Words from the Parents

So far we have heard from the students and the teachers, but now it's time to hear whats parents have to say.

Honestly, the biggest thing to parents is communication. Parents WANT to know how and what their child is doing in school, the good and the bad. It's good for teachers to reach out to the parents and let them know what is going on in school. Regardless of what people say, parents do care about their child's education. They will call teachers on their own to see how their child is doing if you don't reach out to them first. A good trick is to make a plan to call so many parents a day, telling them good things if you can and bad if you must. Parents love to get phone calls about how good their child is doing in school or that they did something exceptional. Parents also want to make sure their child is on track. Even if you notice that a student is hanging out with a different group of friends, parents like to know. Sometimes they can even provide insight into why a student might be acting differently or in a certain way. While students are at school, teachers act as a second parent because school is a second home, a safe haven, for the students. Parents and teachers care about their students, and when they can work together and communicate, the student will be better supported.

Co-Teaching and Inclusion

            To learn about coteaching in an inclusion classroom, I talked to two teachers at CFHS. CC is a general educator in her second year of teaching and DB is a special educator who coteaches a few classes with a few different teachers. He has been a special educator for twenty years and has been in CF for sixteen of those years. As a special educator, DB has always worked in classes with students in special education, but he helps everyone in the classroom, not just the students with IEPs. CC taught two inclusion Geometry classes last year, along with two general Algebra II classes, and has two inclusion Algebra II classes this year that she coteaches with DB.

            In an inclusion classroom, there is a mix of general and special education students, with only a handful of students in each class having IEPs. However, these labels don’t really have an impact on the students. The students who are in special education and have IEPs know what it is and why they have an IEP. The rest of the students usually don’t even know what an IEP is and are unaware that the class is mixed. Sure, some students don’t like to hear that their class is a “special ed class,” because it sounds demeaning, but the teachers never discuss or hint that anyone is any different. The class is treated like any other class in the school.

            At CF, it’s hard to see the difference between the two groups of students because of the general lack of lower-ability skills. DB stated that even general education students ask questions about basic operations and that time has to be dedicated to these tasks for all students, not just a handful. Each of the students in these inclusion classes are struggling, regardless of ability or disability.

            As educators, CC and DB each have their roles in the classroom. CC mainly creates the lessons, deciding what content to cover, and how to teach it. DB roams around from class to class, so he is not particularly involved in lesson planning, but he helps break the lesson down. Together, they determine where students might struggle and how to best present the materials so that the students will understand and be engaged. Working together has brought them closer together and taught them to have a better understanding of each of their students’ strengths and needs.

            Inclusion is different in every class depending on the variability of the students. Every student learns differently, is at different levels, and makes the choice to participate. It’s tough to teach the students when so much time is dedicated to one topic and you can’t reach all of your students. Intervention programs have been created, but there always seem to be drawbacks. Inclusion is the best way for students to learn in the least restrictive environment. It’s just important to try your best to reach the students and to help them along the way. You need to scaffold students’ learning in order to build them up to harder tasks and be supportive of their learning. Just keep trying and don’t give up on yourself or your students.

You can learn more about coteaching by checking out this link:

http://nichcy.org/schoolage/effective-practices/coteaching

Subjects Matter: Toward a Balanced Diet of Reading

Previously in Subjects Matter, Daniels and Zemelman discussed Reading about Reading, where we learned about enhancing students reading and understanding in school. It’s important to know what types of texts students can relate to, so it is important to have a wide variety of genres in your classroom library as a teacher. We want to encourage every student to read, no matter what subject we teach, and the best way to do that is to provide students with a reading selection that is relevant to both the content and the students.

Textbooks don’t always teach students the things they need to, or are required, to learn. This is why, as educators, we need to find books and other works that can develop students understanding of content. For example, there is an autobiography about Einstein’s famous equation, E=MC². Granted, this book might be too difficult for students to read, but we need to branch out and find readings that vary in difficulty. We also can’t assume that everyone reads at their grade level, so it’s okay to have some books that are harder to read, but you also need to keep in mind that some students might read at lower grade levels.

 

This link refers to a book about literacy in a mathematics classroom.

http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/105137/chapters/Reading-in-the-Mathematics-Classroom.aspx 

(I should really get this book. It might help me understand how literacy relates to mathematics a little better.)

 

By creating a vast library in your classroom, you can cover a wide range of readings. From newspapers to novels, fiction and non-fiction, classic and contemporary, you can provide your students with a choice of what they would like to read and not just what’s assigned. You don’t have to build this library right away. You might not always have the funds or resources available to you. Start small and look through what you have and have access to. Everything will grow from there.

