It started with refreshments and the buzz of hundreds of educators dying to know about summer vacations (not much different than the students will be tomorrow). Hot coffee and sweet cinnamon buns followed by some good ol' fashioned assembly time.
One of the highlights of the assembly was the guest speaker, Deborah Gist, the new commissioner of education for the state of RI. She is refreshing. Her speech was inspiring and she stressed the fact that everything she does is for the good of the students and their teachers. She talked about how when she is creating new policy or thinking about making changes to the RI education system, she is always doing so through "a teacher's lens".
Next, was the English Department meeting. It was a meeting...policies, changes, bickering, and soda. But none the less, is what fun and interesting to be there.
The best part of the day was the last two hours. Lisa and I spent this time in our classroom, putting on some finishing touches, hanging the grave etching of H.P. Lovecraft, and going over my materials for tomorrow (the letter home to the parents, syllabus, writing prompt, etc.)
Tomorrow, I will be teaching two creative writing classes. I am going to play a song that I wrote describing the course! Can't wait to see the responses.
Overall, all is fantastic! I have official lesson plans done for this entire week and I have an outline of what I will be doing next week. I feel prepared, confident, anxious, and excited!
I am sure tomorrow will be a much more blogworthy day. Have fun everyone, and for Lane's sake, be all the ninja that you can be.
Hello Becky here! First off I want to apologize about missing the first meeting you had together as a group. Not only am I upset about not checking my e-mails, but I bet I missed out on some important things. If anyone wants to let me know what I missed that would be greatly appreciated.
Okay, on to the good stuff. My first day was great. I am at NPHS with Stacey Bachini. She teaches 9th grade which I love because I haven't had exposure to freshman at the beginning of the year yet. It will be interesting to see how these newbees react to high school as well as how Stacey responds.
It was also wonderful to see some familiar faces, Kellen, Aimee, Allison and Jay Ryan were a warm welcome back to school.
My mind is already spinning with ideas of lessons, the paperwork, and the student teaching portfolio expectations. I have a few lesson plans for this week that I will be going over with Stacey tomorrow. Most of them the getting-to-know-you kind of lessons. Because we have freshman its imperative that we spend a little more time getting them settled in. Am I the only one who feels anxious/nervous/excited all at the same time?
This is the final few steps in the marathon that is the Feinstein Ed Program. Congrats to all of us! This will be a great semester. Welcome back!
It felt so good to finally see students in the school. I am not sure where to begin.
I will start with the two creative writing classes that I am teaching. They went very well! I spent some time today, outlining some of the routines that I want to exist in my classroom. Ms. Narcissi had an easel with butcher paper, so we listed "The Daily Routines" on it. The daily routines in our classroom are...
Enter the classroom respectfully
Turn off your cell phone and place it in your bag/purse
Place your bag/purse on the back counter of the room
Only take what you will need for this class to your desk
Look to the board for what to do next
Stay seated (unless directed otherwise)
Use bathroom before and after class
The following behavior will result in a teacher detention (excessive tardiness, offensive/profane language, being obnoxious)
These routines went well. My goal is that by next week, the students will automatically enter the room and follow these routines. In this way, the first few minutes of each class (so precious) will be used academically.
After the routines, I handed out my syllabus and explained it briefly. It was great, because, after spending threee minutes on the syllabus, I said that I was going to give a brief course description next. At that point, I pulled up my guitar which was hiding behind my desk, and played the song that I wrote describing the class. The result was great! The students were clearly surprised, and luckily, they enjoyed the song!
After this I talked for a few moments about the fear in sharing writing and performing poetry in front of others (this is a requirement that I created for this class). I had the students create a continuum in the middle of the room. Lining up beginning with those who are perfectly comfortable speaking in front of people all the way to those who are petrified of it. I got to hear some student feelings about anxiety and fears of speaking in front of others. I assured the students that they are safe in this classroom and that they should embrace the ability to read poetry aloud.
After this, I handed out some materials to make nametags and the students decorated them, and on the back, they wrote their three favorite writers and their three favorite musicians/bands. We went around the room and they each stated their name and one writer and one musician. I am proud of the creative writing classes that I taught today and I felt as though they were successful beginnings. There is already a sense of community in the classroom, and there is surely a sense of discipline.
The last order of business was to give each student a letter that I wrote to their parents. In this letter, I introduce the course, myself, and my expectations of the students. There is a portion at the bottom which the parent/guardian and student must sign and return to me, Mr. Polseno. This was their first homework assignment.
