I can't believe that it is already the end of the semester and this is my last blog post. It feels like the semester was just starting. I have been trying to figure out what to write in my last blog. I had a few ideas but after reading some other final blogs I was not sure how to follow them. But its not a competition.
This semester has been crazy and stressful. I had no idea this would be one of the best and worst semesters I have ever had. Having four math classes and an education class has definitely pushed me to and past my breaking point a few times. I have had moments where I would be in tears and just didn't want to go to school anymore. But this semester has also pushed me and challenged me in so many ways. I have gotten to know so many great people and we have become some sort of weird family because we spend so much time together. I have come to learn so much more about myself and what it takes to be a teacher.
All of my blogs have been about my observations and substitute jobs this semester. Things I have noticed about students, the questions they ask, and questions I have about how to address issues in the classroom. But there is two things I have not yet blogged about. That is what it takes to be a teacher and if I am making the right decision about my career.
While observing I believe most people pay very close attention to the students in the classroom and how a teacher teaches their class. But something I don't think many people look at or pay attention to is what the teacher does before and after those classes. Like other people have mentioned in their blogs, I believe teachers are under appreciated. I also believe that teaching is the hardest job anyone could have. Now I'm sure many people would disagree with that statement but everyone has a right to their own opinion and I don't expect everyone to agree with me. In other jobs, if you try to teach someone how to do a job and they don't know or ever get it you can just give them another task to do that is easier for them. But with teaching if someone doesn't understand what you are teaching, then you need to find other ways to teach it until they do understand. It is up to a teacher to make sure everyone learns how to do each of the topics. When students don't do well then the teacher is said to be a bad teacher. But is it always the teachers fault?
While observing and subbing I have seem some of the hardest working people I know. I see teachers stay after school for hours making review sheets for each individual student who has failed a test. Not one review, but instead they sit their and go through each test writing down where the student went wrong and basically rewriting the class notes for each one of the incorrect answers. I see teachers waiting after school for students to come in to go over things they don't understand and the students never show up. I hear stories about how student just take a chance on the first test and then ask to try again and again only to "wing it" every time. I watch as a teacher create a worksheet to reteach a lesson for a second time with step by step notes on how to do problems after students don't do well on homework. Then when given 6 problems to try again, students still can't get the answer right even though it is written out step by step in an example. Teachers put in countless hours of work to try to help students who don't care. Teachers try activities and teach in different ways and yet students waste time and don't even try. So when does a teachers job end? Other jobs clock in and out and get to go home but when do teachers get to "clock out"?
This is the career that I have chosen (at least for now). I have heard so many comments about my career choice that it is impossible to list them all. "Why would you want to be a teacher? They don't make much?" "But you are so smart why not go into engineering or something?" I have even had teachers telling me not to be a teacher and yet here I am. The truth is I did not always want to be a teacher. Growing up I wanted to be a dolphin trainer. I loved dolphins and bought everything that had a dolphin on it (ok not everything). My parents took me to Sea World and my dad and I got to be dolphin trainers for a day once when we were on vacation. But that all changed my junior year of high school when I watch a documentary and I realized that it was wrong. My plan for my life changed and I had no clue what I wanted to do anymore. I knew I was good at math and chemistry at the time but didn't know what I could do with that. That year I ended up teaching another student an entire lesson in my math class and he got a 100% on his test. That is when I started thinking about teaching. This was a problem however because I hated talking in front of people. I would get so nervous and my face would turn red every time I had to present. So how was I every suppose to be a teacher?
Once I started college I still didn't know if teaching was right for me. I started volunteering at the high school I graduated from but I was still so hesitant to help any students during class. I loved helping teachers by filing, grading, organizing, and doing whatever they needed me to do but I did not want to talk in front of the class. I knew that if I was going to be a teacher I had to be a teacher assistant and student teach at some point. So I continued to volunteer hoping that I could get more comfortable in the classroom. A couple years went by and I was in my fourth year of college. I had started to become more comfortable in the classroom and tried to help students as much as I could while I was there. By the end the year I decided to finally declare education to my major but still wondered if it was the right decision. I also decided that I would become a substitute because people say subbing is harder than being a teacher. I was a little hesitant but I knew these teachers I had gotten to know at the high school would have my back and would never put me in a situation I was not ready for.
Now to this year. I am now a substitute, I am taking four math classes, and still don't know if teaching is right for me. My first substitute job was here. I was so nervous and found out that I was going to be teaching. Although I was so happy this teacher believed in me so much that she wanted me to teach her class, I was still so incredibly nervous. I had never taught a class before. But you already know this story from my previous blogs. Even though I have been able to sub multiple times and I continue to get even more comfortable in the class room, I still find myself doubting my ability as a teacher. There are days when I think to myself I will be a great teacher. But other days I wake up and think how am I ever going to do this? How am I ever going to be like those teachers I observe? I will never be as good as them.
Choosing your career is probably one of the biggest decision we make in our life. Society makes us think that we need to know what it is we want to do the moment we graduate from high school. But here I am now in my fifth year of college and I still don't know if teaching I right for me. I love going to the high school to observe and help out. I am starting to build these connections with students and that is something that I have never been able to do before. They like having me as a substitute and they are starting to ask me for help when they get stuck on a problem. I wish I could be there more than twice a week because I am enjoying it so much. I love to see that "a-ha" moment when students finally get something. I love being able to help someone when they don't understand something. I love when students come to me almost as a mentor. I love when these students succeed and I help them get there.
