Hanging Out With College Teammates

One of the things I miss most from college is my 3 best friends that I played football with. We were known as the "Smashbrothers," and we practically did everything together. It was good for us to all be back in town for a Rhodes game. We hung out at the game, did a little partying, and chilled like we used to back in college. It was great to be at Rhodes homecoming with all of our old teammates. We all had the energy and enthusiasm as if we were going on the field to play ourselves. We also went bowling and to play pool. We laughed an joked--acting crazier than ever. Two of us are in graduate school, and the other two are still playing football. We were all sharing stories about how things are going with our lives and how we've all taken different paths since college.
More than anything, it was just good to feel like a college kid again. Although I'm not far removed from college, being a teacher quickly makes me feel old sometimes. I tend to forget that I was just in college 6 months ago! Nevertheless, we had a blast. And just like old times, the highlight of the weekend was just gaming out on the Xbox 360 and PS3. We played Madden and NCAA like we were freshman in Glassell Hall, haha. We would still argue, almost fight, and laugh over every play. This was a great way to get my mind off of teaching sound devices, tier groups, responses to interventions, or make-up work. This was probably the longest I'd gone without talking about teaching since the first of June. Not that I don't enjoy my job, but it was definitely therapeutic to not think about it and just chill with my boys. It was well needed. But before this, I always made sure to take at least one day a week and devote it to myself. I'm not inundated with grading or planning. I'm well-rested and excited about the new challenges my 7th graders will present me with. All of that said, I can't wait until we can all get back to Memphis and do it again though. We have to catch up on some gaming, partying, etc.....

A Day In The Life

Ok, so here's a day in the life of Coach King.....

I wake up at 5:30 a.m. Then, I lie there for a while and contemplate how much more time I could actually spend in the bed. After I debate with myself, I quickly realize that I've wasted that time with that internal conflict. Once I'm out of bed, I begin to get ready. I never have to iron or anything because that's my number one priority at night. Some people read, meditate, do yoga, or something else--I like to just sit and look at my closet for therapeutic time. Ok, back from the tangent.....Once I get ready I grab some tea, yogurt, a pop tart or banana nut bread. It helps me get started in the mornings. I try to get to school between 6:30-6:45. That way, I can still have some alone time in my classroom before I have to go to morning duty. I get my best thinking done in my classroom. I have morning duty in the main hallway, so I'm the guy who gets to remind the kids that they are back at school by checking uniforms and making them walk on the blue lines. They don't particularly like seeing me welcome them this way at 7:10 in the morning.
Homeroom starts at 7:30. We have silent sustained reading, so I spend that time working with the librarian on Accelerated Reader matters. 1st period starts at 8am and the day really gets started. I like that class, they work hard and I'm glad I can start the day with them. My 2nd period class is my honors class. They are actually one of my least favorite at times, but we get a lot of challenging work done. We have break/recess after 2nd period, and that's just a time for the kids to hang out and be themselves. 3rd period is the longest because it's the lunch period. The worst part about 3rd period is the fact that we go to LUNCH at 10:55am. Yes, that's too early for lunch...4th period seems like its the fastest period of the day. It literally zips by. Our kids go to activity period during 5th period. That's my planning period, where much planning doesn't get done. There's always a grade-level meeting, parent meeting, or a class to cover. When I actually have time to plan, I am trying to get things set in place for Track because I'm the head coach. 6th period finally rolls around at 2pm. It goes by rather slowly. Once 6th period is over, I have to hold a bus load group until 3:15. I'm finally done with duty at 3:30. So, I've now been at school for nine hours already. Then I stay until 4:30 or 5 doing work, grading, planning, or meeting. My day would extend until almost 7pm during football season. It's a long day, but I love the job. The only thing I'd rather be doing than teaching during that time is playing football...haha.

Chapter 3: Thoughts and Reflections

Every time there is a blog assignment dealing with Content Area Literacy, I always try to figure out a way to approach my classroom differently. Since I only teach reading, Literacy is the content area in my classroom. I know that all teachers might say this, but I think I have the hardest task--only because comprehension is so contextual. Reading comprehension is the foundation to success in all subject areas. The discussion in this chapter about how contextually dependent comprehension is made me reevaluate how things are going in my classroom. How do I scaffold my students’ acts of making meaning? How do I mold their thought processes? Can I actually do a mass overhaul that requires completely reprogramming them? This seems like a daunting, maybe impossible, task. I do think that I am slowly learning how to help my students though. I just wish time could slow down at this point.

