Refection #4

               I think teachers stereotype a lot in secondary schools. Most teachers make accusations about their students the first day they are in class just by how the student dresses or acts that one day. Even I was guiltly of it at one point. I got a new student in my class about a month ago and he was so happy, talkative, and distruptive in my class that all I could think was how much of a problem he was going to be the rest of the year. Well, I definitely put my foot in my mouth. He has not said a single word during learning since that first day and does all his work in class. Even in my teaching experience this semester I have heard teachers say they know exactly which one of their students will end up in jail and that is a very sad accusation.

             I think we need to give student’s the chance to show us what they are made of and let them know we have faith that they can do better even if we, ourselve, have our doubts. We need to let them surprise us. I think in every one of my blogs and reflections I have talked about this girl in my class that has made such a great improvement, but it is hard not to continue to talk about someone who has made such a great impact on my teaching experience. She was that girl that I thought was lazy and she looked like what we would consider a “stoner”, but as terrible as that sounded I still wanted to let her know that I had the faith that she could do better. Surprise! Going from a grade of a 13 to a 71 in one six week period would be the perfect example of why we should not stereotype our students, but instead encourage them. Also, we never know why a student is acting out, sleeping, or doing the things they are doing in our class. We should take the time to get to know them instead of just assuming they are bad kids. Secondary student's could have jobs  after school to help out their family. They could be having parental problem at home, or even be struggling with not having a home. Take the time to get to know your students because you could end up being the one that "saves their life."

Reflection #3

          Inclusion can be a wonderful thing when used at the right time. I actually have three special education students in my third period class and it's a wonderful experience. Inclusion keeps the student's with their peers, so that they do not feel different or left out. My students are usually only removed when we have a test or something of that nature. Also, inclusion is a wonderful way to teach the non-special education students about acceptance. Now as for meeting the needs of all students, I can honestly say that’s a tough job. I do not believe we can meet the needs of all students at all times, but I know we can try our best. The No Child Left Behind is certainly not on my list of great things. It focus's too much on grades and not enough on growth.  The little boy that jumped four reading levels is the perfect example. Garris says "This child has had tremendous growth, but he'll still bomb the PSSA test because he isn't on grade level" (Wallis & Steptoe, 2007). Now, to me, that is ridiculous. The state is only looking at the standardize grade so instead of that child getting build up his confidence and feel proud, he gets to focus on being a failure because some test says he is.

            I haven’t certainly tried my hardest this semester to meet the needs of all my students, even offering before school, during lunch, and after school tutorials. I have to say though, the white board game I played last Friday was a great way to meet the needs of my students. They got to work together, have fun while learning, and even bring out the competitiveness that most of the students have in them. I have never had so much participation in my classroom and my special education student from third period actually won the game and was happy. It was a wonderful experience.

Wallis, C. & Steptoe, S. (2007, May 24). How to fix no child left behind. Time magazine, Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1625192,00.html

Monday: I created a new seating chart that successful helped my classroom management.
Tuesday: After having an inspirational talk with a failing students, she decided to come to tutoring three times                today!
Wednesday: Did my ESOL 2 and got advanced in all categories. Feels amazing.
Thursday: I made my first pop quiz and had an "aha" moment with the students when talking about the areas                   of a triangles.
Friday: I kept my composure when one of my students was clearly testing my patience.

           This week, I tweeted about my successful new seating chart. I created it because I had lots of "friends" sitting next to each other that continuously talked while I was teaching. I rearranged the seats, not only so the students wouldn't be talking, but also sat the students who struggle next to students who are doing well. This actually created less individual talking, more focus, and the student began to help each other in class. The student I tweeted about coming to tutorials three times in one day is my project student. She was failing very terribly last six weeks and told me she would never graduate and that she was planning to drop out. I had a few different conversations with her and told her that I believed she was worth more than that and I had faith that she could succeed. She has come to morning tutorials everyday since and sometimes after school. On that particular day she came before school, during lunch, and after school for tutoring. she has made a hundred on the last three homework's and I could not be prouder of her. There really is not much more I need to say about getting advanced in all categories. It was a great feeling. On Thursday, when I was discussing the area of triangles, we talked about the area formula for rectangles and parallelograms, which most student know is base times height. Then, when I cut the rectangle in half and asked them what the shape was, they said a triangle. This was their "aha" moment, when they realized that the area of a triangle was one-half the base time the height. They all kind of smiled and said that was pretty cool. It was so simple, but really registered with them. On Friday, I twitted about keeping my composer, which I felt was a true success because a student that just got out of ISS decided she was going to question and fight me about every little thing. She even call someone secretly while I was teaching which infuriated me, but instead of getting upset and yelling I kept a calm, stern tone to defuse the situation.
           My biggest success goal will be to have great classroom management. I am very small and look like I am still in my teens, so I am already at a disadvantage teaching at the high school level. On top of that I have a very kind heart and it's hard for me to be strict. I know this is something I will have to overcome in order to have great classroom management and keep my sanity. They always tell us to be strict at the start of the year and then let up later on. That will be my goal for my first year of teaching.

