Goodbye Meigs High School

The last ten weeks at Meigs High School have helped to shape myself as a future educator. I have continued to notice my strengths in the physical education classroom as well as the items I still need to work on. Spending time in the typical school atmosphere has brought on excitement as well as nerves for what is to come.
I believe that overall my professionalism is sufficient. I attended every day that I told my corresponding teacher that I would be there. I had no trouble getting to school on time, despite the thirty minute drive out to Meigs. Even though some days jumping in the car for a half an hour in the morning would just make me tired, by the time the first class would start I would be awake and ready to go. Mr. Dunn did not require much responsibility on my part. In a physical education class there no papers to grade, or grades to enter, so I honestly just watched. If he would go ask me to grab a piece of equipment from the closet, I would do so without hesitation.
Throughout the quarter I was able to build relationships with students in a few of the physical education classes. These students ranged from Caucasian, freshman girls, to African American, senior boys. I had different types of relationships with the students, but I believe that each of those students respected me and enjoyed my presence in the classroom. There was one particular girl who I spent a lot of time talking with while she was exercising on the treadmill. I learned that her passion is animals. She loves to ride horses and she wants to be a marine biologist one day. She was curious about college and how it differs from high school. Over the weeks of talking with her, I began to notice that she wanted my advice on what to do in certain situations. Wither it was petty high school drama or what her future brings, I could tell she trusted me, and respected I had to say. Obviously, my relationships with the boys were different. For the longest time the senior boys were giving me a hard time about being and college and all that it entails. It was hard for me at first to defend myself. Even though I do not participate in the typical college lifestyle, I became very embarrassed. I wanted these students to know that I am not a typical college student, but did not want to continue on in an inappropriate conversation. I began to realize that these senior boys just wanted my attention. These boys are not technically enrolled in the physical education class, but are in there to help add bodies to a very small class. Some of the days when I would observe, the entire class except these particular boys would be exercising on the equipment. They did not get much attention from Mr. Dunn because he was focused on his real students. The boys would beg me week after week to play basketball with them. I always denied the offer and told them that I was there to watch and that was all. Finally, the last week of class the boys were playing Knock Out and coaxed me into playing a game. The first game I played I beat them, and from that point on I had a different feeling from them. I think in those moments that I showed those boys that I do have athletic ability, they began to respect me as someone who could be a teacher. The relationships I had with the students we all very different, but they we all good relationships that shared respect from both parties.
As the quarter progressed and relationships developed I began to become more comfortable in the classroom. During class, instead of standing over by the bleachers to watch, I would stand right on the court. Being up close to the action I was able to hear more conversations and be slightly more engaged in the classroom atmosphere. When the students were playing volleyball, I would stand about mid court and run after stray volleyballs and return them to the teams. I became must more comfortable talking to Mr. Dunn. Once I finally started to get comfortable with the cooperating teacher, I became more comfortable in general. The conversations ranged from high school sports, or sizes of schools in the state of Ohio. In his class I felt comfortable being out on the floor with the students as they were doing their activities. I would stand under the basketball hoops to get rebounds, or stand beside a girl on the exercise bike and let her tell me all about her dreams to play collegiate athletics. Being accepted by the athletic director made become comfortable, because I felt as if the school was comfortable with me.
My strengths in the classroom are continuing to develop. I believe that one of my main strengths is holding conversations with the students. I think I am good at holding quality conversations that both myself and the students enjoy. I really enjoy speaking to students of all ages, and I think that is really important for an educator. I do not want to be a teacher who only talks to her students when she is lecturing. I would like my students to feel comfortable coming to me with issues that they need resolved. I hope that this strength will help me become a warm and inviting teacher, not a cold and distant one. Not only are my conversations with the students developing, but also my conversations with fellow educators. At the midterm, I was struggling being able to carry on a conversation with my cooperating teacher. I love listening to what wise people have to say, but then always feel as if I do not have anything to say back. As the quarter progressed and I started to feel more comfortable in the class in general, I started to feel more comfortable talking with the teacher. I started to ask him about the things I was noticing about the class, or ask him about something I learned here in lecture at Ohio University, and ask him how it applied to his class. I had to interview Mr. Dunn for my tri-fold project and he and I had a good conversation about the importance of adapted physical education. I would like to think that we equally participated in the conversation and both learned something from each other’s ideas.
Mr. Dunn was overall pleased with my presence in the classroom. He gave me all fives on my final evaluation, and said that there was nothing wrong that he could report. From our conversations, I think he could begin to see that I have the qualities of a quality physical educator. He said he enjoyed my time spent in the classroom and that if I ever needed a reference or anything that he would be more than willing to help me out. He also invited me to come back and spend time in the classroom whenever I wanted.
As the quarter concludes, I absolutely still want to be a teacher. I love every minute of being out in the school and interacting with the students. My flame of passion is fanned every day I spend out in the schools, watching and developing my own teaching philosophy. I have always wanted to teach high school physical education. I know that I do not want to be a typical classroom teacher and that physical education is right for me. I originally wanted to teach high school, which I still do. Through the Young Life organization I lead in, I have fallen in love with high school students, and enjoy spending my time with them. However, in my methods courses I have noticed that I really enjoy the elementary school students and their excitement and energy they provide me with. Luckily, I will get certified kindergarten through twelfth grade and may get the chance to teach at both grade levels.
I cannot wait to just be out there on my own, teaching my lessons, and sharing my passion with the future generation. I know that I still have plenty to learn and will grow in my strengths as I continue on in my journey to becoming a physical educator. I still have lots to learn and plenty of work to do before I will be ready to be out in the field on my own. I am anxious to what the next year will bring, and how I will develop as an educator.

All That Teacher Talk... is True?