I also team taught the two journalism courses with Ms. Narcisi today and participated in the advisory period and her English honors course. I don't want to describe every class because, I really don't have the time to, and I can't imagine that any of you have the time to read much more than I have already written. I hope that everyone else had a great first "student" day of high school. I have written a short something that describes my day in a nutshell. I bet that you can relate. Have fun everyone.
Hey everyone. Today turned out to be a pretty relaxing day. I got to school early to talk with Dean about how the day is going to go, and after an assembly for the freshmen, I finally met the first class I will be working with. I know its the first day and all, but most of the kids seemed calm and willing to get into the thick of things with their first college prep course.
Although I will start teaching next week, I am already itching to start teaching these kids tomorrow, only after spending about a half hour with each of my classes. There was a lot of down time, seeing that only the freshmen were in the building, so I had time to outline the first unit that I will be teaching on narrative writing. I am hoping the students will be as into it as I am haha.
I talked with a lot of interesting teachers who offered some good advice, and got to reflect on the day with aimee and allison. As a whole, the day went well and I am excited to get back in there tomorrow morning. I want to work out some details within my unit with my teacher before I begin to write formal lesson plans.
Hopefully tomorrow brings more student interviews, more presentations, and hopefully more pop tarts!
I thought about writing about the first day that I was at NPHS but I thought about it some more and decided to write more about today-the first day with my students!
I have to first say that spending the last 2 days hanging out with Rita ( my teacher) and Madonna (another FANTASTIC teacher) has been eye opening and relaxing. They are willing to answer any questions and give all the advice that they have. They are both very supportive! I do afterall have the NPHS TEACHER OF THE YEAR!!!! When this was announced Monday at the teacher meeting I was so excited! Rita was embarrassed but I was so proud!
Today was the first day of meeting my seniors. This morning in my inclusion class the kids were very responsive to a prompt that we gave them after reading the poem "Teenagers Are Amazing". They wrote some deep responses that I did not expect on the first day of class which makes me very optimistic for the future.
The senior skills classes are very large, and make me a little nervous but I think they have potential to be very fun and I think I can learn a ton from my students and the projects that they choose to work on.
My last class was amazing. The kids remind me of myself when I was in highschool. They completed their summer reading and some projects were even handed in today. That was me as a student :-)
I am excited to get to know them better and cant wait to see what they can do...I know they will blow me away.
I love seeing Aimee, Kellen and Rebecca at school. Its great having a support system!
I am looking forward to our class tomorrow night and cant wait to hear your stories!
My first day at Central was Monday, and it was quite an interesting look into the teacher culture and politics that go into teaching at an urban school. It was a day of assemblies and meetings with the English/ESL department and new administrators. I must say there was a lot of bitterness amongst many of the teachers I encountered over new department heads and colleagues who did not have their jobs renewed at Central. The teachers were all pretty cynical and had many issues to complain about.
Cut to today…it was as if Monday had never happened. All the teachers were excited and eager to begin teaching (I wonder if teachers sometimes get so caught up in the bureaucratic nonsense that goes on in schools that they forget why they’re there in the first place). The sight of students seemed to make the bitterness melt away and the teachers I encountered all seemed to be having a great first day. I will be teaching periods 3, 5, and Susan and I will be team teaching period 6 (all 10th grade classes). We decided to start today off nice and easy by having the students fill out information cards (housekeeping stuff…name, address, phone number, etc.) and answer two questions: What do we need to know about you? and What are you not learning in school that you wish you were? I had the students introduce themselves and tell the class the answers to each question. After introductions, I got the students talking about their summers (what they read, what they did), their expectations for the year (what they wanted to read, what they wanted to do in class), and had them ask me any questions they wanted to know about me or the course. Most of them really opened up, and periods 3 and 5 went really smoothly. Period 6 was a different story. Maybe it’s because it was the last period of the day, but the kids were not as cooperative and seemed very ready to go home. It will definitely be the most challenging class, so I’m glad Susan will be there co-teaching with me. Tomorrow we’re going to start some exercises to get the kids ready for some critical thinking, which should last until the beginning of next week and then I’ll probably be implementing lessons of my own. Hope everyone else had a great day as well!
Today threatened to be One of Those Days, but for all that went wrong, it all worked out. I pulled into the lot early, discovered I never want to park facing that part of the building again, and had time to be mesmerized by the fog on the lake. While I was being all mesmerized, Just Like Heaven came on the radio. I ADORE that song, so I knew it was a good omen for the day.
