Elementary Internship: Day 4

 (32 hours down, 88 left)

I needed today. It was a good day at the end of what might be the worst week I've ever had. Behavior was such a struggle this week, but today it just sort-of eased up.  My kindergarten class that got a 1 a few days ago, got a 4 today. And they earned it. And the light on their faces when they found out they'd gotten a 4 was so exciting. Their teacher had a smile all day. It was a long time in coming.  Of course a few kids were absent, which changed the atmosphere. 

Anyway. 

The day started out with a pre-conference with the area superintendent who is being trained in a new style of observing classrooms. We're a pilot school for the program, which was developed by the Cambridge Education Consultants. I didn't know I was part of this run until the last minute, so I wasn't at all prepared (I was supposed to have filled out a 3-page description of my lesson) and rather intimidated that it was the area superintendent who just so happened to be the one meeting/observing me. It went okay though, good thing I already knew what I'm doing with my class on Monday (when the observation is) and it was easy to explain what I was doing (plus I filled out the 3-page form during my prep later in the day). I really don't mind being observed. I am used to being in a fish bowl in the media center. My lab is pretty exposed, and my voice carries so anyone in the media center hears what I'm teaching. Plus, I like getting feedback.

I had to miss the first 10 minutes of my first hour (2nd grade) for the pre-conference and they were mad because they had just gotten settled into some choice time with the sub when I came back. Kind of hard to get them back into focus, but we got things done. I'm kind of excited about the research project we're doing using Encyclopedia Brittanica Online and Comic Life.  I'll try to post pictures of my mock-up later; we'll be posting our final projects on Voicethread, but I'm having some issues getting it posted. 

Actually it went so well I did a similar thing with my first graders. We read a meerkat story, then did some research together and completed a class project. It was small and only took about 20 minutes, but I think will lay a good foundation that research doesn't have to be a stuffy boring essay. I have never been good at writing formally myself, and I am not prepared to teach it to young kids. So we present our research in more visual ways. 

3rd & 4th grade went well, too. I had to cut short our Olympic theme, with the realization that we don't have school next Friday (District Staff Development) so I won't see these classes for another 2 weeks and I don't want to drag on any particular theme for that long (and the Olympics will be over then). 

And the sun was shining. There is just something really nice about going out to bus duty and have the sun shine on my face at the end of the day.  I am one of the last staff members that kids see, as I'm right in front calling the busses.  

Although it wasn't a true friday. I have to go to a required (for tenure) classroom management class all day tomorrow. I hate hate hate giving up my Saturday. Especially when it will cost me $225 (yep, I have to pay for a required class). Oh well, this week gave me a lot of fodder for discussion tomorrow. 

Elementary Internship: Day 3

 (24 hours down, 96 to go)

Last week I mentioned to a fourth grade class something about the Olympics. Lo and behold, they had no idea what I was talking about. Once I got over the shock of 10 year olds not knowing what Olympics were, I realized I had to do something.

Teachable moment, here I come.

So my third and fourth graders have been spending this week watching the Opening Ceremony and working on an Olympic Cyber Hunt, all resources I found by simply searching for Olympic Lesson Plans on Google. I had planned on doing a research unit this spring, but realized that we could do research on something much more current, the Olympics. Two of my classes today spent their third lesson on the Olympics. And they were still engaged the whole time, and excited about what they were learning. It helps that I could show the Opening Ceremony with that dramatic snowboarding entry, they were hooked! Not only that, but we talked about the Haitian earthquake a few weeks ago, and then worked on Free Rice so rather unintentionally I've been developing a unit on global citizenship. Not all of them get it, but a few do. And that is really what being a 21st Century Learner is about; using the resources we have to better ourselves and the world around us. I'll be the first to say that these nice computers are not here to play Super Marble Blast.

This year I've finally discovered the easiest way to direct students to websites. It is so difficult to get kids to type in the correct URL, and they don't remember them if they want to go to the same place at home. So, since I have the privilege of being the webmaster for my school, I created a special section entitled the All-Star Student Section, where I link all relevant websites, with one main seasonal page, and also divided into grade level sections for more grade-specific sites. It works especially well when I want students to go to several websites in a lesson, and focus on the content rather than the task of typing in the URL.

