My Vision / Final Exam

My vision? My vision is huge… it has categories and sub-categories. So I will try to focus it a bit.
My personal vision for Secondary Schooling is a classroom where each student genuinely feels that they are an active part of a community of learning. I want my classroom to be safe, to be a place where students feel comfortable, and to be a place where social justice is taught and upheld. While this may sound idealistic to some, I think it is a very real possibility.

(See, I didn’t even incorporate writing or reading, my two loves!)

I want to be the best teacher I can, and that means a few things: I will be a life-long learner constantly works at improving her content knowledge. This knowledge could grow due to my going to literary conferences, reading books, being part of a writing community, or simply by conversing with my colleagues. By better myself I can then better my teaching abilities and give my students the best education that I can offer them. I want to incorporate as many new and thoughtful teaching strategies that I can; I want to use whatever technology I can and make the absolute most out of it; I want to be the best resource for my students when they come to me and ask a question; finally, and with the most challenges, comes my wanting to bring the community from around the school into the school.

One action that I will implement during this new semester is bringing in members of the community into the classroom. I have already begun to look into asking a Holocaust survivor to come and speak to two of my classes about their story. This would be part of my unit in which we read Night by Elie Wiesel. There are locals in the Oceanside and Vista area who are Holocaust survivors, but I do not think that my students realize it. This would help me to move public education toward my vision by showing this school that you do not have to spend money in order to bring outside sources of education to your school. If the community is actively involved and interested in what a school is teaching their students, then that community will more readily join up with the school. This also helps breed tolerance in our school, which correlates with my goal of promoting social justice on whatever campus I am a part of.

While I hope this happens, there is a chance that a speaker will not be able to come to our school, for whatever reason: This is a possibility, but there are always other options. Technology allows us to communicate with others, so if a person cannot physically come to the school, perhaps I can use Skype to bring at least the person’s presence into the classroom.

And it doesn’t have to stop at one speaker. I could find other members of the community who have a story to tell or wisdom to spread, and they could help to enrich the class experience.

I have several goals for my first two years of teaching. One goal is to get to know those who are in my English department. I think that as professional s we should all know one another, our teaching styles, and what kind of resources we have to offer one another. If there is a bond between colleagues then we can all work better together. I would take steps toward this by helping to find inexpensive team-building activities where all of the members of a department can work on their teamwork skills. If at all possible, I would also like to see about grade-level teachers working together, or even the entire staff getting to know one another in a simple name-game activity. I think that so many schools overlook professional development within the confines of the staff (not professional development for departments only). This would also help to be an icebreaker in bringing in ITUs and other interdisciplinary projects.

Once I have rooted myself at a school, I would like to do a team building exercise with rock climbing. Let me explain: it goes along with team building, but it also builds trust, confidence, communication, and relationships between the climbers (climbers being staff members). Climbing can also be a personal, as well as a professional, metaphor for challenges and success. I would obviously have to have the trust of the administration (and have waivers signed, ect.) but it would be worth it in order to develop stronger relationships within the staff. Depending on where I end up teaching, I could incorporate many parts of the community in this team-building process.

All of these goals, of course, are based on my vision of creating a community for the students. Students can pick up on the fact that some teachers are isolated in their own classrooms while other teachers are out and about, being part of the school culture. If every teacher modeled being part of the community and contributing to the culture of a school, then the students would see it: and they would react positively to that model.
In short:
These goals can be linked in many ways. First, you take those in the school and enhance their relationships with one another (new professional roles). Second, you bring in the community members and change up the way students perceive the way class is traditional taught (restructuring school, creating new curriculum paths): this will catch them off guard and you can begin to implement new assessments (comprehensive, accountability, & assessment).As a teacher, you must know yourself, your staff, and your stuff; this will make you a better and more powerful teacher [knowledge is power] (powerful teaching).

What my classroom webpage would look like

If I were to have a webpage for my classes, it would look very much like my Cooperative-Teacher-from-last-semester's webpage.

It is simple: homework is posted, the day's activities are updated daily, and any documents are available to be downloaded.

This is great for any kids who have missed class, or any parents who want to be informed of the on-goings of the class.

the most surprising thing you have seen in a classroom this semester?

What is the most surprising thing you have seen in a classroom this semester? (This could be positive or not so positive.)

I have seen a classroom full of 34 kids who did not know how to do group work. Okay, so out of seven groups of students, only two groups divided up the work, helped each other out, and had everyone in their group working. The teacher just sort of told them, generally, what they were doing wrong.

The most surprising thing I have heard in a classroom (the same one) is a red-headed girl calling Tom Robinson (a black character accused of raping a white girl in To Kill a Mockingbird) the n-word. When I walked by and heard this all of her surrounding friends looked guilty, but she did not.

Boy, do I have my work cut out for me in this class!!

Reading Reflection 5 - I'm thinking...

I'm thinking.... *bwuuuahhahahhaaaa*! It is a dangerous game, inviting me to think. I think, therefore I blog.

I think that group work can be well utilized, or you could flog your students to death with it. I remember being in reading circles in 5th grade and really enjoying discussing a book with just four or five other students. I went to a small school where the class worked as a group simply because we had all been together since pre-school. Group work came as second nature to us all because we trusted and knew one another.

Now when I am observing group work in the 9th grade at Vista High, I am appalled! Who forgot to teach these kids how to share? how to work together? how to communicate? I have my work cut out for me.

I will also have my fair share of setting classroom norms and behaviors. I hear kids dropping "n-bombs" and "f-bombs" like the words were going out of style. I also see so many kids pointing fingers and shouting at each other--when they are only a few feet away. Arguments begin and end with "f- you!" So I will also be utilizing the "I feel" phrases that are touched on in "Designing Groupwork," and which are taught by psychologists (my mom).

