Pathways Part 2

Reading Pathways to the Common Core always forces me to think about what I am currently doing in my classroom. Although there are several times where I question what I am doing this book allows me to realize I am really not that far off from what my students need in order to be challenged. I often times get frustrated when we have assignments that are focused around teaching reading or writing but what I quickly notice is that even though I am not technically the reading or writing teacher I too in a sense am teaching these same standards. On page 105 it states “…writing is expected to be woven into math, social studies, science, gym, and music, then presumably a good deal of the explanatory and informational writing will occur in science (lab reports), in math, (math journals reflecting on the students’ process)…” This goes to prove that what my students are writing for math and science is just as importance as what they are writing for reading and writing class and I should be holding them to the same expectations as any reading or writing teacher would for an assignment. When I read that “ one realizes this especially when seeing that the sample texts included in the appendix are meant to illustrate not the work that strong writers occasionally produce, but the work that all students should be expected to produce-and to produce regularly, with independence.” (page 107) I realized that I am just as responsible for their improvements as writers as my team teacher and that I need to make sure I am holding them to the same type of standards she is. Reading and writing are everywhere in the world, you must be a good reader and writer to be successful, even the engineers and scientists have to be good readers and writers. My students need to "write routinely" and make writing a habit (pg. 105). 

Since I am not technically a writing teacher, and even if I was I don't know this would change, but I think it is very confusing to a lot of teachers on how writing should be taught. Page 111 states “what is not clear is what, exactly, it means to teach writing.” I understand the writing process and what that entails but what does it mean to actually teach writing? I talk to my students about writing the scientific process and writing arguments to prove that your answer is correct, all forms of writing, but am I actually teaching them what it means to be a writer? I suppose I am but to be honest I am not totally sure what those lessons should look like. The idea that all grades should be continuously working on the same standards I think is wonderful. It provides the students with some consistency and we as teachers are able to watch them grow throughout the years. As a STEM teacher I really appreciate the fact that they are putting a greater emphasis on writing that is not just simply narrative. Page 127 states “ there is a push for logical reasoning, analysis of claims, and reliance on clear evidence and evaluation of sources throughout the grades.” This is the type of writing we do in my classroom and I can honestly say it is a type of writing that students do not often feel comfortable with and are typically fairly unfamiliar with. The idea of proving something through their writing or explaining why through their writing, especially in a math or science class, seems odd to them. This helps me understand why.  When I read on page 152 “The problem may be, then, not a writing problem, but that the students don’t know enough about what they are writing about. You can teach students to use writing to extend their learning.” This really made me think. Content area writing can be challenging, especially if the students don't have an understanding of the content they are supposed to be writing about. 

Collaboration is one of the best things you can do as a teacher to improve your practice. Although I can't sit here and say that I always do the best job of collaborating on things, I can sit here and say I know that it has HUGE benefits not only to our practice as teachers but to the success of our students. Pathways helped to prove just that.  Using other teachers at my school who are not only in my grade level but who teach different subjects and different grades would really help me understand where my students are coming from and where they need to go.  “Collect student work as exemplars, and study those within and across grades, so that you can monitor your student’s progress and scaffold them into writing higher-level texts." (page 122) The idea of doing this I think would change things drastically for us at my school. I don't feel as though teachers have a true understanding of what the expectations are at other grade levels or even what some of the expectations are throughout different disciplines within the same grade. I did a lot of reflecting on my grade level team and our practices seeing as how we are departmentalized when I read “Finally when working with informational writing, it is important to plan not only up and down the grades, but also across all the disciplines within a grade.” (page 159) To truly understand what my students need to be able to write about in math and science I need to have a true understanding of what the reading and writing standards are expecting them to do, the same goes for the reading and writing teachers when they are expecting the students to do informational writing in their rooms. Collaboration is key to success here and I am determined now to go back to my team and my school and make sure we improve in this area. The only way we can make sure we are all on the same page is to collaborate and “It will also be important for teachers across a grade level to be transparent about the progress their students do and do not make.” (page 123) This way all teachers can have a CLEAR understanding of where students are coming from and who is and who isn't meeting those expectations. We can then work together as a TEAM to help ALL students be the best they can be in ALL content areas!

