Week 16

Words of wisdom, something I should be good at being a coach and an athlete. Work as hard as possible for the time you’re a student teacher. It's the first sixteen weeks of the rest of your life, you will be a teacher and this is just the beginning. Do not take all criticism personally; it's there to make you a better teacher not to put you down. Put in extra time and effort into everything you can possibly do, be the absolute best at your job. Take advantage of having other Business Education student teachers, they are going through exactly what you are so talk to them, collaborate with them, and take full advantage of everything and everyone around you. They are there to help you and guide you along the way. Most of all have as much fun as possible because your job should be fun.

Week 15

This week is getting more hectic than I could ever imagine. Everything winding down, having to grade so many papers and projects before I leave the school, it’s hard. The aspect of the week I would like to change would be to have better time management during my prep periods. I start to grade papers for classes and I catch myself being distracted from my work and interested in something completely different. If I can just focus the last couple days I can everything completed in time.
The aspect I found most valuable was the support that the faculty and staff given me throughout this last week. They are helping me with anything and everything that is needed, and are giving me good advice when it comes to finding a job. Teachers are a great community of people who are out to help each other; I can’t wait to work with them someday when I get a job.

Week 14

These last few weeks have been flying by; having to plan your lessons and get ready for finals is a very tough task. The aspect of the week that I found most valuable would be seeing how the students would react once my co-op came back into the classroom. Some of them even said I totally forgot she was still out teacher, it made me feel good to know that these students see me as their teacher and not just someone student teacher who will only be here for a little longer. This shows they respect me and they know that I am in charge.
The aspect of the week that I would change would have to be starting my papers for finals a little earlier, I started on Wednesday which gives me enough time to complete but I wish I would have started them earlier than that so I could have more free time to read over them and adjust. I am not the strongest writer so completing them earlier can help when I need to proofread so I can get the best grade possible for that particular assignment. ONE FULL WEEK LEFT!!!!!! Who is excited?!?!? I AM. I hope your last full week goes well, enjoy it, I know I will.

P.S. - Does anyone ever get annoyed with typing the conformation words after you post? Just asking, think about it.

Podcast

EASTER

The most valuable aspect of this week was the ability to teach without my co-operating teachings presence. She was out all week because her daughter had a baby and being able to take over the classes without her being in the room was an awesome experience. I felt as if this is my class, the students were very well behaved and worked very hard all week. For a long time I wanted to teach my classes without my co-op being present and when I was finally able to do this for 3 ½ days was awesome. During one period when I least expecting it the vice principle came in to observe me, I was a little nervous but that would have been worse if I didn’t already know that they were not rehiring my co-ops position after retirement. He wrote me a great review and later we discussed my lesson and what he thought about it, he and I were both very pleased with the outcome.
The one aspect of this week I would change would be to talk to my co-op more about where to go with the classes before she left to stay with her daughter, I would just have liked a little more confidence when creating my lessons to know exactly where she wanted the class to go and if I was on the right track. Overall everything went great and I am very please that I was able to have the experience that I did. I believe that in the future, student teachers should be able to teach a complete week without the cooperating teacher. The experience is great and allows the student teacher to see if he needs to work on classroom management. The chief wishes you a great Easter break.

Week 12

The most valuable aspect of week twelve was spending three days at the FBLA conference in Hershey. I was absolutely amazed by it, it was bigger than I ever expected and it was run mostly by students. This conference allowed me to socialize with other teachers and get a break from the classroom. The first test I was supposed to proctor was desktop publishing, however, the chief administrator and vice administrator did not show up and I basically volunteered to be the chief administrator and run the test. It was a shock to me at first but I just went with it, it worked out well, there were no problems with the test and I had the chance to do it. When you see me in class I have a new name, it’s not Rich, and I would prefer you to call me Chief.
There really wasn’t an aspect of the week that would change, it went very smooth, the students were all working on projects and most had completed and from grading them they have done very well on them. This shows that I explained the project very well before I left for those three days and they had good understanding of what I expected from them. I’m not saying the week was perfect, but overall it went well and I really had no complaints or problems. I can always hope next week will be the same but there is always something I can improve on.

