Co-Op versus Regular Elementary School

When I reflect back on the past few months in student teaching, I saw a lot of similarities in why we teach. but i also saw a lot of differences in ways of teaching.

In my dyad, the teacher was a little bit more traditional. She used a lot of the given curriculum and had a great sense of authority in the classroom. The parents were very much involved because each parent was required to volunteer in the school for 3 hours a week per child. There were always around 3 adults in the room at most times. This seemed to help a lot because the students were allowed to do a lot of group work with adult supervision. Each student was able to be watched for most closely. I thought that this was good because the students did get that attention that they needed.
Although this was the case, I thought the ways in which some subjects were taught were a little bit bland. The reason I say this is because it was very instructional based. There wasn't much student engagement. The students didn't show too much that they were actually enjoying school.

In my main placement, the atmosphere is completely different. The teacher is much more engaging and uses other methods to teach. She uses some curriculum but tweaks it for the students that she is teaching. It is amazing to see! She has a good mix of discipline and fun that the students can really relate to and listen. She incorporates a lot of life lessons and lets the students know what it will be like in the future for them. She challenges them in many ways and has high expectations. I'm excited to see what she will be doing in the next few months. :)

Lesson Plans

Writing lesson plans has been a challenge. I don't know if it's because it's the start of us learning but it seems to take a long time. I am so excited to be at the place where we don't have to think so hard about it and everything just naturally comes out.

The end of the quarter has been stressful because of the many lesson plans and assignments that are due... this may be the reason why I am finding writing these lesson plans more challenging. I can't wait for it to end.. at least all of the assignments.

main placement

I love being back!
I felt so welcomed. I walked into the room to my desk and found flowers and chocolates. When the students came, I got hugs and just a nice welcome!

They have grown so much! The atmosphere in the classroom is very different. The desks have changed and the students are much more responsible for their actions. The community in the classroom has grown as well... There was a student who was not paying attention and another student called him out and reminded him to listen. It was quite amazing.

I didn't realize how much I missed them.

Last Day of Dyad

So the last day of my placement in my dyad was bitter sweet. The students wrote us thank yo letters which were super sweet. It's always hard to say bye, especially if you have made connections with the students.

The last day was also a half day for us because we had to go to another observation at another school. We were able to see a sixth grade class being taught literacy. It was quite an interesting experience. The teacher used a lot the concepts that we are using now. Using small groups as well as encouraging and having fun with the students.

The students seemed to respond very well (it may have been because there were 10+ adults observing them). All in all, it was very interesting to see and observe.

Technology + Engagement + Thanksgiving

A fun way to use technology, thought this was entertaining and a good tool to engage the students! Happy Thanksgiving!

Small Groups

I love that the school that I am working in right now is consistent in working in small groups. I think that working in small groups is beneficial to the students because they receive more one-on-one personal attention. I have been working with a group about 6 students (always rotating) with reading and understanding and also with math. I can see that it helps a lot with the students being able to understand and allowing them to ask questions in a more personal manner. My only concern is that we are not teaching in the same way, so we wouldn't be sure which students work better and learn better with what teacher and teaching style. Most of the students seem to be understanding and learning well now, so I guess this isn't too much of a concern.

comparison bars

What a challenge. I got to teach a math lesson to these third graders. There were a few challenges though: 1. The concepts learning were completely new, 2. time restriction, 3. too many new concepts in one lesson. Overall, the students were able to understand, but I have to admit, I was a little nervous. The curriculum used was a part of Math Expressions. I definitely did not use the book word for word. I ended up using unifix cubes, which helped with understanding the how to draw comparison bars. The confusing part of the lesson was identifying the new vocabulary and understanding that the meanings of these new words were things that the students already knew.

Where is the line?

Being in a co-op school has been quite interesting. Art, in particular, has been quite the experience. Where is the line between allowing kids to be creative on their own and actually teaching technique? In our art class, the parents are very much involved and lead the whole subject. My concern though is when they look at the students' artwork and analyze it and tell them to do it in a different way, the way that their (the parent's) example looks like. Isn't art to let the students be creative in their own way? What happens when there is too much structure? Better yet, is it ok for the parents to be telling the student to do it in a different way? so many questions and concerns... a very fine line.

