Semester
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Semester
Semester four
Summer 2016
" Going so soon? I wouldn't hear of it. Why, my little party's just beginning! "
Wicked Witch of the West
Withstanding the Wilkie Castle
Imagine
Innovate
Inspire
Withstanding
Wilkie Castle
Imagine what it was like to be the wicked witch of the west. She was clearly an antagonist in every way. She tried to sabotage Dorothy at every turn and made the journey very difficult. However, if you break it down, she was just a very motivated person. Indeed, her central goal had perverse intentions, but she put everything she had into getting the magical shoes. You will rarely find a character with greater commitment to a goal than that of the wicked witch of the west.
When the second round of summer school arrived, I had officially been working for a full year. It was well past time for a break. All I wanted was to be at my wedding already, and off to Switzerland. However, I knew I had to buckle down and be the best version I could be for the new teachers coming in to the program. However, in the mix of everything, I misdirected my motivation towards pleasing literally everyone. I was born a people pleaser, and though it is good at times, it can lead to large amounts of stress. I was trying to be the best I could for my TEAM teacher, for my fellow classmates, for the new teachers, and for my fiance in planning our wedding that was at the end of the month. I was teaching a lot of lessons each week being the only 2nd year in my room. I was attempting to give as much feedback as possible, and I probably gave way more than was needed or necessary, but it was what I felth I needed to do in the short time I was there. I was exhausted and not sleeping. However, somewhere in the third week, just before I left, I finally caught up to myself.
I realize that on the outside, I was trying to be like the scarecrow. He came into the castle to save Dorothy. He was lit on fire, but never left his mission. On the inside, I was the wicked witch: motivated to an extent of personal deprivation. But somewhere in that last week, I threw the water on the wicked witch and just went back to doing the best I could. I have no idea if I was the scarecrow, the wicked witch, Dorothy, or a flying monkey; honestly, in that three weeks, I was probably all four.
Imagine
1c. Excellence in Pedagogical Knowledge
i. Planning
Curriculum planning has been somewhat tough on me since I am planning for a course that is outside of my area of expertise. I had to do several different arrangements before I came up with my current model for the summer. I developed a very close bond with the seventh grade math standards as I tried to decipher the best way to present the information. I initially thought I would just do the standards in order. My thought process was assuming that would be the best method because the professionals wrote it down in that order. However, after reading through the standards a hundred more times, I realized that it would be really difficult to teach certain standards without first understanding basic concepts that were present in the other, simpler standards. Once I realized this, I began a trek to figure out which order would be the easiest to follow for the students. I decided that the number system absolutely had to be first. I want the summer school students to develop a strong base of knowledge before moving to more complicated subject matter. Being that the number system covers all basic math systems such as the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of integers, decimals, and fractions, I believe that it is the best way to set the students up for success. After deciding on the number system to start off the year, I created an order that allows the fellow teachers and myself to slowly scaffold throughout the summer building up to geometry which I chose to do last due to the large amount of formulas and mathematical equations are required in the unit.
Apart from developing the overall core curriculum, I then had to decide how to cover the objectives within the different competencies. Again, I initially thought that I would just follow the order laid out in the standards. However, I again realized that teaching that way would not be beneficial to the learning process of the students. So I took the integers, fractions, and decimals and decided to teach them separately of each other rather than as a single unit. I decided that teaching the information piece-by-piece would be an easier method to grasp than throwing a large amount of information at the students all at once. For this reason, I spent a lot of time breaking down the standards into smaller objectives until I thought the information was specific enough to be taught in one class period. This process has been very helpful in educating me on what all goes into planning an effective curriculum.
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Innovate
2a. Collaboration
Summer school is full of collaboration. It would not function without it. The beginning of summer school was much different this year than the year previous. This year, I had a year of experience under my belt. I was no longer the novice in the room, but rather I was there to offer insight and give advice. I was there to help others grow into the profession. I was there to give back.
Just like my first summer, I was in the 7th grade math room. This was very strange for me because I do not teach math or middle school. However, most of the skills required translated between middle and high school. I was very excited to meet the first-year teachers. I remember being in their shoes and I was set on making them as comfortable as possible. I did my best to give them constructive feedback. I knew I only would be working with them for a couple weeks so I tried to fit in as much as I could in that short amount of time.
In my time as a model and an observer, I tried my best to remember how it felt to be in their shoes. I wanted to make sure that my feedback was constructive. I still remember my first feedback sessions and how the papers I got were filled with things I was doing wrong. I remember thinking "How do they find so many things wrong?" Looking back, I realize that teaching is a lot of little things added together, and the feedback was informative to get me started as an educator. For this reason, I made sure to write down as much feedback as possible, both the good and the bad. I worked with Abby and Lillie and tried to help them in any way possible. I worked with them pretty closely when planning lessons to make sure that we were using the same terminology and methods. I also helped them to understand the standards as they were arranged and broken down on the curriculum map.
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Inspire
3c. Leadership
The second round of summer school was the first time I truly felt like a leader in the profession. Sure, I have been in plenty of leadership roles in my life, but those were in college and in athletics. As a teacher, I did not feel like a leader my first year. I lacked confidence and constantly questioned myself. I felt out of place and even incapable at times.
By summer school, I finally felt like I knew what I was doing, at least enough to be useful. I was finally in a position where I could be beneficial. I had grown over the past year to love the students and the profession and I was excited to share with those just coming in. I wanted to encourage and motivate those who were just coming in to the program. I wanted them to know that, though it is not easy, the teaching experience is one that is both necessary and rewarding to those who embark on the journey through MTC.