I think student teaching left something out (activity, educators, graders)
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I assume this is satire. Even so, as someone who used to spend hours grading essays, this is extremely frustrating to read. Just FYI: if I was moving at a good, quick pace tests with essays or papers took between 5-10 minutes each to grade. With between 90-130 students that means I spent at least seven hours grading that work, usually it was more. Why do you think most teachers prefer multiple choice or short answer exams even though essay exams give you a better snapshot of student understanding?
It was meant to be a humorous look at an all too common reality. I can count on one hand, with fingers and thumbs left over, the number of English/Lit (which I gather is now Language Arts) teachers, from elementary through college, who actually graded papers and commented in a meaningful and useful way. As students we compared papers. The logic in grading between one student and the next was unfathomable. Essentially the same answers would be graded differently. One teacher had a breakdown mid year. We went a couple of months with no teacher in the class (I mean none. As students we'd dutifully show up and the teacher across the hall would occasionally check on us.) Finally after a couple of months we got a sub. His papers were so messed up she had us help to sort and organize them. We quickly saw there was no consistency in grading. My job was to rescore all the papers and redo the math. Nothing added up.
It was meant to be a humorous look at an all too common reality. I can count on one hand, with fingers and thumbs left over, the number of English/Lit (which I gather is now Language Arts) teachers, from elementary through college, who actually graded papers and commented in a meaningful and useful way. As students we compared papers. The logic in grading between one student and the next was unfathomable. Essentially the same answers would be graded differently. One teacher had a breakdown mid year. We went a couple of months with no teacher in the class (I mean none. As students we'd dutifully show up and the teacher across the hall would occasionally check on us.) Finally after a couple of months we got a sub. His papers were so messed up she had us help to sort and organize them. We quickly saw there was no consistency in grading. My job was to rescore all the papers and redo the math. Nothing added up.
Dude, I've been associated with public education in different capacities, in different states, for decades. Even in the crappiest school I ever encountered there is NO way a classroom was without an adult in charge of it for days, let alone months. I do know of a couple of incidents where a teacher or sub ran from a room resulting in the class being without a "teacher" part of a period or two, and a few incidents where a teacher was there in theory but they were incapacitated enough that they might as well not be there - but no teacher for months? No school would allow that to happen. Parents would never tolerate it, if nothing else. If what you say is true, what kind of neglectful parents did you have that they allowed that to continue? At least try to be realistic.
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Dude, I've been associated with public education in different capacities, in different states, for decades. Even in the crappiest school I ever encountered there is NO way a classroom was without an adult in charge of it for days, let alone months. I do know of a couple of incidents where a teacher or sub ran from a room resulting in the class being without a "teacher" part of a period or two, and a few incidents where a teacher was there in theory but they were incapacitated enough that they might as well not be there - but no teacher for months? No school would allow that to happen. Parents would never tolerate it, if nothing else. If what you say is true, what kind of neglectful parents did you have that they allowed that to continue? At least try to be realistic.
I agree. No matter where I taught (and I taught in excellent suburban schools, average suburban schools, and one terrible suburban school) or administered, I NEVER saw anything close to approaching what the other poster talked about. Naturally I can't say it didn't happen, but I'm genuinely skeptical of it.
The worse I ever saw happen was when I had a French teacher who was becoming frequently late to her first period class/homeroom. It wasn't noticed at first since she was teaching in one of our trailers. That ended REAL FAST once it was discovered because there's almost nothing more serious that a school can face than lack of supervision because there is no dense for that. It's one of the most basic tenets of educational law.
But getting back to the OP, it kinda made me laugh. Back in the 1970s when I did my student teaching, I had an excellent sponsor teacher supporting me. But that was about all I had. There was no internet from which to get resources. Just a pretty ill-equipped library...and the textbook. I remember being given the job of getting students to understand some of the basic concepts of the newly emerging field of continental drift and plate tectonics. I came up with the idea of a 3 part map lab. One day they would take a blank world map and plot significant earthquakes during the past year; the next day significant volcanic eruptions; the next day significant mountain ranges...and after all was done, they would see the plate boundaries. Well, the mountains were easy. Volcanoes and earthquakes in the past year...not available. I had to settle for 5 year old data, but that was okay, the principle was the same...but it took me DAYS to come up with the data. Today on the computer I could get the same info (except up-to-date) in about 3 minutes. Literally.
