This week has been alright to be honest; not exactly anything wrong with placement but it has definitely lost some of its wonder this past week. Things have slowed down substantially since filming for EdTPA a couple weeks back and has made me realize how much more I appreciate a busy day compared to the slow ones. Having actual material to teach and introduce to the students makes the days go by that much faster compared to days where students are just working on current projects. If the students are doing well and understood my instruction, they really are capable of leading themselves through the project leaving myself with not much to do rather than walking around giving feedback. I love introducing new content and project ideas to the class and the few days that follow that due to students meeting with me and explaining their thought/creative process; I love being a part of their process and seeing their thoughts and ideas about each project. This week has just been more of myself supervising production on current projects which has been a tad slow, but that just means that next week will be better with them finishing these projects and allowing me to introduce new ones. Placement has been overall fantastic, EdTPA has been a tad stressful to say the least, and everything else has just been all over the place; but that’s life and I continue to remind myself to take it day by day before I end up pulling out my hair. Have a great day everyone and hope this week hasn’t been too shabby for y’all!
I agree that having stuff to teach makes the day go by much faster. Some of the longest days I have had have been the ones where the students are doing independent work, and I feel useless. My host teacher has made a major shift in her teaching this year at the request of the administration. They want her to do less teacher centered things, and let them use technology more often, so she assigns things online, and I have started to do the same thing, so that the administration will be happy, but it can get very boring.
Oh man! This week was sooooo slow since we used my host teacher's lesson while i worked on edTPA. I'll take the stress of working my own lesson plan over mirror teaching any day! Of course would not have appreciated the difference without a dull week! :)
I completely agree. On the days where I'm full on teaching the day goes by ridiculously fast, and it's honestly way more fun. My kids have been doing a lot of independent work lately, so that kind of just leaves me grading things--which I don't mind, but it is SOOOOO slow.
All I have to really reflect on from this past week is I'm almost done with edTPA and I am on a mission to get it done before I go to a job fair in my hometown tomorrow. Reality is sinking in that we're almost done and I'm >< this close to actually having my own classroom with kids to teach and my own wrestling mat with wrestlers to coach! I'm ready to focus on actually landing a job and finding a new home rather than spend my time working on what has become the single most hated piece of work I have ever had to do.
The countdown! I am counting the days when I feel like I have time to take in a deep breath. I want to have my own classroom where I feel like I can set the tone and establish my own environment. My host teacher is great, but at the end of the day it is still her classroom.
There is no need to brag about your progress in edTPA! Don't rub it in! I'm just joking. I am happy for you, and I am proud of you for being so proactive. I can't even think about jobs right now. I am shutting everything else out, and I refuse to do it until after edTPA is turned in.
UPDATE: On Saturday at the job fair I was able to meet with principals and I have landed an interview on Thursday. I don't want to say where out of fear of jinxing it, but this particular school I feel like is where I want to be and need be. If I get an offer from this school I have full intentions on taking the gig! My wife also got an offer from an elementary school in the same county and she will take that job if I take the job with the school I have an interview with Thursday. All that said, if you're a praying person please pray for me and my wife as this week shapes up. Things bigger than edTPA are happening!!!!!
That is so exciting! I'm sending all the good vibes to you and your wife! I honestly can't believe how quickly the semester is going--and I am SO GLAD that we can now focus on actually finding jobs and starting our lives--I feel like that's been my main motivation for getting past March 15th!
I wish I had your pro-activeness. My EdTPA is coming along very slowly because my heart sinks if I so much as look at the computer. But we are at the half way mark and come Wednesday it should be a nice, easy, down hill pace. (I hope) GOOD LUCK WITH THE INTERVIEW! :)
This week has been pretty wacky.. From being mistaken as a middle schooler to walking into the classroom to find pee on the floor, it's been weird...
I have to say, it's been kinda nice to not have to teach every class period. My host teacher teaches 1st period and I teach the rest of the classes. I honestly feel like I learn SO much more about classroom management by watching her teach 1st period.
This week I was hit by a curveball that was pretty disheartening. At Putnam they have a study hall period, and teachers actually pick the students they need for their study hall each week. Teachers pick students that have make-up work or standard quizzes to take. Students have to pass 80% of their standard quizzes for each content in order to move up to the next grade. Thus study hall is pretty important because it's when we review and help students study for the science standard quizzes. Well starting next week, all study hall classes will be reviewing math and ELA for the milestones. So my host teacher and I will be re-teaching ELA standards............ which means the time we spend helping students prepare for their science standard quizzes will now be dedicated to ELA. Its sad because the administration is insinuating that science and social studies are inferior to ELA and math, when students have to pass science and social studies just like they have to pass math and ELA.