Every teacher has his or her own idea of how a lesson should be taught, and the theories behind that teaching. This week I carefully watched the instruction of a lesson in physical education and Meigs High School. I realized how the different aspects of the lesson would reflect the theories by which I believe Mr. Dunn teaches. Reflecting on the different aspects of the lesson, I made obvious connections to certain theories.
All of the class periods I observe are basically the same. When the students are finished getting dressed, Mr. Dunn tells them to shoot around with the basketballs to get warmed up. They shoot around for approximately five to seven minutes, the whistle blows, and they put the balls up. This followed by some down time because the students take their time putting their equipment away, and Mr. Dunn proceeds to just wait for them without any form of hustle command. Half the class was then sent to the exercise equipment, while the other half was told to go shoot around, throw a football, or play ping pong. These activities use the student’s prior knowledge because they know what they are supposed to be doing. Mr. Dunn walked around to make sure the student on the bikes were using the appropriate program, then went and sat down on the bleachers to scan the class. Ormrod says giving the students control like this builds a good classroom psychological climate, because it shows that he teacher respects his students. After a short period of time, he noticed that the students who were on the stage playing ping pong had all magically disappeared. He left to address their off task behavior, and to find out where the students had gone. They ended up just being behind the curtain looking for the ball. He then proceeded to walk back thought the gym to sit down beside me. He asked a few of the students what they were doing because they were just stranding around. A few more moments passed and he told the students to put away the equipment and get dressed. According to our EDTE 200 lecture, Mr. Dunn’s teacher management style is permissive. The students in his classes also demonstrate the qualities expressed in the lecture of student with permissive teachers. The students have autonomy, but little support of discipline. Due to the fact there are very few consequences, the students are mostly unmotivated and disobedient. Even though the students do not necessarily act up, they are disobedient by just standing around and not doing anything. Throughout the class periods, the students participated in cooperative and individual activities. Over all Mr. Dunn’s teaching intrusion is mostly laid back with very little discipline involved.
Teachers teach different ways depending on how he or she thinks their students learn. I can draw some conclusions about some of Mr. Dunn’s theories according to the way he teaches. I believe that Mr. Dunn believes in Vygotsky’s social constructivism. The students who are not riding the exercise equipment were all engaged in cooperative learning activities. There was no real lesson being taught so the students were working in groups and learning from each other. According to Ormrod, social constructivism is just that; working together and learning from those around an individual. Mr. Dunn also exhibits characteristics of Bloom’s Taxonomy. In a lecture in ETDE 200 we discussed the different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Mr. Dunn’s students are engaging in the level of application. They are using their skills they learned in physical education class and are applying them in a game type situation. These game type activities are known as authentic activities. Ormrod states that authentic activities are learning activities that are similar to activities a student will encounter in the outside world. The students are learning to appropriately participate and behave in a physical activity setting. Sometimes as students are participating in the authentic activities, they either misbehave or participate in off task behavior. Mr. Dunn corrects these behaviors by using negative reinforcement. Ormord says that negative reinforcement is when the cause of the misbehavior is removed. Mr. Dunn demonstrated the use of this when he would ask the students; what they were doing when they were just standing still. He did not want them to be standing still, so when he acknowledged the students, they would start participating again. These theories support the instruction methods used in these classes.
I am not going to lie. I was bored with what I observed this week. Every week it has been the same thing over and over. I was not surprised when Mr. Dunn told me what the student should be doing in class. It is obvious that the students are bored and really not enjoying themselves. I know that not everyone is going to like physical education class. However, the reason why I decided to become a physical education teacher is because I believe every student should get the opportunity to learn ways to keep themselves healthy over a life time. I would like to show students how to do that which they are still having fun. If students dread physical education class, they are going to dread physical activities for the rest of their lives. I am inspired to take my time writing quality lesson plans for my classes in the future. Wither I think this teaching style is quality or not, I still benefit from every moment of being in that classroom. Even if I was bored, everything can be made into a mental note for the future.
This week I really came to realize the importance of everything I learned in the 200 block. I learned that the theories teachers believe in; really influence the style of their instruction. Theories and instruction are so closely connected, that I learned how much they affect each other. I think I am beginning to formulate my own opinions of theories and instruction.

Motivation Schmotivation

I was able to observe many cases of motivation this week at Meigs High School. In physical education the students are extrinsically and intrinsically motivated. The teacher plays a key role in their motivation. It seems as though motivation is a big part of physical education.
Throughout the day the students are both extrinsically and intrinsically motivated. In my opinion, high school students are not easily motivated in physical education. The students are extrinsically motivated because as they seek approval from their teacher. They know that Mr. Dunn is watching, which keeps them motivated to work hard. According to Ormrod, students are extrinsically motivated by factors that are external to themselves. For example, on Tuesday and Thursdays half of the class spends their class period working out on exercise equipment. The student who was on the treadmill today did not want to do anything. It took her a long period of time to start her workout, but once she did, she knew she had to keep going because Mr. Dunn was watching. The student did not want to get caught not doing her exercises. Not only were the students motivated by the need to please their teacher, but they are also motivated to please each other. The students are also extrinsically motivated in which activity they participate in. One group of friends played basketball, while another group of friends hung out on the exercise equipment. It did not matter which activity each individual person want to do, the students were motivated in their choice so they would be accepted by their peers. In this particular high school gym class, there are many students who seem that they cannot be motivated, no matter the circumstance. However there are a few students are intrinsically motivated just because they want to learn or achieve. Ormrod states that students are intrinsically motivated by factors within themselves because it gives them pleasure or help them develop. In the second period class, there are a few students who love physical education and sport and are intrinsically motivated because they want to improve on their skills. Three boys and a girl were playing two on two basketball. This game was testing the student’ skills they learned in class in a game-like situation. In class, they are given the option to just shoot around or do whatever they want. Due to the fact these students are intrinsically motivated, there were more interested in improving their basketball skills rather than just hanging out with their friends. Throughout the day I observed students extrinsically and intrinsically motivating themselves.
I believe an important aspect of physical education is motivation by the teacher. Mr. Dunn has his ways of using both types of motivation in order to get his classes to participate and learn. At the beginning of the class period, there were about four students who claimed they were not going to change for class. Mr. Dunn extrinsically motivated these students by telling them that if they did not change they would eventually fail, and just have to retake the class over again. Ormrod discusses this topic when he shares that extrinsically motivated students are often prodded at. Mr. Dunn experiences exactly this on a regular basis. Day after day he must prod his students, threatening to fail them in order to convince them to participate in the planned activities. Intrinsic motivation is also used because it is a part of Mr. Dunn’s job description. In physical education class the students are to be learning about health and wellness. He intrinsically motivates the students to continue their exercise because it will make them healthier individuals and increase their longevity. When Mr. Dunn is harping on his students about not dressing for class, he encourages them that they should want to dress. Not only so they do not fail, but because they will become more educated individuals if they participate. I believe Mr. Dunn takes this approach because he knows that not every student likes physical education class. On the other hand, he has a passion for educating the students at Meigs High School, and wants to share his knowledge with them. Mr. Dunn Is not the most aggressive motivator, but he does what he feels is best for get his students motivated for class.
I am not thrilled with what I observed this week. As I experience many different classes and students in my methods courses, I have come to the conclusion that Mr. Dunn might be a little too laid back. I get the feeling that he allows his student to get away with too much off task behavior. Today, the students were given a free period to do whatever they liked, as long as they kept working on something. Some of the students were across the gym, on the stage, playing ping pong. I noticed that one of the students had pulled a chair up to her table and was sitting down while attempting to play ping pong. I did not see how that student is going to get her daily, thirty, minutes of vigorous activity suggested by the surgeon general. She cannot accomplish this vigorous activity while she is sitting down. It took a long period of time for Mr. Dunn to go and make her stand up. Even when she did get up, he neglected to explain to her why she should not sit down. As I stated before, I know that it is hard to motive students who do not want to be motivated, but I hope that when I have own class I will be able to get my entire class intrinsically motivated to participate.
Obviously, motivation is prevalent in physical education. The students and teacher both have their ways of motivation, wither it be extrinsically, intrinsically, or both. I have learned a good deal about motivation and how important it is to the success of a physical education.

Miss B Is Not a Typical College Student.... I SWEAR!

I learned about the morals of the students at Meigs High School. Whether they know it or not, the students have more morals than they think. I observed different stages of moral development amongst the high school students. This week was somewhat awkward for me, and I am still not sure what to do about it.

