Essential Question

The idea of having to come up with an essential question was somewhat intimidating at first, at least for me, because it's something that requires a lot of thought. There are also a lot of aspects and things to think about when planning to become a teacher and it seemed almost a little overwhelming to be able to settle on one important question.  

That being said, I started really thinking about the teachers I’ve had in the past and what I liked or didn’t like about them and why. There were teachers I absolutely loved, teachers I didn’t like as much and teachers who were just okay. One of my favorite teachers in middle school liked to come off as very strict, scary and intimidating at first, but then as time went on, students realized that while he meant business, he was still very approachable and not scary at all. He also made sure that we learned and that we worked hard, but kept the lessons interesting enough where we weren’t bored. Another impressive teacher was my band teacher. The high school band consisted of 150 students and he knew every single one by name. At the end of the year, we’d have a band banquet, and he’d call the seniors up to the front of the room and say something about all of them. The fact that he not only knew his students names, but knew enough about them to talk about them at the band banquet was very impressive. Granted, students had been in his class for four years, and some for six, but I love that he actually made the effort to pay attention and get to know his students. There are teachers, who, even though they still may have a large number of students spread out over multiple class periods, don’t get to know their students at all. They don’t make an effort. They stand at the front of the room, teach what they have to, and leave at the end of the day. Everyone in the band respected the teacher and could joke around as a class, but at the same time, when it was time to buckle down, we worked hard in order to sound good at performances, parades and competitions. We all wanted to do well for him and we didn’t want to disappoint him. 

I guess what I’m trying to say is that being a teacher is a constant balancing act that the good teachers I've had seem to have mastered. It’s about finding all the right balances in every situation. It’s good to be friendly and approachable, but not so much so that you’re a doormat. It’s good to get to know your students, but not so much that you’re more of a friend than a teacher. You have to make the class fun and relaxing, but not so much where no learning happens and where the students don’t want to work. So, with all this in mind, I decided on my essential question: How can I not only find that balance in a way that works best for both me and the students, but also maintain that balance over time?

Mindfulness In The Classroom

I think a common belief that a lot of children and even some teenagers have is that when you’re an adult, your life is easier. You have your own place, you can do what you want, your parents don’t have to tell you what to do, you’re out of school and you can get a job that earns you money. But what’s interesting is that there are adults that believe kids and teenagers have it easier. Up until they do buy their own place, they don’t worry about electric or heating bills or a mortgage. While teenagers and college students have part time jobs, they don’t have a career yet and they don’t have to worry about supporting a family. The truth is that everyone stresses, no matter what their age is and it really is so important to make the time to relax and just breathe. 

The article we were assigned to read on mindfulness is one that I think is very important and useful as both a student and a future teacher. Not only does it discuss how mindfulness has positively affected students, but it gives advice on how teachers can practice it in their classrooms. As a student, I definitely know what it feels like to be stressed. Back in high school, there was the stress of balancing friends, relationships, a social life, doing well in school, and applying to colleges. In addition to that, and as the article mentioned, “In any given classroom there will be at least a few children who have lived through one or more of the following: neglect, divorce, illness, death of a family member, emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse, violence in their homes or communities, being uprooted from their homes, and war.” There are some students who will be dealing with a lot more than the “typical” types of stress such as balancing school, relationships, etc. As teachers, it really is important to be able to understand this about the students and know how to properly deal with it.

 

I really liked the Still Quiet Place that the article mentioned. Taking a few minutes to introduce this in class and having the students visit this place for maybe a few minutes during class on a few days a week will not only benefit the students, but the teacher as well. It’ll get everyone to relax and take a moment to leave their stress behind and go somewhere else. I think it’s also important to make it clear that the students can practice this and visit the Still Quiet Place whenever they want. They don’t have to be in school to do it. They can do it whenever they’re feeling particularly overwhelmed in order to calm down and see things more clearly.

 

I really think practicing mindfulness is a good idea in the classroom. Teacher’s usually want the best for their students and they want them to succeed and do well and practicing mindfulness is a way they can do that. Personally, I've always hoped that as an adult and a teacher, I wouldn’t lose sight of what it was like to be a teenager. I didn’t--and still don't--want to become the adult that asked my kids or students What do you have to worry about? You’re young. I hope to be able to keep in mind that kids and teenagers stress out just like adults do and that it’s important and beneficial for everyone to learn how to properly deal with that stress.

Last Week's Class

Even though we didn't spend last week's class at District C, the time was still spent covering quite a bit of material, including the process of teaching backwards.

I think this process makes so much sense and makes things a lot more organized for yourself and for the students. By using this process, you aren't just throwing a bunch of things together, hoping the students will learn something from it and possibly leaving everyone kind of lost as a result. By working backwards, it gives you a chance to organize things better and figure out what exactly you're expecting and how exactly to get there.

I also liked the square activity we did and how each person having a role proved the point that assigning the roles also keeps things organized and a lot less chaotic. I remember some of my teachers assigning roles to group members in elementary and even middle school and from what I can remember, it worked really well. Students liked having their own assigned job and some of them took it very seriously. It just goes to show that something as simple as assigning each person a specific job can make things more organized for the class as a whole and also be something the students think is fun and interesting.

ELL

Last week, during our visit to District C, we got the chance to go into some ELL classes. This time, we were also divided up into pairs, which is the smallest grouping we've done since we started going to District C. It felt more relaxed in the sense that I had a better idea of what to look for and I was also able to find it fairly quickly instead of feeling like I needed more time.

I think the ELL classroom I liked the most was the math class we visited. I saw a lot of techniques suggested in the reading being used in that classroom. For example, the teacher was allowing students to help each other during class. It seemed as if she had positioned seats in such a way where the students' strengths and weaknesses balanced each other out so that they could help each other as they went along. She also used some Spanish in her lesson, but only words that were important to to lesson and only after saying the word in English first. She had diagrams on the board and used different colored markers to further help the students understand. She also had agendas and objectives on the board and around the room so that the students knew what was expected of them.

 

As far as teaching an ESL class, it is not something I'm opposed to. I actually do think these classes are beneficial to not only the student, but to the teacher as well because it gives them experience and insight into the life of someone whose first language isn't English and maybe hasn't even always lived in America. However, it may take some getting used to because there is that language barrier. As I said last week, I took Spanish in high school and know some basics, but I am no way fluent. Maybe this could be a good thing, though if I ever did become an ESL teacher because it would help me to understand how the students must be feeling learning how to speak English and I could learn from them just as they'll be learning from me.

Walkthrough Experience so far.

As of today, our class has visited District C three times. With each visit, I find myself getting more and more comfortable with being there. At first, I didn't know what to expect at all. It was an entirely new experience and I wasn't even sure of what to look for. During the first walkthrough, I felt that five minutes wasn't enough in each classroom because I wanted to be able to observe every little detail. But as we visited more and more classrooms, it became easier to pick up on the important things to look for.

Last week, we were split up into smaller groups of three and visited a few more classrooms. This time, I not only found it even easier to spot important details in each classroom, but I also found that I had a better sense of direction in the school. I was able to recognize classrooms from the previous week and felt more comfortable navigating through the hallways. This was certainly a good sign because being unsure of where you are in a new school only adds to the nervewracking "new experience" feeling.

So far, I'm really enjoying our visits to District C. I love how enthusiastic Principal JL is and I love how welcome he makes us feel week after week. His excitement really is contagious and I'm glad we are able to have this experience with him at his school.