*im still in denial that edTPA is due in a few days....
I have been in denial about EdTPA too. Its not that I have been putting it off, I just have not slowed down to get it done. This weekend it will be done, one way or another. Sounds like your week was as interesting as mine.
Pee on the floor?!? I think we need more details. I also can't stand that schools put more emphasis on ELA and math, but it is the reality we live in. I think that the logic behind it is that you have to have ELA to do well in history, and math to do well in science. I also think that there was such a panic a decade or so ago that we were falling behind in those two subjects, so now we overcompensate in order to prevent low scores in those subjects.
I was mistaken for a student twice on my first day so don't feel too bad about it. That's a shame that the focus on testing interferes with more important learning.
My week has been a rollercoaster. When I graded the final assessment for my EdTPA,(a booklet the students created) I realized that out of 30 students, about 25 had plagerized it. That was the start and it spiraled down from there. The host teacher and I talked and rather than give most of the class zeros for my EdTPA assessment, we opted to let them redo the booklets (I get to regrade them in my spare time). On Tuesday, one of the kids in my 5th period class was bullied, filmed and posted online. He was not in class and our school made the news. I cannot say how disheartening it has been. He is one of the sweetest and smartest kids I have met at the school. He is super respectful and always does what he is supposed to. Everytime I think about it, it just upsets me all over again. He still has not been back. We have been told that the girl who did the filming has been charged with sexual harassment and child pornography. We don't know what will happen to the boy that was involved. One of the boys friends went to see him and says he will be back when school resumes Tuesday, but we have also been told the parents may be home schooling him. I just don't know. The same day this all happened, the class took a test on the French Revolution. After a week, why do they not even know that Louis XVI and Marie Antionette were beheaded???? About half the class missed it!!! It was a gimmee guestion!!!! They don't know what suffrage is!!! Maybe they were distracted because of what had happened. I did not even know yet, but they kids all did. The test scores were horrible, but there was nothing on the test that we had not discussed multiple times in class, done graphic organizers on or even drawn out on the board. I just don't get it. We went back to the drawing board and decided to let them correct the test, but they had to put page numbers from the book to get credit for the answers. They spent a lot longer correcting the test than they did taking it the first time. (I got to regrade the tests in my spare time!) Then.... I had a student turn in a make-up assignment on absolute monarchs. They had made business cards for them. On the cards, they had to put a slogan. Her slogan for Louis XIV went like ".....or we'll pants ya". Seriously! Had she not been at school this week! My host teacher took the assignment to the office. The decision was to give her a "0" on the assignment. When the student was told, it almost seemed like she was more concerned about the bad grade than the inappropriatness of her comment. I have never been so glad to see a school week come to an end! Now I get to spend my weekend doing EdTPA that I might could have done more on if I had not spent so much time regrading student assignments! Next week, please be kinder to me.....
I hate it for you so much chaos happened to you this week. It will get better! Sometimes you gotta take a few licks yourself before you can start giving them. You have overcome alot in this week alone and that is a testament to how good you'll do as a teacher!
wow, I really hate that for you and the students. I know how you feel with the frustration. I love my kids but the last week or two it's like spring break fever has hit and their attention spans have shrunk to the size of a mustard seed. I've even had to be more disciplinarian than usual. Just keep the faith and we're almost at the finish line.
Sounds like a rough week, hopefully this week is better! It is really disappointing when students do poorly after you have prepared them well. I tell my students that I will give them every opportunity to succeed but they have to put in the effort.
We heard about that bullying incident at DHS... I hope he's doing better. My sister was bullied through primary school and I can't imagine how damaging it would have been if it had been videoed and posted somewhere. It honesty makes me think students should turn their phones in at the start of school to protect kids from this kind of bullying.
This week was insane. I have been in a weird emotional state somewhere between happy, sad, stressed, and delusional. I tried to sit down and to edTPA one day this week, and ended up walking around campus all alone in the dark. Then I cried, because I have been here for almost five years, and I don't know how to not be a student. It's just been really strange. Some good news is that I scored at the professional level on both sections of my GACE, and I finally turned in my graduation application. I am pretty much going to be doing nothing but edTPA for the next few days. I actually wish I could skip the first half of the week, but I would miss my babies too much.
Congrats on your GACE! Knowing you've passed those it such a tremendous relief. I hate that you've been having such a whirlwind of emotions. I've definitely done the walking around campus all alone in the dark. All that aside, you've definitely got this covered. I've always really admired your ability to get things done against the odds. You always seem to make it happen. The next couple of months will be no different.
