I thought this was a great read and can relate. Being firm and a disciplinarian is a bit contrary to my nature. I am very laid back and by no means a person that enjoys confrontation. I had a teacher friend say that he was asked in an interview if it was important to him if his kids liked him. He responded that he hoped that they would, but that his primary goal was to teach and not to be the "cool" teacher. I really took the same lesson from the "Reluctant Disciplinarian", it is most important that you establish yourself as a teacher before you become the "cool" teacher. I really enjoyed reading some of the "what not to do" sections including almost every method we are using right now to discipline (warnings, name on board, detention). Rubinstein offers other approaches to what he calls being a real teacher and a few of them I would like to try. He echoes the advice of many of the other books I've read including "Rookie Teaching for Dummies" which was really great. He states that it is important to dress and act the part. To wear professional clothes and be decisive and confident in giving responses. "Rookie Teaching for Dummies" recommends that men wear ties at least through January. Rubinstein also advised for teachers to like their students. He said that it was important to appreciate them and enjoy them. When one of my students, Cody, says "herman" for "human" I nearly crack up every time. I agree that it makes the job a lot more enjoyable if you can laugh about the strange things they do and not try to be overly-consumed by the negative. All in all I found this text to be a quick and great read full of helpful advice and some approaches to ponder when it comes to being a reluctant disciplinarian. It also seems that students benefit greatly from procedure and a structured environment. This structure, which is something many do not have in their personal lives, provides a place where they can focus and concentrate on the work and hand and hopefully be able to retain some of the information.
Wow. I really like to pace back and forth. I am a mover. This is in contrast to my normal chilled persona. When I am in front of the room I am always moving. With a stagnant camera it appeared as though I were taking laps at Talladega. There is definitely room to slow down a bit. I believe one of my early criticisms was that I was a board writer and needed to move around the room more. Clearly I took that advice to heart as I had already prepared handouts and then began my laps. The thing I noticed second was that Jasmine was playing with her hair the whole class period. She was sporting some new braids and that girl did not take her hands off of them the whole period. It is also true that a great deal of covert lip-syncing goes on behind the teacher's back.
I was happy overall with the lesson though. The kids really did like to participate and it was good to see them on task. I got a few shout outs on the camera at the beginning of class and then the students neglected it the rest of the period. They also were very excited to receive their tests and it was good to see some reactions of students who did well.
For strengths, I would say that I was speaking with a very slow (strong southern accent) and clear tone. I did touch all four walls for sure and I felt my time management has greatly improved. I have gone from always being surprised by the bell to having closure and review before the bell rings which is good. I also give a ton of verbal praise. Lots of "good jobs" and "that's right". I guess I am a words of affirmation person.
As for things I could improve I would say that I definitely need to slow my body down a few gears. With a stationary camera I realize just how dizzying that could be. I also need to focus more on the people in the middle of the row as I seem to catch the perimeters the most. The most quite students in the class sit on the second and third rows.
It is a really interesting perspective to view yourself as the students do and this is a good technique to analyze the pace of the lesson and the body language you demonstrate. I think I need to stand up a little straighter and that would also help to project a better posture. All in all, it wasn't a painful experience but the sound of my own voice is always way different than I think I sound. The kids were pretty well behaved and focused so I was glad for that. I would like to see how things change as I get more comfortable in front of the classroom and as my "teacher" persona improves. I hope to maintain the positive statements as they really seem to respond to that.
(1) Model / Model / Model
I was initially afraid of coming off as condescending to my 7th and 8th graders, but now I have realized that every little thing I require them to do I need to break it down into little baby bites and then demonstrate it for them. In the beginning of the class, Sam had the kids to get up and walk out into the hall and practice coming into the classroom. At first, I thought it was a bit of an extreme measure, but now I am not only going to do that but I will take longer to establish routine and order in the classroom. This technique was a great one for me to learn. I have now seen that when you relax your procedures or rules that an avalanche (not a snowball) of disorder can occur. If you give them an inch.......they will surely take a mile. An orderly classroom is also more conducive to a successful learning environment. I will demonstrate any assignment or procedure that I am asking my kids to do. Thanks Sam.
(2) Take quick action...
My second years (Sgt. Scotty in particular) have a quick action approach to problems. Nip it immediately and do not allow it to bloom into a debate or confrontation. Names go up on the board as soon as students are seated if they are not at task or breaking the rules. I have seen exchanges that were not squashed immediately that have ballooned into disrespect and classroom disruption. A problem needs to be dealt with immediately. You can have fun and entertain but structure and consequences are crucial to allow for lighter moments. Scotty is great at disciplining the kids and not allowing disruption, but doing it will a good manner and poise. A spark not addressed can be an explosion later.
(3) Be simple.....Be Clear.......
Our students are not used to thinking outside the box or being creative. My natural instincts are to stretch concepts and want them to reach for things. This is the opposite of how it needs to work in our classroom. Directions have to be very basic and simple and then build on to the concepts brick by brick. Dan Fram did a great job of taking the concept down to the very basics and the kids latch on, and then he would carry them up the hill using baby steps towards a larger or more challenging concept. If they were tripping, than he would slow down and process the information in smaller and more easily digestible chunks. Keep it simple......and then build from the ground up.
