Oops! I missed posting last week.
Student teaching is definitely hectic. I suspect, and my coop-teacher agrees that it is a glimpse into the future at our first year of teaching. Instead of having a class to take while trying to get into the swing of things, it will be mentoring, meetings and other school mayhem!
Things are starting to come into focus for me. I'm getting along great with my teacher , staff students and occasionally parents at the school. I'm going to miss them when the next placement starts. I suspect I will visit and email after I move on. I know I will be back on the evening of the 20th of October to watch the 3rd grade PTA presentation that I will have watched develop, and hopefully helped with.
Time management still continues to be my Achille's heel. not so much at school, but figuring out what to do first with the limited time I have for preparation at home. There is so much to do, it is very easy for me to forget to do something (like my blog!) But each thing teaches something. I continue to be impressed with the amount of collaborative teaching that my grade level does here. The four teachers and specialists who are involved with them get along in a very collegial way. I doesn't mean that they always agree, but they work through their differences and arrive at a compromise solution.
I've also picked up on the idea that the classroom teachers really have to deal with an inordinant amount of input from other sources. It seems everyone with an opinion of how to do this or that, wants the teachers to throw out their way and plug in some new thing. Certainly this can be a good thing at times, but sometimes not. If the "thing" that is being peddled is great "in the lab" but doesn't fit in with the time constraints of the school day and the rest of the curriculum, well...something's gotta give right?
As I experience the "system" more and more, I reealize that in addition to the obvious elephant in the living room of diminished parental support and quality home life, there are also things in the school house that need fixing as well. Because the testing scores equate to $$$ many reactions to bumps in the road turn out to be knee-jerk reactions. Too many people are trying to have input over what happens in the classroom and the teachers can really get overwhelmed!
This gives me plenty to think about , that's for sure.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Moving Forward Now!
Good Day Blogosphere,
I'm a bit late on my posting this week, but as they say better late than never. My coop-teacher has been extremely accomodating, giving me many opportunities to ease on into my full time apprenticeship this week. Though I did get off to a bit of a rough start, Ms. S straightened me out and has put my feet back on the path.
It is amazing how easy it is to give a bad first impression without meaning to. At the same time, it is not nearly so easy to undo it. Fortunately, I have learned a lot from the experience even though it was quite nerve racking and painful to go through.
I think I've successfully un-stepped on the toes stepped on and am on the way to an extremely rewarding internship.
David
I'm a bit late on my posting this week, but as they say better late than never. My coop-teacher has been extremely accomodating, giving me many opportunities to ease on into my full time apprenticeship this week. Though I did get off to a bit of a rough start, Ms. S straightened me out and has put my feet back on the path.
It is amazing how easy it is to give a bad first impression without meaning to. At the same time, it is not nearly so easy to undo it. Fortunately, I have learned a lot from the experience even though it was quite nerve racking and painful to go through.
I think I've successfully un-stepped on the toes stepped on and am on the way to an extremely rewarding internship.
David
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Whew! What a roller coaster ride so far. Fortunately I think I'm at the smooth part of the ride now.
In addition to learning many academic and school related things so far, I have also learned how important good communication is, especially when in another teacher's class and school.
Speaking of communication...I am very impressed with the level of communication between the four teachers in the grade level I am in at Brookwood. My cooperating teacher is the grade level chair and so I get to see her interacting with the other teachers frequently. They compare notes frequently to see where everyone is, and do quite a lot of team planning for future projects and activities.
I feel really good about this because I am a big believer in team-work. I think that team work is an excellent way to make use of each person's individual strengths for the benefit of all involved.
Recently I spoke to the principal at my school and in the conversation it came out that my cooperating teacher is known for her excellent rapport with students. He said that the rapport "just happens" that it's not forced or planned. I've watched carefully and see that he is right, her personality has a lot to do with it, but there is more...
First she is a big proponent of all things Kagan, in fact I think she may be a trainer. I know that she does a PDP class on-site several times throughout the year on-site. She really uses the concepts in class. She has done 2 or 3 get-to-know-your-classmate type activities, all of which were very effective. She includes telling the children something about herself in the activity so they are learning about her too.
So far, there is a lot of formative assessment going on. Not just academic but interpersonal as well. She is testing to see what the children know and remember academically and what classroom skills they have as well. Her Kagan skills will really be put to the test this year, she has 23 students 15 of which are boys!
I am confident that she will make the whole thing work well and I am glad that I get to see how!
-David
In addition to learning many academic and school related things so far, I have also learned how important good communication is, especially when in another teacher's class and school.
Speaking of communication...I am very impressed with the level of communication between the four teachers in the grade level I am in at Brookwood. My cooperating teacher is the grade level chair and so I get to see her interacting with the other teachers frequently. They compare notes frequently to see where everyone is, and do quite a lot of team planning for future projects and activities.
I feel really good about this because I am a big believer in team-work. I think that team work is an excellent way to make use of each person's individual strengths for the benefit of all involved.
Recently I spoke to the principal at my school and in the conversation it came out that my cooperating teacher is known for her excellent rapport with students. He said that the rapport "just happens" that it's not forced or planned. I've watched carefully and see that he is right, her personality has a lot to do with it, but there is more...
First she is a big proponent of all things Kagan, in fact I think she may be a trainer. I know that she does a PDP class on-site several times throughout the year on-site. She really uses the concepts in class. She has done 2 or 3 get-to-know-your-classmate type activities, all of which were very effective. She includes telling the children something about herself in the activity so they are learning about her too.
So far, there is a lot of formative assessment going on. Not just academic but interpersonal as well. She is testing to see what the children know and remember academically and what classroom skills they have as well. Her Kagan skills will really be put to the test this year, she has 23 students 15 of which are boys!
I am confident that she will make the whole thing work well and I am glad that I get to see how!
-David
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