Still Sick

WCHS is still shut down as of today, luckily I have gotten into another classroom to see how things work in a different school and a different setting. One thing that I can say is that Williamsburg School is small, when you walk into the school and see all ages from kindergarten to 12th grade you are kind of taken back when you have only seen 9-12 grade students. I will not say that one is better than the other because they are just different. The kids really did not take to me because they must have known that I was teaching at Whitley, they knew that I was only there because of Whitley being out of school. In Straight Talk for Today's Teacher on page 9 it talks about having a good reputation, I am going to talk about that but more on the side of colleagues. I have been in two schools so far and with the illness the way it is I might be in more, I want to leave each school with teachers, students and administrators saying well he is going to be a good teacher. I want to the students to feel comfortable around me, I want them to open up and be able to talk things out and get a feeling for what they need to so to make the next step in their life.

A loving heart is the truest wisdom.
Charles Dickens

Sickness Continues

This is the second day that WCHS is out of school, one good thing about having two schools in the same town is that you can pick up other classroom time. I am going to pick up two days at Williamsburg High School, even know they are in the same county they are not running on the same sick schedule. I have watched and learned under four teachers so far this year and will probably see more rooms in other parts of the state if this swine flu does not come to a halt. I really enjoy seeing how different people teach and go about handling the same types of classes. I have spoke with a teacher in a private school in Owensboro that said I was more than welcome to come and teach in his class during out fall break. This helps me to understand what I want my class to be like when I have my own class. I will take bits and pieces from all that I have observed and hopefully make mine a great learning environment. This goes along with The Field Guide to Teaching and how to manage a class. Using a variety of what I have seen and what I think will work should make my class some what advanced in their learning .

People with many interests live, not only longest, but happiest.
George Matthew Allen

Flu Bug Strikes

The flu has struck the Whitley County High School, there will be no school for the next couple days. I having been looking over the The Field Guide to Teaching and it seems that you must understand the system before you can receive a job. I hope this date a year from now I will be settled into my own classroom and know all my kids names and how they need me to help them and how they can help me. The book talks about to approach a class and how to deal with students and parents and our staff but one question that I have, is how to teach in a system that test driven. Some kids will never go to college, that should be understood, they do not want to go and have no business in that setting, but they are still tested in the same manner. I am not saying that we should scrap the tests because I am sure that it shows something to the people making the decision but maybe we need to modify the system. I have not looked into this in much depth but on the surface what I am saying makes sense to me. I think that basic life needs are being left out of high school learning, you might be able to solve a calculus question and not be able to balance your checkbook, now how smart is that? You might know how to make a divide atoms or read the periodic table but not understand how to buy a house or apply for a loan. I want the system to work, whatever that system is but I also want people to be able to function in society.

Never lose a chance of saying a kind word.
William Thackeray

The System

I have never seen so many kids sick at the same time. I have found out all about how the state pays the school. You have to have a certain percentage in school for the school to recieve money from the state. Would have never known but now that I'm on the inside I get the insdie information.

I have been asking around since I have been teaching to see how the system works and how to get a job, most of the answers I have heard is it is who you know. I understand that the world works that way but you have to be certified to teach and then know someone, hope i met the people that I need to.

In The Field Guide to Teaching I have learned that the principal is the person who hires the teachers in his/her school. Before I read that I thought that the superintendent was the person who put people in the schools. I am glad that I got to read this book so that I would not look like the idiot talking to the superintendent trying to find a job.

The essential thing is not knowledge, but character.
Joseph Le Conte

Parents?

I have not been in the classroom that long but I wonder why parents are not more involved with their children? I always heard that the only parents who come to Parents Night are the parents of the kids who do well but I want to know why? I understand that schedules conflict but there has to be some way that you can get more out of students. In Straight Talk for Today's Teacher on page 6 there is a equation that says, "student effort+effective strategies= success". The one thing that I am not understanding is why students will not give the effort.

I am sure that if I can ever answer that question then I will be writing my own book that will be a bestseller but it is frustrating to watch the future leaders of our country to sit motionless and not even contribute in class. All you can so is work to try and make one at a time understand that an education is needed.

