It's not over yet, but I'm feeling the pressure lifted and excited to be almost finished! I have one more week at Poudre High School, and then I start teaching summer school at Front Range Community College. Then, I have Summer Institute for Poudre School District for the job at Rocky Mountain High School. Then, I get to take a break for a while and just teach summer school. I'm so excited about having my summer (life) back. I'm looking forward to spending time with my family and working out and working in the garden. I don't think I'm going to have time to do everything I want to do, but I hope to make a good dent in it all.
Focusing more on the present, though, I had really great classes this week. Everyone worked on their final business plans, and we reviewed for the Final Exam, which will happen on Monday and Tuesday of next week. The final business plans are looking good, and I'm all caught up on my grading. (Grades are turned in at FRCC, by the way.) The Jeopardy game in Entrepreneurship 5th Hour for the review went over very well. I was excited to see so many people engaged.
Showing posts with label Student Teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Student Teaching. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
17th Week - Final Evaluation and Moving on...
We completed my final evaluation this week, and it turned out very well! I made an "A" in my student teaching experience, with which I am very happy. Mr. Long seems to be happy with the results as well.
Anyhow, I had an interview at Mountain View High School with both Mountain View High School and Thompson Valley High School. The Principals were both there and the heads of the business departments. The interview didn't go as well as I would have liked, but it didn't seem like a good fit anyway. The high schools at Thompson Valley School District are changing their schedules to a full class schedule on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday with block days on Wednesday and Thursday. I wasn't very excited about going back and forth between the two schools throughout the year. I really wanted to be in a place and stay there. The interview itself was very stuffy as well. I didn't get a very good vibe from it. I didn't get the job, and that's okay.
I was called later in the week from Rocky Mountain High School's assistant principal, and we set up an interview for Friday of last week. This interview was fun. It was relaxing, and the questions weren't stuffy or difficult to answer. It was more of a "getting-to-know-you" session, and I really liked all the people there. Long story short, it seemed like a good fit. The drawback is that it is only a semester job. They don't know if this job will turn into more than one semester or not. They won't know until October if the job will open up for the following semester.
At Front Range Community College, I finished up the Spring semester with my two classes taking finals and completing their projects. Now, to finish grades and write my lessons learned from the semester. It was a good semester overall. I had a great group of students, and I'm looking forward to this summer. I really love teaching these classes.
Anyhow, I had an interview at Mountain View High School with both Mountain View High School and Thompson Valley High School. The Principals were both there and the heads of the business departments. The interview didn't go as well as I would have liked, but it didn't seem like a good fit anyway. The high schools at Thompson Valley School District are changing their schedules to a full class schedule on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday with block days on Wednesday and Thursday. I wasn't very excited about going back and forth between the two schools throughout the year. I really wanted to be in a place and stay there. The interview itself was very stuffy as well. I didn't get a very good vibe from it. I didn't get the job, and that's okay.At Front Range Community College, I finished up the Spring semester with my two classes taking finals and completing their projects. Now, to finish grades and write my lessons learned from the semester. It was a good semester overall. I had a great group of students, and I'm looking forward to this summer. I really love teaching these classes.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
16th Week: The Norovirus Attack and On My Own
This was my 16th week student teaching. I am almost done! Wahoo! I feel a lot of the pressure starting to release, but it's also job hunting time, so some of the real work is about to begin.
This week brought its own challenges. Mr. Long went to Future Business Leaders of America state conference in Vail this week. I took over all of the classes without a sub, and it was awesome! I had some of my best teaching moments then. Unfortunately, Mr. Long ran into trouble when a few of his students came down with the Norovirus while there, and he had to take one student to the hospital. He had to stay home from school for two more days to make sure that he wasn't contagious himself. There's more about this story in the link below from Channel 9 News. This is the second time this has happened this semester. It also happened at an FCCLA (Family and Consumer Sciences Competition) event in Denver.
http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/2014/05/02/test-results-indicate-norovirus-at-conference/8639311/
Otherwise, I started to wind things down in all the classes. We're coming up on the end of the semester and beginning to think about finals. Entrepreneurship is finishing their last project. I'm getting caught up on grading, and Economics is finishing up their Macroeconomics lesson. It's all peacefully coming to a close as it should.