Science Experiment Gone Wrong

So in my dyad placement, we planted Wisconsin Fast Plant Seeds about a couple weeks ago. Today as we walked into the classroom, we found the students' plants wilting and pretty much dying. What do you do???? It was quite disappointing because the class next door, that did the same science activity, had plants that were flourishing into healthy plants. It was even more disheartening because their class had started the activity a few days after our class. My question is how do you save this activity? They are supposed to be observing the plant's growth, but what happens when there is no plant to observe? If I had pictures I would post them. The difference in classes is quite amazing. I'm excited to see what my teacher will do with these.

4th Grade

I have been learning a lot through my main placement and cooperating teacher. It was a crazy switch though. I originally was supposed to be in a Kindergarten classroom but a week before school started, my cooperating teacher decided to teach a fourth grade class in the Highly Capable program. I of course, decided to move up with her. Going into this classroom, I was a little intimidated because I had never worked with the intermediate grade level, let alone a high-cap class.
After being in the classroom for a month, I absolutely love it there! I love working with the students and learning from my co-teacher on how to manage and teach the students.
I absolutely love the way she manages her classroom. She emphasizes the reason why the students are at school. She makes it known to them that they are here for their own benefit. She shares with them that disrupting the class causes them harm. It hinders their learning and those around them. When she does this, the students, most of the time, tend to listen and focus back on their work. She uses a lot of group discussions and allows each student to speak. She also has magnets with the students' names, in which she uses to let every student have a chance to have a turn. It is quite amazing how her classroom runs. Many of the lessons are discussion based and it allows the students to think further. She does a great job in allowing for engagement.

Another concept that stands out is that she has no desks. She has 3 long rows of tables instead. This is great in that the students are not distracted by the things in their desks. They just have what they need in front of them and this eliminates other distractions. It really seems like she is preparing them for older grades, all the way up to college. In doing this, she mentioned how there are no personal desks in college. She really looks to the future when she manages things, and it is very apparent.

Learning a lot.

Food Journal Reflection

Keeping a food journal was a hard task. It was hard to do because I was not used to keeping track of what I eat. It was a little hard to remember to write everything that I ate because I had never done this before. I also realized that I usually just eat without thinking. It was very interesting to see what kinds of foods I really eat. Overall, this activity was a good way to see what goes into my mouth and body.

One of the first things that I noticed was that I do not eat consistently. There are days when I eat a lot of food and other days where I eat mini meals. Reflection? I needed to eat healthier and more consistently. The benefit of this activity was that it motivated me to eat healthier. At first, it was a little depressing and I saw that I pretty much eat whatever and whenever I am hungry. There was absolutely no consistency.

My major goal was to drink a lot more water. I did make this goal (at least somewhat). I did make a conscious effort to drink more water. In doing this, I did feel healthier. Also, by drinking more water, I felt like my insides were being cleansed. I am really learning that water is very beneficial for your health.

I am learning that I am very inconsistent with keeping my body healthy. I came to this conclusion because my activity journal was similar to my food journal: inconsistent. There were days that I went on hikes and walked around Greenlake, but it wasn't very consistent. I am wondering if I should make an intentional effort to be more active.

Food journaling and activity journaling can definitely be a benefit for your health. It really helps you see what you eat and what your body is consuming. It can be a wake-up call and motivator in keeping your body healthy.

This would be a great tool in teaching kids about healthy eating. This activity can potentially help a student connect what he or she is learning in class to his or her own personal life. As we all know, ideas and learned skills and facts tend to be more permanent when one is able to apply the knowledge to their own lives. It encourages the student to watch what they are feeding their body. When looking back on the things that I ate throughout these weeks, I see all the different types of foods I eat and how often I eat them. It really puts my personal health into perspective, which is something that would be a great learning outcome. I also think that it is good to look back on to see what you have improved in or if you met any of your goals. It helps us to see the benefit of why we learn about nutrition.

last day of health

The last day of health:

I first of all learned that we covered a lot of information. I didn't realize this until we went back to our concept maps. I realized that things were much more organized now. This I believe was due to the fact that we now know what health entails.

I really liked that we talked about the brain on the last day. I thought it was exciting and very engaging. I liked that we were recognizing the amazing things about the body. This can be used to really get students excited about health and staying healthy. I really enjoyed this day.

microteaching and sexual health/reproduction

One thing that really stands out from today is microteaching. It was a bit awkward to see our cohort as kindergartners. It was a good learning tool to see what teaching may be like. I learned that you really have to think on the spot because some things will not go the way that it is planned.

