My first week of volunteering in the tutorial program went very well! Most of the students involved in the program I have worked with before, so it was wonderful getting the chance to work with them again.
Essentially, our Tier II students are invited to stay after school for one hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students are split into different groups and by grade level. Some students work in small groups with a teacher and others are working in the computer lab on the SuccessMaker Lab. From my understanding, the lower level students tend to work in the lab in order to get extra skill practice in the basics. SLD students are put into a group with one teacher and receive small group instruction.
My first day was last Tuesday, and I was able to work in the lab. I actually enjoy doing the lab work as I did this often last year. I think it's a good time for the students because they are able to work at their own individual pace and can work on different subjects at different times. I was helping another teacher facilitate the lab, so my job was to make sure that students were on-task and providing help for any concepts they were struggling with. After school tutorial lab is a lot more laid back than when I take my students. There are chances to socialize and take brain breaks when needed.
I really admire the teacher that I was volunteering with, as well. Typically, she works in the media center during the day. Throughout the year, we have gotten to know each other and she has been really supportive during my job change. I like the way that she interacts with the kid and see a lot of similarities between us. She is able to joke around and play with them, but when they try testing her she will set them straight.
Volunteering in the lab also made me realize that I really miss my old job. I miss having the opportunity to work individually and build these kids up. This experience helped me realize that, while being a classroom teacher is a blessing in my life right now, it's not the career path that I can always see myself taking.
Thursday I was required to sub for a teacher who would be out in the afternoon. I worked with the SLD group of 4th graders. This was definitely a difficult experience. Even though I only had seven students in my group-- and I have worked with all of them previously-- it was still a challenge getting them to all focus, stay on task, and keep up with the material. It was so different from my lab experience because I needed to stay in "teacher mode" the whole hour instead of lapsing into more social activities.
I believe the rest of my hours will be up in the air. I will probably have to substitute for any teachers who are out, but I am hoping that I get some more lab time.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Volunteering
I look forward to beginning my volunteer experience this upcoming week by working with students in the tutorial program at my school. These students are invited to attend after school tutorial programs on Tuesdays and Thursdays for help in reading and math. This is such an awesome program for our students, and often the kids love it! I think it is so awesome that they are offered individualized help in small group settings.
I've also been thinking about putting a plan into action for community empowerment for areas in my district. This is something I feel like I've been called to do for awhile now. I've always been so amazed at how kids of all socioeconomic statuses just LOVE to give to other people, even if they don't have a lot to offer. Although this would be a huge undertaking (and not something I'm sure I could do while teaching) it seems to be playing in my mind more and more frequently as where I need to be in life. So please send some positive thoughts/prayers my way as I wrestle with this issue!
I've also been thinking about putting a plan into action for community empowerment for areas in my district. This is something I feel like I've been called to do for awhile now. I've always been so amazed at how kids of all socioeconomic statuses just LOVE to give to other people, even if they don't have a lot to offer. Although this would be a huge undertaking (and not something I'm sure I could do while teaching) it seems to be playing in my mind more and more frequently as where I need to be in life. So please send some positive thoughts/prayers my way as I wrestle with this issue!
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Inspiration for CAP
I've been up and down regarding what I would like to complete my CAP on, and finally realized what I would like to do with my time. I would like to study (at an elementary level) what influence extracurricular activities have on kids in urban settings. Part of my reasoning for this is that many of the Title I schools I am familiar with only have academic "clubs" (read: tutoring). There is very little motivation for students to go to these activities because in reality, it's just more work.
What are the benefits of having cultural and recreational opportunities provided in schools for students? First off, I feel like having lots of opportunities would really inspire lifelong hobbies for students. Recently, I had a student transfer to my class from the school I used to work at. The mother could not stop going on and on about how many opportunities there are at our school now and how her daughter wants to sign up for EVERYTHING. Her child is excited to go to school again! For our dance club, some of our students who have the means to do so now also attend out of school dance classes. Our orchestra club has students performing inside and outside of school. Odyssey of the Mind stems out into several areas and has encouraged kids in my school to start acting classes. While the clubs within our school may not be the do-all-end-all for that child's opportunities, they serve as a spark for interest in all sorts of areas.
Secondly, this is something that holds students accountable. I feel that all too often, a lot of our students are coddled and aren't challenged enough with conflict resolution. Although introducing activities like this shouldn't be motivated by how we can take it away if the students misbehave, I feel as though students will simply STOP misbehaving because they now have a new outlet.
These clubs work because there are teachers who donate time, materials, and love into these projects. It's not mandated by the principal that they host these clubs, it's simply something that the teacher enjoys and would like to introduce their students to. With this type of motivation, I really believe this is an easily availabe resource to use.
What are the benefits of having cultural and recreational opportunities provided in schools for students? First off, I feel like having lots of opportunities would really inspire lifelong hobbies for students. Recently, I had a student transfer to my class from the school I used to work at. The mother could not stop going on and on about how many opportunities there are at our school now and how her daughter wants to sign up for EVERYTHING. Her child is excited to go to school again! For our dance club, some of our students who have the means to do so now also attend out of school dance classes. Our orchestra club has students performing inside and outside of school. Odyssey of the Mind stems out into several areas and has encouraged kids in my school to start acting classes. While the clubs within our school may not be the do-all-end-all for that child's opportunities, they serve as a spark for interest in all sorts of areas.
