Comments | miriamjoyce: Calling all youth group leaders, teachers, etc...

miriamjoyce

Calling all youth group leaders, teachers, etc...

Apr 27, 2007 14:44

I'm going to be teaching a weeklong, three hour per day class in publishing at the Summer Institute at the College of St. Rose this July. The class will be composed of up to 20, though probably more like 12 to 15, 6th through 10th graders (listing to the younger end, I'm told ( Read more... )

teaching, request

Comments 10

kombu April 27 2007, 20:09:10 UTC

Are you good at remembering names right away? I've found that I get kids' respect more and feel more comfortable myself if I can learn names very quickly upon meeting a group. So if it's a challenge for you, try a name-game thing. Which will be much better received if they are also learning eachothers' names. It sounds like this will not be a group that all knows eachother before you come in. That will help a LOT, as none of them will be any more comfortable than you are, and they won't be a united front against the teacher.

miriamjoyce April 28 2007, 02:58:03 UTC

I think I'm decent at names, but I couldn't swear to it. A name game is probably worthwhile.

kombu May 2 2007, 14:50:27 UTC

this probably doesn't help, being that I'm a lot shyer than most people, but I have to point out that I absolutely loathed name games when they were pulled out at the beginning of every camp or class I went to. When you're in a new situation and you're not totally comfortable with it, it really sucks to be put on the spot like that. If there's a way to do a game like that which doesn't include putting the spotlight on the kids, it might be worth an added look.
Of course, you may have an entire class full of bouncy, outgoing kids, but given that they're writers, there's a good chance you'll get some shy ones.
Just something to think about.
-Beth

milkwithice April 27 2007, 20:47:28 UTC

Let me begin by saying that I am not at all in any way a nurturer. I run a tight ship, I have rules that I expect my kids to follow with preset consequences if they don't. My goals are to keep everyone safe, relatively happy, teach them some good stuff and laugh. I almost never have confrontations and kids do things in other classes that they would not even THINK of doing in mine. I run my class that way and I am ok with the fact that I am a little less "fun" and "nice" in their eyes - I am ok with that trade off ( ... )

miriamjoyce April 28 2007, 03:04:21 UTC

"I would be more worried about teaching content to 6 through 10th graders and being able to give them all something they can do that challenges them without breaking them up in groups all the time. That is a strange mix of kids...we are talking 10 year olds to 15 or 16 - biiiiig transitions happen in between those years."

Yeah, it's definitely a weird age range. They split some of their more popular classes in half by age, but this is a new one. They said it's likely to be almost all the younger kids, but still good to think about the concrete vs. beyond issue ahead of time. Luckily, I was actually planning to break them up into small groups a lot anyway.

Thanks for your other input--it's definitely good stuff. I went through Project Adventure several time at camp and in high school (boy was it different in those two contexts!).

I'd love to borrow your books. Perhaps after a certain massive project is done we might see you at potluck sometime?

My Fave Teaching Tips jwitchbaby April 27 2007, 22:54:20 UTC

--Be really clear about expectations
--Be present
--Connect with students, make eye contact w/everyone as you talk, etc.
--Sometimes I like to start off tough & then chill out

Good luck!

Re: My Fave Teaching Tips miriamjoyce April 28 2007, 03:07:45 UTC

Ah, eye contact. Teaching is kinda like performing in that way.

I think figuring out my expectations will indeed be key.

Thanks!

warmbreezes April 28 2007, 02:14:15 UTC

We have a few books around here somewhere of ice-breakers, get-to-know-you games/exercises, etc. I think the books we have are designed for groups of grownups (I got them for planning board of directors retreats), but my sense is that a lot of them are just silliness anyway, or simple enough that they'd be perfectly do-able for a 12-year-old. You're welcome to borrow if you'd like -- let me know and I'll make sure I can find them.

miriamjoyce April 28 2007, 03:06:20 UTC

Sounds good! I'd love to see them.

Hey--the end of the semester is starting to pull into sight. Any chance we might see you guys sometime? (You know, after you get a chance to take a breath and stuff...)

palaverist May 1 2007, 14:18:01 UTC

I have only a limited amount of teaching experience, and in weird circumstances at that, but I got a couple of great pieces of advice from Jenny's parents, who made careers of teaching ( ... )