The Anti-Snow Dance --Raggs

I had a great idea. I was teaching the Great Depression in my Advanced American Studies classroom, and I realized the excellent educational opportunity that exists given our current economic conditions and the stage of the recovery effort President Obama is in. What a great chance to examine the impact that history has on society today, I thought. And more importantly, it’s an excellent opportunity to relate history to students’ current life, which is the key to motivation for many students. But, if I was going to try to explore the connection, I wanted to do it right. This meant it would not just be a question here and there, but an activity, ideally even a full lesson. This would give students ample opportunities to explore the connections there and see how history really does affect them today.

I was so excited. As per my last entry, I at first had some issues creating interesting and exciting lessons and was ecstatic I had come up with, if I may say so myself, a brilliant idea. I combed the internet for articles exploring the comparison of Obama and Roosevelt and found an excellent New York Times article that outlined many of the similarities between the two men and their eras, as well as a Time magazine cover that had Obama photo-shopped to look like Roosevelt. And while I did feel the students had a decent grasp on the current economic climate, I figured some reinforcement of the situation couldn’t hurt, so I added some graphs and charts on employment, the stock market, and income and savings. And to top it off, I provided the cliff notes version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan of 2009 to see if it looked similar to the New Deal. My brainchild was complete (although I do not pretend to think others had not thought of this idea for a lesson as well).

Then reality hit. Two snow days. Then two days of Standards testing. I all of a sudden had lost two days (as English and History alternate days in my American Studies classroom). We were already a little behind, and this only complicated things. When I sat down to re-plan, I was devastated to discover the easiest way to solve things. It meant mauling my brainchild, which I creatively titled “The New New Deal.” In the course of re-planning my exploration into the current economic climate went from a full lesson, to a half lesson Socratic seminar the last day of the unit, to limited discussion in the second half of the period in which my students took a test (where their attention will surely be minimal). And after creating a test that could accurately measure the learning of my students I realized in all likelihood there would not even be time for a minimal discussion. It now looks like it will be a homework assignment with little to no discussion.

I have loved my student teaching experience thus far. But if there is one frustration I have it is time and standards. On the whole I think standards are both good and necessary. But they are limiting. I think the lesson I had planned would have been very beneficial to students and would have allowed them to make important connections between history and their lives. But, the standards test, which comes before the year is even over, will not have a question of Obama’s stimulus package. And we have to make it to a certain point by the time of the test to ensure our students will receive a passing score. I think everyone, even those who preach the importance of standards, would agree that the goal is to move beyond the standards. Unfortunately, when things have to be cut back to account for unexpected circumstances, the extension activities are usually the first to go. As a teacher, I will try as hard as I can to always move beyond the standards and to teach my students concepts and ideas that connect to their lives, as I have done in this instances as I will at least be able to introduce the similarities and get my students thinking about their current world. But it is not what I wanted it to be, not what I had envisioned. And the standards are not totally to blame (and again, standards are needed), it is simply the time. There is never enough. And this means though that I will likely never do the snow dance with my students. As much as I would love to sleep in, I will be doing the anti-snow dance.

The Station Sensation -- Sara

Last Friday, I taught my first lesson using stations. We had a lesson on the Underground Railroad and the Abolitionist Reform Movement. I divided the classroom into 7 stations. At these stations, students were analyzing images and abolitionist propaganda, taking a Underground Railroad adventure on a National Geographic website, holding and analyzing artifacts that resemble life as a slave, and listening to a speech made by Frederick Douglass. I even had them read an excerpt from the slave narrative of Harriet Jacobs and created a simulation using a few blankets and a table where students had to crawl into and pretend they would hide there for seven years.

Although the preparation and the administration were exhausting, it was the best lesson I have taught yet. I recommend teaching stations because the students can focus on many different skills during one day. It is also a great way to accommodate for students with disabilities. There was a very limited amount of reading and writing. While working in cooperative groups, they were able to interact at the same pace with their peers.

Working in stations also got my students excited about learning the topic. They have never worked in stations in my CT’s classroom before. They were eager to identify with the historical persons we studied and asked many questions that showed they were thinking critically about the material. They were so excited after their class, they told other teachers about the lesson. Word spread around the school. By my fourth lesson, I had the librarian and media specialist taking pictures for the school newsletter, and four other Social Studies teachers came to check it out. One teacher even requested a copy of the lesson plan so they could use it next year! All my hard work had paid off.

Here are some recommendations I have for using stations in the classroom. Some are ideas I thought of, and others were hard lessons learned!

· Assign cooperative groups ahead of time. I was lucky to have thought of this before the lesson. As one person, it is hard to run around to seven stations discussing content, as well as worrying about discipline problems.
· Invite volunteer parents or other teachers into the classroom. I had one station where the students were so excited that they got a little silly. I was told after my lesson, that there is a volunteer list made of parents who are eager to come in and help. Our librarian also came in to help and she was delighted to be working in the classroom.
· Have something to do if students finish their station task early. I kept a list of discussion questions at the table that were relevant to the station content. This encouraged their learning and identification with the material, as well as kept them from finding something else to do for themselves (which is usually off task or bad behavior!).