Although I am not sure if teaching is right for me I look forward to the lessons and experiences that are still to come. I have enjoyed this semester and getting a chance to share my experiences with you. Thank you so much for reading my blogs and for the comments. Like always here is my question for you. What do you see yourself doing in the future? Is it ok if students don't know what they want to do?
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Sunday, November 27, 2016
Student confidence
I have had the opportunity to observe the same three classes twice a week since the school year started. I have also had the opportunity to be a substitute for these same classes and get two different perspectives. For this blog I wanted to talk about something I have noticed when I was observing and also something I observed when I was a substitute because it left me with a lot of questions.
When I was observing a few weeks ago, two of the classes were learning about matrices. This was I think the first time students learn about matrices so everything that was said was new to them. Normally the teacher I observe will give students notes to write down and will go through the first example of each type of problem with them. Then she will give them another problem to try on their own. For matrices, the first things students learn is about how to write the dimensions of the matrix. Students wrote down that when you write the dimensions you write the number of rows x number of columns. Because this was such a simple type of problem, the teacher did not go through an example, instead she just gave them some to try on their own. When students were just given problems they looked at the teacher as if they were waiting for her to show them how to do it. They had literally just written down that to write the dimensions you put the number of rows x number of columns and it was even still up on the screen. This confused me and I started getting all these questions about why they did not have the confidence to try this problem on their own. Then I came up with more questions. Did they not want to try it because they were so used to the teacher going through a problem first? Did they not read what they wrote down which told them how to do it? Did they think they couldn't possibly be doing the question right because it should not be that easy? I was surprised at what was happening and I was baffled that they did not want to try it on their own. The teacher reassured them that they could do it and told them how to do the problem without actually going through one.
A couple weeks later I was able to be a substitute for this teacher again. I was a sub for a full day on Thursday and then half day the next day. On Thursday the teacher gave me the note for the classes and told me that I could decide how I wanted to do the notes that day. She said I could go through the notes like normal, where I go through the first example and then give them some to try, or I could just let them copy them. Over the last couple weeks of observing I noticed that a lot of students were not getting their homework done. This teacher was giving students a lot more time in class to do their assignment because they said they did not have time outside of class to do it. She would plan work days for students so that they could get it done. I kept this in mind that morning while I tried to decide what I wanted to do during class. While students corrected their assignment from the night before I decided that instead of making the decision myself about how to go through the lesson, I would let each class decide what they wanted to do. I did not make this decision lightly since the last time students had a work day when I was a sub they did not get their work done. After they finished correcting their assignment and I took attendance, I gave the class two options. I told them that we could either go through the notes like they normally do or they could just copy them and have the rest of the class time to work on their assignment. If I went over the notes like they normally did I would go through the first example with them, give them some to try on their own, then give them the rest of the time to work on their assignment which would probably end up only being about 10 minutes. If they decided to just copy the notes they would have 30 or more minutes to work on their assignment. Not surprisingly all of the classes decided to do the second option. I made it very clear though before they decided that if they chose the second option that they needed to get their work done and ask me any questions they had while working on it. I also told them not to make me regret letting them decide how the hour would go. When I told the teacher what I had done, she said it was a great idea and a great teaching/learning moment for me.
As the hour went by there were quite a few students who did get work done and asked me questions. I did my best to keep everyone on track and make sure everyone was working on their assignment.
I could see where students were struggling by the questions students asked and I made sure to leave a note to the teacher so she knew as well. Since I was going to sub in the afternoon again the next day, I tried to pay close attention to what afternoon classes were struggling with so that I could try to clear things up the next day. I knew that 4th and 5th hour were taking a quiz the next day so I tried to review everything that would be on their quiz so I could answer any last minute questions. 6th hour seemed to be struggling with the difference between a least common multiple and GCF. That night I tried to figure out the best way to help each class.
On Friday I made sure to ask the teacher if students in her first two classes did their homework. I knew that if they didn't get the assignment done then I would not give her classes the option next time on how they wanted the hour to go. It seemed like most of the class did get it done so I was happy with my decision. I still had three hours to check to see who did and did not do their homework but I was hoping the rest of the hours would go well. 4th and 5th hour had their quiz so I tried to answer and last minute questions before giving them their quiz. After their quiz they had an assignment to work on which was unusual for a quiz day. I made sure to read them the note the teacher had left me so they knew why they were getting an assignment. This assignment was the start of a test review because the test was going to be after Thanksgiving break. There was a lot of information they needed to remember before they took their test so she wanted them to start reviewing now. I told them to ask me any questions and that I would do my best to help. Both classes finished their quizzes quickly and had about 15 to 20 minutes to work on their review. Again I tried to keep students on task and make sure they were working on their assignment. During 5th hour I was really struggling to keep these two students on task. They wants to play pool on their phone rather then do their assignment. When I asked why they were not getting the assignment done one student told me that it was so easy and did not see the point to doing it. My response to this was that if it was so easy then why not take the 5 to 10 minutes it should take to get it done and then they won't have any homework over the weekend.
When 6th hour started the teacher had me go around the room and record how many problems the students did from the night before. The assignment was only 8 problems and I had given them plenty of time to do it the day before. I was not surprised when students said they did none of it but I was surprised at how many didn't get all of the problems done. There was a lot of question on the assignment so I tried to clear up anything they were struggling with. We had some review problems to do and then I gave them their assignment. Again I told them to ask me questions and tried to make sure everyone was working on something.