Personally, I thought it sounded silly to create a library in a math classroom, but after reading this chapter, it makes a little more sense. The authors provided us with a list of recommended books for a classroom library, indicating which fields the books are appropriate for. I have never really used books in a math classroom before, except a story book called The Line and the Dot. I never really thought about what types of books could actually be useful to students in learning math. I just assumed that my whole library would be full of logic books and brainteasers, which is still good to have, but now I have a starting point as to a few ideas of what to look for.

Photo Scavenger Hunt: Knowing Where You Learn and Teach

In order to better understand the community that I am learning in and will be teaching in, I participated in a Photo Scavenger Hunt. Given a list of questions to answer to learn about the CF area and community, I researched and drove around to learn about this small yet abundant town. These are a few things that I learned:

v  (2) Progresso Latino is a non-profit organization that has been serving the Latino Community of CF since 1977.

v  (8) There is a post office right down the street from the high school.

v  (19) The Adams Memorial Library is also a street away from the school. It also functions as a tiny museum. The library offers clubs for students to join, such as an anime club or knitting, offers events such as International Games Day and story time for children under the age of 5, and informs the community, primarily students and parents, of educational opportunities, such as tutoring, child outreach programs and financial aid assistance for college. The library also accommodates a wide diversity of guests by providing books on tape, books and signs in Spanish, and large print books for those with visual impairments. The library is also housing a food drive for the Rhode Island Food Bank.

v  (12) There are a few public parks and playgrounds throughout the town. I personally visited Jenks Park, which is one of several commemorative landmarks of the founders and history of CF.

v  (24) In the history of professional baseball, three players have come from CF: Max Surkont – 1945, Charley Bassett – 1884, and Jim Siwy – 1982.

v  (4) There are many educational and learning facilities in CF, despite is small size. There is 1 early learning, 3 elementary, 1 middle, and 1 high school in the public school system (as indicated on cfschools). There is also the Feinstein Elementary, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Academy (private), Segue Institute for Learning (charter), and the Cowden and Central Street Schools. There is also The Learning Community and The Children’s Workshop that also provide academic atmospheres for students.

v  (26) Caroline Cogswell was a great contributor to the town of CF. Her generous contribution of $50,000 led to the construction of Cogswell Tower in 1904, which is a four-sided clock tower located in Jenks Park.

v  (18) The majority of the population is Catholic. There are a several religious centers in town, including the St. Ephraim’s Syriac Orthodox Church and the Universal Church.

v  (29) In 1934, the Saylesville Textile Massacre occurred in CF between labor workers and the National Guard. A monument stands in the Moshassuck Cemetery. The Rhode Island Labor History Society recently hosted a ceremony to remember this event, honoring its 75^th anniversary.

v  (30) CF has a place called TR Music and Voice Lessons. Having been very involved in music throughout my public education, I was happy to hear that they are supporting the arts in youth. I miss the days of playing my clarinet in the high school band and I wish I had a music store that close to my home.


I have to say, this was an interesting experience for me. I got use use my navigation skills to guide myself through the town. There was a lot of maneuvering to do while driving because people were walking all over the streets and potholes showed up everywhere else. I learned that despite the small size of the city (1.2 sq miles), there are a lot of people and buildings. The city is very densely populated, which explains why there are so many schools in  the district. Having seen the age and condition of a lot of the buildings in town, I am curious to know what type of budget the city gets and what is being done to renovate the community. As a teacher, I have to realize that funds may not always be available to enhance my classroom, or even the school, and I need to recognize the conditions that my students are dealing with at home, such as poverty of household situations. There is a lot more to any town/city than just facts. There is history.

Teacher Panel: Tips and Tricks for Upcoming Teachers

Each week in class, we have a different panel of people to come and talk to our class. This week was the teacher panel, with ten teachers from CFHS with various experience and content. They had a lot to say about what we should expect as we start our first years of teaching. To make it easy, here is a list of things that they said that might help.

·         Make an effort to know your students and your coworkers.

·         Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

·         You will NOT be perfect, and no one expects you to be.

·         Understand what level your students are learning at and use that in the classroom.

·         Find a way to connect with your students and break the ice in tense or awkward moments.

·         Teaching isn’t always about the content – it’s about the strategies and skills that students are developing.

·         Build off of students’ strengths. Break down goals, build students confidence, and acknowledge their success.

·         Interruptions will occur all the time. GET USED TO IT!!!

·         Don’t question your confidence. Students can tell when you are weak.

·         Teachers are still learners. It’s okay to not know an answer or to ask questions yourself.

·         Don’t go into the classroom without a plan – know what you want to teach and know your rules.

·         Reflect back on what you are doing- are you just teaching or are the students actually learning?

·         DON’T FAKE IT!!!!