Reflection #4

I was absolutely shocked by what happened in “His Name was Michael.” I was in disbelief about the fact that not one person even bothered to check David’s name. My question to the school system is, where did Michael or Miguel even come from? Those names aren’t even close to David. It may have been a mix-up with siblings or middle names, but regardless, someone should have caught on. I feel like stereotypical mistakes such as this one are made frequently, and most of the time can be done without us even being aware of it. My reason behind it occurring so often is because stereotyping comes through in different ways. Students are not only stereotyped by skin color or culture, but by behavior in the classroom and by word of mouth (what other teachers say about these students). For example, if a student had a discipline problem at their previous school, teachers might be warned about them before they have even been given a chance in their new school. On that student’s first day, teachers will already have a pre-conceived idea and stereotype about how this student is going to function in their classroom, and they haven’t even had the opportunity to work with them yet.

I feel that I have done pretty well with my students this semester. The students that I have struggled with the most are the seniors. They are stereotyped as being lazy and just ready to get the rest of the year over with. It has been difficult to get them to put any effort into their work, but I refuse to give up on them. Unlike some teachers that I have noticed being more lenient with the seniors, I am still giving them assignments that are going to push them to the very end. As long as they are in class and I’m teaching, they are not going to miss an opportunity to learn. I think a lot of stereotyping comes from carelessness. Even if we don’t realize it, I think that all of us as teachers have to push past our comfort zones if we ever want to really get to know our students, and without really getting to know our students, they become subject to stereotyping. In “His Name was Michael,” no one cared to try and get to know David, or even to check to make sure that was his real name. I feel like I have been the most successful at overcoming this with one of my freshmen classes. Although it is a lower-performing class and even though there are days that they make me want to pull my hair out, I feel the most attached to this class because I want to see them succeed even though others say they can’t. I’ve heard other teachers put them down, and I can see where their reasons come from, but I feel like the situations that arise in any of their classrooms are not excuses, they are more like opportunities. If we as teachers don’t take those opportunities to try and reach those students on a different level, then they will never succeed. 

Reflection #3

I have mixed feelings about inclusion. A few semesters ago, when I first learned what it was, I was 100% for it. However, after student teaching and seeing a classroom that supports inclusion, I have come to realize that it’s much more difficult to do successfully than I thought.

I still think it is a great idea to put students with learning disabilities in a regular classroom, but if it is not done and handled effectively, then all of the students will end up suffering. In an article called “Less Afraid to Have Them in my Classroom,” Erica McCray and Patricia McHatton discuss the same issue that I have with inclusion. They point out that inclusion is effective, but only when teachers who are skilled in working in an inclusive classroom are present. They say that the argument for this method is “whether or not general education teachers have the necessary skills to scaffold support within their classrooms and whether the system supports collaboration with special educators, other service providers, and families to improve outcomes for all students,” (McCray, 2011). An inclusive classroom is complex and requires work not only from the teacher in the classroom, but from others as well. I don’t think teachers can be expected to just go into a classroom and automatically know how to handle an inclusive classroom. I will be completely honest in saying that this is something I struggle with as I’m student teaching. For example, in one of my classes, I have several students with learning disabilities whom I have to plan with in mind. I don’t want to hold the other students back by lowering the bar, but they have a very difficult time keeping up with what we are going over. It helps to have my cooperating teacher there to assist them individually when I cannot, but in my future classroom, if I don’t have a cooperating teacher (which I more than likely won’t), then I am going to have to plan ways to meet the needs of all of my students without anyone getting left behind or bored. I know I can do it, but I do not have the training to do it successfully. Secondary teachers don’t take a special education class or a class that teaches a lot about inclusion. It’s been touched on, but not skillfully taught.

For now, I’m doing the best I can with my inclusive classes, but I know there is definitely room for improvement. As far as the STAAR test goes, I agree with the Time article “How to Fix No Child Left Behind,” when it states, “a more flexible measure of student improvement know as the growth model” should be used in schools, rather than the same standardized test used for each student (Wallis, 2007). This growth model “track[s] the progress of each student year to year. Success is defined by a certain amount of growth, even if the student isn’t on grade level,” (Wallis, 2007). This approach would work so much better for students in an inclusive classroom. One student of mine in particular really struggles with writing. She has difficulty focusing and can barely finish an essay within an hour, and that is only if someone is sitting beside her helping her. It is unfair to put a time limit on a test, expecting a student like her to complete not one, but three essays. She, along with other students, are not on grade level, but they are making progress.

