Days 8 & 9- Another Two-fer

“No man can be a good teacher unless he has feelings of warm affection toward his pupils and a genuine desire to impart to them what he believes to be of value.” -Bertrand Russell

On Thursday I got to play teacher. Ms. Luby has been fantastic throughout this entire experience, I'm infinitely grateful for having been assigned to her, and on this day she agreed to hand over the reins to me. I allotted Thursday's lessons for introducing myself to the students. I have this theory about learning and how in order for a student to reach their greatest potential, they must first develop a relationship of trust with their teacher. Learning new concepts is a challenge, and often a scary challenge. I look at learning new ideas as walking a tightrope; the journey toward achievement can be tricky and frightening. But with practice, motivation, and guidance, a person can learn to safely cross that tightrope and reach the finish point of accomplishment.

So with this theory in mind, I believe that every student must first trust their teacher and feel secure in knowing that they will provide steadfast guidance. In order to establish this trust with my students, I wanted to spend some time Thursday introducing myself to them. I created a powerpoint presentation which highlighted my interests, accomplishments, education, etc. I included information about my time in Europe, and why that trip helped to shape my attitudes toward life. I explained with the presentation my reasons for going into teaching, and specifically teaching English. I concluded the powerpoint with my one and only rule for the classroom: Respect.

Explaining to the students how respect effects every element of the classroom, I showed the class a clip from the movie Freedom Writers. The clip showcased a scene where the movie's students discovered the many things which they had in common, inevitably leading to a greater level of respect in the classroom. After showing the clip, I had the students do an activity called "Sticks and Stones" which illustrated how even the smallest of jokes, jabs, or gestures can hurt a person's feelings. I explained to the students during this activity how a person may never know when a classmate is having a bad day, or is sensitive to a certain subject; therefore we must all watch what we say and do, in order to show a certain level of respect.

It felt great to have "control" of the classroom on Thursday. Like I said, I owe Luby a good deal for allowing me the chance to learn by doing. I felt good after Thursday- like I'd accomplished something... like I got my lessons across. I still struggle to get the students' attention and gain control (read "quiet") in the classroom. Luby has explained how when she is present in the classroom, the students tend to head toward her with questions and permission, so by stepping out of the room she's been helping me to establish a level of authority with the kids. I'll say it again- I'm so happy to be working with this lady.

Thursday night I worked with the Speech students for the second time. Unlike how in the classroom I sometimes feel unsure about myself, while at Speech practice I feel as though I'm an expert. I know what I'm doing, and I know how to help these kids. I'm good at it, I feel like I actually make a difference as I watch the kids apply new techniques to their speeches. I've especially enjoyed working with a student named Hannah who is the team's only Extemp. Reader. She's such a bright young lady, definitely wise beyond her years. The nostalgia of Speech is almost intoxicating to me. I adore helping out with the team on Thursday nights.


Friday I picked up where I left on Thursday. Each hour started off doing what are apparently called "RPQ's"- Reading Practice Quizzes, or something like that- and I guess that the students do the tests every Friday morning in order to prepare for their Basic Standards Tests in April.

After finishing up with their reading exercises, I had the students make some Name Tag/Table Tents to seal the holes on any of my memorization of names. Next, I broke up the students into groups of four and asked them to answer certain questions in order to learn more about one another. In the end, I had the groups share their findings, so that I could learn about their interests and personalities too.

The activities went well with all but one of the classes. The last class of the day refused to listen to their classmates, were loud, ran around the room like 3rd graders in a gym class, and completely ignored any of my directions. In return, they lost the chance to complete the activity and were forced to spend the last 20 minutes of the hour sitting silently in their assigned seats, reading. I found it interesting how, after taking away the opportunity to complete a "fun" activity, the class finally found the ability to be quiet. After saying, "Alright, you've made your decision. Go back to your assigned seats, hand your papers forward, and be quiet. I don't want to hear one word. Anyone who speaks will be sent to the office." every student shut up and followed my instructions. I felt bad after calling it quits on the activity, I felt like I cheated the students who were behaving quietly in the background, and I was disappointed to not have the chance to hear the students share their findings. But I felt as though the students were questioning my authority at the start of class, and by the end they knew that I was not a floor mat. I don't know, did I do the right thing? The jury's still out on this case. Help!

I also got an unfortunate lesson today in humility and naivety. During lunch the teachers were speaking about a student who'd recently been moved into a shelter after her father beat her. The girl spoke with the school's social worker about wanting to stay with her grandparents, but her father wouldn't have it. Without any available foster homes at the moment, the student was sent to spend at least 2 weeks in the local shelter for runaways and homeless teens.... sounds like a great alternative, right? :I

I mentioned during the discussion how I couldn't comprehend the logic of the girl's father. I stated how I didn't understand why her father would rather see his daughter stay in a homeless shelter than have her stay with her grandparents and one of the pod's teachers responded by saying, "Welcome to teaching Little One."

I was slightly set aback by the comment. I know that I'm learning, and I know that I'm unexperienced. I know that I'm probably too idealistic, and at times I'm sure that I'm even naive. But is it so bad for me to question the system of how these children are treated? Is it wrong of me to care for these kids and genuinely want for them to find happiness and success? I can't help that I care this much, and I'm willing to take the risks which may accompany caring this much. In the meantime, I need to determine how to help my cooperating teacher and her colleagues to recognize my strength and understand my reasoning.

Here's to the end of week two. MANY lessons learned. Many more to come.

- Oh! I forgot to mention, I got my first "gift" from a student today. At the end of my first hour, after being away from it for some time, I walked to my desk to find a note & a paper crane from one of the girl students in the class. A very quiet and shy girl, I was struck by her gesture.... definitely a moment that made me smile. Thank you Miss Danika!