So, for the past month, I've had a clinical student from Luther College. I was pretty excited for it, even though I knew that this time of year my schedule is so messed up (field trips, holidays, ending a semester and beginning a new one). So, since this was her first real experience in a French class, I thought I'd have her start by observing, then teach a few classes where she could watch me teach them first, and then if she wanted, she could plan a teach a lesson.
For the first time, I started to think of myself as a veteran teacher! It shocks me-I'm not the "new kid" anymore! I felt like I had something to share with her, and in turn it has helped me feel validated when I especially needed it.
It's honestly been pretty difficult to have someone else start your classroom and you come in 3 months into it. I'm so thankful for the time I had off, but I never felt a connection with the students, and honestly, there were some habits developed that were kind of annoying :)
Anyway, watching the clinical student teach this lesson was a really good way/time to reflect on myself. I have learned so much over the years! I can think of good things about what I do that I'm proud of.
But, I also have been kind of in a rut. With so much going on in my life, as well as the constant schedule changing, I have been lazy. I have been living with the status quo, because it works. But I think I might be getting a little bored with the same ol'. Something I deifnitely need to work on.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Yikes
Sometimes I underestimate the affect I may or may not have on students. I just got a new class of 8th graders, and there is a boy in that class who I find to be particularly funny. We were playing a review game in class, and when the game was over, someone said, "Les bonbons, Madame??" (Candy?)
I laughed and told them no and this boy said, "You can't ask that! If you ask that she gets mad!"
This totally boggled my mind because, well, I don't actually get mad very often and I can't remember I time that I've yelled recently, and this class is brand new.
So I said, "What do you mean? How do you know that?" (because, honestly, I give out candy every once in a while, and if they ask, then I definitely do NOT give it out).
He said, "I asked for bonbons once in 6th grade and you got mad. You were my first applied ever in middle school."
It just kind of hit me-this kid remembers this 3 years later? Seriously? I mean, he still chose French, so he must have had good memories, too, but it's humbling to think that one bad day or outburst or whatever you call it can stick with a kid!
Yikes!!!
I laughed and told them no and this boy said, "You can't ask that! If you ask that she gets mad!"
This totally boggled my mind because, well, I don't actually get mad very often and I can't remember I time that I've yelled recently, and this class is brand new.
So I said, "What do you mean? How do you know that?" (because, honestly, I give out candy every once in a while, and if they ask, then I definitely do NOT give it out).
He said, "I asked for bonbons once in 6th grade and you got mad. You were my first applied ever in middle school."
It just kind of hit me-this kid remembers this 3 years later? Seriously? I mean, he still chose French, so he must have had good memories, too, but it's humbling to think that one bad day or outburst or whatever you call it can stick with a kid!
Yikes!!!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
A little goes a long way
So, the other day a 6th grade boy came in carrying a sketch pad. On it, he had a pencil drawing of a car (a Mustang, maybe? I didn't really know) and so I asked to see it. He showed me, and smiled, and told me a little about it.
The next time he had class, he came in, carrying the sketch pad, open this time, and he had added more to the drawing (shading, and background). He stood in front of me, holding the sketchpad just so in order for me to notice it. So, I did, and commented, and said that I liked Mustangs. Perhaps it was a little lie, because I don't really care about cars.
Well, next class, he brought me in an article he had printed about Mustangs. And I noticed he had written
To: Mrs. Wopat
From: M
on the picture. Only he didn't give it to me.
He still carries his sketch pad to class every day. I'm not sure if i should say, "Hey! It says my name on it-is it for me?"
I wonder if he's nervous? If he thinks I won't like it?
It is just a reminder to me of how far one little thing-my comment that I liked his picture-can go. It also reminds me just how much importance some (most?) kids put on your words. It makes me think that one sarcastic/joking comment can impact a kids entire day (week?). They remember things you say. They want you to compliment them. They hope you like their drawings. They look for your acceptance.
I get frustrated sometimes....
"Seriously? No pencil? Are you kidding me?"
(I'm sure they're certainly not kidding)
"What grade did you really think you would get on this test?"
(I'm sure they knew they needed the help)
Those are just two from this week that I regret. That I can't take back after I've said them, but I can apologize. I can try to fix it.
Last story.
7th grade boy. Failing French when I got back from leave. Kept pushing him to study during class. Don't know much about him.
Today was the assessment. He comes up. Seriously, he started talking for the assessment and he was just speaking gibberish. Total gobblygook. I was so perplexed. So I just said, "Look. You know you can re-do anything. Let's study together."
Then after he sat down, I thought of something. So I called him back up.