Week 11

The aspects of the week I found to be most valuable was planning and creating lessons for the three days I will be absent this next week. It’s even more work than planning for school when I will be there. Making sure your lessons are perfect for the substitute or whoever is covering your class knows, so they know exactly what to do. Going through each class lesson by lesson making sure the students are prepared for your absence. I hope that when I get back the students will be on task and up to date with the information for the class.
If I could change one thing about this past week it would be to teach the introduction lesson to access slower than the manner in which I taught it. Access is something students are not familiar with and most have no idea what a database is, as a result when the students received their quiz grade they were disappointed. I blame myself for their poor quiz grade because they are the first class to get each lesson in access, as I teach it more and more the lesson becomes much better. My forth period class did terrible on their quizzes but 5th and 10th did excellent. I create a new quiz add more material and allow them to retake it and allow them to choose the better score.

Week 10

The aspects of this week that I found to be most valuable is picking up a full schedule of six classes. The amount of preparation work that goes into a full schedule is something I never expected. It is a lot of work and if you are not prepared for your class you will be lost. Its a lot of fun when you are well prepared because you are so confident in your content. Having the ability to move from one class to another and not worried if you missed anything becuase over preparing is better than not being prepared.
The aspect of the week that I would change is an activity I did in my International Business class. The directions of the activity were not as clear to the students as I had hoped and they were very confused. I should have made a PowerPoint or a handout on exactly what I expected from them rather than just telling them. A visual is always better than a verabl for students. In the future I will always be overprepared than underprepared becuases the confidence level is so much higher and things run much more smoothly.

Week 10

The aspects of this week that I found to be most valuable is picking up a full schedule of six classes. The amount of preparation work that goes into a full schedule is something I never expected. It is a lot of work and if you are not prepared for your class you will be lost. Its a lot of fun when you are well prepared because you are so confident in your content. Having the ability to move from one class to another and not worried if you missed anything becuase over preparing is better than not being prepared.
The aspect of the week that I would change is an activity I did in my International Business class. The directions of the activity were not as clear to the students as I had hoped and they were very confused. I should have made a PowerPoint or a handout on exactly what I expected from them rather than just telling them. A visual is always better than a verabl for students. In the future I will always be overprepared than underprepared becuases the confidence level is so much higher and things run much more smoothly.

Week 9

The aspect of this week that I would change was viewing the content of students PowerPoint’s before they presented to the class. I did this with all my students however for to check this one student’s PowerPoint because I really needed him to present. In my computer apps class this student had to present his PowerPoint topic on Thursday. Well before he presented it he added a video that he did not get approved by either me or my co-op. It was irrelevant to his topic and used the word “ass” and on the video someone actually said, “I want to tap that ass”. Needless to say I was in shock and furious at the same time, not to mention the stare I received from my co-op. Class ended just as his video ended, I told him he can’t do that and we will talk later. Well, he left school early that day and was absent on Friday. This talk will have to wait till Monday. I forgot to mention this was a class of 9th graders who thought the whole this was so ridiculously funny, so I will have to talk to the class and let them know what he did was not funny, it was against school policy and he is going to be punished for it.
The aspect of the week that I found to be most valuable was picking up two sections of International Business. This is my first content class and it is much different from the technology based classes that I currently have The planning is much longer than the technology having to create the lessons, notes, and the test take a long time to accomplish. The first couple classes were a little difficult for me however by the second class of the second day I felt really comfortable with the content, understanding that I need to repeat myself often and give students more time when I ask questions. I had a habit of asking, then if I did not receive a response to give them the answer to quickly. Allow the students more time to think and giving them key words that could trigger their response.
On another note one of my students created a PowerPoint rap that was absolutely hilarious, I actually snorted in class I was laughing so hard. The student then gave me a copy if his rap and I want to share this with everyone on Monday.

Short Week

The aspect of the week that I would change would be switching the the way I presented the to the student's about presenting PowerPoint. Teaching them how to speak and act professionally while they are presenting is something they should know but I don't believe they will do. I want them to be the best presenters possible and what I taught them was good but I should have explained this through a PowerPoint presentation explaining what I expect to see. Showing them what I expect rather then explain what I expect would have been much more productive.
The aspect that I feel most valuable would be managing my time effectively. Having a lot of work to accomplish before leaving for the weekend was very challenging. Getting all my work completed and still creating good lesson plans was hard but eventually accomplished. At fist spending all my time and effort doing work is hard but it is worth it. Allowing myself time to relax is something that I should work on. Being ahead of schedule allows me to do other things which makes me more relaxed. Teaching has become so fun that I really enjoy going to work. The one thing I wanted in a job is to have fun and found that. I am very happy from what I choose to do with my life.

