Reflection 12/7

I feel that this quarter I got a bit better at blogging before it was random topics. As the quarter went on I started to post about my classroom I was in. I started about posting about my different experiences that happened to me. I feel this made more people want read my blog, so they could see how teacher were running their classroom. I feel that I am still struggling with what to post, I a never sure what people want to read, or if they want to read my posts.

I  have really enjoyed twitting, it is interesting to see what all of my cohort members are posting about. I have started to linking my Pinterest education board. There are so many great ideas out there about how to make learning diverse and fun. I am really starting to like the twitter movement. It is kind of exciting when someone you don't know starts following you.

Stressed...... 11/30

So I am sure where to start this blog post today……

I really need a vent post, I am finding it hard with going to school during the week and then working on my off days. I am finding it really hard to find time just for me, to do things that I find fun, that do not have do with (school, house work, ect). Having this past week off  (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday),  I told myself that I would give myself a day off, but I found myself coming home after spending time with family and friends coming to do homework. So I know that as we I get closer to the end of the program it is only going to get more crazy busy, I am going to need to find time for myself.

I am wondering how to do it… What are other people doing…? Also how are people who have kids finding time to have fun?, Work has just gotten more crazy with the holidays coming up, and only going to get more stressful, and I am going to need to de-stress. I am going to try and give myself one day off next quarter where I get to do what I want…

I do find myself always looking forward to the days when I can spend time with the kids……

Strategies for the Classroom 11/23

The norms that I would like to start using in my classroom are?

• Remember that it's ok to make mistakes and revise our thinking
• Keep trying even when problems are challenging
• Share our mathematical ideas with our classmates
• Listen to understand someone else's ideas, give each other time to think

   ***I thought that it will be important to have all the norms in my classroom because all of them are important. I feel that all of these will be a great way to foster classroom community. I feel that it is also going to be important to share and community with the other teachers at my school and see if this is something that we can do at all grade levels. 

Which talk moves do I want to start using in my classroom?

• Re-voicing
• Adding on
• Wait time
• Turn-&-Talk
• Revise
• Repeating
• Have student retell what their classmates said

    ***Here again i feel that it is important o use all the talk moves, they are all going to benefit the students in different ways. These are not great because they can both guide the teacher and student talk. 

How many student teachers does it take.... 11/16

The really fun part of the day was after lunch I meet up with Jeannette, Eric, Mel, Regan, and Alicia. Eric and Jeanntte had just been told that they had to sub in library, but they had never been to library, and all the sub notes said was Read “Lion vs. Rabbit” and fill out booklet. So having no sub notes and the book that we had to read was nowhere to be found. We all got together and made a plan. I had been to library once, so that is how we planned the 30 minutes. So we all chipped in to help out. The first class happened to be the one Regan & Alicia were student teaching in, so they lead that class. The plan that we came up with was, one person would read the story to the students (Mel), then they would check out books, and then we would fill out their books. It was what happened first, middle, and end of the story (me).

I feel that overall both lessons went really well. They were put together moments before the students walked in the door. The part that I did not like was that the sub-notes were one sentence. The book was not where it said it was, and there was no one who really knew what was going on… But the six of us were able to work together and make a plan. We got both classes in and out, (for the most part on time), and the kids were really good at helping us. We did let them know that we were student teachers, and were are learning to be teachers, so if we do it differently it is cause we are still learning. 

I one things that I learned about today was that when I make sub notes I am going to make sure that they are very detailed. I would make copies of what the students are going to use, and copies of the teacher pages so the sub has something to follow. Overall it was a really fun interesting experience. 

Playing around in Scratch... 11/9

Well to start off I did enjoy making this project, even though I think it took me about 3 hours to get it done. I found it hard to put the project together, I could not find a video that really showed me how or what to do. After playing around with it for a 1 or so, I really started to get the a hang of it. Then I was going to delete one part and ending up deleting a whole section, I have never wanted to throw my computer more than ever. So after taking a break I sat back down and got it done. Over all I am happy with how it turned out. I did find it really hard to get the timing done just right....