I thought the teaching on reproduction using flowers and beans was very engaging. I learned that being comfortable and confident in your teaching helps a lot with the atmosphere in the classroom.

Mr. Yuk

The YUK box is what stands out the most about yesterdays class. I thought that this was very interesting because I totally remember mr. Yuk. I learned that ti is important to make a clear distinction between medicine and candy. It was a challenge to explain how we knew which was which. We knew because of our past memories, but how will children know? Who have no idea what is what?

I think this is very important to introduce in health because one mistake can cause extreme harm. I think helping kids to become aware of what is out there will be beneficial to all.

Abuse

What was the most important thing learned?

The most important thing I learned during Ethan's presentation about abuse was that there are a lot different types of abuse and that there is a lot of grey area. I have really learned that each situation has to be taken individually. In all honesty, it was a little depressing to think about the things that happen to our students. I also had no idea that as teachers, we were required to speak up and let someone know. I knew this was the right thing to do, but I had no idea that it was an actual law. 

How does this affect?

This affects greatly in the way I will teach and handle these difficult situations. These are things that affect children and us as teachers. 

My question about this topic is, when do you know? what if you are wrong? What do you do when the child refuses to speak up? 

June 29

For this class I learned a lot about the different expectations for the different grade levels in health. I thought that this was very interesting. The way that these expectations and EALRS are presented make me question who actually came up with the order? And also, what if things need to be changed?

I am always learning that there are many topics that need to be covered in health. I also see that it is crucial to know who your audience. How do you teach students in a way that fits their understanding?

June 23

One important concept I learned in class was the importance of lesson planning and the order in which you plan your lesson. This is something that I have thought of but not deeply analyzed like we did today. It really does put things into perspective and it helps to see what the state standards in health are as well. It helps to put all teachers on the same page and have some what of a unified goal.
I noticed that these standards are very broad and general; does this have any affect on what may not be covered?

The Beginning of learning Health and Fitness

The most important thing that I learned in class today was that Health includes a lot of topics. Our small group struggled in putting all of the different subjects together. We realized that health is a huge part of all of our lives and it affects a lot of what we do in terms of physical, mental and emotinal.
I am excited to learn more methods and ideas/facts about health. I find this subject very important because it is really learning about how to take care of oneself and the people around you.
The questions I have now are...
*what are some ways or practical methods to teach health?
*what is included?

always willing to learn

"Good teachers are those who know how little they know. Bad teachers are those who think they know more than they don't know." - R. Verdi

*thought this quote said it all.. we should always be willing to learn more and strive to learn more

Creative Environment

I was looking around and found this article. A school makes an outdoor classroom where students can get hands on experience. I thought this fit well with this week's topic in changing the environment of the classroom. :) (Video is also included in the article).

http://myarklamiss.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=82846

Community

I really enjoyed last week's class discussion. I enjoyed building the community in our classroom. What brings people together? I think in any situation it is getting to know that person better. So I enjoyed discussing about that. I am one to observe before fully letting go. I think it is because I want to make sure that it is a safe environment.

One thing that was really challenging was talking about students with different learning abilities (I really like that term). As we were talking about this, I was a little intimidated and worried about how I would work with these students, especially because the topics we have talked about this quarter are so heavy. I was glad that we were able to talk about it as a cohort and come up with things that we might do.

The reason I bring this up is because I was actually able to talk to a first grade teacher the other day. She was telling me about one of her new students. She was explaining to me that this student had autism and reacted in very different ways and even began to hide under desks and not show up to the classroom. When I first heard this, I was reminded of our class discussion and of course even more worried. This teacher explained to me that at first it was really difficult but she was able to recognize patterns and begin to talk to this student the way she understood. It was definitely an encouraging to listen t how she was able to tget to know the student better and help her.

I am excited to see what we as teachers can do to build our communities in the classroom. It's comforting to know that there are so many resources and blogs from other teachers. I can see that there is a bigger community than once thought. :)

Tracking and Standardized tests.. really?

Last week's discussion about tracking and standardized tests and also the No Child Left Behind Act brought up a lot of questions, yet again.

I can't help but to ask if the people that are on the Education Board understand what schools are like.. The more I learn, the more I am convinced that they have no idea what is helping students. I feel like everything that they are doing is hindering the student's future. If we know that students learn better in a more creative environment, why do we require these standardized tests that take away from true learning. Come on now, do you remember those silly facts from your standardized tests? What I remember in the classroom is the more creative things and that is what I know I learned.