The future depends on what we do in the present.
Mahatma Gandhi

Parents Day

Today at Whitley County High School was Parents Day. I think that parents day is a great thing that is not used by the parents of the students who really need the help. For some reason, I am not sure what they reason, but the parents of the kids who need to be there and talk to the teacher and find out why little Harold has a "F". This is my first ever parent day, I do not want to pass judgement because I understand that most parents work and can not get away but after listening to the teachers who have been there the only parents who ever come are the one's kids have an "A".
The school feeds the parents and the students, some teacher give bonus points if your parents come, what else is it going to take to get parents involved? in Teaching with Love and Logic on page 119 it says, " Parents who solve problems their children could have solved for themselves are likely to raise children who give up early". And one more, "Parents who work hard to make their children happy are likely to raise children who are unable to make themselves happy".
I hope this is not the case here in Whitley County, I just want to be able to understand that is the parents are not concerned about their child's education then why would the child ever worry about their education?

Sow an act, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny.
George Dana Boardman

Some Students Don't Want to Learn

Today I saw the students who have desire to better their life. With this being my second day of solo teaching I guess the students felt comfortable enough to sleep in class. I had one student sleep for most of the class, I woke him up and he started to work but when I looked back to him he was out again. Not sure really how to keep them on task if they are not interested in learning. There were two girls in the back who yesterday talked most of the class, I would tell them to be quiet but it only would stick for a short time. Today I did not move the girls, I let them stay where they were but once they started to talk I went and told them that talk was not an option because it was distracting to others in the class. After they understood that they were going to be moved if they were not quiet, they began to do their work and keep the talking low if at all.

I have to get better at explaining the details, I take for granted that they know more than they really do. I am starting to see who in the class needs help and who understands the first time that I say something. In Teaching with Love and Logic on page 75 it says, "Avoid the pain of insult to the sense of self-worth by putting blame anywhere other than one self." Blaming does not matter where it comes from or what it is about it is going to keep them from exploring if they can do work or not. That is my job is to eliminate the blame and work to teach the material ( I hope).

Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think.
La Bruyere

Computer Applications

Today I took over both of my computer applications classes, I was sole for the entire period. These two classes are back to back so I felt a lot more comfortable teaching the second period because I knew what questions the students were going to ask me. I can tell that the kids are used to a different style of teaching because it took them about ten minutes to get on track with me. I have two girls that sit in the back of the room who really had no idea that class was even going on, tomorrow they will not sit together, I am going to break them apart. Overall I think that both classes went fine, I need to put more directions on the board, I am killing myself just trying to answer questions. The book that I am using is really detailed so I can always refer them to the book so I do not have to spoon feed them everything. In Teaching with Love and Logic on page 90 it talks about nonverbal body language, today I tried to stay positive and show the kids that I knew this material frontward and backward. I am very familiar with the material but as far as solving computer problems I am not, so lets just hope one does not crash and I have to find the material.

There go the people. I must follow them for I am their leader.
Alexandre Ledru-Rollin

Grade Repots Today

Today the grade reports came out and it was interesting to the see the reactions of the students. Some students were happy because they were doing better then they thought but the ones that I watched their reaction are the ones that you know are not doing very well. They look at the grades and with a sigh they just shrug their shoulders and laugh. In Teaching with Love and Logic on page 89 it states, " We must attempt to understand a student's perception of events before we can effect real change." This is dead on accurate, these kids have no drive. They understand that their life is headed in a certain direction, more than likely it is going down the same road as their parents. What I would like to do is break the trend , find a way to make the students want to break the string of under achievement. I want all students to do their best and to make something out of their efforts. They need to know that they can change their destiny with hard work and setting goals. I do not want to give them anything because that does not teach them the way of the world, but I want to make sure they understand that they can be successful if they really want to be.

Success does not consist in never making blunders, but in never making the same one a second time.
Josh Billings

In School Testing Makes for a Long Day

Today we had testing, again, when you have the same group in the class for four hours it takes a toll on you. They are fine when they are working but when they finish it turns in to a madhouse. OK, that is overstating it but it is a lot different then the actual class setting. These test are to help them with the state testing, the juniors were all taking the ACT. This has went on for the past three days. Some students were not built for college, some are built for it but really have no desire to attend and the others want and need to go to college. I think that my job as a teacher is to get that borderline student who wants to be successful into a situation where he/she can be. In Teaching with Love and Logic on page 90 it states, " It is important to keep in mind that your intention is to boost self-worth, not diminish it." I want all my students to be successful, I want them to enjoy their life but I want them to understand life is hard and it takes work to get there.

Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.
Henry David Thoreau

First Day of Evaluation

Today was my first evaluation day, I thought it went great. The kids were really good and let me get through the lesson. The meeting that Dr. Gibson and I had after the class was amazing, I found out what I was doing and what I needed to work on. I felt comfortable in front of the class, I know that I need to get better but that will come with time.