After I had done my project, I went into my dyad placement and they had just read a time article on coding and were given a website that allowed them to practice beginning coding. I really like this website, it took them step by step on how to code. It also used the Angry birds so it was of interest to the student. They worked in pairs, which worked out really well, they learned how to bounce ideas off one another, and how to take turns. They did the 20 level lesson over two days, they were so engrossed in the program that it was really hard for them to stop and have to go to other lessons.
For those who are interested the web address is
hourofcode.com

hit the
  student [try it] button
  write you first computer program  [go]
  then try the 20 different levels!!!





Hope that you like my Project...

http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/31749534/

Parent Teacher Conferences 11/2

I now have been able to see how two different teachers do parent teacher conferences. I can't believe how different they were. They both had many good points that I want to take with me when I have my own classroom. I can see myself mixing what both of my CT’s did and creating a good interactive parent teacher conference.

            My main placement was in Kindergarten, and we had the parent teacher conferences way back on October 9^th. She put all her meetings into two days. She started at ~1ish and finished about ~5ish, she said that really the meetings did not need to be longer than 20mins. I found that this was true. She was able to talk about what she has learned about their child, give them tools to use at home to help out, and then time if they had questions. So the meeting consisted of going over the Kindergarten Assessment for Emergent Stage (AFES). It had 10 different task. It assess the students on uppercase letters, lowercase letters, letters sounds, rhyming, alliteration, beginning letter-sounds identification, kindergarten spelling inventory, kindergarten sight words, CVC words list, and writes their own name (there is not points, but a good way to show how their writing will improve over the year.) During this she gave tips on the different ways the parents could support their children at home. Then she talked about the writing assessment she gave and how she broke them up into different groups, and what she does with them in those groups. Lastly she brought up the math assessment, but told the parents it was not a assessment of what the know, because it is a test of what they have to know by the end of kindergarten. She ends it with please feel free to email or call me if you have any questions or concerns, but also they could set up another at any time.

            My dyad placement is in third grade One thing that this school does which I really liked was they made sure to schedule siblings first. So what they did was one day before school, was had all the teachers meet in the library so they could make sure to have the siblings meetings back to back on the same day.  I thought that this was a really interesting thing to do. They were really thinking about the parents (the days they came to volunteer), so they would not have to come twice to the school. At the meeting was also the specialist teachers, and they were there in case a teacher wanted them to come in and talk, this way they made sure they were not over lapping and time or any parents.

My dyad teachers started out with asking the parents a few questions about their child, how they are doing, if they like school, and how they are doing socially. I thought that this was a good way to start the meeting, because this allowed the parents to bring up anything they wanted the teacher to know about. Then she did the same thing, she went over, reading fluency & comprehension, what they are doing in reading, their math fact (timed quizzes) where they starts and where they are now vs what the standard is, and their writing. She also gave them different ideas about how the parents could support their students at home. Then she ends it with the last question for parents: any questions or concerns that they might have.

            They were both really interesting, and many good points that I am going to take with me and I have my own classroom. 

Putting my Camp Skills to good use 10/26

So last Thursday at my Dyad placement, I had just finished my read-aloud and we were moving to the next activity. So the teacher was taking back over and explaining what the students were going to do next. There were was one student E who started yelling at two other students. So I decided to just go sit behind them, and whisper, “make sure you are listening to your teacher..”  Next thing I know E is crying in the corner, so I went over and sat down next to him. I started asking him questions about what was going on. What happened, how are you feeling, what was going on.. It was first hard to piece together what had  happened. (I would like to state E is very focused on everyone using manners and can get upset when people do not use them. E also has a hard time understanding why some people can do things and others cannot.) So what had happened was he was picking at the wall, and making a hole, a few of E’s classmates had asked him to stop. They did not use manners so he got really upset.