I asked a few students about their thoughts on keeping promises. In response to my question, they all had the same answer. They were questioned on how important it is to keep a secret that a friend has shared with them. A fifteen year old girl and an eighteen year old boy both replied with the same answer, “It’s very important.” When I asked them why, one boy who is seventeen said, “It just is.” Even though he did not have a direct answer, he just knew that it is important. I do not know if students realize it, but stating “It just is” showed that the individual has moral value. Another individual stated that, “It is very important, because if you make promises, you should stick to your word.” He gave almost the exact same answer, but with a few more words. Why should people stick to their word? The students never said, they just know that it is the right thing is to do. The fifteen year old girl commented, “I mean… it kind of depends. I wouldn’t go kill someone for a promise, but if I made a promise I would keep my word.” She understood that promises are important and the moral value of keeping her word, but she also realized that the circumstance is a factor. These individuals are just typical high school students living in a world that tells everyone to focus on themselves, but yet they still have moral reasoning.
Different stages of moral development were observed in the students. According to Omrod, there are three levels and six stages of moral reasoning. I picked up on stage three which is titled Good boy/good girl. This week the students were in study hall due to the refinishing of the gym floor. Over all the students were bored an antsy, and needed something to occupy their time. Almost every student has a cell phone in his/her pocket, and throughout the period they slowly came out. The Good boy/ good girl stage was noticed when, as soon as Mr. Dunn would turn around, they would all shove their phones in a bag, under their leg, or in a pocket. They are in the stage in which they “make decisions based on what actions will please others, especially authority figures.” Even though they were breaking the rules because they wanted to, they did not want the consequences of the teacher finding out they broke those rules.
However, not every student fell under the stage three category. I had multiple students blow my mind with what they were comfortable talking about in school. Twice, I got asked if I was going to the Halloween block party. Considering the stereotype of what happens in Athens on Halloween, the students were not fulfilling the stage three criteria. If they were in stage three they would not want a future teacher to know what their plans were for next weekend. In the text, Omrod talks about exposing students to models of moral behavior. I tried to use this method in my responses to the block party questions. I explained that typical college partying is not my scene and I do not participate in those activities. The next thing that came out of their mouths was a story about breaking curfew to go to Wal-mart to buy beer. Students in my high school never talked about events like that. I never heard about people sneaking to get beer until I came to college my freshman year. These boys were way out of the good boy/ good girl stage. I would say these students were closer to be developing in stage five. The students recognized the flexibility of rules, and did not mind that I was hearing them talk about their social lives. The other student that stuck out to me was a girl. She said some of the nastiest things I have ever heard in regards to a teacher. She talked of things that were very sexual, while talking very loudly and having no concern for who was hearing her conversations. She was also no longer in stage three because she did not care what the authorities thought about her behavior. Most of the students I observed were representing typical development. High school students should fall under the stage three category according to Omrod.
I believe that most student fall under the pre-conventional morality heading. Growing up in school, all the students know that they should follow the ways of conventional morality. According to the text, conventional morality is “Characterized by an acceptance of society’s conventions concerning what is right and wrong.” Even though they know what is right and wrong they want to follow the ways of pre-conventional morality that lets them make decisions on what is best for themselves. For example, a group of girls were talking about an algebra assignment that was due later in the day. They all asked each other if they had done it, all feeling slightly guilty for not having it done. However, they all came up with excuses that made them feel good about themselves not doing the assignment. One of the girls said she did not have time due to practice, another spent the night at her grandmas, and the third girl said she just wanted to relax and not do her homework. Conventionally, they know what the right thing to do was, but they wanted to run things on their own terms.
I felt somewhat uncomfortable with my observation this week. I really did not know how to respond to the students when they are basically asking me if I drink. I have never been very comfortable with the idea of alcohol, and even though I am finally twenty-one, it still makes me uneasy. Obviously I denied their accusations, but it bothered me that I knew they thought I was lying. I guess I should not care what high school students think of me, but when I want to be respected as a professional I think their opinion is important. I know it is unprofessional to have those conversations with students, but I knew if I laughed it off they would defiantly get the wrong idea of me. Shortly after Mr. Dunn walked over and said that he heard some things that he does not think are true. His comment made me feel a little more comfortable, but my mind was still racing make sure I did not say the wrong thing. Alcohol is a thing so commonly associated with college, that I feel once I have graduated and get a job, my students will respect me more as an adult. I will no longer just be some college kid who is watching their classes.
Overall, it was an interesting week at Meigs. I can definitely say that I am so glad I will be a physical educator where there the students are up and moving around in my class. I did not like dealing with the students as they just sat around and talked to each other. Through their conversations I learned that the students probably have more morals than they think, and their moral developmental stages vary somewhat. Even though it was not the best week of my observation, by no means am I discouraged on my journey to becoming an educator.

It's Not Roll Out the Ball... It's Go Sit on the Equipment... Still Lame

I have been able to make connections in cognitive developmental trends between my observations at Meigs High School and what I have learned in EDTE 200. I have noticed that the physical and social environment plays a factor in the students learning. Students benefit from cooperative learning in physical education class. The students in the classes I observe demonstrate aspects of the theories about cognitive development presented in class.
Piaget assumed that interactions with an individual’s physical and social environments are essential for cognitive development. According to the EDTE 200 text book he believed that, “active experimentation with the physical world is critical for genitive growth.” Piaget also believed that social interaction was just as important to the cognitive development of young people. In the physical education classes that I observe, I get to experience this assumption every day. The students at Megis have been playing volleyball for the last few weeks. During their games of volleyball they get to develop through the physical world and social interactions. The students reflect Piaget’s because they learn about cause and effect relationships. They see how others react in a social setting and can process their own beliefs on how the think social situations ideally should be. The text also states that these high school students are in their formal stages of operation. I see this demonstrated in the classroom with the students’ abilities to think for themselves. During a game of volleyball, it was obviously that one team was better than the other. Instead of just allowing themselves to get beat every point, they started to come up with strategies that would give them some help. Their first idea was to ask me to play on their team. They could use their logical thought processes to know that I probably have some volleyball skills due to the fact I am studying to be a physical education teacher. After they found out that they could get no help from me, they started to form strategies on the court to help out their play. They had one guy who always tried to make the first hit to get the ball under control, and then the other three players would work on getting the ball over the net. These physical and social interactions are so important because the same type of cognitive development cannot be developed while sitting in a chair in the classroom. Sitting in class for hours on end without talking or moving around does not provide real life learning for the students. According to a lecture in EDTE 200 students should be participating in authentic activities that relate their learning to real world contexts. The students in physical education class are receiving these authentic activities everyday as they grow in the physical and social environment.
Working collaboratively in groups helps students develop knowledge. Vygotsky’s theory of social constructivism identifies why working in groups can benefit the students. The students mutually construct knowledge when working together, and the ETDE 200 text states that the “collective efforts impose meaning on the world.” When students are demonstrating social constructivism they are working together to achieve a common goal. I see this theory reflected in the physical education classes I have observed. When the students are playing a game of volleyball the students are all working together to win each and every point. A game could not be won if just one person was putting forth the effort. All the students work off of each other and learn from each other. The students who are not as skilled are seeing constant demonstrations from the talented students in the class. During a lecture in EDTE 200 we were told that “it’s not just about putting students in groups.” It is believed that sometimes people get put in groups just to split up the work load and make life easier. However, that is not the goal of social constructivism. I see this reflected in the classes I observed when the students were given a new warm up activity. They jogged around the room in a single file line, passing a soccer ball backwards with their feet, and passing a medicine ball forward with their hands. The teacher did not give them many instructions on how to perform the task, but the students used their social constructivism to mutually learn the task together. Working together helps students develop knowledge that they may not have been able to develop on individually.
I feel that my observations this week were redundant. The students at Meigs high school have been playing volleyball in physical education class since the school year started about 8 weeks ago. I understand that during volleyball season the net has to remain up in the gym, but I do not believe that students should have to play volleyball for so long in class. Unfortunately, this is reality for PE teachers. There is always something that can throw our class off. In the future, if I am in this situation I would develop activities to work around the net. My observations make me hope that when I am a teacher I will be able to be creative to write lesson plans to work around the obstacles thrown into my path, while keeping the students physically active. I am not passing judgment on the teacher, but personally I made a mental note that 8 weeks is far too long for one unit. I am continuing to enjoy my time at Meigs and am learning from each encounter I have with the students and staff.
It is evident that what we are learning in class on cognitive development is reliable, due to my observations of the material in a real classroom. Students develop from participating in a physical and social environment. Student’s learning is also enhanced with the help of social constructivism and group work. Seeing the theories in action, helps me understand them and realize why they really are important.

