Question 15: The End

It is sad to think that I may never get the same opportunity to observe Mrs. Roark classroom again but she has taught me so much about being a successful teacher!

1. She has taught me the importance of being flexible. If a teacher does not know how to “roll with the punches” then I feel like they will become a stressful teacher.

2. It is important to hear what the children are saying. Each child is special and you can learn a lot from them. The students are not the only ones who should be learning in the schools but the teachers should be learning how to modify their lessons if one child is beginning to struggle. Each child has the potential to change the world and it is important that teachers are one of the people in that child’s life that will listen to their ideas. We are teacher are there to help plant the seed of thinking and we must water their curiosity.

3. Mrs. Roark taught me that the setup of your classroom will either invite or hinder the children’s learning. If you have too much going on in the class children will become distracted but if the classroom is not inviting then the children will just think that they are in prison. Teachers need to start creating safe environments so that a child is not afraid to think outside the box.

4. She has also taught me that as a teacher you will have some good days, some bad but in the end we are doing this to make a difference even if you only make a difference in one child’s life.

5. Conversation is important! If the children do not talk to you, then how will they learn how to think and perfect their comprehension?! I think many teachers are scared that if they allow their students to talk then they will have chaos but if guidelines are set and there respect within the classroom then that wont happened

6. In order to receive respect from the students in your class you MUST give it to them first! The students will never respect you if they don’t feel like you value them. Each child in you class WILL make a difference in the community they live in. We must remember the influence we have on the children in our class.

I would rather make a huge difference in one child’s life than make no difference at all. In the end I realized that there will be good days and there will be bad days the most importance thing to remember is that you are not doing this for the pay in income but you are getting paid to see children understand more.

xoxo

Question 12: Present and Absences

I guess it was because of the time of day that I got to observe the class might explain my answer to the following questions.  I did not see a lot of writing, viewing or visually representing within the classroom. I did however see the children read for fun never because they had to. I did get to see the students listen and speak.

Speaking and reading was a big deal in Mrs. Roark’s class. Even though busy work for the students is not necessary a good thing I did like that Mrs. Roark gave the students the option to read a book when they were done with their work. So throughout the day the students got a chance to escape the reality of school and go on an adventure in the book they were reading. Since talking and conversations helps build fluency, the students were constantly talking about what they were reading. They would tell Mrs. Roark what was going on in the book they were reading and she had them journal a lot about the book they were reading.  I like that they could have a conversation with the teacher and they would also recommend books to the peers in their classroom as well.

Since I didn’t get to see the students do a lot of writing, viewing or visual representing it would not surprise me if Mrs. Roark did include that in her lessons throughout the day.  I could think of several ways that it could be including in lessons. Since writing is very obvious but as far as including viewing and visual representing that could be in word search around the classrooms and having the students use class resources in order to expand on some new ideas they are learning.

Mrs. Roark could include anything in her teaching because is a very flexible teacher!

(Dear God, teach me how to be flexible in my teaching…Amen!)

xoxo

Question 11: Literature play

Literature play throughout the class is not a large thing that I saw but I did see it some time. Since I did not real get to see the class uses this method a lot. As a matter of fact I don’t think I have even seen Mrs. Roark include literature play in other curriculum areas.  I do see the importance of including that is every aspect of curriculum and throughout the day but I do not think that harm is done if it is not included all the time.

Since the children would expect it all the time throughout the day I feel like that the students would use that time to just goof around and not really do any work. Now I may be wrong or may have the wrong idea of what literature play is but since I did not see Mrs. Roark make a huge stress on that I don’t think that the students would not be able to learn. Even though play is universal where ever you go, every child likes playing I don’t think that it is a very cruel thing.

xoxo

Question 7: Releasing

Mrs. Roark does a good gradual release with her students. When she gives the students instruction on what she is expecting them to do she follows the model of:

Teacher do, Students watch

Teacher does again, Students help

Student do, Teacher helps

Students do, Teacher watches

There was one incident where I got to see a new student enter the classroom the very same day that I started my observation and all the instructions that Mrs. Roark was giving that student she would show them how she wanted everything done. When it came to reading with the child, Mrs. Roark would give instruction and would do it. Over time the child began to catch onto what was being expecting from him Mrs. Roark would gradually rely on the student to do their part until finally she could tell that the child could do everything on their own.

