I'll just keep reaching...

This week brought a new level of enjoyment in teaching and the relationships with my students. My co-op was out last Friday and on Monday and I was out on Tuesday (which was planned) so we decided to have the students work on a report for Black History Month. The assignment was for the students to research and write about anyone that has had an impact on our society in easing racial tensions or bringing them to light. Furthermore, the students were to write about the actions of the person they chose and then to write about their feelings on this person, why they thought this person did what he or she did, and if they thought that they could or would have done the same. I really wanted the students to reflect on the impact that the smallest actions can have on society and especially in a racially charged environment. I couldn't wait to read the papers. As a reminder, I'm at a very diverse school and I thought the students would have a lot to say on this issue. But to my dismay, most of the papers were just a regurgitation of history. There was very little thought behind what they wrote. It was a history lesson to them pure and simple. And then I read a paper that made me stop and take a deep breath. Here is an excerpt from the paper.

...I am proud to say today that Barack Obama is the President of the United States. He has come so far in his life. Obama has proved that no matter what you go through you can always do and be what you dream to be. Not only has he proven himself, he has set good examples for others too. Obama started as a young man searching and looking to find who he really was. Now, he is the President of the United States. I look up to him as a young African-American, having things being said to me that I can't be anything, to seeing someone the same color as me as President. I now know that I can be anything in this world that I want. I am happy to be here today to celebrate the history in making. I can see myself setting good examples for others younger and older than me. My biggest success is that I show my little brother and sisters how to overcome the hatred. Show them that no matter what they go through in life they can come out on top just like Obama did. I can't wait til the day comes where I am old enough to really understand WHY there is so much hatred. I want to explain to the younger ones that it's all about who you are and how you carry yourself. Obama knows what we are going through, he has been there before. He really wants to show us that WE, as a whole, can change. He has great plans to make America a better place. We, as people, have to come together to help because we all know that one person cannot do everything by him or herself. As one, we can do anything in this world and that is what he has shown us. I am proud to stand here today and say that Barack Obama is my President.

Okay, so maybe this assignment did reach some of the students! I know that it reached at least one and for today that is enough. If I can reach one student through an assignment and to have that student realize that he or she could do anything he or she sets out to, provided he or she is willing to put the work in, then I will be happy. And I will go on to reaching one more student. The most valuable aspect of this week was the realization that I might not reach every student with every assignment; but, if I can reach them one at a time, then I'll just keep reaching. Sooner or later I'll reach them. And if not, it won't be for a lack of trying.

If I could do anything over this week it would have been to reinforce what I was looking for in the paper. When I gave the assignment the previous Friday, I led a class discussion on racial tensions and most of the students participated in the discussion. Then I sent them on their merry way to do the assignment. I gave them a handout which spelled out the assignment and even a reference sheet on formatting for their report. And, I did remind them that I wanted them to write about their feelings on the person, the situation, or even if they think that they would have had the courage act in the same manner. But I think I should have had another class discussion. The students were participating and talking about their feelings during the discussion period. I think that it may have been easier for them to write about their feelings if they would have had more time to express them verbally. These students tend to be much more expressive when they are talking than when they are writing. I need to work on getting them to be just as expressive when they write.

BTW, this assignment was in a Computer Apps I class and I tied it in to the class as an assignment on unbound reports and internet research. I just love Computer Apps because there's not much that we can't cover in the class! Think about it. The possibilities are endless.

How to think!

