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.

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