I motion to end debate, er, move, er … what? -– Abri

I am going to have a class full of disappointed faces tomorrow morning. It’s not that I want to make the legislative process more difficult. It’s not that I am trying to prevent the 1st Session of the 111th Congress from passing any key legislation. The fact remains that I am the President of the United States of America (at least, for the next week) and I need to protect my citizens, even if my Senate believes that they should be able to restrict some rights. You see, my class full of 28 Senators just passed a bill to require mandatory driving tests for Americans over the age of 65. Technically, that is unconstitutional because it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. More on that later …

We are a third of the way through our Model Congress and it is even better than I anticipated that it would be. I have served as a student representative in the past, but none of those experiences reached the level of engagement that I have seen over the past week. Our Congress is more limited because of its size and time restrictions, but we’re still getting some quality work. All of our students have been assigned to a committee and more than half of our students are serving in a position of Congressional leadership (such as the Speaker of the House, the Majority Leader, the Minority Whip, etc).

Our students are quickly picking up on parliamentary procedure as well as the ins and outs of committee work. They are also discovering that passing a bill through Congress is a lot more work than they thought it would be. In the real world, only 4% of bills that go through Congress actually make it into law. One of my students (let’s call him Daniel*) stopped me in the hallway last week and asked, “So, is this really what it’s like? My bill is stuck in committee. Is there any way that I can get it out? How does Congress ever manage to get anything done?”

It is a fair question. How does Congress ever manage to get anything done? Daniel and his fellow students are discovering that the key is compromise, compromise, compromise. They are also living the legislative process instead of just reading about it. They are seeing first-hand how our government is structured to allow everyone to express their opinion, to allow only the best bills to go through, to restrict those who would try to harm a section of the American population, and to make sure that one governing body does not wield too much power.

Which brings me back to my role: I am the president. It is my job to check my own students and ensure that they are working for the best interests of the American public and not just for themselves. Of course, they can still override me, if 2/3 of them decide that I am wrong. In that case, the bill will go to another teacher in the school who acts as the Supreme Court. There is no way to override him!

Regardless of if this bill sees the metaphorical light of day, this simulation is providing my students with a window into the real world. They are living government, an experience that will hopefully stick with them for years and that might change how critical they are of their representatives in the future. I have discovered that the key to a good simulation is providing students with an authentic experience that they can make their own, and I can’t wait to see what else my students come up with.

By the way, the title of the post is supposed to be “I motion to move the previous question.” The students are still working on that one! But I think that they will have it down by Friday.

* Name changed to protect the student

The Importance of Language -- Kare

When giving a unit mastery test earlier this week, the importance of language struck me. As an English teacher, I view the English language and communication as the heart of my curriculum. I believe that literature should come secondary to these broad-based language communication skills. Yet, due to standards and department-wide curriculum guides, what I teach is the literature and its corresponding history and literary connections. On my unit test, then, I asked questions in various formats to assess student understanding of the various literary components. Thus, the language skills become secondary with regard to assessment.

During the test, several students finished within the first half hour—keep in mind this is a test designed for a 90 minute block. Though I have not graded the tests I somehow assume these super-quick students did not perform at their best. The majority of students took about an hour or an hour and twenty minutes to complete. The last four students to finish included two foreign exchange students and two Korean students. All four had at some point throughout the test asked clarification on questions—particularly questions regarding abstract concepts like “significance.” It dawned on me that these non-native English speakers were perhaps the last to finish the test because of language issues. While I did not intentionally develop question phrasing or vocabulary that would “stump” students, I did use typical English vocabulary and specialized language to talk about abstract literary concepts designed for the college-bound junior class I teach. I want my students to demonstrate their knowledge of literature but also their language skills. I am facing a debate now regarding how to balance these two demands with particular concern for non-native English speaking students. My teaching beliefs value language while my mandated curriculum values literature. And I feel stuck.

Feeling Happily Possessive --Cati

I’m about to sound selfish and like it’s all about “me”—but honestly, one of my favorite things about student teaching is feeling like these are my students, and we are together in my classroom. I feel like I have been given a huge, brightly wrapped, shiny present and get to open it every day all over again.

Part of the reason why I feel like these things are mine is because my cooperating teacher gave me three classes at once, my first full week as a student teacher, and started directing student questions to me and leaving the room sometimes. Students saw that overnight I had apparently become “their teacher.” My cooperating teacher was also absent for family reasons for three days in a row that first week. Students saw me running the show and a sub sitting in the back of the room. Yup, I’m their teacher.

And I simply adore being their teacher. It is amazing to me how quickly I have connected with these students. Having sat and observed them all year, for upwards of one hundred hours, and having taught them several lessons, I thought that I already “knew” them and had connected with them. But this feels entirely different… cracking up at the creative ways that they try to call me “Ms. Schwenkler” in Spanish (the last name is hard enough, and for Spanish II kiddos the “Ms.” part often comes out as “Mrs.” or even “Mr.”)… giving them pep talks about how they can do better on the next quiz… getting high-fives when I pass my boys in the hall.

Every time a student smiles at me, I feel my heart glowing, and when they laugh at me because they think I’m being “too enthusiastic” or laugh at my laugh because it sounds like a fire drill is about to start, I know I’m doing something right. I get to be “that” teacher who’s weird and quirky and hey, holds your attention as a result. Students keep looking at me funny as they get back quizzes and written work covered in red ink as I celebrate their progress, note their areas for improvement, and use some combination of exclamation points, stars, and smiley faces. Yes, that took me forever. No, I can’t imagine giving you back anything else.

I love feeling like a teacher. And while that means that I’m sick (I already had to stay home one day), and I’m starting to wonder what kind of mauve eyeshadow would best complement the growing circles under my eyes, it also means I get out of bed at 5 a.m. every day so, so happy to go in and interact with my students. I share Kyle’s surprise at how fun it is to work with ninth graders, having also thought that I would only want to work with the “older, motivated students.” My AP students are quiet and boring compared to my hilarious, endearing ninth and tenth graders who vary greatly in terms of achievement and motivation, but they all make my heart sing.