Trust.

Today was my last day with my ELL student M.  We reviewed the test that she just took in Ms. R’s class.  I wrote before about some really rough times that M has been going through recently; she has missed quite a few of Ms. R’s classes.  Because of all of her absences she did not do too well on her history test.  Ms. R asked if I would review the test with her.  We went over all of the answers and discussed the ones that she missed.  I think it really helped her to have the extra review time, and she said she would go and ask Ms. R if she can retake the test.  I hope she goes and retakes the test.  I really see potential in M.  She can go far in life if she chooses too!

In reflection, I think my time with my ELL student was a great success.  It was really an advantage that she was also in my cooperating teacher’s class; this gave us more time together and a better opportunity to have a relationship.  It also gave us a lot of information to review together.

In reflection, it all goes back to what Mr. Raymond talked about in the beginning. . . relationships and rapport!  My time with M was so successful because we developed such a bond.  When we were finished today, M gave me a note; in this note she told me that she trusted me and I listened to her whenever bad things happened to her.  Trust is so important in the teacher-student relationship.  M trusted me and that helped her to listen to me and to apply herself even more.  I think we began on the right foot whenever I read her introductory letter to her in Spanish.  This helped her to see that I was willing to be a learner too and in turn she gave more of herself to the learning process.

I am so glad we had the opportunity to work with the ELL students.  It helped me so much because I was able to gain a better understanding of how difficult it is to be a young person who does not know the language. . .this will help me to be a better more compassionate teacher.

Saying goodbye.

Today was our last day in Mr. I’s 9th grade World Geography class.  We spent the first part of the class watching Hotel Rwanda and the second part taking a whole class quiz.  I had the opportunity to teach two different lessons on Africa; both lessons involved cooperative learning activities.  My last lesson was a reading activity where the students were divided into groups and they read a short story and then created a poster to tell their story to the rest of the class.  Even though the students were not entirely familiar with learning groups the activities were a success!  The students created posters and then the entire group was responsible for explaining their poster to the class.  I was very impressed by the student’s work and involvement in the activity.

In reflection, I now see how important it is to listen to what the students want.  Today a student said group work would be eaiser if the students were allowed to choose their own groups.  I wish I could teach another lesson so that I could give the students an opportunity to choose their own groups and an opportunity to show that they can be responsible when they are given the privilege of choosing their own groups.

Today we said goodbye.  It made me feel so good when one student wrote that she would miss me.  I put a lot of effort into encouraging this particular student and I think the effort paid off.  In the beginning, she would rarely participate in class question/answer sessions, and now she feels more empowered to raise her hand and attempt answers!  This makes me feel good.  I wanted to teach because I loved my subject. . .  it was my passion.  I now want to teach because I love the kids!  I can learn so much from these students.

When Injustice Happens.

Today I met with my ELL student M.  M is in my American history class with Ms. R.  M has been missing the last few times I have been to Ms. R’s class and I was wondering about where she has been?  Ms. R and I did some research and realized that M has been attending her first and second period classes and then skipping her fourth and fifth period clases.  My first reaction was to wonder why M was skipping class.  Today I planned on working on the Cold War worksheets that we have been reviewing in Ms. R’s class.  We have watched several videos and M has really missed a lot of work.

When I sat down today I realized immediately that something was going on with M.  I asked if she wanted to talk about what had happened and she said it would be good for her to share her experience with someone.  She told me a story about her families trip to HEB.  She told me about security guards grabbing her mother by the arm and telling her and her sister to shut up.  She told me about how she tried to be strong for her entire family since she was the one person who spoke the best English.  They took her family into the office at HEB and accussed her mother of stealing.  M said her mother did not take anything, but they threatened to call the police and they repeatedly told the girls to shut up.  They asked if the family had papers and when M said they did not; they said the police were going to come and deport them.  After two hours, and after M’s mother signed an omission of guilt they let the family leave and asked them never to return.  The police never came.

I would have a hard time concentrating on my school work too.  I imagine the powerlessness that M must have felt and the humiliation.  It makes me angry.  This semester at Akins I feel as if I have been exposed to a different world; a world were racial hatered and intolerance are still alive and well.  What is the first step in helping to solve these problems?  How can I help to change attitudes in the classroom?  How can I help students who fear that their family may be deported or students who go away from school and experience these type of injustices.

I listened to M today.  I cannot go back and change what has happened, but I can listen to her.  We began our reading lesson after we spent time talking about what heppened to her.  She did really well with her reading.  I helped her with words she did not understand and we discussed difficult Cold War concepts.  Ms. R says she can makeup the work she has missed.  Hopefully she will!