Wow. How can I complain about my week being boring after reading Shari and Macey's posts?! I finished edTPA on Monday and then had a dream about Task 3 on Wednesday and redid the whole thing! ARGH. BUT...no one peed on the floor. I've really connected with one of the "naughtiest" boys in class. He is really great at recalling info but is constantly acting out for the amusement of his friends. I took him out in the hall and told him, "Dude. I get it. You want to be the center of attention. You are just like me! But unfortunately you just come off as being disrespectful and disruptive to the teachers who aren't like us. You can do all my writing on the smartboard in this class if you can stop distracting T. and E." So that was a few weeks ago and this week he wanted me to sit next to him while I graded papers and volunteering to hand out papers, write on the board, etc. I really feel like I've come a long way in the past few months and I am shocked that I felt like I was ready to teach last June!! LOL
I'm so jealous that you finished edTPA!! I'll have to tell everyone the full "pee" story in class on Monday....
Thats awesome that you've found a way to "get-through" to a student with undesirable behavior. I want to be a teacher like you when I grow up!! Hahah :)
Congrats on finish up EdTPA! I know the feeling and it is a great weight off the shoulders! Also congrats with connecting to the "naughty" student. Kinda like what we discussed in class, but building a connection with the "ringleaders" of the students can be extremely beneficial for all; It definitely helps to have the leader of the pack on your side whenever you need to teach or introduce new material. Even though it's no Shari or Macey type of story, it still sounds like a fantastic week! Keep rocking and rolling cool cat! We got this!
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! It's been a good week--I finished up filming for edTPA and my students were absolutely fantastic. I love them so much. They had a lot of time to do independent work this week which I used to my advantage after taking care of lesson plans and grading and I got to use some of that time working on edTPA. I can't wait to be done. Whenever I start writing, I think to myself "just keep swimming" and whatnot, because bigger things are on their way! And after I watched by filming, I went back and re-watched my clips from last semester, and I'm just stunned at how far I've come. I never dreamed I would be at this place in my teaching and I'm thrilled that I'll get even better over time--and that goes for all of us. So if you're reading this and you're still freaking out over edTPA, I recommend playing "Chariots of Fire" in the background in case you need inspiration. Good luck everybody!
Chariots of Fire is a great inspirational soundtrack. I'm glad you have such a wonderful group of students. It truly makes all the difference. I appreciate the optimism. It's always encouraging to see another cohort member who has seen the light at the end of the tunnel. It reminds me that there is in fact a light to be chased. Glad to hear you're making such great strides :)
Sorry I'm late to the party, I've been really surprised at how easily I've gotten sick this semester. It's nothing serious and many of you guys have had much worse to deal with, still it feels like a major setback. Luckily I didn't have too much to do (minus EdTPA) and was able to sleep a ton this weekend. It's amazing what a difference sleep makes. Anyways, enough complaining. My observation went really well last week. It was a much needed confidence booster. The principal at my school will be coming to observe me at the end of March/Early April. I was running copies one day and another administrator informed me that she would be coming to observe on a different day. No pressure, haha. I know it's a good thing and a good sign but it's still very nerve wracking. If I don't do well in the observations than a sit down interview won't really change anything. I just keep reminding myself that I have an incredible group of students. They know how much I want this job and have been so eager to help me succeed. One class even offered to write letters to the principal on my behalf. Yes, I have been very spoiled. My fear is that I won't be nearly as fortunate when I am an official teacher. I haven't had to use much classroom management and that's a little concerning. It's one thing to know what to do and another thing to have experienced how to handle a situation. You guys know that. I'm cutting it close with EdTPA, but I'm hoping all this stored up sleep will give me the extra fuel I need to make it happen. This week should hopefully be more laid-back with 9 weeks exams starting on Wednesday. It will be such a weight off our shoulders to have EdTPA out of the way. The waiting will seem forever, but what's done is done. I think we will all be just fine.
My week was pretty good. I finished filming and I am now going through the 7 stages of EdTPA (Currently at the bargaining and testing stage hahaha). I'm grateful for the workshops and my host teacher's long planning period otherwise I wouldn't even be as far as I am. I still have a LONG way to go and knowing that it will all be over with Wednesday gives me a feeling of relief-(YAY, I'M ALMOST FINISHED!) and panic-(THERE'S NO WAY I'LL GET THIS DONE!). It's not too hard really, but there is so much riding on it, it has to be just so, and the constant questioning and doubt of if you're doing it right...Ugh. And being a procrastinating perfectionist-it's an absolute nightmare.
"Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream Make this the best work that I've ever written Give me two clips full of depth and discussion Then tell me that my sleepless nights are done Sandman, I'm such a wreck Don't have any luck when it comes to tech Please turn on your magic beam Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream".
(yes, that just happened)
And don't get me started on the time change. Well, for better or worse, we are almost done. I just remind myself of who for and why I am here. We've come too far to quit now. Keep fighting everyone :)
First off, AMEN TO PLANNING PERIODS! I am in the same boat you are and love a good planning period to play catch up during, whether it be for my next class or for EdTPA. I know what you mean when you talk about how it's not necessarily tough, but it's tougher with everything riding on it. Just strive and continue to do your best and at the end of the day everything will work out. I have faith in you and love the Mr. Sandman quote! You got this!
This past week has been fairly rough. About 60-70 high school kids were out sick this week - mostly from the flu. I also got it and had to take a couple days off right in the middle of EdTPA. Unfortunately with all the work that we have right now it is tough to rest and recover without neglecting a lot of work. This weekend allowed me to catch up though and I feel like I am in a pretty good place as far as EdTPA is concerned. A word of advice when you are teaching full-time: always have a sub lesson plan ready in case you have to be out. It was not very restful to have to come into school and make copies of work for students while fighting the flu. Have a great week and remember that edtpa is almost over with!
The past week, wow. It was a lot of mixed feelings. I had one student who blew me off to the point that my host teacher had to email her mother. But, on the other hand, we were taught to make friends with the ring leader, and I finally managed to. I didn't realize I had until after one of our classes, she came up to me and said, "Ms. Chapman, I know I was chatty today, but I promise I'll do better tomorrow." I was so excited. And she was so much better after that. I've been feeling more confident in my teaching which has been helpful. I have been super excited about all the lessons I have been teaching. The one big thing I have been struggling with is time. I can never seem to gauge the correct amount of time for different assignments. I suppose that is something I will get better with in time. Honestly, I am mostly just worried about my EdTPA. I feel like I am so far behind and that I completely messed up. But I'm chugging through it.
Last week Mrs. Lee and I went back to co-teaching. Overall the week was very stressful as grades were due this week. Flu-season meant we had mountains of make-up work for many different quizzes and homework grades and we had to get all the make-up work in within a span of two days. We ended up having about a dozen students come after school both Thursday and Friday to make up quizzes and tests.
Overall my week went pretty smoothly. For one thing, I finished my 10 day unit. Needless to say, this was a huge relief. It ended on a Tuesday, which is pretty awkward schedule wise. However, I wasn't met with too much resistance with respect to moving on to brand new content. Moreover, I feel like each lesson in the unit thus far has built on one another in a way that they haven't in prior units. All of my performance tasks seemed to captivate the students' interest in various ways. However, I am nervous as to how the rest of the unit will go. I ended on such a good note that it's going to be difficult to top in the weeks to come.
Lastly, I need to figure out how to teach American culture/life in the 50's over the course of two days WITHOUT talking about McCarthyism. Any tips...? Please?
This week was my last week of full-time teaching. Having all six classes to plan for was a lot to handle. Thankfully, Friday there was a trip to the High Museum. It was a much-needed break for me as well as an exciting trip to go somewhere I had never gone before. The students loved the museum trip, too. I had several pull me aside during the audio tour and ask me questions about process or point out a still life (my Drawing and Painting 2 class had done a still unit). Seeing how they reacted to the modern artwork was fun to see as well. There was a huge sculpture at the front of the modern art gallery that was bowl shaped and made out of pieces of highly reflective metal (it could have been mirror pieces). They stood in front of it, looking at their distorted reflections and marvelling over how their voices sounded bouncing back to them. This trip showed me the importance of taking students on field trips for educational purposes. At least, it gives students a day off from the rigors of school to engage in something they would not typically have had the opportunity to and at best, allow students to make new connections and gain new knowledge in a content area. Anyway, good luck on EdTPA guys!