Before I new what was happening my counselor mode had kicked in. I had him deep breath, so it might help him clam down. All though he really did not do it, ( I was starting my process of calming him down.) I started asking the normal question I would ask a camper to help get their mind off of what ever was going on. (ie, do you have any pets at home?, what is your favorite TV show?, do you play video games?, What is your favorite book?....). While these questions for most kids would get them talking, he found a way to answer them all with a no….

But then we started to talk about what we should do if people are mean to us. E said that they were not saying that he was trying to them to say please, but they were not so he need to say it louder, (yelling at them). I explained to him that if someone yells at you, it makes them feel bad and not want to listen to you.

So I came up with a three things that we can do when people are being mean

1)    Ask them NICELY to stop

2)    Walk away

3)    Then go tell a teacher

I went over these many times with him, had him repeat them to me. But I also wrote it down on a paper with him, I told him that it was just between the teacher, him and I. I ask him where he wanted to keep (in or on is desk), so if needed a reminder of what the rules where he would remember where to look. He got really excited and we picked a place out in his desk.

I am excited to go back this week and see how it worked….

Leading a math lesson...!? 10/19

            On Wednesday this week I was given the opportunity to lead a math lesson for third graders. Overall I was not really happy on how I taught the lesson. I was able to observer the CT teaching the first group of students the math lesson. I took down as many notes as I could on what the teacher said, the question she asked the students, what she had the students say, and what she wrote on the board. Then I was thrown into the second group.

            Overall I was not really sure how it went. I do think the student understood what I was teaching. But they did have some previous knowledge on the topics. So I was just building on what they already knew. I not sure what I taught them or what they already knew.

            Looking back on the lessons I taught at my main placement, it was not my best one. The one thing that I learned was when I starting out teaching I am going to have to write everything down. I learned that I have to write down, what I am going to say, the questions I am going to ask the students, what I am hoping they will say. I did this at my main placement, and I felt more confident going into leading the lesson. I notices that I did not have to really look down at my lesson plan, but knowing that it was there was good comfort to me. So I think for my first year, I am going to write very detailed lesson plans.

Kindergarten Buddies! 10/12

         This past week, we meet up with our kindergarten buddies again. This was the second interaction that we had with them. During the 30 minutes session we were asked to bring a picture book and read to our kindergarten buddies. At the first meeting I found out that she was able to read a basic book, (she sat down and read the book right away). She could write her name and knew the alphabet.

              This second time went a bit different. My partner and I went in and told her (K) that we had books that we wanted to share with her. She was very quiet, and seemed to be looking at me more during the first book. The first book was Beautiful oops, she really did not seem that to into the book. She looked that the pictures but then she would look away if she heard something or when she would see when someone walked by. When I read her my book (Love Bugs) she really did not seem that into it also. She did look at the pictures and listen to me as I read, But then when we asked her what her favorite parts where she did not say anything. 

              Then we asked if she wanted to read more and she said no… but she wanted to color. So she made three different drawings… And she was able to verbal explain what was going on in each photo and was able to “write” on the line about what they photo was. She listens to me as I sounded out the words for her and she wrote the letters of the sounds that she knew. Then she got her book bag, and read us her story that she wrote, and then she had me read a story about ANTS… and pointed to the different ants that where walking over or in objects. She had me read a song about colors while she did read part of it too and did that very well. 

               So she knows her colors and how to read pretty well. I am not sure if she likes being read too, or it could have been that she did not like books we brought. It will be great/ interesting to see how she grows over the quarter, and how the literacy assessment goes next week. Looking forward to see how much she grows!