The rest of my classes went okay today, too. I spent quite a bit of time tracking down some pictures of our violin concert Tuesday night, but they were fuzzy (the gym does NOT have good lighting) so I had to get the String Teacher to come in to my class with some violins to take some impromptu shots of students who had signed their media release. They turned out okay, but I am no photographer.

*Taking a break from The Book Thief, and am instead watching Stargate Universe with my dear husband. I do love a good Sci-Fi show.

Elementary Internship: Day 2

 (16 hours down, 104 to go)

"Life is hard, but you still have to play by the rules. When you play by the rules, you have more fun. Look at all your friends having fun, drawing on the computer, because they followed the rules." -Ms. McEathron to an off-task kindergarten student, who finally said he was sad because a little girl said she didn't like him. He then sat down, and did his work for the rest of class with a smile on his face.

This was a hard day. Hard. I'm feeling a little sad about it. Not, really that I could have done much to change the day. I think I maintained my cool, responded appropriately. But it was just a day that behavior got in the way of learning more than I would have liked. Classroom management can really get in the way of getting anything accomplished. Since I only see most of my classes once a week, it is difficult to establish my expectations. It is critical to be consistent.

One thing that I helped get going this school year within my specialist team was the Specialist All-STAR. We've had a great school-wide discipline plan framed around STAR. S represents Safety. T represents Task-Master. A represents Achiever. R represents Respectful and Responsible. Each class can earn 4 points during their specialist classes, one each for S.T.A.R. for a possible weekly total of 20 points. At the end of each month the classroom in each grade level with the most points gets a trophy, which floats from month to month to the winning classes. Elementary kids work for things like points and trophies.

The first time I saw my classes in September, we spent the hour constructing little books outlining what Safe, Task-Master, Achiever, and Respectful and Responsible looks like in the media center. At the end of every class, we decide whether they earned each point, and why. If a class drops down to a score of 1, then we re-do the first class exactly. I introduce myself again, we get a tour of the media center, we construct our book. I let students know during class how they're doing, if they've lost any points, and what they can do to earn points back (with the idea that if all the specialists are consistently doing something similar, it will be easier to manage behavior and keep expectations clear).

Problem is, today my kindergarten class got a 1. But we can't re-do the first day of class, we didn't make books.

So today, we spent time sitting quietly instead of doing a story. This was after we walked silently back to the media center door, lined up again, and walked silently back in (and repeat with four students who didn't manage it that time, either).

And when I see them again on Friday, we'll do the same thing.

I do have to say this. It really worked for some kids that typically have a hard time in that class. The score of 1 does not reflect how many of them were wonderful and sweet. And the fact that we actually did accomplish the day's lesson.

Hmm. Maybe a 2 would have been more appropriate.

The rest of the classes today were fair. One class had a sub so they came in wild, and one class had just come back after a field trip (whew!).

**Still reading The Book Thief.

Elementary Internship: Day 1

 (8 hours down, 112 to go)

I'm trying to come up with some sort of Taylor Swift reference to describe how whirlwind-fast my day was, but nothing fits. Definite lows, no time to sit down, having to leave things undone, and my mind calling out what I need to remember for tomorrow.

(Oh, and the teacher appreciation 15 minute massage definitely made my list of today's positives.)

I'm used to having my 2 hours of administration time on Mondays to get a lot accomplished, like updating the school's entryway powerpoint with this week's lunch menu and the math Word of the Week (division), tallying the points classrooms received in their various specialist classes last week (and adjusting the 16 fish on the bulletin board to reflect the changes). I had to skip a staff meeting that I think I was supposed to attend to get things done, instead.  I had to check in a Mount Olympus size pile of books left-over from Friday when the library EA was out sick, help a sub find books for his class, turn away a staff member looking for St. Patrick's day books in order to make it out to my hall duty, and then run out to cover bus duty for a friend. All within an hour of setting foot into school (1 hour down, 117 to go). 