            When reading Chapter 3, I immediately thought about Question and Answer Relationship (QAR). I think it is essential when a reader has a learning experience with a text. We spent a couple weeks on QAR in my class, but I think only a small number of my students understood the purpose of it. They did understand that the “Right There” questions are lower level, and are the ones they usually have no problems with. The “Think and Search,” “Author and You,” and “On Your Own” questions are the ones that we are still having big issues with. We did guided practices where I showed them how to identify these questions. Then, we went through question packets where they identified what type of question it was before they answered it. The main issue with QAR is the importance of prior knowledge. Most of my students have minimal prior knowledge. It’s so hard for them to make connections to the text because they don’t pick up on idiomatic language, cultural references, and functions of words. So, we aren’t really at the point where we can even say that we’re “Making Meaning” through the text. The author states on page 45 that, “Youth who can comprehend complex prose are better students in all the subject areas as compared with their peers who struggle to understand what they read.”

            I completely agree, and that statement makes perfect sense. Nevertheless, that is what’s holding my students back. This also has direct implications on the state test. 7^th Grade Language Arts is a state-tested subject. This means that my students will be exposed so Expository and Prose texts. They will do fine with expository texts, because they are straightforward and don’t require much inference. The prose narratives are the speed bumps. Students have to be “active” readers to be able to follow those texts. I’ve read some of the texts on the state practice exams—they are terse. I’ve been trying very hard to model active reading for my students, but I don’t think I’ve been very effective with it. We also read texts, then go back and talk through them, but that hasn’t been very effective either. Since I’m not modeling this well enough, I don’t know if my kids will be ready for the novels I want to teach next semester.

            I know that Chapter 3 discussed a lot more information, but the QAR really stuck out because it is something that I’ve taught and implemented in my classroom. Hopefully, we’ll find a way to expand their knowledge so that prose texts don’t seem so foreign and overwhelming. This is my task. This is my duty.

Freewrite = FOOTBALL TALK

My first season as a coach was more fun than I could imagine. I had the opportunity to start coaching in the summer—before school actually started. This was very beneficial because I was able to meet a bunch of kids before the school year started. Moreover, I was able to build relationships with the middle and high school coaches.

            I came in with only one expectation, and that was to work very, very hard. I knew that I would not get outworked in whatever capacity I was chosen to coach. Thankfully, I was able to come in and immediately insert my ideas about how things should be run. I had a chance to implement new workouts, practice drills, etc. The head coach was tremendously supportive as I learned how to coach.

            I was charged with the duty of being the offensive coordinator. I was definitely overwhelmed at first, but I quickly let my excitement outweigh the overwhelming feeling. All of this happened before school started. Once school started coaching became really tough for a while. I realized just how much time I wouldn’t have. I had to start planning my whole day, not just my lessons in the classroom. The practice situation compounded the stress. Since the old locker room at the middle school was being used as a classroom, we had to work out a way to use a locker room at the high school. Also, the middle school practice field was being installed, so we had to practice on the outfield of the high school softball field. My task at the end of school was to get all of the football players to my classroom, take them over to the high school, and then walk them back across the way to the high school softball field. Plus, I was the only coach out there for the first 45 minutes of practice because the other coaches drove buses. Nevertheless, I eventually settled into this role and practice proceeded smoothly.

            The season was a roller coaster!!! We started the season with a 35-0 home-opener loss. It was most disappointing. We absolutely laid an egg in the first game, and we didn’t seem to care about football at all. I wasn’t sure how the coach would react to our offense not scoring any points. The next game was away, and we lost 2-0. Yeah, we snapped the ball out of our own endzone. That means that the team that beat us didn’t have to touch the ball to score points and beat us. We were all disheartened. This was the second week in a row with “0” points. We were excited and confident about the next week. We battled hard in the first half and held the game to a 0-0 tie. Sadly, we came out and turned the ball over immediately in the second half. Gave up a big play for a touchdown, and eventually lost 14-0. At that point I was completely frustrated and beginning to question whether I should have been calling the plays. The coaches remained supportive, which was good. I wasn’t sleeping after losses, and I was taking the stress out on my students the day after the game.