Overwhelemed 11/5

Well, I am not sure where to start... I am feeling very overwhelmed at the moment. Which is how I normally feel during week one of classes. Seeing everything that we have to do for the whole quarter, and when am I am going to get it done. But for me it feels like I have a TON more to do. Going to school two days a week (from 9-5), then being at my dyad (9-5), and then working on Friday, Saturday, Sunday (8-4). I am just not sure when i am going to get everything done. And I have to work because there is no way I would be able to eat or pay for gas and everything else if i did not. I am just not sure how I am going to get everything done. I really don't like to complain (though I feel I have been all the time now), but it is just a lot of pressure to put on one person. Also I don't want this to be a negative experience because I am learning what to do for what I love. I want to be a teacher!! Teaching is what I want to do for the rest of my life, I want to work with kids!! When I am working with them, and seeing the difference I can make, it makes all the hard times fade away, and 100% worth it. So that it what I am going to keep thinking about... all the kids that I am going to help!!

Blog Day 8

Food Journal Reflection

When I was looking back over my food on the app, the first thing that I noticed was that I tend to eat foods that contain mostly carbohydrates. I also noticed that I do not eat enough protein. I know that protein is really important, and I thought that I was eating better now that I was making my own lunches now that I was in school. Before I was in school I was eating a lot of microwave dinners. Which I know is really unhealthy. When I started school I was making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, carrots, cherries, celery with peanut butter. To me I thought that I was eating healthy, but it looks like I am going to have to eat more protein. I found out that I am pretty active, I walk my dog very morning from anywhere to 20-45 minutes in the morning at a medium pace. I feel that I would be a pretty good model for my students, I feel that I don’t really eat fast food that often (which is huge right now), I am snacking on fruits and vegetables. I am showing them that just because you don’t run or do sports, just getting out and walking your dog every day is a great way to get out and active, but most importantly they are getting outside.

The goal that I set for myself was to drink more water. Normally during the summer I am outside with a camelback/water bladder where I drink one of those a day. But because I was working and in school I noticed that I was drinking way less water. I was only drinking about 24 ounces a day. So my goal was to drink two of those water bottles a day, or two 1 liter bottles a day. I took until today for me to be able to drink two 1 liter water bottles a day. So over all I don’t think I did really well on my goal. There were many things that hindered my goal; the first being I had to pee all the time. Though I have heard and try to live by the saying “clear pee is happy pee.” The second thing that hindered my goal was that water had a really boring taste. So the way helped this was I have had cucumbers, different fruits to flavor my water, and even crystal light. One way I could help my students reach their goals is by getting their in small steps, and make sure they are setting challenging but reachable goals.

I feel that this food journal is a great way for children to see what they are eating. I feel that it would be more effective than tell children to eat differently. Many of them are not going to want to do that, because it is something they have to do or are being told to do. Having them write the food they eat down can be a great way for them to visually see what they are eating. You could make this into an interdisciplinary activity, in science you could have them test the different foods to show what it looks like as they break down in the human stomach. Or for math you could have them add the different calories they eat for each meal. There are so many ways one could incorporate this into many different lessons.

Blog Day 7

It was scary to see how many cleaning products look like food products or ones that could put in their body. I knew growing up that I had a cleaning pantry and food pantry. It is also scares me to think if parents were to put them in a similar location how many could accidents occur. I think what shocked me the most was that food products looked way to similar to cleaning products. I am not sure why companies would do this or how they get away with this. I mean in this day and age there are so many rules and regulations so we can keep our kids safe, why are we making the products look like ones can eat. It is scary to think we are making products look like ones that are not safe to consume. 

When we were sorting the medications vs the candy, I feel that I had an unfair advantage because I work in the pharmacy, so I have come to recognize what are candy and what are drugs. So I found myself taking a back seat role. I wanted to make sure my classmates were able to try and sort the "pill" first before I put my two cents in. I found it hard at times, i wanted to jump in and tell them how or what "pills" needed to go where. I feel that this was a great learning opportunity for what it is going to be like at a teacher. I am going to what to jump in and help my students learn, but that may not be the best. Sometimes I am going to have to let my student struggle so they can learn. They say we learn best when we fail first, because we have to go back over and review are work.  So it was a good teachable moment for me. 

