Thursday’s Class

Today’s activity on LINCS was especially helpful and fun to do.  While doing the pre-test we were like a tamar not knowing which way to go.  After reviewing some LINCS techniques and working with a partner, we became like a zemau  wearing kikos, a crosstext and waving our matosa!   We sat down with the bayshoo and celebrated with zibble and alstar using our dectrum and looked forward to the upcoming lamber!

The more fun you make learning, the better the outcome.  We have done some great group and partner activities and I look forward to trying some of these techniques in my class this year.

ER&D Post

This course has been great! I love that the district is providing this service. I feel more prepared for a school year than I ever have. The experience has been great and all of the hands on interactive classroom assignments and activities have has increased my understanding of the course materials greatly.  Every day I learn something new and exciting that can and will be utilized at some point in a classroom. Thank you Kellie for all your hard work and I hope that the district continues to provide services like this.

Lauren

Although class was cut short today due to an unfortunate happening, that did not keep me from walking thinking “yes, another beneficial day at class today.” It goes without saying that Mrs. Skweres is a phenomenal teacher (nose=brown), but what is most admirable is that she practices what she preaches. You can’t say to use differentiated instruction, then read from a power point for 2 hours-- we’ve all had a teacher or two, or 5 that did just that. She allows me to learn by seeing, doing, and applying.

My favorite activity of the morning was the grouping according to how well you cook, followed by how well you can read a map. I can’t say it was my first go at this with Kellie, but it was even better the second time around. I think we, as “students” all took something away from this fun anticipatory set. In fact, this encouraged me to use this as an activity as an initial icebreaker the first day of school. It’s no secret that not all students love P.E, and it’s my job to expose the students to enough activities and hope they find at least one that they will do outside of school and hopefully into their adult lives. 

SO, the first day of school I’m going to call out various physical activities one at a time. “SOCCER” -students will stand under a number from 0-3, 3 being I LOVE SOCCER!!! and 0 being soccer is the worst sport ever invented. “YOGA” …”BASKETBALL”]
Lesson to be taught: some activities will make you do cart wheels you’re so excited; others make you want to stay home from school. Try everything, even if it’s not your favorite, because some of the activities may just surprise you. Also, respect others who feel differently about the activity. <insert more witty teacher comments so they buy what I’m saying>

Overall, aside from having to set the alarm and drive to the city from ole’ Mars, PA, I am thrilled with how much I’ve learned in such a short period of time. I look forward to our last 2 days! ​

Group Activities

I have found all the group activities meaningful and enjoyable.  Two recent activities that I want to comment on are yesterday's RUBRICS and today's Human Graph.

     Yesterday, three groups presented Grid RUBRICS, Mixed-Criteria RUBRICS, and Total Points RUBRICS.  Our group had good discussions on the pros and cons of the different types during the "structured gallery-walk".  Our discussions included comments concerning which RUBRIC would be; easy to create, easy to use, able to measure outcomes, student-friendly, etc.  Our group understands that we need to decide what we want to measure and then choose the appropriate RUBRIC.

     Today, we participated in an activity related to Cognitive Strategies.  Our class created a "human graph" to represent our skill level on cooking.  We had good class discussions addressing the reasons we were at our skill level and how we could move to the next level.  Next we positioned ourselves based on our ability to read a map.  This demonstrated that our students may not be at the same level for different skills and remind us that there are reasons our students are at their present skill level.

Both activities were great ways to learn/review these topics.    

Wednesday's class

Since we didn't all have time to fully share out our squares, circles, and questions in class today, I wanted to post and blog more about my thoughts from class. I thought today was very eye opening and extremely helpful to apply in the classroom.

Scaffolding is a huge part of our job as teachers. It can be challenging at first when you are just beginning to work with you students. Even though you are scaffolding something, making sure that it should not be "too easy" can be a challenge. Time is a huge factor with DI. We all want to do small groups all the time, but it's not always possible with the demands of due dates and the rigor of the curriculum. As teachers we all hope that we provide students in the classroom with different scaffolds and tricks that you hope as a teacher they apply to their work and tests when you're not always around to watch. My question I was wondering during class was, What's the key in scaffolding to make sure that the students don't question why their work is "easier" or "more difficult" than another classmates?

As an English teacher I found the graphic organizer portion of class today very useful. My students use them very often in class, and I liked exploring and learning more about the different types of organizers, and which ones would better fit certain types of activities. I am going to focus more in writing on allowing my students to choose the graphic organizer that best suits them. 

To wrap up, I would like to give Kellie kudos on staying calm in class with all the craziness of her car. I don't think, actually I know, that I would not have been that calm. Hope everything worked out after we left! 

Jeanine

Today was another overwhelming day.  The thought  going through my head on how to map out an entire year were scrambling in every direction.  It was not until I went home that I was able to focus and make sense of what I was suppose to do.  I choose the math curriculum because I have not become familiar with one particular grade level from moving around from grade to grade.  In my mind it is very difficult to bring my math level of thinking down to the elementary grade level.  It boggled my mind why all my third grade students didn't know their basic math facts in addition and subtraction.  To me I felt it was unacceptable. 

Then the rubrics came.  What an eye opener that was.  After looking at all the groups rubrics one of the major con was understanding what is expected.  If we as adults did not understand the rubrics how was a child in our classroom going to understand what was expected. 

