RIWP reflections

                To be honest I wasn’t particularly excited about going to this conference. I’ve been to a few of them by now and have only had the pleasure of enjoying one of them, the others ended up being two back to back 50 minute power points which didn’t catch my attention. That being said I actually enjoyed myself this year. Maybe it’s because it was a different organization than the others I’ve attended (which were mostly promising practices) or maybe it was just the luck that I picked two interesting seminars to go to, I’m not sure, but I liked it.

                First there was Newkirk’s speech was interesting and thought provoking: narrative at the core of life. I’m not sure I buy into it as completely as he did but I think the beauty of spreading ideas is that we get to take it  with us and add a little bit of our selves to the idea and maybe that’s what he’s getting at. I’m not really sure, but it’s an idea that I’ve been mulling over in my head for a while. Life/education/people we’re the story but we’re also the narrators and I’m not sure if that makes sense but I think that’s what I got out of his speech.

                I think my favorite part of the day was the first seminar though. It was called “poetry speed dating” and it was so much fun! I love writing poetry and by the end of it I wrote something like eight new poems, I joked with Matt that in 50 minutes we managed get three weeks ahead in our poetry writing class. It was such a cool idea too! I’m not sure how I could integrate it into a lit class by itself but honestly one of my dreams is to teach a creative writing class and I would absolutely love to do this in my class. That being said I think this was a great way to charge up the creative juices. When I got home I felt like I had to write even more and ended up starting something with that motivation. I think this could work to get students active and engaged before a lit class, albeit the exercise would have to be shortened to only two or so poems for time management.

                The last seminar was called “Dizzy drama”. This one was pretty good too, though not nearly as enjoyable as the poetry one. This one consisted of using student made characters to act out scenes. I was a bit confused at how the intro section, having us create a voice for a particularly troublesome student we’ve had (which was difficult since I haven’t had any students) and react to an assignment that I hate, had anything to do with the second more creative assignment. Not that the first was bad or anything, I just wish I could have gotten more out of it. It was a fun assignment and with the right group of students I think it would be fun to do something like this in a classroom. It could be a fun assignment to do after reading a novel or play to get the students to think about the character more, or it could be a cool start to a creative writing assignment.

                Over all I had a surprisingly fun time at the conference and would definitely attend again. I’m glad I got to see all my teachouse peeps (or should I say fellow cookies?) and I look forward to the next meeting. 

Week 2

Week 2

Day one:

 So the first day of this week I went in not exactly looking forward to it honestly. This was the first week where we’d start to interact with the students a lot more but unfortunately all her students were taking their tests that day so I went in with the assumption that I wouldn’t get much out of this day. I was wrong. Me and Danielle got to be teacher’s assistants and help moderate the testing and answer questions for students. It felt good because I could tell we were actually helping our teacher out, a lot of the students had questions and then continued to have them, so it was definitely in helpful to have us there. That was nice because this teacher was nice enough to open her class to us so I’m happy that there are a few times where we can actually make her job easier.

                When I got to the 7^th grade class we quickly started the same protocol but I found myself helping the same student the entire class. Me and Danielle both noticed that these students really struggle with forming context clues to show they really understand the meaning of their vocab words. This student was no exception but he really didn’t make it far into the initial definition portion of the test. I felt bad but I spent the most time with him trying to guide him through it. He didn’t get very far but I did manage to show him a few techniques like process of elimination and grammar checking for appropriate answers that seemed to help him a bit. I’m a bit curious to see how he managed on that test. I wonder if maybe he just needed more time and some better studying techniques. He seemed like an articulate kid but judging from what he was saying it was almost like he’d never seen these words before in his life.

Day two:

                Day 2 we got into some serious teaching. We had both our 6^th grade classes and we were present for half of one 7^th. Both of which we started their respective units. So 6^th we did “Tutankhamen lost worlds” which is a mostly historical piece on excavating tombs. We didn’t get into the text at all this day. For both classes we started with their preliminary vocabulary.

                Something I’ve realized about myself is that I’m not a particular authoritative presence. I’m very good at getting students to behave. This was something that I noticed Danielle was particularly skilled at.  Right away she seemed to be able to cease loud talking, which there was a lot of since this was our first real day up in front of the board and that definitely had an impact on their energy. I did okay at keeping them from losing focus but I always felt a little awkward doing it. It is something I’ve always wanted to get better at.

                That being said I did pretty good interacting with the students and I think, both me and Danielle were engaging. The kids were really funny at times and made a point to ask each of us individually if we were married. It was this day that I realized I could actually see myself working with this age group. I don’t intend to get my middle school endorsement any time soon but I think some time down the road I might actually find myself wanting it.

                It was during the 7^th grade class that I was actually able to be a bit more authoritative. We had them do some research at the library on immigration as they were to start their unity on immigration which would end in a formal debate. We only stayed through half of it but I actually seemed to be able to quell their loud talking a lot. Right before we left me, Danielle, and the teacher were discussing a few things and I noticed the kids were getting very loud (this is a library, manners!). I shouted over their noise that they had to quiet down and they actually listened and I didn’t feel awkward about it. It was most impressive.