Blog Day 6

Well I have to say that today was very interesting, I have never had the opportunity to dissect anything. I had a really hard time cutting into a another animals eye. So it was nice that I was able to work with a partner who did most of the cutting for me. I feel that this is important to remember when I am in a classroom of my own. It is going to be difficult for some students than others.

I also thought that it was very interesting to see a human brain up close. I have always seen them in movies or pictures. But it was really cool to see it up close and in person. I did not know that a human brain weights so much. But having this type of hands-on learning can be very beneficial, and add an extra level of engagement for students learning.

Blog Day 5

I know the first thing that I learned today was that I can no longer hula hoop. I remember really liking it in gym class, and being (what I thought) was really good. I thought that it is a great to see how we could apply jump-roping to the different curriculum. I liked how we were given topics and then asked to make up rhythms about different subject. I feel that this is a great way for students to get up and active as well.

I also really liked the two groups presentations. I feel that the germs presentation I would really like to use in my kindergarten classroom. I feel that it would really benefit them, or any age. It was also a good lesson on what healthy eating is. I would also like to use this in my classroom, but it would be interesting to see how you could change it up for the younger grades.

Blog Day 4

Today was really helpful for when it comes to putting lesson planing into practice. It was really good practice getting to write a lesson plan, and see how much work and time goes into lesson planning. I found that the lesson plan went really well. My group plan all most every aspect of the lesson. It was really nice to have it all planned out, i feel it made me more comfortable being up in front of the class.
What I found really helpful was going over how the presentation went. It was nice to hear the strengths of the presentation. I am really glad that it worked for all most all the "students." I am really glad that we were able to go over what needed improvements. I feel that the only way I am going to get better at teacher is by getting feedback on how to improve. I found that most of the improvement were ones that I did not think of and would like to incorporate into the next lesson plan that I make.

Blog Day 2

I feel that today was really useful for when I start teaching. It was helpful to go over the beginning stages of lesson planning. It was helpful to make one in a group, that way you can bounce and build off of each other. I feel that this was a good lesson for when I start teaching in my own classroom, and how it will be beneficial to work with other teachers and how collaboration with only benefit me but also my students.
I also found it really helpful to put up our objectives and have the class go over them. at first it was hard to hear people pick apart your ideas, but it ended up being a really good learning experience.
A few of the things that I learned was it was good to have alignment of all three big ideas. The objectives are to be stated as student will learn..... or students will know how to do... The second part is about assessment this is things/product/activity. The third section is criteria/ evidence, within the product.

Blog Day 1

We covered many different topics today, being that it was the first day of the quarter. For me it is always a bit overwhelming to hear about everything we have to do. Even more so because this is just a two week quarter. I feel after looking over the syllabus there is so many topics that we are going to cover, and I am worried about how much I am going to remember.
From today what I remember or found important was the face-to-face communication. That face-to-face- communication can come in many different forms. There is non-verbal cues that you have to remember that your students are going to pick up on. This can be hard if there is a wide rang of cultures in the classroom. Being face-to-face can allow for immediate feedback.
I am also looking forward to making a lesson plan, and getting that practice with feedback not only from the teacher but also the class.

Video project!

Hope you like!!

Classroom spaces

I think that the concept of a desk is an interesting one. How much do we really think about the desk when enter a classroom. I have always thought of it as a part of the classroom, but never why it was there. In kindergarten we sat at table with 5 to 6 other people, then as we moved up in grades it went to separate desks with our name on it. It became our place, on could put stickers on your name tag, and arrange your books how you wanted. But then when you moved to junior high and high school it was no longer your place. You may have had an assigned set but you shared it with many others. I find it interesting that they related a messy desk to a messy mind, but these people are more open to new ideas. When watching the video I wanted to write down the ideas that stood out to me about the seven learning spaces 1) secrets spaces- getting off task a good thing? 2) Group spaces- using the groups around us, finding a space where your group can work without competing with other groups. 3) Publishing spaces- showing off learning connects to putting up children work around the classroom as Ayers stated. 4) Performance spaces- the allow people to be something they are not, play can occur in more than just playgrounds. 5) Participation spaces- where theory is made into practice. There are more than one focal point, they are trading ideas, and learning not only from the teacher but from each other. 6) Data space- using the information around us to add to the lesson so children can get a firsthand look at real time data. 7) Watching spaces- having activities in different space ever day (I would want to know how possible is this??) I think that having different types of table is a wonderful idea, and why have we not thought about this before. We know that all children don’t all learn the same way. It is an interesting concept to not assigning seats. I feel that this gives the children the power. to move and interact with many children throughout the day. Having different types of desk is great; one table for children to stand (for those who can’t sit still), one table for those who like to sit on the ground, and a “typical” desk. I am hoping that I can incorporate this idea into my classroom. I feel it allows student to move freely around the classroom, and learn where they feel comfortable. Not every child learns when they are sitting at a desk where they are told not to fidget. Allowing different space for students to learn can be very beneficial.

