Student teaching is the hardest work I have ever done. It takes me through the whole emotional gamut on a weekly basis. Some days I am so tired and overwhelmed I just want to cry. Other days I am absolutely sure that I have chosen the right profession and I am ridiculously happy because I had a breakthrough of some kind with a student. That’s what I want to focus on here, because focusing on the other stuff is too depressing.
Have you had an “ah ha” moment with one of your students yet? My best one happened this week on the day that I was teaching the Pythagorean Theorem to my 7th grade math classes. I wore my “Find X” math t-shirt (a true sign of a math geek J). This t-shirt is a joke. When a math teacher tells you to “find x”, you are not supposed to locate x, you are supposed to solve for x and tell what the value of x is. Only a few of my students got the joke. 7th graders are really funny that way. Many of them are still very literal. One of the boys who tests my patience daily because he cannot focus or stop talking and does not get the best grades in math noticed my shirt when he came into class. He said, “That’s impossible. You can’t figure out what x is. You only know that’s a right angle and we know they add up to 180° in there.” Just hearing him say the angles in a triangle add up to 180° made me really happy because we had learned that the week before and that meant he retained it! I told him that he would be able to “find x” for the triangle on my shirt by the end of class and he was skeptical. I didn’t bring it up again and taught the lesson. As he was packing up to leave my class, he said, “Hey. Let me see your shirt again.” and he verbally proceeded to figure it out and solve for x. I was so happy I almost cried and he was really proud of himself.
That’s why I’m here, trying so hard to learn how to be a good teacher – for moments like that one. I would love to hear your version of a story like this that has happened in one of your classes.
That is a great experience! I can also relate and understand where you are coming from. There are many days where the day just seems to go on forever and nothing seems to go right. There are times when I feel like I'm teaching to the wall for how little attention the students are paying that day. The absolute worst is when a student is constantly talking in class, not paying attention, and when it comes time to actually do the work that was just learned, they go "We never learned this!". However, those "A-ha!" moments definitely make up for it. Teaching alone without help from the cooperating teacher makes me nervous because I want to be sure these students understand. They receive homework every night and I do everything in my power to make sure the students understand the topic before moving on to the next one.
ReplyDeleteWith the 7th graders, I feel that moment when that one student tries so hard to ask to go to their locker in Spanish (something I've try to get them to do since day one, yet they always seem to forget). I also feel that moment when a student actually raises their hand and asks a critical question about what they're learning. That shows me that they are engaged and interested in the lesson because they are asking for more information on it.
I am teaching 9th grade World History and we were learning about imperialism, and most of the students had opened up to me by this point, but there were still some students who had not. We played a version of the board game Risk, but geared it towards imperialism, and I split the students up into teams, and they had a great time playing the game. By the end of the two days of playing the game, all of the students really started to open up to me. I also had them write a response to the game and asked them why we did play the game, and they all wrote great responses, and really got the bigger idea of the game, and it really made me feel good.
ReplyDeleteI have felt the same way you have over the past few months. Many days are highly frustrating and others are insanely rewarding. My "ah-ha" moment occurred during a 7th grade LA class period. Seeing as the NJASKs are right around the corner, I have been practicing sample test grading with many of my students to help them understand what literary elements are essential in gaining a high score. While working one on one with one of my most difficult students, I was attempting to show him what techniques a great writer used in their writing. With very little coaching. the student turned to me and said "Hey, those words that you taught us, transition words, they are all over this paper and when I read it my mind kinda zooms through it and I don't have to stop to much and try to figure things out. I never use those words and I think if I did, people would be able to understand my ideas better." It was really great to see a student who I am always prying for answers and urging to focus to actually get a concept and then apply it to their own work. There was no better way that lesson could have gone for that student.
ReplyDeleteI have had a couple "ah-ha" moments so far throughout student teaching that have made me realize this why I want to become a teacher. My first moment occurred when I began introducing the play, The Crucible, to my class. While talking about intolerance and how people were accussed and killed for the most absurd reasons, one of my students alluded to WWII and how the Jews were treated unfairly. I got so excited that that student made a great connection I'm pretty sure I yelled "YES!" with a very enthusiastic finger point. Now my students are studying the play Much Ado About Nothing and I made sure to explain to them how Don John is a Bastard, meaning illegitamet. A student of mine approached me at softball practice and said "Ms. P, I was watching 17 Again and this one guy goes 'Oh, my son is a bastard. I wasn't married when he was born.' and it made me think of you because you taught us about the difference between Don John the Bastard and Don Pedro the Prince!" I thought it was awesome that my students are able to watch tv or movies and be able to relate concepts of them to what they're learning in class.
