Semester 1 of my first year of teaching is coming to a close. An interesting one it has been.
I have spent the last three or so weeks counting down the end of this semester while looking forward to new and exciting things to come. It is not as much that I want this Semester to end, and more that I cannot wait to finally get to start classes that are my own from day 1! It has been quite the challenge to take on students that had already fallen into routines with another teacher - I am just looking forward to a new challenge that is my own (and more realistic to what I will experience for the rest of my career).
I have found that especially the older students I have (at the level of course they are in) had lost interest in large parts of the course long before I arrived at their school. Many of them were content to aim for a 50 to get their last mandatory credit in Mathematics. Some strove for better and worked sometimes...but it is hard to say that any of them really put their hearts into it. But I still loved it - getting to see students for who they are and having some open up about their struggles (whether it be at home or school). It is hard not to appreciate people who are trying to be true to themselves...to be real. I only wish I had found a way to motivate them better.
We are in Exam week right now, so classes are finished and the final marking and report cards are all that are left for my responsibilities. I am spending time starting to prepare for the next Semesters classes (I am only repeating one of my three preps) but constantly find myself reflecting on how this Semesters classes went. What would I do differently next time? What would I continue doing? What would I stop doing all-together? Despite the fact that I will not be teaching a 1P course this Semester it is the one I had the most trouble with this time around so I am thinking about it a lot.
How do we reach such an eclectic variety of students? There are so many unique needs, despite the fact that some of them have similar backgrounds. Many are misplaced in the P stream and lack the core math skills that are needed. Most are motivated only by marks (and even that comes and goes) and all of them were pretty much shut down by the time the performance task and EQAO came along...never mind when they write their exams this week. I honestly don't know how that class functioned as a class of 18 before it was split. I constantly needed to be in three places at once and was using the phrase "focus" or "get back to work" at least 40 times per class. I know that when I teach this (or a similar) course again that I will separate from the use of the TIPS books much more often. I would love to be able to create partial notes for students like this that they can fill in during a short lesson and use as a model to complete their work. Page after page of application is, frankly, useless to them if there are no examples.
Now I will go back to writing reports and preparing for the upcoming Semester. All the meanwhile trying not to take it personally that too many of my students were unsuccessful this time around. I will focus on how I can make a difference for and motivate my next group. I will take what I have experienced so far and use it to make myself a better teacher.
Personal Goals
- Bring back goals students set for themselves throughout the Semester
- Use Student Conferences to check in with students about their progress and get them to talk about their goals and fears
- Teach students to self-evaluate their struggles and successes and give them the tools to figure out and execute their next steps
- Keep My Class Sites updated throughout the Semester
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
A Difficult Place to Stand
I have now been teaching for eight weeks. What an eight weeks it has been! Hard work, long hours, many hours spent in the car, and few evenings spent outside of my house. Time, effort and reward and I wouldn't trade for anything.
It is really hard to wrap my head around the fact that I am living my dream. I have spent some of my time reflecting on that simple fact and realizing that a part of me feels lost because of it - what's my next goal? what do I dream for now? I have since realized that it has only just begun - I intend to move out of my parent's house within the next year, have my car put into my own name and the ultimate goal being to own property. Those dreams are definitely big enough for now!
Put aside the daily trials that I face with my classes, working with others, managing parent contacts, keeping people safe, etc and I see myself standing in this system we call "Education" and realizing that I am not sure what it is supposed to accomplish anymore...realizing I don't know how to stand within it. It's difficult, everyday.
When you are preparing to be a teacher you spend a lot of time trying to figure out who you are as a teacher and what aspects are important to you. You make those things your focus and design your classroom, lessons, etc around it. Afterall, if you cannot be natural in your classroom it won't seem sincere. What I have come to realize is that we spent no time figuring out what to do with that information! So I know who I want to be as a teacher, and what I want to try to inspire my students to be...but can I really make this Education system work?
I have honest fears about where our province is heading. It is a frightening realization that this generation of kids lack the skills to think for themselves. And only we are to blame. Even as a first year teacher I know that what I am sitting in is different than when I was a student. I am not oblivious to the fact that there were struggling students 10 years ago, that is a fact, I am aware of it. What I do know is that the students in the Academic streams get to high school without basic skills in mathematics. The cannot add integers, never mind add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions. So how I am supposed to expect them to be able to think about problems and to learn how to solve them (and I walked into teaching with the goal to teach these skills to kids, not to teach them Calculus! so how can I not feel lost??).