Meeting the needs of Students

I think is what scares the most about teaching, is failing and not meeting the needs of my students. I am scared that I am going to do what I need to but it would be enough, and I will not have given what my students need to succeed in future grades. From reading the article, I understand that having a connection with your students is going to be very important. But where do we draw the line between having an emotional connection and becoming too attached to the students. I know that many first year teachers’ dreams are to have some sort of lasting impact on all the students one comes in contact with. But I am afraid of being coming overall attached, and making myself emotional overwhelmed. I feel again with this article I am left with many questions; looking forward to being in a classroom, and seeing how the answers will come about. The classroom is going to be a two way street the students are not only going to be learning from us, but we as teacher are going to be learning from the students. We are going to have to learn how to make adjustments all the time. We are going to have to find creative ways in which we engage the students. We can teach, “…through making learning more relevant to their lives and purposes,”(pg. 843). It means showing them what they are learning in the classroom can be applied and found out in the real world. Again in this article it brought up the topic of teachers, “…wanted to provide a safe, secure environment, a caring environment…”(pg. 844). There was one last point that I thought was interesting that Hargreaves brought up about a teacher how was scared that she was not meeting both needs of the students who were exceptional and demanding, but now is worried about the “the average child’. This really got me thinking about anytime we talk about children it is the ones who are coming in behind, or falling behind. It is always talk about what we have to or can do to help these children succeed. There is always talk about putting these children on 504’s or IEP’s because this is the extra support we can give them. Then you have the students who we call “gifted” who come in above grade level, or who “just get” the materials. We can move them in gifted classes with other children like them, or given them extra worksheets, ones that challenge them. But we are forgetting about the students who are where they supposed to be. What are we doing for them? It got me thinking that we kind of push them aside because they are meeting standards are not on either ends of the learning spectrum. What are we doing to push them, challenge them?

Brown Eyes and Blue Eye Experiment

I thought that I would put the video up for those who wanted to see it. It is a really interesting experiment!!

