May 2, 2009

Words of wisdom to live by for future student teachers:

• Get organized the first day of class
• Remain organized
• Begin assignments and lesson plans early
• Plan in advance, well in advance
• Know the content
• Connect content
• Stand in the hallways
• Get to know your students
• Be flexible with changes
• Do whatever it takes to succeed
• Remember to have fun

Week April 20-24, 2009

I remember registering for the first workshop in Grantville I attended as a business education student. That was about a year and a half ago. Before going to this workshop, I thought it was going to be like all other seminars and meetings I attended in past employments. I was sure this was going to be a waste of time and energy. I was wrong. The first workshop was filled with great ideas for new teachers as well as experienced teachers. I found the information was useful and can be immediately implemented in class. The networking of teachers was also valuable because all business teachers want other business teachers and the business education department in all schools to be as successful as possible. The business teachers I have met at all of the workshops have always been extremely helpful to me as a new teacher. The most valuable part of this week was attending the workshop in Grantville.

Friday's workshop was filled with an overwhelming amount of resources. A representative from the Federal Reserve in Philidelphia offered us an entire course, free of charge, called Keys to Financial Success which we can teach in our Personal Finance class. A member of the Bloomsburg University staff presented reading strategies for us to teach our high school students. These workshops truely offer a wealth of information for both new and seasoned teachers and I plan on attending each one.

For the most part, the week was well planned and no major problems occured. However, there was one thing I would like to have changed. In my nineth grade computer applications class, I had a Microsoft Access exercise planned for both of my classes. I uploaded the exercise to the student drive the same way as I had done in the past with the Excel exercises. I asked the students to locate this exercise and open it. However, there was a technology problem. None of the students could open the Access file. All of the students received an error. I was stuck. I remembered immediately how Dr. O told us to be prepared with a back up plan because technology was not always going to work. I was not prepared with a backup plan. I did continue with a discussion on Microsoft Access and had the students discuss with me how they could use a database. Yes, back up plans are necessary especially when teaching technology.

April 13-17, 2009

I started this week by telling each class I was only going to be here another two and a half weeks and any late or missing assignments had to be submitted by next Friday. The assignments were my assignments and I wanted them to be turned in to me to be graded. I did not expect my co-op to assume responsibility of any assignments I assigned. Most of them responded by telling me they do not want me to leave. I was a little overwhelmed by their reaction. Most, not all, vocally responded by saying they did not want me to leave. They did not fully understand my role here and kept asking me to stay. Of course, I told them I could not stay and my co-op would continue teaching class until the end of the school year.

When I began teaching at this school, I noticed a few of the students had behavioral problems in class. I knew, however, I could connect with these students and get most of them interested in my lesson. I did take my co-op's advise and showed them I liked them by talking to them about their interests. I spoke with them and showed them how their intersts are related to the content of the class I was teaching them. At the begining, these were the students who chose not to learn, but now, these students participate in classroom discussions sometimes more than others. This was the most valuable part of my week. I knew I could make an impact with these students as well as other students.

This week was a fairly normal week. However, I did make an error by failing to make copies of all of my handouts. Of the hundreds of copies of many different handouts I made this week, I forgot to copy one. Obviously, this was a mistake, but fortunately I was able to orally direct my students to the expectations of the assignment. I did make copies of the missing handout for the following day and for most, the assignment was a success. This is the part of my week I would like to change. I know I have to check and re-check everything needed for my lessons but somehow I forgot. I know that organiziation is of utmost importance and I will continue to strengthen my organizational skills.

Week of April 6-10

I was in class two days this week but only taught Monday and half of Tuesday. The short week gave me experience of teaching students who were more interested in their vacation than school. On Tuesday, I was able to plan fun activities for the students. They continued to learn while having fun and did not realize they were learning. The most valuable part of the week came during a faculty meeting on Tuesday afternoon. The information in the meeting was people's right to know school information. The determination of public and private information has to be determined by the school before allowing this information to be viewed by members of the public. The meeting contained a lot of important information for new teachers as well as experienced teachers. The most important thing I took from the meeting was never write inappropriate emails that you would not want to have published in a local newspaper. Teachers are respected members of the community and their emails should be a reflection of their professionalism.