This week has been alright to be honest; not exactly anything wrong with placement but it has definitely lost some of its wonder this past week. Things have slowed down substantially since filming for EdTPA a couple weeks back and has made me realize how much more I appreciate a busy day compared to the slow ones. Having actual material to teach and introduce to the students makes the days go by that much faster compared to days where students are just working on current projects. If the students are doing well and understood my instruction, they really are capable of leading themselves through the project leaving myself with not much to do rather than walking around giving feedback. I love introducing new content and project ideas to the class and the few days that follow that due to students meeting with me and explaining their thought/creative process; I love being a part of their process and seeing their thoughts and ideas about each project. This week has just been more of myself supervising production on current projects which has been a tad slow, but that just means that next week will be better with them finishing these projects and allowing me to introduce new ones. Placement has been overall fantastic, EdTPA has been a tad stressful to say the least, and everything else has just been all over the place; but that’s life and I continue to remind myself to take it day by day before I end up pulling out my hair. Have a great day everyone and hope this week hasn’t been too shabby for y’all!
ReplyDeleteI agree that having stuff to teach makes the day go by much faster. Some of the longest days I have had have been the ones where the students are doing independent work, and I feel useless. My host teacher has made a major shift in her teaching this year at the request of the administration. They want her to do less teacher centered things, and let them use technology more often, so she assigns things online, and I have started to do the same thing, so that the administration will be happy, but it can get very boring.
DeleteOh man! This week was sooooo slow since we used my host teacher's lesson while i worked on edTPA. I'll take the stress of working my own lesson plan over mirror teaching any day! Of course would not have appreciated the difference without a dull week! :)
DeleteI completely agree. On the days where I'm full on teaching the day goes by ridiculously fast, and it's honestly way more fun. My kids have been doing a lot of independent work lately, so that kind of just leaves me grading things--which I don't mind, but it is SOOOOO slow.
DeleteAll I have to really reflect on from this past week is I'm almost done with edTPA and I am on a mission to get it done before I go to a job fair in my hometown tomorrow. Reality is sinking in that we're almost done and I'm >< this close to actually having my own classroom with kids to teach and my own wrestling mat with wrestlers to coach! I'm ready to focus on actually landing a job and finding a new home rather than spend my time working on what has become the single most hated piece of work I have ever had to do.
ReplyDelete56 days...
The countdown! I am counting the days when I feel like I have time to take in a deep breath. I want to have my own classroom where I feel like I can set the tone and establish my own environment. My host teacher is great, but at the end of the day it is still her classroom.
DeleteThere is no need to brag about your progress in edTPA! Don't rub it in! I'm just joking. I am happy for you, and I am proud of you for being so proactive. I can't even think about jobs right now. I am shutting everything else out, and I refuse to do it until after edTPA is turned in.
DeleteUPDATE: On Saturday at the job fair I was able to meet with principals and I have landed an interview on Thursday. I don't want to say where out of fear of jinxing it, but this particular school I feel like is where I want to be and need be. If I get an offer from this school I have full intentions on taking the gig! My wife also got an offer from an elementary school in the same county and she will take that job if I take the job with the school I have an interview with Thursday. All that said, if you're a praying person please pray for me and my wife as this week shapes up. Things bigger than edTPA are happening!!!!!
DeleteThat is so exciting! I'm sending all the good vibes to you and your wife! I honestly can't believe how quickly the semester is going--and I am SO GLAD that we can now focus on actually finding jobs and starting our lives--I feel like that's been my main motivation for getting past March 15th!
DeleteI wish I had your pro-activeness. My EdTPA is coming along very slowly because my heart sinks if I so much as look at the computer. But we are at the half way mark and come Wednesday it should be a nice, easy, down hill pace. (I hope)
DeleteGOOD LUCK WITH THE INTERVIEW! :)
This week has been pretty wacky.. From being mistaken as a middle schooler to walking into the classroom to find pee on the floor, it's been weird...
ReplyDeleteI have to say, it's been kinda nice to not have to teach every class period. My host teacher teaches 1st period and I teach the rest of the classes. I honestly feel like I learn SO much more about classroom management by watching her teach 1st period.
This week I was hit by a curveball that was pretty disheartening. At Putnam they have a study hall period, and teachers actually pick the students they need for their study hall each week. Teachers pick students that have make-up work or standard quizzes to take. Students have to pass 80% of their standard quizzes for each content in order to move up to the next grade. Thus study hall is pretty important because it's when we review and help students study for the science standard quizzes. Well starting next week, all study hall classes will be reviewing math and ELA for the milestones. So my host teacher and I will be re-teaching ELA standards............ which means the time we spend helping students prepare for their science standard quizzes will now be dedicated to ELA. Its sad because the administration is insinuating that science and social studies are inferior to ELA and math, when students have to pass science and social studies just like they have to pass math and ELA.
*im still in denial that edTPA is due in a few days....
I have been in denial about EdTPA too. Its not that I have been putting it off, I just have not slowed down to get it done. This weekend it will be done, one way or another. Sounds like your week was as interesting as mine.