There were a few things that I noticed regarding both of these situations. When I was just observing I thought the reason students didn't want to try a problem was because they lacked the confidence to try it. However, when I gave them the option to just copy notes rather then going through an example, they seemed very eager to just copy. The second thing I noticed is that students say they can't get their homework done outside of class because they don't have time to do it. However, when given the time during class, some still don't take advantage of this time to get it done.
Like the rest of my blogs I end with questions for those of you who are brave enough to read this. What do you think about both situations I encountered? Would you have let the students decide how class would go? In the future I think I will let students decide how class will go (not every time though). Would you let students decide how class will go again? And finally, what questions come to your mind while reading this blog?
Thank you again to those who read this.
When I was observing a few weeks ago, two of the classes were learning about matrices. This was I think the first time students learn about matrices so everything that was said was new to them. Normally the teacher I observe will give students notes to write down and will go through the first example of each type of problem with them. Then she will give them another problem to try on their own. For matrices, the first things students learn is about how to write the dimensions of the matrix. Students wrote down that when you write the dimensions you write the number of rows x number of columns. Because this was such a simple type of problem, the teacher did not go through an example, instead she just gave them some to try on their own. When students were just given problems they looked at the teacher as if they were waiting for her to show them how to do it. They had literally just written down that to write the dimensions you put the number of rows x number of columns and it was even still up on the screen. This confused me and I started getting all these questions about why they did not have the confidence to try this problem on their own. Then I came up with more questions. Did they not want to try it because they were so used to the teacher going through a problem first? Did they not read what they wrote down which told them how to do it? Did they think they couldn't possibly be doing the question right because it should not be that easy? I was surprised at what was happening and I was baffled that they did not want to try it on their own. The teacher reassured them that they could do it and told them how to do the problem without actually going through one.
A couple weeks later I was able to be a substitute for this teacher again. I was a sub for a full day on Thursday and then half day the next day. On Thursday the teacher gave me the note for the classes and told me that I could decide how I wanted to do the notes that day. She said I could go through the notes like normal, where I go through the first example and then give them some to try, or I could just let them copy them. Over the last couple weeks of observing I noticed that a lot of students were not getting their homework done. This teacher was giving students a lot more time in class to do their assignment because they said they did not have time outside of class to do it. She would plan work days for students so that they could get it done. I kept this in mind that morning while I tried to decide what I wanted to do during class. While students corrected their assignment from the night before I decided that instead of making the decision myself about how to go through the lesson, I would let each class decide what they wanted to do. I did not make this decision lightly since the last time students had a work day when I was a sub they did not get their work done. After they finished correcting their assignment and I took attendance, I gave the class two options. I told them that we could either go through the notes like they normally do or they could just copy them and have the rest of the class time to work on their assignment. If I went over the notes like they normally did I would go through the first example with them, give them some to try on their own, then give them the rest of the time to work on their assignment which would probably end up only being about 10 minutes. If they decided to just copy the notes they would have 30 or more minutes to work on their assignment. Not surprisingly all of the classes decided to do the second option. I made it very clear though before they decided that if they chose the second option that they needed to get their work done and ask me any questions they had while working on it. I also told them not to make me regret letting them decide how the hour would go. When I told the teacher what I had done, she said it was a great idea and a great teaching/learning moment for me.
As the hour went by there were quite a few students who did get work done and asked me questions. I did my best to keep everyone on track and make sure everyone was working on their assignment.
I could see where students were struggling by the questions students asked and I made sure to leave a note to the teacher so she knew as well. Since I was going to sub in the afternoon again the next day, I tried to pay close attention to what afternoon classes were struggling with so that I could try to clear things up the next day. I knew that 4th and 5th hour were taking a quiz the next day so I tried to review everything that would be on their quiz so I could answer any last minute questions. 6th hour seemed to be struggling with the difference between a least common multiple and GCF. That night I tried to figure out the best way to help each class.
On Friday I made sure to ask the teacher if students in her first two classes did their homework. I knew that if they didn't get the assignment done then I would not give her classes the option next time on how they wanted the hour to go. It seemed like most of the class did get it done so I was happy with my decision. I still had three hours to check to see who did and did not do their homework but I was hoping the rest of the hours would go well. 4th and 5th hour had their quiz so I tried to answer and last minute questions before giving them their quiz. After their quiz they had an assignment to work on which was unusual for a quiz day. I made sure to read them the note the teacher had left me so they knew why they were getting an assignment. This assignment was the start of a test review because the test was going to be after Thanksgiving break. There was a lot of information they needed to remember before they took their test so she wanted them to start reviewing now. I told them to ask me any questions and that I would do my best to help. Both classes finished their quizzes quickly and had about 15 to 20 minutes to work on their review. Again I tried to keep students on task and make sure they were working on their assignment. During 5th hour I was really struggling to keep these two students on task. They wants to play pool on their phone rather then do their assignment. When I asked why they were not getting the assignment done one student told me that it was so easy and did not see the point to doing it. My response to this was that if it was so easy then why not take the 5 to 10 minutes it should take to get it done and then they won't have any homework over the weekend.
