Wednesday, November 26, 2003
"How's that working out for you...being clever?"
Followup to previous post:
The same student who called me "ignorant" continues to procrastinate in class, doing everything possible...chatting, yelling across the room for a piece of gum, sharing a magazine with a neighbor, etc., rather than do his work. Another popular tactic is to try to distract me from the task at hand by asking personal questions or directing irrelevant smalltalk towards me. So this student does the latter...I confess, I don't remember the specific question, but I respond with a smile and ask if he's finished his notes.
His response?
"Why you gotta be smart? Look at that smile...he just fakin'. He just tryin' to be smart!"
Inaudible mumbling (possibly mixed with profanity) followed...and the student loudly announced that he never did finish off copying the outline I posted on the overhead.
First I'm ignorant Now I'm smart. Looks like I can't win...
Followup to previous post:
The same student who called me "ignorant" continues to procrastinate in class, doing everything possible...chatting, yelling across the room for a piece of gum, sharing a magazine with a neighbor, etc., rather than do his work. Another popular tactic is to try to distract me from the task at hand by asking personal questions or directing irrelevant smalltalk towards me. So this student does the latter...I confess, I don't remember the specific question, but I respond with a smile and ask if he's finished his notes.
His response?
"Why you gotta be smart? Look at that smile...he just fakin'. He just tryin' to be smart!"
Inaudible mumbling (possibly mixed with profanity) followed...and the student loudly announced that he never did finish off copying the outline I posted on the overhead.
First I'm ignorant Now I'm smart. Looks like I can't win...
Thursday, November 20, 2003
Funny...I don't feel blissful.
So one of my students got mad at me today because he claimed to have left his hat in my classroom and now could not find it. He had asked me earlier if I could find it for him, but the hat simply was not there. I explained that if I had found the hat I certainly would have returned it. Or at the least dropped it on the little table in the corner I use for lost and found items.
I then told him that he should stop talking about the hat, and directed him to sit down and do his sustained silent reading.
At this point he got annoyed, and accused me of being "ignorant". On the plus side he sat down. On the minus side he continued to chatter for the entirety of the silent reading.
Remind me again how asking someone that in school you are supposed to follow directions and do your work makes me ignorant? Because ironically enough...I'm a little confused.
So one of my students got mad at me today because he claimed to have left his hat in my classroom and now could not find it. He had asked me earlier if I could find it for him, but the hat simply was not there. I explained that if I had found the hat I certainly would have returned it. Or at the least dropped it on the little table in the corner I use for lost and found items.
I then told him that he should stop talking about the hat, and directed him to sit down and do his sustained silent reading.
At this point he got annoyed, and accused me of being "ignorant". On the plus side he sat down. On the minus side he continued to chatter for the entirety of the silent reading.
Remind me again how asking someone that in school you are supposed to follow directions and do your work makes me ignorant? Because ironically enough...I'm a little confused.
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
Anything I Can Do They Can Do Better...
So I mentioned a little while ago that I had my first official observation by an administrator at my school. The fact that such observations are required of new teachers does not surprise me in retrospect but when Ms. York, a veteran teacher and hardened administrator, gave me notice the day before (or perhaps it was the day of...the days sometimes blur together during a given week) I was mildly shocked.
Granted, she was kind enough to select my physics class to visit rather than general physical (i.e. freshman) science. She told me later this was an intentional choice, as physics was by all accounts the best run of my three classes. Indeed, up until this week, I would agree with such an assessment completely. Even now, when people around the school ask me how my transition to teaching is going, I sometimes refer to my classes as “the agony and the ecstasy." Its clear to most people which grade is which. After all, seniors are generally motivated students with an active interest, if not in the subject itself, then at the very least in doing well enough to pass so they can graduate and go on to college or a career of their choice.
The one week that my observation took place however, approximately half of the 33 students listed on my roll were not in attendance. In point of fact during that entire week attendance remained scattered at best thanks to the convergence of several key factors:
1. A field trip that Monday to nearby Cheney College, a nearby school that was established well before the rise to the vice-presidency of a certain Yale dropout.
2. The week long cycle of state retesting in math, writing, and other key subjects, which led to a randomly rotating selection of students going upstairs to retake tests they had failed in previous years.
3. My two strongest students (who are right now competing for the position of valedictorian) were in Washington D.C. rubbing elbows with all manner of famous government types.
These changes in the roster of attending students as well as the relatively abstract nature of the material I was presenting (velocity-time graphs), meant that even if I explained the material thoroughly to one particular group of students on a given day, the following day only half of those students were likely to return and so all of the material had to be retaught. Which is about where things stood on Thursday when Ms. York stopped by to say hello.
