Cynthea shares the greatest "A-ha" moment of the year!!!!!

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 7^th 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. 7^th 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.

Debbie and Lauren share a concern

I am doing my student teaching in a school where there is obvious socio-economic diversity.   I am teaching three US History II CP classes and two US History II classes. There is a special education teacher in the room for the two US History II classes. The two US History II classes  (Period 1 and 5) have over ten students who have IEPs. Many times, especially in my fifth period class,  the students have no desire to participate in any of the lessons.  They seem to not want to be there.   For some of the students this is the second time taking this class and they are there because they need it to graduate. Some the students are turning 18 and have no intention ies that I have prepared.  If I ask them to do any work they usually just say no. The special education teacher can sometimes get them to do work,  but not always.

Does anyone have any suggestions to help motivate these students and get them to stop talking and participate?  My co-operating teacher sometimes sends them to A-212 which is the discipline room. There they are given a slap on the wrist and then sent back to history class.   HELP!!!!

Lauren wants to know how we motivate at-risk students

          As I mentioned last week, I only have 5 classes that I teach. Four of these classes are  honors classes and the other is a very, very low level pre-algebra class. The kids in this pre-algebra class literally do not care to be in there one bit. It is a class full of some of the worst students in the 8th grade.  I do believe that each one of these students has potential, but each one tries very hard to impress their classmates with his/her bad behavior.    We have an in-class support teacher in this  room and the students are extremely rude and disrespectful to her. If she tries to help them with something they say they do not need help and then they come over to ask me for help. There are three teachers in this class and the students are uncontrollable. They do not care to do any work, they will not take any notes and they certainly do not do homework.   I try to make the material interesting for them and try not to make the class boring for them, but it seems the more I try to make it better for them the worse they get.   I find that they continually try to take advantage of me. They do not show disrespect to me with their words,  the disrespect is manifested in their behavior. They actually really enjoy having me teach them.  

These students give everyone in the school a problem and it would appear that  every single problem student in eighth grade is in this class.  I do not know what else I can do to gain their attention and make them interested in algebra.    Are there any suggestions that you would like to make as to how I can change the attitude of these students?  

Christina suggests that the lunch room is a minefield. Do you agree?

The Lunch Room...

I have noticed that the lunch room can be a dangerous place. Teachers of all ages frequent the lunch room. I have heard many teachers voice their opinions about the administration and about the  student body. The comments are not always positive and, I feel that,  some of the comments are just shocking to hear from teachers. Some teachers are very negative and can really change the tone of the lunch room environment.

In my school there are not many places a teacher can go to relax and enjoy his/her lunch;.   The lunch room is one of the only sanctuary there is in this building . I don't want to be rude and not participate in conversation with my coworkers, but what does one say when teachers bad mouth each other and students? Trust me,  I have tried to ignore the comments and go about my business, but sometimes the person right next to me is looking to me for a response. I usually try to  humor the person by nodding and then going about my business. How does one navigate the minefield that is the lunch room?

Sarah asks: Are today’s teachers flexible enough for the ever-changing needs of students?

           As I reflect upon teachers I have had throughout my primary and secondary years in school I remember a few teachers who taught according to the needs of my peers. There are always those teachers who  did manage to  lessons when the content or lesson planned was not reaching the students, for  whatever reason.   

The article “The Flexible Teacher,” I believe, highlights the reality of creating a course (with lessons, activities and expectations associated with a certain content and ability) only to realize that those expectations needed to be adjusted in order for the lesson(s) to be effective.  This instructor found out that things change and that instruction needed to change with particular groups, even at the college level. This instructor also came to realize that the students he was now teaching required a different type of instruction, a more hands-on approach, specific short-term goals and more individualized instruction rather than the typical college level approach that expects students to set their  own pace and monitor themselves in order to meet deadlines.

The way in which  the instructor addressed the problem is typical of a flexible teacher who understands the importance of monitoring and adjusting to suit the needs of the student body.   Every student at the k-12 level is different and require some type of adjustment academically. I have been impressed to see this type of sensitivity on the part of teachers in my experience as both student teacher and my prior experience substitute teaching in various schools around the New York City area.

My question to you is this:   when you think of your classroom now, as a student teacher, what situations have arisen that have made you realize that you need to be flexible in your approach to academic and social issues?

A concerned student teacher observes a lack of discipline within the building

            One of my greatest concerns about the school at which I am student teaching  is the lack of discipline that permeates the entire building.  Although my cooperating teacher and a number of other teachers working in the building provide a firm set of disciplinary rules while also displaying a strong sense of professionalism, there are many members of the faculty who lack essential communication skills and make very little effort to set up disciplinary rules or follow through with any consequences for poor behavior on the part of the students.  

            I believe the most notable problem at this school is the administration. The principal does not require any submission of lesson plans from any teachers and is rarely inside any of the classrooms in order to observe his teachers.  This has given many teachers the idea that they need to do “zero lesson planning.” Thus, I find that these teachers use class time for whatever they deem necessary.   What is even more of a problem is that there are very few disciplinary actions coming from the administration.   Students are not fazed by being sent to the office. This has fostered a sense of disrespect on the part of the students for rules, teachers and classmates.   .

            As a result of this extraordinary lack of guidance and concern on the part of  the  administration, the students and teachers at this school seem to follow their own rules. For teachers, coming in late from lunch or dismissing a class early is an everyday, acceptable  occurrence.   The consistent lack of concern and respect for teacher by other teachers is overwhelming. This lackluster approach to professionalism by some teachers has quickly transmitted to students and has created a community of people who are stubborn, unenthusiastic, and disrespectful. How can I, as a student teacher,  or even as a first year teacher, help to  improve the quality of professionalism and bring about a sense of respect in a school such as this?  

Cory is concerned about the school's role in reporting problem students

               There is no doubt that teen suicide rates are at its highest.  However, one might ask, how could this be?  Nowadays, schools place an enormous emphasis on anti-bullying programs, suicide prevention, HIB laws, etc.  Yet, the number of teen suicides is continuing to increase.  In fact, according to http://www.teensuicidestatistics.com/ suicide has become the third leading cause of death amongst teenagers in the United States.  Also, the article stated that 60 percent of high school students claim they have thought about committing suicide and nine percent have actually attempted suicide.  With all the extra precautions schools claim to be taking, something definitely is not adding up here!!!

            Recently, my cooperating teacher informed me that several students in our middle school have been sent to receive help after failed suicide attempts.  In fact, one student attempted suicide three times before he was finally sent to receive help outside of the school.  How could this assistance have taken so long?  I strongly believe that teachers, guidance counselors, and even school therapists/specialists wait too long to report the names of specific students who have serious problems. It would appear to me that there  has to be a clear and definite distinction between receiving help in school or receiving help outside of school so that the student can fully concentrate on getting healthy without any distractions.  In this regard, there should be no in-between.  If the student needs help outside of school, then he/she should be separated from the school environment completely.  Who has the right to make this “disaster” call?  The school?  The teacher?  The guidance counselor?  The school therapist?  The parents?  Clearly no one is stepping up in today’s society because the same exact problem is happening over and over again.  What do you think can be done?

            Finally,  do you believe that schools are making enough of an effort to prevent suicides, bullying, and HIB?  Many schools will take the first opportunity to brag about their workshops and training sessions.  However, the truth is…how many workshops have they had?  Most likely the answer is only one.  Furthermore, how severe are the consequences for students who violate the HIB laws and rules?  Most likely the answer is not very.  In the end, someone, somewhere has to realize that suicide rates are still continually increasing for a reason.  What do you think that reason is?