4 Pages in 40 Minutes

The last four weeks have been an adventure. I believe I have grown as a professional and future educator. I have been able to build some rapport with my co-operating teacher as well as the students in his classes. Throughout the last few weeks I have realized that I have some obviously strengths and weaknesses. There are a few goals I would like to accomplish before this quarter is over, and I move on with my education.
I believe I have been professionally proficient at the school. I have shown up when I told the co-operating teacher I would be there. I try to be there every Tuesday and Thursday from 7:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. I am there for the first three periods of the day, so I always see the same students. I wish that I could spend more afternoons at the school, to see the rest of the students. Observing in a Physical Education class does not offer many extra responsibilities other than watching. There are no papers to grade, or grades to enter into the grade book. Due to this, I try to be the most active observer I can. I try and make sure I always know the score of the game, incase a student asks. Also, I watch and listen to what the students are talking about, so that when the whole class is laughing I know what is going on. I try to be as engaged as possible without being a disturbance. Due to the fact that I mainly just sit there, I was somewhat uncomfortable at the beginning of the quarter. Every time I was there, the students would come into class thinking that I was their substitute. I could tell they were talking about me and trying to figure out who I was. I did not feel that I was my place to walk up to them the first day I was there. After the students figured out who I was and got used to me being there, I slowly became more comfortable.
The other staff members at the school have been very accommodating. The ladies in the office recognize me and say hello each morning when I walk in. Also , during week four when I needed to find a special education class room to observe in, the principal himself took me around and introduced me to a few teachers. He really made sure he found what I was looking for. I really appreciated the gesture, and hoped that because of his willingness he noticed my professionalism. I was worried at first about the staff looking down on me. Two other girls from class drive out to Meigs with me each day. The two of them always look so nice dressed up in their professional clothing. Although I make sure I am presentable, I felt uncomfortable in my sweat pants and sports polo. I felt that maybe people would not see me as professional as the other observation students. As time went by I realized that the staff understood that I am going to be a physical education teacher and what I was wearing was professional and presentable for my future occupation.
Each Tuesday and Thursday, my co-operating teacher pulls out exercise equipment for the students to work out on. This has been a blessing for me to have conversations and build rapport with the students. At first, they would try and get my attention by saying, “Hey Dude” or “Hey teacher person”. They now know who I am and what I am doing there, and refer to me as “Miss B” or “Miss Brandenstein”. I have been able to talk to some girls who really do not enjoy physical education. These are important conversations for me because; those girls are the reason why I decided to be a physical educator. I know that some people especially girls tend to hate physical education just because the set up of the class, or they think their teacher is rude. These girls I have been talking to have been sharing with me about why they do not like class. They tell me that it is boring, or they always get picked last. These are the classic answers of why students do not like gym class. One of the girls asked me why I wanted to be a physical education teacher, because she said that no one likes those teachers. I told her that it was my goal to not have the kind of class who people do not want to attend. I shared with her what I would do in my classes and she told me that she thought I had some good ideas. I like to have these conversations with these girls because the whole time they are talking they are walking on the treadmill or riding an exercise bike. When I talk to them I keep them occupied and they get their full twenty minute workout in because they do not realize that they have been exercising. If I was not talking to the girls, it would be likely that they would cheat themselves. When Mr. Dunn is not watching, they have a tendency to stop peddling or step off the treadmill until his eyes find them again. I have been able to build rapport with these girls, and I believe they respect me for the position that I am in.
I have noticed that I have some strengths and weaknesses. My strengths are that I am able to professionally interact with the students, and pick up on things that are important for me to remember when I become an educator. The students have been playing a lot of volleyball in the time that I have been observing. I stand off to the side about mid-court and watch them play. When the ball comes to me, I make sure that I get it and pass it back. I make sure that I do not just stand there and let the students run by me without even acknowledging their presence. While the students are participating or not participating in class, I try and pick up on activities that I think I will be able to use in the future . When Mr. Dunn is teaching I like to think about whether or not the activity would be appropriate according to what I have learned in my classes. Most activities that Mr. Dunn uses are great activities that keep all the students involved. From time to time I have picked up on something that according to my professors is not quality. By no means do I judge him for these activities, I just make note that they contradict what has been drilled into my head. For example, most days two captains are picked and they pick their teams one by one. I have been told this is not a good idea because there are always the same students who are picked last. This makes these students feel defeated before they even begin their activities. I like to make mental notes of these things just to build my knowledge of physical education in general. I have found my strengths, but I have also found my weaknesses. I have realized that when Mr. Dunn is sharing his knowledge with me, I am at a loss of words to keep the conversation going. I love listening to his wisdom on physical education and I could sit and listen all day, but when I am sitting there it is like my mind is blank. I know I have things I would like to ask about it, but I just can not think while he is talking. I know this is not my best quality but I hope and I become more and more comfortable, I will loosen up and be able to carry on a conversation.
As the quarter comes to a finish I would like to be completely comfortable in any classroom I set my foot in. I would like to improve my strengths and make my weaknesses few. I hope that my knowledge continues to grow and my passion for teaching physical education becomes stronger. I am overall pleased with the overall experience and opportunities I have been given at Meigs High School.

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I See Some ZPD.

This week opened my eyes to many new experiences. I learned about services that are available for special education, and how students use those services, at Meigs High School. The services these students are provided are able to benefit the students for the betterment of their education. I have mixed feelings about these services, but am glad I was able to experience and learn how special education is run.
There are options for special education students at Meigs High School. There are two social studies, two math, and two English teachers in the high school who are special educators. There are also three other teachers who specialize in learning disabilities. With this many qualified teachers, the students with special needs are able to get their core subjects taught by special educators instead of the regular classroom teacher. In these classrooms, the students have text books with large print and are easy to read and comprehend. During lessons, they learn from power points that are colorful, visually inviting, and have auditory clips incorporated to keep the students attention. The classes change activities at least once every fifteen minutes. This is the only way to keep the students attention, and keep them focused on the task at hand. The students were doing an exercise on nouns and adjectives. They were given white boards with dry erase makers to write their answers on. This was just another way for the teacher to keep her students engaged. In the 200 class we discussed the principals of educational psychology. I think this exhibits the second principle that explains that when students are active participants in the lesson they learn more effectively. When starting a new lesson, the teachers start out very elementary, and work their way up to the level the students are supposed to be achieving. The class continued to do exercises until every student in the small class were achieving the tasks. As I learned in EDTE 200 the students in this class were working in their zone of proximal development. They were able to produce the correct answers, but only with the help of their teacher. At the end of the exercise, the teacher asked the students to think critically, this left the students lost and confused. With the abstract question, the students were no longer in their ZPD. Even with the teacher’s help, they could not grasp the concept. When assigning the homework at the end of the class period, the teacher read over each question to make sure the students knew exactly what they were supposed to do.
Other options are available for special education students as well. Many of the students with exceptionalities are involved in the vocational programs provided at the school. These programs are not necessarily designed for students with special needs however the school accommodates so that all types of students are able to excel in these not so traditional classes. The special education students are provided with resource rooms. In these resource rooms there are teachers who are available to help out with the work the students were assigned in their vocational courses. The students are able to get help with the everyday work for the class, as well as receive help taking tests for their classes. The students are also allowed to spend time in the resource rooms during their study halls to receive additional help if needed. They are allowed to receive as much help as they want. Many times the students are able to retake their tests if they scored poorly, or even be re-taught a lesson that they did not understand in their regular classroom. Some of the students in these special education classes are required to work to make a living for themselves. If they are not interested in the vocational program, they are given a work-study option. With this program, the students will attend school for their core subjects, and then leave for the rest of the day to go in the work force. With this program the students are able to make a decent living for themselves. It is necessary for many of these students to make a living, because they are neglected at home and not provided with the basic necessities of life.
I believe that all of these options for special needs students are crucial and a good investment by the school. According to the 201 text book, the students, teachers, and school district are working collaboratively. They are all working together to achieve a shared goal that everyone wants the special education students to succeed. I think it is wonderful the district is trying to provide the students with options to help them excel in not only high school, but the work force as well. I am excited to know that all these things are available. I went to such as big high school that even though I knew there were special needs students; I rarely ever saw or had an encounter with one. I was never exposed to what they did during their day or how their teachers presented materials to them. I believe this knowledge will help me as a future educator. I watched how the teachers interacted with their students, and what modifications must be made to meet the standards set for the students’ grade level.
Honestly, I was worried about this week. I was forced to leave my comfort zone of the gymnasium, and observe other aspects of the school. Needless to say, I learned more than I ever thought I would. I am pleased to know that there are many serviced available to accommodate the students with exceptionalities. How these students use their services to benefit their education has become very intriguing to me. I think that special education is something that I will enjoy when I have classes of my own some day.

