Tuesday, December 21, 2010

1st Semester= Success

After a semester full of writing reflections, I didn’t think I would write anything over break. I guess I’m proving myself wrong by starting to blog again. I started blogging this summer for class, and I only blogged because it was required. Now, I actually enjoy writing for pleasure, and I no longer see it as a burdensome task. I guess making students write makes you practice as well.

August 19th, I stared a new journey in my educational career and life. One, I was no longer an undergraduate student ; now, I was a graduate student. It seemed like it was yesterday that I was a freshman at U of A. Two, I was no longer just a graduate student, but I was also a teacher. After four years of undergraduate preparation in several education classes, nothing could have prepared me for this experience. Honestly, becoming a teacher is just one of those things you have to learn to do while you’re doing it. There isn’t a correct answer on how to correct a student’s behavior, or a specific answer on how to teach students’ that learn on multiple levels ; all of this information comes with practice and experience.

After spending a week in in-service meetings and workshops, the big day finally came; my new students were arriving. That Thursday, I greeted close to a hundred new faces. I was so curious about each of those students, and I’m pretty sure they were just as curious about me. I spent those first two weeks of my internship learning each student’s name, their likes and dislikes, and what made them unique. I’m thankful that I had those two weeks to observe the behaviors of each class period. It’s just so funny and amazing how each class period is different; from personalities to work ethic, each of my class periods was very unique. With those two weeks, I gathered all of that information in order to help me figure out how I could reach my new and first group of middle school English students.

Together, my students and I grew as people and learners. My students learned the importance of critical thinking, annotating, and how to become super duper jazzy writers while I learned how to become an effective educator, from my mentor teacher and team, by teaching to the individual student and not the masses and understanding the importance of planning. Although I was only with them for four months, I witnessed their growth as people. Several of the students were becoming aware of what’s really important in life, and they were also maturing into great model citizens. I grew in knowledge by reading several articles and chapters for class assignments along with realizing and cherishing the importance of the small things in life; things such as health, having a loving family, and a support system that cares for me, that I usually take for granted. Hearing my students’ life stories and talking to them humbled me as a person. They made the quote “nothing here on earth is promised” have a deeper and more powerful meaning to me; I really thank them for that. Each day spent in the classroom was a good day even if their behavior was a little off the wall. (lol) So, you can only imagine how I felt as the time whined down.

The last week of my internship was probably the hardest week of my entire semester. Although I was ready to go home and celebrate the holidays with my family and friends, I wasn’t ready to leave my students. I’ve grown so attached to them, and I couldn’t (and still can’t) imagine what it’s going to be like next semester without them. I made the most of each day during that last week; by Friday, I thought I was prepared. I made it through all of my regular class periods and all of the parties with Ms. Lowe without crying or showing too much sadness, but reality made its appearance around 2:30, and I finally got the feeling that I tried to avoid. Since we were on pep rally schedule, and there were other parties going on, what better way to spend my last few minutes than with the two students I connected with from the first day. To them, they were just helping me clean and getting out of IR, but for me, I was getting a chance to spend a few more minutes with two boys who caused me a lot of headaches, the two boys who made me laugh on a daily basis, and the two boys who made me realize my passion for teaching and educating America’s future.

The bell rang at 3:00 pm sharp, and I gave a bunch of hugs to several students. I cleaned my desk area in the back, took things to my car, had a heart-to-heart with my mentor teacher, and left Kirksey Middle School. My first internship experience was amazing. Words really can describe how great it was. I’m looking forward to another great semester in Fayetteville. I have a feeling my kids will be just as great, and my new mentor teacher will be just as helpful. I’ve written a lot, so I’ll leave you with a few pictures from my last day and week.

I’ll begin with the best picture:

Leaving my camera around them was a good thing. I guess when I stepped out to find someone to take a picture of us, they took this picture of themselves. I saw it much later that night, and it made smile! I'll miss my two favorites! (but I would never tell them they were my favorites) :-)


My 1st period-8th Grade English
My 3rd period- 8th grade English class


My 4th period- 7th grade English class



My 5th period- 7th grade Pre-AP English


7th period- 7th grade English




Wednesday, August 4, 2010

SUMMER SCHOOL IS OVER!!

Hello!!

What an action packed five weeks of curriculum!! I'm so happy that summer school is over, but I can say I've learned a lot of useful information. In all of my classes, I've learned at least one thing that will be beneficial for my internship and my future as a teacher. I'm heading back to Memphis tomorrow to get some rest and celebrate my 22nd birthday on Sunday!

I'm really excited about my placement this fall. I'll be at Kirksey Middle School in Rogers and will be in a 8th grade Language Arts class. I'm so happy to have 8th grade students. I'm also excited about attending middle school sports events! I just love middle and high school sports! I plan to keep this blog updated throughout the semester with things I've learned and all my new students!