I'll continue to be at Poudre High School through the end of the school year teaching the Entrepreneurship class and observing other teachers. It will be a good experience to stay on until the end and see how the last few days of school are received by both teachers and students.
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| 9 News Denver http://www.9news.com/ |
This week brought its own challenges. Mr. Long went to Future Business Leaders of America state conference in Vail this week. I took over all of the classes without a sub, and it was awesome! I had some of my best teaching moments then. Unfortunately, Mr. Long ran into trouble when a few of his students came down with the Norovirus while there, and he had to take one student to the hospital. He had to stay home from school for two more days to make sure that he wasn't contagious himself. There's more about this story in the link below from Channel 9 News. This is the second time this has happened this semester. It also happened at an FCCLA (Family and Consumer Sciences Competition) event in Denver.
http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/2014/05/02/test-results-indicate-norovirus-at-conference/8639311/
Otherwise, I started to wind things down in all the classes. We're coming up on the end of the semester and beginning to think about finals. Entrepreneurship is finishing their last project. I'm getting caught up on grading, and Economics is finishing up their Macroeconomics lesson. It's all peacefully coming to a close as it should.
I'll continue to be at Poudre High School through the end of the school year teaching the Entrepreneurship class and observing other teachers. It will be a good experience to stay on until the end and see how the last few days of school are received by both teachers and students.
Monday, April 28, 2014
15th Week - Last Observations and Goodbyes
This week was a week of goodbyes. We had our last Student Teaching Seminar on Monday, so I will probably not see many of the student teachers in there again. I did discover that one of the student teachers in my group may be moving to Houston, Texas, which is also a possibility for me and my family. I also said goodbye to Mr. Maxwell, who will be missed by me and by his students. I stopped by his office several times to talk about problem students and ways of getting through to them, and we collaborated on some lesson ideas as well. He really did build relationships with his students, and because of his youth, it seems he has a bit less at stake in his experience, which provided him with a true learning experience. That brings up an interesting point, which I will delve into deeper as I continue my career in education, but does stress and pressure play a relevant role in how we learn? The obvious answer is yes, but exploration into that question will be regarded in the future.
Wednesday was the ACT test for the Juniors, so the schedule was a little different. We had the morning to take care of planning, grading, or, in my case, applications. I have put out five applications for actual job postings. It is a tedious and arduous task to put out applications. It was more difficult than my applications at NASA, but hopefully, something will come of these opportunities. I'm still teaching at Front Range Community College in the fall if a full time position doesn't present itself.
I had my last observation on Thursday in the 4th Hour Economics class from my mentor teacher and from my CSU Supervisor. I planned a Play-Doh activity for learning about the GDP in the Macroeconomics section. I was actually a little nervous, and I haven't really been too nervous in my observations until now. However, the students did terrific, and we had a lot of fun learning about the GDP and how some less-developed countries really struggle to change their situation. Using cooperative, direct, and inquiry methods, the students were able to determine how the GDP connected to the activity, and learn from their experience. This was a fantastic segue into Poverty, which I linked to the lesson.
The entrepreneurship classes are going well. The students are still working diligently to get their projects completed. We are down to the last two projects, and we will be putting our business plans together and reviewing for the final. Seniors will be leaving a week or so earlier than the rest of the grades, so final exams will be given as a class. I am going to have the rest of the class present their business plans to the class, so I need to put that lesson together to present to the students after May 16th.
While I am one of the last remaining student teachers, I also have an opportunity in my last few weeks to observe some of the other teachers in the building and how they teach. This is the part that I'm looking forward to in my last days at Poudre High School.