Sure 'nuff. I headed into the building, still a good 20-25 minutes before class (so 5-10 minutes before I needed to be there) and doublechecked everything we did yesterday, turned on the lights and started writing a little. After a surprisingly short time, Steve arrived and reiterated a quick run-down of how today was to go.
Because I am not taking his classes right off the bat, I was an observer today. I will say I don't care for how we started class, with a test, but it's not entirely his fault. According to the edict from the Sup, we were supposed to administer said test yesterday, but being as the decision was made to delay the start of school by a day, there weren't kids to test yesterday. Said test was actually quite simple, and Steve is already considering fudging counting it as a "test" per se, even though the Sup stated, in a letter to the parents, that it would be as such. They just had to answer five questions, of their choice, regarding the book they were supposed to have read over the summer.
Since, of course, about half of the kids did not do their reading, about half of them were not writing. This, however, came after Steve's spiel on not lying to him. After distributing the questions, he presented the group with several simple instructions. Put your name on the paper. Next, if you read a book, write the title of the book. Then choose five questions and answer them. If you didn't read, draw a big fat zero. You will then choose a book to read by Tuesday and stay for department night to make this up. Those who take the test on department night will lose one letter grade, taking an A, which you all should get, to a B, but it's better than a zero!
All of this is fair and good, though, in retrospect, I feel like a little comment that such exceptions/extensions will not be available all the time might have been prudent. What I disagreed with, and told Steve this, is the fact that, while the other students were testing, those that didn't read were prepping their classroom folders and getting the rundown of the grading system they would be held to. His logic was flawless, and I frankly didn't have a better alternative that didn't border dangerously closely on busywork, but I just didn't really like making noise and moving around during testing.
By being able to observe the students first while Steve teaches, I think I'm getting a better feel for attitudes, potential problems, and the students that will likely need the most help. 2 out of our 3 classes today were quiet and ready to learn (on the whole, anyway. both of those classes had one or two that just weren't plugged in yet). The middle class, though, is going to be really hard to motivate. They were like zombies. Inattentive zombies, even. The same question was asked 3-5 times, and when Steve asked them to say back to him what their homework was, it took calling on FOUR students before anyone could get it right. Know what their homework was? Bring a pen, notebook, and independent reading book. That's it. And pen, not pencil, 'cause Steve's fond of his 20/10 eyesight. (Long story, something of a running gag already).
I wish I had more to say, but with only three classes, all doing the same thing, and not really getting to MEET the students as people yet, there's not much to say. I'll try to squeeze in blog-time before class tomorrow, but no promises. Blogger is blocked at school, and I won't have much time after I leave school before seminar. TOTALLY looking forward to tomorow, hopefully getting to know the kids a little better, then seeing all of you guys after. Woot! Gonna be a good day. LONG day, but good day.
Wow. I am so very appreciative of your skilled observations and writing. And, I am SO PROUD of you folks. Judging from your first day posts, your interactions with students and colleagues have been positive, supportive, and refreshing. What good cooperating teachers you have!! And, can you folks believe that Allie is working with the NP teacher of the year? Holy moly, what a privilege.
In Ashley's email, she says that at least two students in each class "weren't plugged in yet," and I love that, though I want all of you to keep your eyes peeled for the students that seem like they haven't come out of their summer fog. Kate--it seems like you have this in your 6th period class...serious end-of-day fatigue. Remember that the school day is tiring. Never forget what it feels like to be a student! Get them up and moving or talking to one another or building something or creating something. Active learning!!
I am so pleased to know so many of you got to interact with students these past few days. Talking to them, learning their names, and beginning this journey together is both nerve-wracking and exciting. It's a blind date that needs to develop into a relationship that needs to last at least 14 weeks. Amazing! I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow evening in our new meeting space. I will try to remember to pick up the snacks before heading from Craig Lee to Henry Barnard. Thank you all for your thoughtful and insightful posts. I can't wait to see what's next...
I have decided to wait, like many of us, for my first day with STUDENTS. However, the past two days I think were important. I showed up for PD day and met a LOT of "important" staff members. I dressed nice FIGURING I would be meeting these people and not planning on moving furniture. Whoops. 2 inch heels and moving...hmm...shold have broken in the shoes! Good thing I work at CVS...I get a discount on blister band-aids! Anyways, day two it was just Christina and I in her room, so jeans and a t-shirt it was to set up her class. We have some GREAT posters, and I brought in some chairs for our reading corner, and the room looks GREAT and we still have more we want to keep adding! I took pictures, so I can show you guys like the dork I am!!