            The next week was Homecoming. I knew we would be in great position to win against our rivals. We came out with a lot of energy, and it just felt like it was our night. The game was 0-0 all the way through regulation. We allowed them to score on the first play of overtime; then we allowed the subsequent conversion. So we held them scoreless for 32 minutes, but gave up a quick score in about 5 seconds. Then, we had our chance. We scored on third down and now it was time for the conversion. We were stopped two yards short, and homecoming ended just like that. I was devastated. I’d gotten up for the game like I was a student myself. I promised my boys after that game that I would do whatever it takes to make sure that we turned our season around. The next week we played an away game against a really, really good team. We came out and forced an interception and a fumble. Nevertheless, we couldn’t capitalize. We went into halftime down by only 8 points. We ended up losing the game 36-8. It was absolutely demoralizing. It seemed like we had found some fight, but we laid down in the second half. The coaching staff knew that the kids weren’t having fun at that point. But, we had to press on. Something happened between that Thursday night and that next Monday’s practice.

            Our kids found a new attitude. We were 0-5, but we didn’t practice like losers. There was still an excitement in the air because we had three home games left to finish the season. We prepared better than any other week. We came out and put up points in the first half, and played defense like madmen. It was a dominating victory; we won 24-22. We gave up a late touchdown, but I loved how we were able to close the game out. It was like we learned how to play a complete game, and win, in three days. I jumped higher than I ever jumped for a pass when I played. It was literally one of the happiest moments of my life. I told the boys to stay excited, and stay hungry; they did! We came out the next week, after fall break, and won the game 40-8. Utterly dominating! We got a chance to play a lot of 7^th graders, and the whole team had fun. It was a great win. But the boys knew that we still had to finish strong. Our last game was against a formidable opponent. We came out on fire, scoring on our first two drives. We went into halftime up by 16 points. We came out a bit lazy in the second half, but we held strong. We didn’t score again, but we ended up winning 24-14. We finished the season with a 3-game winning streak, after a 0-5 start. I couldn’t have been more proud. I didn’t know how emotionally invested I would get as a coach, but I’d go through all of the emotions again. I was pretty sad when the season was over. I’m already looking forward to spring workouts, then summer workouts, then next season. I can’t wait!!!

Reflections on Chapter 4 (Assessments of Literacy and Content Knowledge)

It is interesting to think about assessment as it relates to literacy growth and content learning. Since I teach reading, literacy and content learning seem to be very much intertwined. Although learning the objectives and competencies spelled out in the framework aren’t all related to literacy, literacy must be attained before we can think about mastering those things. It is so hard to really get into DOK 2 and 3 work because of the unbelievable amount of illiteracy. I want to have assessments that are centered around DOK 2 and 3-because that’s what they are most heavily tested on-but I still have to take time to work on letter sounds and phonetic blends. I feel like I’m assessing the students on their level, but still not benefiting them like I should because it doesn’t challenge them. Nevertheless, if I don’t include a good amount of those assessments all of the students would fail. So, this is the quandary I’ve found myself in after the first 9 weeks of school.

It almost seems that the heavy focus on the MCT2 has taken too much emphasis off of scholastic achievement and the grades the students make in their academic classes. I’m not going to say that they don’t matter, but I feel like a school year would be considered successful if a student scored “Advanced” on the MCT2 and made all “F’s” on their report cards. It has definitely affected student, teacher, and administration mindset when it comes to this issue.

My favorite part of chapter 4 was the discussion of Informal, Authentic Assessments of Students. I love when I have a great lesson with a good amount of guided practice, with about 15-20 minutes left for individual practice. Although the kids are turning the work in for a grade, I can walk around and give additional help. It really supports one of the critical characteristics discussed on page 96. “2. They are so closely related to instruction that assessment and instruction become virtually indistinguishable.” Essentially, I am teaching and explaining for the duration of the period, but I can go around and rephrase things based on certain students’ needs and clarify anything that is still cloudy or confusing. I think that I’m slowly getting better at interpreting data in an explicit and reflective manner-as admonished by the writers of the textbook. I can only get better at the diagnostic teaching through experience. Nevertheless, I am learning to read students (i.e. facial expressions, body language, unusual habits).

This goes right along with the observational assessment discussed on page 99. Figure 4.3 made me think about how many times I’ve seen these behaviors in my classroom already. I now see that they are avoidance techniques. Regretfully, I’ve not watched closely enough to address these behaviors and intervene. That will be my goal for the next 9 weeks. I want to be more observant; that keen observation will allow me to make the proper adjustments through informal assessments. This will ultimately help me put the students in a better position to excel on the formal assessments…..that will be on DOK 2 and 3 level, of course.

Has the Experience Been Easier or Harder Than You Thought?

