Closure

My last day at Hardeman Elementary School was one that I will never forget.

 I remember I went to go get the kids from recess and they were all sweaty and excited to see me just as always. As we entered the classroom, my mentor teacher Mrs. Hartman, asked the kids to sit in a circle on the carpet. She then asked me to sit in the middle of the circle. One by one, my students took the time to tell me how much they had enjoyed having me in their classroom.

My eyes started to water. I realized how much I had gotten attached to each and everyone of my students.

Once they finished, my mentor proceeded to hand me a gift she had gotten for me. I loved it! In the bag was a zebra hourglass tumbler (with a pink "B" for Brenda!!), a matching note pad and pen, and a thank you card with all of my students names that they had written themselves. Then my kids all lined up to give me a hug!

I was so happy and thankful for having had the chance and privilege to such a lovely experience...I just didn't want to leave.


                                   Here is my Animoto video of my internship this year.
                       

                                
                                       
                                        Here is the Photo Collage I made for my teacher.

Only Three More Monday's!!

With only three more Monday's to go, this year is almost finally over. It's amazing the progress that I have seen myself make this year as a teacher intern at Hardeman Elementary School.

 I can still remember those first few days where I felt so nervous being around the kids and my mentor. I dreaded every time my mentor asked me to do the Calendar Wall with the class. My hands would start to shake and I would get as red as a tomato...but that soon stopped once I got a hold of myself and started to get used to doing it everyday that I went.

I was surprised when I saw myself in a video presenting a lesson plan to my first graders this last semester. I no longer talked in a quiet voice, stuttered, or flushed red. I looked confident...and well, like a teacher.  

I'm glad I was able to have this experience this year. It showed me that being a teacher can be hard work but can also be very rewarding in the end. Hopefully becoming a teacher will be the right choice for me!

Smart Technology

This week we learned about new educational apps we can download for the iPads and that are useful to teach with in the classrooms along with Smartboard lessons.


Some apps I would use for my first grade class would be:

•  Kid Apps: All in 1 : This app has Common Words, Letter Tracing, Number Tracing, etc. With this app, I could help kids that are behind to recognize sight words. Also Number Tracing would be great for kids that tend to flip their numbers backwards when they write.
• My Spelling Test : With this app, you can input voice recordings along with the words. Taking spelling tests will become both fun and easy for my students!

A Samartboard lesson that I could use would be:

• Gumball Math- Graphing, Addition, Subtraction : With this, I could introduce graphing to my first grade students. I also really liked the word problems. This would make it easier to show both adding and subtracting number sentences.

Making Real World Connections

In an article from Edutopia, I learned that a school is making real world financial connections for their students. Doing so prepares them for their future and helps the students to make better decisions money-wise.

In my own years in school, I think that in math the teacher could have probably touched more on how we would exactly apply all of the equations we needed to learn in our daily life.  

I think the most useful subjects that I have taken have been Life Management Skills and Keyboarding class. In my Life Management Skills class I learned about relationships, how to finance a house, a family, etc. Keyboarding class helped me get more comfortable and faster with computers. This ability is needed and essential now days.

I feel okay about my ability to manage money and finances. I know that what I still don't know or need to learn on this matter, I'll learn from my parents.

I definitely think that I would feel more confidence in myself and on my ability to manage money if I had attended a school with a financial literacy curriculum.

What Teachers Want Parents to Know

I recently read an article written by Ron Clack called What Teachers Really Want to Tell Parents. 
After reading this, I learned that many parents are turning into prosecutors and critics instead of trying to support their child's teacher. More and more teachers are having "parent issues". These problems are making them want to throw in the towel and leave their profession. So, what two main things do teachers want parents to understand?

1) Teachers are not nannies. As educated professionals, if they give you advice, take it don't fight it. Some parents automatically start to fight and defend their child if anything negative is said about them. If parents took the advice instead of taking it in a bad way, their child would benefit from it.

2) Parents need to stop making excuses. Making excuses for their children will only make the kid irresponsible and teach him to turn to excuses when he isn't succeeding. This does not create a strong work ethic and will eventually only end up harming the child.

Parents need to be partners and not prosecutors. They should find a way to work with the teacher so they can both build a bright future for the student. By supporting the teacher and working with the system, the student will get a better education and learn to respect his teachers too.

Rule #1: We are a Family

Ron Clark's book has 55 rules that are essential for a classroom to function. Why is the first rule, "We are a Family", so important?

By having the students see each other as a family, it would unite them in a way that otherwise would have been impossible to achieve due to how different every individual looks, thinks, and acts. It would mean that the students would have to treat each other with kindness and respect. Instead of dividing into different cliques and gangs thinking that one is better than the other, they could come together as one.