You could argue that I am overreacting, and I wouldn't necessarily argue with you - but we NEED to over react to this! Something in this "new" curriculum isn't working! Whether we have somehow worked to scare elementary teachers away from math or we have changed things so much that the way in which it has to be taught isn't working, SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE!
We have this amazing idea of "Pathways" - they are often referred to as "Pathways to Success". We definitely have been working to change the definition of success in our schools to recognize that not everyone can accomplish the same things, and that going into the work force, an apprenticeship or college are just as successful as going to University - and I love it. But if the Pathways don't work they way the should even before high school, we have a problem! An applied class is supposed to be able to take a more hands on approach to learning for students who don't learn as well from books. They should, in theory, be learning similar material to the Academic stream...but this is impossible. The applied classes end up being a mix of students with various abilities, most who have fallen so far behind throughout elementary school that they cannot maintain the standards we want to have for them in Grade 9 (and we think it is good for the egos to not allow students to fail in elementary school?????? on what planet does all of a sudden failing in Grade 9 make for a positive ego???).
Anyway, this update has turned into a serious rant. So despite the fact that I have more to say on the matter I will leave some of it up to you. I think our system needs a serious change from the bottom up. Our future is certainly uncertain at this time...question is, how can us pawns (the teachers) make what we do have work for these students?
Any input, questions, or comments you have will be appreciated.
Or heck, write your City Councillor, the Mayor, the Minister of Education and your MP. We've got problems in our own backyards...we need to make SOMEONE realize that the problem exists and we know it!
For now, I will enjoy some Christmas music and a skate at the neighbourhood rink.
Merry Christmas and cheers to a safe and happy New Year!
xoxo
It is really hard to wrap my head around the fact that I am living my dream. I have spent some of my time reflecting on that simple fact and realizing that a part of me feels lost because of it - what's my next goal? what do I dream for now? I have since realized that it has only just begun - I intend to move out of my parent's house within the next year, have my car put into my own name and the ultimate goal being to own property. Those dreams are definitely big enough for now!
Put aside the daily trials that I face with my classes, working with others, managing parent contacts, keeping people safe, etc and I see myself standing in this system we call "Education" and realizing that I am not sure what it is supposed to accomplish anymore...realizing I don't know how to stand within it. It's difficult, everyday.
When you are preparing to be a teacher you spend a lot of time trying to figure out who you are as a teacher and what aspects are important to you. You make those things your focus and design your classroom, lessons, etc around it. Afterall, if you cannot be natural in your classroom it won't seem sincere. What I have come to realize is that we spent no time figuring out what to do with that information! So I know who I want to be as a teacher, and what I want to try to inspire my students to be...but can I really make this Education system work?
I have honest fears about where our province is heading. It is a frightening realization that this generation of kids lack the skills to think for themselves. And only we are to blame. Even as a first year teacher I know that what I am sitting in is different than when I was a student. I am not oblivious to the fact that there were struggling students 10 years ago, that is a fact, I am aware of it. What I do know is that the students in the Academic streams get to high school without basic skills in mathematics. The cannot add integers, never mind add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions. So how I am supposed to expect them to be able to think about problems and to learn how to solve them (and I walked into teaching with the goal to teach these skills to kids, not to teach them Calculus! so how can I not feel lost??).
You could argue that I am overreacting, and I wouldn't necessarily argue with you - but we NEED to over react to this! Something in this "new" curriculum isn't working! Whether we have somehow worked to scare elementary teachers away from math or we have changed things so much that the way in which it has to be taught isn't working, SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE!
We have this amazing idea of "Pathways" - they are often referred to as "Pathways to Success". We definitely have been working to change the definition of success in our schools to recognize that not everyone can accomplish the same things, and that going into the work force, an apprenticeship or college are just as successful as going to University - and I love it. But if the Pathways don't work they way the should even before high school, we have a problem! An applied class is supposed to be able to take a more hands on approach to learning for students who don't learn as well from books. They should, in theory, be learning similar material to the Academic stream...but this is impossible. The applied classes end up being a mix of students with various abilities, most who have fallen so far behind throughout elementary school that they cannot maintain the standards we want to have for them in Grade 9 (and we think it is good for the egos to not allow students to fail in elementary school?????? on what planet does all of a sudden failing in Grade 9 make for a positive ego???).
Anyway, this update has turned into a serious rant. So despite the fact that I have more to say on the matter I will leave some of it up to you. I think our system needs a serious change from the bottom up. Our future is certainly uncertain at this time...question is, how can us pawns (the teachers) make what we do have work for these students?