Secondly, this is something that holds students accountable. I feel that all too often, a lot of our students are coddled and aren't challenged enough with conflict resolution. Although introducing activities like this shouldn't be motivated by how we can take it away if the students misbehave, I feel as though students will simply STOP misbehaving because they now have a new outlet.
These clubs work because there are teachers who donate time, materials, and love into these projects. It's not mandated by the principal that they host these clubs, it's simply something that the teacher enjoys and would like to introduce their students to. With this type of motivation, I really believe this is an easily availabe resource to use.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
A continuation of last week's thoughts....
This past week has really put an emphasis on some of the points I mentioned in my blog last week.
On Wednesday, we held a brief staff meeting where we watched some startling videos on childhood poverty and the effects it has on students. I will have to get the link from my principal and post it here. The biggest point was the gap in opportunities for the students' first five years of life and how we can work to bridge that gap. Unfortunately, without government funding, we as teachers can only do so much when we have them during the school year.
Again, the biggest help an administrator can give is bringing in these cultural opportunities! Students need to be exposed to different hobbies, arts, music, and successful people of all colors. In our school, we are very grateful for our principal and his understanding in what our kids need. Many of the schools in Seminole County require that the fourth graders wait until after FCAT Writes in order to take their Saint Augustine trip. We are very blessed that we get to go befor FCAT Writes because for some of our students, this is the only time they've left the city of Sanford. This experience may be their first time traveling on a charter bus, being out of the city, seeing the ocean, or being in a mueseum. The students are able to draw from their experiences and use it in their writing.
I look back at my experience so far as a first-year teacher and remain thankful for where I am. I spoke to a friend from undergrad who is in her second year at a Title I school where there are 22 new teachers! I found the turnover rate to be ridiculous! We were sharing some of our stories from teaching, and her biggest struggle is the little hoops her school sets up for her to jump through. She has to have her 3 critical thinking questions posted everyday, different objectives posted every day, and all of these little things posted in her classroom that would eat up a large portion of her day. My friend is extremely bold and (much like those mentioned in the STAR article) refuses to do some of these things because she would rather spend her time with her students and planning. She said something very interesting that I think hit the nail on the head. As she was talking about what was expected for her learning goals and what needed to be posted, she said, "I spend my time afterschool conferencing with parents, planning, and doing things that my students are actually going to use. There's a limited amount of time that I'm willing to stay afterschool, and I'm going to use that time for what my students need."
So much of a teacher's time is taken up doing things that the student's don't even look at. My administration requires that learning goals be written in kid-friendly language, and they can stay the same for a whole unit. Therefore, I spend minimal time writing them on the board. I get to spend more time looking over student work and planning. I don't think my friend is a "bad teacher" for refusing to stay until 6 pm in order to write out learning goals, but unfortunately, that tends to be the consensus. I actually admire that she sets time boundaries and prioritizes what is worth spending that budgeted time on. Unfortunately, those who are in charge categorize this as "being an unfit teacher," and habits like this may be flagged as insubordinate.
On Wednesday, we held a brief staff meeting where we watched some startling videos on childhood poverty and the effects it has on students. I will have to get the link from my principal and post it here. The biggest point was the gap in opportunities for the students' first five years of life and how we can work to bridge that gap. Unfortunately, without government funding, we as teachers can only do so much when we have them during the school year.
Again, the biggest help an administrator can give is bringing in these cultural opportunities! Students need to be exposed to different hobbies, arts, music, and successful people of all colors. In our school, we are very grateful for our principal and his understanding in what our kids need. Many of the schools in Seminole County require that the fourth graders wait until after FCAT Writes in order to take their Saint Augustine trip. We are very blessed that we get to go befor FCAT Writes because for some of our students, this is the only time they've left the city of Sanford. This experience may be their first time traveling on a charter bus, being out of the city, seeing the ocean, or being in a mueseum. The students are able to draw from their experiences and use it in their writing.
I look back at my experience so far as a first-year teacher and remain thankful for where I am. I spoke to a friend from undergrad who is in her second year at a Title I school where there are 22 new teachers! I found the turnover rate to be ridiculous! We were sharing some of our stories from teaching, and her biggest struggle is the little hoops her school sets up for her to jump through. She has to have her 3 critical thinking questions posted everyday, different objectives posted every day, and all of these little things posted in her classroom that would eat up a large portion of her day. My friend is extremely bold and (much like those mentioned in the STAR article) refuses to do some of these things because she would rather spend her time with her students and planning. She said something very interesting that I think hit the nail on the head. As she was talking about what was expected for her learning goals and what needed to be posted, she said, "I spend my time afterschool conferencing with parents, planning, and doing things that my students are actually going to use. There's a limited amount of time that I'm willing to stay afterschool, and I'm going to use that time for what my students need."
So much of a teacher's time is taken up doing things that the student's don't even look at. My administration requires that learning goals be written in kid-friendly language, and they can stay the same for a whole unit. Therefore, I spend minimal time writing them on the board. I get to spend more time looking over student work and planning. I don't think my friend is a "bad teacher" for refusing to stay until 6 pm in order to write out learning goals, but unfortunately, that tends to be the consensus. I actually admire that she sets time boundaries and prioritizes what is worth spending that budgeted time on. Unfortunately, those who are in charge categorize this as "being an unfit teacher," and habits like this may be flagged as insubordinate.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)