Even though that might not be the best example of what gradually release is, I did notice the importance of this method. Not only is it teaching the child to pay attention to what is going on but you are teaching them how to become young responsible citizens. Since in the ‘real’ world you are on your own I think that this is great preparation to teach the students what is to be expected but it also shows them that their teacher will always be there to help out.

As teachers we should not just expect the students to do everything on their own but to realize that teacher are there to guide and to help during difficult times. Independences is a good thing, and I feel like you can never teach that too young!

xoxo

Question 5: How to teach...

Rosa Parks Elementary School believes (thank God) in balance literacy. So I have heard my teacher ask her students to think about what they are thinking about. Even though most teachers are not use to this method of teaching I feel like it’s very easy for the students to grasp.

I think that this method is easier for each child to understand, the second language learner’s students can learn and those who are the “smart” students even know and can be challenged.

xoxo

Question 4: Within the Classroom

Within the classroom that I have been observing I’ve noticed that Mrs. Roark using a lot of resources, she has three computer in the classroom that the children have access to when permission is given, she uses the smart board to give information and instructions and she has a magna- doodle!

*Note to future teacher: Magna doodles are a MUST! It writes like a white board but no messy or dirty sleeves!*

 The children in the classroom use small white boards with certain activities like math and some of the word searches, word work etc.

I don’t know if I want to rely on technology allow to connect with my student but I guess it would just depend on where I am teaching and what most students have access to (“ this would definitely be a why would you, why wouldn’t you”)

xoxo

Question 1: What have I learned?!

Throughout this whole semester I feel like I’m ready to enter into the world of teaching. The textbook has opened up my eyes to a new way of thinking about phonics, comprehension, thinking out loud and fluency. In order to have my students interested in reading I myself, must read and learn to enjoy reading. It is through reading and conversation that fluency is developed and increased. All the time my elementary teachers told me to stop talking out of turn, or to stop talking because I was distracting other I realized that they we stopping my thinking, well not really but in so many words it is true. I realize how important it is to have the children in my class to talk about what they are thinking about. I loved the way Huntley would lecture us on something and then she would stop and tell us to talk to the people at our table about what we were thinking about. Since I am a talker I think this really help me thinking about not only what was going on but it really had me thinking.

Thinking is important and I learned that it is dangerous to have our students stop thinking about what they are thinking. How do we expect the students to learn anything if they cannot talk about what they are thinking? I wish more school would believe in balance literacy, I think that if teacher would create a safe and respecting environment in their classroom students would feel comfortable learning and would not be scared to ask silly question. In my practicum I noticed how every child understood that there were rules that needed to be obeyed but at the same time they understood that Mrs. Roark is there to teach them and to help answer their questions. If teacher do not create a safe environment for thinking and to ask questions that where will we produce thinkers who are not scared to think beyond the limits?!

Along with allow and encouraging my students to think I want them to talk about things. Through conversations is how fluency is developed. I don’t want any child to feel scared to talk in class. If they have a theory I want them to explore it until they find the correct answer. If my teachers would have allowed for exploration in their classrooms I think I may have loved school but because the environment never seemed welcoming I elementary school left a bad taste in my mouth.

I honestly have learned a lot for this class but I think one thing that I would take away from this class is the fact that a safe environment creates a safe place to explore. Exploration leads to answers and answers lead to conclusions. I want to be the teacher who produces students who think and learn. I want to be the teacher that not only pushed her students to think outside the box but to go and find answers to question that I cannot answer. I want to one day look on the news and see that one of my elementary student has just found a cure for cancer because they thought beyond the limits.

Question 13: R.E.S.P.E.C.T

I’ve gotten to notice how much respect has to go into becoming a great teacher and I’ve noticed how the children respect Mrs. Roark but thinking about it, Mrs. Roark respects teaching in general. I’ve gotten to know Mrs. Roark not only as a teacher but as a person as well and she honestly loves what she is doing. She has been teaching for the past twenty years and has been teaching third grade for about half that time. She has worked at Rosa Parks since it opened and has been tag teaming teaching with the teacher she teaches with now for almost ten years.