DeletePee on the floor?!? I think we need more details. I also can't stand that schools put more emphasis on ELA and math, but it is the reality we live in. I think that the logic behind it is that you have to have ELA to do well in history, and math to do well in science. I also think that there was such a panic a decade or so ago that we were falling behind in those two subjects, so now we overcompensate in order to prevent low scores in those subjects.
DeleteI was mistaken for a student twice on my first day so don't feel too bad about it. That's a shame that the focus on testing interferes with more important learning.
DeleteMy week has been a rollercoaster. When I graded the final assessment for my EdTPA,(a booklet the students created) I realized that out of 30 students, about 25 had plagerized it. That was the start and it spiraled down from there. The host teacher and I talked and rather than give most of the class zeros for my EdTPA assessment, we opted to let them redo the booklets (I get to regrade them in my spare time). On Tuesday, one of the kids in my 5th period class was bullied, filmed and posted online. He was not in class and our school made the news. I cannot say how disheartening it has been. He is one of the sweetest and smartest kids I have met at the school. He is super respectful and always does what he is supposed to. Everytime I think about it, it just upsets me all over again. He still has not been back. We have been told that the girl who did the filming has been charged with sexual harassment and child pornography. We don't know what will happen to the boy that was involved. One of the boys friends went to see him and says he will be back when school resumes Tuesday, but we have also been told the parents may be home schooling him. I just don't know.
ReplyDeleteThe same day this all happened, the class took a test on the French Revolution. After a week, why do they not even know that Louis XVI and Marie Antionette were beheaded???? About half the class missed it!!! It was a gimmee guestion!!!! They don't know what suffrage is!!! Maybe they were distracted because of what had happened. I did not even know yet, but they kids all did. The test scores were horrible, but there was nothing on the test that we had not discussed multiple times in class, done graphic organizers on or even drawn out on the board. I just don't get it. We went back to the drawing board and decided to let them correct the test, but they had to put page numbers from the book to get credit for the answers. They spent a lot longer correcting the test than they did taking it the first time. (I got to regrade the tests in my spare time!)
Then.... I had a student turn in a make-up assignment on absolute monarchs. They had made business cards for them. On the cards, they had to put a slogan. Her slogan for Louis XIV went like ".....or we'll pants ya". Seriously! Had she not been at school this week! My host teacher took the assignment to the office. The decision was to give her a "0" on the assignment. When the student was told, it almost seemed like she was more concerned about the bad grade than the inappropriatness of her comment. I have never been so glad to see a school week come to an end! Now I get to spend my weekend doing EdTPA that I might could have done more on if I had not spent so much time regrading student assignments! Next week, please be kinder to me.....
When it rains...well you know
DeleteI hate it for you so much chaos happened to you this week. It will get better! Sometimes you gotta take a few licks yourself before you can start giving them. You have overcome alot in this week alone and that is a testament to how good you'll do as a teacher!
Stay the course and don't give up!
wow, I really hate that for you and the students. I know how you feel with the frustration. I love my kids but the last week or two it's like spring break fever has hit and their attention spans have shrunk to the size of a mustard seed. I've even had to be more disciplinarian than usual.
DeleteJust keep the faith and we're almost at the finish line.
Sounds like a rough week, hopefully this week is better! It is really disappointing when students do poorly after you have prepared them well. I tell my students that I will give them every opportunity to succeed but they have to put in the effort.
DeleteWe heard about that bullying incident at DHS... I hope he's doing better. My sister was bullied through primary school and I can't imagine how damaging it would have been if it had been videoed and posted somewhere. It honesty makes me think students should turn their phones in at the start of school to protect kids from this kind of bullying.
DeleteThis week was insane. I have been in a weird emotional state somewhere between happy, sad, stressed, and delusional. I tried to sit down and to edTPA one day this week, and ended up walking around campus all alone in the dark. Then I cried, because I have been here for almost five years, and I don't know how to not be a student. It's just been really strange. Some good news is that I scored at the professional level on both sections of my GACE, and I finally turned in my graduation application. I am pretty much going to be doing nothing but edTPA for the next few days. I actually wish I could skip the first half of the week, but I would miss my babies too much.
ReplyDeleteCONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR GACE!!!
DeleteI'm sure that's a huge weight off your shoulders!!
Congrats on your GACE! Knowing you've passed those it such a tremendous relief. I hate that you've been having such a whirlwind of emotions. I've definitely done the walking around campus all alone in the dark. All that aside, you've definitely got this covered. I've always really admired your ability to get things done against the odds. You always seem to make it happen. The next couple of months will be no different.