March Madness

I feel like this has truly been march madness. So many different things have happened this month that as I look back and read my reflections I feel like I am constantly swaying from high to low. Although everything has ultimately worked out okay I suppose it has still been a whirlwind of events during a very stressful time of year. I am proud of my students, and myself for that matter, for really honing in on praising one another and keeping things positive in the classroom. This is not to say that we don’t need more work in this area but I realize that consistency is going to be key here and I am happy my students are making sure they hold me to that. I am also really happy that parent relationships are feeling more positive than negative and that we are working more as a team rather than thinking we are against each other. I know this is something that as everything I can continue to improve on but I am hopeful things are finally on the right track. I do realize that anger management has become an issue for some of my students more recently than before and although I am not totally sure of the cause I know it is an area I really need to focus on. Seeing as how I too personally had a very bad month I understand the mood swings and difficulty staying focused when you have so many other things going on in the back of your mind.

I feel as though I have tried to be very responsive to the types of things I am seeing. I have focused in on a few specific students who have drastically made a difference this past month and want to make sure that I don’t give up on them now. It is easy to focus on myself during this time with all of the stress of grad school, teaching, testing, etc. but I need to remember that my students are feeling the same pressure in the classroom when it comes to completing assignments, rushing through standards and making sure they are reviewing for what “we” have determined to be the five most important tests of their life (at least for now). By giving up my personal lunch time to spend extra time getting to know my students and being there to support them and by reaching out to parents who I know think I am out to get their child I feel as though I have been able to turn the negatives into positives at least to some extent. But again this has been march madness so who knows what is in store for the future.

I have really been trying to revisit the ideas found in Conscious Discipline this month especially with those specific students who I feel as though are seeking extra attention. Reminding myself of STAR (more for me personally than anything) and the idea of positive intent and choice has been on the forefront of my mind when it comes to relating to my students and thinking about my expectations and their reactions. I know that the end of the year is near and that everyone is stressed and on edge so I think it is more important now than ever to think back to all of the great lessons I have learned from the book.

I realize that teaching my students is about knowing my students and being able to celebrate with them all the time. Without celebrating their successes it is hard to push through their not so successful days (this goes for me as well as for them). I also realize that we need to work together as a team. I need to help them and they need to help me, we are in this together and we need to be there to support one another and to help each other when things get tough.

I want to continue to make sure I focus in on the positive things and the celebrations that my students deserve. I know that consistency is a weakness of mine so this is going to be harder than it sounds but I also know that it is important to do. I also know that the more positive I can stay, the more positive my students can stay and ultimately that will be a great example for those struggling with anger related to different topics. It has without a doubt been a month of madness but I know that April is going to be stronger because of it! 

Dialogue - what is it?

While reading chapter 3 and 4 I found myself becoming very reflective and slightly judgmental of myself and my teaching practices. On page 88 Freire states "Hence, dialogue cannot occur between those who want to name the world and those who do not wish this naming—between those who deny others the right to speak their word and those whose right to speak has been denied them." Talking, speaking, standing up for yourself, are all things that I admire about people. I am a big believer in using word of mouth to express how you are feeling, it is difficult to understand someone or something without speaking with them or at least listening to them. I have noticed that I by far always have the loudest class on the hallway - most classrooms are full of students sitting quietly in their seats working on independent work whereas my students are constantly communicating with one another. I sometimes struggle with this because I wonder if I am doing the right thing or just simply not in control of my class but then I realize that I am providing my students an opportunity to speak with one another. They are often times discussing articles they have read, math problems they are stumped on, or communicating their feelings to one another. They are discussing the world around them. All of these things I think are extremely important and who am I as a teacher to prohibit such things from occurring in my classroom where I want students to educate each other and communicate with each other?