Wednesday was the ACT test for the Juniors, so the schedule was a little different. We had the morning to take care of planning, grading, or, in my case, applications. I have put out five applications for actual job postings. It is a tedious and arduous task to put out applications. It was more difficult than my applications at NASA, but hopefully, something will come of these opportunities. I'm still teaching at Front Range Community College in the fall if a full time position doesn't present itself.
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I had my last observation on Thursday in the 4th Hour Economics class from my mentor teacher and from my CSU Supervisor. I planned a Play-Doh activity for learning about the GDP in the Macroeconomics section. I was actually a little nervous, and I haven't really been too nervous in my observations until now. However, the students did terrific, and we had a lot of fun learning about the GDP and how some less-developed countries really struggle to change their situation. Using cooperative, direct, and inquiry methods, the students were able to determine how the GDP connected to the activity, and learn from their experience. This was a fantastic segue into Poverty, which I linked to the lesson.
The entrepreneurship classes are going well. The students are still working diligently to get their projects completed. We are down to the last two projects, and we will be putting our business plans together and reviewing for the final. Seniors will be leaving a week or so earlier than the rest of the grades, so final exams will be given as a class. I am going to have the rest of the class present their business plans to the class, so I need to put that lesson together to present to the students after May 16th.
While I am one of the last remaining student teachers, I also have an opportunity in my last few weeks to observe some of the other teachers in the building and how they teach. This is the part that I'm looking forward to in my last days at Poudre High School.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
14th Week: Struggling a Little
This week has been a bit of a struggle. I know that I can't have a stellar week every week, and the
challenging weeks make the good weeks worthwhile. I know all this, but I still let these difficult weeks get to me. Now, the reason why it was difficult. I can't really put my finger on it except that I'm feeling a bit frustrated. It is frustration with the job application process and the work load that has increased as I finish out the semester. It is also frustration at a few students that continue to not pay attention or get their work done over and over. It is this same frustration, though, that snaps me back to reality and lets me know that I have a job to do and I need to set aside my own feelings so that I can help the students. I allowed myself a few bad days, but I took the weekend to relax, refresh and renew by exercising, spending time with my daughter, pulling some weeds, and getting my house in order. These things helped me to put things into perspective and come back to school on Monday with a fresh attitude and enthusiasm for these last few weeks of the semester.
While it is nearly the end of the semester, it is just as important to stay engaged and focused because the students are going to want to slack off or disengage. It is my responsibility to keep them excited about the material and completing the work. This is a difficult task at best. My 6th Hour Entrepreneurship class were the main culprits for the lousy week last week. Trying to teach an easy lesson, they were falling asleep, staring blankly into space, and completely disengaged. I tried asking easy questions to get them back on track, but that only seemed to make for awkward silences. One of which lasted for a good two minutes. Frustrated, I finished the lesson without asking more questions and let them work at their computer stations.
This week was also a week of planning for the end of the semester. I have a Teacher Work Sample due on May 1st, finishing out classes at Front Range Community College, and finishing out my classes at Poudre High School. I have plans laid out for all my classes through the end of the semester, for which I'm happy to be organized. It's getting close, and I know that I've said it before, but I am really looking forward to the summer and some leisure time that I haven't had for the past year.
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While it is nearly the end of the semester, it is just as important to stay engaged and focused because the students are going to want to slack off or disengage. It is my responsibility to keep them excited about the material and completing the work. This is a difficult task at best. My 6th Hour Entrepreneurship class were the main culprits for the lousy week last week. Trying to teach an easy lesson, they were falling asleep, staring blankly into space, and completely disengaged. I tried asking easy questions to get them back on track, but that only seemed to make for awkward silences. One of which lasted for a good two minutes. Frustrated, I finished the lesson without asking more questions and let them work at their computer stations.