How do we bridge that gap between those who are controlling and enforcing these ridiculous acts? I feel like there is a definite disconnect between them and students and of course teachers. It just doesn't make sense to me. Maybe it's because I'm a pre-service teacher and I am not aware of everything in education, but as of now, I just don't get why teachers/students and the board are going in opposite directions. 

It seems unfair...

For this week’s journal I would like to start by reflecting our last discussion in class. The whole issue of poverty was so hard and deeply concerning. I think it was mostly due to me not knowing what I can do to fix it. I am finding that it is a big issue that is very hard to talk about. I felt a lot of hesitation in saying things during class because I felt like I had not right to talk about an answer without knowing more about the issues of poverty. Overall I wanted to be able to take action in what was said, not just talk about it.
As a teacher, what do you do when you have a student in class that lives in poverty and it is hard to focus in school because of their issues at home? I remember our small group talking about where our focus would be if we were worried about where our next home and meal would be. We all agreed that school would probably be the last thing we would think about. So my question is, how as teachers, can we motivate and show these students that we do care and understand or at least want to understand to our best ability? One idea that I really like is the administration and faculty being aware of these students. At the school that I volunteered at, they had many opportunities and resources for students who were struggling. They have a program that provides jackets and warm clothes to kids who cannot afford them. I thought this was amazing because it really sent out the message of helping your classmates no matter what situation they were in. This school also provides snacks for everyone at snack time. The parents of students are asked to provide snacks (This is not required for every parent; I believe it is a voluntary for whoever wants to bring snacks for the class). I think that this is great because all the students in class are able to enjoy snacks).
I believe that a lot of these issues that come up in the classroom are our responsibility to learn and be more aware of them. It is also our duty to be good teachers and find ways to benefit each student. It seems like everything we talk about comes back to knowing each student individually and caring about them in a sincere way.
Another concern that came up was more of the whole in how we budget things as a society. We obviously know that there is a budget crisis (it seems like) in education. When I think about this and compare it to how much the entertainment industry makes and requires, it makes me wonder if we really care about our future leaders. It upsets me to think that we throw millions dollars to actors and actresses when some people are struggling to receive one meal a day. Now, I’m sure that there are other issues that affect that, but doesn’t it seem kind of strange? Why do we do this? Is it because most people are unaware of poverty? Is it because we are too involved with our own circumstances? (maybe.) It’s just crazy to think that we are paying these actors and actresses ridiculous amounts of money when schools are underfunded and going through budget cuts.

Draw a picture of a "TRIP"

We keep talking about how we should let each student feel safe in expressing their culture and dive into their imagination. I think this is a great thing and very important. It does allow for them to expand their thinking and creative brains. At the same time, the teacher is able to learn more about them as well as learn things in general. We are just one person too, so if we think that we know everything and know all of the creative aspects/options we are wrong.

An activity in elementary that I will never forget is when we were given a word and asked to draw it on a peice of paper including a picture of a hammer (I don't quite remember why we had to include a drawing of a hammer, but I think there was a good reason). Now my word was the word "TRIP" - There were few of us with the same word. After we were done with our drawings we each had to share it with the whole class. I remember looking at the other "trip" hammers and panicking because I thought I had done it wrong and misunderstood the word. See, my other classmates drew hammers tripping over something, whether it was a rock or whatever, the hammer was falling..
What did I draw, you ask? I drew my hammer standing straight up but the head of the hammer i drew as a car, with luggage on top of it. I interpreted the word "trip" as going on vacation or taking a trip. I remember feeling so embarrassed.. Thankfully, my teacher encouraged me in saying that it was very creative. I guess my question then is, why did I feel embarrassed?  Was it because I was the oddball?
I think that has a lot to do with it. We've grown up with thinking that thinking differently is a risk, maybe we find safety in similarity? Is this what is stopping students from being creative and imagining to their fullest? fear? I think maybe.

Home Alone

So in class we were asked to discuss our most memorable or favorite childhood toy. I loved this quesiton because who doesn't like to talk about his or her favorite toy?

My favorite or most memorable childhood toy was my Talk Girl. What is this, you ask? Do you remember watching the Home Alone movies and Maucalay Culkin or Kevin uses a recording device to manipulate his voice to sound lower/older? Now his was called a Talk Boy. I absolutely loved this because it was a fun way to experiment with different sounds and manipulating voices, all in all it was very entertaining and was the cause of much laughter amongst my friends.