Since she has created such a welcoming and safe environment I don’t think the children only respect her as a teacher and an adult but I think they respect her because they know that with her there is no dumb answer.

Mrs. Roark has to be one of my favorite teachers that I’ve been able to observe because you can see how genuine she is about her love for her students. She does not refer to them as her students in her classroom but she says that she considers them he children; I’ve never seen her have a bad day at work. She always comes to the school with a smile on her face and she knows that she is changing the world, one child at a time. When she talks to the children, she knows that they are hungry for knowledge and that each child is special. She has told me that the only way you can last in the education business is to look at each child as a gift not as a problem child. She’s told me several times too that she would not change her profession for the world.

To become a teacher is make an impact of people’s lives. She has reminded that you are not only teaching the children in your class but you are teaching the families of the children as well. Teaching is not a profession but a lifestyle. WE are placed on this world to make a difference.

xoxo

Question 8: Discipline

I think because the children in her class respect her so much that I haven’t seen Mrs. Roark have to discipline. There have been some children in the class who like to push some of Mrs. Roark’s limits but most of the time the children are behaved. The only thing that I could think of as discipline that goes on in the class is the marble system. The class gets up to five marbles a day when the class has been good. So the number five through zero is written on the board and once the class has been given two warnings the numbers are erased starting with five to four and so on.

I’m not really sure what the points of the marbles are at the end of the year, I think it’s a pizza party to the class who has the most marbles. However, each child in the class understands the importance of the marbles so I see some of the children telling their peers to be quiet because they are going to have one less marble. I kind of like the system because each child understands that they must be on their best behavior but also they understand that they are responsible for their peers in their class too.

I think that I would personally modify the system a little bit but I like that the children in the class understand and are taking on responsibility to be their brother’s keeper.

xoxo

Question 14: Assessment

Lucky I got to see how Rosa Parks Elementary school assesses the children in their reading. This week the children were being pulled out of class to see if they have improved in their reading. While Mrs. Roark was assessing one child at a time the other children were doing busy work (they were filling out worksheets about Thanksgiving- “Why would you, why wouldn’t you), she only got to two children in the time that I was there because of the way they were getting tested.

Each child would read a book at the level that they were already at and Mrs. Roark would have them read different level books until she noticed that child was struggling with more than ten words. The only thing that didn’t seem very smart with the way the assessment was going was because she wasn’t getting a lot of children done. The process was taking too long, but I don’t know what else would work in order to get each child assessed.

Mrs. Roark would assess the children’s reading informally just by having then read their homework problems to her or during calendar time she would noticed who was struggling still with common words.

I think that would be the only thing that I’m not looking forward to because assessing takes too long to do.

xoxo

Question 10: Old Technology

Unfortunately, since I’ve been observing Mrs. Roark third grade class I haven’t really seen them use the computers in the room or any other audiovisual materials. I have seen some books on audio cassette tapes but I haven’t seen the children in the class use them.

I personally don’t see the point of audio cassette tapes since the children are not use to using tapes like that but I think I would allow the children to use the computers. I think it would be useful to use the smart boards to read to the children but I wouldn’t want the children to just rely on technology. It’s important for the children to understand the importance of old fashion reading.

xoxo

Question 6: Reading Comfortable

The arrangement of Mrs. Roark’s room is very welcoming. She has her room set up like a library and the children are in the center of it. The walls are surrounded by literature and there are books already the room. She has several lamps that are on in the classroom so during calendar time, independent reading and other reading time Mrs. Roark sets up the room so that it is comfortable for the children to read.

The setup of the classroom is very important because if it does not welcome the children to learn then the children are not going to want to learn. There is literate richness around the whole classroom. When the children are done with their work they are allowed to either read a book that they have or they are allow to go right outside the classroom to shop for books. Surprisingly, a lot of the children like fishing their work early so they can shop for new books to read.

