Final Blog

This is in response to Mrs. Stevens blog.

     Two years well spent. Two years of frustration, tears, flashes of anger, disappointment and a heavy heart. Two years knowing the most beautiful kids I've ever encountered. Two years of pure amazement when a child teaches me more than I've taught them. I've learned kindness, perseverance, strength, honesty, and have gained a satirical sense of humor along the way. Two different school, two different grades, two different subjects, three different classes, three different experiences. But one thing remained the same through them all; love.
     My sixth grade kids were awesome. I found myself in a new school, with a group of brilliant Pre-Ap kids eager to learn, but not so eager to do their work. It was like pulling teeth trying to get all their papers back. But, of course, the lowest grade of the class would be about a ninety. I remember a girl crying at her desk because she made a 93 on a test, that I had taken and found slightly challenging. She cried in disappointment and begged Mrs. Kempe to let her retest. They were very self disciplined and there were very rare moments when someone spoke out of turn. Whether that was because of class etiquette or fear of Mrs.Kempe, I'm not quite sure. Those kids taught me to have pride in my work, and the importance of teamwork.
     My senior year I found myself torn between two classrooms, a situation I first found slightly annoying. In Mrs. Terry's class I found personalities. BIG personalities. I found students extremely  unlike my kids from the previous year. These students were rowdy, disrespectful, fidgety and completely wild. After a few days of warming up, there were a few moments that I had to take charge and straighten them out. There was one time that out of frustration I told a child, "I'm going to staple you to the wall if you don't sit down". I wouldn't have actually done it... but they didn't know that. I also found that these kids were SO interested in my personal life. "What did you do after school? Do you have a boyfriend? Why not? What's your best friends name? What's your favorite color? What do you mean you don't know? Do you have any pets? Why? Why not? Why? Why? WHY?" I'm surprised they never asked me my social security number and shoe size! But I loved those children. They taught me the meaning of fun and showed me the importance of personal connections with the kids you teach.

     Then... Mrs. Bemrick's kiddos. The other teachers referred to her class as the "hell raisers". Which, I quickly learned, was a very fitting name for my new students. Everyone was so loud! There was thirty two kids in that class, the majority being boys...boys that were all friends... best friends. The class was a mess! There were the few that would be reprimanded daily, and sent the office weekly. But I promise you, those kids had heart. My favorite experiences with the class was towards the end of my internship when we were reading "The Outsiders" by S.E Hinton. They were in love. It's a book that any kid can relate to. So may of my children come from broken homes, have experienced gang violence, or just know the feeling of loneliness. I think reading their raw emotions on a page, gave them new hope. They were so concerned about Ponyboy and Johnny when they were on the run. They were curious as to why Darry was so hard. They laughed at Sodapop's jokes and were entranced in the fight scenes. A sense of foreboding came when Johnny laid in the hospital, and there were many angry outbursts from the class when Johnny died. One student even refused to continue reading, yelling "That's not fair, Miss!" I watched them come alive, and their journal responses to the book were at least two times longer and more depth that their previous ones. They were learning! Though my kids acting like little hoodrats through the year, I found myself tearing up when the surprised me with a going-away party on my last day, and reading each of their notes they wrote me. My favorite one was when my student, Demond, wrote: "Thank you for everything you taught me. You helped me believe in myself and encouraged me everyday in class. Don't forget me!" 
   
     The Education and Training internship reinforced my calling as a teacher. It's not going to be easy from this point on. But I am excited to later have a classroom of my own, and see my kids everyday!

Part Two

GUIDELINES:

1. Dress Code:

All interns will maintain a dignified and respectable image in their field site schools. Mandatory dress code will be enforced throughout the school year. It is your responsibility as interns to keep Education and Trainings good name intact. If you wear inappropriate clothing to your field sites, it runs the risk of disciplinary action and gives our program a bad look. Each intern is responsible for the other. Interns are expected to keep each other in line. If an intern sees another peer out of dress code they are to inform me through text, email, phone call or whatever means necessary. This is not snitching. This is maintaining our reputation in site schools. But remember, it may be you next time. In this class, we go by the motto "All for one and one for all".       

a) What you can wear:

The Education and Training shirts you bought/ received at the beginning of the school year.

Education and Training badge

Pants with no holes or stains (Doesn't matter what kind. Flared, skinny, dark wash, light wash, white, tan, blue, black, whatever..

          

What you cannot wear:

Street shirts. (Tshirts, school shirts, tank tops, tube tops, paper sack, loincloth, ect.)

Holey Pants. (This is not church, we don't care how "holey" you are.)

Obscene or loud jewelry.

        

  Ladies, let's talk makeup.          

A little goes a long way. Especially in a classroom environment. We wouldn't want little Sally to fail a test because she couldn't stop looking at your blue sparkly eyeshadow, would we? Neutrals are good, avoid bright and loud colors.            

Gentlemen, how's that peach fuzz comin' along?          

Let's keep it trimmed, fellas. We don't want you looking like a Duck Dynasty member (even though that would be pretty cool). Shave daily. Shower daily. Wear deodorant daily. Need I go on?

                           

  b) DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS:         

Lame, I know. I will keep a record of every dress code violation. As I have given many warnings about how imperative your look is, I will not be giving warnings once you are actually out in your schools.               

First violation: 

You will be pulled from your site school class the following day. You will be required to notify your mentor teacher of the reason of your absence through e-mail, in which I will read and check off. For the continuation of the class period you will do book work, that I will take as a grade.        

 

Second Violation: 

Same consequences as the first. This time there will be an additional assignment and a phone call to your parents as well. A two page essay over how appearance can change the way others (i.e teacher, bosses, ect.) see you. If you do not finish it in class, it is homework. Yes, children. Homework. What a novel idea.         