The short week gave me a much smaller window for mistakes. As I reflect on the day and a half of teaching last week, I don't remember a specific incident I would like to change. However, as I strive to become more organized, I still see room for improvement. Being a student teacher, I am still learning new things every passing week. As I learn, I am incorporating them into my teaching and the organizational methods I use have to be strengthened and more focused. A teacher's ability to produce good lessons and provide a rich learning environment begins with good organizational skills. This is the area I am going to always try to improve upon.

March 30 to April 3, 2009

I always heard of it, but I never experienced FBLA until Sunday night. The energy was high and the students were ready to compete. I spent the early part of Sunday evening helping my secondary co-op prepare for the next day's competition. She had the enormous job of organizing everything for all of our students. I was glad to be able to help even though my contribution was rather small compared to her's.

As Monday afternoon was upon us, my assignment was clear. I was assigned to be a proctor for a public speaking competition. To my suprise, this was very exciting for me. The event lasted for three hours but seemed like minutes. As the competitors were rehearsing their speaches one last time, I directed them where and when to begin. Many spectators were on hand to withness the competition but seating was very limited. I am sure everything was taken into consideration for this public speaking contest, but because the seating was very limited, I had to turn many spectators away from entering the room. The room was just too small. This, however, did not hamper the spririt of the competitors because the excitement they exuded was immeasurable. I was taken back by the energy, emotion and the professionalism these young students demonstrated during this event and for the entire FBLA convention . Experiencing and learning about FBLA was the most incredible part of my week.

It was Thursday morning and my second period students were going to begin writing their resume'. I think I was more excited then they were because I forgot to distribute a great handout I prepared for them and directed them to begin writing their resume. The handout discussed do's and don'ts of a resume' but I just forgot to review this with my students in my second period class. Although the students had formatting instructions for formatting their resume', the additional information would have been very helpful. This is the part of the week I would like to change. I have taken from this experience that my excitement for an activity or assignment has to be second to my lesson plans.

March 23-27 2009

For me, this week started with tracking down students in oder to get them to make up all of their missing work because Friday was the end of the marking period. Not wanting to get calls from parents asking why their daughter/son did not have their work completed, I talked to as many students as I could giving them directions and deadlines for missing work. This worked great. Most of my students did make an effort to complete their work by coming to class after school or during a study hall. For others, no attempt was made to complete any assignment. The most valuable lesson I learned this week was to get and stay organized.

Since there were about twenty five students who needed to make up work, I began talking to as many as I could. Now, I know my organizational skills are okay, but not perfect. So, I had to do everything I could to match all of the missing work with the correct student while providing directions, page numbers, rubrics and expectations of each. Toward the end of the week, I continually reminded them of their missing assignments. As each student handed me their missing work, I graded and posted their grade immediately. It worked flawlessley.
Fortunately, I recognized the need to be organized in advance and I am glad I am not describing this as the part of the week I would like to change.

This week, however, was somewhat boring in both a good and bad way. My co-op left the room most of this week which made me feel trusted in both my content and teaching. Everything seemed to flow nicely. That was good. However, because I still am trying to be overly concious of everything I do and say, I have given myself little room just to be me. That was bad. We have been student teaching for about tweleve weeks and we know the routine to be a good teachers in our schools. The part of the week I would like to change would be to allow my personality to flourish more in the classroom. I sometimes feel like a robot making sure I cover all that I had planned instead of just being me teaching the lesson. As I noticed this toward the end of the week, I did try to add more of my personality to each lesson and it seemed to interest the students a little more.

March 16-20 2009

This week has been another week of learning and re-learning for me. A lot of loose ends have been getting tied up for me this week. I have been observing my alternate co-op as she assigned the students an activity that really got them involved. It was a very simple activity, yet much planning was involved. In a sense, I viewed her as a magician as she was able to take two concepts and create the willingness of the students to want to learn and present the material from the textbook. Not only was I amazed at how efficiently the the students progressed in this activity, but I was able to view the direction of my lesson plans in that same way.

This simple activity from my alternate co-op has been the most valuable part of my week. She has proved to me lessons can be very simple yet extremely effective. I will take from this my willingness to constantly improve on my lessons as I strive to become the teaching magician she has already become.