Almost immediately, I could tell that the lesson was going poorly. I have often used the metaphor of teaching as being basically equivalent to standup comedy; success in both professions relies on seizing audience interest and maintaining it over an extended period of time. Well that afternoon, the crowd was simply dead...and there’s nothing that a comedian (or a teacher) dreads more than hearing the faint sound of crickets in the space where audience feedback is supposed to fit into the act... And there was a heck of lot of chirping in my classroom that afternoon. Or perhaps more accurately a lot of side conversations and confused faces.
So that was one strike against me. Strike two came when I was asked for my lesson plans. Now normally, I submit said plans to my department head and keep only a rough outline for myself since honestly, the verbatim scripts I used to write during my training no longer prove applicable in this context. So I explained this to Ms. York, and received nothing more than a stern look and a reprimand. But the subtext was quite clear. And only reinforced by the next issue...keeping roll. My roll book system is pretty solid, but it is by no means traditional. I keep roll on seating charts. (They also serve as excellent behavior and homework logs.) Not good, said Ms. York. Not good at all. Another quick check mark on the observation form and I was off on my merry way, my ego getting torn several different ways as I delivered a shoddy lesson to an uninterested class and an observer who despite assertions of support had already expressed what seemed to be clear indications of my failings as a teacher. (In fairness, I eventually did present the plans...fortunately I had printed an extra copy)
So a week passes, and the thought of the observation eats like a subtle acid on the back of my brain. The day of my meeting, my new teacher coach Ms. Roebuck stops by to say hello. Conveniently enough it was the day of my meeting with Ms. York about my observation. Ms. Roebuck asked to sit in on the meeting, andI said yes. It seemed the courteous thing to do and I thought it might be good to have an outside perspective on the meeting.
Ms. York was quite friendly, or at the least cordial in presneting me with the results of my observation. She began by commenting on the fact that I am a first year teacher and that building up systems that work takes time. And then we were off...me in the middle reading a form about how I displayed no evidence of record keeping tasks, my students’ lack of cooperative learning, and my poor classroom management. It cut close to home.
The truth is, based on that lesson, the comments were valid. Very valid. Perhaps that is why they stung so. I recognize my own inexperience and more than occasional incompetence. Adding injury however was the fact that as the discussion proceeded, both Ms. York and Ms. Roebuck began to spout suggestions for how to improve. They touched on everything from group learning to stricter classroom procedures. They had answers for everything...or seemed to.
Q: How do I deal with students talking in class?
A: Just stop talking and don’t teach until they get quiet. Give them your “teacher look.”
Q: How do you suggest dealing with the longer periods derived from block scheduling?
A: Here’s a worksheet. Are you trying grouping the students or doing lab activities in class?
Q: How do I deal with classroom management?
A: Consistency.
I tried to let the suggestions wash over me, but ultimately the effect was similar to offering a drowning man a glass of water. Right now, I’m working to just survive and get my footing in this position. Having everyone in creation toss their suggestions at me, whether administrators, fellow teachers, or graduate school courses (as mentioned earlier, worthy of a post in their own right), only makes the job more challenging.
This is especially so when there are contradictions...and I’ll close with these thoughts on the three questions above.
Q: How do I deal with students talking in class?
A: Just stop talking and don’t teach until they get quiet. Give them your “teacher look.”
Thought: Fine in theory, but if they do not care actively about learning then my silence will do little to discourage the chit-chat. What I struggle to find is a consequence that works...and no one has found that yet. The best is a suggestion to use trips as rewards, but that takes more planning than I currently have time for right now.
Q: How do you suggest dealing with the longer periods derived from block scheduling?
A: Here’s a worksheet. Are you trying grouping the students or doing lab activities in class?
Thought: Oh good...a worksheet. I’ve seen most of the ideas on it before, but again, without active interest in the class, the ideas for activities quickly lose their efficacy. And groups might cut down on students walking around during class if they did not have this tendency to switch seats with impunity because I have no real consequence they either fear or desire. Let’s be clear, I switched to groups recently...and it has been a mixed blessing. I think that next semester may work better.
Q: How do I deal with classroom management?
A: Consistency.
Thought: And of course the best way to ensure consistency is to change all of my policies and procedures halfway through the semester following an observation...
Sorry for this post’s length, gentle readers as well as the delay in posting it. More interesting (and shorter) posts to come in the near future!
So I mentioned a little while ago that I had my first official observation by an administrator at my school. The fact that such observations are required of new teachers does not surprise me in retrospect but when Ms. York, a veteran teacher and hardened administrator, gave me notice the day before (or perhaps it was the day of...the days sometimes blur together during a given week) I was mildly shocked.