When 6th hour started the teacher had me go around the room and record how many problems the students did from the night before. The assignment was only 8 problems and I had given them plenty of time to do it the day before. I was not surprised when students said they did none of it but I was surprised at how many didn't get all of the problems done. There was a lot of question on the assignment so I tried to clear up anything they were struggling with. We had some review problems to do and then I gave them their assignment. Again I told them to ask me questions and tried to make sure everyone was working on something.
There were a few things that I noticed regarding both of these situations. When I was just observing I thought the reason students didn't want to try a problem was because they lacked the confidence to try it. However, when I gave them the option to just copy notes rather then going through an example, they seemed very eager to just copy. The second thing I noticed is that students say they can't get their homework done outside of class because they don't have time to do it. However, when given the time during class, some still don't take advantage of this time to get it done.
Like the rest of my blogs I end with questions for those of you who are brave enough to read this. What do you think about both situations I encountered? Would you have let the students decide how class would go? In the future I think I will let students decide how class will go (not every time though). Would you let students decide how class will go again? And finally, what questions come to your mind while reading this blog?
Thank you again to those who read this.
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Personal Connections
The last two of my blog posts have been about my experience as a substitute and volunteer. Again I want to share my experience I had this last week. I was a substitute for the third time for the same teacher. You might be thinking wow she I gone a lot. The teacher I help out is also the head of the math department so every time the school has meetings she has to go to them. I'm not complaining because this allows me to have more experience in the classroom and she continues to give me new challenges every time I sub for her.
In my last blog I talked about how students blamed me for not getting their homework done in class. This made me nervous for the next time I would sub for her because I was not sure how I would handle the situation this time. I wondered to myself if maybe I was too friendly and too nice the last time I was a sub. When I go to the school to observe and volunteer I try to be very friendly so that students will feel comfortable enough to ask me questions. I tried to do the same as a substitute. Last time I subbed students had a work day during class so I was very lenient as far as students moving around and talking to each other. I heard a lot of side conversations happening but it looked like everyone was working on something. I was also trying to help any student who raised their hand which kept me busy for most of the hour. Clearly they were not actually doing what they were supposed to be doing and they decided to blame me for this.
Now to this week. This time I was teaching one hour and the other four hours were having review days. I had a conversation in the morning with the teacher I was subbing for because she knew I was a little nervous. She gave me some ideas of how to handle each of the classes but left it up to me to decide what I was going to do. I looked over all the material for each hour during her prep first hour. 2nd hour I was teaching a small lesson after students corrected their assignment. I wanted to try something different then just having them write down notes so I decided to use the white board. This teacher wanted me to go through the first example with them and let them try the second on their own for each type of problem. I went through the first problem but made the students tell me what to write down for each step. Then I let them try the second problem. When we went through it I had students come up and write their answer on the board. There was three steps for each problem so I said for each step someone new needs to come up and write it on the board. Students were hesitant but we got through it and I gave them their assignment. Next was 3rd hour who had a review day. I told them the objectives for the day and then had them correct their assignment. Next we went through the 4 question activity she left for them. I answered any questions and then with about 20 minutes left, I gave them their assignment.
Now I got nervous because the next three classes were the ones I had last time when things did not go so well. 4th hour was the easiest hour because they are the smallest class of the day. One of the "excuses" last time from 5th hour was that I did not give them all the information they needed or the objectives of the day. To improve form last time, before I turned anything on or took attendance, I told them everything we would be doing and made sure to point to the board that always says what they would be doing. Then I had them get their assignment out so they could correct it while I took attendance. Once they were finished, instead of just giving them their assignment like last time I decided the best way to get through the hour was to do some of the homework together as a group and then go through the answers. This was something the teacher suggested and said would be okay to do. She suggested that I put two problems on the screen at a time and give them about 5 or more minutes, depending on the problem, to work on them. I could answer any questions during this time and once the time was up or once everyone was ready, I could show them the answer. Not only did this take up time during class but I could make sure everyone got some of the assignment done. I did this for the first seven problems and then handed out the work sheet so they could have the rest of the time to work. They ended up having about 30 minutes to work on it and some of them even got it done. Since this worked out so well I decided to do the same thing 5th hour but handle it a little differently.
5th hour is the largest class of the day and is the class that blamed me last time for not getting their assignment done. I knew I wanted to say something to them so that they knew I had heard what had happen. I didn't want to seem nervous or mad in anyway. I am still learning how to teach so I was using this as a learning experience from the last time. Like 4th hour I made sure not to turn anything on or put anything on the projector. Last time I did not wait for every side conversation to stop because it is very hard to get all 30+ students completely quiet. This time however I made sure everyone was paying attention to what I was about to say. I told them we would first correct their assignment from last night and then we would have an assignment to work on. However I told them that last time I was here people did not work on their assignments and that they had reasons why they didn't do it. I continued to say that this time no one would be moving around and that instead of just giving them their assignment we would be doing the first few problems together. I told them to get their assignments out so they could correct while I took attendance. When they were done someone asked right away if they could move and I knew it was a student who blamed me last time. I said no even though he thought saying pretty please with a cherry on top would change my mind. We did the first eight or nine problems together and I decided to give them the rest of the time to work. I again said we would not be moving around but that they were more then welcome to ask me questions. I went to give a student the answer key because he came in after he took a test. The student who asked to move earlier moved and, loud enough for everyone to hear, I said that we weren't moving around. He tried to argue because they were just working on an assignment to which I replied "yes but the last time I gave you time to work and I let you moved around I got burned for it." The room got quiet and the student gave me a look as if he knew exactly what I was talking about. I heard someone say that I got in trouble last time which I quickly made clear that I did not. I just said that I need to change from what I did last time because clearly people did not get assignments done. The rest of the hour people worked on their assignment and continued to ask me question. I felt very confident in what I had done and how I handled the situation. 6th hour was a lot like 3rd hour and although I had to get students back on track, I did not have any major problems.
