Hello Rookies,
This is DK, and I have some simple advice. Be confident, know your stuff, and don't be afraid to lead. You are going to be inundated with instructions, words of wisdom, and forewarnings. I'll let Ben, Ann, Dr. Mullins, and everyone else do that for you. I just want you guys to know that confidence goes a long way. It is immediately conveyed to your students that you aren't second guessing yourself. It also shows the other teachers around you that you aren't tip-toeing around like you're scared. Lastly, it always makes you feel like you're in control of every situation.
Know your stuff basically means that you have to be knowledgeable about as much as you can. The most important thing is obviously your content knowledge. If you don't have a good grasp on that, then you will be deemed ineffective. Once you have that down pat, make sure you are aware of surroundings, events, policies, etc. Having a good grasp of pertinent information can be very beneficial because you will find yourselves in a variety of situations--all of which you can't be totally prepared for in summer training.
DON'T BE AFRAID TO LEAD. I'm not saying that you should step into your new situations (summer school/ your assigned school) trying to take over. Since you're in the program now, you must have some leadership qualities about yourselves. Use those qualities. Make sure you show everyone around that you can be trusted to make things happen. If you develop leadership skills through the summer school program, you will position yourselves to step into those types of roles in the fall.
We'll get to know each other this summer, and throughout the year, but I think that this little letter will help you out. BE CONFIDENT, KNOW YOUR STUFF, AND DON'T BE AFRAID TO LEAD!!!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Teacher Skill I Want to Work On...
When I began to blog last summer I knew that one of the most important factors of my growth as a teacher would be reflection. The ability to reflect, and the resolve to implement changes from reflection, are things that I have been working on. That said, I know what aspect of my teaching needs to be tweaked. Interestingly, this epiphany came through teaching a unit on fables.
After the MCT2, I knew the kids would be exhausted with school. Nevertheless, they knew that we would continue to have "real school" in my classroom until the very last day. I was searching to find something that would be relevant and interesting. I chose fables. Fables seemed like a good idea because I knew I could incorporate Character Education. Introducing the kids to simple stories that taught valuable life lessons gave us a way to do some reading, easily comprehend, and apply the lessons to our lives. I told them that I would be doing self-reflection along with them. So, we read this very simple fable called "The Wind and the Sun."
Here it is...The wind and the sun were arguing about which of them was stronger. They agreed to a test, the winner being he who could make a traveler remove his coat. The wind blew hard and tried to tear off the traveler's coat, but the traveler only wrapped it around him more tightly. When the pleasant sun warmed the traveler, he took off his coat.
This short fable was so powerful to me. The moral is that "kindness sometimes works better than force." How does this apply to me? Well, I approach my classroom like I approach coaching. This can be good and bad--depending on the situation. I've learned that I have to dial down the intensity in the classroom sometimes because it can be a bit intimidating and off-putting to the kids. I'm not saying that I'm going to be less passionate, but I know that if I want to be as effective a teacher as possible, I must be able to use different approaches in the classroom to obtain the desired results.
I am definitely going to work on this during the Extended Year Program. I want to be conscious of when I can handle situations differently. Moreover, I know that an adjusted approach will endear me to more students, more quickly. I just want to make sure I have this skill honed when school resumes in August...I know it will greatly benefit me.
After the MCT2, I knew the kids would be exhausted with school. Nevertheless, they knew that we would continue to have "real school" in my classroom until the very last day. I was searching to find something that would be relevant and interesting. I chose fables. Fables seemed like a good idea because I knew I could incorporate Character Education. Introducing the kids to simple stories that taught valuable life lessons gave us a way to do some reading, easily comprehend, and apply the lessons to our lives. I told them that I would be doing self-reflection along with them. So, we read this very simple fable called "The Wind and the Sun."
Here it is...The wind and the sun were arguing about which of them was stronger. They agreed to a test, the winner being he who could make a traveler remove his coat. The wind blew hard and tried to tear off the traveler's coat, but the traveler only wrapped it around him more tightly. When the pleasant sun warmed the traveler, he took off his coat.
This short fable was so powerful to me. The moral is that "kindness sometimes works better than force." How does this apply to me? Well, I approach my classroom like I approach coaching. This can be good and bad--depending on the situation. I've learned that I have to dial down the intensity in the classroom sometimes because it can be a bit intimidating and off-putting to the kids. I'm not saying that I'm going to be less passionate, but I know that if I want to be as effective a teacher as possible, I must be able to use different approaches in the classroom to obtain the desired results.
I am definitely going to work on this during the Extended Year Program. I want to be conscious of when I can handle situations differently. Moreover, I know that an adjusted approach will endear me to more students, more quickly. I just want to make sure I have this skill honed when school resumes in August...I know it will greatly benefit me.
Track Season Recap
When I last blogged about track it was the beginning of the season. We had tryouts, training camp, and one practice meet. I was very encouraged about our performance at that practice meet. Well, the season ended up being one of the most rewarding and successful few months of my life. Our team did tremendously well. We only had four meets, but the kids excelled in all of them.