Any input, questions, or comments you have will be appreciated.
Or heck, write your City Councillor, the Mayor, the Minister of Education and your MP. We've got problems in our own backyards...we need to make SOMEONE realize that the problem exists and we know it!
For now, I will enjoy some Christmas music and a skate at the neighbourhood rink.
Merry Christmas and cheers to a safe and happy New Year!
xoxo
Friday, November 20, 2009
Month One
Well loyal followers, it has now officially been 4 weeks since I began teaching. Which means that only 174 days remain on my probation period as a teacher. It has been quite the roller coaster ride, but I can safely say that I still love it and am so happy with my decision to pursue a career in teaching. There have been funny moments, overwhelming/stressful moments and some great learning moments so far. Some of them are outside of the classroom - it's always ironic when I get home to have my father say "are you REALLY a high school teacher? not grade 2?"
He has a point though, as I love that age group as well at camp and cannot believe that I handle teenagers everyday either, but I love that I can go into class every day and not know what is going to happen...and at the same time be able to be apart of such a tough/awkward time of a kid's life. There are pros and cons to being the "young" teacher that the kids think they can relate to - I find that they tend to be more open about life and class which can lead to them saying things they probably shouldn't but they also seem to really appreciate my efforts and want to put forth the effort to meet my expectations.
Speaking of expectations, I tried to walk into these classes with high expectations...if you lower your expectations students will tend to lower their standards and not work to their potential. They created my classes by splitting existing ones in half (ya, I am a lucky butt, I know!) so the classes are small but I also had to deal with starting partway through a semester and got some of the students that were struggling a bit more in their classes. I've been working hard with them and some of them are struggling, but I make myself available to them for extra help a lot and a few of them have responded to it.
I had to write report card comments and do the report marks for my students in my second week at the school. It was quite the experience and quite the learning curve, but I got through it and have become more acquainted with the process as well as using Mark Book - a computer software for recording and calculating marks. This week has marked a bunch of "milestones" as well. The new teachers had our NTIP meeting with one of the VPs to find out about that process (and of course I just realized that there is much to do and it got left at school, luckily my Teacher Performance Appraisal (TPA) isn't for another two weeks). It was also Parent Teacher Night this week - which marks my first as a teacher. I give camp experience a ton of credit for how easily that went and for the fact that I wasn't even nervous about it. Overall, it went really well and some great conversations with parents occurred.
There are so many things about this first month that have gone through my head when I have thought about finally getting a chance to write this entry, but of course I cannot think about much right now - the exhaustion on a Friday evening is aplenty. I have kind of gotten used to the idea of exhaustion being a constant state of being. I have yet to drink coffee still - hooray!
Well I feel I have spent enough hours thinking about school for now anyway. 53 hrs were spent within the school walls, plus some additional time at school and lots to do this weekend.
Something you would like to know about my experience so far? Post a comment and I will include it in my nest entry :)
He has a point though, as I love that age group as well at camp and cannot believe that I handle teenagers everyday either, but I love that I can go into class every day and not know what is going to happen...and at the same time be able to be apart of such a tough/awkward time of a kid's life. There are pros and cons to being the "young" teacher that the kids think they can relate to - I find that they tend to be more open about life and class which can lead to them saying things they probably shouldn't but they also seem to really appreciate my efforts and want to put forth the effort to meet my expectations.
Speaking of expectations, I tried to walk into these classes with high expectations...if you lower your expectations students will tend to lower their standards and not work to their potential. They created my classes by splitting existing ones in half (ya, I am a lucky butt, I know!) so the classes are small but I also had to deal with starting partway through a semester and got some of the students that were struggling a bit more in their classes. I've been working hard with them and some of them are struggling, but I make myself available to them for extra help a lot and a few of them have responded to it.
I had to write report card comments and do the report marks for my students in my second week at the school. It was quite the experience and quite the learning curve, but I got through it and have become more acquainted with the process as well as using Mark Book - a computer software for recording and calculating marks. This week has marked a bunch of "milestones" as well. The new teachers had our NTIP meeting with one of the VPs to find out about that process (and of course I just realized that there is much to do and it got left at school, luckily my Teacher Performance Appraisal (TPA) isn't for another two weeks). It was also Parent Teacher Night this week - which marks my first as a teacher. I give camp experience a ton of credit for how easily that went and for the fact that I wasn't even nervous about it. Overall, it went really well and some great conversations with parents occurred.
