Reflection Thirteen

Week Thirteen Reflection

Leigha Tracey - BSU Intern
Carmel High School
Nov. 18-21

Note: Hours include work sessions

Teaching (30)

I have been teaching most of the week. I taught active/passive voice in my journalism I class - which was a challenge for me. It is a topic that I struggle with and so I did a lot of studying. It took me a long time to narrow everything down and simplify. I think it went well. The activity I provided and my explanations seemed to be effective. We'll see when they turn in their next papers. I also taught lessons on pre-reporting, proximity and finding an angle. These are all areas that the students need a lot of help. We will continue working on these problems. I created an action plan for their beat assignments and I think this will help them identify story ideas and help alleviate many of their problems. I will continue working on this with my introduction classes next week. My government class completed their unit on Congress with an exam. I am very pleased with the results. The majority of the students do an excellent job. I felt that their grades reflected their learning and understanding of the content. I gave two short answer questions that related to in-class discussions. I was pleased to find some insightful answers to the questions, along with several passionate opinions. My last activity with the class reading an article about Cheney's speech on the possibility of war in Iraq. Then, we engaged in a "fishbowl" discussion. I asked students to circle their desks and two students sat in the middle to lead the discussion. I provided questions and the students ran with it. Well, it was more like a puttering a long, but they started to get the hang of it. There was some good commentary. I had the impression that they had not been out of their rows all term, so they were not in their comfort zone. I loved seeing them think and process, share ideas and hopefully get fired up. I spent a lot of time grading in that class and writing comments/giving feedback. I really enjoyed the students and the content, even though I have reservations about how the information is presented and the amount that is required. I worked hard on this unit and feel accomplished in many ways. But also realize that I have a lot to learn. Joe told the students that I would no longer be with the class due to a scheduling problem (fine) and then I spoke to them. I thanked them and praised them for being great students and working hard. I did have the opportunity to give them exam scores individually (some still hadn't taken the test so I didn't want to hand it back). It was the BEST thing that has happened since I started at CHS. I had some students that normally don't do well and they had improved their scores in this unit. They were so happy. One girl begged me to give her the test back so she could take it home to show her parents. One boy in my class that said two words and seemed generally fearful of the topic rewarded me with a shocked look and a warm, slow smile that spread across his face. It felt GREAT!

Observation/Participation (15)

My observation this week has to do with the "government class debacle" as I am referring to it. I was given more responsibility in journalism. To me, this is a vote of confidence and I am pleased that Tony and Jim feel comfortable with my skills and performance. I am taking over the main duties of advising the next two publications of the HiLite. I am attending before and after school work sessions and Saturday work sessions. In prioritizing, I realized that I was burning the candle so to speak. I made a decision that the added work from the one government class was just too much.
I sent Joe and e-mail that said I wanted to speak with him about my role in the class. It was a good time in my eyes to make a break as I was completing the unit on Congress. He was absent for two days, so we were unable to meet until mid-week. I did have the opportunity to meet with Karen Taff, the building coordinator. Yes, the same person I insulted a few weeks ago. Sigh. It was informational and I did see several of her points. And I finally figured out what happened. I was confused. Earlier in the term I had MENTIONED that I was interested in working with a government class and that I thought it would be a good experience for me as I am getting an endorsement in government. I did say that I wanted to observe and see how a government classroom works. By the next meeting I was signed up to work with Joe Stuelpe. I was thinking "Great! I can watch this guy and maybe jump in for a few lesson here and there." Karen was thinking that I wanted to teach a government class. I am not sure how that happened except that I did not have the correct vocabulary to ask for what I wanted, which was a chance to observe.

So, while I understand Karen's concerns about how my leaving the class may reflect poorly on her or the program, I am still unsure of why it is such a big deal. Joe was not or should not have been approached as a mentor teacher (I already have two). I feel that my casual request was pushed into motion and became something enormous without my consult and now I am left feeling as though I have let people down and have somehow hurt the reputation of the program. This is not appropriate. I do feel poorly that there was a misunderstanding, but I think it could have been avoided with a conversation about what I was looking for. I remind myself that I am a student and am not supposed to know how everything works. In this case, I feel that the program failed me when all I was trying to do was get additional experience so I can be a better teacher. I am fully aware of my limitations and will act accordingly in the case of being offered a position as a government teacher. As far as relationship building, it seems to be hit or miss for me - I get on very well with some people and others, it is a battle. Maybe that is the way of things.

Joe has expressed no feelings of being put out or inconvenienced to me, in fact he keeps saying that it is no big deal. This "cirlce" has had too many players and in retrospect I should have simply approached several teachers in the department myself and asked if it would be okay if I attended their class as an observer.

For my part, I am letting it go. I have talked to Joe, am following up on all of my responsibilities and I even graded part of his tests to help him out since he was absent for several days. I am focusing on the things I can control - my performance in journalism and being the best teacher that I can.