DeleteI feel you. This has easily been the most stressful week this semester.
DeleteWow. How can I complain about my week being boring after reading Shari and Macey's posts?! I finished edTPA on Monday and then had a dream about Task 3 on Wednesday and redid the whole thing! ARGH. BUT...no one peed on the floor.
ReplyDeleteI've really connected with one of the "naughtiest" boys in class. He is really great at recalling info but is constantly acting out for the amusement of his friends. I took him out in the hall and told him, "Dude. I get it. You want to be the center of attention. You are just like me! But unfortunately you just come off as being disrespectful and disruptive to the teachers who aren't like us. You can do all my writing on the smartboard in this class if you can stop distracting T. and E." So that was a few weeks ago and this week he wanted me to sit next to him while I graded papers and volunteering to hand out papers, write on the board, etc. I really feel like I've come a long way in the past few months and I am shocked that I felt like I was ready to teach last June!! LOL
I'm so jealous that you finished edTPA!!
DeleteI'll have to tell everyone the full "pee" story in class on Monday....
Thats awesome that you've found a way to "get-through" to a student with undesirable behavior. I want to be a teacher like you when I grow up!! Hahah :)
Congrats on finish up EdTPA! I know the feeling and it is a great weight off the shoulders! Also congrats with connecting to the "naughty" student. Kinda like what we discussed in class, but building a connection with the "ringleaders" of the students can be extremely beneficial for all; It definitely helps to have the leader of the pack on your side whenever you need to teach or introduce new material. Even though it's no Shari or Macey type of story, it still sounds like a fantastic week! Keep rocking and rolling cool cat! We got this!
DeleteI can see the light at the end of the tunnel! It's been a good week--I finished up filming for edTPA and my students were absolutely fantastic. I love them so much. They had a lot of time to do independent work this week which I used to my advantage after taking care of lesson plans and grading and I got to use some of that time working on edTPA. I can't wait to be done. Whenever I start writing, I think to myself "just keep swimming" and whatnot, because bigger things are on their way! And after I watched by filming, I went back and re-watched my clips from last semester, and I'm just stunned at how far I've come. I never dreamed I would be at this place in my teaching and I'm thrilled that I'll get even better over time--and that goes for all of us. So if you're reading this and you're still freaking out over edTPA, I recommend playing "Chariots of Fire" in the background in case you need inspiration. Good luck everybody!
ReplyDeleteChariots of Fire is a great inspirational soundtrack. I'm glad you have such a wonderful group of students. It truly makes all the difference. I appreciate the optimism. It's always encouraging to see another cohort member who has seen the light at the end of the tunnel. It reminds me that there is in fact a light to be chased. Glad to hear you're making such great strides :)
DeleteSorry I'm late to the party,
ReplyDeleteI've been really surprised at how easily I've gotten sick this semester. It's nothing serious and many of you guys have had much worse to deal with, still it feels like a major setback. Luckily I didn't have too much to do (minus EdTPA) and was able to sleep a ton this weekend. It's amazing what a difference sleep makes. Anyways, enough complaining. My observation went really well last week. It was a much needed confidence booster. The principal at my school will be coming to observe me at the end of March/Early April. I was running copies one day and another administrator informed me that she would be coming to observe on a different day. No pressure, haha. I know it's a good thing and a good sign but it's still very nerve wracking. If I don't do well in the observations than a sit down interview won't really change anything. I just keep reminding myself that I have an incredible group of students. They know how much I want this job and have been so eager to help me succeed. One class even offered to write letters to the principal on my behalf. Yes, I have been very spoiled. My fear is that I won't be nearly as fortunate when I am an official teacher. I haven't had to use much classroom management and that's a little concerning. It's one thing to know what to do and another thing to have experienced how to handle a situation. You guys know that. I'm cutting it close with EdTPA, but I'm hoping all this stored up sleep will give me the extra fuel I need to make it happen. This week should hopefully be more laid-back with 9 weeks exams starting on Wednesday. It will be such a weight off our shoulders to have EdTPA out of the way. The waiting will seem forever, but what's done is done. I think we will all be just fine.
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ReplyDeleteMy week was pretty good. I finished filming and I am now going through the 7 stages of EdTPA (Currently at the bargaining and testing stage hahaha). I'm grateful for the workshops and my host teacher's long planning period otherwise I wouldn't even be as far as I am. I still have a LONG way to go and knowing that it will all be over with Wednesday gives me a feeling of relief-(YAY, I'M ALMOST FINISHED!) and panic-(THERE'S NO WAY I'LL GET THIS DONE!).