"Who is your advisor? Who is your academy teacher?"
Then, "Do you ever See Mrs. Hanson, or Mrs. Crogan?"
Yep, Mrs. Hanson is my teacher.
Sinking feeling. Should've been getting accomodations! How did I miss this?
I show him the assessment with a word bank. He WHIZZES through it. I mean, seriously-he got an A+ while using the word bank.
A little goes a LONG WAY!
The next time he had class, he came in, carrying the sketch pad, open this time, and he had added more to the drawing (shading, and background). He stood in front of me, holding the sketchpad just so in order for me to notice it. So, I did, and commented, and said that I liked Mustangs. Perhaps it was a little lie, because I don't really care about cars.
Well, next class, he brought me in an article he had printed about Mustangs. And I noticed he had written
To: Mrs. Wopat
From: M
on the picture. Only he didn't give it to me.
He still carries his sketch pad to class every day. I'm not sure if i should say, "Hey! It says my name on it-is it for me?"
I wonder if he's nervous? If he thinks I won't like it?
It is just a reminder to me of how far one little thing-my comment that I liked his picture-can go. It also reminds me just how much importance some (most?) kids put on your words. It makes me think that one sarcastic/joking comment can impact a kids entire day (week?). They remember things you say. They want you to compliment them. They hope you like their drawings. They look for your acceptance.
I get frustrated sometimes....
"Seriously? No pencil? Are you kidding me?"
(I'm sure they're certainly not kidding)
"What grade did you really think you would get on this test?"
(I'm sure they knew they needed the help)
Those are just two from this week that I regret. That I can't take back after I've said them, but I can apologize. I can try to fix it.
Last story.
7th grade boy. Failing French when I got back from leave. Kept pushing him to study during class. Don't know much about him.
Today was the assessment. He comes up. Seriously, he started talking for the assessment and he was just speaking gibberish. Total gobblygook. I was so perplexed. So I just said, "Look. You know you can re-do anything. Let's study together."
Then after he sat down, I thought of something. So I called him back up.
"Who is your advisor? Who is your academy teacher?"
Then, "Do you ever See Mrs. Hanson, or Mrs. Crogan?"
Yep, Mrs. Hanson is my teacher.
Sinking feeling. Should've been getting accomodations! How did I miss this?
I show him the assessment with a word bank. He WHIZZES through it. I mean, seriously-he got an A+ while using the word bank.
A little goes a LONG WAY!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Coming Back
So, I'm back from maternity leave. So much has happened in just 12 days of school for me, so I think I will make a list of highlights for now:
1. Having students tell me they missed me
2. Having students tell me they are learning now! (not a slight against my sub; she's great-just that it makes me feel effective)
3. Being asked to be the "celebrity" guest at the adaptive phy ed class. I played baseball with a giant bouncy ball and a tennis racket. I was not so good.
4. Singing
5. Laughing
6. Being surprised by some of the positive attitudes of certain staff members!
7. Finding it quite easy to get back in the swing of things
8. Already feeling like I was never gone (the good parts of that-feeling comfortable, feeling respect from the kids).
9. PBIS, 'nuff said.
10. It's sort of fun to not be "burnt out" at this time of year. It's the hardest time, in winter before the holidays, and so it's fun to have just started because I have a little more patience than normal during this time
11. Seeing how much the kids have grown since I saw them last!
12. Although I will never be the same, it's nice to be back without being in those nasty initial grief stages, not be pregnant and racked with anxiety, and not even trying to be pregnant, and have basicially a calm on all family fronts. I'm still distracted by the thought of my beauty at home, but it's a nice thought instead of the rest.
13. Although I have a lot to learn, I like Infinite Campus so far!
And the lowlights:
1. Having SO MANY kids. Seriously. This almost counters all my highlights :(
2. Having kids every other day. This schedule is HARD. I don't know who is coming or going. I have a hard time keeping 4 classes on the same track. I don't know how I'm going to grade them. I feel like when I don't have a class from Friday until Tuesday, I have to completely reteach the content-reviewing has become so much more important and time consuming.
3. Feeling like I have no clue about certain things-obviously this can't be helped, but sometimes I get SO confused!
4. Some classes have developed some (bad?) habits that I'm not used and have to work hard to re-direct.
5. Feeling like I haven't a good grasp on how the kids were graded.
6. I'm not feeling at ALL connected to my advisory. I struggle with that-it's always been one of my favorite classes and not being around for the get to know you stage is HARD!
