Week 3 proved to be another roller coaster of a week. I am happy to report that no children were seriously injured; however, that may have been more luck than effective classroom management.
The Good:
To start out with the positives, I do have amazing kids. After grading the diagnostics, I realized just how intelligent my students are, and they continue to be very achievement driven. I had students come up to my room for lunch nearly every day this week and on Tuesday, I enjoyed pizza and long division with two girls at a local pizza place after school.
In the classroom, while management is still a struggle, Tuesday’s lesson on Prime Factorization went surprisingly well- I was even able to play music while they were working and student cheered when we got through the “Do Now” (a first for the class) It is amazing how much more enjoyable math can be- for students and teachers- when instructions are clear, students are on task, and everyone is learning : )
The Bad:
Unfortunately, Tuesday’s lesson was the exception rather than the rule this week, and my ability to be explicit with instructions, and my student’s ability to keep their mouths closed and bottoms in the seat is limited. I tried to explain a way to “track” quiz scores and then determine your assigned homework based on the percentage you received on a certain objective. This was my attempt at differentiation, and while I am hopeful that it will work out better in the future, students were WAY confused and anarchy reigned in the classroom.
The Ugly:
There were a couple of extra “ugly” points this week. The first being when one student decided to make fun of another student who was dancing by jumping up and slamming his own head into his desk. The front part of both of his teeth chipped off and flew out of his mouth, leaving him with a nice “Dracula grill” until his mom took him to the dentist after school.
The second was an incident between two students. Both are extremely intelligent; however, one suffers from “little man” syndrome and the other is a holdover and quite apathetic about the classroom. Student #1 struggles to stay in his seat and began taunting/touching #2. #2 responding by pushing #1 as he walked away, and the event culminated with two punches being thrown before both were removed from the classroom.
Neither student is a “bad” kid, and I am hoping our week of lunch detention will allow the three of us to get to know and understand one another better. I am worried that creating a relationship with these two boys will be a challenge; however, doing so early will make the rest of the year run much smoother for the entire class.
In conclusion, week 3 certainly had its struggles. I continue to be a first year teacher with all of its implications, and my students continue to be 7th graders filled with angst and hormones. However, each day I learn something new, and I look forward to coming back tomorrow : )
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Week 2 Frustrations.
Reflection: This week marked the end of the honeymoon period of teaching and the beginning of some serious classroom management issues. Because of reading assessments, the students did not have English class this week and instead had twice as much math. I, unfortunately, did not adequately prepare for close to two and a half hours of instructional time each day and things quickly unraveled.
It was also a week of “firsts”- first content-based lessons, first real, homework assignment, and the first quiz. I felt like I was constantly reacting to issues that arose opposed to proactively preempting problematic situations. It was so frustrating to feel like the whole class period was spent trying to figure out who had the next turn for the bathroom, how to stand in a line correctly, and how to defend myself when I was unfair because “she kicked me first!”
Additionally, it seemed that I had forgotten everything that I learned this summer regarding having an objective, agenda, checks for understanding, key points, etc… and creating an air-tight, student-focused lesson plan. The day we went over how to find the Greatest Common Factor of two or more numbers was a great example of these shortcomings. I had a packet for my students to complete, and I knew what I wanted them to learn, but I had not fully rehearsed what I would say nor had I pretested to know their previous knowledge regarding the subject.
This meant when a couple students reported that they already knew how to find the greatest common factor, I assumed that the entire class had previously mastered the objective, so I simply skimmed through the steps, believing the class was following along with me.
Unfortunately, even briefly reviewing was nearly impossible because of the noise level in the classroom, and I am not sure that all students could have heard my instructions even if they trying. When the homework was returned, it was obvious and extremely disheartening that less than half of the students completely mastered the objective. My biggest fear is that students will shut down if they believe that they can’t do the work.
Fortunately, the weekend provided adequate time to reflect upon the previous week, and I am now prepared with a system to revisit the objective, with a new classroom management plan that includes more immediate consequences AND rewards, with tighter lesson plans, and with some much-needed rest. Week 2 was hard, but certainly not defeating, and I am expecting good things in the upcoming week!
PS: Thank you to all teachers, everywhere who are overworked and underappreciated.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Week 1
I have officially made it through my first week of school, and while the experience was absolutely exhausting, the situation really could not be more ideal. My school, students, fellow teachers, and the administration are all fantastic. It is going to be challenging but there is lots of support available, and I am excited for Week 2.