ReplyDeleteIt's not too hard really, but there is so much riding on it, it has to be just so, and the constant questioning and doubt of if you're doing it right...Ugh. And being a procrastinating perfectionist-it's an absolute nightmare.
"Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
Make this the best work that I've ever written
Give me two clips full of depth and discussion
Then tell me that my sleepless nights are done
Sandman, I'm such a wreck
Don't have any luck when it comes to tech
Please turn on your magic beam
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream".
(yes, that just happened)
And don't get me started on the time change. Well, for better or worse, we are almost done. I just remind myself of who for and why I am here. We've come too far to quit now.
Keep fighting everyone :)
First off, AMEN TO PLANNING PERIODS! I am in the same boat you are and love a good planning period to play catch up during, whether it be for my next class or for EdTPA. I know what you mean when you talk about how it's not necessarily tough, but it's tougher with everything riding on it. Just strive and continue to do your best and at the end of the day everything will work out. I have faith in you and love the Mr. Sandman quote! You got this!
DeleteThat song was amazing!
DeleteThis past week has been fairly rough. About 60-70 high school kids were out sick this week - mostly from the flu. I also got it and had to take a couple days off right in the middle of EdTPA. Unfortunately with all the work that we have right now it is tough to rest and recover without neglecting a lot of work. This weekend allowed me to catch up though and I feel like I am in a pretty good place as far as EdTPA is concerned. A word of advice when you are teaching full-time: always have a sub lesson plan ready in case you have to be out. It was not very restful to have to come into school and make copies of work for students while fighting the flu. Have a great week and remember that edtpa is almost over with!
ReplyDeleteFlu in the middle of EdTPA?! That's rough dude.
DeleteOuch... I hope you were able to figure everything out!
DeleteThe past week, wow. It was a lot of mixed feelings. I had one student who blew me off to the point that my host teacher had to email her mother. But, on the other hand, we were taught to make friends with the ring leader, and I finally managed to. I didn't realize I had until after one of our classes, she came up to me and said, "Ms. Chapman, I know I was chatty today, but I promise I'll do better tomorrow." I was so excited. And she was so much better after that. I've been feeling more confident in my teaching which has been helpful. I have been super excited about all the lessons I have been teaching. The one big thing I have been struggling with is time. I can never seem to gauge the correct amount of time for different assignments. I suppose that is something I will get better with in time.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I am mostly just worried about my EdTPA. I feel like I am so far behind and that I completely messed up. But I'm chugging through it.
Last week Mrs. Lee and I went back to co-teaching. Overall the week was very stressful as grades were due this week. Flu-season meant we had mountains of make-up work for many different quizzes and homework grades and we had to get all the make-up work in within a span of two days. We ended up having about a dozen students come after school both Thursday and Friday to make up quizzes and tests.
ReplyDeleteOverall my week went pretty smoothly. For one thing, I finished my 10 day unit. Needless to say, this was a huge relief. It ended on a Tuesday, which is pretty awkward schedule wise. However, I wasn't met with too much resistance with respect to moving on to brand new content. Moreover, I feel like each lesson in the unit thus far has built on one another in a way that they haven't in prior units. All of my performance tasks seemed to captivate the students' interest in various ways. However, I am nervous as to how the rest of the unit will go. I ended on such a good note that it's going to be difficult to top in the weeks to come.
ReplyDeleteLastly, I need to figure out how to teach American culture/life in the 50's over the course of two days WITHOUT talking about McCarthyism. Any tips...? Please?
This week was my last week of full-time teaching. Having all six classes to plan for was a lot to handle. Thankfully, Friday there was a trip to the High Museum. It was a much-needed break for me as well as an exciting trip to go somewhere I had never gone before.
ReplyDeleteThe students loved the museum trip, too. I had several pull me aside during the audio tour and ask me questions about process or point out a still life (my Drawing and Painting 2 class had done a still unit). Seeing how they reacted to the modern artwork was fun to see as well. There was a huge sculpture at the front of the modern art gallery that was bowl shaped and made out of pieces of highly reflective metal (it could have been mirror pieces). They stood in front of it, looking at their distorted reflections and marvelling over how their voices sounded bouncing back to them.
This trip showed me the importance of taking students on field trips for educational purposes. At least, it gives students a day off from the rigors of school to engage in something they would not typically have had the opportunity to and at best, allow students to make new connections and gain new knowledge in a content area.
Anyway, good luck on EdTPA guys!