subbing blues...or, the beauty of a calm classroom

Despite being on a substitute list that is 500+ strong, I have still managed to get several jobs this semester. Maybe the testing season was particularly frustrating this year, resulting in more teachers desperately needing to use up their personal days this spring. whatever the reasons, I and my checking account are glad to be the beneficiary of their flights from the classroom.

As a sub, your day is always interesting. You have several variables to deal with the moment you walk into a school building:

1. You usually don't know the school building.
2. You usually don't know the kids.
3. The teacher's plans may - or may not - actually fill each hour.
4. Kids like to test you to understand your boundaries as the sub.

I learned this the hard way yesterday.

Up until recently, I've been a classic lenient sub. I mostly use verbal corrections to get kids back on track. But if any of them ignore my correction, or give me the look that says, "Make me, why dontcha," I've been slow to act and hesitant. Letting things slide when they could use some interference.

Yesterday a kid used language inappropriate for school - after a warning. I wasn't especially offended, but the principle I have for language is: 1 warning, then the office. So I sent a kid to the office - and I walked him down there, feeling HORRIBLE the whole time.

Discipline sucks. Especially when you realize that the kid you're sending to the office is not a troublemaker. I don't get how teachers, let alone parents, do discipline consistently, but a good friend gave me some quality books on classroom management so I hope to learn about it from them.

23 Things: Reading Edublogs

• The Myth of the Digital Native by "Chris," from Betchablog (1/6/2009)

It's often been suggested that, if you were born in the 1980s or later, that you are a "digital native" who should be fluent in multiple technologies. It's also been suggested that if you are part of any generation other than Gen-Y, that you are a "digital immigrant" in need of major help to acquire any technological understanding.

However, this blog post suggests that just because today's students have been around multiple technologies for years does not make them experts on those technologies. Chris cites multiple examples of Gen-Yers that he has encountered who only understand the basics of technology. An encouraging read for anyone who is unsure of their ability to learn technology because they are "older," and a challenging read for those who wish to implement technology in their classroom.

• Why I Don't Assign Homework by Dan Meyer from dy/dan (3/7/2007)

Interesting thoughts on why homework is unproductive...many of which I agree with the author on. But I'm not sure if it's always a good idea to NOT give homework. Won't students some day have a job that requires them to complete long-term projects in a timely manner? Or won't many students go to college and THEN be confronted with homework?

Could we be teaching helplessness by not, occassionally, assigning homework?

• Patrick's Update by "Patrick," from JHH students blog (2/17/2005)

This is a student's blog, run by what I assume is a school or an individualized blog group for students. Patrick wrote about his desire to pass 5th grade, even though an older brother had told him he wasn't smart enough to pass. I don't know how the teacher worked out the comment system for this blog, but several adults (and even students!) commented on Patrick's post. Lots of encouragement for this young writer!

• One Family's Story of Survival by "Carleigh," from A Really Different Place (1/19/2009)

Here is another student blogger who wrote about the plane that crashed in the Hudson River in January 2009. This blog seems to be a good example of student writing - apparently the writers are not just in one classroom but come from all over the country.

• How to Prevent Another Leonardo Da Vinci by Kris Bradburn from Wandering Ink (5/23/2007)

This post is the most provocative of all the blogs I've read today. Kris laid out the post in the order of 10 traits belonging to Leonardo Da Vinci, according to the book How to Think Like Leonardo DiVinci.

The basic position Kris takes is that modern education kills creativity and innovation. I don't want to agree with this...but to some extent, I know this is true. The education system in this country is broken. It's testingtestingtesting all the time. In most school systems, teachers just don't have the flexibility to create a better educational experience. Or, honestly, they don't have the energy and time to build a Da Vinci-friendly classroom.

Yes, we need to do as much as we can to inspire students by applying their interests and talents to the curriculum. But at the same time, let's be fair and realize that the small steps teachers take to build a better educational experience DO COUNT, even if they can't overthrow the system.

drum roll please...

I GOT A TEACHING JOB!!!

After a phone interview and a demonstration lesson, I will be the 6th grade Language Arts and Reading teacher at Alta Vista Charter School for the 2010-2011 school year!

This school serves a 97% Latino population from the KCMO school district. The school was only for grades 9-12, but this fall, they are bringing in a brand new class of 6th graders to start a middle school.

On my agenda:

1) continue Web 2.0 experience

2) re-learn Spanish

23 Things for Web 2.0

Mark Fox from TheTeachersHub tweeted about a single school's initiative to invite their teachers to explore the wide and wonderful world of Web 2.0 via a list of 23 "things." I don't think I've really recorded much about Web 2.0 so far in the life of this blog, so I think this is the perfect opportunity to do just that. I'm a few weeks late though, whoops. Here's to catching up with all my free time that I enjoy so blissfully...

Thing #1 of the 23 Things Project is - Blogging. :) The assignment is to create a Blogger account (check), create a blog (check,) choose your template (check). Now for the questions, to be answered in post form:

Q1) Why am I participating (from a distance) in the 23 Things Project?

A) See the above statement regarding Web 2.0 and the purpose of this particular blog.

Q2) What interests me about Web 2.0?

A) Teaching, as I know it on from both sides of the desk, is an art that ought to be constantly evolving to meet the needs of the students. Today, this means walking that fine line between entertainment and engagement. It means competing with iPods, YouTube, Facebook, Myspace, the Internet in general, TV and radio for students' attention - which, sometimes, can be done by pointing out exactly how Beyonce's new song expresses the theme of the novel we're reading in class, or by making Facebook pages for the characters from the short story unit.

