I just finished my last day of tutoring on Tuesday the 1st. It was so disappointing because my teacher was out sick and all the students were split up into six different classrooms. I guess that is their alternative for not having a substitute. The kids seemed very stressed out, misplaced, and I assume really missing their teacher. Even though my last day did not go as planned, I found the whole experience very helpful and it really has prepared me for what to expect in a classroom setting. There was one day where the teacher had to run out of the classroom to go deal with a student who had wet her paints in class and she gave me a book to read. All the kids sat down on the alphabet rug and listened closely. It was a rhyming book that most kindergartners have in their class because it is a skill that is required to learn before 1st grade. I acted just like a teacher and I sat their reading one page, stoping, asking them what rhymed, describing the pictures, and moving on. Observing the teacher as she was teaching really helped because she is always questioning the students and getting them to critically think. Ira Shor, talks about this in his article "Education is Politics". He states that their is a curriculum that is forced apon the teacher and that the teacher must use her "teacher talk" to inforce it on the students. There are ways of simply just sitting their and teaching rhyming straight out just like a highschool teacher might do with a history book but my classroom teacher teaches in a way that is benefical to the students. She has all the students participate and gives each one a chance to share ther ideas just like I did when she gave me the oppurtunity to read that book. What I am going to teach in the future maybe decided for me but I will be able to make the decision on how to teach it that will make a difference in my classroom.
I also got some lessons on how to control the classroom by using the "can I have your attention please position" which is simply hands behind the back and looking at the teacher as well as how to disapline a child that did something inappropriate. One teacher I met in the school used a "put your head down method" and I remember doing this as a kid. I just think the only problem that this teacher was not doing in this particular class was not talking to them afterwards about why they did what they did and explaining to them that it was not ok. I took it upon myself to go over to the student and ask them what happend. They openly talked about how they jumped around in line and I just let them know that they were in trouble because their teacher does not want them to fall and get hurt. He understood. Communication is essential.
I learned that it is always important to stay organized and make sure that everything is set and ready for the students. I think an organized teacher is a better teacher because that way I can model that for my students. My teacher identity is slowly coming together but I still have a lot more to learn and I think being in the classroom is the best way.
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Emily,
ReplyDeleteThat is so awesome that you were able to teach the class, and even better that they were listening! Sometimes children can feel that the teacher is nervous, and act out. Luckily, you were so comfortable in front of them that they didn’t even know the difference between you or the teacher. I think that it is so amazing that you were able to help the students understand the book better by stopping and asking questions and making the students dig deeper into the book than what is written on the pages. It is so important to include a student’s background knowledge, because every student has experienced many different things in their own individual lives. For a student to be able to share that experience with the class makes the student feel that much better about themselves and to feel important. I think your example of Ira Shor was awesome. That fit right in with the whole underlying meaning of your lesson and I think that reading Ira Shor’s article helped you a little bit in reminding you to use the “teacher talk” in not talking down to the students, but talking as equals. I am so happy that you enjoyed your classroom and it is unfortunate that you were not able to be with your full class, but sometimes, people can get the best experience when they are lease expecting it. I hope that you develop an amazing teacher identity and I am sure that you will succeed as a teacher.