Day three:

                Day three we started reading the king tut story with them (the 6^th graders) and posing a question for them that they will later have to do a formal debate on. The question was whether or not we should excavate tombs for artifacts. We only saw the one class that day and it went well I thought. We did a circle read where we had each of them read a small portion of the text. The only negative I saw was that we didn’t get very far as we had to stop and keep having them sift through what we read for pros and cons for their argument. This isn’t bad at all as they needed that but it would have been nice to get a bit further. The one really cool thing is that I’ve noticed I’m starting to remember their names which is awesome but sad because I realized I only have 2 weeks left with them and I’m already starting to get attached! This isn’t fair! I didn’t want to go into a middle school at all, now I don’t want to leave!

Week one! :]

Day one:

                The first day was met with some nervousness, as most first days are, and I even locked my keys in my car absentmindedly. The people who work there are so friendly and we are met with smiling faces as soon as we walk through the door. The school isn’t particularly big and I noted that it was almost identical looking to the high school just up the road.

                As we walked down the halls I was surprised by how neat and tidy everything was. I didn’t expect it to be falling apart or anything but they do seem to take a lot of pride in their school. When we got to the classroom I was blown away by how tiny these children were. I mean I knew they were going to be small but they were itty bitty things. I didn’t expect to be in a 6^th classroom either, this was the first I’d ever heard of 6^th grade being in middle school.

                The first class was full of energy and I noted that it was tough to keep them all focused. It’s something I wonder about when Danielle and I eventually teach. It’ll be difficult to keep their attention but I think if we make our lesson engaging we can manage it fine.

                I also noted that on their walls they had some sort of progress report for some school wide reading competition/quota. On the top of another wall hung drawings and writings from the students which was cool. I really like seeing student work displayed and I’m glad that there seems to be a lot of that happening in this class room.

Day two:

                So honestly day two was over shadowed by the lock down/evacuation that Danielle and I were witness to. From the very little information we got apparently someone scrawled some kind of threat on a bathroom wall and so the school responded accordingly. I was very impressed by the level of security they had and how orderly it was all performed. The only thing that I felt bad about was that many students didn’t have time to get their coats and it was a particularly cold day. I wonder how a teacher manages to conduct a class room after something like that occurs. This happened during lunch so we didn’t actually get to see students return to class as their lunch was extended. This made the following class only 26 or so minutes long. We didn’t stick around to see that class but I have to wonder how a teacher can hold their student’s attention after an event like that and manage to squeeze everything they need into such a short lesson. I have much respect for the teachers that day as they were definitely challenged.

Day three:

                Day three we decided to start interacting with the students more. I think both me and Danielle were starting to feel fidgety sitting around so much. The students were very polite and let us into their groups without missing a beat. I mostly listened to what they were saying and tried to get them to tell me what they were working on, and to explain their answers that way they could maybe think about it more. They seemed to all be doing well and were pretty focused.

                We also got to check out the library which was admittedly incredibly small and outdated. The shear amount of vhs tapes there was kind of disappointing. One thing I’ve noticed is they are a very low tech school which is kind of sad. Even their books are pretty old too. I think the text book we’re using is from 1996. That’s crazy! I’m really enjoying my time at this school but it’s definitely time for them to get an update. 

I believe!

When I think back to high school I can’t tell you much about what I ‘learned’. I can’t tell you the dates to any great war, I can’t tell you how I felt after reading Hamlet, I can’t even tell the name of most of the equations that were drilled into my brain. So hearing that one might think that high school was a waste, that it didn’t work, but I disagree. While I can’t tell you any of those arbitrary facts I can do something better. I know how to learn those dates, what’s more I can reflect on them and think about them in the context in which those wars happened. I can’t tell you how I felt about Hamlet then but I can tell you about it now. I can dissect it and study it, I can use it to explore myself and my own views. And math, well I can calculate tip! Math’s never exactly been a strong suit for me. I guess my point is that teaching isn’t about learning facts, I don’t even think teaching is about what’s happening right there at that moment when the student sits in their chair and the teacher lectures.

                I believe that teaching is about building people, and what I mean by ‘people’ is someone who can enter the world and function successfully with all the tools handed to them. My students might not know the fancy names for all the types of poems out there years after they graduate but they’ll be able to read a poem and hopefully appreciate it. I believe that those fancy words are useful as tools to help bridge the concept of poetry to a student’s brain, each new tool helps them take one step further down the poetry bridge, to extend the metaphor, and with hope and skill those students will be able to find their way back on their own. I say this because as teachers we won’t be with them the rest of their lives. Eventually we have to let them go and hope they can find their way back on their own. As a teacher I think one of the most beneficial things I can do for my students is give them an opportunity to be independent and prove themselves. 

Found poem (specificity)

Here is my found poem. I am so so so sorry for the delay.

Specificity

By Joey Bonaldi

Dangling modifiers

Correct what’s misplaced

Determine the meaning

Of the unknown

Read, write, listen

Use context

Acquire words and phrases

Gather vocabulary

Command the language!

Apply knowledge!

Multiple meaning words

Verify variables

Voice and mood

Recognize the structure

And correct what’s misplaced.