A positive school culture becomes evident in the students. After being at Lxxxx for a number of weeks I have noticed that the students here really seem to be kids. What do I mean by this? Well from I’ve seen last semester and what I have heard from my fellow cohort students it seems that middle grade students these days want to grow up before their time.
The single gender class rooms at Lxxxxxx seem to allow the students to socially develop more freely. In the classroom the boys have more of an opportunity to be boys. For example, at lunch time they go outside and play football on the blacktop and it is really pretty cool to see how they interact and get along. This I believe is not only due to being in single gender but because they also stay with the same group of guys for most of their classes. It’s the same with the girls. The girls as a whole seem to participate in classroom discussions with less apprehension and more openness. The close knit culture of the students at Lxxxxx, where leadership is an important part of their education, helps create a positive classroom environment where students often encourage each other with positive comments and praise.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Equal Work but less useless work
After a couple weeks in the classroom I have really noticed some more differences between Lxxxxx and Bxxxx. I vividly remember comments of teachers at Bxxxxx, frustrated with the amount of extra paper work and the never ending staff meetings that cut into their planning periods. On more than one occasion I remember hearing teachers say that all the extra work was really taking away from their time to plan for classroom instruction. Lxxxxxx, being a small charter school does not have this issue. There is no “red-tape” paper work or excess meetings. On Fridays the students have a shortened class schedule and are released at 1:30pm at which time there is a staff meeting. This meeting is spent mostly discussing student issues and strategies for effectively addressing these issues. The rest of the afternoon is spent by the teachers trying to plan for the next week. Currently my teacher has six periods made up of two 6th, two 7th, and two 8th grade classes, of which I will eventually take over the 7th and 8th grade classes. With six one hour periods there is currently no planning period so other than Friday afternoons preparation takes place before and after school hours.
In addition to the lack of daily planning periods the teachers are expected to be apart of regular interviewing sessions with new applicants for admission. So in the end the teachers and principal at Langston are probably currently spending more time at work then those at my previous school. The difference is the attitude of the teachers. Lxxxxxx has created a school culture that is place the teachers want to be. I’ve had the opportunity to talk with most of the teachers and the resounding theme is that they couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. They do look forward to having a planning period in the future when the school moves to a larger facility and hires more teachers.
In addition to the lack of daily planning periods the teachers are expected to be apart of regular interviewing sessions with new applicants for admission. So in the end the teachers and principal at Langston are probably currently spending more time at work then those at my previous school. The difference is the attitude of the teachers. Lxxxxxx has created a school culture that is place the teachers want to be. I’ve had the opportunity to talk with most of the teachers and the resounding theme is that they couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. They do look forward to having a planning period in the future when the school moves to a larger facility and hires more teachers.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Parents make a difference.
This semester I am a student teacher at Lxxxx Charter School. Lxxxx for the most part operates with gender specific classrooms, except for a few high school level classes. I am working with the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade science classes and my cooperating teacher seems very eager and happy to have me in the classroom. She sees this as an opportunity for us to learn from each other.
During my first week I am overwhelmed with how enjoyable being apart of Lxxxx already is. The most noticeable differences are the teachers and parents as well as the principal. The teachers and staff have enthusiastically welcomed me with open arms and encouragement. They really seem to know every student in the school in depth (about 120 students total). The parents seem to be very actively involved in the school as well as their children’s education. My first parent teacher conference was this past week. At Bxxx xxxxx, my practicum school, I attended a number of conferences and all of them dealt with students discipline or failing grades. The conference I attended last week was with a parent and her 7th grade daughter. It was the most enjoyable conference I have been apart of so far. The student was not failing and is actually a pleasure to have in the classroom. The basis for the meeting was because of a somewhat low score on a recent test. My cooperating teacher gave very positive feedback and encouragement as well as some things that would help with her preparations for class. It was obvious my teacher had a close relationship already established with the student and parent, and it really helped make communication very open and easy.
During my first week I am overwhelmed with how enjoyable being apart of Lxxxx already is. The most noticeable differences are the teachers and parents as well as the principal. The teachers and staff have enthusiastically welcomed me with open arms and encouragement. They really seem to know every student in the school in depth (about 120 students total). The parents seem to be very actively involved in the school as well as their children’s education. My first parent teacher conference was this past week. At Bxxx xxxxx, my practicum school, I attended a number of conferences and all of them dealt with students discipline or failing grades. The conference I attended last week was with a parent and her 7th grade daughter. It was the most enjoyable conference I have been apart of so far. The student was not failing and is actually a pleasure to have in the classroom. The basis for the meeting was because of a somewhat low score on a recent test. My cooperating teacher gave very positive feedback and encouragement as well as some things that would help with her preparations for class. It was obvious my teacher had a close relationship already established with the student and parent, and it really helped make communication very open and easy.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Parental support is key!
The creation of a positive learning environment starts at home. When a teacher has the student’s parents backing them up in the classroom as well as the principal then being able to create an positive learning environment is much easier. This was recently demonstrated to me by my cooperating teacher. In dealing with a student that was making a silly noise at the start of the administration of a unit test (during which time no talking is allowed at the risk of receiving a zero) my cooperating teacher stepped into the hall with the student and immediately got his father on the phone. The student then freely told his father what he had done and why it was wrong and then handed the phone to the teacher. The teacher let the student go back into the classroom and asked the parent if they would discipline them at home so she could let the student finish taking the test for full credit. The father was more than happy to oblige.
Last year the kids that were difficult to handle too often had parents that were in states of disbelief about their child’s behavior at school. And if they weren’t in disbelief they simply weren’t able or willing to correct behavior at home.
Last year the kids that were difficult to handle too often had parents that were in states of disbelief about their child’s behavior at school. And if they weren’t in disbelief they simply weren’t able or willing to correct behavior at home.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
The Student Teaching Experience.
To blog or not to blog. I have evidently lost or cannot locate my original blog. So my posting begin are here.
I truly enjoy being in the classroom teaching. I have had the oportunity to student teach in two very different educational settings. The first was a IB public Middle School. The current one is a charter Middle School. I really enjoyed the students in both settings. However, the charter setting seems to promote a more positive culture for learning. Smaller class sizes, gender specific groupings, and a parent commitment that is refreshing, all lend to an enjoyable teaching experience where discipline issues are no longer and learning in the classroom is on the forefront of what takes place.
I truly enjoy being in the classroom teaching. I have had the oportunity to student teach in two very different educational settings. The first was a IB public Middle School. The current one is a charter Middle School. I really enjoyed the students in both settings. However, the charter setting seems to promote a more positive culture for learning. Smaller class sizes, gender specific groupings, and a parent commitment that is refreshing, all lend to an enjoyable teaching experience where discipline issues are no longer and learning in the classroom is on the forefront of what takes place.
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