I made sure to leave a note for the teacher with what each class did and how the day went. When I got home I made sure to text her how the day went and any information she needed to know. I wondered how I did and hoped that students would not think I was mad at them. When I went later this week to observe I had a student tell me that they like me as a sub which made me feel good. I have never been in a situation like this and I wondered how personal I should be with students. While I want them to get to know me so they feel comfortable asking questions, being there as a volunteer and as a substitute are two completely different situations. I want students to feel open to asking me questions about math but I also want students to feel like they can ask any questions about college or anything else. These students are mostly juniors and seniors. There have already been a few students asking about what college is like as far as teachers and school work. But do I only allow them to ask me those types of questions when I am there to volunteer/observe or is appropriate for them to ask me those questions as a substitute as well? Many people have said I have been handling this situation well but I still struggle sometimes to find a balance.
So like always I end my blog with questions for you. Do you think I handled the situation well this time? What would you have done as a substitute after being blamed for students not getting their work done? Would you have done anything differently? And lastly, how much information do you think you should share with students as their substitute? What about as a volunteer?
In my last blog I talked about how students blamed me for not getting their homework done in class. This made me nervous for the next time I would sub for her because I was not sure how I would handle the situation this time. I wondered to myself if maybe I was too friendly and too nice the last time I was a sub. When I go to the school to observe and volunteer I try to be very friendly so that students will feel comfortable enough to ask me questions. I tried to do the same as a substitute. Last time I subbed students had a work day during class so I was very lenient as far as students moving around and talking to each other. I heard a lot of side conversations happening but it looked like everyone was working on something. I was also trying to help any student who raised their hand which kept me busy for most of the hour. Clearly they were not actually doing what they were supposed to be doing and they decided to blame me for this.
Now to this week. This time I was teaching one hour and the other four hours were having review days. I had a conversation in the morning with the teacher I was subbing for because she knew I was a little nervous. She gave me some ideas of how to handle each of the classes but left it up to me to decide what I was going to do. I looked over all the material for each hour during her prep first hour. 2nd hour I was teaching a small lesson after students corrected their assignment. I wanted to try something different then just having them write down notes so I decided to use the white board. This teacher wanted me to go through the first example with them and let them try the second on their own for each type of problem. I went through the first problem but made the students tell me what to write down for each step. Then I let them try the second problem. When we went through it I had students come up and write their answer on the board. There was three steps for each problem so I said for each step someone new needs to come up and write it on the board. Students were hesitant but we got through it and I gave them their assignment. Next was 3rd hour who had a review day. I told them the objectives for the day and then had them correct their assignment. Next we went through the 4 question activity she left for them. I answered any questions and then with about 20 minutes left, I gave them their assignment.
Now I got nervous because the next three classes were the ones I had last time when things did not go so well. 4th hour was the easiest hour because they are the smallest class of the day. One of the "excuses" last time from 5th hour was that I did not give them all the information they needed or the objectives of the day. To improve form last time, before I turned anything on or took attendance, I told them everything we would be doing and made sure to point to the board that always says what they would be doing. Then I had them get their assignment out so they could correct it while I took attendance. Once they were finished, instead of just giving them their assignment like last time I decided the best way to get through the hour was to do some of the homework together as a group and then go through the answers. This was something the teacher suggested and said would be okay to do. She suggested that I put two problems on the screen at a time and give them about 5 or more minutes, depending on the problem, to work on them. I could answer any questions during this time and once the time was up or once everyone was ready, I could show them the answer. Not only did this take up time during class but I could make sure everyone got some of the assignment done. I did this for the first seven problems and then handed out the work sheet so they could have the rest of the time to work. They ended up having about 30 minutes to work on it and some of them even got it done. Since this worked out so well I decided to do the same thing 5th hour but handle it a little differently.
5th hour is the largest class of the day and is the class that blamed me last time for not getting their assignment done. I knew I wanted to say something to them so that they knew I had heard what had happen. I didn't want to seem nervous or mad in anyway. I am still learning how to teach so I was using this as a learning experience from the last time. Like 4th hour I made sure not to turn anything on or put anything on the projector. Last time I did not wait for every side conversation to stop because it is very hard to get all 30+ students completely quiet. This time however I made sure everyone was paying attention to what I was about to say. I told them we would first correct their assignment from last night and then we would have an assignment to work on. However I told them that last time I was here people did not work on their assignments and that they had reasons why they didn't do it. I continued to say that this time no one would be moving around and that instead of just giving them their assignment we would be doing the first few problems together. I told them to get their assignments out so they could correct while I took attendance. When they were done someone asked right away if they could move and I knew it was a student who blamed me last time. I said no even though he thought saying pretty please with a cherry on top would change my mind. We did the first eight or nine problems together and I decided to give them the rest of the time to work. I again said we would not be moving around but that they were more then welcome to ask me questions. I went to give a student the answer key because he came in after he took a test. The student who asked to move earlier moved and, loud enough for everyone to hear, I said that we weren't moving around. He tried to argue because they were just working on an assignment to which I replied "yes but the last time I gave you time to work and I let you moved around I got burned for it." The room got quiet and the student gave me a look as if he knew exactly what I was talking about. I heard someone say that I got in trouble last time which I quickly made clear that I did not. I just said that I need to change from what I did last time because clearly people did not get assignments done. The rest of the hour people worked on their assignment and continued to ask me question. I felt very confident in what I had done and how I handled the situation. 6th hour was a lot like 3rd hour and although I had to get students back on track, I did not have any major problems.
