week 8

well, today i learned a valuable lesson or two.

first, defiantly have a seating chart. especially with freshmen. mr donovan allows the kids to sit wherever they want, but they just cant handle it. first order of business tomorrow = new seating chart. i also learned that you have to set up an ultimatum for the misbehaving student. either be good or else... but i have to be ready to carry out the "or else". luckily, today the girl went with what i said so i didnt have to put up a fight. but i know its bound to happen one day.

second lesson : dont show a film to a regular class full of kids who can't pay attention. we spent the whole class period trying to make them all be quiet. after the film, i quizzed them on what they watched and it seemed that they got it. so i guess thats a good thing. the reason i showed the film to fifth period is because they were a day ahead of all the other classes so i needed them to slow down. next time, ill come up with something better....

oh - cst testing is this week and i so have a job. im a reliever for people to get their prep periods. its not that big of a deal, i just go sit in someone's classroom for 40 minutes while they go meander and do other things... lol. it should be interesting though....

3 weeks to go!!!!

week 7

I learned a lot today....

The lesson I did today had the students doing research on the internet on a topic about communism. They had to find the information and make a poster all in one day because we are presenting them tomorrow. So heres what i learned after doing this lesson: when assigning internet research, give students exact directions. I realized this after first period and started giving individual directions to groups one at a time. it worked after that. first period was a disaster. but then it all came together. lunch time came around and the computers in the library crashed. So, I had a backup direct instruction lesson for the same topic. That one worked really well. The only problem is that now 5th period is a day ahead of everyone else. So Im doing my lesson for monday with them tomorrow while all the other classes present. Then this weekend I will come up with something for fifth period to do. im thinking of having a berlin blockade / airlift / wall day. something sort of fun but still having to do with the topic. then tuesday we will all be on the same track again.

i got lucky that mr donovan has all the same subject for all 5 periods. Its definitely helpful. and having 5th period off is okay because they are the regular class while all the rest are honors.

so tomorrow we do our presentations. it should be interesting to see how they go. the worst that can happen is that they are horrible. oh well. you live and you learn.

tomorrow is the last day of week 7. we have our dinner with everyone else in the program so that they can tell us what to do to get our credential. it all is pretty exciting. now i just have to find a job. ha.

back from spring break

So we had a week off. It was almost too long. The only thing super exciting that I did was to go to the observatory with Jackie. If you haven't been since the renovation, I totally recommend it! We got to look through the big telescope and we saw Saturn and 5 of its moons. It was totally cool. Other than that my break was pretty laid back.

We wrapped up the WW2 Unit before break. The kids did pretty well on the test. I was impressed but then again, it is honors. As for the essays, they need to improve on their essay writing skills because they are Freshmen. When asked for specific examples, they simply said, "just like this". They also used I and Me a lot in the essays.

As for the lesson plans, I'm so glad that I got to see a WW2 unit. Of course I will have to do things differently but I really enjoyed seeing how to utilize films and how to break the information down for students.

The cold war is next. I have started the lesson plans for this week and next. I'm still not sure how to teach Korea and Vietnam but I'm working on it. Its going to be a good 4 weeks. Im excited to be done!

its been awhile.

So i dont think that anyone even reads this but due to the fact that i have to do this for class, here it goes:

the last 2 weeks have been interesting to say the least. In class we have been wrapping up the unit with group presentations and review for the test that is tomorrow. So nothing very exciting. I have been getting a jump on lesson plans for my last month though. I pretty much have the first week back done and so now Im working on the Korean War. Its interesting to search for stuff on the internet for this stuff because its not taught in class very often. But Im learning a lot myself so its exciting. and the good thing about the cold war is that this stuff can be used in both world history and US History. So im getting lots of good experience.

swimming is going good. we are on track to win league, which is always good too. at the meet yesterday we had to call 911 because a girl was having really bad stomach pains and couldnt breathe. interested to hear what happened.