Creating The Right Conditions

This week’s video was really interesting and the speaker Ken Robinson made some points that I agree with. The arts, Ken Robinson talked about how important the arts are to children. I could not agree more. He stated that arts should be a part of the mainstream education. It should be a part of the writing, reading, mathematics, and science. He went on to make a statement that really stuck with me, “We are taking the power of imagination for granted, and we are destroying it in children.” For me this related to what Seth Godin talked about in his book, that we are creating a society that wants instructions instead of creative. Lego recreated their product instead of the all-purpose kits, to predefined kits. What really got to me was the caption that was under the picture. “It failed because it required too much risk on the part of parents and kids-the risk of making something that wasn’t perfect or expected.” (Godin, 77). I don’t understand why this is such a bad thing. I thought that the old approach to Lego’s helped developed the children’s creative side. It allows them to build and create whatever they want. In the all-purpose set can allow them to think outside of the box. They are just limiting them to just one way of thinking, with the pre-set boxes. Like Ken Robinson said, “people do their best when they are doing something they love or when they are in their element.” If we can find ways to make the mandated materials more interesting if we could try and find ways try so it can related to our student lives. I wonder if it would make for a more interesting classroom? Unlike the teacher in stop stealing dreams, I thought did teaching the wrong way, “she intentionally humiliated him, for one clear reason. The message was obvious: I am in charge, and my instruction matter. You will conform and you will meet the quality standards or you will be punished.” This to me is the wrong way to teach, it should not be my way or the high way. There was a line in stop stealing dreams that I liked, “we can rebuild the entire system around passion instead of fear.” I feel that this would make for a great learning environment, where we are not instilling fear into our students. Why put fear about not passing test.Why are we instilling fear into our students and add that extra pressure on them, just so we can show that our test scores are better than different states. School should be a place where plant the seed of growth in our students. Ken made a good point about, “if we create the right conditions growth will happen in our students. It that it is important to find creative way to engage the students, we need to stop putting some much pressure on them, and give them more creative room. Ken also stated that, “we should not be putting them to sleep, but we should be waking them up.” Today we are teaching to the test, which does not allow for creative freedom. We need to allow the students to think outside of the box, give them more room to explore and ask questions that get them more engaged in what they are learning. Get them too ask questions that get them thinking deeply about they are learning in, so they want to learn more.

Creating a safe community can lead to imagination

In the article by Mara Sapon-Shevin, she brought many ideas that I have thought about incorporating into my very own classroom. Every little decision that we (teachers) are going to make “is going to have an impact on how the students will, how they will treat one another, and what the classroom atmosphere will feel like.” (Sapon-Shevin, 99). When I read this a first it was a very scary thought, that everything and any will have an impact on the students. But she talked about many different ways in which we as teachers can create a safe learning community. From my camp experience I have picked up many ideas about how to bring together 10 different children, these campers come from different backgrounds, ages, races, social economic status, family dynamics, and more. On the first day we set up what we call cabin rules. I always give each group the first two rules; 1) have fun, 2) be safe. Then I turn and put the power in their hands. They as a group have to come up with their own rules, and all they have to agree. When then come up with the rule we need to respect each other. I have then have them explain what respect means. When they are done I have each camper sign the paper. This way they are in power of their rules, and don’t feel like I am tell what to do. It gives them power and creating a community of rules. One of my goals as a teacher is to make the classroom feel like a safe place. In my classroom I want to create an environment in which my students can fail. So let me explain this statement, it is not that I want my students to fail, but I want my students to understand that it’s ok to fail. The important part is that they tried something new, they challenged themselves, and even though it did not work ok, it is ok. Today when we tell student they did something wrong or incorrect, it can have very damaging effects. I want to students to understand that when we fail, it when we really learn the most. When we fail we have to go back reflect over or work and see where we went wrong. Failing should not be a big dramatic event, it should be an extra opportunity to learn, and that it’s ok to fail and it happens to everyone. As a teacher it is important to create not only a fun space to learn but a safe space. Where all students feel safe to share ideas, are able to grow, because when the students feel safe, they are more likely to open up, let others in to see all side to the students. After the classroom feels safe, this will hopeful allow for deeper learning to happen. Allowing the children to feel safe can allow their imaginations to grow. There was a quote by Greene on page 36, “Imagination is an important is the lives of teachers as it is in the lives of their students.” We as teachers need to find creative ways to reach our students. As stated by Sapon-Shevin, “imagination can bring severed parts together, can integrate into the right order; can create wholes.” (Page, 38). I feel that imagination is so important for children today. Their play had been replaced with video games and TV. When I was a child I was forced to go outside and create my own play. I used my imagination to create my own worlds. Imagination is so important, it help let children see things in different lights and it can let the creative flow. I feel that it is important to bring imagination back into the classroom.