Over the past several weeks I’ve heard my fellow student teachers talk about how they’ve had to “have the talk” with their students or, in other words, let them know who is in control of the class and discipline the students as to how they should behave. I haven’t really had behavior issues, although ,where I’m at the tolerance level is probably much higher than in other schools; but, I had to gain control of their minds this week and let them know that I expect mental discipline or at least engagement when they are in my classroom. I am referring to an Accounting I class that is first period. Yes, I remember my high school years and I didn’t want to do much of anything first period of the day. In some respects I think that all juniors and seniors should have some sort of phys. ed. class the first period of each day. That would allow them to wake up and start thinking! The class that I have has a combination of juniors and seniors. I picked up the class at the end of the accounting cycle attempting to teach them adjusting and closing entries and then the post-closing trial balance. My co-op has said that this has always been the most difficult concept for the students to grasp. That closing the accounts doesn’t make sense to the students and getting this concept through to the students can be very challenging. So, even though we had PSSA’s last week and the schedule was chaotic we came up with a plan and forged onward. I taught adjusting entries and I reviewed adjusting entries. We went over the work together problem and then the on your own problem. And we did the same thing with closing entries and even spent more time on closing entries because there is more to them than the adjusting entries. We reviewed, and worked on problems together, and we reviewed more. And I just kept looking out at blank faces. They were following what I was doing but their minds weren’t engaged in the process in order for them to know what to do on their own! How do you get them to think?! They were following but like sheep and not actually grasping the concepts. Wednesday morning I finished the class by asking what questions they had, what could I explain better, where is it even a little foggy. I got nothing. Everybody knew everything. I must be the most wonderful teacher! Wrong. It was then I decided that the only way to get them to engage their minds was to call them on it. So they had a pop quiz Thursday morning to start off the class. The complaining and moaning was almost comical. “Mr. Co-op said we’d never have pop quizzes in here.” “Is this score going to count?” Blah, blah, blah… They took the quiz amid all their grumbling. After the quiz I reviewed the adjusting and closing entries on the smartboard. And then I heard the comment, “I wish we could take that quiz now, I’d get 100 on it.” I said, “You’re on. Everybody put your papers away. It’s the same quiz. You’ll have 15 min. to do this.” LOL… their mouths dropped. How dare I, two pop quizzes in one class? I know the students were thinking “This lady is crazy!” And let them think that. They will get over whatever they are thinking now once they get the concept. But, they have to think! I have talked and spoon-fed them through the chapter too much. Now it’s time for them to engage the gears. I can’t do it for them; they need to do this on their own. I now know how the teachers felt when I was in school and I would hear them say, “You have to think!” The most valuable lesson here and in life is learning how to think. These students don’t yet know the pleasure and fun they can derive from thinking. They haven't learned how you can never be bored if you know how to think. So now I’m thinking about how to get them to think!

The thing I would change about this week is that I did not get to teach that class on Friday. It took all of my momentum away. My one co-op was out (yes, I have two) and there was no sub so I had to take his first period class. I was very disappointed because I felt like I let them down. The regular teacher was there to do the review. He told me that they wanted their quizzes back and to know their grades and that I definitely got their attention. He doesn’t think they’ll be as passive about learning from here on out. I was sad that I wasn’t there to pick them back up on Friday, to build them up and let them know that they all have the ability if they just think. But, I am hopeful that maybe it will work out even better for me to start off next week on a high note by building them up on Monday. I truly enjoy these classes and the students and want to give them everything I can but they have to do it on their own. If not, they’ll never learn to think and that is the best thing I can ever teach them!

The Power of Review

The most valuable aspect I learned this week is the power of review. This week's schedule was crazy because of PSSA's and there were no classes on Friday. The school district that I'm at does the PSSA testing first thing after homeroom and it lasted for about 90 min. The classes rotated so the first day I had my Accounting I class for 90 min., the other days for about forty min. The students in this class are a mixture of juniors and seniors. So the day that I had the class the longest, many students were missing because they were taking the PSSA’s. But I pushed on with a lesson. After all, I can’t have the seniors sitting with nothing to do. On Tuesday, I started the class with a review, which was essentially re-teaching the lesson so the juniors could pick it up. And they did. By asking the seniors questions and having them explain the principles, the juniors seemed to pick up the concepts quickly, quicker than if I were explaining it. And it also gave me the opportunity to see what the students learned and/or didn’t learn from the previous day’s lesson. It’s amazing what the students get and what they don’t get out of a lesson. I may think that a point was crystal clear and that everyone got it. And the students may be able to answer questions correctly during the lesson. But somehow, it either gets lost or just doesn’t stick to the next day. So seeing this, it was as if a light went on in my head and I began starting each lesson with a review. It gives me the chance to emphasize and reinforce the points that may need more in-depth explanation. It also gives me the opportunity to add points that I may have overlooked in the initial lesson. This week’s most valuable lesson was definitely the power of review!