Today, I got to school SUPER early, being that it's NORMALLY a 40 minute drive and there SHOULD have been bus traffic! But...no bus crossed my path. So I was at school a full half hour early. I stood outside the class and met a couple Seniors, talked to them about college and goals and they were REALLY psyched about school this year. Then one of the "important people" I met Monday saw me and opened Christina's door for me. It was weird...I was alone in the classroom, and passing students mistook me for a new teacher, and treated me as such. I guess I can APPEAR as the teacher, but I just didn't FEEL like the teacher yet.
On Wednesdays at Hope, the kids get out early, at 1:19 and the teachers have professional development for the remainder of the day. So, I only had advisory and one class. Christina and I talked and decided that I was a little too nervous and unsure of "first day stuff" to jump in, so instead of taking over, I would just assist. I was fine with that. Advisory was fun. The freshman are REALLY quiet, it's kind of cute...but once we got into the icebreaker, they got a little better, but most of the time was just housekeeping stuff.
The first English class was quieter than advisory! But, my icebreaker idea with skittles and making them answer questions based on the colors worked really well. We learned a lot about the kids. And I got to see Christina in action working on getting their resect from the start. It's like an art form to watch this woman interact with her students. She is intuitive to know which student she can pick on, get them to crack a smile and HAVE THEM for the rest of the year from that moment and what students she needs to be gentle with and work on for a week or two before they will fully trust and respect her. I appreciate my placement even more now!
After that we had a free period and Christina and I talked for a bit but then she had to get some e-mails sent out for her after school group, so I kept myself busy and out of her hair. However, 90 minutes is a LOOONG time when you forget something to work on yourself because you failed to realize you had a free block. I WILL NOT make that mistake again!
Can't wait to see everyone tomorrow night! -Charlene
I decided to wait until today, as many of you did, to blog because I did not meet my students until today. Monday was full of meetings and paper work. Tuesday consisted of cleaning the room, decorating, and preparing. Although on both of these days I was able to explore the building (which I need to do some more), and meet many great (passionate, driven, motivated) teachers.
I am fortunate to be in a classroom that is next door to Allie who is working with Rita (and shares a room with Madonna). Rita and Madonna have been extremely supportive and an amazing addition to this experience. I actually asked Madonna if I could be involved in working with one of her skills classes so that I can work more with senior project, so I am going to do that during my period 7.
As for today, I met my students! I wish I could have been more involved with the classes, but I know that it was only the first day and the "house keeping" tasks had to be taken care of. I have high hopes for tomorrow and really want to get to know my students because I will be taking over my classes on Monday.
There is so much to learn. I have been trying to absorb every bit of information I can because all of the teachers there have so much to offer -guidance-support-encouragement
I am excited and smiling knowing you all have had such success and I am looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow (as I have been telling Kellen and Allie everyday since Monday).
p.s. allie, kellen, rebecca - I can't think of something to say that would encompass how happy I am to see familiar faces around NPH. Just know it makes me happy to see you guys everyday! As for everyone else, I REALLY (sorry for the adverb Dr. Cook!) look forward to our Thursdays together :)
It's 9:30 I NEED to go to bed... I hope you all have an amazing day tomorrow...
You're almost an English teacher. You can use all the adverbs you want. I love your P.S. to your colleagues/classmates. I am so proud of the way you folks at NPHS value and count on each other. That is a success already.
And, Charlene, your bit about the high heels and blisters was killing me. You get extra points for caring about impressing folks with your dress. Go you! And, YAY for your reading corner in your classroom. I love that!
Haha, I'm glad I'm not the only one that overdressed for first day PD! I decided to hedge my bets with khakis and a button down shirt, but most of the faculty were in jeans/shorts and tee shirts. Steve apologized, and I dressed more appropriately for faculty meeting day.
Ashley, I'm glad to know I was not the only one left out of the loop for dressing on PD day! And Dr. Cook, I love our WHOLE ROOM! It's HUGE (use to be the woodshop) and I am sure you will love it too...even the pepto pink table :) You're in for a treat!
13 comments:
THIS POST IS FROM RICH--
Today was great.
It started with refreshments and the buzz of hundreds of educators dying to know about summer vacations (not much different than the students will be tomorrow). Hot coffee and sweet cinnamon buns followed by some good ol' fashioned assembly time.