7. I am TIRED!
8. I miss my baby girl so, so much.
1. Having students tell me they missed me
2. Having students tell me they are learning now! (not a slight against my sub; she's great-just that it makes me feel effective)
3. Being asked to be the "celebrity" guest at the adaptive phy ed class. I played baseball with a giant bouncy ball and a tennis racket. I was not so good.
4. Singing
5. Laughing
6. Being surprised by some of the positive attitudes of certain staff members!
7. Finding it quite easy to get back in the swing of things
8. Already feeling like I was never gone (the good parts of that-feeling comfortable, feeling respect from the kids).
9. PBIS, 'nuff said.
10. It's sort of fun to not be "burnt out" at this time of year. It's the hardest time, in winter before the holidays, and so it's fun to have just started because I have a little more patience than normal during this time
11. Seeing how much the kids have grown since I saw them last!
12. Although I will never be the same, it's nice to be back without being in those nasty initial grief stages, not be pregnant and racked with anxiety, and not even trying to be pregnant, and have basicially a calm on all family fronts. I'm still distracted by the thought of my beauty at home, but it's a nice thought instead of the rest.
13. Although I have a lot to learn, I like Infinite Campus so far!
And the lowlights:
1. Having SO MANY kids. Seriously. This almost counters all my highlights :(
2. Having kids every other day. This schedule is HARD. I don't know who is coming or going. I have a hard time keeping 4 classes on the same track. I don't know how I'm going to grade them. I feel like when I don't have a class from Friday until Tuesday, I have to completely reteach the content-reviewing has become so much more important and time consuming.
3. Feeling like I have no clue about certain things-obviously this can't be helped, but sometimes I get SO confused!
4. Some classes have developed some (bad?) habits that I'm not used and have to work hard to re-direct.
5. Feeling like I haven't a good grasp on how the kids were graded.
6. I'm not feeling at ALL connected to my advisory. I struggle with that-it's always been one of my favorite classes and not being around for the get to know you stage is HARD!
7. I am TIRED!
8. I miss my baby girl so, so much.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Goals
My goal for this year is not being met (nor will it, I'm afraid). My original goal was to get all my assessments recorded and online. The problem is I have re-do my whole scope and sequence because of the middle school schedule change, on top of the fact that us going through as a department and doing our ELOs is prompting us to re-do some of our assessments.
So, as everything changes, it doesn't make sense to get these assessments done. On top of it, I've only done the first two more than once this year to know if they work since my classes got changed to 5 weeks.
I am really, really struggling with the 5 week thing. I'm feeling more than burnt-out. Like, for example, I feel like if I teach the alphabet one more time, I am going to bang my head against the wall! And the problem is that I would just go ahead and switch that and teach something else, but it's more beneficial for the kids to all go into 7th grade knowing the same thing (well, except for the random kids that had 14 weeks of it).
I feel like such a disaster going into next year. I have no idea how I'm going to split up classes, and I have no clue what I should do when I get kids that have variable amounts of French. I know they can always use review, but that's only to a certain extent. And the weirdest part is that, hopefully, I will be on maternity leave at the beginning of the year, so I'll have a sub navigating through the first time changing to every-other-day classes as well as this first time seeing what will take 9 weeks.
I guess I know I can't worry about it too much, but honestly-what happens in the beginning could make or break the year for me. I care so much about the students and what they're getting and I know I've said this before, but I don't feel like this is going to be a good fit for me. I pride myself on the good rapport I have with students and I just can't see that happening with over 300 kids every other day. It is really not a good spot in my life to switch jobs or even content areas, but I'm nervous. Nervous about the stress, about the toll it will take on me, nervous about whether or not I'll be able to handle it. Only time will tell, I guess!
So, as everything changes, it doesn't make sense to get these assessments done. On top of it, I've only done the first two more than once this year to know if they work since my classes got changed to 5 weeks.
I am really, really struggling with the 5 week thing. I'm feeling more than burnt-out. Like, for example, I feel like if I teach the alphabet one more time, I am going to bang my head against the wall! And the problem is that I would just go ahead and switch that and teach something else, but it's more beneficial for the kids to all go into 7th grade knowing the same thing (well, except for the random kids that had 14 weeks of it).
I feel like such a disaster going into next year. I have no idea how I'm going to split up classes, and I have no clue what I should do when I get kids that have variable amounts of French. I know they can always use review, but that's only to a certain extent. And the weirdest part is that, hopefully, I will be on maternity leave at the beginning of the year, so I'll have a sub navigating through the first time changing to every-other-day classes as well as this first time seeing what will take 9 weeks.
