Online Mentorship- Such a Success!

The online mentorship at www.tappedin.org my fellow clasmates and I have been a part of this semester has been an awesome learning experience. There are so many skilled, passionate educators who are so willing to share their advice, ideas, opinions, and encouragement with us as we journey towards our teaching profession. If we had any questions, all we had to do was post them and immediately there were several replies from individauls who had already been where we are today and could give loads of advice. It felt like there was always someone in our corner, rooting for us. I can't count the number of websites I've gone to thatI will probably use in my own classroom. There are so many resources available and also the chance to share a discovery of your own with others. It's one big community, but also like a family.
I truly enjoyed being a part of the Tapped In community and hope to continue checking in and communicating with such great mentors. I think this would be a great tool for a first year teacher. I can already anticipate the number of questions or dilemmas I will run across during the first year and with Tapped In available, I know all of my questions will be answered. Thank you to all of the mentors who contribute to the site. I'm sure it takes a lot of time and dedication. Just know you are truly appreciated.

Striving Through Discouragement

It never fails! Every semester I get discouraged by all of the responsibilities I have and I feel like giving up. Being a mother of a two-year old and stepmother to two girls, one of whom has severe disabilities is a hard enough job as it is. Once classes are thrown in as well as practicum observations, it gets a bit hectic. There are so many nights when I want to relax or just go to bed after the kids are down, but I can't because that's when I have to do schoolwork. Since my husband works at night, most of my evenings are spent cooking dinner, doing homework, doing hair, giving baths, etc.
I had a discussion today with my cooperating teacher, who could tell I wasn't myself today. She did a great job encouraging me and letting me know she was here for me. She assured me that in a way student teaching is more demanding than having your own classroom, becasue you have so many other obligations to fulfill at the same time. Also since you're working in someone elses's turf you can't exactly do things the way you want and must accomodate that teacher.
I've also been worrying lately about how I will find time for my own children once I start teaching. It seems silly because most all teachers have children of their own. I suppose it's not any different from other careers, but the long hours that will come with the teaching profession have definitely been stressed throughout my education courses. Hopefully, by being as organized as possible, I will be able to be a great teacher, as well as a great mother.

Simple Machine Exploration

My 3rd graders recently studied simple machines. As a review, the day before their simple machine unit test, we used laptops and visited the site http://edheads.org to further explore simple machines. This activity allowed them to go into certain rooms, including the bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, or garage to search for simple machines. They would click on the simple machine, be asked a question about the general use of the item, then asked to identify what type of simple machine it was. The students had a ball doing this activity, as they are always extremely excited when presented with the opportunity of using the laptops. They were really engaged and enjoyed bragging about their scores to their classmates. They also enjoyed the animation and music on the site.

After finding the simple machines in each room, they were instructed to make chart and brainstorm, giving examples of several simple machines. They were allowed to work with a partner and given 10 minutes in order to come up with as many examples as possible. Aterwards, I used the Elmo (an upgraded version of a transparency that has a video camera allowing students to see everything the teacher writes on a given sheet of paper) and compiled a list of examples for each type of simple machine. As the students gave me their ideas, they described why their said example was a simple machine and how it made it easier to do work. I made compies of the list we compiled together and gave each of them one to take home and study. I hinted that there may be a section on the test that asked them to give 2 or 3 examples of each simple machine. All of the students did very well on that section of the test and I believe it was due to this activity. It was a very fun activity for them and allowed them a way to construct their own study guide for the test.

Protecting Our Students!

The tragedy at Virginia Tech has really caused me to think of my life, my future career and my family and put everything into perspective. The story of the Professor who was a Holocaust survivor and risked his life and died trying to save his students touched me deeply. It caused me to reevaluate what my role as a teacher will be. I took time and really thought about how I will be the protector of my children and questioned whether or not I could do the same heroic deed if something so terrible were to happen in a school in which I taught. I realize something like this could have happened in any school, whether college, elementary or high school. Although we never know how we'll react in such a situation, I hope to be a great protector of my students. When they are in my care, I hope to treat them as if they are my very own. Being the mother of a two year old, I would hope that my child's teacher would feel the same way about her and would protect her in such a situation.
My heart goes out to the families, students, and community of Virginia Tech. I can't imagine going through what they are going through right now. I'm sure this will be an event that will never be forgotten. I think it's a shame that our schools are so often invaded by violence. Parents can no longer feel safe when sending their children to school. What can we do as a society to fix this problem and help keep our students safe?

No Playgounds???

This week in my Foundations course, my proffesor mentioned that there are currently schools being built in Atlanta without playgrounds! They are aiming to allow more instruction time so that their students will score higher on high stakes testing. I think that concept is absurd and quite unfair to our students. It implies that their only duty is to sit in a classroom and prepare for high stakes testing. However, I know that going to school is about so much more! School is an imoportant part of socialization and every child should be able to interact with one another and basically have a break from the books.
We all know that our students need a break just to run around, stretch their legs, and rest their minds. Being a mother I know firsthand that if a child sits in one spot for too long...well let's just say they WON'T sit in one spot for too long! Even as adults, we need time to relax, talk to friends, etc. Why think our students don't need the same things. I think the individuals of authority making these decisions have to realize that school is not about highstakes testing. These tests are becoming the main focus; however, our children need to be.

Girls vs. Boys in the Classroom

It seems I'm always writing about gender issues, but as a sociology major it's a topic that comes up frequently. I recently observed a class in my practicum school where the teacher separated the boys and girls into opposing teams to review math concepts. The girl's team was named the "Fillies" and the boys were the "Stallions." As we know, boys are generally expected to perform better at math and science than girls. Boys have historically been more likely to pursue fields that incorporate math and science, such as engineering and architecture. The boys were very aggressive and the girls seemed to be pretty laid back. The boys were constantly laughing at the girls if they made a mistake and were determined to win. Is it okay to separate girls and boys for these types of activities? Would they have just as much fun on a team with mixed sexes? By separating them by gender are we further implying that they are different? I'm just concerned with the way we perceive gender in this society and the way we are defining gender to our children.

Science Circus Fun!

Today in my Elementary Science Curriculum and Instruction course, we had a science circus. The circus was centered on the theme of sound. There were six different stations that each group had about 5 minutes to complete. We did different activities, each encompassing the concept of soound and pitch and the different ways sound can be projected. I think that students will enjoy activities incorporated into a science circus. It gives them a chance to get up and moving and to learn in a fun, exciting way. Rather than lecturing and giving worksheets, they will learn on their own through actual "hands on" experience. I'm looking forward to putting together my Science Circus and watching the reactions of my students. I'm sure their eagerness to learn will be evident, as will be my eagerness to guide them in the learning process.