Thursday, a student of mine started to loose his self-control toward the end of class. I noticed this and gave him a few warnings for being too loud but that only quieted him for a few minutes. As a result of his loud voice, he began to irritate another nearby student. I noticed this and intervened immediately. I thought I had ended his disruptions and the conflict between the two students, but I was wrong. Seconds before the bell rang, he blurted a few unacceptable words.
As I anticipated his continued disruptions, I was able to drown out his unacceptable utterances as I raised my voice in an unapproving tone. I quieted him instantly and next dismissed class. After the students were gone, I think I made a mistake. I should have asked him to remain after class so I could talk with him. I know, however, he would not voluntary stay with me because he has an IEP for violence and outbursts. His typical reaction in this situation would be to run to the pricipal's office and calm down there. If i was able to talk him into staying with me this point, I would have been able to remind him of the use of unacceptable words in my class and the consequences for using them. Instead, he exited the room remembering me raising my voice in disapproval. As I realized my mistake, I know I will ask him to stay after class so I can review classroom rules and their consequencs.

March 14, 2009

I finished compiling the data from my survey after I responded to my blog last week. So, I did not get a chance to discuss my survey. However, some of the responses to my survey were very suprising to me in a positive way. Although, I did recieve the small percentage responses like, "he bothers me by asking me questions when I am in a bad mood". And, "I would not want to have him as my teacher again. These responses were very few. I was surprised by the fact that nearly eighty five percent of the students would like to have me as a teacher again while twelve percent of them were unsure. This was very uplifting for me as I finished compiling the data from my survey as I knew I have made a positive impact on my students.

Other areas of the survey were not suprising. For example, the students responded by stating I have to speak louder while teaching my lesson. I already knew this and have been increasing the volume of my voice since I recieved the results of my survey.

So, I believe the most valuable part of the week was the survey itself. It was my report card from the students themselves. And I know they gave me a passing grade as their teacher.

Friday, one of my students, who is always on the edge of outbursts, began class by printing a few of his typed pages. Students were not supposed to be printing at this time but I heard the printer turn on and begin printing. As I walked to the printer and remove the pages from the printer, I noticed this student had printed a harmless page with his name on it. But, the two additional pages that followed were a problem for me. Each page was filled with vulgar language. I politely asked him to come to my desk. But, I did not get a chance to discuss this with him because he immediately screamed at the other students with more vulgarities. I knew I had to calm this situation. However, this situation was far from calm. He turned toward the door and walked out slamming the door behind him. My co-op and I tried to get him to come back and discuss the situation but he insisted on going to the principal's office. After this situation unfolded, it is not known if this student printed the vulgarities. It is possible another student was the culprit. This situation spanded over about twenty seconds. I believe I reacted professionally but I think I could have handled it better. I knew he was ready to walk out in a moments notice and I did not want this to happen. Because this student is on the edge, I should have asked the student to discuss this matter with me in the hallway to avoid the disruptions that followed. If there is one thing I could change this week it would have been this situation.

March 7, 2007

This week was a rollercoaster ride of emotions. During some parts of the week I was very excited with my accomplishments while other parts of the week I had dropped faster than the Phoenix Rollercoaster at Knoebel's. The reason for the dramatic drop was due to the lack of doing something I should have done or doing something I had done wrong. I think one of the best learning tools for all students, although we perish the thought of doing it, is making a dreaded mistake. Ok, we do not like making mistakes, but we sure can learn from the ones we make. Planning during the first part of the week seemed acceptable, but during the latter part of the week things started to get confusing. It was difficult for me to first plan first for the week than to plan for each day because different classes progressed at different speeds, an activity day, and many interuptions, my daily plan had strayed from my weekly plan. Yeah, on paper this seemed somewhat confusing, but most of the classes flowed very well with acceptable confusion.

I am not really sure why, but I will start teaching all of my co-op's classes on Monday. Think of the learnig waiting for me! I think my teaching schedule is somewhat off, but I am ready for all seven periods. And why not, the quicker I have a full boat, the quicker I will adapt to a full day of teaching and learning. Unfortunely, this learning might sometimes come in the form of mistakes, but I will be ready. So, the most important part of this week for me was to learn from my mistakes. Avoid them at all costs by being prepared but be ready to learn from them when they occur.