Each day, I wake up and take the “4” up to the Bronx where I teach three periods of 7th grade math, one period of advisory, and meet with the rest of the 7th grade team. On Tuesday and Wednesday I have graduate school classes at Lehman College, and on the weekend I make up all the sleep that I did not get through the rest of the week : )
The neighborhood where the school is located is pretty residential, and there is a park right outside where families with small children spend a lot of time. Across the street is a commercial strip with a grocery store, local/chain restaurants, a dollar store, etc… The area actually reminds me a lot of Pence Street in Columbus; however, there is a heavier Dominican influence rather than Mexican.
My students in my home room are energetic, diverse, and eager to learn. They are going to be a handful, but they have a ton of personality, and it is going to be fun to build relationships with them. The majority are from the Caribbean- DR, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica- many of whom were either born abroad or are first generation Americans. This week, we had advisory for 3 hours each day, so I have gotten to know those students much better than my other two math classes; however, after reading their student surveys, I was excited to discover that many listed math as their favorite subject, Harvard as their favorite college, and are looking forward to participating in “math club” after school. They have had some pretty fantastic math teachers in the past, and I hope that I can rise to the occasion and challenge them like they want/need to be.
Other than school, I am slowly getting established in the city. I have my apartment (yay!) with two fantastic, Midwest roommates. My amazing parents were kind enough to drive out from Indiana to help me set it up. It was great to see them, and a ton of fun to show them at least some of the city. I think graduate school will be doable, and fortunately, my teachers seem friendly and intelligent. New York continues to provide new places to see, things to do, and people to meet, and I am glad that I have at least two years to take it all in.
Expect pictures of the apartment, school, students, etc… to be posted soon. I will keep you abreast of any new/exciting happenings in the Big Apple, I would appreciate you doing the same. How is life in Chi-town, Bloomington, C-bus??? Please keep in touch and come visit soon.
Lots of love, Katie
Each day, I wake up and take the “4” up to the Bronx where I teach three periods of 7th grade math, one period of advisory, and meet with the rest of the 7th grade team. On Tuesday and Wednesday I have graduate school classes at Lehman College, and on the weekend I make up all the sleep that I did not get through the rest of the week : )
The neighborhood where the school is located is pretty residential, and there is a park right outside where families with small children spend a lot of time. Across the street is a commercial strip with a grocery store, local/chain restaurants, a dollar store, etc… The area actually reminds me a lot of Pence Street in Columbus; however, there is a heavier Dominican influence rather than Mexican.
My students in my home room are energetic, diverse, and eager to learn. They are going to be a handful, but they have a ton of personality, and it is going to be fun to build relationships with them. The majority are from the Caribbean- DR, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica- many of whom were either born abroad or are first generation Americans. This week, we had advisory for 3 hours each day, so I have gotten to know those students much better than my other two math classes; however, after reading their student surveys, I was excited to discover that many listed math as their favorite subject, Harvard as their favorite college, and are looking forward to participating in “math club” after school. They have had some pretty fantastic math teachers in the past, and I hope that I can rise to the occasion and challenge them like they want/need to be.
Other than school, I am slowly getting established in the city. I have my apartment (yay!) with two fantastic, Midwest roommates. My amazing parents were kind enough to drive out from Indiana to help me set it up. It was great to see them, and a ton of fun to show them at least some of the city. I think graduate school will be doable, and fortunately, my teachers seem friendly and intelligent. New York continues to provide new places to see, things to do, and people to meet, and I am glad that I have at least two years to take it all in.
Expect pictures of the apartment, school, students, etc… to be posted soon. I will keep you abreast of any new/exciting happenings in the Big Apple, I would appreciate you doing the same. How is life in Chi-town, Bloomington, C-bus??? Please keep in touch and come visit soon.
Lots of love, Katie
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Back in the Big Apple
After an amazing week in the Midwest filled with friends, family, and open spaces, I am now back in the Big Apple enjoying life in a “deluxe apartment in the sky” with my friend Diana and her mom until my lease starts on September 1st. Manhattan has proved a bit more entertaining than St. John’s in Queens and though we still had TFA training this week, our significantly more relaxed schedule included more time to explore and to enjoy the city.
There are lots of great things about New York- culture, shows, shopping, etc… but the food falls at the top of my list. The number and variety of restaurants in NYC is mind boggling, and within the past week, I have eaten pad thai, sushi, Boston ice cream, and enjoyed a typical, New York brunch. While, unfortunately, this trend needs to stop (especially considering I still am not receiving a salary). It’s been fun, and I consider this research for when you come to visit.