Birthday was yesterday. School, swim meet, then dinner with my fabulous boyfriend. then bed time. I guess im a grown up now.

week 3

I had my third observation on Monday. We are graded on about 10 different areas on a scale of 1 to 4. If you get 3s and 4s you passed. 1s and 2s, you didnt. But, for the first time, I got all 4s. I was so excited. I took the things that she told me to improve on the first time and implemented them this time... and i saw the results. I was really excited. Hopefully I can continue to get all 4s for the rest of my student teaching.

Next Monday, I am being videotapped for my lesson on the holocaust. I've come up with some fun, well as fun as the holocaust can be, things to do in class. I have to go to the curriculum lab at la verne sometime this week though... maybe i will go tonight. Then I have to do a huge write up on it by the next Monday. But once thats done, it's all smooth sailing until the end of my 10 weeks. We are wrapping up the WW2 unit in the next couple weeks and then moving on to the cold war... should be exciting....

anywho - i guess i dont have much to share this time.

first formal observation

So on Tuesday, I had my first formal observation from Lucy (my supervisor from La Verne). They grade us on all different areas of the TPE (teacher performance expectiations). I got all 3s and 4s (passing scores, 1 and 2s are bad). The things she said I need to work on are maintaining a learning environment by keeping the students quiet and she also said that our "beyond" activity wasn't very good. As for keeping the kids quiet, I didnt feel that I could make the kids be quiet because Mr Donovan allows side talking. But apparently, I have to even if its just for the times that she's here. As for the beyond activity, it was something that Mr D and I came up with at the very last minute on Monday.... He doesn't really do beyond activities so its something new for him too.

the rest of this week the students are examing different documents from WW2 (like ads, rationing papers, etc.) to try and get a sense of what life was like in the United States during the war. On Friday, we are going to the library so that the students can work on their research reports that they are supposed to be doing at home.

As for swimming, we had our first meet on Tuesday. We won pretty easily on all levels. Its nice being a part of a winning team. With 200 swimmers and a handful of them being club swimmers, meets are pretty easy for us. Today we have another meet against Walnut, who is supposed to be on the same level as us... So we will see what happens. All the other coaches are super nice. The two girls are really fun to talk with. The rest of them are all teachers so its good to get some perspective from them. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season.

one week down, 9 to go

Well, it was a rather eventful first week. Lets just say that my original teacher and I have very different teaching styles. I talked to my professor and he was able to help me get a new teacher at the same school. So, as of Thursday, I am now with Mr. Donovan. Mr. Donovan teachers 4 sections of honors world history and one section of college prep world history. Its basically the same class for all 5. Then, during 6th period and after school, he is the head mens basketball coach for the school. He is super nice and has been teaching for 19 years. He encouraged me to go and check out the swim team. He is very knowledgeable and easy to get a long with.

As for my teaching experience, I am having a good time so far. Last week I just observed, which was a good thing because I needed to get back to the feel of things in the classroom. Then today, I taught my first lesson. I would say it went okay. Its difficult because I'm only teaching one period a day this week. So, I have to keep things the same for 4th period that Mr. Donovan does with all the other periods. Its weird doing someone elses lecture. The impression I got from him was that he wanted me to do something different than what he does. So, tomorrow I'm going to try. After I write this, I'm going to write up my lesson plan for tomorrow. Tomorrow is also my first observation from my supervisor from La Verne. I'm not very nervous for that because I know that she is there to help me and give me feedback and she doesn't expect me to be perfect. The thing about teaching is that you improve with experience. And obviously, I don't have much experience so I must not be very good.

And then there's swimming. Coach Mount has been coaching swimming for 33 years. He is also a history teacher. The Ayala swim team has almost 200 swimmers. I was thinking that since now I am unemployed and all, I could offer my services. So now, I am a volunteer coach. It's cool to be a part of a big team and to see how organized everything has to be. Coach Mount does a really good job at keeping things in line. I have to work some things out with the district but then I should be good to go. Duncan thinks I'm crazy for volunteering but, its something to add to my resume. Plus, Ayala really seems to like to hire their coaches as teachers or vice versa. It wasn't like that at Santiago. But now I really see the advantage of being a teacher/coach. I think I'm going to enjoy it.