The original Talk Boy was grey and black. It very much looked like an electronic, simple basic colors, like in the movie. What colors was the girl version, you ask? PINK and PURPLE. I never really thought too much about why it was pink and purple until the discussion in the classroom. Why was it pink and purple? This got me to think that we do unknowlingly (maybe knowingly) assign gender characterisitcs at a young age. I asked, what if I wanted the grey and black one? What made my parents choose the girly version? I understand that in the title it says 'boy' and 'girl', but still, what if I hated the color pink. Or another quesiton could be to the manufacterers; why choose pink and purple? why not green or blue? It's interesting to think that at some point we all learned what colors 'belonged' to each gender. This idea doesn't only apply to colors but to other things as well.

What would happen if we didn't assign things to certain genders? What if we really pushed raising kids in a more nuetral environment? We are all individuals, aren't we?

personal experience : race and culture

Talking about the issues of race and culture in the classroom is something that I am very passionate about. I have been learning so much through these last weeks. What does it mean to be a well-rounded teacher that knows how to teach each of his/her students?

That is the question that I have been asking myself these past weeks, how? How do we give each student enough attention when there is only one of me?

I find the issues of race and culture interesting. I grew up having a different culture in the classroom. Because I was born in Michigan, being Korean-American, I felt like I had a totally different culture from one who was born in Korea and an All-American person (whatever that may mean. :) ). I felt like I had a totally different culture, the feeling of not knowing and being unsure is very prominent during my adolescent years. I remember feeling inwardly that I am American, since I was born in Michigan, but because of the way I looked I was always categorized as the "other" or someone different. I didn't really think too much of it, since I did have friends and in all honesty, I think I had a pretty good and positive education experience.

One thing that I do remember is when we had English assignments or History projects my white classmates would tell me that they got an enormous amount of help from their parents. They were telling me that their parents were able to help them and give them a lot of feedback on their assignments. After hearing this, I felt like things were unfair. I remember feeling a little jealous that their parents were able to help. For me, being a second generation Korean and my parents being a part of the first generation, their English was not that great. This is something that I remember clearly. I thought, only if my teacher knew. I think this is the reason why I felt so appreciated when we had projects to share our cultures and where we came from. It truly brought understanding within the classroom (and fun).

As a teacher, I think that it's important to be open-minded. Open-minded in seeing what is not familiar to you. This is important to me and I want to be familiar with the different cultures and backgrounds of my students. I find that it's crucial to make the effort to understand where your students come from.

so many questions

Reading more about different perspectives on teachers has been really interesting, especially after Biklin's article about teaching being a woman's profession and different issues that come with that. I found this really engaging and almost frustrating because I personally didn't look at teaching that way. One of the questions that came to mind was how teaching became just a woman's profession. I understand that it has many similarities to motherhood and nurturing but I find it frustrating that it's assumed to be a "lower" status in the career field.


This leads me to my next question: Do people know what teaching entails? Do they know what teachers do outside of the school hours?
**This really makes me want to share more with others what teaching involves. Now, I am not a teacher yet, so I guess I wouldn't fully be able to educate others on the profession of teaching, but I have a huge desire to share what I already do know. I wonder if people would think differently if they knew what teaching involved. It involves so much more than being the caregivers of their children. Also, there is so much preparation and careful consideration and attention on each child. If they knew this, and knew what teaching really involved, would they think differently? Would teachers be respected more? If the profession started out as mostly men, would it have been different? Would it be a profession that people look at in equality to big name CEO positions? There are so many questions...

The Bigger Picture

First of all I am very excited to start this program. I didn't know that I would always become an official teacher. I was always interested in it and had a love for children but didn't really think to make it my career. After this program starting, I am even more excited to learn more and get into the depths of teaching and schooling.

The general underlying fact that I have been learning so far is that there is a much bigger picture in teaching. I find it so easy to assume that teaching is just about sharing facts, lessons and "how to's" with students. I am quickly learning that this is not the case. There is so much more to teaching. There is definitely that bigger picture. It is affecting children and teaching them how to succeed in life. We have so much potential to influence them in positive ways. This is the time where they learn the skills for their future, especially in the social sense. This is so important; we have the responsibility to show children what it means to be an overall good person/citizen. It is quite exciting and honestly a little intimidating, but I am excited to learn!