One of the highlights of the assembly was the guest speaker, Deborah Gist, the new commissioner of education for the state of RI. She is refreshing. Her speech was inspiring and she stressed the fact that everything she does is for the good of the students and their teachers. She talked about how when she is creating new policy or thinking about making changes to the RI education system, she is always doing so through "a teacher's lens".
Next, was the English Department meeting. It was a meeting...policies, changes, bickering, and soda. But none the less, is what fun and interesting to be there.
The best part of the day was the last two hours. Lisa and I spent this time in our classroom, putting on some finishing touches, hanging the grave etching of H.P. Lovecraft, and going over my materials for tomorrow (the letter home to the parents, syllabus, writing prompt, etc.)
Tomorrow, I will be teaching two creative writing classes. I am going to play a song that I wrote describing the course! Can't wait to see the responses.
Overall, all is fantastic! I have official lesson plans done for this entire week and I have an outline of what I will be doing next week. I feel prepared, confident, anxious, and excited!
I am sure tomorrow will be a much more blogworthy day. Have fun everyone, and for Lane's sake, be all the ninja that you can be.
Polseno. Out.
Hello Becky here!
First off I want to apologize about missing the first meeting you had together as a group. Not only am I upset about not checking my e-mails, but I bet I missed out on some important things. If anyone wants to let me know what I missed that would be greatly appreciated.
Okay, on to the good stuff. My first day was great. I am at NPHS with Stacey Bachini. She teaches 9th grade which I love because I haven't had exposure to freshman at the beginning of the year yet. It will be interesting to see how these newbees react to high school as well as how Stacey responds.
It was also wonderful to see some familiar faces, Kellen, Aimee, Allison and Jay Ryan were a warm welcome back to school.
My mind is already spinning with ideas of lessons, the paperwork, and the student teaching portfolio expectations. I have a few lesson plans for this week that I will be going over with Stacey tomorrow. Most of them the getting-to-know-you kind of lessons. Because we have freshman its imperative that we spend a little more time getting them settled in.
Am I the only one who feels anxious/nervous/excited all at the same time?
This is the final few steps in the marathon that is the Feinstein Ed Program. Congrats to all of us! This will be a great semester. Welcome back!
THIS POST IS FROM MR. POLSENO:
I had an amazing day today.
It felt so good to finally see students in the school. I am not sure where to begin.
I will start with the two creative writing classes that I am teaching. They went very well! I spent some time today, outlining some of the routines that I want to exist in my classroom. Ms. Narcissi had an easel with butcher paper, so we listed "The Daily Routines" on it. The daily routines in our classroom are...
Enter the classroom respectfully
Turn off your cell phone and place it in your bag/purse
Place your bag/purse on the back counter of the room
Only take what you will need for this class to your desk
Look to the board for what to do next
Stay seated (unless directed otherwise)
Use bathroom before and after class
The following behavior will result in a teacher detention (excessive tardiness, offensive/profane language, being obnoxious)
These routines went well. My goal is that by next week, the students will automatically enter the room and follow these routines. In this way, the first few minutes of each class (so precious) will be used academically.
After the routines, I handed out my syllabus and explained it briefly. It was great, because, after spending threee minutes on the syllabus, I said that I was going to give a brief course description next. At that point, I pulled up my guitar which was hiding behind my desk, and played the song that I wrote describing the class. The result was great! The students were clearly surprised, and luckily, they enjoyed the song!
After this I talked for a few moments about the fear in sharing writing and performing poetry in front of others (this is a requirement that I created for this class). I had the students create a continuum in the middle of the room. Lining up beginning with those who are perfectly comfortable speaking in front of people all the way to those who are petrified of it. I got to hear some student feelings about anxiety and fears of speaking in front of others. I assured the students that they are safe in this classroom and that they should embrace the ability to read poetry aloud.
After this, I handed out some materials to make nametags and the students decorated them, and on the back, they wrote their three favorite writers and their three favorite musicians/bands. We went around the room and they each stated their name and one writer and one musician. I am proud of the creative writing classes that I taught today and I felt as though they were successful beginnings. There is already a sense of community in the classroom, and there is surely a sense of discipline.
The last order of business was to give each student a letter that I wrote to their parents. In this letter, I introduce the course, myself, and my expectations of the students. There is a portion at the bottom which the parent/guardian and student must sign and return to me, Mr. Polseno. This was their first homework assignment.