This week was also a week of planning for the end of the semester. I have a Teacher Work Sample due on May 1st, finishing out classes at Front Range Community College, and finishing out my classes at Poudre High School. I have plans laid out for all my classes through the end of the semester, for which I'm happy to be organized. It's getting close, and I know that I've said it before, but I am really looking forward to the summer and some leisure time that I haven't had for the past year.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
13th Week: Impalapalooza Week!
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| Tacky Tourist Day - Mrs. Mo's Class |
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| Black Prez was in 'da house! |
Whew! I was pooped today after finishing up classes, and it's been kind of weird knowing that I have a full day off tomorrow. I am absolutely looking forward to it! It's been a stressful week professionally and personally. With so much going on with putting out applications, getting my resume updated, and my husband's job hanging in the balance, we are having some difficulty managing. We are staying positive through these last few weeks of school, though. There's only six weeks left at Poudre High School, and I only have four weeks left at Front Range Community College. Things are definitely starting to wind down.
By the way, the girl that wasn't coming to class finally dropped with an "F" after I called home to check on her. She claimed that the management class she was taking with another teacher was just like my class. My guess is that she didn't want to do the work, so she took an "F" instead.
A few more pictures from Impalapalooza Assembly Today:
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| Cool guys hangin' out on the ice |
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| Chariot race winners! |
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| Prom Royalty Escorts |
Thursday, March 13, 2014
10th Week: Slliiiiidddding into home
Some baseball humor in the title. The home opener for the Colorado Rockies isn't until April 4th, but I'm looking forward to the warmer weather and baseball being on television again. Maybe even taking my daughter to a game this season. Riding my bike to school, and wearing short sleeves and sandals.
This week was the week before Spring Break. It was a slow start with International Day on Monday for the International Baccalaureate students at Poudre High School. It was a day filled with presentations from around the world and cuisine catered by ethnic restaurants around town. I went to five presentations. The first was about China that was given by a senior IB student. The second was about Korea, where I discovered where I could get good Korean food in Colorado. After lunch, I went to India, Israel, and Zambia. They were all interesting in their own right. Zambia was most interesting because it came from an adult who visited there. Now, I know Sebastian, who is also in the STEPP program, and he is a refugee from Zimbabwe, so I know a little about the culture there from talking to him. However, it is also interesting to hear an outsider's perspective of being there. The presenter spoke about the country as if she had just visited, and really, it had been seven years!
Parent Teacher Conferences were on Wednesday at Poudre High School. I was able to brag to the parents of some of my best students, and I was able to connect with parents of students who were struggling. I spoke with most of the parents of the students with whom I was concerned. The parents seemed just as concerned about the grades as I was, and we discussed ways to help the students improve. Often, the solution was simply turning in late work. Other times, it was more about behavior and engagement in the classes. Teenagers are facing many challenges in their lives including raging hormones, media feedback, school, and pressure from friends and family. This is even not to mention that they are really still "just kids." This is a generalization about most of the students I teach, but some of them are very mature for their age. One student's mom was very concerned for her daughter's dis-engagement in school and in her relationship with her. She knew her daughter well, and told me a lot of the same behavior that I was experiencing in class. Unfortunately, other than turning in missing work, I wasn't able to help much. Another parent was somewhat out of touch with her child's behavior and grades. She had taken her daughter's word about the feedback that I was giving her about her grades and didn't speak with me directly about it. Because the situation was somewhat confrontational, I decided to take a side step and let her parents know that I would work with her in class and come to an agreement, which we did on Thursday after conferences. However, I was also able to see that the student was "pulling the wool" over her parents' eyes and blaming her ineptitude on me as a "lack of communication." I don't work well with manipulation, and I'm quite tempted to email her parents again with a progress report to ensure that work gets done over break. Overall, the Parent Teacher Conferences helped me to practice my communication with parents and to make note of things that I could do to help students more in my classes.
