So week one of middle
school is done, and week two is on the horizon. In the classroom that I am in,
there are two 7th grade classes and two 8th grade classes.
All of these classes are working on components and features of argument essays.
Day One (Tuesday)
On
the first day I was really excited. Working with the youth, I have learned that
7th and 8th graders are probably my favorite to get to
know. They are all so different from one another and are constantly changing at
rapid speeds, so it’s always fun to pick their brains.
As
I was walking into the school with a big smile painted on my face, I heard “Hey
Nate!”. As I turn around I see a child from my after school program and summer
camp that I am very close with. I didn’t really know how to feel about this
encounter at this time other than hoping that he wasn’t in my class. As I got
into the school I noticed how electric everything was and I got a great
positive feeling about the school, it was buzzing.
Upon
meeting my cooperating teacher, she gave me a breakdown of her advisory and the
two seventh grade classes I was going to be seeing. I resigned this day to only
observe and get a feel for the classes and students. Both classes seemed to be
pretty focused on their work and extremely shy toward me. I made it through my
two classes without incident though and as I left I was excited to try and talk
to students the next time I came in.
Day Two (Thursday)
For
day two I was in the classroom for all six hours. I got to see both 7th
grade classes and both 8th grade classes. And for the first two
periods, an 8th and then 7th grade class, I had a student
teacher from PC with me. This was fun because we got to share observations. As
students were working we were walking around helping them and I got to meet a
few of the students. I think one of the 7th graders got a little mad
at me because I was not giving him answers to what they were working on though.
Seeing
both 7th and 8th grade classes side by side on this day I
got to see how very different those two age groups are. The 8th
graders are so much more open to talking. I got into a few long conversations
with them about being in the schools production of beauty and the beast. I also
noticed that it seems like 8th grade is when the separation of
cliques begin. I noticed how much more
they were socially grouped. Also I made notes on how some of the 8th
grade boys only cared about flirting rather than school work.
Also
during my second day, a few of the 8th and 7th grade
girls told me that their friends think I’m cute. Something I had been prepared
for, but I am never actually certain how to deal with.
Day Three (Friday)
On
my third day, I got to see a 7th and an 8th grade class.
I was able to get a few more of the 7th graders to speak to me this
day as I helped them with the task they were doing. The 8th grade
was the same as the previous day, with more students talking to me and the boys
caring about everything but schoolwork.
I
am certainly excited to go back this week and see if I can get more students to
open up to me.
Nate: I'm delighted to hear that you are getting up and walking around the classroom, working with and chatting with students. I wonder if your cooperating teacher is also doing this, at the same time that you and the PC student are also doing it. What's the effect of three grownups in the room? Can you tell? I like how your goal for this week is to get students to open up to you. As you know, a smile, a well-placed question, kneeling down to "desk level" to talk...these gestures of "leaning in" allow us to begin to develop relationships with kids. I like very much that your instinct is to do this before you try teaching them. Yes, yes, yes. We cannot learn from people we do not like. :)
ReplyDeleteI also want to commend you on your This I Believe statement, though I will tell you (because I love you) that there are a few grammatical bleeps in it that, if fixed, would make it a much stronger piece of writing. (once a teacher, always a teacher, I suppose...)
I love this line: "I believe that the idea of life should be amplified in school." I also like the idea of school as practice. School as a workshop, a practice room (like music majors know about), a workout room, a yoga studio, a rehearsal stage...all practice spaces. Why don't we view the classroom as this same kind of space? A place to make a mess? A place to practice being innovative? A place to invent stuff? I wish classrooms were more like my parents' garage, where I could always go (and still do!) to find all sorts of odds and ends that, together, would help me construct something awesome, like a solar hot dog oven or a kite.
I like your ideas, Nate, and I can't wait to see how you bring them to life in the classroom, despite the contextual challenges you may face. Thank you! Keep going!