Equality 101

In my last post, I discussed how I might use the seemingly elementary activity of show-and-tell to introduce students to a foundational concept of college-level composition: the Burkean Parlor metaphor. Frequently expressed as the simpler conversation metaphor, this metaphor illustrates what thinkers, researchers, scholars and, most importantly, writers do: we listen to a conversation; we form our own opinions about this topic of conversation as a result of listening; we eventually add our own voices (opinions) to the conversation; and our voices become part of the conversation that others listen to and use to form their opinions. Read the rest of this entry →

Back in the day when I was an excited, enthusiastic prospective teacher my education professors mentioned the concept of co-teaching.  Co-teaching consists of two teachers (usually one general education and one special education) sharing the responsibility for the same group of students.  At first, I was reluctant to accept the idea as a valid method of implementing curriculum because I felt that most teacher candidates enter the profession under the notion that they will receive and maintain a large amount of autonomy in their classroom.  However, as a result of my student teaching experience and several years at my current place of employment I realized how reliant middle school teachers are upon one another as well as administration and supporting staff.  Therefore, when the concept of co-teaching came to my current place of employment at first I felt reluctant, but the reluctancy relinquished after several things fell into place.

First, my “co-teaching buddy” (as we came to call one another) was the special education teacher on my team that I had been working with since I started at my school district.  Secondly, we received a common plan time which allowed us to effectively share responsibilities and involve one another equally in planning, preparation, and to discuss student concerns.  Furthermore, we were able to move several students who required additional support into the co-taught class (I teach 3 sections and 1 was co-taught) which allowed us to adhere to the needs of those students.

Overall, the co-teaching experience was positive since I worked with a person who shared in all facets of the classroom including grading, parent contact, planning, and preparation.  Also, the behavior management in that classroom was as efficient as it has ever been in my career since there were always two pairs of eyes monitoring the students.  As a bonus, there was another adult in the room to laugh at my jokes because in teaching eleven-year-olds my wonderful sense of humor often is all for naught.

This year my school district is implementing the facilitative learning model in place of the co-teaching model.  In the facilitative learning model, a special education teaching “co-teaches” with all general education teachers on the team as opposed to remaining in one classroom.  Since the school district hired a certified teacher as a classroom aide on each team, I will have a co-teacher at least once a week for at least several periods throughout the day.

I was reluctant upon hearing the new concept of facilitative learning; however, it appears to be similar to co-teaching and co-teaching was an excellent experience, therefore, the facilitative learning model should be an excellent experience this year.  Hopefully, the new co-teacher in my classroom will laugh at my jokes.

There is something happening in education, especially at my school, that has changed the way I teach and approach teaching. I will not speak to the broad movement right now, but I will speak to my personal experience in working in a Professional Learning Team (PLT). In essence, a PLT is a group of teachers working closely to plan lessons, analyze student results, and adapt practice to ensure students reach mastery.

Working with five of my colleagues at school has not just revolutionized the way I teach, but it has changed the way I think about what I need to be doing in the classroom. My next posts will be a series about this team, looking at how we formed, how we work, and specific policies.

Read the rest of this entry →

When I was teaching, I sent two letters to my students’ homes in early August.  One letter went to the student.  It was a short handwritten note in which I told them I was looking forward to seeing them in a few weeks to learn exciting things.  I also included their first homework assignment, to be turned in at “Meet the Teacher Day.”  It was nothing fancy or complicated, simply an index card on which I’d written the following:

Name:

Likes:

Dislikes:

How I Learn Best:

Read the rest of this entry →

I’m sure I’m nowhere near the first teacher to admit that my students love their iPods (or other MP3 players) and smart phones just as much as I do. They love texting, playing games, and looking things like definitions up when I challenge them to a race. They read text messages, internet sites, even entire articles on these gadgets, and yet when I ask them to do the same with a book, they act like I’m sending them to a medieval torture chamber. It’s sad to me that I have to “sell” reading in general, mostly because I grew up with such a love for it thanks to my parents, but I’m game to see what an e-reader might do in my classroom. Of course, I should be realistic. Schools won’t be seeing e-readers anytime in the near future because of price, but the idea is worth pondering nonetheless.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, The ABCs of E-Reading: New Devices Are Changing Habits. People Are Reading More, Even While in a Kayak, is what triggered me to think about this concept. The article highlights preliminary data showing that e-reader users “spend more time than ever with their nose in a book.” (This is the reason my husband is convinced he wants one as well!) In the article, they note that: Read the rest of this entry →

Equality 101 is looking for some new contributing writers!  We’d really love to add two post-secondary writers and two middle/elementary school writers to our staff.  If you’re interested, check out our guidelines, then submit the following to staff@equality101.net:

• Your name
• Which position you are interested in (post-secondary or middle/elementary school)
• A short (3-sentence) bio including your writing experience and teaching experience
• A short (2-sentence) explanation as to why you are interested in writing for Equality 101
• A sample of your writing, either as an attachment or as a link

The deadline for applications is Friday, September 24, so get your applications in soon!

We look forward to hearing from you!

My goal can be summed up in one word this year: balance.  To achieve and maintain balance in my life, I plan to:

• Carve out personal time for both relaxation and fitness – and stick to it!
• Keep learning.  Read books, newspaper articles, and blogs that challenge my thinking.
• Go to bed on time.
• Put everything away before bed each night.  (Clutter in my house creates stress!)
• Develop and maintain new readership for Outside the Girl Box.
• Create a home organization system and put it in place.

I have many goals for this academic year, and I’m excited for all of them.  One of my major goals is to get all of my hard copy teaching materials digitized, both to make it easier to distribute and to make it easier to edit.  I plan on doing this by scanning in all of my materials for each unit I teach this year, and then organizing them on my computer.  This summer, I plan on tackling each of the classes I have taught in the past but am not teaching this year.  My other major goal this year is to incorporate more technology into my classroom – blogging, emailing, video making, etc.  I want my students to leave here technologically literate and a bit more media-savvy in order to compete in a technology-based world.

This will be my 2^nd year teaching, and my goal for this year is pretty humble: have it not be like last year.  Last year I would be at school until 6pm many nights.  I skipped too many workouts and gained some weight (which I am still trying to get rid of).  I was constantly thinking about work and my students.  I would work furiously over the weekend – spending too much time on some things and not enough on others.  My hectic travel schedule at Thanksgiving (a wedding and two family dinners to attend!) seemed, well, like a break!  I know that things will be easier for me, as in, I will know what I’m doing the next week before I leave on Friday.  I am a super-organized person, but I vow to let go of some things I obsessed about last year.  I vow to not turn down the late night movie or beer because I have work to do.  I have set “work hours” for myself, and I will stick to them.  I vow to enjoy the relationships I continue to build with my students, have fun, and watch the year fly by! J

I have several goals for this school year.  I would like to service all my students as best as possible.  My district is incorporating the Facilitative Model in our building for the first time this year.  I would like to get to know my students’ needs as soon as possible so that I have a better idea of when an aide would be crucial to have in the classroom.  Besides just focusing on the special education inclusion students, I would also like to target my honor students and challenge them as much as I can this year.