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.

And Here We Go -- Raggs

After 20 weeks of observing and teaching a lesson here and there, student teaching is finally here. It really didn’t dawn on me until right before I went to bed the night before my first full day. In a way, I thought, the next day would be the start of my career. After all this time in graduate school and watching so many of my classmates in undergraduate enter the work force, it was finally time for me to enter the exciting but terrifying “real world.”

I had a lot of mixed emotions as I drove to school the next morning. But the overpowering emotion was nervousness. Was I ready for this? Was I ready to take responsibility for the educational well being of my students? Would I be able to come up with interesting ways to engage my students or would I have to become “the lecturer”? This last one really made me nervous as I had hit some roadblocks trying to lesson plan the night before (which was not a good sign). I think though that nerves are natural feelings to have entering such a stressful time in the profession of teaching. There is so much to do and you are teaching in a classroom that is not yours. That is what makes me the most nervous. It is not my classroom and at least from a legal standpoint not my students. These facts make student teaching a difficult and nervous undertaking as I have never actually taught full time before.

But along with this nervousness came excitement. I cannot wait to become a teacher. I have loved every experience I have had interacting with kids, whether it be coaching the neighborhood swim team or substituting in the local middle school. It is finally time to see if I would enjoy teaching as much as I thought I would and had so far. In addition, I have put so much time into preparing for this moment that I was excited to put the skills I had learned to practical use. And I cannot wait for that moment when I make an impact on a student in academics and realizing their potential. I realize I have these students for a limited time but my goal is to help them accomplish something they did not think they could. I think many teachers enter the profession for that moment and I cannot wait for it to be my turn. As for those nerves, I know that I will be able to overcome any of the obstacles that come my way because I have an excellent support staff that includes my cooperative teacher and my fellow student teachers (as I am lucky to have four others at my high school placement). And that lesson that was giving me trouble the night before embarking on my student teaching experience: my cooperating teacher and I discussed it, and it is going to be awesome.

Bios of Some Amazing Teachers

Sam is teaching math to sixth graders. He is looking forward to the chance to consistently be in the classroom and see his long term goals and units come to life during student teaching.




Kare is teaching two blocks of Intensified English for tenth graders and one block of eleventh grade Advanced American Studies. She is looking forward to seeing her students everyday and interacting with them in a more direct manner. She hopes that teaching them everyday as compared to once or twice a week will help her develop a better rapport with them and allow her to better see their academic progress.


Beth is teaching chemistry to grades ten through 12. She is looking forward to spending every day with the students because chemistry students are awesome. She also looks forward to not having anymore graduate classes.



Eric is teaching 12th grade English. He is most looking forward to developing a consistent professional relationship with his students. He also wants to be a fixture in the classroom and he wants a more panoramic view of their learning as compared to the spot-visit view he has been receiving.



Cati is teaching Spanish II to 9th and 10th graders and AP Spanish to 11th and 12th graders. She is most looking forward to having a regular schedule of interacting and working with her students. She is also excited to continue teaching so she can grow more confident in her skills and more trusting in the workability of the best practices for foreign language instruction that she has been learning about this year. She is excited to be in school every day and to be on the same schedule as the students so through that continuity and regular interaction her rapport with students can grow to the point where she can learn how to best teach those particular students



Raggs is teaching the social studies portion of eleventh grade American Studies. He is looking forward to putting into practice the skills he has learned in a more direct and constant way in order to develop better relationships with his students. He is also excited to see if he will in fact enjoy teaching and helping students learn as much as he thinks he will based on his past experiences.




Amelia is teaching three regular English and one intensified English for seventh graders. She is most looking forward to working with her students because they are delightful.