My First Real Full Day

This may seem strange to everyone else student teaching, but as I've talked about earlier the students throughout my school and all the schools in Texas were completing six week benchmarks the week that I started. Because of this I never saw a normal day that week.
This week would have been ideal had it not been a shortened because of the holiday and then another day of testing for letters, sounds and, sight words on Tuesday. Wednesday morning I had a student teacher welcome breakfast along with all the other student teachers in the district. Although the breakfast was beneficial, because I was able to get some of my questions answered and have a clear understanding of district expectations, it was rather unfortunate that it was held during school hours so that I missed a large chunk of the day by the time I got to my school afterward. So another day down without seeing a full day of normal classroom procedures. I thought for sure Thursday and Friday would be great days to observe so I could start doing morning calendar next week. Thursday turned out to be a blessing and a curse at the same time. It was a blessing because I was able to get trained in Reading Mastery, I'll explain further in another post, but it was a curse because that meant that I missed more than half of the day because of the training.
So that left me with Friday to see a full day of normal class instruction. Friday began like most days; the students are brought down to the room from the library where they have been waiting watching cartoons(why these? It's supposed to keep them entertained and quiet while the classes filters in one by one). They know now that they are to sit at their chairs and take out their homework folders. This morning the students were instructed to remember the book that they had read the day before about Martin Luther King and draw a picture about how they will make the world a better place. Their picture needed to include a sentence telling how they would make the the world a better place. This was a part of the two social studies lessons that are scheduled for each week, but from conversations with my teacher sometimes even doing the two are difficult to fit in around all the other things they are required to do during the week. As each table has their homework checked they put their backpacks into the closet in the classroom. Their calendar time began once all students put their backpacks away even if they were not finished with their morning assignment.
Calendar time is very similar to calendar time in Kindergarten classrooms in Cedar Rapids with a few exceptions. The most obvious is that the students as a class have two addition problems that they do daily with the day of the week. For example if the day before had been day 87 the two problems would have been shown on the board like this: 80+7=87 and underneath that problem 6+1=7, the students are first prompted about what needs to be changed on the ones addition, then they are shown the relationship between the ones addition and the tens and ones addition to get the number of days. The purpose behind doing this is to get students exposed to these types of math concepts and prepare them for some of the math that they will be doing in the year. Students also go over their sight words daily. They echo respond these and while sometimes it has seemed pointless to do it is important to do because some students do not practice using them at any other time for various reasons unique to each child. Without the practice they wouldn't have a clue what 2/3 of them are. They also try to fit in a graph based on student responses to a question, but if time does not allow they don't complete this. After this is the bathroom break as a class. Then they get their math center folders. The way their math centers are structured is unique. They run on a three day cycle and they rotate through 7 centers. Six of them are different and the seventh(small group instruction with the teacher) is the one that they go to every day. The six that they rotate to change weekly depending on the topic of study in math that week.

To Be Continued.....After a long day I'm falling asleep at the computer!

Day 1 Continued

The kids were able to finish one station before going to lunch at 10:20. Yes I did say they go to lunch at 10:20 am. This is when all of kindergarten starts going in to the cafeteria two classes at a time. We walk them through the line making sure they get an entrée and fruit. If we don't make sure they get at least that the lunch ladies will send them through with nothing which is terrible and so wrong. So we sacrifice a few minutes of our lunch time to make sure they all have their food. We picked them back up at 10:50 am and they start right back to where they left off when we get back to the classroom. They haven't done the centers in a few weeks, but because it is something that they have done in the past they know what is expected, but they are always given reminders about what they should be doing so there isn't any confusion. At Noon they start letter of the week. Although, it is called letter of the week they sometimes complete activities for more than one letter in a week. Today they are working on letter G. They start this chunk of time off by doing ABC movements; for example marching out the ABC's, or dancing the macarena ABC style(it's their favorite). Then they identify the letter they are working on, the sound it makes, and the words that start with that letter that they put on the G word list. My teacher read them Letter G Soundbox  a short story book that has a little boy, Little G, going around and collecting words that start with the letter G and putting them in his box. The kids predict whether he puts the item in the box before she turns the page. I think it is great that they are getting a glimpse of predicting while reading because it is an important part of reading in the later grades. The kids add a few more G letter words and then their table work is modeled for them. She goes through step by step twice and then reviews directions again. Despite the instructions being done three times I still get asked by some students what they are supposed to be doing. I take the students to the restroom in small groups when they go back to their desks. As I do this my teacher is setting up to do reading mastery with the groups(red, green, blue). She is able to start one group, with a few extra from the other groups so she only has to do two groups, before we have to go to specials. Every other day the students go to PE and today was that day. Going to PE has become a unwelcome time for me because K, our child with curious needs, does not like PE and he always breaks out in tears and screams when we get to the gym. This wouldn't be unwelcome except that it happens every time and he never articulates exactly why he doesn't like PE. He will give various explanations and even though he has been given special accommodations because of his feelings and outbursts he continues to have them. Today was no different. He began crying as we were walking to the gym and he grabbed onto the ramp and wouldn't let go screaming that he was scared and didn't want to go. I was able with minimal force remove him from the ramp and get him to his spot where my teacher comforted and assured him that we would be back to get him soon. Despite this assurance he continued to cry and scream during PE and had to be restrained because he was biting himself. He calmed down once he was restrained, but he was in a funk the rest of the afternoon and wouldn't participate when his group was doing reading mastery. After PE reading mastery was completed with the group that started and the rest of the class that hadn't done it. Then the students that finish with their table work and reading mastery book are allowed to go to reading centers. During that time each table is called to get their backpacks and get their homework/conduct folders. The folders have their assignments spelled out for the week stapled in it and then a spot for the teacher to give each student a conduct grade for the day. The conduct grade is basically a behavior grade for the day. They get an E if they have only had a couple warnings, S if they've had 3-5, and an N if they have 6 or more warnings or if they had something happen during the day that was unacceptable like kicking another child. The day ended in a little bit of a blur because paperwork had to be filled out on K's restraint in PE. Although there were rough points during the day especially regarding K it was a good and exhausting day.