Hope the rest of your summer is great,
Aterra

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Almost Over!

Hey!!

This has been one very busy week!! Summer school is coming to a close and it feels like all of my classes have the biggest assignments due on the last week! I've been very busy doing alot of research and revising. My English Methods I class is over. I really enjoyed the class and learned a lot of helpful materials.

As for the other two classes, I'm trying to keep my head above water. I just turned in a media analysis project that was worth a lot of points! I'm very nervous about the outcome of my grade. As of now, i'm working on a group project for that same class!

That's pretty much all!
3 days and summer school is OVER!

-Aterra

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Week 3

Hello!

I just completed Week 3 of the MAT. It's seems like the weeks are going by so fast. The past week I've been learning a lot of new techniques I can use in my classroom. We are currently building a wiki for our technology class. It's very stressful, but interesting at the same time. For my other classes, the topics are the same, but we're looking at it in a more in-depth way.

For our technology class, we were assigned to watch a documentary named "Digital Nation". This is a very interesting film. I didn't realize how much people use technology until I watched this. One of the pieces of the film that caught my attention was the chapter that dealt with students in Korea and their gaming addictions. I had never heard of any students who were so addicted to gaming that they had to go to rehab, and their grades began to suffer. It was also funny how the students are taught how to use the computer, while they are learning to read. In my opinion, I feel that's too early to introduce students to intense computer use. I find it very funny that people don't see the new generation as being really smart because of their extensive use of technology. I feel that the students are still smart as the previous generations, they just know how to work around the system.

My last thought about this video deals with virtual reality. I think it's really weird for people to do office work in a virtual setting. I understand that it helps with cost, due to the current state of the economy, but it's just not personal. I feel that you have the chance to learn more from others when you have to make face to face interactions. By using a virtual world, you're taking that away. I almost think it's weird. People are loosing the basic communication skills because of the internet.

Well, that's all for this week!
Aterra

Friday, July 16, 2010

MAT Week 2

Hello Followers!!

This week has been quite busy, but beneficial. I was lucky to only have three days of class this week, but not lucky to have five days worth of homework assignments! :-( For my English methods class, we are beginning to spend a lot of time on lesson plans. I'm so thankful to already have some great background experience in creating them from my undergraduate literacy strategies class that I'm not stressed out about them. We are also reading one of our textbooks "In The Middle". It's a very interesting text that gives great instructions on how to teach writing in the classroom.

As far as my multicultural issues class, I'm receiving a great review on learning characteristics of minority students. I think this class is very helpful and anyone that wants to have a career in education needs to take it. It teaches you how to drop the biases of races and learn from them. In order for any student to learn, you have to be open minded. This class is making me become more aware of my surroundings and giving me the opportunity to learn from and about other minorities.

With technology, everything is so far so good. I'm very happy that we're already experimenting with cover letters. This will save me a lot of time in future by already having a layout. This week's assignment is also making me be proactive and update my resume.

The highlight of this week would have to be the Middle Level Institute training! I'm BLESSED that I was able to attend. I attended a session that dealt with classroom management, effective instruction, and student motivation. The speaker, Mike McLeod, kept my attention the entire time. He made me very excited about the upcoming school year and my first year of teaching, as well. He taught the group the importance of implementing procedures, and meaning what you say and say what you mean. If you ever have the opportunity to hear him speak, PLEASE DO!! It's worth the time.

That's all for this week and have a great weekend,
Aterra

Sunday, July 11, 2010

1st Week of MAT

I'm still in shock that I just finished my first week of graduate level classes. It feels as if my summer break just flew right bye. Looking back on the past week, it doesn't come close to what I expected it to be. Before starting, I thought all of my classes would be long lectures that wouldn't keep my attention. I was very shocked that my classes have kept my attention, but I'm not shocked about the workload that has come with it! :-(

My first class begins at 7:30 am which is pretty terrible, but I have to remind myself that I'm going to be a teacher and classes begin at 8:00am. It's kind of good to go ahead and get into the habit of waking up early. I really enjoy my English Methods class. I've learned some great skills to use in the classroom, as well as, activities that will be great to use on the first day of school. I think my English Methods class took the highlight of the week with our field trip to Barnes and Noble. I really enjoyed getting a chance to have a "speed dating" workshop on YA literature. It didn't hurt that I had a chance to purchase some books.

My multicultural issues class has enlighten me on a lot of things. Being a minority, I'm able to relate to the readings. I'm also able to see statistical data that backs up all of the authors information. I can't wait to learn more about the importance of making minorities feel included in the classroom.

My last class deals with technology. I'm glad that this class is apart of our degree program. I'm very challenged when it comes to technology. I'm excited to learn everything that will help make me classroom a success!

Until next week,
Aterra