Other highlights from the week included a trip to watch a live taping of the Fox Morning show with my future roommates, spending time with a study abroad friend who I had not seen since Spain, a New York trivia night and discussing unit plans with my teaching partner for the fall.
Next week is basically time to prepare for the school year, and TFA is hosting a reception with Chancellor Joel Klein on Wednesday regarding New York’s educational reform ( let me know if you have any pressing questions). I then have my school’s orientation the week of the 25th and school starts on the September 2nd! I have getting more nervous and more excited as the time approaches, and I welcome any tips that you would like to offer regarding the beginning of the school year.
Can’t wait to hear from you; hope all is well!
There are lots of great things about New York- culture, shows, shopping, etc… but the food falls at the top of my list. The number and variety of restaurants in NYC is mind boggling, and within the past week, I have eaten pad thai, sushi, Boston ice cream, and enjoyed a typical, New York brunch. While, unfortunately, this trend needs to stop (especially considering I still am not receiving a salary). It’s been fun, and I consider this research for when you come to visit.
Other highlights from the week included a trip to watch a live taping of the Fox Morning show with my future roommates, spending time with a study abroad friend who I had not seen since Spain, a New York trivia night and discussing unit plans with my teaching partner for the fall.
Next week is basically time to prepare for the school year, and TFA is hosting a reception with Chancellor Joel Klein on Wednesday regarding New York’s educational reform ( let me know if you have any pressing questions). I then have my school’s orientation the week of the 25th and school starts on the September 2nd! I have getting more nervous and more excited as the time approaches, and I welcome any tips that you would like to offer regarding the beginning of the school year.
Can’t wait to hear from you; hope all is well!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Heading Home.
The one nice thing about flight delays is that they provide some extra time to reflect. Today is Saturday, Teach For America Institute is over, and I am heading home to Indiana for the week (whenever my flight ends up leaving from LGA). Once again, I find myself experiencing a variety of emotions. I am excited to see familiar faces- friends and family, but sad to leave all the individuals that have become such an important part of my life in 6 short weeks.
I am going to miss my 8 awesome suitemates with whom I shared many a late night, “poster”ing, lesson planning and otherwise. I am not quite sure what I am going to do without the staff and corps members at my school who made the X118 family a place where kids came first. There are countless other NYC 2008 CMs that I will miss, but, fortunately, contact information was shared and next week's orientation at NYU will bring us together once again : )
The individuals that I am not sure if I will see again are the ones that I am most disappointed to leave. My students were my best teachers this summer, and I would love to have just a couple more weeks with them. I was surprised by how close we became after just 16 days of teaching and inspired by how much progress they have made. One student went from an 18% on her pre-assessment to an 84% on her post, some students were showing up early for “breakfast club” or leaving late from school for extra help, and others were taking home their books to read more about Rosa Parks during the evening. Even the simple fact that everyone finished the final exam was a huge success from where we started on Day 1.
Unfortunately, their growth was not shared by 100% of the class. There was one girl in particular who struggled with basic computation and reading. She was lost throughout most of my classes, and it is my greatest regret that I did not help her more- even if to just make her feel more confident in Math- during the summer. I am sure that I will have similar students in the fall, and seeing her disappointment at the end of the summer recommitted me to the goal that *every* child will succeed in my classroom.
So, I have one week in the Midwest before heading back to the Big Apple. Then it is a fury of orientation, training, moving, and starting the school year on September 2nd! It has been quite the experience thus far and I am excited to see what the next two years will hold.
Well, that is it for now. They just announced that my plane is approaching the gate : ) I can’t wait to see many you soon!
Love from LaGuardia,
Katie
I am going to miss my 8 awesome suitemates with whom I shared many a late night, “poster”ing, lesson planning and otherwise. I am not quite sure what I am going to do without the staff and corps members at my school who made the X118 family a place where kids came first. There are countless other NYC 2008 CMs that I will miss, but, fortunately, contact information was shared and next week's orientation at NYU will bring us together once again : )
The individuals that I am not sure if I will see again are the ones that I am most disappointed to leave. My students were my best teachers this summer, and I would love to have just a couple more weeks with them. I was surprised by how close we became after just 16 days of teaching and inspired by how much progress they have made. One student went from an 18% on her pre-assessment to an 84% on her post, some students were showing up early for “breakfast club” or leaving late from school for extra help, and others were taking home their books to read more about Rosa Parks during the evening. Even the simple fact that everyone finished the final exam was a huge success from where we started on Day 1.