Different Worlds... But We Are All The Same

This week I began observation in the physical education classes at Meigs High School. I learned about the school in general, as well as classes individually. The more time I spent observing the classes, I started to realize similarities and differences to my past high school experiences. I discovered information this week that I never thought I would be interested in, however I believe it is important to know the school that I will spend hours in during my observation.
Meigs High School embodies 632 ninth through twelfth grade students. Ninety-eight percent of those students are white Caucasians, leaving only two percent to other ethnicities. There is not even one other ethnicity that encompasses ten individuals. As I discovered information about the school and its students, I learned that sixty percent of the student body is economically disadvantaged. Basically, this statistic shows that 379 of the 632 students enrolled at the school are receiving reduced price or free lunch. According to the information in found on school’s report cards this is a high end percentage of students. Another statistic I discovered was that nineteen percent of the student body has a disability of some kind. These disabilities include everything from learning disabilities to severe handicaps. For example, twenty-eight percent of the students are on an IEP.
The school is equipped with all the essentials required for a functioning school. The office is located right inside the main doors, and is available for the students when they need assistance. The guidance counselors are also available for help with schooling or future plans. The building itself is in good condition, and has had some obvious renovations since the building opened. The library, gym, and computer labs are available for non-core subject education. With these extra facilities available the school is able to have many after school programs. The athletes have interscholastic sports, while other students can participate in religious, cultural, or fun clubs and groups that give them something to be a part of.
The gymnasium is where I spent my time during observation. The physical education teacher’s name is Tim Dunn. Throughout the day he teaches freshmen and sophomores with an occasional junior thrown into his classes. The first period class is composed of twenty one students, including eleven females and ten males. Twenty of the students were white Caucasian, and one student was African American. I noticed one girl in particular who was excessively overweight. Her body composition restricted her ability to move quickly or effectively. The second class was relatively small. Only nine boys and five girls combined to make a class of fourteen students. Once again, only one African American student was enrolled in the class, and all the others were white Caucasian. There were no obvious disabilities with the students in this class, but I was told that there was a student who has severe back problems who cannot do much in terms of participation. Finally, the third period class had eighteen students. The thirteen girls outnumbered the boys who represented only five-eighteenths of the class. Just like the other two classes, all but one student were white Caucasians. However the other student was Hispanic, not African American like the previous periods. All of these students participated in physical education class on the hardwood floor in the gym. The basketball court is lined in maroon lines which are used for organizing in the physical education class. The rest of the gym was full of school spirit. There is a maroon and gold stripe that runs around the entire gym, and the curtain on the stage is equipped with the acronym for the school. Even though the gym at Meigs high school is obviously old, the place is well kept and has been updated. All of the equipment used inside the gym is in well repair and useable by the students.
The environment at Meigs High School was new for me. I grew up in a thriving town that was awarded the sixteenth best place to live in the United States. My high school was only nine years old, and I had 600 people in my class alone. Even without freshmen on campus, I attended school with roughly 2000 students. I would see a new face pretty much every day, and I have a feeling that probably does not happen at Meigs. I do not believe the size of Meigs is a bad thing. I always thought small town’s feel where I knew everyone would be great. At my high school, everyone had their little group of friends and that was it. Size is not the only difference I noticed. According to my high school’s report card, the percent of students who receive reduced or free lunch was two percent. Once again, a number that is much different from what I observed. Even though my high school experience was different, I am sure it had its similarities. As I walked around the gymnasium and listened to the students conversations I began to realize something. I realized that even though Meigs and West Chester are on different sides of the state, all of the students are still teenagers trying to survive some of the toughest years of their lives. I am sure everyone worries about the same things; grades, relationships, getting in trouble, sports anxiety, and wanting to be liked by their peers.
Observing at Meigs and learning information about the whole school, as well as individual physical education classes, has made me realize that no matter what school is school. Even though not everyone has the same experiences, does not mean that any area is better than anywhere else.

What Have I Dunn?

I attended a volleyball game at Meigs High School on Tuesday at 6:30PM. The game was held in the school’s regulation gymnasium. This gymnasium is a typical high school gym, equipped with wooden fold out bleachers, a hardwood floor, and six basketball hoops. One end wall is covered in banners that stated what sports and the years that sports had won conference, district, and regional championships. The banners date back to 1962 and have years dating all the way up to 2006. A stage with a full maroon curtain, with yellow letters that read “MHS”, is located on the opposite end of the gym. There is room on either side of the court for the bleachers to be pulled out, but only one set was being utilized by the volleyball game. A very nice volleyball net was set up mid court. It had the proper padding and was in good condition. All of the equipment in the gym was in very good condition, even though the building was older. Also, I noticed that the facility was clean and very well kept. Not only was the facility nice, the clothing the people were wearing was in well repair. The volleyball team had on new uniforms, and matching team shoes. The audience was composed of 95% parents and grandparents, ranging between the ages of 30 and 75. They were dressed presentably, the majority of them wearing jeans and polo shirts. The rest of the audience was high school students there to support their friends playing in the game. I saw all sorts of name brand clothing on the high school students. This surprised me, because from the rumors I had heard, Meigs was one of the poorest districts in the state. The crowd I was observing was definitely not the product of a “poor” area. I noticed that 100% of the room was Caucasian and looked to all be middle class. The audience ate popcorn and hotdogs as they watched their volleyball team beat up on Belpre. As the parents cheered on the team, the students multitasked with cheering and texting on their cell phones. During warm-ups a mix of music was played over the speakers. The mix included music from different genres such as rap, punk, and country. Even though everyone in the room was doing their own little thing, when the national anthem began to play everyone stopped, stood, and showed respect for their country. Overall, I was overwhelmed how “normal” the atmosphere was in the gymnasium.
On Thursday morning at 8:15AM, I went to the high school and observed two physical education classes. The classes took place in the same gymnasium as the volleyball game had earlier in the week. The students were wearing athletic clothing and gym shoes. Most of their clothing was in good repair, but I was noticing that the students in the classes did not give off the same vibe as I received from the volleyball game. These students reminded more of students from where I used to live, in a lower-middle class area. Their clothes were in good condition, but did not scream the brand names, as did the clothing of the students at the volleyball game. Throughout the two classes the students played tug of war, dodge ball, threw footballs, shot hoops, and ran laps. In these two particular classes, there were no students with disabilities, and the students were all able to be active and participate. The students seemed to be having a good time and enjoying themselves. They were laughing and interacting well with each other. I feel as if these students have a respect for themselves and their teacher. They are good listeners and did whatever the instructor said to do. Overall, the students seemed to be pretty calm, and were well behaved, and did not need much discipline. I could tell that the teacher, Mr. Dunn, genuinely cares about his students and their well being. He was sharing ideas of how he keeps them moving and interested for extended periods of time. He is interested in making the students healthier and become lifetime movers.
I believed the information that I gathered from observing would be helpful to an educator. I think that knowing how students react outside of the immediate classroom is a good expression of their character. Also, I believe that it is important to see how parents and the community interact with the students. This is a good way to see what the students have as role models. The norm the community creates is going to have an effect on the students’ work ethic and how they should act. Also, as an educator it is good to have an understanding of the students’ community and background so the instructor does not seem to be a complete outsider. As high school students, the teenagers like to be able to relate to their instructors. Being able to relate to teachers gives the students an opportunity to learn from someone they feel they can associate with.
Originally, I was stressed out about going to Meigs. I was unsure of how I would feel in the community and was afraid that I would feel uncomfortable. After observing a volleyball game and a physical education class, I am feeling much more confident. I am glad I now know a little bit about the area before I go in and try and help out with classes. In conclusion, I am pleased with my placement, and am excited to get to know some of the students and teachers at Meigs High School.