I made sure to leave a note for the teacher with what each class did and how the day went. When I got home I made sure to text her how the day went and any information she needed to know. I wondered how I did and hoped that students would not think I was mad at them. When I went later this week to observe I had a student tell me that they like me as a sub which made me feel good. I have never been in a situation like this and I wondered how personal I should be with students. While I want them to get to know me so they feel comfortable asking questions, being there as a volunteer and as a substitute are two completely different situations. I want students to feel open to asking me questions about math but I also want students to feel like they can ask any questions about college or anything else. These students are mostly juniors and seniors. There have already been a few students asking about what college is like as far as teachers and school work. But do I only allow them to ask me those types of questions when I am there to volunteer/observe or is appropriate for them to ask me those questions as a substitute as well? Many people have said I have been handling this situation well but I still struggle sometimes to find a balance.
So like always I end my blog with questions for you. Do you think I handled the situation well this time? What would you have done as a substitute after being blamed for students not getting their work done? Would you have done anything differently? And lastly, how much information do you think you should share with students as their substitute? What about as a volunteer?
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Post Substitute Job
I want to talk about my experience this week because I am using it as a learning experience. I was a substitute again this last week for the same teacher I did
before. This time it was a half day instead of a full day. The three
hours I was there for are the three hours I am normally observing so they know
me from that. Just like last time I talked to the teacher the night
before to find out what I would be doing that day. She said that it would
be a very easy day because the first two hours were getting a work day and the
last hour had a quiz. Fourth and fifth hour are Algebra II classes
and the teacher had given them so much information the previous day that she
decided to give them a work day to get more of the assignment done and to be
able to ask questions. She wanted me to let them correct the first
problem from each section of the homework and then gave me a list of additional
problems they were to work on and turn in when they were finished. There
were only five problems they needed to correct so it did not take long before
they could start on their assignment. In fact, both classes were given about
45-50ish minutes to complete their assignment. I allowed them to move
around and work with other people in case they would rather ask their
classmates questions instead of me. Fourth hour seemed fine and although
not everyone was working on the teachers assignment the entire hour, I did not say
anything because the majority did get it done. Then fifth hour came. This class is much larger then fourth
hour and is definitely the more talkative group. I told them to start
correcting their assignment right away because I wanted to give them as much
time as possible to work. The majority of the class never even got the
assignment out but I left it alone because who knows if they actually did it or
not.
Once they (meaning the ones actually correcting) were finished I gave them the right of the assignment which was on the projector screen the entire hour. I told them to turn it in when they were finish and said they could move around to work with other people but to make sure to be working. There were students right up front that asked me questions almost the entire hour which were math related questions. I got one question that was not math related. I was asked if by substituting I got any credit toward any of my college classes. I told them that although I don't get direct credit toward a class, subbing is a great experience and I can use it to write about in my blogs. The answer I gave was quick and the student got right back to work. I continued to help students the rest of the hour. I noticed a majority of students never stopped the side conversations and phones were never put away. Although I thought about saying something a wise person told me before my first substitute job to pick my battles. I also know this teacher well enough to know that if students don't get their work done when given a work day the chances of them ever getting another work day is very small. I saw many students turn in their assignment but notice a good portion did not. Again I remembered to pick my battles, I will just leave her a note saying that I don't think everyone worked on her assignment. Sixth hour was fine because all they did was take a quiz.
A few days later when I went to observe, the teacher I help out with came over to me. She said she was debating on whether or not she wanted to call her fifth hour out while I was in the room. Some of them told her the reason they didn't get their assignment done was because I didn't give them all the information and that I sat there and gossiped with them the entire hour. I felt totally embarrassed even though I did nothing wrong and she even knows they were lying. I asked her not to say anything. Ever since she told me this I have not been able to stop thinking about it. The fact of the matter is that I was trying to be nice and told them they were welcome to ask me any questions to get to know me better since I knew I would be volunteering the entire year. I wanted them to feel like they could ask me questions during class too. I in no way was gossiping the entire time or for any portion of that time. My job as a substitute was to give them the information they need to get there work done. Whether they choose to listen or carry on with their conversations is up to them. I did this by projecting the assignment the entire hour up on the screen.
I can stand at the front of the room and tell them to do their assignment as many times as I want but that does not mean they will do it. I was helping students with their work. I could have left a lot more in the note I left for their teacher or even told her later that night when she texted me asking how it went. But I don't want them to think I will tell her everything that happens so that I can get them in trouble. I want them to trust me and have some sort of respect for me as a substitute and volunteer.
If they would have had any other substitute the teacher may have believed what these students had said. The teacher I was subbing for also knows me much better and knows I would never gossip the entire hour and I am so thankful for her. I talked to her and have used this as a learning experience. Although students will test you as a substitute you can't let it get to you. Next time I sub I will adapt and change how I act during this hour. I will also change rules for the hour and next time students won't be able to move around during the hour. Although most of the class did as they were supposed to it is sad to think that one or even a few students can ruin chances for the rest of the class.