In Teaching with Love and Logic they talk about dealing with students with issues, the example they used was a female student who has had a home life with abusive males in her life. When the teacher came up and asked her to put her make-up away she went off on him. The teacher had no idea of her background and did not go about it in the wrong way but she still felt out of place.

This is an example that you have to treat all students as individuals, you have to find out about their background and treat them accordingly.

After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box.
Italian Proverb

What Motivates a Student

I have been asking myself, what makes a students not want to even attempt the work? What could I do to get the kids to want to do there work and to better thyself? Teaching with Love and Logic on page 79 it states: "people are motivated to enhance their sense of self worth." Well what if they don't even attempt? I know that they think they can't so they won't try but really I am not sure that goes for everyone. I have watched students listen to the assignment, open the book and look at the work, and shut the book and go about what they were doing. I just do not understand not even trying to better yourself. I hope to be able to get to some of these students while I am here but who knows.

I want to make students understand that there is a life that is going to happen after they graduate. This is something they need to understand, I want them to be able to function in the society we live in. They might not be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company but they will be able to function and buy a house and a car and pay taxes. I want them to have what they want, but I want them to want more.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
Helen Keller

Week 2. More Comfort.

Today went by very fast, I got to give the assignment to my Print Media class today. I came up with the idea and got to inform the class of what we would be doing. I took the class onto the University of the Cumberlands webpage and had them select an article to review. This class has been having a hard time writing a good article. The reason I had them look over other articles was so that they could start putting in their mind ways to write a good article. I want them to understand that you are telling a story to a reader who was not at the event. If you can make you first paragragh interesting then your reader will read the rest of the article. In Teaching with Love and Logic on page 26 they talk about letting your students make decisions. I let the students pick the article they wanted to review and to say whatever they wanted about it. Looking at published articles will help them to put their articles togehter in their mind before they put them on paper.

Seek the loft by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day.
Thornton Wilder

Field Trips are Cool

Today was my first experience of students outside of school, they can really change their feathers when you take them outside the walls of the building. I think that they are starting to come around to me being there with them. They want to know more about why I am there, they are starting to talk to me on another level.

Today I got to talk with one student in the class who has hard time staying on task. I have picked up what he likes in just the little time that I have been there but that one thing might help me make him a student who can at least function like most other students. I am not sure if that the way is should be done but if it works it works. I hope that I can make it work for both are sakes. I really think that this young man is smart but has no real desire to be in the school setting. I am not really sure about his background but I hope to find more out as time goes on.

Helping is what we are supposed to do and there really is no handbook or website that can walk you through all the situations you might encounter and that is something I keep realizing. I am trying to treat all the students as individuals because that is what they are, and sometimes that is hard for me to see when I am in the middle of something.


Try not to become a man of success but a man of value.
Albert Einstein

They Start to Ask Questions

Today was my third day in the classroom, and the students are starting to ask my questions about what I'm doing? I think this is good they feel as I am part of there class now and want to know what I will be doing in the class in the future. One of the male students asked today when I was going to start teaching them, and I told him in a couple days. Not sure if he was excited or not but he did say that he liked my tie.

The kids are coming out of their shells now and I am not sure if that is a good thing or not, today they seemed to be a little bit more loud, I think just to see if I would say anything, and of course I did. They are testing me to see how far I will left the go, what they don't know is that I have dealt with 50 baseball players on a day to day basis for the last three years. I feel that I can deal with 20-25 high schoolers at a timem but well see.


No man was ever wise by chance.
Seneca

No Wide Eyes Today

With today being the second day that I was in the classroom the students did not look like deer in headlights today. Yesterday they were not really sure why some bald guy in a tie was in there room, but today they understood.

I got to help today with some of the class work, nothing to big but I atleast could help when they would raise their hands. Grading papers for the first time was kind of wild, it was my job to say how they did and what they needed to correct. I have done this on the baseball field but never in a classroom setting.

The staff is great, they are helping me with whatever I need. I have lunchroom duty during fourth period and the teachers that have been there for awhile are showing me what to look for and who to watch out for.

I would say that working at Whitley County has been great to date.


A loving heart is the truest wisdom.
Charles Dickens

Day 1 of the Rest of My Life

I am not sure what I was expecting today but I was all that and more. I do not remember the hallways in school being that narrow or that full of kids, but I guess that is what happens with time away from the public schools.

I am working with a great bunch of people, they are making me feel at home with them in there rooms. The kids are not really sure what to think yet but I think they will come around the more that they see my face.

I would say that today went as well as a first day could go I am looking forward to getting in there and working with them tomorrow.

"By associating with wise people you will become wise yourself."
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