Having a good sponsor teacher was a great help, but still, I was pretty much on my own. And I'm glad I was. It prepared me for what was to come when I had my own classroom. THere's a degree of struggling in student teaching that I think is actually a good thing...because in just a few months you're going to be totally on your own, and then it's either cut it or get canned...and I've seen both happen. By the way, just for the record, I'm not condoning a lack of support on the part of a sponsor teacher. But I wouldn't expect a principal to be providing much support...beyond some counseling...for a student teacher; student teachers come and go, and a principal is more involved in supporting and evaluating 80 or more hired teachers, counselors, and other permanent staff. I also know that, unfortunately, college liaisons between the schools and colleges are often useless resources.
I agree. No matter where I taught (and I taught in excellent suburban schools, average suburban schools, and one terrible suburban school) or administered, I NEVER saw anything close to approaching what the other poster talked about. Naturally I can't say it didn't happen, but I'm genuinely skeptical of it.
The worse I ever saw happen was when I had a French teacher who was becoming frequently late to her first period class/homeroom. It wasn't noticed at first since she was teaching in one of our trailers. That ended REAL FAST once it was discovered because there's almost nothing more serious that a school can face than lack of supervision because there is no dense for that. It's one of the most basic tenets of educational law.
But getting back to the OP, it kinda made me laugh. Back in the 1970s when I did my student teaching, I had an excellent sponsor teacher supporting me. But that was about all I had. There was no internet from which to get resources. Just a pretty ill-equipped library...and the textbook. I remember being given the job of getting students to understand some of the basic concepts of the newly emerging field of continental drift and plate tectonics. I came up with the idea of a 3 part map lab. One day they would take a blank world map and plot significant earthquakes during the past year; the next day significant volcanic eruptions; the next day significant mountain ranges...and after all was done, they would see the plate boundaries. Well, the mountains were easy. Volcanoes and earthquakes in the past year...not available. I had to settle for 5 year old data, but that was okay, the principle was the same...but it took me DAYS to come up with the data. Today on the computer I could get the same info (except up-to-date) in about 3 minutes. Literally.
Having a good sponsor teacher was a great help, but still, I was pretty much on my own. And I'm glad I was. It prepared me for what was to come when I had my own classroom. THere's a degree of struggling in student teaching that I think is actually a good thing...because in just a few months you're going to be totally on your own, and then it's either cut it or get canned...and I've seen both happen.
I think my biggest problem as a teacher, other than occasionally having lessons that are apparently incomprehensible to my students yet sensible to me, is not being able to keep the students' attention. I can, and do, come up with things to teach, but I often question if they are effective or even what I'm supposed to be teaching.
If I recall correctly, when I was a kid, we didn't worry about "lulls." If the teachers were boring, we just dealt with it, and we had distractions, too. We had computers, video games, cell phones, online videos, etc. Sure, calls were expensive, we still had dial-up internet, and some of the computers at school still used floppy disks, but we still had the potential to get VERY distracted, yet we dealt with it and managed to concentrate. Did I want to go home early and play video games when I was a middle schooler? Yes, but did that mean the teachers suddenly thought they had to put on a horse and pony show for me to keep my attention? No.
Don't get me wrong; I WANT to be the teacher who puts on the magic show for the kids to get them interested in some concept, but that requires somewhat of a script and a lot of knowledge that I just DON'T have right now! It's hard to create lessons that keep students "active and engaged," (especially when you aren't even clear about what exactly you are supposed to be teaching). I know this is just "the way things are" now. People have shorter attention spans, and I'm willing to accommodate, but I feel like I don't really have the know-how to do it in the most effective way possible. I guess I'll keep looking, though. Thanks for all of the great resources.