Bring On Chapter 2

Wow, I cannot believe this quarter is over. The last 2 weeks feel like blur and I am not exactly sure where they went!
Kindergarten students rock! They are so much fun. My first class was well behaved and enjoyed all the activities I had planned for this morning. My second class was a little more rambunctious. I had to sit three students out during class for kicking the equipment, or fighting with each other over the equipment. Sitting student out is defiantly not my specialty, but it had to be done. Sometimes I feel awkward sitting students out when the cooperating teacher is there. It is like correcting a child when their parent is in the room, it just feels weird. The first class I had issues sitting kids out, but during the second class I did not even hesitate. The students were all in pretty good moods, and were all having lots of fun.
Not knowing the kids is sometimes frustrating. In the second class there was a boy who was participating in some off task behavior, so I told him to go sit out and he did not even look at me. I asked another student what his name was, and then used his name to try and sit him out. I could not get him to look at me, and then I realized that he was handicap or had some problems. I wish I would not have scolded him, because he cannot help what he is doing. I know this will not occur later on when I have my own class because I will know my students, but I just felt mean.
Overall, the last week of teaching went really well. I am having a great time, and the difference in my nerves from week 1 to week 10 is like night and day. When it was my turn to teach, I just jumped off the stage and was ready to go, no doubts or second thoughts about what I was about to teach. This class has defiantly improved my teaching skills, and my love for elementary school students. The flame of passion is being fanned, and is rapidly growing.

I Am Not A Teacher...

So apparently I looked mad all day? But I wasn’t! I was having so much fun. I promise. In the morning I decided to stay inside stay out of the sun for a little while. I worked the scooter and cup stacking relay station. I thought that there could be possibly nothing that could go wrong because all elementary school children love scooters. Well much to my surprise, I have never seen a group of more lazy kindergarten through second graders. They were moving at snail speed, so I made sure I reemphasized that it was a race. When I said go the energy picked up about .00000342333495%. I was almost dumbfounded. I decided that maybe they just were not in the mood to use the scooters so I had them put the scooters on the wall as I set up the cup stacking race. They were all super excited and squealed in that tone that only early childhood students can make. I said go and the next thing I know they are walking between the stacks of cups! Seriously? What kind of student walks in a relay race? That group of kids had a college student observing them who was just hanging out and watching them play. She probably thought I was absolutely incompetent in what I was doing. But whatever. The rest of the groups were great and actually had a little competitive nature in them at least.
The second half of the day was spent outside playing corn hole. I loved watching the students get excited when they would make the bean bag into the hole. They jump up and down and scream like they just made the winning shot of a championship basketball game. This would happen every time. Throughout the day I had been kind of keeping track of the record number of points an individual from each grade could get in the ten minutes. The day was almost over and all of a sudden I look over and one of the third grade boys was crying. So I go to see what is wrong. I thought he was whining about his partner not sharing the bean bags. I told him it was okay and that he was a big boy and that they could figure it out. As I am trying to get him to dry his eyes he proceeds to tell me that his partner was not being time efficient (obviously not using those words) and that at that rate they would never be able to beat the record. He was so set on beating the record that he upset himself thinking he would not be able to achieve it. Pathetic, I know… but also sort of cute. He was obviously smaller than all the other boys in his class, and my guess he was not as emotionally mature as the other boys. I gave him an idea of how to make the game go faster he grabbed my hand to go tell his partner. I explained what the boys could do, and from then on he was just fine.
For reasons like the second part of my day are the reasons why I want to be a teacher. Eww… teacher, I hate that word. Even though obviously I am studying to be a teacher, I do not feel like one for some reason. In my EDTE 150 class, I felt like I had such a different outlook on things than everyone else in the room. Anyway, I want to be a teacher because when I helped that little boy find the solution to his problem and saw the light go off in his head, it just brought joy to my heart. Whatever… I still do not like the word teacher, but I love physical educator.

iSing... ?

Friday was a good day. Pre-school was a joyful way to start an early morning. I am not going to lie, I was not expecting to stand up in front of the room and sing the Chicken Dance, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Head and Shoulders, Knees, and Toes to the whole class. One thing that I do know for a fact is that God did not bless me with talent in the vocal signing department. This is like my worst nightmare. Actually having to sound good up there? Who cares about the 20 four year olds in the room, I was freaking out about the 10 of my peers. Thankfully the tunes of those songs are not very difficult and I think it went just fine. In the car on the way home, Stu told me that I did not sound too bad. And usually Stu is brutally honest, so I am glad I got the reaction I did.
Mr. Goodwin is a great teacher, and I like the attitude he has with his occupation. He is laid back, however strict enough that he gets his kids moving and they do not stop. It was amazing the difference of my nerves from the last time that I did a mimic teach. I still remember week one of the quarter driving from Pleasantville to Bremen, about ready to throw up because I was so nervous. Today, there was nothing. I sat and took notes on what Mr. Goodwin said and did not even think twice about have to repeat this lesson in three hours. I am not trying to sound cocky, but that is how I felt.
Teaching the scooter lesson was fun. I had never seen the helicopter spins before, but those are so cool. I taught the scooter part of the lesson and then Stu taught the ball skills part. I would have to say I defiantly had the fun part of the lesson. Thankfully all the students were very well behaved and there were no crazy scooters flying all over the gym. I did not even have to sit a single student out. These are my kind of days. I love it when everyone is cooperating and getting along, and able to keep themselves entertained and moving without distracting their neighbors.
I am excited about my last teach that is coming up. I think that the students at Morrison seem to be great kids and will be fun to work with. I am really sad that elementary methods are coming to an end. I am finally getting used to interacting with the younger students, just in time to be done with the class. However, I suppose that means that this course did its job.

Twister Twister

Starting off the day watching the little gymnasts just made my day! It warms my heart to see those little girls just starting their adventure of gymnastics.

