MAT Students and Blogging

Gratified, pleased, impressed....Reading the MAT blogs more than supported my decision to include blogging as an assignment. Yes, there were a few negative remarks--time, interest, lack of technology support--but, overall, reflections were positive. Most of them were challenged to stretch beyond their comfort zone. Some even implemented inovative practices in their classrooms. From my perspective, one of the most valuable outcomes was to hear so many of them say, "I felt connected." Reading that others were going through similar stressful situations in their intial semester of teaching, helped some to know they were not alone. Seeing pictures of classrooms and students gave a "realness" to the online environment. Overall, I can say that I think this was a good assignment, one that I will continue. Hopefully, many will continue blogging throughout next semester. Some have realized the value of looking back at earlier postings and realizing how they have already changed as a teacher. I can only imagine the growth they will see as they continue to document their first year experience.

The Farm

Fall at "the farm" (my house) has been breath-taking this year. With the rain today, the leaves are almost gone, but it has truly been beautiful. We had our first fire in the fireplace three weeks ago--don't ussually get to have one until Thanksgiving week. I hope this isn't indicative of a long, cold winter.
I see that many of you are posting to your blog. I love reading what you write and can't wait until I have time to look at them. I am so proud of all of you! This MAT class is the best EVER!

Thanksgiving at the Farm

A Redneck Christmas Card

The Haynes Family

Thanksgiving, 2008

The Farm

(Just to give you an idea of what my Thanksgiving was like....)

FYI: This lovely family is my daughter and her family!

From the look of your blogs, I can tell you are all doing much better with your blogs than I am with mine. Right now, I am sitting in a Web 2.0 workshop getting lots of ideas about how to use all of these neat ideas with students! Lindy is sitting close by and she's still not sure about all this but she really likes all the free Powerpoints available on the Web. Hopefully, she will add some of these great links to her blog! Very, very soon I will have time to not only look at but actually read your blogs! Hang in there! This semester is almost gone (that is a Scary thought!)

Just one more....

"Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf: A Year told Through Stuff", by Jennifer Holm, tells the story of Ginny's 7th Grade year. It reminds me somewhat of the "Ordeal by Cheque" in our textbook. To follow the story you must look at and read all the artifacts --like a scrapbook. Check your school library to see if it's there. You can read it in about 30 minutes and, I think, you just might find a "window" into a 7th grade girl's adolescent mind!

Copper Sun, by Sharon Draper

Copper Sun, by Sharon Draper is one of those books that may not be easy to read, but should be read. The main character is Amari, stolen from her home in Africa after watching her parents and brother be murdered. She is taken to America in a slave ship. The conditions on the slave ship bring about the death of many of the other captives. When she arrives in America, she is bought by a plantation owner as a present for his sixteen year old son. Amari, who is fifteen at the time, learns how cruel life can be but manages to survive and become a strong person. After escaping with a white girl her age, who is an indentured slave, and the young son of one of the slaves on the plantation, the three manage to reach Fort Mose, a Spanish settlement in Florida that welcomes slaves and gives them freedom. The book is recommended for 9th grade and up because it has graphic details of how slaves were treated. The theme of the book is one of hope and being able to survive life's hardships. Of course, man's inhumanity to man is evident in the book. The setting of the book is pre-civil war when America was still a colony of England.

Twilight

After talking to librarians and other people who know what middle/high school students are reading, I found that Stephanie Myer's Twilight Series is all the rage right now. Well, being the curious person I am, I decided I might try this series. I can understand the appeal to adolescent girls--love, at a distance, and the most wonderful male ever. You have to get past the vampire stuff, but the story is kind of like a romance novel without the sex. At one point, the kids go to a beach party where they talk and take walks on the beach--no drinking, drugs, or other X-rated activities. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of wishful thinking, but most of it is imagination. Haven't decided if I want to read the other 3 books in the series (and a 4th in January). Because I'm not an adolescent girl anymore, I prefer stories with a little more depth. The story did grab me from the first page and keep my attention until the last page. I just had to find out if Edward would continue to love Bella from a safe distance or give in and suck her blood. If you want to know, you will just have to read the book--or ask any middle/high school girl.

Wimpy Kid--continued

The sequel to Dairy of a Wimpy Kid! If you go to Barnes & Noble, these books are piled to the ceiling (well, almost) in the kid's section. The author, Jeff Kinney, has a new book coming out in January, which you can pre-order. If you know any young adolescents, this would make a great Christmas present! (You might buy one for a parent of a YA!)

A Very Interesting Read...

My grandson, Gavin, introduced me to this book last weekend. I laughed and laughed. For some of you, the book may be a little to close to home because you deal with kids like this everyday. I think it may be considered a "graphic novel" but kids are reading it and reading it! Adults are portrayed from an early adolescent point of view. I am considering making this book required reading for the Adolescent Development course next spring!