Overall the reading wasn't too shabby. I could see some of the groupwork activities working with my 9th graders, and some of they I won't even bother trying.

"Think, think, think...." - Winnie the Pooh

CP2 Website

Determine the web-presence you will have during your Clinical Practice for this semester.

I was planning on creating a webpage for my CP2 this semester, and in fact, one of my cooperating teachers has one for her class. But she has a hit counter on it and so few people visit that updating the site is no longer a priority.

After administering my Student Surveys I found that roughly 1/4 of my students do not have internet access at home, and a handful do not even have a computer. With this in mind, I will not be doing any online homework--it would not be fair for me to do so.

If I did have a website it would probably look much like my Ethnography page (below).
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My latest and greatest online creation was my Vista group's Ethnography.

You can check it out here: Vista Ethnography

I'm pretty dang proud of it. We all collaborated, all added our personal touch, and it turned out to be amazing.

Learning outside the classroom vs inside the classroom

Consider something you learned outside of school with little or no help from a teacher (programming your DVR, gaming, sports, knitting, etc.). What was it? What distinguished this learning from your learning inside school? What might school teachers learn from this?

Gaining my inspiration from the random picture of the game World of Warcraft (WoW) on Blaw-blog, I will say that I learned a bit about playing 2v2 arena PVP (player vs. player) on WoW from my boyfriend a few days ago. The best way that I learn to do something is by observing a person doing whatever it is I want to learn, and then playing copy-kat (pun intended).

So Jesse (the boyfriend) shows me how to sign up and make a 2v2 arena team. Then we dive right in and face two other players from another team. These players already know what they are doing, so we are promptly beat. But as Jesse leads me through another round he offers strategies for winning.

The best part about Jesse teaching me is that he is never pushy or condescending: He is patient and gives help, as opposed to yelling and telling me what to do.

I think this translates to teaching in the classroom because when it comes to something difficult and new a teacher should be more of a guide than a dictator.

School Reform at Lunch

About Multicultural Indigenous Academy

This is a school that focuses on community building and individual talents of students. It is a school that believes that individual students can contribute and change the community. Multiculturalism is not just taught here: It is practiced.

Reading Reflection 2 - BPHS

3 – Of the variety of practices you learned about at BPHS, identify 3 that you think had the most impact on the school. Of course, please say a little bit why you think this may be true.

I think that when a school is a part of a community that it has a high chance of success. By definition, communities are bands of people who live, work, and band together, and if there is one thing that schools need nowadays, it is the ability to thrive. That is what communities are for: thriving. Schools need support, they need attention, they need the financing of parents.

A second practice that BPHS has going for them is technology. As BPHS brings in new technology to teach to the kids and to help teach the kids, the better off they will be. The reasoning behind this is that more and more jobs are requiring knowledge and skills in technology. If kids are being prepared for the workforce, then BPHS is doing a great job! It also shapes the school because there is less of a chance of lecturing going on--and more chances for fun, interactive, kid-engaging learning.

A third practice is the climate that the school has created. Giving students flexible schedules, having one teacher watch over and mentor a maximum of 25 students for the four years they are there, all gives BPHS a homey, comfortable feeling. If a student feels that they are appreciated, cared for, and comfortable, then they will be able to learn more affectively.

----> Providing Comprehensive Support for All Students

2 – Identify 2 practices at your CP 1 high school that match the vision in the Second to None document. Describe the affordances and constraints each of these practices seem to have had on the school environment.

"At Best Practices High School (BPHS), they have been blessed with a principal who believes in teacher autonomy and who balances it “gracefully” with her own leadership. This type of individual is an important component of a model such as this succeeding." (From http://sites.google.com/site/rethinkinghighschoolproject/home/chapter-4-overview)

At San Dieguito Academy the principal did not strut around and make himself out to be better than the teachers. He actually listened to teachers and would make changes according to what worked best for the teachers as a whole and as a group. Teacher autonomy was a priority because if the teachers cannot work together as a team, then the students won't be getting the best education that they can.

" Students choose among seminars or activities to attend among several classrooms.
Students help plan study units or courses for groups of classrooms.
Students teach units or courses of their own design across multiple classrooms." (From http://sites.google.com/site/rethinkinghighschoolproject/home/chapter-4-overview)

----> Developing Powerful Teaching and Learning
----> Restructuring the School


1 – Identify 1 practice suggested in the Rethinking High School text that you predict will no longer be in practice at the school. Why?

That is a hard one! I don't think any of the practices should be eliminated at the school. If anything, I think that the 25 students to one teacher for four-year guidance counseling will be increased to perhaps double that number. Especially if the student to teacher ratio increases.

----> Providing Comprehensive Support for All Students

Jon Stewart on the failings of South Carolina

A quick clip from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart where Andre Bauer compares poor children who get free lunch to stray animals:

[Play at own risk: censored language, some may find offensive]

What is your fast food guilty pleasure

What is my fast food guilty pleasure?

There is a Mexican food restaurant in Vista called "Gorditas" and they make... gorditas. Delicious, crunchy, greasy gorditas! I prefer carne asada or pollo asada gorditas.

Reading Response 1

When I read this first chapter, I cheered. I am a rebel at heart and I love to hear success stories of others who work against the grain. I also love that BPHS was open about what they did wrong, what they could have done better, and what they are doing to constantly improve their school.
I've been wondering what a school would look like that was run by our Day Cohort people? How awesome would that be?

"What didn't seem like a great measure of reform" was that they were in a pre-existing school. While they worked with what they had available to them, I think they could have amped up their reform by building a new kind of school. So many schools have the same basic layout and seem to restrict the creative mind (reformist architects, anyone?). This idea, of course, goes against my minimalist mindset where I try to save money at every turn--but governments pay for new schools, right?