For the life of me I could not get onto this blog, so hopefully our wonderful teacher can copy and paste this onto her blog.  Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!!!!

As I reflect on today's session, lots of thoughts and feelings enter my mind.  I start thinking of rubrics...and exploration stations...and teaching strategies...course maps...learning rituals...essential questions.  The list could go on for days!  Thinking of all of these things leads to feelings - feelings of anxiety, excitement, and even a little fatigue (already!).  Having worked all summer and now taking this course, I am truly looking forward to having next week off to rejuvenate myself for the upcoming school year.

Even with this jumble of thoughts and feelings, one thing from today stands out more than any other and that is the Fight Song.  Kellie mentioned at the end of class that while teaching at Oliver, people would ask, "Do you wear a bulletproof vest?" Her response was simple - "No, I LOVE teaching there!".   I can truly relate to this sentiment.  Teaching at Faison is NO easy task.  Our scholars can be challenging, they have many gaps that need filled, and each day can lead to mental/physical exhaustion.  With all that said, I absolutely love teaching at Faison!

Faison may not be the ideal choice for some teachers, but for those of us who continue to teach there year after year, we truly #Fight for Faison!  We fight to help our scholars identify goals in school--and in life.  We fight to fill gaps our scholars may have.  We fight to give our scholars a space in which they truly feel safe.  We fight to remove the negative stigma attached to Homewood and Faison.  We fight to provide our scholars with opportunities they may not have had the chance to experience.  We fight systems that seem to want to keep our scholars down.We fight to show our scholars that growing up African American in this country/city doesn't have to break their spirit.  We fight to instill a sense of HOPE in our scholars.  As the saying goes..."The struggle is real!"  But I/we will continue to #Fight for Faison.  Faison is my fight.

So, I am sitting here thinking about today and I realize that I am glad I signed up for this class. Coming home from my camp up in Pymatuning,  I was miserable!  I had just spent a week and a half sitting outside in beautiful,sunny, but not hot weather, with blue skies above and birds singing. I didn't hear sirens blaring day and night, people outside my window yelling and just making noise. I live in Bloomfield about a block away from Liberty Avenue and people park on our street Togo to restaurants and bars.

     But then I came to class yesterday. Everyone was friendly, instruction moved at a great pace and we were treated like the professionals we are. I began to see how this class is preparing me for the upcoming school year. It made my brain leave summer mode and get into school mode.  Did I struggle with the curriculum piece, yes-am I still struggling, yes but it is teaching me to allow my students the same opportunity . I will be able to share with them that yes, it is difficult,but keep working on it, talk to your peers, you will get it and you will feel a sense of accomplishment that you would not have felt if I gave you the answer.

     Last but not least, I now have resources that will help me to know my curriculum,how to plan for my students,and create rubrics when I need them.  I can't wait to see where we go tomorrow!

In it for the outcome...

As I woke up this morning, clinging onto the blanket and not wanting to awake from the comfort of my home, I glance at my phone. At 6:30 in the morning, I was not thinking about my upcoming school year. I wasn't thinking of my students. Hell, I wasn't even thinking of my own kids. All I wanted was coffee, the news and five more minutes in my pj's. Then like the flip of a switch, I was on auto pilot. Coffee was brewing, pj's were changed and I put on makeup again as if I never stopped putting it on for summer. The kids woke up, coffee was consumed, hubs went to work and we were out the door. Per usual, I go through my routine of driving the kids to the sitter and being on my way to work, all the while thinking I forgot something at home. Did I turn off the straightener? What about that damn coffee pot? Did I even close the garage door? Oh well, it's time for work.

I head down to the south side for class. "My summer is officially over," I think to myself as I park my car. I can't believe the way I'm ending my summer is with a class. I know it will pay off in the long run but who wants to spend one of the last full weeks of summer away from their kids? I'm one of those moms who cannot be away from their child. It kills me slowly inside all day long. I guess that's what comes to preemie mom's though. No one prepares you to leave the hospital without your baby you just had six weeks earlier than when you were supposed to. After staying home with him for over a year I gained enough courage to go back to work in Pittsburgh Public Schools. It definitely paid off after landing my dream job at Brookline. As my son goes to daycare and gets to play all day long, I go to work. I work for his future, for his well being. Everything I do in my life is dedicated to him and to better his life.

But there are other things I work for that are not my family. Everyday, I go to work and I see my students. The kids who come to school everyday and come to my class and do their best. I come to work for them. I come to see them and teach them the joy of music. So as I walk into the PFT this morning, for one of my last weeks of summer, I finally think of them, my students. I think how much they deserve someone who can gain every ounce of knowledge for them, to better them. My students are as much of a part of my family and life as my own children. I should put all of my energy into gaining this knowledge so that I can teach them to the best of my ability.

I will never stop learning. I teach. I will ask questions. I teach. I cultivate dreams. I teach. I engage minds. I teach. I support struggle. I teach. I encourage risk. I teach. I am in it for the outcome.

So as I sit here, typing this reflection and try to read unit two for homework, I hear my son scream at the top of his lungs. I jump off the couch and into his room. What could possibly disrupt me now?! Didn't they listen to me when I said I had work to get done before tomorrow morning? Why didn't my hubs go check on them? They're only playing hide and seek. Things calm back down and I finish my thoughts. I try to continue to read. Concentrating couldn't be harder but again, my thoughts go to my students. I don't give up. I will press on. I teach.

-Melissa Spinnenweber