So today, I got up at 515am, left for school at 620, talked with Mr. D until 730, had a department meeting until 830, observed/taught until 120, coached until 4, went to the gym at 530, and got home at 645. Phew. Long day. But at least I have my nights free and will be able to lesson plan and get things organized at night.

Tomorrow Ayala has its first swim meet against Rancho Cucamonga. Won't get home from that until 7 or so but will start updating close to daily.

i start monday

Ok so I got placed at ayala high school in chino hills. Exciting! I was looking on the schools website and discovered that of the 10 or so history teachers, only 1 is female. I'm worried its a bit of a boys club but I think I do a good job at fitting in. So we will see. According to the website, my teacher has ap euro. So it will be interesting because that was my worst class in high school. I like to think that since then I have become more intelligent and can now teach the class.

Downside: school starts at 730, I have to be there at 7 so I have to leave my house by 6. Just imagine what time I have to get up. Duncan pointed out that I'm done at 2 so I should be fine. Good thing I've worked at a coffee shop long enough to get used to the hours. Lol.

Today is my last day at jax. Next sunday is my last day at peets. And I have my first gig at revolution prep tomorrow. My nifty shirt should show up today. Its weird working for a company where I've never met anyone. Lol. Its a paycheck though.

I have orientation tonight where I will meet with my university supervisor to go over exactly what is expected of me.

Anywho. Ill update on monday.

new news

well,

the girl from La Verne called. They have given up trying to place me in Orange County so she wanted to know if something around La Verne would work. I said "sure". Waking up the extra hour early to get there won't be very fun but at least I will be able to do my student teaching. But, seriously, if they don't get me placed soon I'm going to ask for my money back because this is getting a little ridiculous. My friend Janie asked the department chair at her school if they would take me and they replied very quickly with a no. greaaaaaaat. I just hope I get placed somewhere. anywhere. ughh. the good news is that Janie offered me her apartment if I need somewhere to stay thats closer. She lives in San Dimas. So its good to know that I have that available.

Tomorrow night is a seminar on classroom management. Then Friday night is Orientation. Supposed to start Monday. oh dear.

all about me.

In an effort to reconnect with myself, the next 10 weeks (student teaching time) will be all about me. I will be doing the things that make me happy and doing things to improve my sense of being. Being back in a classroom will be the biggest change. Everyday I will be in the environment that I love. The second biggest change is that I will be doing a fruit/veggie cleanse. I will only be eating fruits and vegetables for this time and drinking water, coffee, and tea (with no cream/sugar of course). While 10 weeks may seem like a long time to go without protein and carbs, I feel that this will be a time for me to reconnect with my body. I will go 2 weeks of nothing but fruits and veggies and then re-evaluate. I may add in tofu and other forms of protein that aren't meat. I really want to be healthy again and I feel that I don't do well with small changes. So, I'm going big. I ask that you all support me in this and please, refrain from giving me a hard time about it. Lastly, the other big change will be getting out and being active again. Now that I will be back on a normal schedule, I plan to schedule in activities that I enjoy doing multiple times a week. This includes kickboxing, mountain biking, and going for strolls in beautiful California. Feel free to join me in any of these activities :) I welcome friends.

I just thought that I would enlighten you to what's going on in my life.

It's time for work.

And may I add, GO USA! I love the olympics!!

Less than a week...

Well, I'm supposed to start student teaching on Monday. So far, I have no where to go. I suppose I will just wait it out as I do trust the system. I have a seminar on classroom managment on Thursday night and Orientation on Friday night. Whether or not I will be in the classroom on Monday, only time will tell.

Until then, I am waiting out the days. Friday will be my last day at Jax Bicycles and 2 Sundays from now will be my last day at Peets. The good news is that today I got hired for a new job! I am excited about it because this is the first job that my education and credentials have gotten me. I will be a proctor for Revolution Prep, an test prep company. On Saturday mornings I will be the proctor for mock SAT and ACT classes. The good news is that I will be making way more money. The even better news is that I get to pick when I work. It seems like the perfect thing to get me through my student teaching. I'm excited!

Made peanut butter cookies today for the first time. I will test them on my fellow Peets employees. They are always up for something yummy.

Until next time,

Kate