Field day was so much fun! When I was younger field day was a day of hardcore competition. Even though the events were all mostly just for fun, the kids seemed to be having lots of fun. I got to work the Twister station. Some of the positions those kids managed to get themselves into were hilarious. After the first class, I ended up not using the spinner very often. I would just call out whatever I wanted and twist them up myself. The students only had eight minutes at each station so we did not play normal Twister rules. Normally, when a player falls down, they are out. Due to our lack of time, if a student fell over they just started over. About half way through the rotation I would stop them and tell them to stand up and stretch out.

When the students got into the room, I reminded them of their right and left and for the most part everyone did okay. The younger ones hand to be reminded which was right and which was left, but no big problems. In the afternoon I thought that I was going to have all older students so I was not even going to worry about going over right and left. Soon enough my first group walked in and they were pre-schoolers! Ah! Pre-school students and twister? I knew that was not going to work. I ended up making up my own game and putting them in positing by telling them to move a hand or both feet. During the pre-school class I stopped them 3 times during the rotation to stop, stretch, and shake it out. They were so cute and tried so hard. When I told them to line up, their teacher came over and told me thanks for being such a good sport and changing things for the pre-school students. She told me I did a really good job adapting to them.

I want to teach high school so badly, but I am starting to like teaching the younger students more and more. They are so fantastic, and always so excited to do whatever you tell them to.

Even though I know that the field day was all for the elementary students, I think my peers and I grew closer through this experience. We have all taught together, but being in the more fun and relaxed atmosphere was good for us. We are all starting to enjoy each others’ company and being around each other. This is such a blessing to me. Even though we don’t all hang outside of the class, knowing that your peers are there for you and understand what you are going though is a comfort. I love our little PE family, and am glad I am not in one of those popular majors in which I am in the same program as 400 other people on campus.

Flipping Frogs

Due to a week of no sleep, my expectations for today were not very high. When I got up this morning I felt like death and did not want to do anything but stay in bed all day. Despite my unwillingness, I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. As I proceeded to get ready my allergies were so bad that I was imaging teaching with snot flying out my nose. Thankfully, my meds finally kicked in as I was walking to my car, and I had about five hours until I had to teach, so I knew I would be okay.
As the day progressed I started to feel a little better, but still had no voice by the time it was my turn to teach. My first class walked into the door, there was no turning back now. Even though I did not feel so well, I was excited about my lesson and ready to get the next hour and a half over with.
My first class went extremely well. The frog stations I had set up, kept the entire class occupied and on task. I was in no mood to deal with students messing around, and only had to sit one student out, and only one time. I was afraid that the boys would think that pretending to be frogs for 20 minutes would be stupid. But who was I kidding, they are first graders! Being a frog is cool. The station called “Flipping Frogs” was by far the coolest. I discovered this great phenomenon; that if a bean bag is set on top of a playground ball, and then drop it; the bean bag goes flying to the air. When I practiced the skill, the bean bag went straight up, but when the kids tried it, the bean bags were flying all over the place. It was hilarious. They would go flying in every direction, hit them in the face, or shoot right over top of their heads. The students had a blast trying to catch the unpredictable “flipping frogs”. Other than slowly losing my voice, the class went just fine.
The second class is always late. 15 minutes into class two girls showed up. Really? Where the heck was the rest of the class? They showed up about 7 minutes later and I had a whole whopping 10 minutes to teach the 40 minute class. Oh good Lord, let’s see how fast I can efficiently explain instructions for the five Frog Pond stations. They listened better than I thought they would, considering my mouth was running a mile a minute. Thankfully they all got to make it to every station, just in time to let them grab their backpacks and run to the bus. Shew, that time when by crazy fast.
The day was overall fabulous! My time analysis should be much better this week. Which is good, I am not sure it could have gotten any worse.
During Chris’s lesson, I had a kindergartener walk over to me and tell me that he loved me. It is amazing how feelings develop over tying a tennis shoe.
I am stoked that Mrs. Thomas liked my lesson, and am really glad I got to work with her.

"HI MISS B!"

When I walked in the building of the school I saw three girls from the second grade class I was getting ready to teach. They all got really excited and ran over and gave me a hug. I told them that I was going to be teaching their class today, and they all got really happy. That was defiantly a great way to start off my day, and give me a little extra confidence booster. I hope the girls had a fun time in my class and think that I am a good teacher.
There is defiantly a big difference between a 25 minute class period, and a 45 minute class period. The first class of the day went really well. I had fun, and I think the students were having a good time. I had them working together on teamwork skills, and they all really cooperated and worked together. Some of the tasks seemed so simplistic, but the students had a blast and they were moving the whole time. Throughout the class period they worked by themselves, in pairs, in small groups, in half the class, and in boys verse girls. I liked the variety that was provided with my different activities.
My classes were back to back today. Thanks to my allergies, I was about to die by the end of the first class. My voice was just about shot, but I got a quick drink of water right as the second class was entering the gym. Oh boy was I in for a treat. The activities I planned had very minimal and simple instruction, however I needed about 20 seconds of quite in order to explain. I am pretty sure I got about .000037648 seconds of quite the whole class period. The students were in no mood to be quite and listen. I stood there, waiting. Finally, a boy in the class got frustrated with his peers and put up two fingers. YAY, something I can work with. After the knowledge that two fingers meant shut up, it was much easier to get things accomplished. I survived through the first few activities just fine. When we got to the HoopDrop, which was supposed to last about maybe five minutes, I think it took about 10. They were supposed to be quite after they picked their hoops back up, but they just could not do it. Students find this game fun, anticipating me to yell “Drop It”. However it ended up being a punishment because they could not get quite. Finally, they were kind of quite and I instructed them to put their hoops down on the floor and stand like statures. With in the next 2 minutes, I took away 5 hula hoops of students that could not grasp the concept of statues. I took three pieces of equipment away from one boy throughout the class period. I was ready to sit him out, but the look in his eye, I knew he was not going to get up quickly and move. I felt like I did not have time to fight with one student, when the rest of the class was trying to pay attention. Taking his equipment away worked, but I had to take everything away once, for him to realize that he needed to behave. He was slightly exhausting, and I know by the end of the period he hated my guts. Oh well, that is the way it will be sometimes I suppose. His class did not even get to do the last activity that the first class did, because there was so much management time. Great, now my time analysis paper looks horrible because I constantly had to stop and wait for them to shut it. It is so hard when I do not know their names. Scolding a student using their name has so much more impact than me scolding, and then the student finally realizing I am talking to them
All day long, the grades had one good and one bad class. My nerves level this week was much lower. My confidence is growing, slowly… but growing. I liked teaching the first two classes and then being done. I think that helped with my nerves, not sitting there thinking about it all day long. Next week I teach the last two classes of the day. We will see how that goes.