ReplyDeleteI definitely had one of those moments! And it was great! In my 4th period U.S. history class of juniors, which is typicallly a challenge, there is one student who has said maybe 10 words since January. He is very bright and aces all of his tests but he takes no notes and is completely unmotivated in class. He does not participate in class discussions and if I call on him to answer a question in class he just shakes his head, but I know he knows the answer. It has been an ongoing challange for me to get this boy motivated and actively involved in class. About a month or two ago I was teaching the class about Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders. I did an activty, after the lesson, in which I pulled up a famous painting of Roosevelt and the Rough Riders. It is a very dynamic painting with alot of movement and people and things to look at. However, you can not tell what the context of the picture is. So I told the students to look at the picture and think about it. Then I told them to imagine a character that is somehow involved in the picture and write a paragraph or two about what is going on in the painting from their chosen character's persepctive. I encouraged them to be creative and think outside the box. Most students picked Roosevelt and were not too creative. They pretty much just applied their notes from class. However, this student, who is usally unmotivated, came up with an amazing elaborate story about a mruder plot to kill the U.S. president and the chase that ensued. It was awesome! I made a big deal over his effort and creativity and I was able to tell that he was really proud of his work too. It was a great feeling to finally connect with this student.
ReplyDeleteMy "A-ha" moment was a single moment in one of my classes, mine is more of an evolving moment that becomes greater each week. I have one student in my last period class who in the beginning of the year, sat in the back of the classroom. Once I became adjusted into the classroom and started taking over one class at a time, this student became more accustomed to my teaching. He asked me one day to move up to the front because he couldn't see the board, just for the one day. I immediately moved his seat to the front of the row and made this his permanent seat. He didn't seem to mind. The reason he never asked to move his seat was because he didn't want to seem "uncool" to his friends in the class. Once I moved him to the front, he began to pull me over while the students were completing example problems to help him out. He would never ask my cooperating teacher for help. He was only comfortable with me. During a quiz or test, he would only come to me for help. This is a great feeling. One day, he did not finish a quiz, and I asked him to come in the morning to finish. He said he has trouble coming in the morning because he takes the bus to school and the bus comes right before the bell rings. He told me he probably couldn't make it and to just grade his quiz as is. I promised him I would not mark it, I have faith that he will come in the morning to finish. He came the next morning and it was just a fantastic feeling. Showing this student that I cared about how he did on his quiz, made him care more about how he was doing in my class. There is no greater satisfaction that showing the light to one student. Although it is only one student for now, I plan to have many more "A-ha" moments or phases like this in the future.
ReplyDeleteI think I had an "A-ha" moment today. One of my less motivated students told me about Thomas Jefferson and that he was the man who wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. We went over the Declaration of Independence about 3 weeks ago and I just happened to ask who was Thomas Jefferson and why is he an important figure in history? This boy raised his hand and I expected an unrelated response- he completely surprised me and I am glad he did. I thought I was losing the battle and in fact in that small moment we were both winners.
ReplyDeleteMy "A-Ha" experience occurred with my sophomore class. One of my most enlightening moments happened today. A few students in my sophomore class seemed to be a bit talkative at times. When my co-operating teacher left the room, it seemed as if they thought they could have private conversations while a lesson was going on. I was very frustrated and wondered how i could get the talkative students to be quiet when the teacher left me alone with the class. I decided to reposition myself in the classroom. Instead of standing in the front of the room, I moved to the back of the room where I was closer to the class and was able to observe all of them. This little tactic made all the difference in the world. The students were well aware that I was right behind them and that I could see everything. When a few students attempted to have a conversation while another classmate was reading, I immediately called out their name in a firm and authoritative tone and told them to have respect for their fellow peer who was reading. It worked!!!! I was so happy to be able to control this noisy classroom. I was even more delighted to have my cooperating teacher walk in to a class that was engaged and controlled.
ReplyDeleteMy "A-Ha" moment came with my 7th period pre-algebra class that is a very low level class. Every time I taught the class I was just always discouraged because the kids weren't very respectful towards me. If I wasn't teaching they were great and would always listen to me, but once i started teaching they just didn't care and would not pay attention. Finally last week I was teaching and the lesson I was teaching everyone just seemed really interested in. Every student was paying attention and answering my questions and actually understanding what I was explaining. It was like a total 180 and I was just left speechless at the end of class. I was so proud that I didn't give up and I tried my best and it finally paid off.
ReplyDeleteMy "A-Ha" moment happened in with my college prep class. It is my largest class and they come from lunch. Needless to say, they are chatty and terribly unfocused. One particular student was being especially disrespectful and he was challenging everything I said this day, as well as eating in class(as he had been most during most of my time in the classroom). I had been really unsure about the proper way to discipline this class, but I just had enough. I very calmly asked the student to step in the hall with me. I told him his behavior was unacceptable and gave him detention for inappropriate classroom behavior. I also called his mother later that day. Almost immediately after our conversation, he quieted down and got to work. The rest of the class followed his lead. This "A-Ha" moment really helped me to begin to develop a discipline style. I know that when I get into my first classroom, I need to be upfront about my expectations for behavior and not afraid to establish discipline for inappropriate behavior. If I had called this student out for his behavior earlier than this particular event, I would have had a much different experience with this particular class. I also learned that you don't need to be mean or nasty to be an effective disciplinarian in your classroom.
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