Monday Blues Not in my book

So today, I was back to school after recovering from an awful tonsil infection that left me literally speechless. I had gone to bed late the night before and I have no idea where the energy came to get up this morning and continue vigorously throughout the whole day. I checked in with my cooperating teacher and she gave me a run down of what had happend on Friday. There a few house things to deal with such as finishing up handouts and such. I was able to jump right in with my new unit on narrative poetry. The idea of this unit is to push students to complete one of their benchmark assessments this week. One in particular is on narrative poetry. So today we went over the logistics of narrative poetry; what is it; the elements of it along with the key literary techniques. I found that most of the classes were very in tuned and I was able to get through much of the material. There were a few classes that weren't able to finish reading both poems that I distributed for class but we will continue to work on them tomorrow. I didn't have many behavioral problems today which was a blessing. I am looking forward to my seminar class because we will be discussing classroom management and I am hoping some of my questions will be answered. Any who, the day flew by and I all of my classes went well (six to be exact). Tomorrow should be another good day because we are continuing on with the lesson from today as well as possibly looking at a new narrative poem. I will also be handing out the new book projects for the month of October. The ones that were handed for September were scarse so I hope October will bring better things. I have to say that missing two days of school can really throw you off. I came in this morning and I felt like so much had happened and I felt so lost. It took me about a period or two to catch up and get back into the swing of things. I am going to do my best and not get sick because in my eyes and my career's eyes I cannot afford to miss one day. Writing this I am beginning to wind down and feel the exhaust of the day. I am going to get a good nights sleep and hope that tomorrow is just as good as it was today.

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Comment by Bonnie Kaplan on October 2, 2007 at 2:04am: HI jackie.
Bravo on a good day. So here's my question, what made this day so good and what can you do to continue your role?
I think that a great reason to keep this school journal is just for that reason, to figure out what's working for you and keep it going.
So how about it? Describe what's going on it that classroom now. The kids, their reaction to you and to the lesson...Let's get more specific, okay?
Bonnie
Last day today in Israel. I will be home Wednesday and working with Mary on THursday with our HVWP Summer Institute 07 group returning together for a renewal day.

Comment by Jacqueline Marien on October 4, 2007 at 4:16pm: Bonnie,
I think what made that day so good was the fact that I was rested and ready to get back into the swing of things. I also think it went well because I knew the information being taught like the back of my hand. There are always things that some people are better at understanding and teaching and for me teaching the elements of narrative poetry came very easy. Now on another note, on Wednesday I taught a grammar lesson and I never felt so lost even with a lesson plan. I was trying to take such a complex topic and break it down into a period of 43 minutes. I only taught run-on sentences and verb tenses but even at that I think some of the students seemed overwhelmed and confused. I have noticed with the students that when I am enjoying the lesson (teaching that is) I think they are more motivated to participate because I am enthusiastic about it. There is always the occasional student who never raises his hands but I try to make an effort to get them to participate even if they only read their journal out loud or read part of the text being discussed. Having control of the classroom and having the students ask questions keeps me positive and enthusiastic. When the students come up to me after class and simply ask about homework or just say hi I know that my method of getting in front of that classroom and being myself is what works for me. I know that I am a guest in the building and classroom but my CT has definitly given me the opportunity to establish a voice of my own and be apart of the students lives. I do not like conforming to other peoples opinions and while I am sure to think about my actions before I take them, I try to modify them to the best of my ability with each classroom. For example, I know that yelling in my inclusion class is not going to get anywhere. Being stern with them and telling them that there is a lot to do is very helpful. I also find that if I talk to them as if they are adults they are more likely to respond in a positive manner. But of course there is the occasional few that just do not care. My ideas and lesson plans for the classroom seem to be helping the students. I am giving an assessment essay in class tomorrow, so I will see if the skills I taught them really seeped in. I am planning on giving an evaluation to them at the end of my time there so that I know from their opinions their constructive critisism. For some of the lessons like the grammar one and the lesson today of reading the poem and going over the rubric for the assessment, I found the students gazing off and even falling asleep. While it is hard to have them work in groups I think they enjoy the fact that I trust them enough to get work done in a social situation. I think it gets boring for some students to just sit there and listen. There are few students that are constantly participating and truly seem to understand the material being presented for the day. Over the course of my time there I have noticed that some students enjoy when I teach and others don't. I have gotten sad faces when the students have heard that I am leaving soon and I have gotten the silent "YESSSSS" underneath the breath. To me that is constructive critisism because it allows me to reflect and step back and say what am I not doing to make this kid understand the material or even enjoy the class. How can I make this better? My time is winding down and I have bittersweet feelings. I have learned however to be very creative in the classroom and how to break things down in lamen terms so that all of the students understand. That is one advantage of moving from middle school to high school. I have the ability to break things down. I have become better aquainted with some students and don't get the roll of the eyes and have learned to climb their "walls" a little. I know they know I am not the main authority in the classroom but it is encouraging to know that they respect me regardless of my position in that room.

As far as today goes, I went over the rubric for the assessment and we read the narrative poem. I was able to assess in today's lesson how much the students have learned in the past week and I was pleased to know that they remembered items and material from Monday. The department chair from the Peekskill English Dept. stopped by and the class that I had at that time, was completely in tuned to the lesson being presented and they were answering questions left and right. I was very proud. The material that we had been discussing all week was still evident in the student's minds and they showed great power in owing that knowledge. Tomorrow is finding and the students are testing but come tuesday we are beginning a brand new unit. I hope that through reflection and review I can make this unit a little more entertaining by incorporating technology and plain old excitement. Overall I am feeling fabulous about my experience at PMS and have a new appreciation for the middle school position as a teacher.