In reflection, students are going through so much outside the classroom.  The challenge for todays teachers is to provide the kind of safe learning environment where students can come and be free to study and learn without fear!

Teaching is like doing a 90 minute aerobics class!

Today I taught in Mr. I’s 9th grade World Geography class.  I taught with another intern from my Texas State class.  We taught a lesson on Africa and we decided to do a cooperative learning activity.  We had African music playing when the students walked in the room, they spent some time working on a warm-up question about what they knew about Africa.  Next, my fellow intern spent sometime going over what they knew.  It was a really nice discussion.  Then I had a powerpoint presentation going over a little of the history of Africa.  Finally, we divided the students up into groups and they spent a little bit of time in each part of Africa.  Some groups played games, some groups read posters, others did crossword puzzles.

In analyzing this teach, I think it went really well.  I think the students definitely learned some new information and were exposed to new ideas about how different people lived in different parts of the world.

In reflection, there was so much that can be improved apon.  It was great to switch groups, but the time was so quick that each time the students would begin to understand what to do in the group they were in . . . it would be time to switch groups.  Another issue I had was the lights being on made it hard to show my video in the East African group.  I wish I would have shown the video in the beginning with my powerpoint because the lights would have been off and it may have been more powerful!

In closing, I see how important it is to tie the information I am teaching back to the lives of the students.  I had some information on what the Maasai children did and the students loved that.  I talked about Rwand and the Tutsi and the Hutu and one student refered to gand violence in his own life.  I wish I could have developed that more and I definitely will in the future.

Understanding the Cold War

Today I worked with my Ell student.  It was a really great and challenging experience at the same time.  We began reading the chapter on the Cold War that is located in her United States history textbook.  I asked my Ell student to read from the text and then when we came accross complicated words that she did not understand we wrote them down and tried to define them.  I also read several passages to her in an attempt to model how the language sounds and in particular how difficult academic words are pronounced.

I think it was a good way to review new material.  The class has just finished with World War II and has not begun their study of the Cold War; this will help my student to have an edge on understanding this material.  However, I did not realize how difficult it would be for me to explain words that I use everyday but rarely have to define for others.  This kind of activity is definitely good for me because it will help me to increase my own understanding of these topics and become a better teacher.

In reflection, next time I work with an ELL on reading a piece of academic text, I want to review all the words I think may pose a problem and think of ways to explain the words that are interesting and revelant to a high school student.  I also realize more and more how powerful relationships are in helping students to learn.  I can tell that the student I am working with really enjoys our time together; this allows her to have more patience with me while I work on trying to figure out the best ways to promote more understanding.  I think developing positive relationships is central to wroking with all students but especially effective when working with ELL.

Review Game

Today Alli taught in Mr. I’s World Geography class.  She did a really good job leading a review game for the students who are about to take a test on the Middle East.  It was especially good considering that Alli is not usually in Mr. I’s geography class.  After the game the winning side received their candy (the side that lost seemed to end up with candy as well =); then the students began working on their study guide.

The one thing I really liked today was that Mr. I divided the class into buddies to go over the study guide.  This was good because it forced the students to get out of their comfort zones and work with people they may not usually work with and in turn give the guide more attention than usual.  It was even more interesting because the topic they were studying was the Middle East and in turn the religions of the Middle East.  Religion is always a controversial topic, but this was my first real glimpse of discussing religion and peoples differing beliefs in the classroom.  I got into a discussion with one of my fellow interns about the bible as an historical book.  I love to argue the opposite side of whatever a person is saying. . .probably just to get a reaction, but it was interesting for me because the topic produced such passion.  The students were even involved and it was interesting to see the different view points.

In reflection, I see that I will have to really think about what the best format will be for discussing controversial topics in my future classroom.  I want healthy dialogue, but I do not want people leaving feeling misunderstood or resentful.

The Power of Relationships

Relationships play a powerful role in this world.  The foundation for a successful and happy life is the ability to build and maintain relationships with others.  I am building a very positive student teacher relationship with my ELL student M.  We began our time together talking about our shared love of Mexican food and some techniques her mother uses when cooking.  This was the first opportunity we had to talk since I taught my history lesson in Ms. R’s class.  We talked about M’s thoughts on the lesson and if she understood everything I was teaching about.  In reflection, I think we have done a great job of building some every positive rapport.  I enjoy talking with M and I think she enjoys the time as well.