Week 7

The aspects of this week that I found to be most valuable were being able to teach a full day of school. Being able to change and update my lessons from class to class to teach the best lesson possible. I was very sick and just did it anyway because I wanted to see what it was like and I am very happy that I did. It showed me that I want to become a teacher that I have fun in my job and that is want I really want. It also help me see how planning and preparing is so important to the teaching profession.
The one thing I would change this week would be one of the lessons I taught in webpage design I was allowing the students to work a project as I went over various things that they already accomplished. I loved seeing them so interested in their work and wanting to learn more tags that I let them work while I was teaching. I didn’t think anything of it at the time but now when I look back I should have had their attention on me then let them do work.

Week 6

The aspect of this week I found to be most valuable was teaching the first class of the week. It was terrible, the kids were unresponsive, they were talking all the time, and it was first period. I feel in that class I have been focusing too much on getting the content down that I forgot to engage these kids. After a talk with Mrs. Wiscount I feel I understood what she was saying to me. I took a step back that day, looked at all my material and noticed that from the first lesson I taught this year to now I got away from the initial engaging of the students. I don’t know why, maybe due to how busy I was or the fact that I was coaching but it was a good wakeup call for me. From now on my lessons have had a good introduction and I am incorporating my personality into the classroom. I am a goofball sometimes, which the students seem to like when I goof around with them in class and do strange things to them. Today a student wanted to a certain topic that I said someone else already chose for a project, he pleaded with me until in the middle of class I said, “How many pushups can you do?” (This is one of the kids I coach on the wrestling team.) He looked lost, he said, “I don’t know?” I said guess, how many pushups in a row. He replied, “80 I think.” I gave him an option right now in the middle of class if you can do more pushups than me I will let you have your topic. I even offered to go first, the student behind him was laughing historically, he contemplated then said, “No.” I am ok with my topic. One thing I would change about this week again is the first class, I don’t know what happened but it was bad. I would change the whole lesson top to bottom, think harder about getting their attention and have a different review game ready for them.

Week 5

The aspect of this week I found to be the most valuable was being able to deal with students during a lot of working periods. Seeing where the students were in understanding the material, it also gave me a chance to view their working habits. They try to get me to give them more time when most of them were goofing around, talking, or playing games. I just let them know that I knew what they were doing and there time has run out so they need to print what they have.
The one thing I would change about this week was in my computer applications class. I had presentations this week for PowerPoint and I wanted a good presentation to set the tone. The student who went did not do a good job and goofed around the whole time. Setting the tone would have shown others how it should be done and the guidelines they should follow because when I explain it they only get so much out of it. I also had to move students today who kept talking during presentations I gave them one warning then I moved them. I let them know after class that if they kept it up they would be sitting in their new seat the rest of the year.
I have to go chaperon a dance in 5 minutes and go to an in-service day tomorrow. Hope you all are having fun.

Week 4

This week was a very fun week for me. I was definitely very busy but it seemed to be all worth it in the end. The students are starting to trust me more, they love coming in and talking with me. I also enjoy seeing them every day, talking with them, and just listening to them in class cracks me up most of the time. One of the students used, "That's what she said" comment in class which was probably one of the funniest things I've heard. I did talk to that student and told him he can’t say that, he argued that I laughed, I just let him know just because it’s funny doesn't mean it’s not inappropriate. Aspects of the week I found most valuable was definitely see the students outside of school, I went to their home wrestling match and I was sitting with the team since I'm one of the coaches, the students that showed up had no idea I was a coach. It’s good that the kids get to see you in a different atmosphere, I was in jeans and a t-shirt and the kids kept saying, "Mr. Letts! What are you wearing" I told them that I can’t look so good all the time. Things that I would change would have to be a class on Friday, I was teaching PowerPoint and the students were creating their own Slide Show when the network went down. Let me tell you how these students went from calm to crazy in about 2 minutes. I was in such awe, they started writing on the board, getting loud, doing crazy stuff. I had them sit down, however I probably should have reviewed what we were going over, some presentation skills and other things in that class. I am loving student teaching, these kids do make it all worth it, and I am starting to care if they don't get a good grade or not and how they are outside of school. I hope you are all feeling the same way.

