I will also be pulling photos from the internet to space out the pictures of myself. Any ideas of pictures I should put up? What about effects?
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About Me
Monday, June 29, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Post #1 End of the year
The school year is over. Our last day was a fun day at Boomers. I played some arcades, rode the go-carts, played laser tag and swung at some balls in the batting cage. Oh yeah, I also supervised my students. It was fun. I was pretty tired afterwards.
That is not the event I want to talk about though. The event was mentioned in my last blog post and I still want to talk about it. Towards the end of the year, a couple of my 3rd period students and I were having a casual conversation about the class and how they are doing. Their concern was regarding what they could do to get out of a failing grade. Unfortunately, it was a little too late. The conversation tended to the comment "What happened? You used to be so chill?"
There are many ways teachers create an effective classroom environment. One method I heard while in the EDS program was not to smile until after winter break. It expresses to the students that you are serious about your job and that you shall not be messed with. That was kind of the attitude I wanted to go in with, but that didn't really happen. I got my job early in August and I started on August 12. I really didn't have a lot of time to prepare myself since I had summer classes up to that day. On the first day I tended toward my natural attitude which is warm and friendly. Ask around. I'm sure people will agree.
I would support the idea that it would be appropriate to keep this attitude for a couple of weeks so students become comfortable enough to be in your class and to approach you. After those weeks, it's time for business. However, in my situation, I could not change my demeanor. There were only a few times when my students got me in a bad mood. Usually I was in a happy mood. I was happy to be in my classroom, teaching my students.
In my last blog post, I said I would try something else and be a serious teacher from the very beginning. We shall see what happens. I feel that you do not have to front a serious attitude to make your students believe you are serious about your job.
Enjoy a song:
End of the Road-Boyz II Men
That is not the event I want to talk about though. The event was mentioned in my last blog post and I still want to talk about it. Towards the end of the year, a couple of my 3rd period students and I were having a casual conversation about the class and how they are doing. Their concern was regarding what they could do to get out of a failing grade. Unfortunately, it was a little too late. The conversation tended to the comment "What happened? You used to be so chill?"
There are many ways teachers create an effective classroom environment. One method I heard while in the EDS program was not to smile until after winter break. It expresses to the students that you are serious about your job and that you shall not be messed with. That was kind of the attitude I wanted to go in with, but that didn't really happen. I got my job early in August and I started on August 12. I really didn't have a lot of time to prepare myself since I had summer classes up to that day. On the first day I tended toward my natural attitude which is warm and friendly. Ask around. I'm sure people will agree.
I would support the idea that it would be appropriate to keep this attitude for a couple of weeks so students become comfortable enough to be in your class and to approach you. After those weeks, it's time for business. However, in my situation, I could not change my demeanor. There were only a few times when my students got me in a bad mood. Usually I was in a happy mood. I was happy to be in my classroom, teaching my students.
In my last blog post, I said I would try something else and be a serious teacher from the very beginning. We shall see what happens. I feel that you do not have to front a serious attitude to make your students believe you are serious about your job.
Enjoy a song:
End of the Road-Boyz II Men
Monday, June 8, 2009
Last week of school
It is the last week of school. We have four more days left with the students. Then two more days of clean-up and check-out. The students are definitely ready for the summer; as am I. This has been a long year, however, I still remember the first day. Since we have a block schedule, it was like two first days. I introduced myself, told them a little bit about my background, and started to get to know the students. It was fun to think of ways to get to know the students.
Going into it, I was very excited. In the beginning, I tended to have a positive, friendly attitude towards the students. That is just how I am. At some point, I decided in needed to be less of a friend and more of a teacher. The students here do not put in a lot of effort as not a lot of effort is expected of them. I guess I can say that they are accustommed to doing the minimum to get by. What I mean by being more of a teacher is expecting more from my students.
Towards the beginning, I would give my students time in class to work and let them decide if they are going to work or not. Watching other 9th grade teachers, I noticed they do not let them decide. In their classes, their students are working all the time. I think, at the point, I decided to try that out.
I started being more strict; lowering the amount of free-time, bathroom breaks and wasting time. The students noticed that change in management; which is good. In fact, one student asked me last week "What happened? You used to be so chill." I don't want to be chill. I want my students to learn that they will have to learn how to use their time responsibly and that it will take a lot of effort to graduate with good grades.
Next year, I plan on being less "chill" and more strict with how my students use their time from the very beginning.
Going into it, I was very excited. In the beginning, I tended to have a positive, friendly attitude towards the students. That is just how I am. At some point, I decided in needed to be less of a friend and more of a teacher. The students here do not put in a lot of effort as not a lot of effort is expected of them. I guess I can say that they are accustommed to doing the minimum to get by. What I mean by being more of a teacher is expecting more from my students.
Towards the beginning, I would give my students time in class to work and let them decide if they are going to work or not. Watching other 9th grade teachers, I noticed they do not let them decide. In their classes, their students are working all the time. I think, at the point, I decided to try that out.
I started being more strict; lowering the amount of free-time, bathroom breaks and wasting time. The students noticed that change in management; which is good. In fact, one student asked me last week "What happened? You used to be so chill." I don't want to be chill. I want my students to learn that they will have to learn how to use their time responsibly and that it will take a lot of effort to graduate with good grades.
Next year, I plan on being less "chill" and more strict with how my students use their time from the very beginning.
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