Today I spent time in both Mrs. Johns and Mr. Jones' classrooms. This was a shorter day for students, so classes only lasted 45 minutes. Mrs. Johns' second period is set aside for planning, so she took the time to show me to Mr. Jones' room and introduce me to him. Since I had never been in his classroom, I was eager to see how it was different from my previous experiences with Mrs. Johns.
In Mrs. Johns' classroom, students were still working on their legacy papers from last week, and I was glad that I got to see their progress. Students were answering the questions provided, and this week they were focused on putting their answers into paragraph format and moving forward with the writing process. Mrs. Johns and I were there for support, but the students worked on their own for the majority of the class period.
When her class was over, she escorted me to Mr. Jones' room where I got to work with his senior English class. With a 45 minute class period, these students were focused on catching up on any missed work, which gave me a lot of opportunities to assist them.
I worked with two students in particular. One of the students was working on an "Archetype Essay." Mr. Jones had his students take a quiz to find out what qualities they had that matched up with archetypes that we see in many stories. This particular student fell into the warrior, magician, and martyr categories. As a part of the assignment, the student had to write a short essay explaining how she felt about the archetypes she was assigned, and she and I spent this time formatting the essay that she had previously written. While showing her how to indent, change font, and keep her sentences consistent, I had the opportunity to talk with her about her martyr assignment. She confessed to me that she wasn't really sure what a martyr was, so we spent a little time looking into that and Googling answers. She explained to me that, many times, she uses her work checks to help out her family and take care of their needs, but that one day she hopes to open her own salon and provide for her family in that way. Through the simple task of editing a paper, I was able to spend some time getting to know her and what she wants to do in life.
The second student I worked with was focused on a personal narrative. This interaction was much less serious and extremely entertaining. This student chose to write his narrative about an experience he had at Six Flags. He described riding the roller-coaster Goliath with his family and the intense fear he felt during that experience. I shared with him my first experience riding Goliath and the fact that I was just as scared as he was! Getting to laugh with this student over a shared experience was so much fun and brightened my morning. I'm starting to realize that sometimes, just laughing with the students can be beneficial to them, but even more beneficial to me.
Friday, February 24, 2017
Friday, February 17, 2017
CCHS 02-17
Today, from 9:15 to 10:30, I was in Mrs. Johns' classroom. It was certainly the most interesting day thus far. To begin, there was a physical altercation among a few female students in the school. Two of the students walked into Mrs. Johns' classroom asking to speak with another student. Seeing that this could be the beginning of a problem, Mrs. Johns was very adamant that the students were not to be in her room and very firmly asked them to leave. Though the did leave the room, as soon as they were outside, the students began to hit each other, leading to a scene in the hallway. Despite the fact that this was a very stressful moment, Mrs. Johns remained calm and was able to handle the situation very well. She very quickly returned to her room once administration had the situation under control, which subtly told her students that this was not something that was to be discussed and that everything was being handled appropriately.
The way that Mrs. Johns was able to take care of this was such a wonderful learning experience for me. I have never been on the "adult side" of this type of situation. I witnessed many fights in my middle and high schools, but the experience was very different from the other side. Instead of acting panicked or magnifying the situation, Mrs. Johns and the other teachers at CCHS displayed an calm demeanor, which in turn calmed the students.
When this situation was handled and all the students were ready to work, they completed a quiz. This week, they learned about Booker T. Washington and W.E.B DuBois and had compared two speeches the two men gave. The quiz featured vocabulary words and facts from the speeches.
Students then turned to work on a writing prompt. The principle of CCHS sent out an email to all of the teachers that detailed the ways that they could teach their students about the meaning of a legacy. Mrs. Johns took this idea and turned it into her writing assignment for the next week of class. She asked students to consider three questions:
1. Who is an influential African American? What did they accomplish?
2. What are some ways that you could positively impact society?
3. What do you want your legacy to be?
Many students chose Martin Luther King and were writing about his life, but one student, going against the crowd, chose Nat Turner. This student explained that he had always heard from his grandparents and older members of his community that what Nat Turner accomplished in his life was inspiring to them. The student finished his summary of Turner's life, and moved on to the next questions. When I pressed him on what he could do in his community to be a positive impact, he felt that there was nothing that he could do. He explained to me that he thought that his community would remain the same no matter what, particularly in reference to racism.
Hearing this student describe his feelings toward change opened my eyes to exactly what some students in this community are feeling and experiencing. They feel that there is no way to get out or change their surroundings, which makes me wonder what they have seen in the past that has caused them to believe this about life.
These two instances, the altercation and this student's comments, are two things that I don't think I will forget.
The way that Mrs. Johns was able to take care of this was such a wonderful learning experience for me. I have never been on the "adult side" of this type of situation. I witnessed many fights in my middle and high schools, but the experience was very different from the other side. Instead of acting panicked or magnifying the situation, Mrs. Johns and the other teachers at CCHS displayed an calm demeanor, which in turn calmed the students.
When this situation was handled and all the students were ready to work, they completed a quiz. This week, they learned about Booker T. Washington and W.E.B DuBois and had compared two speeches the two men gave. The quiz featured vocabulary words and facts from the speeches.
