This week I had two students receive in-school lunch detentions in my class. One student seemed to have a bad case of the "Monday's" and not only would not participate but exclaimed his hatred for the class etc. Another student not only did not participate and call me a "worthless pretend teacher" but also walked out of the classroom! I was feeling a bit discouraged but tried to not take it to heart. On Thursday, the first student ended up telling me that I was a wonderful teacher and he was beaming all class, and on Friday, I was able to connect with the second student in the lunchroom to check-in and say hi. It seems to me that they both have quick rebound rates because on Monday and Tuesday I was the WORST! Yet, later in the week, I am a WONDERFUL teacher. This was a good lesson for me to learn. I will not always be my student's favorite person. Sometimes I will push them out of their comfort zones and they won't like it! But that doesn't mean I am a terrible teacher. Maybe it's just not their day. Maybe it's just not mine! I will always continue to grow and I am thankful for my students and the learning opportunities they provide me with.
On Wednesday, the student's had a half-day in which they either went to the Sportsplex to play basketball or they stayed on campus to Zumba! I stayed and did Zumba with a bunch of students and staff. It was such a fun time! The students didn't want it to stop. They actually requested songs after the instructor had finished and she gave them an encore. It was a blast! After the students left, the teachers had meetings. I was in a meeting of the certified staff for pod 4. The meeting was filled with opportunities to collaborate about staff meetings, case reviews, and the student handbook. I volunteered as the note-taker during the meeting. Standard 8B says that the competent teacher, “understands the collaborative process and the skills necessary to initiate and carry out that process”. I definitely put this standard to use during this SIP day.
Schmidt Chapter 7
Chapter 7 talks about community in the classroom. The idea of community-based learning is something I enjoy and I plan on using some of Schmidt’s ideas in my classroom. Allowing the students to have more choice in their learning leads to them having more ownership of what they have learned. It gives them more responsibility and let's them participate in more self-discovery. When my students are in the "real-world" a lot of the problem solving activities they will encounter will involve active, community-based learning experiences so it is good to expose them to this often and early on.
I have been planning a community-based field trip. This field trip is to the Chicago Pedway. When we are there we will be completing a Scavenger Hunt. This way I am guiding the students towards what I want them to learn about and notice in the Pedway, but it is still up to them to discover it on their own and to use their problem solving and team work skills. They will have to navigate a map, document their progress, and stick together as a team. My vocational classroom is very project/community based. We do many field trips and many projects with our business Savory & Sweet. I am excited for the next two weeks and all the fun trips and activities we have planned. I love getting the students out in the community as much as possible.
It's sounds like you have had a lesson in not taking students' hurtful comments to heart too seriously. This is something that new teachers often have a hard time with, as negative comments can be really hurtful. We just have to remember that students sometimes say things without thinking, and they let emotion take over. Veteran teachers have come to realize that they need to let these comments just glace off their Teflon skin and find out what's really bothering that student. It can be easy to be discouraged, but you just can't let that happen.
ReplyDeleteThe Pedway sounds like a lot of fun.