Here are a few questions I have for you. What would you do the next time you sub for these students? Also, why do you think students waste so much time when they could get their work done? Do you think they don't do the assignment because they don't know how to do it or do you think they just don't want to?
Once they (meaning the ones actually correcting) were finished I gave them the right of the assignment which was on the projector screen the entire hour. I told them to turn it in when they were finish and said they could move around to work with other people but to make sure to be working. There were students right up front that asked me questions almost the entire hour which were math related questions. I got one question that was not math related. I was asked if by substituting I got any credit toward any of my college classes. I told them that although I don't get direct credit toward a class, subbing is a great experience and I can use it to write about in my blogs. The answer I gave was quick and the student got right back to work. I continued to help students the rest of the hour. I noticed a majority of students never stopped the side conversations and phones were never put away. Although I thought about saying something a wise person told me before my first substitute job to pick my battles. I also know this teacher well enough to know that if students don't get their work done when given a work day the chances of them ever getting another work day is very small. I saw many students turn in their assignment but notice a good portion did not. Again I remembered to pick my battles, I will just leave her a note saying that I don't think everyone worked on her assignment. Sixth hour was fine because all they did was take a quiz.
A few days later when I went to observe, the teacher I help out with came over to me. She said she was debating on whether or not she wanted to call her fifth hour out while I was in the room. Some of them told her the reason they didn't get their assignment done was because I didn't give them all the information and that I sat there and gossiped with them the entire hour. I felt totally embarrassed even though I did nothing wrong and she even knows they were lying. I asked her not to say anything. Ever since she told me this I have not been able to stop thinking about it. The fact of the matter is that I was trying to be nice and told them they were welcome to ask me any questions to get to know me better since I knew I would be volunteering the entire year. I wanted them to feel like they could ask me questions during class too. I in no way was gossiping the entire time or for any portion of that time. My job as a substitute was to give them the information they need to get there work done. Whether they choose to listen or carry on with their conversations is up to them. I did this by projecting the assignment the entire hour up on the screen.
I can stand at the front of the room and tell them to do their assignment as many times as I want but that does not mean they will do it. I was helping students with their work. I could have left a lot more in the note I left for their teacher or even told her later that night when she texted me asking how it went. But I don't want them to think I will tell her everything that happens so that I can get them in trouble. I want them to trust me and have some sort of respect for me as a substitute and volunteer.
If they would have had any other substitute the teacher may have believed what these students had said. The teacher I was subbing for also knows me much better and knows I would never gossip the entire hour and I am so thankful for her. I talked to her and have used this as a learning experience. Although students will test you as a substitute you can't let it get to you. Next time I sub I will adapt and change how I act during this hour. I will also change rules for the hour and next time students won't be able to move around during the hour. Although most of the class did as they were supposed to it is sad to think that one or even a few students can ruin chances for the rest of the class.
Here are a few questions I have for you. What would you do the next time you sub for these students? Also, why do you think students waste so much time when they could get their work done? Do you think they don't do the assignment because they don't know how to do it or do you think they just don't want to?
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Nerves of a Substitute
There are a few things I want to talk about in this blog
post. Last time I talked a lot about myself and why I know so much about how
people learn differently. This time I want to talk about my experience being a
substitute, technology, and the respect between students and teachers that I
have observed while volunteering. While these are my own opinions, I don’t
expect everyone to agree with me and in no way should you think that what I say
is correct.
The first topic I want to share is my experience as a
substitute. The teacher I was a
substitute for is the teacher I have been helping for five years now. She is also the teacher I observe for my math
activities class. The Friday before I was a substitute I asked what each of the
classes would be doing so I had an idea of what I would need to do. She has an Algebra II A class, 2 Algebra II
classes, and 2 Algebra II B classes. Three of her five classes had a test so
those were no big deal. However, she was not sure what her two Algebra II B
classes were going to be doing yet. She
also warned me about each of her classes and told me which ones I might have
trouble with. I am the type of person
who gets nervous about almost everything so not knowing if I would have to
teach or just hand out a worksheet did not help my nerves. The night before I was a substitute I
received an email with the lesson and a text from the teacher. I found out that I would have to teach her
Algebra II B classes a lesson which was something I had never done before. I
have never taught an entire lesson to a class all by myself. The only time I have every taught something
was one on one with a student. Let’s
just say when I found out I was teaching I may have had a freak out moment. I
looked at the lesson she sent me so that I could refresh my memory of the
topic. The lesson was on logarithmic functions as inverses. Reading over the
notes I felt pretty confident I could teach it but again, I have never taught a
class. I continued to text the teacher
asking questions about her classes to make sure I had all the information I
needed. She continued to try to get me to not be so nervous. I read over the
notes one last time and decided to go to bed… or in this case lay in my bed for
a couple hours and still think about the fact I had to teach.