I also team taught the two journalism courses with Ms. Narcisi today and participated in the advisory period and her English honors course. I don't want to describe every class because, I really don't have the time to, and I can't imagine that any of you have the time to read much more than I have already written. I hope that everyone else had a great first "student" day of high school. I have written a short something that describes my day in a nutshell. I bet that you can relate. Have fun everyone.
I had a blast.
Teaching is great.
I kicked ass in class.
I won't be up late.
Hey everyone. Today turned out to be a pretty relaxing day. I got to school early to talk with Dean about how the day is going to go, and after an assembly for the freshmen, I finally met the first class I will be working with. I know its the first day and all, but most of the kids seemed calm and willing to get into the thick of things with their first college prep course.
Although I will start teaching next week, I am already itching to start teaching these kids tomorrow, only after spending about a half hour with each of my classes. There was a lot of down time, seeing that only the freshmen were in the building, so I had time to outline the first unit that I will be teaching on narrative writing. I am hoping the students will be as into it as I am haha.
I talked with a lot of interesting teachers who offered some good advice, and got to reflect on the day with aimee and allison. As a whole, the day went well and I am excited to get back in there tomorrow morning. I want to work out some details within my unit with my teacher before I begin to write formal lesson plans.
Hopefully tomorrow brings more student interviews, more presentations, and hopefully more pop tarts!
Hey Ninjas!
I thought about writing about the first day that I was at NPHS but I thought about it some more and decided to write more about today-the first day with my students!
I have to first say that spending the last 2 days hanging out with Rita ( my teacher) and Madonna (another FANTASTIC teacher) has been eye opening and relaxing. They are willing to answer any questions and give all the advice that they have. They are both very supportive! I do afterall have the NPHS TEACHER OF THE YEAR!!!! When this was announced Monday at the teacher meeting I was so excited! Rita was embarrassed but I was so proud!
Today was the first day of meeting my seniors. This morning in my inclusion class the kids were very responsive to a prompt that we gave them after reading the poem "Teenagers Are Amazing". They wrote some deep responses that I did not expect on the first day of class which makes me very optimistic for the future.
The senior skills classes are very large, and make me a little nervous but I think they have potential to be very fun and I think I can learn a ton from my students and the projects that they choose to work on.
My last class was amazing. The kids remind me of myself when I was in highschool. They completed their summer reading and some projects were even handed in today. That was me as a student :-)
I am excited to get to know them better and cant wait to see what they can do...I know they will blow me away.
I love seeing Aimee, Kellen and Rebecca at school. Its great having a support system!
I am looking forward to our class tomorrow night and cant wait to hear your stories!
Do great things!
Allie
My first day at Central was Monday, and it was quite an interesting look into the teacher culture and politics that go into teaching at an urban school. It was a day of assemblies and meetings with the English/ESL department and new administrators. I must say there was a lot of bitterness amongst many of the teachers I encountered over new department heads and colleagues who did not have their jobs renewed at Central. The teachers were all pretty cynical and had many issues to complain about.
Cut to today…it was as if Monday had never happened. All the teachers were excited and eager to begin teaching (I wonder if teachers sometimes get so caught up in the bureaucratic nonsense that goes on in schools that they forget why they’re there in the first place). The sight of students seemed to make the bitterness melt away and the teachers I encountered all seemed to be having a great first day. I will be teaching periods 3, 5, and Susan and I will be team teaching period 6 (all 10th grade classes). We decided to start today off nice and easy by having the students fill out information cards (housekeeping stuff…name, address, phone number, etc.) and answer two questions: What do we need to know about you? and What are you not learning in school that you wish you were? I had the students introduce themselves and tell the class the answers to each question. After introductions, I got the students talking about their summers (what they read, what they did), their expectations for the year (what they wanted to read, what they wanted to do in class), and had them ask me any questions they wanted to know about me or the course. Most of them really opened up, and periods 3 and 5 went really smoothly. Period 6 was a different story. Maybe it’s because it was the last period of the day, but the kids were not as cooperative and seemed very ready to go home. It will definitely be the most challenging class, so I’m glad Susan will be there co-teaching with me. Tomorrow we’re going to start some exercises to get the kids ready for some critical thinking, which should last until the beginning of next week and then I’ll probably be implementing lessons of my own. Hope everyone else had a great day as well!