Week 3 Snow Week

Week 3 or as some of my students called it snow week was very hectic at first. I was a little nervous about teaching on shortened periods and how the kids would react to having a day off then a 2 hr delay. They acted as if it was a Monday, a boring slow start to the week, and to top it Mrs. Wiscount shows up at first period, by now I'm so relaxed as you could imagine. However everything seemed to go very well, the lesson went smooth even though the students were not energetic at all. So i would have to say the most valuable thing for the week was being able to teach in shortened periods, also seeing how students react to having days off and 2 hr delays. It shows that I need to engage them more than a normal day.
I started teaching 2 classes this week instead of one due to the fact I was only able to teach one lesson the previous week. I was nervous about it but yet excited, I like a challenge and it was a little bit. Having to juggle two courses and perfecting them is something that wasn't easy at first but I got the hang of it and it became much easier.
I did however run into a problem like Chris did while teaching web design. I was teaching the students how to put the HTML tags in notepad, save then bring it up in Internet explorer, well it wasn't working, the computer system in the high school wouldn't allow the students accounts for some reason bring it up in Internet explorer. I was going nuts, kids started playing games, complaining when i told them to get off, they kept saying, "well I'm done". I said I don't care, if your done help one of your classmates until we figure this thing out, by the end of the period everything worked out but to say the least I wanted to throw one of the computers out the window. This was probably the one aspect I would like to change this week, I should have stopped took a deep breath and said to the students, "Now lets trouble shoot this together, whoever can get it to work will get bonus points" because honestly I had no idea what to do.

Week 2

My second week started with an in service day on Monday, I didn't know what to expect since most of the teachers seemed upset that they had to attend it. It wasn't that bad at all, the teachers had to collaborate in their department at outline for lesson plans. They had to find which outline would help them succeed the most. This was a great value to me to see how different things happen in a school when it is not in secession. Learning how experienced teachers go about creating lesson plans and connecting to their students.
By now I know basically every students name, even if it takes a little time to remember you can tell they appreciate it. I had the students make note cards with information about themselves on it including hobbies, likes and dislikes, and put down something no one knows about you. The students are so funny and creative with them that i found myself laughing when reading them in the middle of class. One student put down his nickname is Captain Awesome, when I was teaching I called him that unless he was being disruptive. This was very valuable because he helps me know the students better, have more fun with them, and helps me create lessons plans that relate to them better.
Last week i had to fill out an evaluation form to help coach wrestling and baseball, on Tuesday I received an email and a letter letting me know that the school board approved me to do both of them. Which is fun because he helps me better interact with my students and they seem to appreciate the effort that I put in.
Due to some delays from weather and the students being in the middle of a project in both classes I didn't start teaching till Friday, which I hated. I was ready to just go out there and do it. The lesson I taught was only 15 minutes long but it was fun and i definitely engaged the students with examples and through discussion. They all seemed to be on task and knew exactly what to do for the work.
The only thing i would change if I had to start the week over would be to videotape my first lesson, to see what mistakes I made, which i already know one and just see what I am know and view my progression throughout the semester. It is going to be a fun ride and cant wait to teach again.

My First Week

Heading into that first day I think i was just as excited as i was nervous. I found out fast how observant students are and how much they hear when your talking. Being able to observe my co-operating teacher and view her style of teaching was helpful. Learning to understand what she expects out of her class and how she connects to the students. Start to understand the material that the classes will be covering. Being able to interact with the students and learn their names. It will help me connect to the students better be knowing them by name. I have already made connections with a few of the students in these classes, my co-op noticed the same and hopes I am able to convince a couple of them to work harder. Also, walking around the school and meeting the administration was very valuable, it shows them that I am sociable and ready to get to work.

I would modify a couple aspects over the past week, mostly learning the students names a little faster, by at least Wednesday. Its Friday now and I know almost all of their names. I know I am very bad at remembering names of people, I don't even know all the names of the students in my clinical studies class. Another aspect to change would be to complete the project that the students had been doing. This would help me understand the difficulty of the project, the time it consumed, and what problems would arise so i could help them more along the way.