My own classroom rules for my Education and Training class could be:

•  The Golden rule: Treat everyone the way you wish to be treated.
• Make the right decisions
• Get there on time
• Follow teacher's directions
• Do work before being distracted by YouTube
 

Glogster in the Classroom

The link to my Glogster for my first grade class is: http://s2jcukm.edu.glogster.com/first-grade-seasons/

The High Cost of Education

I plan to cover at least half of my college expenses with either scholarships or loans. I don't think I've done enough yet, but I'll keep applying until I do. I haven't applied to FAFSA just yet but I will soon.


I agree with President Obama's initiative to get more colleges to be more transparent with college costs and employment after graduating.  An article on The Reporter talked about how students with loans are graduating with an average of $25,000 in debt. On top of that, unemployment still remains high. The cost of college is so much that a fifth of the students don't return for a second year.

I really liked how Obama also said, “Higher education can’t be a luxury— it’s an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.” I think this is very true. Everyone should be able to afford an education that will later on ensure a job that's worth while. The secret to a successful nation is its higher education.

Do schools kill creativity?

What exactly is creativity? Sir Ken Robinson explains his point of view in his video Do schools kill creativity? 


Creativity is the ability to use your imagination and to come up with your own valuable and original ideas. Picasso once said, "All children are born artists, the problem is to remain an artist as we grow up."

Creativity is very important in education because it brings out new and innovative ideas that make things interesting and exciting. If there wasn't any creativity, then everything would be the same and there would never be any progress. Creativity in education helps children find themselves and to think outside the box. 


I see creativity the most when I'm out at my site school. When my first graders write a story or draw a picture, you can see their imagination working and creating. It's truly fascinating what little kids of that age can do. Rather than "killing" their different and spontaneous way of thinking, it should be encouraged.

Hire me, please!

Reading an article that talked about interview techniques made me think about my own weaknesses and strengths in an interview situation.


Some of my weaknesses might be:
1. Not elaborating enough on my answers because I am too nervous and therefore looking disinterested.
2. Arriving late to my appointment.


Some of my strengths would be:
1. Looking at the person in the eyes. I was taught since I was little to look at people in the eye when talking to them, specially with an adult.
2. Being nice and attentive.


I could overcome my weaknesses by trying to calm myself down, keeping a smile on my face, and copying their body language to hide how nervous I actually am. To arrive on time, I would need to start getting ready extra early and maybe even getting there five minutes before.
I could accentuate my strengths by keeping a warm position and an open posture.


I've never applied for a job before but I will soon and I certainly hope that this will help!

Digital Learning Day

A digital tool I could use in my site school for first grade can be Movie Maker | Xtranormal.
All you have to do is sign up with your email address, username, and password and you can use it for free. After that you can start creating as many animations as you want and publish them.

• I think the students would really enjoy it if I could make up an animated story that goes along with what they are learning and make it part of my lesson plan. After watching it, I would ask questions about what they learned and discuss it.

         -or-

•  I could make a movie of what I would say to them but have the characters in the movie teach them rather than me doing the explaining.

On Digital Learning Day on February 1st, most of my teachers didn't really try to incorporate digital learning in their lessons. All that a few did was use the overhead projector to show us power points but that was pretty much it.


There are so many creative and fun to use web tools to help teach classrooms that I was surprised to see how very little some teachers actually use!

Make It Happen in 2012!

Three things that I would like to change or keep doing during this next semester will be:
 1. Maintain my grade up in Pre-AP Algebra 2. To be able to do that I would need to go in for tutorials if ever needed. Also, getting early to class to get a head start on my tests every Friday. By doing this I'll be getting the help I need and I'll have a better chance of acing my tests.

2. Get less tardies this semester. To do so I would need to wake up a little bit earlier to get to school on time. Doing this will help me not miss any class time because of tardy sweeps and be able to be exempt from my tests.  

3. Study and practice my French. Since French is getting a lot harder, I need to study more and not slack off. By doing that I will be able to get my work done and get good grades.

Let's do this!!

The Ideal Classroom

I was quite surprised when I finished reading the article of Lewisville ISD trades rows of desks for sofas - Your Houston News: Dallas.

Teachers should really know better than that. Sure it would be a rather relaxing atmosphere at school and what kid doesn't want that? But that would only worsen the problem of kids trying to stay awake during class. Being that comfortable would only make them doze off and not pay attention.

 With the older students it would only get worse since it's hard to keep teenagers awake,interested, and engaged in classroom activities.

With that in mind, my classroom would have normal desks and not sofas. Yes the students would be able to use electronics for classroom instruction such as ipads, smart phones, etc. but only when needed and under supervision. The room would be decorated with bright colors and modern furniture to have the kids look forward to being in class and to motivate them.

Grinch or Santa?

Some parents are getting upset over the fact that the Fort Worth school district is not allowing gift exhcanges or Santa visits in their classrooms.