I would have to agree that I like the arrangement of Mrs. Roark’s room the only thing is I would add would be a corner in the room where the children can get away to escape everything in the classroom to read. So I would add some bean bags and some comfortable pillows to encourage comfortable reading.

xoxo

Question 9: Unique but not weird.

To be different is a good thing. If everyone was the same, what a boring world we would live in. Each child that walks into a classroom is different, they live in a different house, they may be an only child, they may live with their grandparent or they may not speak the same language as everyone else in the classroom.

That is a huge case in Mrs. Roark’s third grade class, there about seven to nine children who don’t speak English as their fist language but that does not stop the way she interacts with them. Since she encourages conversations within her classroom and does not limit the children to much she has gained a respect from each child in her class. With the children who don’t speak English too well she doesn’t exclude them from certain projects but just modifies they way she teachers them.

When she gives out information and instructions to her class she writes them on the board very clear, she keeps them short and brief but makes sure it covers all the things she is trying to say, she repeats the instructions twice, talks slow and use gestures (so those of us who talk with our hands this will be very helpful). The child may not understand everything she has said she so she gets one of the students who are bilingual to explain. There is a boy who has ADHD and Mrs. Roark just spends extra time with him, she gives him instructions just like a child who doesn’t speak English very well and has the child sit near her so that she can monitor their learning.

It’s important to treat each child as special as they really are.

xoxo

Question 3: To think or not?!

To think or not to think?

Hmm..that’s something that Mrs. Roark has taught me. The children in your future class should always be given time to think, not only about what they are learning about in science class or math but all the time.

Mrs. Roark encourages thinking with her students. Even when they are writing their agenda’s down in the beginning of their morning she is always telling them to not only write what is on the smart board but to think about what they think the day will hold for them. She is constantly getting her students to think whether it is about the decision to talk to their peers when they should be doing their work or if they are walking down the hall to their “Specials” class they must think about what the hallway will look like when they are walking down them

There was a time where I got to see Mrs. Roark read to the class during their Read Aloud, she had them look at the cover of the book for a while and then close their eyes. She had them think about what they just saw and they had to think about what they thought the story was going t o be about.

Thinking is healthy, as teachers I feel like we should never limit a child to think about only one thing because we are then limiting them to box instead of exploration. I admire the way Mrs. Roark challenges her class to think outside the box, those children will be the ones who find a cure to cancer, be the ones who will stop world hunger or even to be the next best third grade teacher. Thinking should never be limited to just one subject or area.

xoxo

Question 2: Conversations...ALL the time

I must say that starting this practicum I was a little skeptical about how it would turn out. This practicum was unlike any of the other school that I had ever been introduced to. Here’s a brief background of what I though most elementary school were like: boring, boring, boring and boring. The students were supposed to be robots and were only supposed to ask the teacher smart questions. The teachers and the students were never supposed to interact outside of the classroom and the children who did not speak the common language of the class were just out of luck. Now that you know what I thought about elementary school (aka: BORING) let’s talk about what Rosa Parks Elementary was.

For one every teacher in the school knows every student by name and you can really tell that each teacher loves what they do. I absolutely love my third grade classroom and my teacher (even though they are not for me to have and I have to return them at the end of this practicum); the way the teacher and the students interacted was pretty cool. First off, my teacher and another third grade teacher tag team teacher, which I think is every teachers dream and one of the teacher speaks fluent Spanish. There are a about seven students in just my classroom who don’t speak English too well so it helps to have the other teacher tell those students what they are suppose to do but my cooperating teacher says that when the students come into the class not knowing any English learn the language pretty fast. The interaction between the teacher and the students is unbelievable. The teacher has created such a safe environment that there are constantly meaningful conversations going on. The students are not afraid to ask even the dumbest questions and my teacher is so sweet that she really believes in “no dumb answers”.

I think that since my teacher has set up a comfortable environment that the conversations never get out of hand. Each child knows what is expected from them so if they choose to talk too much to their peers they know that they will have to make up the work during free time.

Honestly if each teacher would develop conversations within their classrooms I think more teachers would get gift during “Teacher Appreciation Week”!! I know what I need to work on and include in my future class. Conversation is everything! Helps the ones develop a new language and help the others just learn more words!

xoxo