One thing I have found myself doing lately in an attempt to feel as though I have some control in my classroom is trying to silence students when confusion comes up about a problem. With the CRCT quickly approaching and because of all of the snow days I am behind in my curriculum and stressing over trying to make sure I at least expose them to everything. This has caused us to go much fast through our standards than previously and has definitely caused me to have less time to go in depth with each standard. I realize that when students begin to say "I don't get it" my first reaction is to say ok sit and listen but as I read Freire I realize that maybe I should be the one listening to them. Freire states on page 90 "Only dialogue, which requires critical thinking, is also capable of generating critical thinking. Without dialogue there is no communication, and without communication there can be no true education. Education which is able to resolve the contradiction between teacher and student takes place in a situation in which both address their act of cognition to the object by which they are mediated." I try to focus on the why and when I ask students their answers I have them explain to me how they came up with that answer and how they know they are right. I hope that this helps to improve their critical thinking skills. One concern I have though is that critical thinking is not being taught across the board and therefor it makes it very challenging for our students to think critically about something because they are just so used to having the answers told to them (much like I have recently been doing during this stressful time.) I realize that in order for my students to educate themselves they must think critically and I must listen. I often times tell my students that I do not know everything and that they do, I feel as though this helps them realize that learning doesn't mean sitting there listening to everything the teacher tells you all day, it means taking ownership over your thoughts and problems and making something out of them.

As I think about cultural action and reflect on my community both within the school and within the classroom I think about Freire's quote on page 133 "When cultural action, as a totalized and totalizing process, approaches an entire community and not merely its leaders, the opposite process occurs. Either the former leaders grow along with everyone else, or they are replaced by new leaders who emerge as a result of the new social consciousness of the community." Growth in communities is a tricky thing, especially when people are trying to oppressor others or are even unknowingly being oppressors. When I think about my school and the education system I realize that there are a lot of things that are not passed down information wise from the top to those who are "at the bottom." I would like to think that it is not because they are trying to be oppressors but it does create for a tense, frustrated culture at the school. Teachers often times feel as though they are left out of the loop or being forced to do things without an understanding of why behind it. I realize that I need to be careful of this same type of thing in my classroom with my students as well. They need to understand the why and they need to be kept in the loop so things make sense to them and to keep the culture one that is open and positive among everyone.

Fabulous February

I realize as I look back over the past month I celebrated a lot of amazing things with my students. This month really gave us an opportunity to dive deep into standards and really work on projects and understanding rather than assessments and memorization. As I have read Pathways to the Common Core I realized that it is important to focus on the understanding and the implementation of standards rather than the simple memorization of what students need to do. I really feel like this month I was able to implement standards in my room through geometry projects, iPad presentations, creating musical instruments, and because of all of this, seeing my students take pride in their tests because they know that they know and UNDERSTAND this information. I word that I saw come up over and over again as I read back through my reflections is proud, I was truly proud of my students this month in their dedication, and admiration towards their work. I do however realize that control is something I need to work on. I need to be okay with things that are outside of my locus of control and realize and be okay with the idea that I can’t control everything. I can be proud of my students and provide them with opportunities to be proud of themselves but I can’t control others around the school.

I realize the importance of showing my students how proud I am of them, I realize the importance of explaining to my students the importance of our assignments are learning paths and I realize the importance of making sure they understand the meaning behind things and that they aren’t just memorizing things. I realize the importance of making sure my students are given opportunities to partake in lessons that are engaging, hands-on, active learning lessons where they can use the content around them, their backgrounds, and merge it with the new information being presented to the.

I have done a lot of thinking from our critical pedagogy class on what it means to be an oppressor in the classroom and what it means to not partake in the banking theory. I realize that I do not want to be a teacher that is constantly oppressing students but I want to be a teacher that allows them to use who they are to make connections with the standards. I want them to feel comfortable, safe, and proud in our classroom and in their work. I realize that there  is more than one way to arrive at answers and there is more than one way to decide if someone has an understanding of material, this is the type of classroom I have tried to implement this month.

I realize that teaching my students is about knowing my students. I feel like this is something I have always known but it is so easy to get caught up in what everyone else around the school is telling you, or asking you, or even making you do. It is easy to forget that your students are actually the ones that come first, they are the ones that matter, and they are the ones that every lesson, every idea, every day, should be revolving around. They are the reason I teach, they are the reason I am here so it only makes sense that whatever I do should revolve around what is best for them.

I want to continue to make sure I realize what I can and can’t control and to make sure I understand what this looks like inside the classroom. I want to ensure that the types of learning opportunities that I provide for my students are meaningful and exciting to them, not necessarily to me or administration or our grade level chair. I want to make sure that I continue to teach my students what it means to have control over themselves and the power that comes with that. I want to make sure my classroom is my student’s classroom and my lessons are my student’s lessons!