I wish this school would do the sensible thing, though, and give me someone who teaches a similar subject, like the sixth or eighth grade English teacher, and allow me to copy some of their lessons and activities until I got a feel for what I'm actually supposed to be doing. It's very frustrating to pour over resources and try to decipher confusing lists of standards to come up with a coherent lesson. It's making the job a lot harder than it needs to be, and allowing me to copy another teacher would be an easy solution to this problem.
No, though, it seems like I'm stuck having to try to "reinvent the wheel." I have no idea why. Do they think I'm some kind of slacker just because I grew up in the 90's and am from out-of-state? Is this just some kind of weird initiation rite for new teachers? It's a little like asking me to make a cake from scratch without letting me first become familiar with the recipe for a good cake but instead just giving me a list of ingredients I need to include without telling me HOW to combine those ingredients! If I'm being judged on my ability to teach, why am I not at least being given a fair chance?
I think my biggest problem as a teacher, other than occasionally having lessons that are apparently incomprehensible to my students yet sensible to me, is not being able to keep the students' attention. I can, and do, come up with things to teach, but I often question if they are effective or even what I'm supposed to be teaching.
Okay. But remember, you're a student teacher. You are learning. Those are skills you will pick up...hopefully.
In 33 years of teaching and administering, I only saw 2 occasions when student teaching failed. And they were extreme situations. So you may be doing better than you think.
I think my biggest problem as a teacher, other than occasionally having lessons that are apparently incomprehensible to my students yet sensible to me, is not being able to keep the students' attention. I can, and do, come up with things to teach, but I often question if they are effective or even what I'm supposed to be teaching.
If I recall correctly, when I was a kid, we didn't worry about "lulls." If the teachers were boring, we just dealt with it, and we had distractions, too. We had computers, video games, cell phones, online videos, etc. Sure, calls were expensive, we still had dial-up internet, and some of the computers at school still used floppy disks, but we still had the potential to get VERY distracted, yet we dealt with it and managed to concentrate. Did I want to go home early and play video games when I was a middle schooler? Yes, but did that mean the teachers suddenly thought they had to put on a horse and pony show for me to keep my attention? No.
Don't get me wrong; I WANT to be the teacher who puts on the magic show for the kids to get them interested in some concept, but that requires somewhat of a script and a lot of knowledge that I just DON'T have right now! It's hard to create lessons that keep students "active and engaged," (especially when you aren't even clear about what exactly you are supposed to be teaching). I know this is just "the way things are" now. People have shorter attention spans, and I'm willing to accommodate, but I feel like I don't really have the know-how to do it in the most effective way possible. I guess I'll keep looking, though. Thanks for all of the great resources.
I wish this school would do the sensible thing, though, and give me someone who teaches a similar subject, like the sixth or eighth grade English teacher, and allow me to copy some of their lessons and activities until I got a feel for what I'm actually supposed to be doing. It's very frustrating to pour over resources and try to decipher confusing lists of standards to come up with a coherent lesson. It's making the job a lot harder than it needs to be, and allowing me to copy another teacher would be an easy solution to this problem.
No, though, it seems like I'm stuck having to try to "reinvent the wheel." I have no idea why. Do they think I'm some kind of slacker just because I grew up in the 90's and am from out-of-state? Is this just some kind of weird initiation rite for new teachers? It's a little like asking me to make a cake from scratch without letting me first become familiar with the recipe for a good cake but instead just giving me a list of ingredients I need to include without telling me HOW to combine those ingredients! If I'm being judged on my ability to teach, why am I not at least being given a fair chance?
The hardest thing for me when I began student teaching was being able to plan the right amount of work/content for a 50 minute period. I found myself often ending up either woefully short of stuff to do in one period, or way over-planning. But, after a few weeks, I began adjusting.
Horse and pony shows. That's what I hated about observing/evaluating teachers. If it was a scheduled observation, I often got those horse and pony shows, and I knew they weren't what usually happened in that classroom. I much preferred to unannounced observations. The "magic", as you put it. It doesn't have to be magic all the time...just once in a while so that students see you as someone who can inspire.