Reflection #2

I believe that multiple choice tests close the minds of our students. It doesn't giving them the opportunity to explore new ideas or enrich their minds with deeper thinking. The poem is the perfect example because in the end of the story the student started to think more in depth by saying "I wonder" and "I wish", but then stopped his/her self because they didn't not need to know anymore for their test tomorrow. Most students will only do what they have to in order to get by. If you give them extended thinking questions, it helps open up their mind to not only think critical and increase academic achievement, but to imagination, wonder and curiosity for learning. 

In my classroom, I use formative assessments by calling on someone in the class to help me work a math problem that involves the new technique we just learn. Also, after the lesson, I will give the class one or two problems off the homework to do in class so I can walk around and check on how each student is doing and address any mistakes I see. Then, of course, the students are given homework each night.

As for summative assessments, we give about three tests every six weeks to check if the material was learned correctly and we also give one accumulative six weeks test at the end of every six weeks.

It is important to have formative assessments so that the teacher can gauge how well the students are grasping the material. If the teacher finds in her formative assessments that the students are struggling then there would be no point to move on to the next section because that would only confuse them further. This is especially true in math since it is continually building on it's self. It is also important to have summative assessments to check and see how well the student learned the material in a setting that does just let them copy the steps out of their notes. We need summative assessments to make sure that each individual child learned the material presented.

I would really love to use exit slips for my classroom. Everyday, I could stand at the door and have the student tell me one thing they learned from that day's lesson. Also, homework is a must in math. When I grade the homework, it lets me know where my class is in the learning process and whether there is any areas of the lesson I need to hit again. Unit tests and projects are also assessments I'd like to use. Not only does the tests help me see where the class struggled, but it also lets me know what areas I may need to revamp in order to teach it better the next year.

I am very excited to say that I will be teaching Algebra one. I actually had the privilege last semester to teach Algebra at a private school. They were desperate for a teacher, so I got the opportunity to part time teach and it was an amazing experience. It will be great to see the difference between a private school and a public school this semester. I have been placed at Lakeview High School. I am actually hoping that I can teach at Central High School for a year after I graduate and then move to San Antonio after that.

I believe the three most important roles of a teacher are to be a counselor, an education, and a protector. Teachers having the role of a counselor is very important because they are usually the second most dominate influence in their student’s life, next to their parents. The students need another adult in their lives to talk to when they feel like they cannot talk to their parents due to embarrassment, fear of punishment, or even because the parents are the problem. Students need to know they can come to their teacher with anything as that second guidance in their lives. Teachers having the role as an educator is an obvious one, but so important because it is more than just spitting out information at the students. It seems that some teachers don't care whether the students understand the concept as long as they pass. Being an educator involves showing the students you care about the material and care about whether they learn it or not. The students need to see that the teacher wants them to succeed and that they are willing to help the students in any way they can. As an educator, if you show your love, passion, and excitement for a topic, it will rub off on the students and they will start to feel the same way. Lastly, the teacher’s role as a protector is extremely important when dealing with children, no matter the age. Teachers need to create a safe classroom environment for his/her students; free of bullying and free of harm. The students need to know that no matter what is going on in the outside world, they can come to the teacher’s classroom with a peace of mind. Whether students have family, peer, or even problems with themselves, the teachers are there to help the students, not only through the difficult problems in learning, but also in life.