Reflection
Three
Week Three Reflection
Leigha Tracey – BSU Student Intern
For the week of September 2-6
Observation
and Participation (10)
This
week I attended and participated in a newspaper planning session.
I also went to something called “prep with the principal”
and learned that ISTEP is an instructional designers worst nightmare.
I wonder if they could have made it any more confusing. I am only
speaking to the on-site coordination of these three mornings of
testing as I have yet to read the official ISTEP testing instruction
manual.
I also wanted to mention an incident that has been on my mind.
I was having lunch in the teachers lounge and the two assistant
principals and the principal were there. I was drinking a Snapple
and looking at the can. Mr. Allen made a comment about it having
calories and I said that wasn’t the reason why I was looking
at it. I went on to explain that Rush Limbaugh owns a large portion
of stock in Snapple, so I choose not support the company as I
do not appreciate Rush. Mr. Allen then asked me if I was a femi-nazi.
Honestly, I was completely taken off guard by this comment. I
responded very well (for me, as my first instinct was to counter
with something unprofessional) by saying that I did not categorize
myself that way, but I definitely have strong feelings and opinions
in regard to women’s rights. Then, the assistant principals
began discussing how annoying it was to them when their wives
spoke. I had enough and excused myself. I am reminded often why
I chose to leave Indiana.
The last thing I wanted to touch on this week is the media and
how it has a HUGE influence on kids. I don’t want to go into
too much, but I have noticed that many of the student’s free-writes
have something to do with a cartoon character, movie characters,
commercials, or movies. I also wonder with so much stimulation
how difficult it must be for them to quiet their minds and focus.
I took a little poll in a few classes and almost all of the kids
watch TV over two hours a night! It is interesting to incorporate
this knowledge into how I view their reality. It is so different
from mine. I will have to keep this in the front of my mind at
all times.
Teaching
(20)
This
was a short week due to Labor Day. My main lesson for this week
was a PowerPoint presentation on basic photocomposition. The presentation
went well and the students did a great job taking notes. I remember
looking out at them and seeing them writing notes and they were
so QUIET. Almost like they became these little zombies. The journalism
classroom is so interactive that I think the change in dynamic
took me off guard. I was concerned as to whether any of the students
retained or learned anything. Fortunately, in the days following
I saw several students using the techniques and elements from
the presentation.
In
regard to teaching this week, what I want to say is that I was
having some doubts about my abilities and effectiveness. Just
some general stirrings inside about how much I was even enjoying
teaching overall. Then, something great happened. The students
were assigned to their rotation groups this week. We have four
groups: writing, reading, design, and photography. I truly enjoy
this atmosphere. It may seem chaotic, but everyone is doing his
or her own thing. I have the opportunity to work with students
individually, witness peer learning, coach writing, and connect
with the students. I have seen three students that I have been
watching engage this week (Brittany – Photo, Billy –
Writing, and Kyle – Photo). I have also made special efforts
toward Brandon and Matt. Their parents talked to me at open house
about their needs and personalities. Brandon is extremely shy,
so I have been drawing him out on a daily basis. He laughs now
and only blushes half of the time. I had a talk with Matt about
developing his writing skills. He isn’t a strong writer,
but he is very creative. He seemed pretty happy with having someone
tell him he was talented and that is why he or she wanted to help
him.
Notes
- Participated
in a team planning meeting
- Newspaper
help session
- PowerPoint
to guide lectures. This week I gave a PowerPoint lesson on photo-
composition. I was actually taken back a bit to see the usually
energetic students take notes and sit quietly. Then, it became
a bit creepy, as it seemed that their individual personalities
just disappeared as they performed. I have heard about “doing
school,” but this was the first time I have felt it so
strongly. In the following days, the photo group seemed to incorporate
things from the lesson into their projects. I also had several
students say that they liked the presentation (most likely because
it was short).
- The
students were broken up into their groups early this week; they
will rotate every two weeks. This is such an effective technique
that I am certain I will use this. Having the students in separate
groups allows for individual attention, peer learning, availability
of resources, and so on.
- Mr.
Smith has an opening writing exercise each regular class day.
This allows students to get focused before beginning their group
work. It also gives the teacher time to take attendance, speak
to individual students, and so on.
- In
the newspaper class Mr. Smith had the student editor lead the
class brainstorming session. He also had the student editor
and assistant editor assign story ideas. I thought this was
a great idea!
- During
demonstrations, Mr. Smith uses students to model techniques
and behaviors. For example, he had students demonstrate the
wrong way to enter a classroom to take photos for the yearbook.
Then, he asked another student (or the same student) to demonstrate
the right way to enter a room. It was fun and effective.
- We
had an interesting situation with a hygiene issue. I asked the
girl immediately if she had been in gym class prior to ours.
She said no and gave me a weird look for asking. I could have
handled that differently coming out of the gate. Mr. Smith sent
her to the nurse and the hygiene has improved since that day.
I will begin keeping a log, as her parents say that it is a
genetic problem. I do not think this is the case as she is wearing
the same clothes to school day after day. When she has on fresh
clothes and her hair looks clean, she does not have an odor.