Freak Out Mode

I have never before realized how much six and seven year olds can deliberately misbehave. It was very frustrating to remind a student that they are not to talk in the hallway, and then in under half of a second they are talking away. I asked a first grader if he was supposed to be talking in the hallway, he said no, but in the same breathe continued to talk. Really??? Talking to first grader who is blatantly ignoring me, makes me want to ignore them! The students at Alexander are not bad kids, but somewhere along the way, I think they missed the whole idea of listening and paying attention.
So, this is where freak out mode begins. Holy junk, these kids have the potential to eat me alive next week. They are crazy, they are everywhere, they scream, they hit, they kick, they run away, they are tattle tales, they whine, they fall down and cry, and I have to keep them occupied for 45 minutes. I am like the little engine that could… I think I can … I think I can… I think I can. I could complain for hours about how the classroom teachers need to stop being push-overs and gain some control, but then I think so the girls who knew me for 30 minutes and already wanted to hold my hand and they walked back into the building. The enjoyment of the engagement with students somehow totally outweighs everything terrible that I think about them. I would rather go teach everyday for the next two years than go to class for a single day. I am just going to have to suck it up and realize that when working with kids, everything is not going to be perfect. That will eat away at me until my perfectionist self can cope, but that is how it has to be.
I would just like to say that I am jealous. I want to work at a school that has enough money for me to put in an outdoor fitness trail with workout equipment. Seeing those kids “workout” was just so exciting to me. The kids seemed to be having a blast and did not want to go in when class was over. Yes! There is hope for the future of these children to be lifetime movers. I have a thousand things running through my head trying to figure out what to do with these kids next week. I pray to the good Lord that things do not get too out of control, and I can keep the students on task. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.
…I think I can… I think I can… I think I can…

The Fat, A Brat, and an Angel

No butterflies today! That is because I did not have to teach a class, but just help out. I started out the day helping with pre-school at the Plains elementary. I pretty much felt like a babysitter playing with the students. Basically having a one on one lesson with the student was really neat. It was fun to watch my pre-school student slowly warm up to me and begin to trust me. These four year old kids were cracking us up. Some of the things they said or did, it was so hard not to giggle or laugh. I liked seeing their little brains working and them trying so hard. I was impressed by my student’s ability to skip, gallop and smoothly move in general. He had this long, blonde, curly hair that would bounce when he moved, it was so cute. We worked together well, until I tied his shoes for him. He got pretty mad when he realized that I had double knotted them. After the next activity I un-double knotted them, and he was happy again. He was well behaved until the very end of the class. He was mad that he did not get to walk behind Jackson down the hallway to the Library. Also, when he was getting a drink it was hard for me to get him to stop and let the rest of the line have a turn. Finally, I squatted down and said, “Spiderman has enough water, he does not need to drink anymore” and Andrew stopped drinking and lined up on the wall.
The afternoon was spent with second graders at the Plains. Even though the first class was not the best listeners, they were not too bad to handle. The last class of the day almost made me want to cry. These kids were crazy. They wanted nothing to do with us and had zero respect for what we said. There were two boys who would not stop talking while Mike was trying to teach. After countless times of glaring at them and getting them to listen, I found myself standing directly between them, so when they turned to chat, they just got a nice view of my shins. I felt like a jerk, but this tactic worked and I liked it. Not too long after, Mike instructed the students to find a partner. After the students matched themselves up, there were two girls left over. The one girl was over weight and did not have much confidence in her abilities, the other I had already noticed that she thought she was the queen of the world. I was standing by the overweight student and walked with her over to find her partner. As we were walking across the gym she told me this was not a good idea. As we approached her partner the snotty girl said, “I can not work with that” with the meanest look in her eye. I was blown away. This girl is in second grade! I was about to tell the brat that the overweight girl could throw and catch just as well as she could. Mid sentence another girl cut me off and said that those two girls don’t get along. The way she said it lead me to believe that in the classroom, they try to keep them separated. I turned to the girl that gave me this information and asked her if she would be partners with the heavy weight girl, and she did with out flinching. It all worked out in a matter of 20 seconds, but I could not believe what had just happened. When I looked at the heavyweight girl after the brat called her “that”, I saw the look on her face and knew she had just been crushed on the inside. I thank God for the nice little girl who did not hesitate to be the heavy girl’s partner. I am in this profession to help students like the heavy girl, I am glad I found her a partner that would keep her moving and involved in the activity, because if she would have gone and sat out, my job becomes pointless.
It is only week three of methods, and I have grown as a teacher and a person more than I could have imagined in such a short amount of time.

Real Lessons and Real Students 4-11-08

“Huge improvement from last week!” That is what Mr. Snider wrote on the back of my evaluation. That comment defiantly put a smile on my face. I had once again gotten myself worked up and nervous about teaching. I was much more confident this time, however the thought of my cooperating teacher thinking my lesson was lame was eating at me. It was my first time teaching a real lesson to real students, and I didn’t want to mess up.
I liked my lesson and was excited about teaching it. Awaiting my turn, I was not as nervous as last week. When it was my turn, the nerves left and I was ready to teach this lesson. The lesson went smoothly and the students seemed to be enjoying the activity I had planned. I made a dice box to use for the activity. I only wanted to number it 1-4, and a rectangular box inconviently has 6 sides. I ended up just making the two ends black and numbering the larger surfaces. I practiced the night before rolling the box so that it only landed on a numbered surface, after about 15 attempts of successful rolling I was confident that it would be just fine to use in class. During the lesson I rolled the dice about 5 or 6 times. On the last time, the box landed on the black, un-numbered surface. Great, what am I supposed to do now? I picked up the dice and told the students that I would roll it again. Well, much to my surprise the dice landed on the black surface again. I then told the class if it landed on black one more time, then everybody would get to give a huge cheer. Not attempting to roll a black, I did. The kids loved it! Something I dreaded happened, and it turned out for the best. The rest of the lesson went just fine, and I could finally breathe again.
I felt pretty good with my class. But now, it was time to find out what Mr. Snider thought about it. Thankfully, he said it was great and that I made a huge improvement from the previous week. The other comment he made was that I have a unique voice, and I use it well. He said that I have a voice we don’t hear everyday, and that is a good thing. Unique voice? The only thing I could think of was that I have an annoying voice and the students pay attention just so they don’t have to hear me repeat myself. Hopefully, that is not the case. Once again I am probably just freaking out for no reason. I am just going to tell myself that Mr. Snider wouldn’t lie, so if he said it was good, then it was good.
In the afternoon I taught the same class of first graders that I taught last week. This week went much better. I did much better waiting on them to shut up and listen to me. Last week, it was so hard to just wait. I wanted to just hurry up, give directions, and get the students moving as fast as I possibly could. I felt uncomfortable that they were not all being quiet and sitting still, so I just talked over them and got things moving. Today I was completely content with standing there looking at them until they were ready to listen.
I am excited about my next teaching assignment and my passion is continuing to grow.

First Day Jitters - 4/4/08

Today ended up being a great day, however, I am completely exhausted. I started out the day with butterflies in my stomach. The butterflies actually started last night before I went to bed, and prevented me from falling asleep for quite some time. Observing 6 classes in the morning calmed my nerves, convincing myself that maybe I could actually pull this off. Then as I drove from Pleasantville to Bremen, the butterflies came back in full force. I knew that once I started teaching everything would be fine and I would be having fun, but that did not stop the feeling in my gut.
Finally, it was my turn to teach. I survived. Everything started out really smoothly, and seeing the kid’s smiling faces really calmed my nerves. They had no idea they were the first real students I ever taught. Good thing! As I transitioned into an activity, I realized I had the biggest class of the day, and there were not enough foam pins for each of the students. Earlier in the day I was told that it is okay to mess up, and have to stop and start over. I am glad I heard that advice, because I might have freaked out otherwise. I just told the students to freeze and we moved onto the next activity. Things went okay for the most part, and I was proud of myself for keeping my composure. The kids seemed to be having lots of fun, and I was as well.
Fall quarter I taught a lesson in PESS205, and confirmed to myself that I had chosen the correct major. After today, there is no doubt in my mind. This is what I want to do, and my passion for it is growing each day.
Even though I am happy that today went smoothly, I am glad it is over. I know the butterflies probably are not over with; however the first day jitters are hopefully gone. Now, I just need to practice, practice, and practice.