Week 8: Back to High School
Now, I'm back in the United States, and I'm very thankful that the transition back has not been too difficult. This week, I started my second student teaching placement, and for the very first time, I'm in a high school. Not only am I in high school, but I'm going from working with 6th graders to working with 11th and 12th grade. It's actually pretty terrifying. I know in my heart that I want to be a middle school teacher, but I know that this experience will be extremely good for me.
My goals coming into this week were to get to know the school, the students, and the content so that I can get a general overview of what life at this high school would be like. Based on my first week, I'd say that I have a idea of this environment.
My first day was absolutely crazy. Overall, that day was fine, but I was already coming in with expectations of myself that I was not ready to teach the content or students who are 4-5 years younger than me. The first class I observed, a Junior American Literature class (first period), was astounding, but not in the best way. These students are not engaged at all and only two students really participate. In addition to that, these students are so bored that they are on their phones for a good portion of class. At this school, it looks like it's okay to have your phones; it really depends on the teacher. This is where I'm heavily thinking about classroom management and the age of my students. I want to show them respect by giving them the opportunity to use them (considering a lot of students also use it for school), but I fear that they will abuse that privilege. I'm hoping that when I teach, I can be engaging enough so that they're not tempted to take their phones out. Also, my cooperating teacher is very nice and knowledgeable, but the way that she teaches is something that I don't necessarily agree with. Right now, the Juniors are finishing up The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. From the four class sessions that I have observed so far, my CT has lectured about 85% of the time. Also, she tells the students what to know rather than letting them explore that on their own. It's frustrating, because I want to keep the same routine for my students, but I also don't want to be that kind of teacher. She has this class about three times a day. While each class is different, the way she teaches is still the same.
In the middle of the day, I work in the Literacy Lab where English teachers and student tutors help students with reading and writing. So far, it's been pretty difficult figuring out my role since there's so many student tutors, and I feel like I'm invading their space. I've had great conversations and opportunities in there throughout the week, but that first day was really difficult.
At the end of the day, before my plan period, I have my most difficult class--Senior English Basic. Basically, these students are the lowest level English class in the entire Senior class. Many of them are not going to college, and most do not have a desire to. If there was one word that could accurately describe this class, it would be "madhouse." Throughout all of my placements since sophomore year, I have never had a challenging placement until now. Let's just say that two students got written up for an in-school suspension, and two others got written up to go to the Dean's office. Also, 30 minutes into class, the disruption, disrespect, and offensiveness got to be so much that my other cooperating teacher stopped teaching altogether. My other cooperating teacher is really amazing and loves these students, but she said that this was the worst they had been all year.
Driving home after this first class, I was so discouraged and actually terrified to go back the next day. I wanted to go back to my last placement which was so fruitful and wonderful. But, after lots of prayer, I realized that God put me in this position to really make a difference on these young adults. He wanted me to feel challenged and have those questions and doubts. These difficulties are what will help me grow as an educator. A question that I will be constantly asking myself throughout my experience at this school and especially in this class is "How can I embody Christ-like servitude in the most challenging situations?" I hope that I can continue to grow in this way.
The following day, I gave a Google Form survey to my students so that I can get to know them better. Here's actually a link to the survey:
https://goo.gl/forms/Jyyziv17n1PlLoZt1
I asked some general questions about their name and class period, but I also asked questions to specifically get to know them better:
1. What is something that you're interested in?
2. What is your favorite book?
3. If you don't like reading (or enjoy it anyway), what's your favorite movie or TV show?
4. Is there anything I should know for me to better help you as a teacher?
But then, I asked a question that was truly the most beneficial for me to know before I start teaching this class:
"If we were to do different activities in the classroom that still have to do with the content we're learning, what would you want to do more of? Choose all that apply."
After surveying 81 students, these were the results:
The majority of the students wanted more small group work, discussions, and active learning. From what I've observed so far, these students (especially the Juniors) don't get too much of that, and I want to use these best practices and more to really benefit my students so that they do have that motivation in class. According to IPTS Knowledge Indicator 4D, the competent teacher "understands factors (e.g., self-efficacy, positive social interaction) that influence motivation and engagement." From my time in the education program at Trinity, I have obtained specific strategies that spur intrinsic motivation, but it's really great to see students pretty much say, "if you add more of this into class, I'll probably be engaged and motivated." These students are at a different age than I am used to; the trick is to implement similar strategies, but teach it in a way that aligns with their specific needs and development as young adults.
While that first day was rough, the rest of the week went much better. I was actually able to make more connections with students. One of the seniors in my class actually got accepted into college. What sets him apart from the rest of the students even more is that he has a determination to do well, even when he knows that he struggles. He puts in that effort when other students don't care. He actually has been working with me throughout the week on college scholarship essays. His writing is unfortunately very weak, but his willingness to ask for help speaks volumes. Using my experience of working in Trinity Christian College's Writing Center, I felt like I was really able to help him. Some of what I suggested may have been overwhelming, but after discussion with my cooperating teacher, she said that he needs that. I'm not sure what the final product of his essays look like, but because of my work with him, he respects me as a teacher.
By the end of the week, my initial expectations were lacking, but I realized this week that high school is not as bad as I thought. I'm really just not used to teaching in that kind of environment where students are more unmotivated, more disrespectful, and more judgmental. Yet, in the high school environment, they are more sincere, aware, knowledgeable, and ambitious. It's truly all about perspective. I'm excited to experience more and challenge myself to be a better, more well-rounded educator.
Here are my goals going into next week:
1. Learn all of the students' names.
2. Establish myself as a teacher in the classroom.
My goals coming into this week were to get to know the school, the students, and the content so that I can get a general overview of what life at this high school would be like. Based on my first week, I'd say that I have a idea of this environment.