I guess I know I can't worry about it too much, but honestly-what happens in the beginning could make or break the year for me. I care so much about the students and what they're getting and I know I've said this before, but I don't feel like this is going to be a good fit for me. I pride myself on the good rapport I have with students and I just can't see that happening with over 300 kids every other day. It is really not a good spot in my life to switch jobs or even content areas, but I'm nervous. Nervous about the stress, about the toll it will take on me, nervous about whether or not I'll be able to handle it. Only time will tell, I guess!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
A First.
So, I got new 6th graders this week.
I start off the first day of French class the same way each time.
I have a discussion in the beginning about what they need to bring, do, and the one rule in my classroom that no other classroom has (no English!).
I also tell them WHY I do this, so they don't think it's just for something to do.
I also usually ask them to tell me what they've already heard about French class. I've been doing this for 6 years. Always, I get kids who raise their hands and say "I heard it's fun!" "I heard you play with barbies" "I heard you tell funny stories"
Now, I'm sure that other kids have heard other things, I get that. I teach hundreds of kids each year and I'm not delusional to think that every kid loves French class.
But no one is going to say that to me.
So I thought.
So this girl in the back raises her hand and says, "I've heard from a LOT of kids that it is stupid and dumb."
I was dumbfounded. She was SO snotty in how she said it. And I felt my face burn red and that burning feeling inside.
After school that day a colleague came up to me at a staff meeting and said, "Christy-I just have to tell you. In advisory this morning, I was telling kids what applieds they were changing to and everytime I told someone they had French, they were like, "Oh, you're going to love it! It's so fun!"
I was sooooo thankful for that.
And then the next day came and I saw that girl come in and I was all mad all over again.
So we had normal class and I ended two minutes early, like I typically do in the beginning, to debrief. I asked them how it was going-anything I could do better?
Some kids raised their hand and said it was easier than they thought it would.
That girl raised her hand and I was actually hesitant to call on her-namely because I thought perhaps she was a little disrespectful, ya know? So she says, "I think this is so fun. I'm so glad I have French right now and I already know I'm going to take it next year."
Um.
What?
Seriously.
I start off the first day of French class the same way each time.
I have a discussion in the beginning about what they need to bring, do, and the one rule in my classroom that no other classroom has (no English!).
I also tell them WHY I do this, so they don't think it's just for something to do.
I also usually ask them to tell me what they've already heard about French class. I've been doing this for 6 years. Always, I get kids who raise their hands and say "I heard it's fun!" "I heard you play with barbies" "I heard you tell funny stories"
Now, I'm sure that other kids have heard other things, I get that. I teach hundreds of kids each year and I'm not delusional to think that every kid loves French class.
But no one is going to say that to me.
So I thought.
So this girl in the back raises her hand and says, "I've heard from a LOT of kids that it is stupid and dumb."
I was dumbfounded. She was SO snotty in how she said it. And I felt my face burn red and that burning feeling inside.
After school that day a colleague came up to me at a staff meeting and said, "Christy-I just have to tell you. In advisory this morning, I was telling kids what applieds they were changing to and everytime I told someone they had French, they were like, "Oh, you're going to love it! It's so fun!"
I was sooooo thankful for that.
And then the next day came and I saw that girl come in and I was all mad all over again.
So we had normal class and I ended two minutes early, like I typically do in the beginning, to debrief. I asked them how it was going-anything I could do better?
Some kids raised their hand and said it was easier than they thought it would.
That girl raised her hand and I was actually hesitant to call on her-namely because I thought perhaps she was a little disrespectful, ya know? So she says, "I think this is so fun. I'm so glad I have French right now and I already know I'm going to take it next year."
Um.
What?
Seriously.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Placement Test
Today after school the first group of 8th graders took their French placement test. This test would qualify them to jump to French 2 in the high school instead of French 1. It is an amazing opportunity for them!
The 2 high school teachers came over to help me administer the test because of the speaking/questioning part. I could never finish on my own! It went really well. Tonight we had 14 kids. 10 of them passed! This is amazing.
There's something so fulfulling about seeing them succeed. About knowing that I had a hand in it, too :) And knowing that what I teach to them is somehow sinking in!
They are so excited about French. It makes me feel pretty amazing. And proud. And humbled. And excited!
The 2 high school teachers came over to help me administer the test because of the speaking/questioning part. I could never finish on my own! It went really well. Tonight we had 14 kids. 10 of them passed! This is amazing.
There's something so fulfulling about seeing them succeed. About knowing that I had a hand in it, too :) And knowing that what I teach to them is somehow sinking in!
They are so excited about French. It makes me feel pretty amazing. And proud. And humbled. And excited!
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