Students then turned to work on a writing prompt. The principle of CCHS sent out an email to all of the teachers that detailed the ways that they could teach their students about the meaning of a legacy. Mrs. Johns took this idea and turned it into her writing assignment for the next week of class. She asked students to consider three questions:
1. Who is an influential African American? What did they accomplish?
2. What are some ways that you could positively impact society?
3. What do you want your legacy to be?
Many students chose Martin Luther King and were writing about his life, but one student, going against the crowd, chose Nat Turner. This student explained that he had always heard from his grandparents and older members of his community that what Nat Turner accomplished in his life was inspiring to them. The student finished his summary of Turner's life, and moved on to the next questions. When I pressed him on what he could do in his community to be a positive impact, he felt that there was nothing that he could do. He explained to me that he thought that his community would remain the same no matter what, particularly in reference to racism.
Hearing this student describe his feelings toward change opened my eyes to exactly what some students in this community are feeling and experiencing. They feel that there is no way to get out or change their surroundings, which makes me wonder what they have seen in the past that has caused them to believe this about life.
These two instances, the altercation and this student's comments, are two things that I don't think I will forget.
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Visits to Classic City High School January 20th, 25th, February 3rd, and 10th
For the first 4 times that I visited CCHS, I worked with Mrs. Johns in her English classroom form 9:15-10:30 on Friday mornings. Kids are not always present for various reasons, so I have worked with many different students during the last few weeks. Mrs. Johns' classroom is very efficient and is set up well. Her students know their daily routine, and are always sitting in their seats when class begins. Student sit at tables in the center of the room to hear lectures and work on physical worksheets, but many times they are working on quizzes and assignments on the computers that are in the room.
CCHS is like no environment that I have never experienced before. Students are allowed to have their phones out and are listening to music more often than not. For me, this can be a frustration because students are reluctant to put their phones away and turn their music off. I am currently working in a classroom that is in rural Georgia with students that qualify as gifted, so walking into CCHS has been a challenge for me. I am learning so much about how I can interact with these students in a way that engages them and makes them feel respected. There are a few students that I have been consistently working with. For two weeks, the students had been working on narratives about bullying. Mrs. Johns encouraged the students to include stories from their own lives, and I was able to read some of their stories, which was an eye opening experience. It has been very important that I respect their pasts and their present experiences as well.
The most formative experience I have had so far was with a female student at CCHS. Mrs. Johns was absent one of the days that I went to CCHS, and the students were working on their bullying papers. While I did help them, there was one student who was in the classroom with the sole purpose of spending time with Mrs. Johns. Instead, she and I spent time talking about her life and what her plans are for the future. She explained to me that she is living with her boyfriend and looking for a job that pays more than the one she currently holds. We also discussed her plans following graduation, and she expressed that she would like to go to college. I enjoyed getting to sit with her and talk about things that she likes and ways that she can pursue these interests in college. Since I am a native of the Athens area, I told her about some of the programs that I know in the area and about my friends who have completed the programs. I believe that building this relationship, though our conversation lasted only about half an hour, was extremely beneficial to my learning. Sitting with this student allowed me to relate to her, to "get on her level," to build a sense of understanding, and to convey that I really do care about her future. I have not seen this student since, but I'm really hoping she will be around soon. I made sure to tell her when I am in Mrs. Johns class and when she can come to see me.
CCHS is like no environment that I have never experienced before. Students are allowed to have their phones out and are listening to music more often than not. For me, this can be a frustration because students are reluctant to put their phones away and turn their music off. I am currently working in a classroom that is in rural Georgia with students that qualify as gifted, so walking into CCHS has been a challenge for me. I am learning so much about how I can interact with these students in a way that engages them and makes them feel respected. There are a few students that I have been consistently working with. For two weeks, the students had been working on narratives about bullying. Mrs. Johns encouraged the students to include stories from their own lives, and I was able to read some of their stories, which was an eye opening experience. It has been very important that I respect their pasts and their present experiences as well.
The most formative experience I have had so far was with a female student at CCHS. Mrs. Johns was absent one of the days that I went to CCHS, and the students were working on their bullying papers. While I did help them, there was one student who was in the classroom with the sole purpose of spending time with Mrs. Johns. Instead, she and I spent time talking about her life and what her plans are for the future. She explained to me that she is living with her boyfriend and looking for a job that pays more than the one she currently holds. We also discussed her plans following graduation, and she expressed that she would like to go to college. I enjoyed getting to sit with her and talk about things that she likes and ways that she can pursue these interests in college. Since I am a native of the Athens area, I told her about some of the programs that I know in the area and about my friends who have completed the programs. I believe that building this relationship, though our conversation lasted only about half an hour, was extremely beneficial to my learning. Sitting with this student allowed me to relate to her, to "get on her level," to build a sense of understanding, and to convey that I really do care about her future. I have not seen this student since, but I'm really hoping she will be around soon. I made sure to tell her when I am in Mrs. Johns class and when she can come to see me.
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