A Letter to Me

Dear Self, (That’s you Chris! I know you were about to say, “Who the hell is Self?”)

                You’re about to start your first observations as a student teacher. I know you’re a little nervous, but don’t worry the kids are going to love having you there. Do not doubt me. Just do what you plan on doing and be yourself. They will love hearing all of hose personal stories about your childhood and Air Force career. I know you knew this, but I am telling you that it worked and if you have any doubts just remember that I was already there and it will all work out. You will continually work to stay ahead of the game, that is good thinking and it will serve you well. I know you feel like it’s never ending, but don’t loosen up. Stay a little stressed out because you have a tendency to procrastinate.

                Although you do work hard, it is this procrastination that leads to some unwanted stress. You will think you have plenty of time to figure out what you will teach when you start those observations, but you don’t. One of the first things you should start planning for is the lessons or unit that you will teach. Start the conversation early so that your cooperating teacher can figure out what is best for you and the student’s. Now in your final semester as a student teacher you are going to get really pumped about teaching Reservation Blue’s. DON’T! Just tell her that you want to teach To Kill a Mockingbird. This will save you a lot of heartache. If you choose this ahead of time you will have much more time to prepare. You might even bring this up during your pre-student teaching since you will be with the same cooperating teacher.

                While all of this information may come in handy, you should remember that you still have classes to take. The program is awesome and you are going to love most of them. A new class is going to be added to the curriculum after you are done, but you should take it in the summer. It is Young Adult Literature and it will be taught by your university supervisor. It is not only a great class, but it will be a good way to get to know your university supervisor. I know you didn’t like some of your other professors, but she is awesome.

                Finally, you are going to wish you could change some things about the program. Here are a couple of things you can bring up. First, start by having an electronic bonfire with all of the KEEP forms. I know it sounds crazy, but the KEEP is just a huge waste of time. Second, it should be mandatory to plan the unit you teach toward the end of your pre-student teaching unless things don’t work out with your CT. If you can bring these things up it would be great. Just keep all of this in mind and you will do great. You already have, but you can always hope for better.

No Trouble with Troubled Students

Last week I ran into a little trouble with posting on my blog. To be more specific, I could not log in and can’t seem to figure out why my password will not work on my blog or my g-mail account. It has been worked out though and I am glad I can share again.

As this semester comes to a close I am sure we are all thinking the same thing, “Am I going to find a job?” It’s never easy thinking about it, but it’s what we have worked so hard for. By the time some of you read this we will all know the results of our KPTP. I am certain that we will all come through with passing scores and this will really settle things. Now if we can only find that job. I know that a couple have been hired already, but it has me thinking about the type of students we are willing to teach.

When I first started this journey I told myself I would only teach high school. I may still have that opportunity, although I feel I should consider middle school as well. I also find that I am not sure what my preference is for students. What I mean to say is, I enjoy teaching those honor students but I also enjoy helping the regular English students. My heart reaches out to those students that have a little harder time in the classroom.

As I thought about this, I began to reflect back on my time working as a tutor at the alternative high school. Many of those students were so proud of what they could accomplish. Some of them had never passed the states reading assessment. When they finally did, their smiles made me a better person. I realized I had made a difference with them. It is not always going to be that great because some are harder to reach and some will flat out refuse your help. I have had a few of those this year, but some of them came around as they got closer to graduation. This whole experience has led me to search for ideas on how to deal with difficult students. I actually started back when I was working as a co-op. While I had found many articles\ to read and discovered books on the subject, I realize that the advice given means nothing without a willing student.

I know that we all wish for the best students, but we all know this is wishful thinking. We will take the students given to us and do our best to teach them. We will also fail at this. What I ask is that we never give up. I know that it’s hard to imagine ourselves giving up, but it can happen to the best of us. Have faith in them for as long as you have them and only let go when they are no longer within physical reach. While the may move on to other teachers, you may still be the one person who can make a difference.

Below is an article I read that is about teacher Deb Graudins. The web site also has a lot more to offer if you have not already discovered it.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev022.shtml

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