Educational Autobiography

I want to begin my educational autobiography back when I started first grade, this is when school became very different for me. I really don’t remember much about kindergarten, but I know that school was not easy. I remember always being frustrated that learning did not come as easy for me compared to my classmates. During the first grade I was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis (NF), (type 1), it is a genetic neurological disorder that can, “…affect many parts of the body, including the brain, spinal cord, nerves, skin, and other body systems.” (Kids Health). “Children with NF1 may have poor language and visual-spatial skills, and perform less well on academic achievement tests, including those that measure reading, spelling, and math skills.” (Neurofibromatosis fact sheet). After I was diagnosed with NF I learned to find school a place of stress, test, and not feeling accepted. All throughout elementary school, junior high, and High school l never came easy to me, what would take my classmates minutes to learn, it would take me days to understand. My parents were always my biggest supports; they would stay up into the wee hours of the night, going over homework, papers, and projects with me. During my school time I had many different tutors (whether it was one-on-one, or through a company) and, it still did not make school better.

Even though school did not come easy to me, I had a few teachers who made a big impact on me.  What was great about them was that they kept me engaged during their class. They found creative ways that got the whole class involved and excited about learning. I found that the best way for me to learn was by hearing the assignment, then the teacher giving me a visual demonstration. I found that when teachers just got up in front of the class and lectured I would find my mind wandering, and losing interest in what I was being taught. I knew that I wanted to be a teacher because I knew that as a student who struggled, I could pass on my tips and tricks, that I picked up and pass them along to my students. Also showing them that their teacher had trouble in school, but with a lot of work and sticking with it, I was still able to reach my goal of being a teacher.

I knew I wanted to be a teacher after spending time in different classrooms. This had been one of the best ways for me to gain experience as to what teachers are required to do. Being able to get ‘hands on’ experience working with children, and observing many different teachers in action has been wonderful. During my undergrad I was able to be with a classroom of kindergartens. I came in every Friday for about full school year, I worked with the same children and it was rewarding to be able to watch and see the students grow and develop over the past seven months. There was one student who I was able to work one-on-one with who I was able to see improve. He came in behind the rest of his classmates, and with many different learning disabilities. They would have to write a letter to the start of the week saying what they liked about that person. In the beginning the teacher or I would have to write what he wanted to say in highlighter and then he would try his best to trace those letters. It would be difficult to read what he wrote. He would need encouragement at time to keep going, but he always finished his work.  Then before he was pulled out of school, the last letter wrote he did all by himself, no tracing needed, and the best part of it was he asked he could write more than the three sentences they were required to write. This moment is why I wanted to become a teacher, to see students who struggle and help them find the confidence in themselves and have the “light bulb” moment. Seeing that they can succeed it might just take a little more work and effort but if they put their minds to it, they can do anything.   

            My desire to be to a teacher began with my experiences working with children at two summer camps over the last eight years. I started this journey by working at “Camp Coyote” a week-long event organized by Camp Fire USA at Blyth Park in Bothell, Washington. I have spent the last four years working from June to August at another Camp Fire camp, “Camp Sealth” on Vashon Island. Working there has given me the opportunity to work with children of all ages. I have learned how to engage, discipline and work with student from all backgrounds. At camp I was able to teach children marine biology, arts & crafts, nature/outdoor living skills, and more. While I was at camp I was able to take what I learned and applied to when I went into the schools. Working camp I have been thrown into almost every station I can think of.  Here again working with children who come in at the beginning of the week and are shy, don’t talk much, and want to go home. To the end of the week where they are rolling on the floor making weird animal sounds. Knowing that I made an impact (whether it was big or small) on that child’s life, is such a wonderful reward. I know that I help give them confidence, so they were able to be comfortable in their own skin, gives me chills. I hope that they take this confidence, and take that confidence back with them when they go to school. As someone who struggled with learning and self-confidence I want to be able to reach all my students, especially who are the quite kids who get over looked, or mislabel. I want to give them my tips and tricks and the confidence that will help them succeed in the classroom and where ever life my take them.

 

Kids Health- http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/aches/nf.html

Neurofibromatosis Fact Sheet- http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/neurofibromatosis/detail_neurofibromatosis.htm