I disagree. I think you need to reinvent the wheel for a while. Because you have to become the teacher you really are, not the teacher somebody else is.
The very fact that you're questioning all this is a very good sign.
The OP is not a student teacher but a full classroom teacher. This is maybe her third teaching position.
Yeah...I don't really know where they got the idea I was a student teacher. I'm going to claim "first-year teacher" as this is my first "traditional" style teaching position. My first full-time position was at a youth center with really challenging kids, but the curriculum was literally a computer program, so I didn't have to worry about planning lessons at all.
I'm lamenting now because I feel like the student teaching program(s) I attended left out two major parts of teaching--lesson planning (including grading non-standardized work and building in engagement) and classroom management. Why did I not get it then? I don't know. Was I asking the same questions then? Yes. Was I getting more or less the same answers--"you should have already learned that (somewhere else)?" Yes.
Sorry, but at this point, I'm frustrated. I went to college, went into debt, and apparently STILL lack the skills I need to successfully do this job, even though I'm trying, and have been trying, really hard! I went back and earned a master's because I felt like my bachelor's didn't prepare me enough. I went back and re-did student teaching because I felt like they left something out the first time, BUT I got the same...general...results.
I'm upset, because, like I said before, I don't know some really important things that would help me do my job MUCH more effectively, but my job won't teach them to me. It's my responsibility to learn them on my own or get out of the way.
It's probably too much to ask, but could someone walk me through the process of deciphering these standards and turning them into lessons? I may only need one or two examples.
KRMB, I was confused about this at first too but if you google up "lesson plans" you will find a lot of actual lesson plans and also stuff about how to plan a lesson. I like to have a short bell ringer for them first,which also helps with discipline, then dig into main lesson, then leave some cushion at the end for discussion or for them to catch up on other homework since I teach sped. One of my favorite sites for language arts is readworks.
As for engagement, I tell about interesting things to help make an analogy to make a point and I sometimes bring them into my story. An example is when I was teaching about Newton's first law, which you all will recall is about inertia and whatever is in motion stays in motion and keeps going at the same speed and in the same direction. We all know it doesn't quite work that way on earth because some force will always stop it so I tell them that it works perfectly in space and that if we are all up in space and Nathan over there gives me any trouble I will give him a push and he will continue to fly thru outer space till he gets sucked up by a black hole. They love it and they pay attention because they want to know which part of the story they will be included in and the idea of Nathan flying thru space is sooo funny. The key to this is knowing which kids enjoy being singled out for this kind of attention and which don't.if you think that sounds babyish, it needn't be...mine are high school.
For discipline I resonate most closely with Teaching With Love and Logic, but you may have to find your own style. Start with the simple tricks like "the hairy eyeball" or walking over to stand by trouble makers and it usually doesn't take much more than that. Also, I refuse to try to talk over them. I mainly build relationships with them though and have almost no trouble. One thing that I refuse to put up with is disrespectful behavior because that can be contagious.
Dude, I've been associated with public education in different capacities, in different states, for decades. Even in the crappiest school I ever encountered there is NO way a classroom was without an adult in charge of it for days, let alone months. I do know of a couple of incidents where a teacher or sub ran from a room resulting in the class being without a "teacher" part of a period or two, and a few incidents where a teacher was there in theory but they were incapacitated enough that they might as well not be there - but no teacher for months? No school would allow that to happen. Parents would never tolerate it, if nothing else. If what you say is true, what kind of neglectful parents did you have that they allowed that to continue? At least try to be realistic.
Because you do not believe me does not change the fact that it happened. Parents weren't neglectful and the kids were responsible and well disciplined even without a teacher there. Parents simply trusted the school without question. There was little expectation of kids going to college. The parents worked in the cotton mill, except for some who were farmers or worked in the gas stations or store. They expected their kids would work in the mill or on the farm just like they did and their parents did. Many of the kids started working split shift in the mill at age 16 (state law allowed it back then). Only five or six of my graduating class went to college. I was lucky and went into the service to earn my college degree.
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