            Coming into this school year, I was very confident about my ability to thrive in whatever situation I found myself in. I had some valuable experience doing volunteer work in Memphis City Schools, so I had already seen what it was like to deal with kids in a critical needs environment. Moreover, my experience at the MTC summer school was awesome. I was challenged there, but it was very necessary. Those 5 or 6 weeks in the MTC summer school were very formative in my development as a teacher. Because of those experiences, I was very confident about being a successful first year teacher.

            Armed with confidence, and a somewhat imposing presence, I stepped into Byhalia Middle School ready for anything. I wasn’t overly confident because I knew that I could be faced with a situation that I wasn’t quite ready for. My biggest asset was organization and consistency. With these two things, I could stop a lot of negative things from possibly happening. Actually, lot of situations have been preemptively squelched because of organization and consistency.

            That is why my experience so far has been a little easier than I thought it would be. I prepared myself for the worst so that only very few things might have a chance of overwhelming me. The kids are generally very respectful, and they have a pretty good work ethic. Like all schools, there are students who constantly misbehave and neglect academics, but I haven’t found those students to be particularly challenging. The hardest thing has been trying to develop character in my students. The basis of my class is discipline and hard work. I’ve been trying to convey to my students that neither of these requires them to be the smartest person in the world. If these character traits can be developed, then they will do just fine in my class, all of their other classes, and life. Everyday I tell them that the minute they stop working someone is outworking them and putting themselves in a position to capitalize on a major opportunity. This has taken some hard lessons, and patience, but I think most of my students are grasping the concept of what I’ve been preaching for this first month and a half.

            I think one of the things that skews first-year expectations is the forewarnings, admonitions, and horror stories from people who have taught already. While their experiences are very valuable, they can sometimes leave first years jaded before they even step into their own teaching situations. Some of my initial worries came as a result of the talks with second years and team teachers. There were a lot of “don’t forget,” “watch out,” and “you’ll see” conversations. Even reading some blogs and portfolios left me trying to figure out how people make it through the program if all of the reflections are negative and sad.

            I’m glad I put more stock into my personal evaluation of myself, because it allowed me to be very introspective and really understand myself before I could try to influence the lives of 140 7^th graders. My introspective approach and confidence put me in a position to feel like I could thrive at Byhalia Middle School. And right now, I feel like I am thriving here. I love my job, I am not stressed at all, and I look forward to coming to work everyday!

Is Mr. King Fair???

I thought it would be best to ask my 3^rd period class whether I was fair or not. Simply because that is the class who’s most behind, and the lowest achieving. Moreover, I’ve had to discipline that class way more than any of my other four. I was not surprised by the mix of “yes” and “no” responses. What was interesting was the explanations. I told them that a simple one-word response wouldn’t suffice, so they actually had to put some thought into it. What I got was a few impassioned responses; these struck a chord, and will continue to resonate throughout the year.

Student: NO!!! Because he’s mean, and makes us stand in the sun!

            This particular reference has a good story behind it. One day, 3^rd period decided that they didn’t want to come back from lunch in an orderly manner. So, they had to stand in the sun outside of 8^th grade hallway, quietly and in line, while the rest of 7^th and 8^th grade passed to and from lunch. We lost 25 minutes of class time and they had to complete and grade an assignment with the last 15 minutes of class. We haven’t had a problem since then.

Student: Yes! He’s not mean at all. He’s very nice if you don’t get on his nerves!

Student: Yes, because he treats everyone equally.

            This one meant a lot because I try as hard as possible to treat every student equally. I know this doesn’t happen nearly enough, but I’m glad they see that consequences and rewards are dolled out as equally as possible.

Student: Yes! Because he gives you chances and choices to do things the right way. It’s not his fault if you don’t take advantage of those chances.

            My class is built on student discipline and responsibility. I try to frame everything as a choice for them. That way, when we do have to have disciplinary interventions, they know it’s because they chose not to do the right thing. Also, they understand that their lack of achievement on tests/quizzes is based on them choosing not to study or participate in class.

Student: No, because he expects us to do stuff in a small amount of time. Yes, because he tries to get us to think faster and more critically.

Student (who had turned around tremendously): Yes he is, because he gives us things that’s right in our face. And everyday he tells us what we are going to do and what we need to do. He makes us write down everything that we are going to need. His tests are easy because he gives us notes to study.

            I am glad that one of the students who started out hating me, and being lazy, has realized why my class is structured the way it is.

Overall, I am pleased with the responses. They gave me some insight into how they feel about me. A lot of them said that I’m mean, which is fine. They’ll appreciate it in the long-run.