But this kind of creativity and "fun" teaching is so much easier said than done in a culture of standardized tests that requires proof of proper performance to determine who passes and who fails (i.e., who gets funds and who doesn't). When we are so pressed and harassed by that urgent need to make sure as many students as possible understand as much as possible about English literature as quickly as possible, and all in time for the test, who really has time for this Web 2.0 stuff?

And yet. It can be done. I think starting small is the key. Like that Facebook page idea. A poster project. Clear requirements about the information needed. Time to work on it in class and share it with everyone. A billboard or wall devoted to the end results.

Web 2.0 is about connections. And in a time when students are more connected than any other generation of human beings have ever been before, Web 2.0 is the set of tools that fits them and their learning needs. It's up to the teachers to dig in and experiment to find out what is out there that can be put into a student's hands to help her build a bridge to connect ideas.

In conclusion, the tools I am interested in are:

• Classroom wikis that students add information to periodically during class throughout the school year.
• A class blog with updated entries that students must reply to for homework.
• Podcasting or creating a VoiceThread to compile students' reviews of a book, story, or unit, or even a project, while having a little fun.
• Photo or slideshow animation to jazz up those important Powerpoints or Keynotes.
• Google Tools, like using Google Earth to create Google Lit Trips, where students can actually map out significant places on the globe from stories we read in class.
• My Mac software, like iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand, which I would love to use frequently in my future classroom to jazz things up a bit.

I'm so excited about this 23 Things Project because I still feel like I have a long way to go to competently use these tools. Fortunately, in this case, being unemployed is a benefit - I can spend the next several days brushing up on what I do know and adding to my arsenal what I don't know yet. Hooray!

In the words of the indomitable Black Eyed Peas, "Let's get it started. Ha!"

possible jobs + contagious encouragement

Good news...although this is a poor economy for new teachers to enter, and high schools all around the area are cutting more teaching positions this year, there are still schools hiring here and there. I have been learning about God's provision and personal flexibility. He is going to bring me opportunities, but they may not look like what I thought I would pursue for my first year teaching job.

For example, I am currently working on a lesson plan for an interview for a 6th grade Language Arts position - and I am getting more excited by the day. On Feb. 9 i get to teach this lesson plan to some students and then we'll see what happens...

Also, today I had coffee with a good friend from college, and we spent the bulk of our time together emphatically discussing how great it would be if she became a high school theatre teacher. It's so great to see people catch on to teaching, especially when it's obvious how great they would be as teachers.

So, here's to trying out new things and continuing the job hunt.

thoughts on Haiti

*Quick sidenote: please pray about giving to support aid to Haiti! Here are at least 3 reputable organizations that you can trust to care for the Haitians' physical AND spiritual needs during this disaster: WorldVision, Compassion International, and Samaritan's Purse.

As news coverage of Haiti continues to provide updates in the wake of the earthquake, I find myself wondering again how power and wealth reside in some countries, but not in others. Apparently I'm due for an Anth 200 review of world history and the World Simulation.

I'm also wondering: How does God feel about the state of poverty in the world, particularly countries like Haiti?

Based on Scripture and what I know of His nature (the very little I know), I assume it breaks His heart far more than it could ever break ours. In Psalm 12, David writes about the oppression of the poor by wicked people. In verse 5 God speaks suddenly: " 'Because of the oppression of the afflicted and the groaning of the poor, I will now rise up,' says the Lord. 'I will put in a safe place the one who longs for it.' " These two sentences show so much about God's awareness of the effects of poverty and His compassion towards those caught in it.

It's times like these, when news of the world's hurt touches our hearts, how true it is that the only One who can fix the mess is Jesus Christ. Emergency aid helps, donations help, education helps (of course I believe in this since I plan to be an educator myself), community programs help. But ultimately, all that help falls short of a person's real need: to find purpose in getting lost in the story of God for His glory.

I began following Samaritan's Purse on Twitter and saw this for myself:

BHMhaiti

@SamaritansPurse chaplains have led 5 ppl to the Lord in our hospital today. God is moving even in the desperation that surrounds #Haiti. (about 3:30 pm)

merry end of 2009!

Well, the student teaching semester officially ended on December 10, 2009. I graduated from college 2 days later and now I find myself enjoying the life of a lazy bum a little bit too much.

Good thing the holidays are here to help me excuse my behavior for a few more days. There's something about just hanging around the house that I love so much: eating our leftovers, eating our Christmas candy, watching Nat Geo or History Channel specials with my dad, watching movies with my family, basically eating and watching TV in general...it could be pretty embarrassing if everybody knew how much TV is actually watched and how much treats are actually consumed around our home on a daily basis.

Anyway, the thought of going back into a school makes me groan inside. Just a wee bit. I sure do love not having to do anything. I guess I could more adequately say: I love wasting my time. This love of cruising Facebook for the latest gossip is sometimes beneficial - today I was able to call a friend and congratulate her on her engagement and her fetching new diamond, a mere day after the event, because of FB photo updates. But lingering over FB to get all caught up on everybody's doings is slightly lame. Just like zipping around on Etsy and jcrew's sale section to shop for everything I don't really need is kind of silly. Especially when it takes up an hour or two.

I have all this free time because of a December graduation with a degree that doesn't lend itself well to a mid-year-job opening. So, this would really be a great time to write. To read. And write some more. To scrapbook - maybe even finish scrapbooking freshman year of college (which was begun this summer...yick)!

But I do want a job, though. At least there's a few more days of productive leisure to be had before I hit up the school websites again...