Third Violation: 

You're getting brave aren't you, little grasshopper? You are suspended from your site school for one week. You will have three essays, one for each day you miss, on top of each bookwork assignment you receive. These will all be due Friday at the beginning of class.         

Fourth and Up Violations: 

You are now permanently suspended from the Education and Training class for the school year. Don't let the door hit you on the way out, kiddo.

Any questions?

Part One

TEKS:

b)  Knowledge and skills.

(1)  Reading/Fluency. Students read grade-level text with fluency and comprehension. Students are expected to adjust fluency when reading aloud grade-level text based on the reading purpose and the nature of the text.

(2)  Reading/Vocabulary Development. Students understand new vocabulary and use it when reading and writing. Students are expected to:

(A)  determine the meaning of grade-level academic English words derived from Latin, Greek, or other linguistic roots and affixes;

(B)  use context (within a sentence and in larger sections of text) to determine or clarify the meaning of unfamiliar or ambiguous words;

(C)  complete analogies that describe part to whole or whole to part;

(D)  identify the meaning of foreign words commonly used in written English with emphasis on Latin and Greek words (e.g., habeus corpus, e pluribus unum, bona fide, nemesis); and

(E)  use a dictionary, a glossary, or a thesaurus (printed or electronic) to determine the meanings, syllabication, pronunciations, alternate word choices, and parts of speech of words.

This is a game from vocabulary.com. The game is a phrase match with latin terms that we study throughout the year. The goal for the students is to become very familiar with the words and their meanings, and know them at the drop of the hat. 

Tears... So. Many. Tears. (Animoto Post)

Here is my end of the year animo to for the 2012-2013 school year!!

Parents.

In response to Mrs. Stevens blog....

     To become a teacher, you must seek further education after the mandatory twelve years of schooling. Once you've been accepted to a college, you must register for your classes, pay thousands of dollars for your schooling, pass a few dozen classes, tests, and exams. You must do that for four years. Eight semesters. 216 weeks. 1,460 days. It's a job in which others expect only professionalism, but none is given in return. Teachers should be treated like most people treat surgeons. We are experts in our craft. We've trained for years to try to teach the future generations. But that becomes difficult when we are constantly having to answer minuscule, irrelevant questions from tight-rein parents who doubt our judgment.

     Most parents are very quick to administer discipline to their children when they've done something wrong in their household. If a child pushes his sister in the dining room, he sits in time-out for twenty minutes. If the same child hits a student on the playground, and the teacher calls home, that teacher is accused of naming the child as "violent". We love your kids. We look out for your children. We try to coach and tach your kids not only curriculum, but the basic skills and morals needed later in life. We do not ask for your whole-hearted approval, but we ask for your acceptance and your trust.

     Kids are learning excuses. They're full of them. Excuses for not turning in homework, excuses for bad behavior, excuses for attitudes, excuses for attendance, ect. Parent's need to squash this in the bud. If we instill in our children responsibility and truth in their childhood, those morals and standards will stick with them through adulthood. The repercussions of those negative traits can affect the children in the future. They have the potential to leave everything unfinished, and never fully showcase their potential.


     For example, responsibility in school is something I have always struggled with. This year in my algebra two class, at the end of the six weeks i had twelve missing assignments, 2 missing k-checks, and two missing tests. I don't know what that happened either. It taught me that I cannot slide by the system and I will receive what I put forth.

     Students need to also learn this lesson. The sooner we instill moral codes in them, and have parents back us up as professionals, the more positive results we will see.


 

Kreativity Kountz!

     

There is a man by the name of Sir Ken Robinson. He is a world renown public speaker, advocate of education and a believer in creativity and the resounding impact it can leave on our world. He attended the "TED" Convention, which is a conference where the greatest minds come together and discuss things such as politics, environmental affairs, and education. But most importantly they discuss our future. He presented his speech entitled, "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" Which imposed the question of 'Is education really teaching our kids the necessary information needed to succeed, or merely stifling their already instinctive creativity to do wonderful things?'
    Creatvity is the natural output of the innate sense of self each person contains. Just like the lion is born a predator, each child is born with creativity. Though it may be stifled for some time, a child just like a lion, will exhibit their natural sense of self, when given the opportunity....When the lion is around prey; or when the child is put with a pencil in his hand, on a stage, set to music, or an instrument in his lap. The natural beauty of presenting  yourself exactly how you are. Without limits or restrictions.

     The hierarchy of education and the importance of certain subjects over others, is not adapted to each individual child. Instead, we choose to impose a blanket system of education over the mass of them, and teach them all as if they were exactly the same. Each child has creativity. Each child has potential. We, as an education system, need to instill a sense of individuality in our children that can only be progressed through education... Instead of training our children all the same; and constantly reliving the disappointment of unexpected outcomes. 

     But, the change begins with us. And whether you are an educator or not, you are a teacher. If you are a mother; you are a teacher. If you are a father, banker, construction worker, mechanic, dancer, artist, or actor; you are a teacher. We interact with children everyday. Learning is not something that is learned strictly in the classroom, but it is also learned through observation and everyday learning.
                             

                             To better our future we must first better ourselves.

   

Appearance Counts!

     This is in response to Mrs. Stevens blog on appearance....



APPEARANCE COUNTS

     Yes, it does. It matters in your social life and in your business life. It is the defining line between your success, and your ridicule. For example, Ugly Betty.Yes, though she is a fictional character in a fictional business, following a fictional story line; the message still rings true. When you present yourself in the manner in which you'd like to be treated, then you receive that kind of treatment. Ugly Betty presented herself in an adolescent way, so she was treated as a child and as if she was incompetent in her job.
     

These are a few good examples of professional dress:

And with the good comes the bad....