Fondness Memory?

Maybe this question doen’t have only one answer. In fact, I think that as a collective whole I enjoyed my time at Akins doing a variety of things. Everything from working with my ELL student, to observing classrooms, and even having the opportunity to work with co-operating teachers and teach a lesson or two have been great practice at knowing the expectations of a teacher. When I first came to Akins I wasn’t sure what to expect, but as the weeks passed I felt as though each day I was learning new skills, strategies, and methods that will serve me in my teaching career.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Today in class we discussed the topic of parent-teacher conferences and what we thought was the most important point made from the video we watched. In my opinion, the most important aspect of conducting the conferences is to always include the student whenever possible. Many instances may require conference to be more private and only between the teacher and parent. However, many students may look forward to opportunity to express their thoughts, opinions, and questions in regards to their performance in the classroom. Also, students may view not be including as something negative or that he/she may be in trouble, when in actuality that is not the case. Overall, it is very important to include students in the parent-teacher conferences whenever possible because in the end the conference is for the students, so why not include them?

Creating Tests

This week I’ve learned that creating tests is far more involved than I thought. Regardless if creating a Multiple Choice, True/False, Matching, and/or Fill-in-the-Blank test,  there are a number of different variables that must be accounted for. for instance, a teacher must take into account that some students such as ELLs  and Special Need students may struggle with reading and therefore must have a clear and concise test to read. Also it is very important to create tests that are challenging, but are not confusing.

Mrs. Z

Today we had a guest speaker named Mrs. Z and she is a first year teacher here at A. From her lecture about herself and the lessons she has learned throughout her first year of teaching a part of me became very excited. I knew there will be some trouble with students during both your student teaching and first year of teaching, but to know that she was able to handle many of the things I am fearing demonstrated to me that anything can be overcome. It is justa matter of having confidence in yourself and what you are teaching, and the rest will work itself out over time.   I really appreciated Mrs. Z coming an talking to our class about the expectations of being a first year teacher. Now I feel like I have some knowledge that should help me in the future.

Japanese Internment

Description: Recently I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a 15-minute lesson which I taught to an US History class. The topic was Japanese internment camps and whether or not the students in the class agreed with how the US handled the situation during WWII. I first read a brief summary of the event while an overhead transparency depicted the picture of a Japanese-American family being round up for internment, and then I had other students volunteer to read the three remaining paragraphs of the text.  It was after the reading that the class began the class discussion.

Analysis: Although overall I believed the mini-teach went well, I still felt it could have been better. Immediately after ending the discussion I felt that the discussion was more condensed as opposed to expanded. The students were willing to read and participate, but I felt I did not challenge them to critically think enough, but I rather simply agreed with their opinions and answers. Something I learned that to simply agree with those that are willing to answer questions is not enough, and that with each answer or comment I should respond in such a way that the student is furthered challenged to think deeper about the question or topic at hand.

Reflection: Looking back at being able to mini-teach an actual lesson I find myself lucky for the opportunity. It was a wonderful way to get my feet wet in the profession and learn early on about certain aspects that can be approved upon. One thing has become apparent from this experience and that is the understanding that being in the front of the class teaching is far different than being in the back of it learning. All eyes are on you and everything you say or do will have either a negative or positive impact on the students. This I know can only be something that becomes increasingly more comfortable and natural with additional experience. I can only look forward to the future opportunities to improve and hone my skills as a teacher.

The Ultimate Gift

Description: Last class period I observed a classroom that was geared towards teaching “life lessons”. While a movie played titled “The Ultimate Gift” I decided to take a seat in the back of the classroom. What was very surprising to notice was the fact that all the students were awake and paying close attention to what was happening in the film. Of course the students had a worksheet to complete that was related to the movie, however, it was still nice to observe a class so willing to cooperate with an assignment. My first question to this type of behavior was, Why?

Analysis: For the short amount of time I was in the classroom I could sense the students had a tremendous amount of respect for their teacher. Immediately I started to think of reasons why this was. Could it be that he was young? Energetic? Respectful? Honest? Passionate? Or was it simply because he taught an interesting subject? To be honest I believe the answer may be all of the above. It is apparent that the subject matter plays an important role in students be willing to participate and allow themselves to learn and be educated. The material being taught in the classroom was relate-able to each student therefore they all were actively participating with the lesson.

Reflection: After having the opportunity to observe this class and reflect upon it I came to the conclusion that the key to having a fun and functional classroom is not produced through one or two variables but is has many. First students must have subjects and assignments presented to them that they can relate to, otherwise, their interests and motivation is lost. Second the students must respect their teacher. Without respect students will not show the slightest motivation or willingness to participate. And third a teacher must be constiently active inside the classroom by always challenging the students with ideas, concepts, and questions to ponder. Perhaps there is much more involved in having a perfect classroom environment and after uncovering many of the key elements I am anxious to strive and discover the other important elements which make a fun and functional classroom.

The Aztecs and the Mayans

Description: Before meeting with C. last Monday I was surprised to know that my student was struggling in the area of History rather than Math. As an ELL student it is important to note that struggles in History, such as the Aztecs and the Mayans, is not because he does not know his history, but rather his proficiency in English is the main root of all problems.

Analysis: C. is a very bright student and can speak Spanish fluently, however, when it comes to English C. struggles. When I asked if C. understands the material and has fun inside the classroom I am quickly reassured that everything is going great, but that the student does find the class boring. It is my assessment that the reason the class is boring is not the content, but the inability to understand everything that is being taught inside the classroom.

Reflection: In an attempt to help C. grasp what is being taught in his World History class, I will some material that relates to the lessons being instructed in his class and help the best I can to understand the material. Hopefully, this will benefit the student, otherwise, I may have to lower my expectations just a little and hope through our meetings that C. at the very least gets more comfortable speaking and answering questions through conversation by strictly using English.