McCray, Erica D. & McHatton, Patricia A. (2011). Less Afraid to Have Them in My Classroom: Understanding Pre-Service General Educators’ Perceptions About Inclusion. Teacher Education Quarterly, 38(4), 135-155. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=EJ960622

Wallis, Claudia & Steptoe, Sonja. (2007, May 24). How to Fix No Child Left Behind. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1625192,00.html

Success Journal Reflection

       After looking over my reflections from this past week, I see how everything is connected in one way or another when it comes to working with and teaching students. In order to have a good connection with my students, I have to show them that I am not a pushover and that I am here to help them. In order to show them I'm not a pushover, I have to set high expectations and stick to them. By setting high expectations, I can plan and integrate lessons that show students how awesome English really is. One thing cannot be without the other. Through this reflection, I realize now how important it is to give 110% in every aspect of teaching. Being a good teacher isn't determined by how well I know my content, and it's certainly not by trying to make students like me. It is a balance of everything. I know that once I'm running my own classroom, this may be easier said than done. It is definitely going to take a lot of work, but now that I know exactly what I have to do to become the best teacher that I can be, I am ready to take on that challenge.

       There are many things that I think I still need to improve on. I am no where close to perfect, and I probably will not be close to perfect any time soon. I think teaching is a growing experience, no matter how many years you've been in the classroom. Things can always be better. One thing for sure that I know I need to work on is structure in the class, or a routine. I have been trying to do different things to get students into a routine, but they aren't quite catching on yet. Another thing I need to improve on is having back-up plans. There are days when things don't always go according to plan, and sometimes I have to step back for a few minutes to figure out what's not working and how to fix it. I think for instances like that, class my go a little smoother if I had a back-up for something not going right ahead of time.

Success Journal 5 - 3/22

Today I found that I am successful at keeping my "sleepy" students' attention. By "sleepy," I am referring to students who like to put their head down and sleep as soon as they hear what we're doing for the day. In the senior class, we are reading "The Importance of Being Earnest," and I decided to have students circle up to read instead of staying in rows. The change in seating helped a lot. After reading certain sections of the play, I decided to call on students individually rather than asking the class as a whole to answer my questions about the reading. It was actually kind of humorous. When I called on the first student, they had this look of shock on their face. This particular student hardly ever participates in class discussion, so when I asked them a question, they all of a sudden realized that they should be paying attention. I think that calling on students individually during class is a great way to get more students engaged in what they're reading. Not only are they more attentive, but calling on them individually shows that I, as a teacher, care that they are involved and learning. After I asked that first student, it was neat to see the way the atmosphere in the room quickly changed. All of a sudden, everyone began sitting up straighter in their chairs, and reading then rereading the play more carefully. All in all, it was a successful lesson.

Success Journal 4 - 3/21

Something I think I do well is setting high expectations and challenging students to do their absolute best on their work. They have a book talk/presentation due tomorrow, so today some of my students asked me for advice or help with what they wanted to do. One girl is planning on making a book cover to represent her book. She wanted to know if she could just print out a picture of what she wanted and tape it to the "book cover" because she couldn't draw very well. I asked her what kind of grade she would give herself and if that method would be the best. Of course she said no, but she kept stressing the fact that she couldn't draw well. I called her over to the computer with me and asked her to print out a picture she wanted. When she did, I taught her how to transfer the picture to another piece of paper by coloring the back and essentially tracing it. The whole process took about 5 min. When she was done, she came over to me and said, "Wow! I am really impressed by this! It looks so nice. Miss Hirt, I'm like really impressed with myself." I just laughed and told her that I knew she could do it and that she should never settle for anything less than awesome. She ended up showing everyone in class what she had done and seemed very excited to finish it later.

Success Journal 3 - 3/20

Today was great! The job fair this morning was a success in itself. I had so much fun and got to meet some great people. I think I could have been a little more prepared as far as I what I wanted to say, but it was a learning experience, and the positive feedback I got from the districts has really boosted my confidence. I can't wait for the next one. Something I realized today is that I have a really good connection with my students. When I walked into class today after coming back from the job fair, they all said "Miss Hirt! You're here!" It was nice to have a greeting like that. They were so interested in where I was and why, why I was wearing a suit, how I did, who I talked to, what happened, etc, etc.

Success Journal 2 - 3/19

One thing that my amazing cooperating teacher has taught me this semester is to stand my ground when confronting, or being confronted by, a student about an issue. It has been hard to do, but I've come to realize how important it is. Not every day is perfect, and sometimes I just have to stick to what I believe and not let students run over me. Today was a day where I faced that challenge. Progress reports got passed out today and a student confronted us about a 0 they received as a participation grade. They said they "didn't remember" what day that was and tried arguing about how they were sure that they had been doing their work that day (no, they definitely did not). As I listened to the excuses, I kept in mind to stay strong and not just say "okay, okay." I know that the student was upset, but I was proud of myself for not compromising my authority and giving into their complaint. I of course feel bad for the student. It makes me sad to see them upset, but in the end, I know I did the right thing.