Week 2- Success and Community

Think back to influential classes you have taken. How were expectations set to promote student success? Introduce your student teaching setting. How do you view the expectations and classroom community established in  your current placement?

Strangely enough, one of the most influential classes was not an art class. One of the most influential classes I've ever taken was my high school algebra class. I struggled a lot in high school with math, however, my math teacher was one of the most memorable teachers of my high school experience. I feel that first and foremost, a student should feel safe when they enter my classroom. A student should feel physically safe, but students should be challenged to do their best work by being pushed slightly out of their comfort zone. My high school math teacher did this by using the bunny game. Each night we were assigned homework math problems and expected to complete them for the next day. Once we arrived in class and sat down, we tossed a plush stuffed bunny rabbit around the room. If you missed a pass, or dropped the bunny you had to go to the board and complete a problem. However, if you solved it on your own without help you got two points extra credit. If you solved it by asking for help from the class you got one point extra credit. It was nerve racking to have to answer these math problems in front of everyone, but it made me accountable for the homework! I did every problem with the hopes that I would be able to solve the problem on my own, and get extra credit. I think this promoted student success because it got most students interested in doing the homework and consequently prepared them for the tests.

My student teaching setting takes place at two different schools. The first is in a middle class neighbor hood and the school demographic seems to be fairly diverse. The classes have all been fairly well behaved and most students respect my co-operating teacher and love his art class. On Fridays we travel to another school and teach three classes, first, sixth, and third grade. The demographic there includes more lower income students and students who have moved here from inner city Chicago. Students at this school have presented some interesting classroom management experiences already.

However different the classroom demographic is, the classroom expectations are the same in each school. In my opinion my co-operating teacher does a very good job of rewarding students for going above and beyond expected behavior. He has a small catapult that he build, and will fire it with classes that do really excellent work, and display good behavior while they are waiting in line at the end of class for their classroom teacher. Some of the things he expects are that student will put their pencils, erasers, and pencil sharpeners back in their cases at their tables after they are done using the materials (he checks this at the end of class). He also expect students to use only the materials he provides or verbally consents to the use of, and he expects students to be working at their spot unless they have permission to be elsewhere. My co-operating teacher has given numbers and assign seats to students at their tables. He uses this to establish community in his classroom by giving jobs to each number, such as getting the materials or cleaning up certain things. The students then help each other get these tasks done.

Week 1- "Getting to Know You" 

This first week feels a bit like that scene from the King and I 

What do you find most daunting about finishing student teaching and graduating from college?

The things I find most daunting about finishing student teaching and graduating are finding a job, and finding a job in a school that I can thrive in. I am really nervous about applying for jobs and not being able to find one. I'm also worried that I will end up in a school where for some reason I don't get along with the principal or other teachers. These thoughts literally keep me up at night. I don't know how I'll be able to tell if a school is the "right" one!

What was the pivotal event that made you decide to become a teacher and enter your teacher preparation program? Employers almost always ask questions similar to this.

I have always been interested in teaching. Even as a child the "teacher game" was one of my favorites. I think I always knew I wanted to teach, so applying to the college of education was not as pivotal for me as the opportunity I had to teach my first class by myself. I applied for a summer job teaching art at a day camp. I taught two classes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I can't even begin to describe my feelings of euphoria when I heard a child say "I love this class!". My students made me laugh, and surprised me everyday with their creativity. They took projects farther than I could imagine them as an adult, and that was the best part. When I was done teaching at that camp, I knew that I could go to school everyday and teach art. I started at eight and when it was over at three thirty, it seemed as if the day had passed in seconds! That really was the most pivotal experience for me, and my realization that I wanted to become a teacher.

In what ways will your wardrobe change during student teaching and as a teaching professional?

This is a funny question, because my friends, family and room mates have always commented that my sense of style is a bit bookish. I enjoy cardigans, polos and khakis more than employees at the gap. However, I do feel like I will have to become more conservative in the summer at public areas, such as the swimming pool, and the farmers market. I know that the chances of meeting students and their families at places like this are high, and I want to maintain a respectable and professional demeanor as a public figure in the community.

Student Teaching

I am really excited to begin student teaching!