Today threatened to be One of Those Days, but for all that went wrong, it all worked out. I pulled into the lot early, discovered I never want to park facing that part of the building again, and had time to be mesmerized by the fog on the lake. While I was being all mesmerized, Just Like Heaven came on the radio. I ADORE that song, so I knew it was a good omen for the day.
Sure 'nuff. I headed into the building, still a good 20-25 minutes before class (so 5-10 minutes before I needed to be there) and doublechecked everything we did yesterday, turned on the lights and started writing a little. After a surprisingly short time, Steve arrived and reiterated a quick run-down of how today was to go.
Because I am not taking his classes right off the bat, I was an observer today. I will say I don't care for how we started class, with a test, but it's not entirely his fault. According to the edict from the Sup, we were supposed to administer said test yesterday, but being as the decision was made to delay the start of school by a day, there weren't kids to test yesterday. Said test was actually quite simple, and Steve is already considering fudging counting it as a "test" per se, even though the Sup stated, in a letter to the parents, that it would be as such. They just had to answer five questions, of their choice, regarding the book they were supposed to have read over the summer.
Since, of course, about half of the kids did not do their reading, about half of them were not writing. This, however, came after Steve's spiel on not lying to him. After distributing the questions, he presented the group with several simple instructions. Put your name on the paper. Next, if you read a book, write the title of the book. Then choose five questions and answer them. If you didn't read, draw a big fat zero. You will then choose a book to read by Tuesday and stay for department night to make this up. Those who take the test on department night will lose one letter grade, taking an A, which you all should get, to a B, but it's better than a zero!
All of this is fair and good, though, in retrospect, I feel like a little comment that such exceptions/extensions will not be available all the time might have been prudent. What I disagreed with, and told Steve this, is the fact that, while the other students were testing, those that didn't read were prepping their classroom folders and getting the rundown of the grading system they would be held to. His logic was flawless, and I frankly didn't have a better alternative that didn't border dangerously closely on busywork, but I just didn't really like making noise and moving around during testing.
By being able to observe the students first while Steve teaches, I think I'm getting a better feel for attitudes, potential problems, and the students that will likely need the most help. 2 out of our 3 classes today were quiet and ready to learn (on the whole, anyway. both of those classes had one or two that just weren't plugged in yet). The middle class, though, is going to be really hard to motivate. They were like zombies. Inattentive zombies, even. The same question was asked 3-5 times, and when Steve asked them to say back to him what their homework was, it took calling on FOUR students before anyone could get it right. Know what their homework was? Bring a pen, notebook, and independent reading book. That's it. And pen, not pencil, 'cause Steve's fond of his 20/10 eyesight. (Long story, something of a running gag already).
I wish I had more to say, but with only three classes, all doing the same thing, and not really getting to MEET the students as people yet, there's not much to say. I'll try to squeeze in blog-time before class tomorrow, but no promises. Blogger is blocked at school, and I won't have much time after I leave school before seminar. TOTALLY looking forward to tomorow, hopefully getting to know the kids a little better, then seeing all of you guys after. Woot! Gonna be a good day. LONG day, but good day.
Wow. I am so very appreciative of your skilled observations and writing. And, I am SO PROUD of you folks. Judging from your first day posts, your interactions with students and colleagues have been positive, supportive, and refreshing. What good cooperating teachers you have!! And, can you folks believe that Allie is working with the NP teacher of the year? Holy moly, what a privilege.
In Ashley's email, she says that at least two students in each class "weren't plugged in yet," and I love that, though I want all of you to keep your eyes peeled for the students that seem like they haven't come out of their summer fog. Kate--it seems like you have this in your 6th period class...serious end-of-day fatigue. Remember that the school day is tiring. Never forget what it feels like to be a student! Get them up and moving or talking to one another or building something or creating something. Active learning!!
I am so pleased to know so many of you got to interact with students these past few days. Talking to them, learning their names, and beginning this journey together is both nerve-wracking and exciting. It's a blind date that needs to develop into a relationship that needs to last at least 14 weeks. Amazing! I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow evening in our new meeting space. I will try to remember to pick up the snacks before heading from Craig Lee to Henry Barnard. Thank you all for your thoughtful and insightful posts. I can't wait to see what's next...
Peace-
I have decided to wait, like many of us, for my first day with STUDENTS. However, the past two days I think were important. I showed up for PD day and met a LOT of "important" staff members. I dressed nice FIGURING I would be meeting these people and not planning on moving furniture. Whoops. 2 inch heels and moving...hmm...shold have broken in the shoes! Good thing I work at CVS...I get a discount on blister band-aids! Anyways, day two it was just Christina and I in her room, so jeans and a t-shirt it was to set up her class. We have some GREAT posters, and I brought in some chairs for our reading corner, and the room looks GREAT and we still have more we want to keep adding! I took pictures, so I can show you guys like the dork I am!!