Sometimes rehearsing a plan is necessary for me. I did a lot of rehearsing in IS but I have not done much rehearsing while student teaching. Planning on paper is one thing, but how this plan gets delivered is another thing. After writing a lesson plan I think I am done. But many times I am not. On paper everything seems to flow, but in real life sometimes this is proved to be more of a clog than flow. On Monday, I started my Computer Applications class on some book exercises. I looked at my lesson plan one last time and it seemed to work. But after delivering the lesson, my co-op and I could sense some confusion with the students because of how I delivered the lesson. I tried to readjust my lesson to make it work smother but it was too late. Confusion was setting in. So, I continued the lesson with much more one-on-one direction than anticipated. After class was over, I could tell most of the students had accomplished what was asked of them but I should have made for a much smother transition throughout the lesson. The most important thing I would change this week would be to rehearse some if not all of my lesson plans. I think this could indicate where some confusion could occur or prove the lesson flows fine.

Saturday February 28, 2009

My coop was not in class on Thursday. This made me feel a little excited and somewhat apprehensive at the same time. I was excited to see how I was going to be able to handle a hundred students myself. Well, not entirely myself. I had a was a sub with me. I was also apprehensive because my coop had not miss an entire day since I started teaching and I was not sure what was going to happen. Over all, the day was a success. There were some minor issues and interuptions that probably would not have occured if my coop was present especially in period three. They are good students but they like to talk when my coop is not there and they pretend I am not there. The problem I have had since I started student teaching here is I feel like a "guest". And when I feel like a guest, I "act" like a guest. Since I have been acting like a guest, the students in this class noticed this and respond by chatting with their friends. This obviously had to stop. And I had to stop feeling like a guest. During this class, I had to unleash the same voice and set the same tone I use when I have to remove someone from my restaurant. This not only change the tone of the class but it also made me feel less like a guest and more of the feeling of belonging here. Since this got their attention, I finally realized these are "my" students and this is "my" classroom when I am teaching in it. The most valuable part of the week for me was when I rid myself of the feelings of a guest and replaced them with the feeling of belonging.

I started teaching a computer applications class last week but the entire week consisted of a week long introduction of content with a test on Monday. I began teaching skills on Wednesday. I thought I was well prepared. My lesson plans were good and I reviewed all of the material more than once before Wednesday and Thursday. I began teaching Microsoft Word 2007 on Wednesday. After an introduction to the lesson, the students were supposed to continue working on their own following the step by step instructions in the text. But something went wrong. Some of the students were lost. Others were trying but progress was slow. As I continued I realized there was some confusion. The text was not exactly accurate with the Microsoft Word on the student's computers. These inconsistancies made the students think they could not understand the lesson. By the time class was over, most of the students had completed the lesson plan I had prepared for the day but the confusion lasted until the bell rang. I knew my problem immediately after class was over. I did not complete the exercises in the book step by step as the students were supposed to. Sure, I knew the material. I could do these exercises in my sleep. But I should have completed these exercises exactly how I expected the students to complete them. I should have opened the book and begun with the first step on the first page. If I had done so, I would have noticed the inconsistancies in advance and would have been better able to make the students aware of the problems with the text. This is the part of my week I would like to go back and change.

Most of us have been on a see-saw before and we know the principal of how something reacts when something else weighs more. Well, when I started this semester, the amount of work and uncertainty outweighed everything else. This was the “fat” kid sitting on the see-saw as it remained stationary on the ground while the small kid, the teaching aspect, was on the opposite end screaming to get down. I wondered how I was going to get all of the work done. After a while, I wondered how I was going to complete acceptable work. This weighed more than anything else. I was, and still am overwhelmed with the work and creating exciting lesson plans. Now, after teaching here for a few weeks, I have noticed important changes in the way I feel about teaching here. The increasing hellos from students in the hallways and the increased positive interaction with the students in the classroom are really having an effect on me. When I started student teaching I was nervous. Now, I am excited to be there in front of class. On Thursday, one student exclaimed I was his favorite teacher in school. How can this be? I have only been there for a few weeks. As I sat in class the rest of that day, I began to realize teaching is truly more of an honor than just a job. Teaching, now, is like the “fat” kid with all of its honor as it outweighs the incredible amount of important work screaming to get down and be completed. This is not only the most valuable feeling of the week, but I think this overwhelming feeling of being honored to teach will last throughout my teaching career.