The next
morning, I woke up more nervous than the night before. I knew I could do it but
I had to get over this fear. I packed a lunch and headed out the door leaving
myself plenty of time to get there. Once I was at the school I knew I had an
hour to calm my nerves because she has 1st hour prep. I talked to a few other teachers who all told
me I would do great. During first hour I
decided to get the notes ready for each of the classes so that all I had to do
was go through each example. As time went by I didn’t notice my nerves as much
but still had the thought in the back of my mind. All of the sudden with five minutes’ left
there was a fire drill. I definitely jumped a little bit because I was not
expecting the alarm to go off and it was silent in her room. Once second hour
started I introduced myself and had everyone start on their test. Once I got
that first introduction over with I was fine. Then third hour came; time to
teach. Again I introduced myself trying to make it long enough to take up time
but short enough so that I had time to teach the lesson. The second I was
teaching I felt as though a weight was lifted off my shoulders. It was definitely not as hard as I thought it
was going to be but I knew what I wanted to change before I taught sixth
hour. Once sixth hour came I was no
longer nervous to teach. I knew what I was doing and was ready to take on
anything. When school was over I was
able to look back on the day and I realized that I wasn’t nervous at all once I
got into the lesson. I was no longer scared of talking in front of the whole
class and I am realizing even now while writing this that I can teach. Now that
is not to say that I won’t get nervous the next time I have to teach but at
least I know I can do it. I have talked to many education majors who all say they get
nervous when talking in front of people. All of the teachers I have talked to
said they were nervous too but when they are teaching in their own classroom
they are fine. Teachers say that they
can talk in front of their students but if you ask them to talk in front of
their colleagues that is when they get nervous. But why is this the case? Where do these nerves come from? Is it because we are afraid that our peers will look down on us if we make a mistake?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even with the nerves the hardest part of the day was not teaching but instead it
was keeping people off their phones. This leads me to the next topic, technology. I had to go the entire school day with out my phone and yet these students can't go five minutes with out touching theirs. They also rely so much on calculators and their laptops to help them to get their work done. Now as far a calculators go I realize that some problems you need a calculator. However, I have seen students who need a calculator to do a simple addition or subtraction problem. Are they using a calculator because they want to make sure they are not wrong or do they really not know how to do it in their head? As far as computers go I see the benefit. I love having Blackboard for school because I can get all of my documents in the same place for all of my classes. But I see assignments starting to be online, online quizzes, online tests, and more. When I become a teacher I don't want everything to be online. I don't want my students or even my own kids to be so attached to a computer screen rather then using pencil and paper. I hate that I am even attached to my computer because I feel like I never go outside anymore. As a teacher I want to make activities to do outside. I don't want my students to think the only way to learn math is either on a computer or by sitting at a desk and writing notes. As teachers it is our job to make students excited about learning and to get them engaged. Having them do everything on a computer does not get them engaged because most of the time they exit out of their assignment and play a game instead. So I have two questions for everyone reading this. First, when did technology become our focus for the classroom? Second, how are you going to balance technology use in your classroom?
Monday, September 12, 2016
A new beginning
A new year, a new semester, a new beginning. This is my mindset. It is a fresh start from the previous semesters and having a positive outlook is always a must. This semester I am taking four math classes as well as an education class so having a positive outlook may seem quite difficult. Adding to the semesters classes, I am also a volunteer/substitute at a high school. So I try to know information about any class being taught so I can help out as much as possible. So in my mind I am taking or need to know information about eight or more math classes all at the same time. Think I'm crazy yet? Trust me it is very possible.
Having this semester in mind, I was excited to take math 229, math activities for secondary teachers, because I thought it would help me to be involved with students when I am volunteering. While attending class the first day, I found that the experience of volunteering for the past four years may actually help me with the class discussions. I have been able to observe and form opinions about many of the topics discussed in class. I also come from a family of teachers so teaching is kind of "in my blood."
So far in this class, I feel we have been focusing on the fact that everyone learns things in a different way. No brain works the same way. Which is why I think many students struggle in class when topics are only explained in one way. In my opinion the number one thing teachers need to know how to do is to teach and explain things in different ways. Teachers also need to find a way to put themselves in their students shoes and try to understand how the students approach problems. The worst feeling for a student is when they think they will never learn the topic because they think there is only one way to find the answer and they are just not understanding it. Students learn in so many different ways. I have noticed while volunteering that a teacher can explain a concept to the entire class and a student might not understand. However, later on when explained in a different way, maybe using modeling with different colors or a hands on object, the student might understand it right away.
I am really looking forward to the rest of this class and so far I am enjoying it. I hope to learn a lot for my future teaching career.
Having this semester in mind, I was excited to take math 229, math activities for secondary teachers, because I thought it would help me to be involved with students when I am volunteering. While attending class the first day, I found that the experience of volunteering for the past four years may actually help me with the class discussions. I have been able to observe and form opinions about many of the topics discussed in class. I also come from a family of teachers so teaching is kind of "in my blood."
So far in this class, I feel we have been focusing on the fact that everyone learns things in a different way. No brain works the same way. Which is why I think many students struggle in class when topics are only explained in one way. In my opinion the number one thing teachers need to know how to do is to teach and explain things in different ways. Teachers also need to find a way to put themselves in their students shoes and try to understand how the students approach problems. The worst feeling for a student is when they think they will never learn the topic because they think there is only one way to find the answer and they are just not understanding it. Students learn in so many different ways. I have noticed while volunteering that a teacher can explain a concept to the entire class and a student might not understand. However, later on when explained in a different way, maybe using modeling with different colors or a hands on object, the student might understand it right away.
I am really looking forward to the rest of this class and so far I am enjoying it. I hope to learn a lot for my future teaching career.
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