Unfortunately, their growth was not shared by 100% of the class. There was one girl in particular who struggled with basic computation and reading. She was lost throughout most of my classes, and it is my greatest regret that I did not help her more- even if to just make her feel more confident in Math- during the summer. I am sure that I will have similar students in the fall, and seeing her disappointment at the end of the summer recommitted me to the goal that *every* child will succeed in my classroom.
So, I have one week in the Midwest before heading back to the Big Apple. Then it is a fury of orientation, training, moving, and starting the school year on September 2nd! It has been quite the experience thus far and I am excited to see what the next two years will hold.
Well, that is it for now. They just announced that my plane is approaching the gate : ) I can’t wait to see many you soon!
Love from LaGuardia,
Katie
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Only One Week Left!
There is only one more week of institute left. I ca not believe time has flown by so fast. The experience has continued to be quite the emotional roller coaster, but there is a LOT about it that I will miss.
Over the past two weeks, the classroom has contained some ups and downs, but things have slowly continued to improve. Last Tuesday and Wednesday, the two students in my class with the greatest needs both showed up for “breakfast club” for extra help before school, and I had my first successful lesson where 100% of the kids in attendance got the questions right on the exam (yay for the “KFC” method of dividing fractions!).
However, during this time nearly 25% of the class has been absent each day, one of my favorite students moved to Queens, and I have still not been able to prepare material that keeps every student engaged and learning as much as they can… Teaching continues to prove to be a big challenge, and I wish that I had more than 4 days left with these students.
Outside of the classroom, my time has included attending evening sessions where I have enjoyed quality time with tantagrams and other math manipulatives, competing against the other summer schools during TFA Day (offiical "tug o' war" and Saltine eating champions!), enjoying Manhattan with friends, and eating Coldstone cake with the members of my collaborative group to celebrate how fantastic our Corps Member Advisor is.
One more week means only 5 more days of boxed lunches, living in a college dorm with 8 other girls, and riding a school bus to work each day. And while I may not miss EVERY aspect of institute, it is incredible how much bonding has gone at 6:15am as we file on the yellow school bus to head to the Bronx with our cups of black coffee and at 11:45pm when 80 of us line up to use the copiers before they close.
One week also means only 4 days to teach ratios, proportions, unit rates, area, percents, and absolute values…. I am not sure how it is all going to get accomplished, but thankfully I am surrounded by committed teachers and capable students- both of which I will miss immensely.
I hope all is well wherever you find yourself reading this blog, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Love from Queens,
Katie
Over the past two weeks, the classroom has contained some ups and downs, but things have slowly continued to improve. Last Tuesday and Wednesday, the two students in my class with the greatest needs both showed up for “breakfast club” for extra help before school, and I had my first successful lesson where 100% of the kids in attendance got the questions right on the exam (yay for the “KFC” method of dividing fractions!).
However, during this time nearly 25% of the class has been absent each day, one of my favorite students moved to Queens, and I have still not been able to prepare material that keeps every student engaged and learning as much as they can… Teaching continues to prove to be a big challenge, and I wish that I had more than 4 days left with these students.
Outside of the classroom, my time has included attending evening sessions where I have enjoyed quality time with tantagrams and other math manipulatives, competing against the other summer schools during TFA Day (offiical "tug o' war" and Saltine eating champions!), enjoying Manhattan with friends, and eating Coldstone cake with the members of my collaborative group to celebrate how fantastic our Corps Member Advisor is.
One more week means only 5 more days of boxed lunches, living in a college dorm with 8 other girls, and riding a school bus to work each day. And while I may not miss EVERY aspect of institute, it is incredible how much bonding has gone at 6:15am as we file on the yellow school bus to head to the Bronx with our cups of black coffee and at 11:45pm when 80 of us line up to use the copiers before they close.
One week also means only 4 days to teach ratios, proportions, unit rates, area, percents, and absolute values…. I am not sure how it is all going to get accomplished, but thankfully I am surrounded by committed teachers and capable students- both of which I will miss immensely.
I hope all is well wherever you find yourself reading this blog, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Love from Queens,
Katie
Thursday, July 17, 2008
First Week of Teaching Reflections
I am officially done with my first week of teaching. It has been a HUGE emotional roller coaster filled with late nights, earlier mornings, and more thinking/strategizing than I have ever done in my life. I would like to thank every teacher that I have ever had for all the effort they put into trying to keep each student in their class on task, challenged, and learning.