I know this is going to sound redundant, but I would like to change and revise my lesson plans. Because preparing lessons in order to connect is so vitally important, I would like to go back and make them more exciting in order to give my students a "wow" moment. Yes, my lesson plans and my presentations of them have improved considerably since I started, but it seems only after I have finished presenting my lesson plans, I realize I could have made them better. As I look back, I could have enhanced each and everyone. Fortunately, I appear to be organized as I teach, but on paper my lessons and my presentations of them don’t always meet my objectives. Other times, the standards I choose have no reason for being part of my plan. This is the area I am going to concentrate on improving. I am going to concentrating on preparing accurate and exciting lessons.

February 9-13

My co-op let me teach my classes without her in the room on Thursday. This was an eye opener for me during my second class. The first class has always been very quiet and needs little or no discipline. The second class I teach, however, can get loud and rowdy without my co-op in the room. As soon as my co-op exited the classroom, the students acted as if they had permission to talk loud and misbehave. I was able to control the class the entire period but it was difficult to concentrate on my lesson plan while I had to continuously raise my voice in order to get their attention. After about fifteen minutes of this, it became evident I had to do something other than raise my voice. I stopped the class immediately and stood directly in front of the boisterous students and said, “Although I am a student teacher, I have the same authority to ‘write you up’ or send you to the office”. I remember that line from our previous Monday night class and it seemed to work for most of the class period. The noise level started to increase toward the end of class. I was about to stop class again when my co-op entered the room. It was amazing how the students eventually calmed down after my co-op returned to the room. This is valuable to me because as a teacher and especially a student teacher, I realized I have to be ready to be ready to manage the class effectively in order to create a positive learning environment.

I introduced driveofyoulife.org to both of my classes this week. It was a fun and interesting activity for every student. I used this web site many times this week in order to prepare for any questions the students might have. However, the minor problem I would like to changed would have been the introduction of the web site. When I first logged on to driveofyourlife.org at home, I was asked to register my name, name of school, city and state of my school and my user name and password. But every other time I logged on I simply had to type in my name and password. Well, I logged on to the web site so many times with my user name and password I forgot to explain the registration directions to the students when I started class. The students looked lost for about thirty seconds until I realized my mistake. I quickly backed up and began with the registration page. This was not a major mistake but this experience proved to me I must to pay "attention to detail".

February 2-6

This week became increasing comfortable teaching the two class periods of Career Exploration. I teach the two classes back to back which seems valuable to me because I do not get a chance to loose any momentem. Three minutes after concluding with one class, I begin my introduction to the next class. Another valuable distinction I have noticed is that student teaching is begining to be fun and rewarding. Yes, we can all agree the preparation of the work is long and tedious, but the interactions with the students is begining to outweigh the work involved.

I am getting more aquainted with the students. The other day I was walking through a crowded hallway in between periods and I heard a voice say, "Hey Mr. Cardone". I could not see the student who offered me the hello, so I extended a "good morning" back to the voice in the crowd. It was a great feeling to have a student recognize me after only being in the school seven days and go out of his way to say hello.

As I continue to observe the computer applications class, a student sat near me in order to finish discussing his upcoming wrestling meet. We began this conversation the previous day but did not get a chance to finish. I thought this was cool because he went out of his way to sit near me and finish the conversation. It seems as if I am making a positive impact on the students. And as this week concludes, I believe getting to know the students in this way is going to be what helps me become a better teacher.

Most of the classes went well this week with the exception for Tuesday. At first, I was not sure what went wrong. As the students exited the room at the end of the period, I just stood there wondering, "what happened"? I told my co-op something went wrong and unfortunately she agreed with me. First, I thought it was my lesson plan, then I figured it had to be the students, but as I looked back on it I knew it was me. As the class started I noticed they were not interested in being in school or listening to what I had planned for that day. As I continued, the students were not responding to any of my questions or the fact that I can be funny sometimes. I noticed this and instead of trying to really engage the students I told myself I was doing a poor job. My confidence level began to diminish and my lesson plan followed. And this was the cause of the lesson I would like to re-do. The lesson I learned from that day is not to let my feelings get in the way of my teaching.