After completing Eldest by Christopher Paolini, I began to read Brisingr, the third book in the Inheritance series. I am finding this book to show more maturity than the two previous books. Of course, the author, who was 15 years old when he wrote the first book, Eragon, is now in his mid-twenties and has grown as a writer. The story is not only engaging, but also, exciting. As I read, I find myself comparing it to Lord of the Rings and Star Wars--many similarities, but yet different. I can't wait to see how the story unfolds!

The "Substitute"

On my second "shadowing" trip, I visited 6th grade Pre-AP classes. During 2nd period, I decided to go to Choir--even though I knew the teacher was out and a "sub" was in the class. What an experience! I got to see real 6th grade behaviors! Most of the students totally ignored the very cute guy; but some of the girls really enjoyed interacting with him. Some of the girls wanted me to take their pictures but insisted that Mr. Farmer be in the photo. During the class, several of the girls tried to direct the class and do the things the teacher usually did (drills, singing, etc.). The students were never "out of control", but their behavior was so different from what I saw in the other classes.

A Day in the Life of a 6th Grader

“I hope I can find the classes I’m supposed to go to!”

“Where’s the restroom?”

“How do I get lunch?”

No, it’s not a 6th grader asking these questions. It’s the slightly older person who thought “shadowing” a 6th grader throughout one day would be a great idea —Me! Ok, it’s been just a few (well more than a few) years since I was a 6th grader and I am curious about what it’s really like. How hard can the life of an eleven year old be? Well, I was about to find out.

The day began at a few minutes before 8:00 a.m. (actually 7:56). I quickly followed my new friend, William, to his locker, where he successfully opened the combination lock, and continued to the first period of the day, math class. In math, the students completed the bell work using calculators to find prime factors and, then, studied for their Five-A-Day (nothing to do with fruits or veggies) test which would be given later in the day. At 8:52, the bell rang and we quickly moved (only three minutes allowed) to William’s English class in which he had to write a description of himself using adjectives. This activity was followed by a review and discussion of Pronouns. After reading a book about The Planet Without Pronouns, the bell rang at 9:42 and we had three minutes to navigate the hallways and get to Art class. William decorated his art project portfolio while other students mixed colors to create a Color Wheel. After completing their projects, the students checked their grades on EdLine.
The bell to end the period rang at precisely 10:32 and we proceeded to band. This was an exciting day because the students got their instruments. A very patient band director helped the students assemble their instruments. Can you imagine twenty 6th graders sitting still waiting for the director to get to them? Well, it didn’t happen here. The situation can be compared to telling a child to just sit and look at a Christmas present without opening it. Not gonna happen! The band director was very patient and permitted the students to manipulate the instruments and make all those weird sounds that only beginning band students could possible manage. Watching them was so much fun!
But, it was time to move on to the next period—11:20. The next period was Lunch—which I was very much looking forward to! What more could I ask for than a chili dog with cheese, a salad, and pickles! Yum! After eating the delicious meal, we went outside for about 20 minutes until the bell rang at 12:00. We had until 12:03 to get to back to the math class where William completed the Five-A-Day math test using TI-15 calculators. After completing the test, students could read, write notes to each other, or talk to their friends. The 12:48 bell rang (only three more periods to go!) and we went to Science class.
By 7th period, I have to admit, I was beginning to get a little tired and, I noticed, so were the students. I saw eyes glaze over more than once, but the teacher seemed to expect this to happen and planned activities that provided opportunities for moving around. The period ended at 12:51, and we used our three minutes to make it to 8th period, Social Studies. The teacher reminded students of the vocabulary test on Monday and gave them words to review.
It was now 2:26, time for the 9th (and last!) period of the day, Reading. The students were just finishing the book The People Under the Bridge and the teacher read parts of the book aloud to the students. The teacher showed pictures of the Eiffel tower and gypsies she had found on the Internet to assist student’s understanding of the story. Even though the teacher was keeping the student’s attention, my eyes kept straying to the clock and counting the minutes until 3:15 when the period (and day) would be over. I just knew I could make it!

A Day in the Life of a 6th Grader

Last Friday, I "shadowed" a 6th grader to find out what life was really like in the 6th grade. I can't wait to tell you all about it! Check back later for more details.

Typical 6th Graders!

Monday, Sept. 8

Last week's weather was weird, to say the least. Labor Day started the week and then, Gustav made his visit leaving trees down across the road and power outages for more hours than I like. That in itself should have made for time for deep contemplation of how we as humans are at the mercy of the elements in more ways than we want to acknowledge. Students in school are always restless when weather conditions are unsettled. I wonder how many new teachers are aware of this concept? Probably very few.