If I could change anything about this past week it would be a lesson that I rushed through because of time constraints. It was 7th period and for various reasons I had about a half an hour for a lesson that I planned for about 45 min. with an exercise at the end. Well, I rushed through my lesson and completed it. The students did get a lot of it but there were things that I left out because I was rushing. I learned not to rush through a lesson because you only end up teaching it again. So, guess what I did the next day. I started off the class with a review and explained that I may have rushed through the previous day’s lesson. The students did learn a lot from the first day but I was glad to have a chance to reinforce and to elaborate!

Valuable Lessons...

This week was filled with valuable lessons for me. Right now I will concentrate on the two areas where I learned the most. The first was learning to hold my ground while allowing the student to feel in control and/or to make the choice. This came about when my co-op was out for the day and there was no sub. I've been teaching this class for over a week and everything was going well. I explained an assignment which was to work on a group project. As soon as I started to hand out the rubric, a student said to me that she does not do this; she does not work in groups. I said, "Well, I'm sorry to hear that but this is the assignment" and continued to pass out the rubric. After I reviewed the rubric with the class and was walking around the class she again told me that she does not do this. At this point some very valuable words played through my mind. I believe I even wrote about these words in an earlier blog and they were: “You have the right to fail.” Of course I didn’t want to say this to this student because she was already red in the face and very bothered by the assignment and the fact that I was not backing down. So I very calmly said to her, “That is your choice. But this assignment is going to be graded and a good portion of your grade, so you decide.” With that I walked away and continued to work with the other students. I could see and feel how uncomfortable this student was and I was becoming uncomfortable for her. I saw her emailing (we’re in a computer lab) and she was rather distraught. Iwas walking around the class acting like everything is fine thinking to myself that this is the first day without a teacher or a sub in the class and I have a good student who is going to walk out on me! My mind is going around and around thinking that I should let her work on her own. Maybe if I increased the requirements for her since she wouldn’t have to collaborate she would work on the project. And then, again, I heard my first co-op telling her students that they had the right to fail. So, being reinforced with that in my mind I decided that I would give her until the next day and then let her work on her own. Well, about 15 min. before the class was over I had my answer. I heard her say to two girls in the back that she did some research on their topic and could she work with them. Whew!!! What a relief for me. I don’t think she knew how much she tested me. I was so glad that she made that choice. I knew if I gave in to her that I would have lost the respect of the entire class and I never would have won them back.

The next lesson lies in knowing your audience or should I say students. I started teaching Accounting I this week. The class has seniors and juniors in it and one of the terms we covered was adequate disclosure. Being a new teacher and trying to fully explain the concept and its meaning, I started to talk about Enron. I mentioned how adequate disclosure is essentially what got Enron into trouble and as I am talking I am looking around and getting completely blank stares. These kids will usually give me a nod, a smile, or a comment but there was nothing. And then it dawned on me… they were only 8 or 9 years old when that was big news! They don’t remember it. So now I have to give them a little history lesson too which was very brief but none of them were interested in it. I lost them by going back 8 years! Wow, talk about having to keep the lessons current to connect! So, now I know to try to use examples from the past year, maybe two at the most.

If I could change this past week it would involve that accounting class. Not only did I refer to a topic that they have no memory of, but I also assumed because they did something in a previous chapter that they would pick up and do it again. We did a ‘work together’ activity which was going very well because I had the students come up and write on the smartboard which was a novelty for them. So we went through the journal entries and the how’s and the why’s and I told them to post and when they were done with that, to start on the ‘On Your Own’ activity. I gave them a couple of minutes and a student called me over with some questions. She is an ELL and didn’t get what I meant when I told them to post so I walked her through it. When we were done I walked around the class and found the students working on the ‘On Your Own’ activity. After the class was over I found out that none of them posted because they didn’t understand it. I need to walk them through each step. Just because they learned posting and have been posting to accounts for the past two chapters does not mean that they fully understand it. The ELL student was the only one brave enough to ask! I would definitely want to do that lesson over again and walk them step by step through the entire thing… even if I think it is repetitive. What I think is repetitive may not be to them because they’re just learning it. My fear has been not to bore them but because of that I think I may have been cutting them short. I now believe that it would be better to bore them as long as they have learned the material. Let them tell me that we’ve been over this before but I don’t ever want to cut them short again because of my fear of boring them.