A Few Things To Think About and One For Entertainment......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwghabw4N80


Following a discussion of the way our days had gone a fellow student teacher showed me the first two videos they both touched on some of the main topics of our conversation. The first video really makes you think about the organization and management of education and it really questions if there are things that we have implemented that are actually stunting our children. I wonder what you think of the first one. The second one just really hits home on the reason we teach or at least it does for me. The third video is good to lift your mood after a stressful day.

Benchmark Tests Every Six Weeks!?

If I had my pick of weeks to start student teaching this would not have been the one. The whole week has been spent testing my Kindergarteners in Reading, Social Studies, Math, and Science. This scenario occurs every six weeks through out the school and the entire state of Texas. The tests cover the previous six weeks worth of content arranged in a multiple choice format. Because of the testing there was very little content instruction besides the Reading Mastery program that the district mandates it be completed everyday under specific guidelines. Despite this drawback I have been able to witness the bureaucratic side of education and I must say it can be quite frustrating. Not really knowing the students ability levels, aside from a brief conversation with my cooperating teacher, it was clear to me that the tests are written at a level beyond what a Kindergartener is capable of comprehending. Because of the difficulty level of the tests the teachers have to read aloud all the questions and answers, unless they are ones that have pictures with the answers or are testing their knowledge of letter sounds. The teachers are given the opportunity to provide feedback on the tests, but the feedback does not make a difference in the way questions are asked or asked to be answered. One clear example of this was during the weekly weekly meeting of Kindergarten teachers; the teachers had asked for a particular question, about toast, a toaster, and the position of the toast, to be removed each year since it appeared on the test. They were rather annoyed that it was still on the test along with several other questions that they had explained in feedback were not appropriate for Kindergarteners.

Seeing this frustration and the lack of response has been helpful for me. It has allowed me to really internalize the fact that sometimes the administration and "powers that be" can be very non-responsive to teachers' requests. It can take varying amounts of time before a change is made and patience is key in not becoming overly frustrated by the bureaucratic side of education. I also think it is important to remember why you teach and why you became a teacher when these types of things are breaking you down.

I understand the importance of testing the students, but it seemed to me it was challenging them more than assessing the knowledge that they gained during the six weeks. Students should be challenged during their lessons and in their homework where they can get direct and immediate feedback that will help them in the right direction if they are wrong or right. A challenge that students cannot make connections with right away are more a deterrent and source of frustration for the students rather than constructive and evaluative of their knowledge and growth.

Mostly it just seems outrageous that Kindergarteners are being tested every six weeks in all content areas on such a large scale.

Why I'm Going to be a Teacher

I frequently get asked why I want to be a teacher, especially because I began my college career taking classes to become a nurse. What I realized in taking those classes was that I did not have enough drive and passion to continue on and become a nurse for the rest of my life. I love children and I thought nursing would allow me to help children and make an impact on their lives, but I realized that impact may only be brief and not become a substantial part of their lives. Also, there were aspects of the nursing field that I just didn't enjoy; where as with teaching I know there are challenges and unglamourous things, but the passion I have for teaching and the enjoyment I get from seeing children learn and make connections gets me past the unglamourous parts.  In teaching I feel a great amount of satisfaction knowing that I could potentially be giving a child the key to their future by teaching them and exposing them to things they may not have the opportunity to experience anywhere else. One thing that helped me along the way in making my decision was working for a family with two young children. I would spend a few hours a week with them reading, drawing, doing puzzles, and writing their names doing these things gave me a glimpse into what a difference the first years of learning can make and how young children can make such profound leaps when they are given the tools and support to help them. As I go through my student teaching and beyond I hope to connect with my future students and create an atmosphere of learning and inquiry that will allow them to build a joy of learning within themselves. That joy of learning is what drives me to continue to learn and soak in all that I can in order to be a great teacher and create that type of learning environment. I hope that I can inspire my future students to envision their future and see the ways to get to the future that they desire. As a professional I hope to continually be learning from my students and colleagues, so that I can be responsive to their needs and the needs of the community. Most of all I want to look back 50 years from now and see a teacher so passionate about learning that her students achieved their goals and dreams because she helped them overcome their learning obstacles and sparked a life-long interest to learn.