Today, I got to school SUPER early, being that it's NORMALLY a 40 minute drive and there SHOULD have been bus traffic! But...no bus crossed my path. So I was at school a full half hour early. I stood outside the class and met a couple Seniors, talked to them about college and goals and they were REALLY psyched about school this year. Then one of the "important people" I met Monday saw me and opened Christina's door for me. It was weird...I was alone in the classroom, and passing students mistook me for a new teacher, and treated me as such. I guess I can APPEAR as the teacher, but I just didn't FEEL like the teacher yet.
On Wednesdays at Hope, the kids get out early, at 1:19 and the teachers have professional development for the remainder of the day. So, I only had advisory and one class. Christina and I talked and decided that I was a little too nervous and unsure of "first day stuff" to jump in, so instead of taking over, I would just assist. I was fine with that. Advisory was fun. The freshman are REALLY quiet, it's kind of cute...but once we got into the icebreaker, they got a little better, but most of the time was just housekeeping stuff.
The first English class was quieter than advisory! But, my icebreaker idea with skittles and making them answer questions based on the colors worked really well. We learned a lot about the kids. And I got to see Christina in action working on getting their resect from the start. It's like an art form to watch this woman interact with her students. She is intuitive to know which student she can pick on, get them to crack a smile and HAVE THEM for the rest of the year from that moment and what students she needs to be gentle with and work on for a week or two before they will fully trust and respect her. I appreciate my placement even more now!
After that we had a free period and Christina and I talked for a bit but then she had to get some e-mails sent out for her after school group, so I kept myself busy and out of her hair. However, 90 minutes is a LOOONG time when you forget something to work on yourself because you failed to realize you had a free block. I WILL NOT make that mistake again!
Can't wait to see everyone tomorrow night!
-Charlene
Hi everyone.
I decided to wait until today, as many of you did, to blog because I did not meet my students until today. Monday was full of meetings and paper work. Tuesday consisted of cleaning the room, decorating, and preparing. Although on both of these days I was able to explore the building (which I need to do some more), and meet many great (passionate, driven, motivated) teachers.
I am fortunate to be in a classroom that is next door to Allie who is working with Rita (and shares a room with Madonna). Rita and Madonna have been extremely supportive and an amazing addition to this experience. I actually asked Madonna if I could be involved in working with one of her skills classes so that I can work more with senior project, so I am going to do that during my period 7.
As for today, I met my students! I wish I could have been more involved with the classes, but I know that it was only the first day and the "house keeping" tasks had to be taken care of. I have high hopes for tomorrow and really want to get to know my students because I will be taking over my classes on Monday.
There is so much to learn. I have been trying to absorb every bit of information I can because all of the teachers there have so much to offer -guidance-support-encouragement
I am excited and smiling knowing you all have had such success and I am looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow (as I have been telling Kellen and Allie everyday since Monday).
p.s. allie, kellen, rebecca - I can't think of something to say that would encompass how happy I am to see familiar faces around NPH. Just know it makes me happy to see you guys everyday! As for everyone else, I REALLY (sorry for the adverb Dr. Cook!) look forward to our Thursdays together :)
It's 9:30 I NEED to go to bed... I hope you all have an amazing day tomorrow...
Just because I need to get used to my own name...
-Ms. Marsland
Aimee-
You're almost an English teacher. You can use all the adverbs you want. I love your P.S. to your colleagues/classmates. I am so proud of the way you folks at NPHS value and count on each other. That is a success already.
And, Charlene, your bit about the high heels and blisters was killing me. You get extra points for caring about impressing folks with your dress. Go you! And, YAY for your reading corner in your classroom. I love that!
Dr Cook
Haha, I'm glad I'm not the only one that overdressed for first day PD! I decided to hedge my bets with khakis and a button down shirt, but most of the faculty were in jeans/shorts and tee shirts. Steve apologized, and I dressed more appropriately for faculty meeting day.
Ashley, I'm glad to know I was not the only one left out of the loop for dressing on PD day!
And Dr. Cook, I love our WHOLE ROOM! It's HUGE (use to be the woodshop) and I am sure you will love it too...even the pepto pink table :) You're in for a treat!
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