In terms of questioning, I am largely using a cold call method instead of asking for volunteers. I also use that method to prompt responses from students who look like they may be zoning out. I tried using the technique of asking a softball question and then following up with more difficult questions while teaching a lesson on alliteration. I used this technique during the initial review part of the lesson with great success. I would ask a simple recall question involving a term and then ask them for examples or the reasoning behind the term or phrase. The students seemed to really take to this method. The initial question would jog their memory and then the other more difficult questions seemed to really stretch the concept and assess their comprehension of it.
It did not work as well when it came to the new material of the day. They would usually get the pulse questions and then had great difficulty when I would stretch the depth of the questioning. They really had trouble connecting things and thinking outside the box. They are much more successful with straightforward and literal questions. I have observed with some of the other lessons that they are not used to using their imagination in school or thinking. Welcome to "No Child Left Behind".... It feels like they are more adept to programmed responses than critical thinking or creative writing. The questioning technique was more useful for review of things that they had prior knowledge of, rather than applying it to the lesson of the day and the new subject matter. I heard a lot of crickets when I tried questions with greater depth.
I feel that I will probably use more of a cold call system in my classroom in the Fall. I may use the "name on stick" technique as the kids seemed to enjoy that one. I am also really concerned with how to approach getting them to think more critically. I have made worksheets with responses to questions they might have fun with and still apply some knowledge, but they end up focusing on the wrong things. It is a goal of mine to find a questioning technique that spurs thought beyond the literal and face value. A lot of emphasis was placed on critically thinking and stretching your writing when I was their age, and I hope that I can give them some of the tools they need to be successful thinkers and writers.
I was curious about what Delta autumn was
all about after reading some of the second year's blogs where they had
mentioned the book. Most said that they had wished they would have read
the text earlier and it would have saved them some grief. So I was
determined to begin reading it right away and I am glad that I did. I
felt that for me the two most important sections were the history of
Delta education and the second chapter on getting ready for the first
week of school. It is very interesting and saddening to realize that
the problems that the Delta is facing in terms of education stems from
years of injustice, but also fairly recent developments such as the
"white flight" due to forced busing. I found it to be particularly
interesting when Dr. Mullins pointed out that the districts without a
major private school or "segregation academy", where the white kids
stayed in the districts, have some of the best schools today, such as
Lee county, The schools that stayed integrated and the communities
(both black and white) that stayed invested in public education have
produced some of the strongest districts and best performing schools.
Many places such as Holly Springs, where I am teaching, created private
schools like Marshall Academy and the white population didn't have a
vested interest in the survival of the school district. Thus Holly
Springs has been a under-funded perpetual level two district that will
probably be taken over by the state. Delta Autumn does a good job of summarizing the events that have led to the state of public education in the Delta.
" Now I have reached the age
After leaving Atlanta and crossing the northwest corner of Alabama filled with bingo halls and the "Booby Trap", I came to a sign that read "Welcome to Mississippi.....It's Like Coming Home". It has been five years since my time in Oxford and it feels like I have never left. There are the same folks working at AJax who welcomed me at my usual stool and the same beautiful sites and feelings that just seem to have it right in this town. All the young frat boys with strapped sunglasses riding in their pickups adorned with Browning "Buck" stickers hoping of one day becoming Trent Lott and the girls doing their power-walks around the square causing a few swerves and providing more than a few clients for the local chiropractor experiencing neck strain. This is the place that I have spoken about with such a nostalgic tone and I am glad to be back home.
I am finding it difficult to adjust to central and Mississippi time. I keep wanting to rush from place to place and I have to realize that I am still recovering from Atlanta. There is more time in the day here, partly due to the fact that one can travel from point A to point B anywhere in Oxford in about five minutes, and also due to the lack of hurry and sponge-like way the townies and tourists in Oxford seem to soak up the day. I also have the sneaking suspicion that this is a calm before the storm.
Anxiety is a small word for what I feel that I am getting into. Oxford is the exception to the Mississippi experience. The vestiges of slavery and Jim Crow have lingered on and are extremely present in the towns in which we will be teaching. I am curious how I will be received in my school. I have not met a second year who taught in my school district last year and will be returning to it this year. That is a fairly visible flare telling me that something may be extremely challenging about the environment I am getting ready to teach in. I am trying to heed advice and study up on teaching techniques, but I know that no amount of reading and preparation is adequate for the experience I am about to receive. This is something we just have to dive in head first and hope that we are able to swim or at least tread water sufficient enough not to drown.
The teacher corps strikes me as taking a very honest approach to the task that we are embarking on. No video or blog is whitewashed and the key word that comes to mind when reviewing the work of those who have gone before is "challenge". I have always believed in hands-on training. You can read about swinging a golf club and the science of it and the mechanics, but until the club is in your hand and you are eyeballing a target you are not experiencing golf. The same is true for teaching. I have read some good books and blogs and spoken with teacher friends,but I know that until I am in that classroom I have no clue about what teaching really is. I am glad that I am in Holly Springs. I know this will be probably the most challenging thing I have attempted to date. My goals in the beginning are to finish this program, connect with my students, take a magnifying glass to our educational system, teach and learn as much as I can, and try and enjoy this great experience and these great people that comprise the Mississippi Teacher Corps.
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