We began our discussion by going over the structured format and talking about the story we were going to be reading about that day.  I read the first part of the story to M and then we went over the questions.  I would consider M to be at a very advanced stage of her ELL journey.  She is definitely speaking in paragraphs and understanding what people are saying quite well.  I think the main area she needs to work on is her pronunciation and this will come with time and practice.  Looking back on this time I think it went very well.  She was able to answer all the questions and we had a small conversation about the situation that the family was in.

When it was time for M to read the part she was supposed to read she did quite well.  She did stumble over several words (not with her understanding of the words, but with the proper way to say the words).  She had a hard time with supper and with janitorial.  She understood the meaning, but once again it was just the proper way to pronounce the words that was difficult for M.  I think the more she works at this the better she will become, and this opportunity is the perfect place for her to practice.

We had a really easy time creating a diagram of the family in the story.  I think this was easier for M because I had modeled how to do this with my own family tree and she had the practice opportunity diagramming her own family tree.

In reflection, this whole experience is a very positive experience and I am glad we have this opportunity.

How do teachers get students to stay involved?

Today in Mr. I’s class there was a student that kept putting his head down on the desk.  Mr. I asked him over and over again to keep his head up.  Finally, the student was sent to the nurse.  I did not understand at first why the student was sent to the nurse and not the vice principle, but then another student in the class explained it to me; they send students to the nurse to check them for drugs.  Sometimes I feel as if there is so much I do not know.  I know a lot about my subject but as far as “street smarts” . . . I am not so sure? 

I think there is so much I can learn from the students.  I need to understand knew ways of communication and knew methods of interaction.  What works for some students may not work for all students and I need to learn the most effective methods of communication possible.

Mr. I has moved on the lessons about the Middle East.  The students wee working on coloring and labeling maps and answering questions about this area.  They also received their scores on their European test back.  Some of the students did really well, but the students who did not do so well. . .really did not do well.  How can we motivate students to want to do the work?  What is going to get through to these students?

 I am glad for this opportunity to see different teachers in action and to have the opportunity to interact with these students.  These experiences are going to help me when I have my own classes!

Keepin’ it real with Mr. I

Today in Mr. I’s class we reviewed the study guide for the test the students have on Friday.  I walked around the room helping students.   Some students were very interested in working and others were not interested at all.  I felt that he gave them a lot of time to work on the guide and the students were not that interested in filing it out.  However, when they went over the guide as a class the students knew quite a few of the answers.

The atmosphere in the class is very relaxed.  Mr. I lets students know when they are out of line, but he also has fun with the students and they laugh a lot!  I really like that aspect of his teaching style.  This class is a 9th grade World Geography class, and my other class is an 11th grade U.S. History class.  The maturity levels betwee the two classes are amazing.  The 11th graders are much more engaged and they actually do the work outside of class.  The 9th graders seem to need a lot of encouragement and disipline.  I am not quite sure while there is so much difference?  I believe there is more than just the grade levels, but I cannot quite put my finger on what it is . . .?  My goal for the remainer of the block will be to analyse the differences between the two classes and try to figure out while the tones of the two classes are different?

Hola. . . Como estas?

I was very excited to meet my ELL student!  It was an especially great exeperience because my student is also in my 4th period U.S. History class and I had already had the pleasure of meeting her.  Her name is Maribel and she is from Acapulco.  We began our session by reading the letter she had written to me introducing herself.  Maribel wrote her letter in English, but I read the letter back to her in Spanish.  She helped me with my pronunciation and with my Spanish vocabulary.  This was a great way to begin because it helped Maribel to feel comfortable and set her up as the “expert” in teaching me Spanish.  We went on the discuss her classes and what she thinks about Ms. R’s history class in particular.  Maribel did a project about women in the Great Depression.  I shared with her that I hope to teach about women and World War II whenever I have the opportunity too.

In anaylzing my experience with Maribel, I believe it was a wonderful first encounter.  We were able to get more comfortable with each other and establish a rapport that will help us in the future.  I am very excited that I also have Maribel in Ms. R’s class.  I see our relationship as mutually beneficial.  She can help me with my Spanish and also with understanding how it feel to be a English Language Learner in a school full of people who all speak a language that is not your first.  I can learn how to better relate to these students and hopefully not make the same mistakes as many teachers do.  Hopefully, I will be able to share my excitement about learning with Maribel and also encourage her in her pursuit of learning English.

Reflecting on this experience, I hope that all of our sessions fo as well as this first one.  I hope we can continue learning from one another and each of us can grow.