Thankfully, my students are fantastic. I teach around 12 kids everyday who could not represent a bigger variety of interests, ethnic backgrounds, ability levels, ages, and personalities. They are at summer school for diriment reasons- poor attendance or struggles in one subject area. It’s interesting because some of them really excel in math while others lack basic addition/subtraction skills.
It has been a hard week but for different reasons than I expected. The 4-5 hours of sleep/night is rough but the harder thing is realizing that I am not yet equipped to meet the discrepancy of needs. It is a bit overwhelming that these students only have 20 days to get back on track. Whether or not they move up to 7th grade and their level of preparedness is my responsibility. I just wish I could learn and become more effective faster…
PS: Again, I posted this a while after I wrote it. Expect a rundown of week 2 soon.
Thankfully, my students are fantastic. I teach around 12 kids everyday who could not represent a bigger variety of interests, ethnic backgrounds, ability levels, ages, and personalities. They are at summer school for diriment reasons- poor attendance or struggles in one subject area. It’s interesting because some of them really excel in math while others lack basic addition/subtraction skills.
It has been a hard week but for different reasons than I expected. The 4-5 hours of sleep/night is rough but the harder thing is realizing that I am not yet equipped to meet the discrepancy of needs. It is a bit overwhelming that these students only have 20 days to get back on track. Whether or not they move up to 7th grade and their level of preparedness is my responsibility. I just wish I could learn and become more effective faster…
PS: Again, I posted this a while after I wrote it. Expect a rundown of week 2 soon.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Calm before the storm.
Today marks the last day of training, and I begin teaching on Monday! While the past week was great- filled with more lesson planning, classroom management, and student “investing” information than I previously thought possible in a week, I still feel slightly unprepared to actually *teach* the students. I am concerned that they are so far behind. I don’t want my lack of pedagogy and content knowledge hurting the possibility for them to catch up to there peers in these short 16 days of summer school… I guess that just provides more incentive to learn as much as I can, and I could not ask for more resources.
Regardless, the classroom posters are created, the jelly bean jar is ready to be filled for good behavior, and the parent letter is writing in English AND Spanish. I meet my kids tomorrow, and I will let you know how everything goes!
I hope everyone had a fantastic 4th of July. Remember to wish my dad a happy 50th and my parents a happy anniversary!!!
PS: I forgot to upload this until Tuesday, but I am sure my parents would still appreciate the warm wishes.
Regardless, the classroom posters are created, the jelly bean jar is ready to be filled for good behavior, and the parent letter is writing in English AND Spanish. I meet my kids tomorrow, and I will let you know how everything goes!
I hope everyone had a fantastic 4th of July. Remember to wish my dad a happy 50th and my parents a happy anniversary!!!
PS: I forgot to upload this until Tuesday, but I am sure my parents would still appreciate the warm wishes.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
First Week of Training.
Greetings from Queens!
Today marks the end of my first week in the Big Apple, and thus far, nothing could be going better. Training has been like the perfect Freshman Orientation. Everyone is super bright and friendly, and my fellow TFA Corps Members (CMs) represent folks from all over the United States. It is crazy that being from Indiana (or the Midwest for that matter) is such a novelty.
This first week was our introduction to training which meant there were a lot of “meet and great” type things along with discussions about diversity, professionalism, salaries, etc... We have heard some great speakers including Wendy Kopp- the founder of TFA- and have had at least a couple of days to explore the city.
Institute (aka teacher boot camp) starts tomorrow at 6am, and we just got our summer school assignments. I will be in a 6th grade classroom along with a couple of my other suitemates who are all teaching secondary math as well. We are observing this week and then teaching starts the following Monday!
Besides orientation stuff, this week I did a bit of travelling in Manhattan and Booklyn. I visited Central Park, Park Slope, and the apartment where I am going to live next year on the Upper East Side. It is *super* tiny, but in a great neighborhood, and right on the 4 line that I will take to work. I also checked out the Redeemer Presbyterian church in Manhattan along with some other CMs. It was really nice, but I am still looking forward to checking out a couple near my school in the Bronx.
All of the past TFA CMs have said that institute is one of the most difficult things that they have done… I will keep you informed of my experience. I am feeling a bit of apprehension, but I am excited to get into a classroom and start figuring things out for the fall.
I would love to hear from you – please e-mail, call, or write if you have the chance. Talk to you soon!
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