January 26-30

The third week of student teaching was another adjustment for me. However, my co-op made this adjustment seem effortlessly for both of us. I felt as if she was a good friend of mine after only one day of observing her and asking her questions. She answered every one of my questions directly and without hesitation. This, of course, is leading to what I found most valuable this week. It was said many times in the past, "Don't become friends with your students". I believed this to be true, but if I should not become friends with them should I act like I do not want to be friends with them? Of course not, so the answer is somewhere in the middle. My co-op, always ready with wisdom and advise, answered this question for me through the course of our conversations. She told me connections in the classroom are better when you show your students you "like" them. This was great advise! Although I always knew this, I never thought of it in this way because "liking" them falls between being friends with them and not being friends with them. This connection is now clearer for me. I did not pursue this career simply for a job. I already have a great job. I did pursue this because of the passion I have for business eduation. I want to excite my students about "real" business and not to look at it as an elective. So, in order for me to continue my dream as a business educator, the first thing I am going to do is to show I "like" them and I am half way there!

This past week was only an observation week for me. However, starting on Monday I will pick up two of my co-op's classes and will be on track with everyone else. So, in other words, since I did not teach in class this week, I do not have much to regret. The regrets will begin when I begin to speak. I did, however, begin to grade homework and pass the papers back out to the students. If I had to choose one thing I would change, I would have asked my co-op if I could take attendance. If I had taken attendance, both the students and I would have felt I was part of the class and I would become familiar with their names and faces.

There is one area I am concerned about. How do I become a different teacher for different students? Let me explain. Of the seven classes my co-op teaches, the students in six of these classes do exactly what they are supposed to do and my co-op is a happy teacher. But period eight is where the problems arise. In this class I see my co-op transform into a different teacher. Most of the students are disruptive and many refuse to work. My co-op becomes very frusterated. This is the only class she yells. I am not sure how I will react to period eight. When I begin teaching this class, should I change my attitude the first day and be more firm with period eight than the other classes? Or should I be the same teacher I was in the previous classes and react appropriately?

Week of January 19-23

My second week of student teaching was very eventful. Teaching became much easier after the first day and the students became more interested. The most important thing I learned this week is the importance of the plan. Without a detailed plan I reaized I would have not delivered a good lesson. I also realized changes sometimes have to be made not only to my plan but to my schedule.
When this week started I was ready. I knew I had nervousness to overcome and I did. I feel as if I had changed dramatically since last semester when delivering my lesson plan seemed difficult for me. Everything fell into place nicely. I knew the content, the plan and I was able to connect the content more confidently. I did this without the help of a co-op. Its is unfortunate for my co-op whom had health complications at the start of this week and with the exception of a substitute I was alone. I am happy to say that as I look back I feel the week of teaching was a success for both me and the students I taught for a breif week.
The next thing i realized is the class periods are very short. I remember giving my lesson plan to our class wondering how I am going to fill the forty minutes. But during this week of teaching I realized forty minutes is not a lot of time and every minute counts so I have to make my lessons count.
I really enjoyed the experience at Crestwood and I know the students did also because when I told them on Friday this was my last day, most of them said, "no way, why"? You just started and you are leaving us? Well that made my two weeks a success for me and I am sure that will help make my transfer to another school much easier.
Although I think the first week was much more successful than I thought it was going to be I would have changed some things. I would have tried to remember the student's names and use their names when calling on them. Instead I just pointed to one of them. I was more interested in the Bell Ringer and getting the class started. When I took role I did so using a seating chart. I was counting bodies and did not get to know them by name. As I transfer to Pine Grove I will remember to get to know their names.

I found time management and planning to be the most important aspects of the week. Time is valuable but very limited. During each day of observing I encountered many interuptions from office phone calls and the students themselves. Because of these interuptions my days were condensed even more. So, in order to be prepared as a teacher I will have to make the best use of every minute of the day.
Planning is essential to make great connections. After observing this week it is even more obvious that each and every lesson has to be structured to make the proper connections with the students for learning to occur.
This past week was mainly observing so i did not get much of a chance to want to change a specific part of the week. If i had to choose something to change I would have liked to have met and spoke with more of the teachers at this school.