(no subject)
01 July 2005
Methods
I really enjoyed the Urban Classroom presentation although I would have liked to have had a teacher with many years experience as well as a relatively new teacher to discuss the changes and such things. But overall it was a good presentation.
I was shocked that Waterbury considers 91% of the students living there to be in poverty. I live in Waterbury, in a nice neighborhood with lots of children, and I know there are many others. I’d like to see where that number came from. It really sounds too high to me.
I wasn’t surprised at how to treat urban students since I grew up as one. Respect, seeing their uniqueness and creativity are all things that I would have assumed. But then I watched Stand and Deliver on Thursday night and Jaime Escalante broke all the rules. He insulted and disrespected the kids right off the bat, with his “Finger boy” and “Hairnet boy” comments, etc. I enjoyed the movie but besides that part, I saw that although he went into an urban school from a suburban environment and lifestyle, he was Hispanic and male. I am a middle-aged white woman. Although I come from a poor, urban environment, I do hope I can find ways to relate to these kids.
I liked the idea of taking them out in the hall to talk in order to not embarrass them, although having something for the class to do might be a bit difficult. I’ll have to keep some short puzzles and such handy, just in case. But I really liked taking them out for the good things too. It’s true, some kids will not want their good work shown any more than being reprimanded for bad work.
I also realize these kids have had very little structure to their lives and that that is what I can give them as a teacher. I liked the ending of class with “Thank you and have a great day.” All of my children’s lives I’ve always ended the day by saying “Good night and pleasant dreams” Or almost always. My 13 year old stepdaughter Sarah said one day last winter, “You forgot to say ‘Good night and pleasant dreams’ last night. And I had a nightmare.” Lack of structure is something that permeated her life before she came to live with us also. Although she rebels against it, that comment alone shows me she appreciates it.
I finally did my second micro-teach. Of course it went worse than I thought it would. But I did okay, and I guess that’s what counts. What I’ve seen in general is that everyone wants to get through lessons and the 10 minutes presses on them and we try to get through much more, much more quickly than we ought.
The other thing that didn’t sink in until after the last micro-teach today. I’ve been relating classroom teaching to teaching martial arts all along. My other passion is poetry. It had never struck me that there was any way to relate that until I thought to myself - They’re trying to tell us to SHOW not TELL. That’s the primary rule when writing a poetry. Don’t TELL the reader what you want them to know, SHOW them a scene. And that’s how it is with teaching also.
Working with the calculator again made me realize how much more practice I need, hopefully before the Praxis II. Right now I use the calculator like I cook. Give me a good recipe and I can make a gourmet meal. Leave me alone with just materials and you’re going to get hot dogs and tea.