Granted, she was kind enough to select my physics class to visit rather than general physical (i.e. freshman) science. She told me later this was an intentional choice, as physics was by all accounts the best run of my three classes. Indeed, up until this week, I would agree with such an assessment completely. Even now, when people around the school ask me how my transition to teaching is going, I sometimes refer to my classes as “the agony and the ecstasy." Its clear to most people which grade is which. After all, seniors are generally motivated students with an active interest, if not in the subject itself, then at the very least in doing well enough to pass so they can graduate and go on to college or a career of their choice.
The one week that my observation took place however, approximately half of the 33 students listed on my roll were not in attendance. In point of fact during that entire week attendance remained scattered at best thanks to the convergence of several key factors:
1. A field trip that Monday to nearby Cheney College, a nearby school that was established well before the rise to the vice-presidency of a certain Yale dropout.
2. The week long cycle of state retesting in math, writing, and other key subjects, which led to a randomly rotating selection of students going upstairs to retake tests they had failed in previous years.
3. My two strongest students (who are right now competing for the position of valedictorian) were in Washington D.C. rubbing elbows with all manner of famous government types.
These changes in the roster of attending students as well as the relatively abstract nature of the material I was presenting (velocity-time graphs), meant that even if I explained the material thoroughly to one particular group of students on a given day, the following day only half of those students were likely to return and so all of the material had to be retaught. Which is about where things stood on Thursday when Ms. York stopped by to say hello.
Almost immediately, I could tell that the lesson was going poorly. I have often used the metaphor of teaching as being basically equivalent to standup comedy; success in both professions relies on seizing audience interest and maintaining it over an extended period of time. Well that afternoon, the crowd was simply dead...and there’s nothing that a comedian (or a teacher) dreads more than hearing the faint sound of crickets in the space where audience feedback is supposed to fit into the act... And there was a heck of lot of chirping in my classroom that afternoon. Or perhaps more accurately a lot of side conversations and confused faces.
So that was one strike against me. Strike two came when I was asked for my lesson plans. Now normally, I submit said plans to my department head and keep only a rough outline for myself since honestly, the verbatim scripts I used to write during my training no longer prove applicable in this context. So I explained this to Ms. York, and received nothing more than a stern look and a reprimand. But the subtext was quite clear. And only reinforced by the next issue...keeping roll. My roll book system is pretty solid, but it is by no means traditional. I keep roll on seating charts. (They also serve as excellent behavior and homework logs.) Not good, said Ms. York. Not good at all. Another quick check mark on the observation form and I was off on my merry way, my ego getting torn several different ways as I delivered a shoddy lesson to an uninterested class and an observer who despite assertions of support had already expressed what seemed to be clear indications of my failings as a teacher. (In fairness, I eventually did present the plans...fortunately I had printed an extra copy)
So a week passes, and the thought of the observation eats like a subtle acid on the back of my brain. The day of my meeting, my new teacher coach Ms. Roebuck stops by to say hello. Conveniently enough it was the day of my meeting with Ms. York about my observation. Ms. Roebuck asked to sit in on the meeting, andI said yes. It seemed the courteous thing to do and I thought it might be good to have an outside perspective on the meeting.
Ms. York was quite friendly, or at the least cordial in presneting me with the results of my observation. She began by commenting on the fact that I am a first year teacher and that building up systems that work takes time. And then we were off...me in the middle reading a form about how I displayed no evidence of record keeping tasks, my students’ lack of cooperative learning, and my poor classroom management. It cut close to home.
The truth is, based on that lesson, the comments were valid. Very valid. Perhaps that is why they stung so. I recognize my own inexperience and more than occasional incompetence. Adding injury however was the fact that as the discussion proceeded, both Ms. York and Ms. Roebuck began to spout suggestions for how to improve. They touched on everything from group learning to stricter classroom procedures. They had answers for everything...or seemed to.
Q: How do I deal with students talking in class?
A: Just stop talking and don’t teach until they get quiet. Give them your “teacher look.”
Q: How do you suggest dealing with the longer periods derived from block scheduling?
A: Here’s a worksheet. Are you trying grouping the students or doing lab activities in class?
Q: How do I deal with classroom management?
A: Consistency.
I tried to let the suggestions wash over me, but ultimately the effect was similar to offering a drowning man a glass of water. Right now, I’m working to just survive and get my footing in this position. Having everyone in creation toss their suggestions at me, whether administrators, fellow teachers, or graduate school courses (as mentioned earlier, worthy of a post in their own right), only makes the job more challenging.
This is especially so when there are contradictions...and I’ll close with these thoughts on the three questions above.
Q: How do I deal with students talking in class?
A: Just stop talking and don’t teach until they get quiet. Give them your “teacher look.”