We went to Marshall Academy for our first meet. Marshall Academy has Varsity and Junior Varsity meets at the same time. We were in the JV division, but that also means that the other teams had 9th graders on their squads. We only had 7th and 8th graders. As a matter of fact, we only had 15 total kids. That didn't matter to us. We went out there against established programs and took 1st Place Overall! The most amazing part of our overall win was that we only had two girls! The team was very encouraged about the performance. We went back to Marshall Academy the next week against stiffer competition. We took 1st Place Boys JV for that meet. The kids were collecting individual and team ribbons, cheering for each other at the fences, and even encouraging the coaches at the meets. It was so good to establish that team rapport and coherence early in the season. Moreover, it was great to have two weeks of competitive meets before the biggest meet of the year at Oxford.
We went to the Oxford Relays Invitational for our third meet. There were a lot of good schools there with really good teams. It was all public schools, and there wasn't one weak team out of the eight. When we went to Oxford for the practice meet, we looked a little shabby--no spikes, old uniforms, no warmups. We got off the bus looking like a team this time. It definitely made a difference to go down to a big meet with big schools and look like a real squad. The kids were confident, and we had two first place showings under our belt at that point. Some of the kids who struggled at the earlier meets stepped up at this meet, and we posted some of our best times/distances of the season. We took 3rd Place Boys at the Oxford meet. We weren't happy about 3rd place, but we knew that we only finished behind Oxford and Lafayette--two well-established programs. The Oxford meet was a learning experience, and it gave us the fuel to train as hard as possible for our last meet at Coldwater.
We went to Coldwater with one goal in mind. We wanted to win every event, and guarantee a first place finish. There were some strong schools there, but we knew that we had seen the best already. We did tremendously well at the Coldwater meet, taking 1st Place Overall! We scored 93 total points in that meet. We dominated the individual events, especially the distance and throwing events.
At the awards day, I made sure to remind everyone that we had the best team on campus this year. Our kids worked tremendously hard. I took them through workouts that I did in college, and they stuck with me. With a practice plan in hand everyday, whistle and stopwatch around my neck, and parachute thrown over the shoulder, they knew that we were going to outwork every other middle school in Mississippi. I appreciate my kids. They're a special bunch. I hate that I will not have the opportunity to coach them next year. Whoever has the opportunity to coach them next year will be blessed with the chance to work with some truly exceptional kids. I appreciate what I learned from my athletes, and I hope they appreciated/learned something from me as well. Track season was amazing, and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.....Never Get Outworked!
We went to Marshall Academy for our first meet. Marshall Academy has Varsity and Junior Varsity meets at the same time. We were in the JV division, but that also means that the other teams had 9th graders on their squads. We only had 7th and 8th graders. As a matter of fact, we only had 15 total kids. That didn't matter to us. We went out there against established programs and took 1st Place Overall! The most amazing part of our overall win was that we only had two girls! The team was very encouraged about the performance. We went back to Marshall Academy the next week against stiffer competition. We took 1st Place Boys JV for that meet. The kids were collecting individual and team ribbons, cheering for each other at the fences, and even encouraging the coaches at the meets. It was so good to establish that team rapport and coherence early in the season. Moreover, it was great to have two weeks of competitive meets before the biggest meet of the year at Oxford.
We went to the Oxford Relays Invitational for our third meet. There were a lot of good schools there with really good teams. It was all public schools, and there wasn't one weak team out of the eight. When we went to Oxford for the practice meet, we looked a little shabby--no spikes, old uniforms, no warmups. We got off the bus looking like a team this time. It definitely made a difference to go down to a big meet with big schools and look like a real squad. The kids were confident, and we had two first place showings under our belt at that point. Some of the kids who struggled at the earlier meets stepped up at this meet, and we posted some of our best times/distances of the season. We took 3rd Place Boys at the Oxford meet. We weren't happy about 3rd place, but we knew that we only finished behind Oxford and Lafayette--two well-established programs. The Oxford meet was a learning experience, and it gave us the fuel to train as hard as possible for our last meet at Coldwater.
We went to Coldwater with one goal in mind. We wanted to win every event, and guarantee a first place finish. There were some strong schools there, but we knew that we had seen the best already. We did tremendously well at the Coldwater meet, taking 1st Place Overall! We scored 93 total points in that meet. We dominated the individual events, especially the distance and throwing events.
At the awards day, I made sure to remind everyone that we had the best team on campus this year. Our kids worked tremendously hard. I took them through workouts that I did in college, and they stuck with me. With a practice plan in hand everyday, whistle and stopwatch around my neck, and parachute thrown over the shoulder, they knew that we were going to outwork every other middle school in Mississippi. I appreciate my kids. They're a special bunch. I hate that I will not have the opportunity to coach them next year. Whoever has the opportunity to coach them next year will be blessed with the chance to work with some truly exceptional kids. I appreciate what I learned from my athletes, and I hope they appreciated/learned something from me as well. Track season was amazing, and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.....Never Get Outworked!
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