There are so many things about this first month that have gone through my head when I have thought about finally getting a chance to write this entry, but of course I cannot think about much right now - the exhaustion on a Friday evening is aplenty. I have kind of gotten used to the idea of exhaustion being a constant state of being. I have yet to drink coffee still - hooray!
Well I feel I have spent enough hours thinking about school for now anyway. 53 hrs were spent within the school walls, plus some additional time at school and lots to do this weekend.
Something you would like to know about my experience so far? Post a comment and I will include it in my nest entry :)
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Journey Officially Begins...
After 20 years of my own education I will officially be a teacher in my home-grown province. Through a round of applications for permanent positions in Math/Science roles I landed four interviews in all and, in the end, two job offers. I accepted the first offer that came through thinking it would be a week before I heard from the last school and they ended up calling the next day. Not that this knowledge would have changed the decision to accept the offer, but it was a little ironic as I never expected to get two offers, nevermind land a full-time, permanent position my first year out of the Faculty. It feels really surreal still and I have had 24 hours to soak it in.
3 math preps at a semestered school will make for a very busy and interesting year. The school is small and seems like a great place to start my career and I will get a chance to teach a science class second semester as well. I am definitely excited, despite being rather nervous and unsure about it all (well, not about the profession itself, of that I know I want).
Time will tell what the experience may bring, and I will be sure to keep you posted (though I cannot guarantee frequent updates! haha).
Happy learning!
3 math preps at a semestered school will make for a very busy and interesting year. The school is small and seems like a great place to start my career and I will get a chance to teach a science class second semester as well. I am definitely excited, despite being rather nervous and unsure about it all (well, not about the profession itself, of that I know I want).
Time will tell what the experience may bring, and I will be sure to keep you posted (though I cannot guarantee frequent updates! haha).
Happy learning!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Realizing the Unknown
This week has largely been about realizing that I really have no idea what life has in store for me. Today it has really hit me that for the first time in twenty years I will not be heading into a classroom with a teacher standing in front of me the day after Labour Day. I am beginning to realize how strange this is and how much I am going to miss school - University was an amazing experience and was such a huge part of my life.
Not only do I have to move into a non-student life this September I am sitting here not really having any idea as to what the next 4, 8, or 12 months have in store for me. I have some short term plans as I continue the job search, but they could easily be cut short if my search is successful. I have been lucky to find some employers that will understand if I have to leave them, but there is a mix of a family business really needing my help in there as well. It makes the unknown and looking into the "rest of my life" feel that much more stressful.
I am so grateful for the support of all of my friends and family who really see the potential in me to be a great teacher and want to see me succeed. These networks are as valuable as the ones that help me meet the people that may be able to help me find a job somewhere down the road. It would be pretty daunting to have to tackle it all without people backing me up - so thank you to you all, for being a part of my life and pushing me to keep going and be the best person that I can be. In those moments where it doesn't feel worth it to do it for myself I will push myself knowing that there are people in my life who will be proud of me for it.
Well it is late and I have to get up to go to work in the morning, so I will leave with my congratulations to my friends who have started to find their place in the teaching world. Whether you are starting overseas, have found a job in another province or are starting in a permanent, occassional or LTO position around the GTA/Kingston I wish you the best this year and know that you will be successful in whatever you put your mind to!
Not only do I have to move into a non-student life this September I am sitting here not really having any idea as to what the next 4, 8, or 12 months have in store for me. I have some short term plans as I continue the job search, but they could easily be cut short if my search is successful. I have been lucky to find some employers that will understand if I have to leave them, but there is a mix of a family business really needing my help in there as well. It makes the unknown and looking into the "rest of my life" feel that much more stressful.
I am so grateful for the support of all of my friends and family who really see the potential in me to be a great teacher and want to see me succeed. These networks are as valuable as the ones that help me meet the people that may be able to help me find a job somewhere down the road. It would be pretty daunting to have to tackle it all without people backing me up - so thank you to you all, for being a part of my life and pushing me to keep going and be the best person that I can be. In those moments where it doesn't feel worth it to do it for myself I will push myself knowing that there are people in my life who will be proud of me for it.
Well it is late and I have to get up to go to work in the morning, so I will leave with my congratulations to my friends who have started to find their place in the teaching world. Whether you are starting overseas, have found a job in another province or are starting in a permanent, occassional or LTO position around the GTA/Kingston I wish you the best this year and know that you will be successful in whatever you put your mind to!
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