I am trying to present my online classes in a different format this semester. Less assignments, more time for completion. It's good for me in that I don't have to post a new module every week--lots of work, but it seems to be less confusing for the students. I do miss that interpersonal connections of hearing from them more and reading their responses on the discussion board. Maybe it's just because it's the first of the semester and everything is crazy for them now. Maybe after things "settle down" I will have more contact with them. Maybe I just want more control over their learning instead of trusting them to learn in their own way what they need to know. What they need to know right now is SURVIVAL. Content Literacy may not be high on the list. Well, perhaps we will get around to that soon.

The Saturday classes are a pain right now. We had to change some of the dates because of activities on campus. Not sure why that wasn't discovered sooner but, oh well, be flexible and "go with the flow". Because we waited so late to reserve the rooms, no rooms are available. Maybe this issue will be resolved soon. I just have to work on the assignments and plans for the Saturday meetings--which will be soon.

Our friendly UPS dude, Henry, delievered yet another wonderful book to my door on Friday, this one is about Teachers and Action Research. I promised myself I would not work on "school stuff" this weekend (I think there was a promise to read a book for fun in there somewhere...Ok, Ok, reading about action research is fun, for me!). There's some really good, thought-provoking stuff in there. I will have to place it in the "composte pile" and think about it for a little while.

I actually did began reading a book, Eldest (the sequel to Eragon). I have had the third book, Brisinger, pre-ordered for sometime (due out next week) and want to have this book read before my friend Henry brings the new book to my door.

The student blogs are coming along well. Some students are really into it and, for others, it's a challenge. Hopefully, each of them will come to realize the importance of them being writers and this will transfer to their students.

Well, it's another new week and an oportunity to "change the world--one student at a time." Taht's a big challenge but, hopefully, all of us will make a difference.

After one of my colleagues (Mrs. Givhan) looked at my blog, she made the comment that my picture really did not look like me! I have to admit that the photo in my personal profile is one of my most favorites. Well, it actually isn't me, but it is a total picture of how I felt after spending 10 days last spring break with UAM students. The photo is actually on a postcard I bought in Budapest and I do have a better one that I may share with you at some point! However, because I have not met some of you, I didn't want you to be too surprised when you see me in September. With that in mind, I will place a photo that looks a little more like me.

This Saturday will be a big day for me--the big 60! I think I really am beginning to feel old--but I'm sure I will get over it. I have so much I want to learn and do that I guess I will just have to live to be 200 yrs. old. I'm pretty sure I really don't want that to happen--so I'll just keep cramming things into my days for now.

I love your blogs! I love reading about your experiences and can't wait to see photos of your classrooms. Also, I am learning so much from you (It's great to be a teacher with such technology-smart students!) Katherine Hilton shared information to help me get my "compost pile" in my title. Now I just have to have time to get it done.

So much for now. I am having so much fun looking at your blogs. (Where do some of you of find all those gadgets?) Keep up the good work!

First Week Musings

And so it goes, another semester has begun. It seems I take so much time "getting ready" for students-- in whatever shape or form-- and sometimes forget the "human element". Gavin, my 4th grade grandson, was so worried, almost to the point of being ill, about starting 4th grade. Of course, he made it through the day and later told me how excited he was about his teacher and his new class. I wonder how his teacher greeted a scared 8-year old and, by the time the day was over, had him convinced 4th grade was a good place? As a teacher, what is more important in my "planning" for students--making sure I have something to "cram into their heads" or creating an environment that says "this is a good place for you--a place where you will be safe physically and emotionally"? ( I just love Maslow's thoughts and ideas!)

Reading DB postings from the MAT students today was sheer joy! Even though they have been teaching only a few days, I read responses such as "I really love teaching", or "I made it through the first few days and it's still fun". As I read between the lines, most were still excited. I worry about those I did not hear from. I've heard "through the grapevine" that some of them are really having problems. I know their jobs are tough--probably tougher than anything I've ever experienced. But I also have confidence that maybe tomorrow each one of them will have a positive experience that will get them through the day. All it takes is one smile, or one light coming one in a student's eyes to get you through that particular day. Even after 30+ years teaching I still look forward to those little miracles that tell me I am in the right profession, that what I do really matters. Teaching must always be a "one day at a time" experience.

I just hope that I am able to convey to all my students that even though teaching is a tough job, those moments will come when you know you are making a difference--even if those moments are few and far between.

Welcome!

I am so excited to "see" you all again! All this blogging is new to me and I hope you enjoy it. Please be patient with me (as I will be patient with you) and let's try to make this a positive learning experience. You will have a lot of freedom in your blog creation--just remember to stay within the guidelines provided in the syllabus. Don't hesitate to share your good days and no-so-good days with your online community of learners. Don't forget to post your photos of things you do in your classroom. I would love to see room set-ups, bulletin boards, a picture of yourself after a long, long day of teaching :), or even a great project completed by your students. The ideas are endless! Also, be thinking about how you can use this technology in your classroom. I can't wait to see what you do!

Composting...thinking...learning

Learning begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner, put yourself in his place, so that you may understand what he is learning and the way he understands it...
--Soren Kierkgaard