Then there is (as in right this minute) a 1st grade strings concert which I had to make sure had the big screen set up, the projector set up, the principal's powerpoint ready to go, and a digital camera in the hand of the principal as neither our tech nor I could make it. I almost went back after dinner, just to make sure it was all going fine, and maybe I should have, but there is a crazy knot behind my left shoulder blade asking for a heating pad, not a longer work day. 

It is days like today, as busy as they are, that remind me: 

1) If I fail to prepare, I'm preparing to fail (because, really, I could've done several of those things last Friday, but I didn't) 

2) I have to work on setting boundaries. And speaking up for myself. And making it clear to staff that my priority is teaching classes (as you may have noticed, I mentioned not one word about the 5 classes I taught today). Note to self: future staff-development: training in on Destiny Online Catalog, and Atomic Learning technology tutorials

**Currently reading: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and I am Lavinia Cumming by Susan Lowell, both available for reading while taking a hot bath (which I stridently tell my students not to do -reading in the bathtub that is. I am such a hypocrite. I also dog-ear my books).

today's tech thought*

Part of my job (I think) is being aware of new technology, deciding if its worthwhile, and passing on that information. Within the last 10 minutes I have made two technology discoveries.

While attempting to read Book Thief on my Sony Reader while at the same time eating peanuts (after de-shelling them) during the commercials of a Project Runway rerun I observed that:

1) A designer on Project Runway was using a digital sketchpad, which just seems much more efficient than pencil/paper (think: designer can save, zoom, upload, and modify designs much more easily)

2) Digital readers allow for hands-free reading. If you are not a bookworm like me, you might wonder at the need for hands-free reading, and exhibit A would be the countless books on my bookshelf that have bright orange Cheeto fingerprints on the pages. Snacking and good books go hand in hands-free hand. 

*if modern marketing can destroy the English language by allowing companies to be named Krispy Kreme, Qwest, and anything Korner, then I stand by my right to abuse capitalization protocol in the title of this post.

15 Feb 2010

Elementary Internship Day 1 (sort-of):

Today is President's Day, so it is an unofficial beginning. However, as always happens when I check my school mail on the weekend, my mind is mindful of the upcoming week.  Most importantly, my principal e-mailed out the 2010-2011 school year budget allocations she had received via e-mail from the district.  I was very surprised to see the projected enrollment is up from this year, with our bumper crop of kindergarteners* this year moving up to first grade, making room for yet another bumper crop of kindergarteners*. 

I was the proud recipient of the duty of "Prep Schedule Creator" at the beginning of the year, totally by default (and let me tell you, that in itself could be the inspiration of many darkly-colored PG-13 blog posts) so immediately after my being pleasantly surprised about the up in allocations is the realization that we may need more specialist allocation (as it is, we're almost all 0.8 FTE), and I know that within a few days I'll be asked to start rough-drafting what the schedule will look like for next year. Yeesh, I wonder if I can push that off until April.

*Confused as to the proper spelling of multiple kindergarten students, as seen in the above blog. Spell check suggested either kindergartners or kindergardeners. I may have to resort to "kindergarten students" but that is just so long.

Home Stretch

I'm about a month in to my final quarter for completing my library media certification, as well as nearing the end of my 3rd year as a probationary teacher in Minneapolis (which means if all goes well I'll have tenure after this year. . . actually when I receive my contract for the 10-11 school year). A big part of that is journalling and reflecting on my experience, which will explain the sudden jump in blog posts starting now. My elementary internship will take place at my own school, under myself (which might seem weird but I do have a lot to learn from myself). I tend to have a running dialogue in my brain throughout the day, which, yes, often becomes outside of my brain in the form of talking to myself. So I am not much daunted by the idea of reflecting. I am more daunted about finding 3 solid weeks (120 hours) in which to complete my self-internship. If I were smart I'd wait until April, but it would be nice to be done sooner rather than later, as I'm already a bit shocked that March is only 2 weeks away. 

So, in other words, I'm officially starting my elementary internship with this post. I should have started last week, there was a lot going on. But it was sort of a practice week, in a way, I upped that mental dialogue and discovered a lingering cynical aftertaste that bothers me.