I have had a wonderful time here at Classic City High. I have learned a lot about myself and about the students that I have worked with. I have learned that though I may disagree with teaching policies, I can mold them to work for me. I have always been considered a rebel of sorts. If I disagree with something, I usually let it be known. Though I didn't like the E2020 program, I made it work for me. I got students to read stories by reading every other paragraph for them and summarizing each paragraph as we read it. I also got students to really think about which answer they should pick. I was able to make it through my twenty two hours without criticizing the program inside of the school building. I was happy to discover that I was able to adapt to the school's policies without completely losing my mind or my teaching methods.
Last semester my intended major was middle school education and I decided to volunteer at a local elementary school. I left the school thinking that I had just babysat a room full of sixty kids. Though the kids were great and I did feel like I was able to help them in their studies, I never felt that I was really teaching what I loved. I love literature. I love the unsure, changing, tumultuous years of high school. I love having the opportunity to guide students as they are exiting high school and making plans for the future. These experiences have reassured my desires to teach high school literature. I was a little unsure of myself after my experiences of last semester. I was also often advised to stay out of English Education. Basically, I was told that I wasn't needed. My experiences in Classic City High have shown me that I really can make an effect on my students' lives. Even if they don't really get to know me or don't appreciate the help that I give them I still make an impact on them just as they impact me.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Sleepy Studies
I decided to do a double shift again today because I will not be able to volunteer next week due to the fact that I will be attending my older sister's honor's day. Everyone, including myself, was very tired today. I first worked with Aron who was very frustrated today and complained that he was very tired. One of the stories that we focused on today was "The Masque of The Red Death." Aron and I read through the entire story but I could tell that Mr. Poe's word choices were bogging Aron down. I made sure to summarize each paragraph with modern language after we had read it. As he began to get into the story, Aron got less and less frustrated.
Aron began to get frustrated again when we returned to the questions. At the beginning of the class he was very frustrated when I wouldn't give him the answer. I dealt with this by narrowing the answers to give him a fifty-fifty chance of getting the question correct. This seemed to help though I always worry that I give students too much too easily. This is the constant struggle that I have in Classic City High School.
I feel that I was really able to help Aron with his work. At the end of the class, we thanked each other and he seemed truly sincere. It is so great to see that I am helping people in the Athens community.
In the second class, the one that I usually work with, John was not in class. I decided to work with John's friend, Tandra. The first thing out of Tandra's mouth was that she was tired. This was out of the ordinary because Tandra doesn't usually complain about anything. This was so out of character that the teacher actually commented on how strange it was to hear her complain.
Tandra is doing very well in the class and is ahead in her progress. She is working with Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." She has had the book for a while and has been given time to read it but she has not been able to complete it. Instead of taking her class time to read through the play, Tandra goes through and guesses on different questions. This was difficult for me because I have never read the play myself and I can't help but think that her time would have been more productively spent by reading the play that she was questioned over. I think that the PLC or at least the teacher that I am working with pushes progress too much. There is such a focus on how much a student has done that day and what they have done already. THere is almost no focus on literature. There is only focus on headway.
The fact that I have not had the pleasure to read the play myself made it very difficult for me to help Tandra to narrow her guesses. Towards the middle of the class, the teacher asked Tandra to pull up the play online for a certain question. From then on, I encouraged Tandra to look up the sections that the questions were over. Tandra was very willing to read the sections once I asked her to and she did very well when she took her time. She is a very good student when asked to be.
Aron began to get frustrated again when we returned to the questions. At the beginning of the class he was very frustrated when I wouldn't give him the answer. I dealt with this by narrowing the answers to give him a fifty-fifty chance of getting the question correct. This seemed to help though I always worry that I give students too much too easily. This is the constant struggle that I have in Classic City High School.
I feel that I was really able to help Aron with his work. At the end of the class, we thanked each other and he seemed truly sincere. It is so great to see that I am helping people in the Athens community.
In the second class, the one that I usually work with, John was not in class. I decided to work with John's friend, Tandra. The first thing out of Tandra's mouth was that she was tired. This was out of the ordinary because Tandra doesn't usually complain about anything. This was so out of character that the teacher actually commented on how strange it was to hear her complain.
Tandra is doing very well in the class and is ahead in her progress. She is working with Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." She has had the book for a while and has been given time to read it but she has not been able to complete it. Instead of taking her class time to read through the play, Tandra goes through and guesses on different questions. This was difficult for me because I have never read the play myself and I can't help but think that her time would have been more productively spent by reading the play that she was questioned over. I think that the PLC or at least the teacher that I am working with pushes progress too much. There is such a focus on how much a student has done that day and what they have done already. THere is almost no focus on literature. There is only focus on headway.
The fact that I have not had the pleasure to read the play myself made it very difficult for me to help Tandra to narrow her guesses. Towards the middle of the class, the teacher asked Tandra to pull up the play online for a certain question. From then on, I encouraged Tandra to look up the sections that the questions were over. Tandra was very willing to read the sections once I asked her to and she did very well when she took her time. She is a very good student when asked to be.
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