that is prosperous and rewarding. I know you have been well equipped.
My Life recently
With the Algebra 1 State Test approaching, school has definitely changed faces. Kids seem to misbehaving more and administration seems to be looking the other way. The Algebra 1 State Test is the god of Holly Springs High School. Everything is pushed to the side. AP classes become study halls and electives are non-existent. It irks me to see students put by the way side for the sake of state tests. If the school wants to focus so much on them they should not have state tested teachers teach other subjects. Right now, AP Calculus, AP physics, and AP English have all been done away with. The hopes of those children to pass their AP exam are being dashed.
As far as discipline goes, there is none. Kids are no longer suspended. They are sent to ISS but then allowed to go to state tested subjects which are five of their periods. This defeats the purpose of ISS and out of school suspension. Because of this I have had to come up with creative ways to discipline students. Ok, not creative, more like boring. I have gone back to very long writing assignments and after school detention. Students hated it at first but now they are ok with it. They would rather have to do writing or after school than get suspended or demerits which go on their record.
It still blows my mind that behavior issues have increased. I thought that before that state test students would work harder and try. Instead of working, students think that since they have already come so far, and seventy eight percent of them are on pace to pass the test, they can slack off. They think that they are where they need to be. This scares me. Although our results looked great on the last test that we gave, I’m not sure our test will be as high as it should be given the fact that thirty percent of the students have already gone into summer mode. Kids need to realize that they need to work all the time. They are in for a rude awakening when they get into college and the real world. Employers and professors aren’t going to put up with slacking off. There are plenty of people in need of work. My students really need to turn it up a notch to ensure they pass the state test with flying colors and better prepare themselves for the real world.
02/03/2010
What makes a Great Teacher???!!
In looking at potential and current teachers, there are many traits that should be considered. There is a lot that goes into teaching. It is taxing, challenging, time consuming, and can be rewarding. Potential teachers need to show that they can handle the pressure. They need to show the ability to manage a busy schedule. If they haven’t experienced this, chances are they probably are not quite ready to be teachers. Teachers also need to know how to follow instruction. How can one expect students to follow directions if the teacher cannot follow instructions? In addition to reading, potential candidates should have to show clear evidence that they are able to follow instructions as well as take objective criticism.
Another thing that is important is how the applicant, or potential teacher, carries himself. It is important to be confident. Teachers need to be comfortable with who they are. They need to be confident that they are the one who knows the most about the material they are going to cover. They also need to make sure they are confident about their own presence. In saying this, a teacher needs to not only think they are in charge in the classroom but they make sure they are in charge. Teachers need to be able to have their students respect them or at least shut up and listen when they are told to.
I think that one of the most important aspects in teaching aside from leadership is humility. In saying this, I mean that a teacher needs to be able to accept constructive criticism. Teachers cannot be proud and refuse to listen to their boss, other teachers, or peers. Teachers must listen to those around them and constantly seek to grow. Teachers demand their students to grow. Teachers do not allow their students to stay the same. Neither should they. Teachers must always be growing and reassessing. It is vital to teaching and learning, that those who are in the front leading education are also in the back driving education. Teachers must grow as they would ask their students to grow.
Finally, an applicant should be able to deal with students from diverse backgrounds. One of my most important experiences going into teaching was working for four years in a juvenile detention center. I think that it is important that teachers alreaday have experience handling students who have trouble backgrounds or have been through a lot. I know it is not mandatory and great teachers can still come out of not having these experiences. What I am saying is that these types of experiences will help new teachers more rapidly adapt to their role the teacher.
Testing for graduation
“As School Exit Tests Prove Tough, States Ease Standards” discusses state exams as a tool for graduating. Many state are adopting statewide exams must be passed in order to graduate high school. This has raised some concern. This concern has not only affected many high schools around the United States, but also the high school in which I teach. At Holly Springs, we are constantly faced with the dilemma of the state exam hindering the students from graduating. Is this the students’ fault? Partly yes. In reality, their failure on these state exams is a direct correlation to how successful the teacher is in the classroom. Yes, there are students who refuse to work or cannot understand the material. This should not be an excuse. It does not justify seventy-one of students FAILING! Every teacher should be able to at least get seventy to eighty percent of his or her students to pass the exam. With that being said, excuses will fly. “I can’t teach students with behavior issues.” “I can’t teach students with handicaps.” “I can’t help students who are so far behind when I get them.” “How can I really change a failed system?” Well, get your head out of the sand, stop making excuses and begin to teach. If students are held to a high standard, there is no reason they can’t succeed. In the past they have failed because they have not been made to work. Teachers have allowed classroom misbehavior to govern their students learning. The teacher expect the students to understand the material after only working out one problem on the board. Wake up teachers and start to teach! State exams are necessary! They need to be in place to hold not only students accountable but teachers. Too many teachers are not teaching. Too many teachers only collect a check. State exams evaluate teachers. They show the students, parents, community, school, and state how well the teachers are presenting the material. This information should be weighed into consideration when thinking about resigning a teacher. A teacher who can’t raise achievement, or maintain high achievement, shouldn’t teach. A teacher who doesn’t hold high standards, not only for their students, but for themselves, needs a new career. Aside from students and teachers, state exams assess, schools themselves. It assesses how well they are hiring and training teachers. If a school continually brings in poor teachers, exam scores will be low. Once good teachers enter the classroom and truly teaches, state exams will be rewarding and no longer an obstacle.
12/05/2009
Semester Reflection
As the first semester winds down, the pressure surprisingly is seeming to lift. Students are working hard, classroom management has been easy, and the administration has been very positive. This has been surprising to me as I thought that the end of the semester would be the hardest part.
10/30/2009
Success Story
This year has already seen a lot of heartache but thankfully it has seen even more success. I think that my biggest success story this year has to be my AP Calculus class. At the beginning of the year, I was not able to get very many of them to work. My test averages were close to 65 and homework scores were even lower. After sitting down with my principal, we removed a few students who really did not belong in the class. I then endeavored to show the students why it was important for them to work hard and pass. I want to instill in them a work ethic that will get them far in life. Hard work is key to success. Well, after all the heartache with the class, they are finally realizing that if they work they can understand the material and succeed!
Recent Comments