My first day was absolutely crazy. Overall, that day was fine, but I was already coming in with expectations of myself that I was not ready to teach the content or students who are 4-5 years younger than me. The first class I observed, a Junior American Literature class (first period), was astounding, but not in the best way. These students are not engaged at all and only two students really participate. In addition to that, these students are so bored that they are on their phones for a good portion of class. At this school, it looks like it's okay to have your phones; it really depends on the teacher. This is where I'm heavily thinking about classroom management and the age of my students. I want to show them respect by giving them the opportunity to use them (considering a lot of students also use it for school), but I fear that they will abuse that privilege. I'm hoping that when I teach, I can be engaging enough so that they're not tempted to take their phones out. Also, my cooperating teacher is very nice and knowledgeable, but the way that she teaches is something that I don't necessarily agree with. Right now, the Juniors are finishing up The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. From the four class sessions that I have observed so far, my CT has lectured about 85% of the time. Also, she tells the students what to know rather than letting them explore that on their own. It's frustrating, because I want to keep the same routine for my students, but I also don't want to be that kind of teacher. She has this class about three times a day. While each class is different, the way she teaches is still the same.In the middle of the day, I work in the Literacy Lab where English teachers and student tutors help students with reading and writing. So far, it's been pretty difficult figuring out my role since there's so many student tutors, and I feel like I'm invading their space. I've had great conversations and opportunities in there throughout the week, but that first day was really difficult.
At the end of the day, before my plan period, I have my most difficult class--Senior English Basic. Basically, these students are the lowest level English class in the entire Senior class. Many of them are not going to college, and most do not have a desire to. If there was one word that could accurately describe this class, it would be "madhouse." Throughout all of my placements since sophomore year, I have never had a challenging placement until now. Let's just say that two students got written up for an in-school suspension, and two others got written up to go to the Dean's office. Also, 30 minutes into class, the disruption, disrespect, and offensiveness got to be so much that my other cooperating teacher stopped teaching altogether. My other cooperating teacher is really amazing and loves these students, but she said that this was the worst they had been all year.
Driving home after this first class, I was so discouraged and actually terrified to go back the next day. I wanted to go back to my last placement which was so fruitful and wonderful. But, after lots of prayer, I realized that God put me in this position to really make a difference on these young adults. He wanted me to feel challenged and have those questions and doubts. These difficulties are what will help me grow as an educator. A question that I will be constantly asking myself throughout my experience at this school and especially in this class is "How can I embody Christ-like servitude in the most challenging situations?" I hope that I can continue to grow in this way.
The following day, I gave a Google Form survey to my students so that I can get to know them better. Here's actually a link to the survey:
https://goo.gl/forms/Jyyziv17n1PlLoZt1
I asked some general questions about their name and class period, but I also asked questions to specifically get to know them better:
1. What is something that you're interested in?
2. What is your favorite book?
3. If you don't like reading (or enjoy it anyway), what's your favorite movie or TV show?
4. Is there anything I should know for me to better help you as a teacher?
But then, I asked a question that was truly the most beneficial for me to know before I start teaching this class:
"If we were to do different activities in the classroom that still have to do with the content we're learning, what would you want to do more of? Choose all that apply."
After surveying 81 students, these were the results:
The majority of the students wanted more small group work, discussions, and active learning. From what I've observed so far, these students (especially the Juniors) don't get too much of that, and I want to use these best practices and more to really benefit my students so that they do have that motivation in class. According to IPTS Knowledge Indicator 4D, the competent teacher "understands factors (e.g., self-efficacy, positive social interaction) that influence motivation and engagement." From my time in the education program at Trinity, I have obtained specific strategies that spur intrinsic motivation, but it's really great to see students pretty much say, "if you add more of this into class, I'll probably be engaged and motivated." These students are at a different age than I am used to; the trick is to implement similar strategies, but teach it in a way that aligns with their specific needs and development as young adults.
While that first day was rough, the rest of the week went much better. I was actually able to make more connections with students. One of the seniors in my class actually got accepted into college. What sets him apart from the rest of the students even more is that he has a determination to do well, even when he knows that he struggles. He puts in that effort when other students don't care. He actually has been working with me throughout the week on college scholarship essays. His writing is unfortunately very weak, but his willingness to ask for help speaks volumes. Using my experience of working in Trinity Christian College's Writing Center, I felt like I was really able to help him. Some of what I suggested may have been overwhelming, but after discussion with my cooperating teacher, she said that he needs that. I'm not sure what the final product of his essays look like, but because of my work with him, he respects me as a teacher.
By the end of the week, my initial expectations were lacking, but I realized this week that high school is not as bad as I thought. I'm really just not used to teaching in that kind of environment where students are more unmotivated, more disrespectful, and more judgmental. Yet, in the high school environment, they are more sincere, aware, knowledgeable, and ambitious. It's truly all about perspective. I'm excited to experience more and challenge myself to be a better, more well-rounded educator.
Here are my goals going into next week:
1. Learn all of the students' names.
2. Establish myself as a teacher in the classroom.
Sarah, it can be a challenge when you CT teaches one way, and you would rather teach another way. It is probably best to follow her pattern at least somewhat in the beginning, but then to talk with her and let her know that you want to broaden your skills and want to try some different teaching strategies. That shouldn't be such big deal for her. I think the key is that you are not opposed to her methods, but you need the space to find your own style.
ReplyDeleteI love that you gave your students a survey about what they want. That's a great first step to getting to know them and actually reaching them. You are right that you have been placed here for a reason. You can make a difference in the lives of these students; God can use you in powerful ways if you let him. I predict that by the end of your time there, you will have grown to love them and won't want to leave.