9 posts from July 2007

I am teaching MS Studies this fall (6 periods/day) and Geography in the spring (6 periods/day).  I am very excited to have only one prep at a time!  I am excited that my fellow Corps members will be teaching the same courses so we can compare/share ideas and resources!  And I am thrilled that my department chair gave me some AWESOME resources today!  Think of all the outstanding field trip ideas for MS Studies!!!  Anyone have any good ideas for reading materials for HS freshmen  (I feel like Rising Tide might be a little too advanced)?!

Just as my FANTASTIC roommate commented about herself in her critical film analysis, I, too, use a lot of superlatives when I talk.  Just as when I recorded myself the first time, I use words like "FANTASTIC" and "FABULOUS" almost too frequently.  While I am ALL ABOUT positive reinforcement and encouragement, I do not want to overuse it (is there even such a thing?  Maybe the value of positive comments diminishes if they are overused?). 

Overall, the biggest difference I noted between my two recorded lessons was in the context of content knowledge.  When I was teaching history, I could just roll with the punches.  I could and would interject interesting and random factoids that either relate the material to 21st Century MS or are just plain entertaining.  I am not as equipped to do this with biology.  I was enthusiastic when I taught history because I truly LOVED the subject matter.  When I watched my second movie, it was apparent to me that the excitement was a mere facade.  While I doubt the students have picked up on this, it was one of the first things I noticed.

Wearing flats makes a lot less noise when walking around the classroom than wearing heels.  Today was the first day I wore flats; I sort of missed the clicking.  (There's no place like home, there's no place like home...)  In general, there was not a remarkable change in my teaching when comparing the two lessons.  It was, however, like comparing apples to oranges, since the subject material was very different.  I can definitely tell when I am exhausted during a lesson.  One of my primary goals for the year is to get to sleep at a reasonable hour every night!

And speaking of no place like home...  Happy Last Day of Classes!!!  I'm excited to fully move into my new humble abode and then go home to see my favorite little sister!

There is a sign hanging up over the door in the classroom where I am teaching in summer school that reads:

Classroom Rules:

Enter to Learn

Leave to Serve

 

While I am not sure how effective these would be at true classroom rules, I really enjoy the sentiment they convey.  What a great reminder to look at every day!  I'm getting excited for August and for the fall semester!!!

I just wanted to comment on how absolutely amazing my class of MTC is!!!!!  I had a hot date with a couple of the girls this afternoon and we spent a lot of time talking about how awesome our class is, how the group dynamic is virtually flawless, how cool all our fellow teachers are, etc...  It is so wonderful to have such an eclectic group of people all working (and playing) together!  From hour upon hour of beach volleyball to random roadtrips and MARIAH CAREY SING A LONGS, to board game nights, to photo opps in the bathtubs on Highway 6 to long waits at Taylor Grocery to impromptu get-togethers at Campus Walk, to quality time on the short bus to HSHS, to lesson planning extravaganzas, to HOUR upon HOUR deciphering Google Docs, I am really thankful to be a part of such a SPECTACULAR group of outstanding individuals and upstanding citizens.   I am thrilled to have the opportunity to foster solid friendships and build the utmost of support networks (which will almost certainly be needed come October) with the MTC Class of 2007.  Thanks for being so wonderful, buddies!  Happy Last Week of Summer School!

Every moment that I am in our biology class serves as a reminder as to why I majored in Public Policy (well, at least anything but bio).  I can vividly recall my exact seat location in my high school bio class; I remember thinking, "When on earth am I EVER going to need to know this stuff?!"  Other than for the unit exams I took as a 14-year-old in my freshman bio classes, I have never -- until last week -- used any of this information.  And now it is a challenge for me to tell my students exactly why they should care and why this information is relevant to their daily lives when I don't really think they have to know it.

Sure, I can come up with some analogies and sets in which my students see that relationships in the animal world are parallel to those in their own lives (oh boy do I LOVE symbiotic relationships!).  We can talk about how the majority of the earth (aka cells, people and oceans) is water; we study the water cycle because the water we need for survival is constantly recycled since humans use a mere one percent of the total water on earth.  I understand that we should be elated to be able to connect the very study of life to our students' lives, but I just cannot foresee any of my students ever using this information.  To be perfectly honest, I find myself more excited when my students can recall the Latin and Greek roots that are the base of so many of the biological terms than when they memorize "Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order..."  The roots that the students are exposed to may actually help them build their vocabularies, study foreign languages and identify new words on standardized tests (MS state tests, ACT, GED, GRE...  and regardless of how one feels about high-stakes testing, these tests exist and they are chalked full of good vocabulary words).

But enough with the negative!  I am really excited to be working with the ACT prep "club" after school!  Oh boy is this needed!  If we can help the kids to at least entertain the idea of going to college, and if we can supplement in their test-taking strategy toolbox, this is a wonderful place to start.  Also, even though I am counting the hours I have left in my career as a biology teacher, I did teach a really neat "lab" activity in class today!  I think the students really enjoyed it.  Photographic evidence of the project's (and my students') success is below:)  Now all I need is a written document that clearly delineates which classes I am teaching in August and which sport(s) I am coaching in September and I will be batting 1.000!  Gotta celebrate those small successes!

(PS if anyone knows how to rotate these photos I would greatly appreciate any didactic advice you could pass along!  THANKS!)

In the days leading up to their departure, the second years provided us with some witty one-liners, what they considered great revalations and as many pearls of wisdom as they had the energy to pass along.  While most everything our second years tell us is nothing short of enlightening, one particular comment really stood out to me. In the midst of a discussion regarding the merits of the teaching profession and why someone would make teaching a lifetme vocation, one of the second years said:

"I think it is easy to see why people leave.  You are only rewarded in one of two ways:  fleetingly and then forgotten or so long after the fact that you may never even know how much you were apreciated.  Think about it...  Either you see a kid have a 'lightbulb moment' and the reward of seeing your student succeed is just a fleeting success, or your students fail to realize how much they learn from you until they are much older and they write a book about you or something.  And even then you don't always know..."

Just wanted to share this "golden nugget of knowledge!"  (Don't worry, in the words of my fantabulous former co-first year, "I love teaching!") 

 

Notice Ms. Morrison with the gun -- see what trouble one can get in with such a hat!!!

Mr. Williams is my hero!  I have all the other movies from our karaoke extravaganza -- the files are too big to put on my blog but let me know if you want to see them!  Mr. P even shows us how to pop a collar in one!