If I was to have a say on this, then I would go with NOT celebrating Christmas in class. Some reasons to back up my opinion are :


1. Giving gifts and having a party during class causes many distractions and takes away valuable instruction time from the teacher

2. Not all kids in a classroom celebrate Christmas. Why make them uncomfortable? Teachers should take that more into consideration.

3. Students that don't celebrate it, can't participate or get involved in activities being done at school. Making students feel left out and again, uncomfortable.

Read the first and second article on the topic on the Star Telegram to know more information about this.

American Teacher

 The movie American Teacher gave me a whole different point of view on teaching.  It shocked me to see that so many schools districts have a small income. Most can't even pay their teachers the money needed for materials used in class . I had always heard my teachers complain that they didn't get paid enough but I never realized it was this bad.   


 I think what was causing most of the teachers in the video frustration was having to stay after school everyday for hours just to get things done but still getting paid a crummy amount of money. Some had to get second jobs to be able to support their families economically and that put even more stress on them.


 I really don't think conditions could improve with out an increase in money. Something should be done about this as soon as possible. Teachers at least deserve that much. 

Why Do Students Procrastinate?

This week's topic is on Overcoming Procrastination. After reading an article on the topic, I noticed that one of the reasons why I tend to leave everything for the last minute is that I have difficulty concentrating.


I get distracted easily at school and so I decide to put my assignments off and prefer to finish them at home. But then that leaves me with not enough time to finish them.


To overcome my procrastination i will try to discipline myself to use my time wisely. Having my priorities straight should help me get things in order. Also eliminating the noise or distractions such as listening to music or talking to friends while working would be good.

If I could change education I would...

After watching the video of Changing Education Paradigms by Sir Ken Robinson, it made me realize that the way that we are being and have been educated, perhaps hasn't been the best after all.


 If I could change education I think I would start off by changing the standardized tests and activities inside the classroom. We all perform differently and therefore cannot all be evaluated and assessed by one standardized test. If testing is not our strong point, it limits our ability to succeed. 


 I think we could all learn more if we opened up to more options and had more "hands-on" activities. It would be a better learning experience and would get the students to be more engaged in what we are learning. It would also be a lot more interesting if we all learned something that would actually apply to our future lives rather than waste our time on things that we might not ever see again.


Also, rather than separating kids by age groups, I think it would help if we were separated by how much we know. Students with a higher level of intelligence should advance to the grade level they have the potential to be in. Rather than sitting in a class all day with students that don't understand the assignment and a teacher that can't move on because of those students.


I think students would really benefit from this and in the end we could all learn more.

Lesson Planning 101

Mrs. Steven's Blog


TEA TEKS for First Grade
This week's blog is about lesson planning and different activities to use for first graders. 


Ideas for First Grade TEKS Activities:
1) Put a certain amount of pennies in a cup, take out a few, place them on a table facing up and have the kids count them. Give them the total amount of pennies but don't show them. Have the kids tell you how many were left in the cup by subtracting. (1.3)(A)

2) Have the kids go out to recess and while at it, have them all ask their playmates the same question like "What is your favorite color: blue, pink, or green?" Then when they come back in, discuss the data and create a bar graph with them organizing the results. (1.9)(A&B)


3) Cut out small squares with different amounts of dots on them like a dice would. Give them each a paper with enough space to place the squares. Each paper has different numbers like 15, 19, 10. They must search for a way to add the squares together and get the right amount for each number. (1.5)(D)

My First Week as a Teacher

 I'm an intern at Hardeman Elementary School in Haltom City, Texas.  My mentor teacher is Mrs. Hartman. I'm with her for Reading and Math in first grade.


                                                                A picture of the school:

   For my first day at my site school I was very excited, but also extremely nervous. When I knocked on the classroom's door no one was there. I found out they were having recess outside so I went to meet my teacher. I introduced myself and liked her right away. She was very nice, she explained to me the kids' schedule, and also told me about herself. Later back in the classroom, I introduced myself to my new class using the poster I had made for them about me. The kids immediately started asking questions and reacting to the little facts I had shared with them about me. Interacting with them was even more adorable than what I had imagined. 
They were all very engaged in participating in their activities. They would ask for hugs every five minutes and well i just really enjoyed spending time with them. Seeing how Mrs. Hartman handled everything really impressed me. I really hope I can learn a lot from this experience. I also hope to get to know the kids better and to be able to help them with whatever they need.  

Reading A Tale Of Two Worlds: Old School, New School, I learned that technology being used in schools has been changing and evolving over the years.  I still remember when we used to use overhead projectors and video cassette players in class. Now it's all about the smart boards, smart phones, and ebooks.
But thanks to all of these new tools for learning, we now can understand concepts better. It makes our classes more interesting and interactive. Making it easier for teachers to teach their kids the needed information with fun and creative ways. Technology has become a necessity in our current society and is changing our world. For more information over technology changing our education, go to Buzzle.com