Thought: Fine in theory, but if they do not care actively about learning then my silence will do little to discourage the chit-chat. What I struggle to find is a consequence that works...and no one has found that yet. The best is a suggestion to use trips as rewards, but that takes more planning than I currently have time for right now.
Q: How do you suggest dealing with the longer periods derived from block scheduling?
A: Here’s a worksheet. Are you trying grouping the students or doing lab activities in class?
Thought: Oh good...a worksheet. I’ve seen most of the ideas on it before, but again, without active interest in the class, the ideas for activities quickly lose their efficacy. And groups might cut down on students walking around during class if they did not have this tendency to switch seats with impunity because I have no real consequence they either fear or desire. Let’s be clear, I switched to groups recently...and it has been a mixed blessing. I think that next semester may work better.
Q: How do I deal with classroom management?
A: Consistency.
Thought: And of course the best way to ensure consistency is to change all of my policies and procedures halfway through the semester following an observation...
Sorry for this post’s length, gentle readers as well as the delay in posting it. More interesting (and shorter) posts to come in the near future!
Sunday, November 09, 2003
An Apology of Sorts
For those people who have actually been checking this blog over the past week, my sincere apologies. Sometimes real life has a tendency to get in the way of my recording it. I promise I will try to slam out a more detailed entry sometime during the course of the week. Until then, consider these vignettes.
1. My vice-principal, a very nice lady and all around competent administrator, is in the process of disappearing this weekend. She got transferred to another school but for some reason the rest of the school faculty has no idea it is happening and likely will not discover the truth until Monday. I only found out because I was there at the school to help her move out of her office.
2. One girl in my class threw a fully loaded backpack at another student. I pulled her aside and told her that normally that would be a suspension worthy offense but that because of her generally good behavior I would cut it down to a detention. A detention she then skipped, denied, and then protested never had existed. Of course she could not win this fight...I had called her house the day I assigned the detention and left a message (possibly with her) to remind her of the fact. But she fought it just the same.
3. After disciplining a disruptive student a week ago for yelling across the room, provoking other students, and spelling out profanity (as though that would make it more acceptable), I was informed by that student that I was a racist. I chose not to acknowledge the point, but it got harder to ignore the student as he started loudly quoting Martin Luther King.
4. Got results back from my first official observation from my administration. Hopefully this will be the subject of my next post because there are a lot of questions and thoughts I have had on the subject.
In other news:
-The Matrix Revolutions was good as was the Simpson's Halloween Special. (Jerry Lewis...an inspired casting choice!)
-Teacher training courses, in contrast, remain sadly disappointing as well as a worthwhile blog subject in their own right.
-Harry Turtledove continues to write all too addictive alternate history novels.
-Kangaroo tastes better than elk...and I can tell you from personal experience.
As you can see, a lot can happen in a few weeks. So keep your eyes open for more details...same InvisibleBen-time, same-InvisibleBen-channel.
For those people who have actually been checking this blog over the past week, my sincere apologies. Sometimes real life has a tendency to get in the way of my recording it. I promise I will try to slam out a more detailed entry sometime during the course of the week. Until then, consider these vignettes.
1. My vice-principal, a very nice lady and all around competent administrator, is in the process of disappearing this weekend. She got transferred to another school but for some reason the rest of the school faculty has no idea it is happening and likely will not discover the truth until Monday. I only found out because I was there at the school to help her move out of her office.
2. One girl in my class threw a fully loaded backpack at another student. I pulled her aside and told her that normally that would be a suspension worthy offense but that because of her generally good behavior I would cut it down to a detention. A detention she then skipped, denied, and then protested never had existed. Of course she could not win this fight...I had called her house the day I assigned the detention and left a message (possibly with her) to remind her of the fact. But she fought it just the same.
3. After disciplining a disruptive student a week ago for yelling across the room, provoking other students, and spelling out profanity (as though that would make it more acceptable), I was informed by that student that I was a racist. I chose not to acknowledge the point, but it got harder to ignore the student as he started loudly quoting Martin Luther King.
4. Got results back from my first official observation from my administration. Hopefully this will be the subject of my next post because there are a lot of questions and thoughts I have had on the subject.
In other news:
-The Matrix Revolutions was good as was the Simpson's Halloween Special. (Jerry Lewis...an inspired casting choice!)
-Teacher training courses, in contrast, remain sadly disappointing as well as a worthwhile blog subject in their own right.
-Harry Turtledove continues to write all too addictive alternate history novels.
-Kangaroo tastes better than elk...and I can tell you from personal experience.
As you can see, a lot can happen in a few weeks. So keep your eyes open for more details...same InvisibleBen-time, same-InvisibleBen-channel.