The projects in Entrepreneurship are beginning to come back to me better and better. I've graded all of the Building and Location projects that have been turned in thus far, and they are creative and interesting. My best students have turned in their work and made A's on their projects. I'm still waiting for a few projects to filter in over Spring Break.
Friday is, of course, the day before Spring Break. A few students are already leaving for vacation on Friday and will not be in school; however, there are plenty of students that will still be in school as well. In 4th Hour Economics, we have decided to have a "Friday Fun Day" for the day before Spring Break. We want to keep the two Economics classes on task together, so we had an extra day to expend. Students will bring snacks to share, and we will watch a movie or episodes of The Office. As much as the students are ready, teachers are just as ready for this week-long break. It denotes the middle of the semester, and after Spring Break, end-of-year activities begin to ramp up, which will lead to the downward spiral of the last day of school.
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| Photo from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_College_(Missouri) |
This week was the week before Spring Break. It was a slow start with International Day on Monday for the International Baccalaureate students at Poudre High School. It was a day filled with presentations from around the world and cuisine catered by ethnic restaurants around town. I went to five presentations. The first was about China that was given by a senior IB student. The second was about Korea, where I discovered where I could get good Korean food in Colorado. After lunch, I went to India, Israel, and Zambia. They were all interesting in their own right. Zambia was most interesting because it came from an adult who visited there. Now, I know Sebastian, who is also in the STEPP program, and he is a refugee from Zimbabwe, so I know a little about the culture there from talking to him. However, it is also interesting to hear an outsider's perspective of being there. The presenter spoke about the country as if she had just visited, and really, it had been seven years!
 |
| Photo from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cristic/466888471/ |
Parent Teacher Conferences were on Wednesday at Poudre High School. I was able to brag to the parents of some of my best students, and I was able to connect with parents of students who were struggling. I spoke with most of the parents of the students with whom I was concerned. The parents seemed just as concerned about the grades as I was, and we discussed ways to help the students improve. Often, the solution was simply turning in late work. Other times, it was more about behavior and engagement in the classes. Teenagers are facing many challenges in their lives including raging hormones, media feedback, school, and pressure from friends and family. This is even not to mention that they are really still "just kids." This is a generalization about most of the students I teach, but some of them are very mature for their age. One student's mom was very concerned for her daughter's dis-engagement in school and in her relationship with her. She knew her daughter well, and told me a lot of the same behavior that I was experiencing in class. Unfortunately, other than turning in missing work, I wasn't able to help much. Another parent was somewhat out of touch with her child's behavior and grades. She had taken her daughter's word about the feedback that I was giving her about her grades and didn't speak with me directly about it. Because the situation was somewhat confrontational, I decided to take a side step and let her parents know that I would work with her in class and come to an agreement, which we did on Thursday after conferences. However, I was also able to see that the student was "pulling the wool" over her parents' eyes and blaming her ineptitude on me as a "lack of communication." I don't work well with manipulation, and I'm quite tempted to email her parents again with a progress report to ensure that work gets done over break. Overall, the Parent Teacher Conferences helped me to practice my communication with parents and to make note of things that I could do to help students more in my classes.
The projects in Entrepreneurship are beginning to come back to me better and better. I've graded all of the Building and Location projects that have been turned in thus far, and they are creative and interesting. My best students have turned in their work and made A's on their projects. I'm still waiting for a few projects to filter in over Spring Break.
Friday is, of course, the day before Spring Break. A few students are already leaving for vacation on Friday and will not be in school; however, there are plenty of students that will still be in school as well. In 4th Hour Economics, we have decided to have a "Friday Fun Day" for the day before Spring Break. We want to keep the two Economics classes on task together, so we had an extra day to expend. Students will bring snacks to share, and we will watch a movie or episodes of The Office. As much as the students are ready, teachers are just as ready for this week-long break. It denotes the middle of the semester, and after Spring Break, end-of-year activities begin to ramp up, which will lead to the downward spiral of the last day of school.
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