Digital Sea

So Perfect... Almost

I really can't describe it: my first week of student teaching.

It's been surreal.  Everything went so well.  My students are incredible; my host teacher is "da bomb;" the staff has been super helpful; my lessons have been successful.

There have been some interesting developments, though.

This morning, before even the homeroom bell rang, I had a student run in hysterics!  She hurled herself into the corner of a room and started screaming "I WANT TO GO HOME! I WANT TO GO HOOOMMMEEE!"

This is what was going through my mind:

A. Oh. My. God.
B. Where is Miss Burgess!

There is definitely no schooling that could prepare a person for something like that.  I get to school annoyingly early--I don't know, I just like to be early.  So, I had no idea how to handle this (considering Miss Burgess wasn't in yet).

Of course I walk over to her and try to calm her down initially.  I just wanted to ask her what the problem was.  Between a mouthful of tears and mumbles, I heard something along the lines of "she said she was going to kick my ass because my shoes looked like hers, and her boyfriend's going to kick my ass because I told him to layoff with splashing people with water."

So because I didn't know how to handle this, I decided to use my instincts: change the subject.  Before I could do this, I had to calm her down.  SO, I fabricated this story (yes, completely made up a story) about how something similar happened to me recently.  I told her that people can be "jerks."

I then promptly steered her towards my desk.  I told her there was something I needed to show her.  Then, without a clue what to do, I improvised.  I grabbed one of the many YA lit books on my desk and told her that I thought she would like it.

After about two minutes, I got her talking about other things; the situation was at hand. Phew.

I have no idea if this is a good thing to do or not, but I sure am happy she didn't have to run out of the room or freak out, etc.  Any ideas on what I should have done differently?

One last thing...

Like I said, I brought in all of my YA Lit texts (the ones I had in Cortland; I'm going to get the others tomorrow).  I book-talked a handful of them and put around a sign-out sheet.  By the end of the day, I had kids basically fighting over books.  They were excited, and Miss Burgess was happy!  We even put a list of the ones they were fighting over in the library.  They'll be there next week! 

I can't describe the feeling of seeing those kids so excited... I love this.  Cheers.

Razzle: Maker of Plans for Lessons.

Ya know, I've made a lot of lessons plans; no really, I have.  The problem is, they're all so out of context, that it's hard to gauge just how effective they will be... or are.  Well, now that I'm going to start student teaching tomorrow, I guess I'll get to find out how good I really am at this.

I made my first legitimate lesson plan, and I feel pretty good about it.  I'm pretty good at hypothetically planning how things are going to go, no matter how ambiguous the circumstances (that's basically what I did all summer).  I'm hopeful, but I'm not sure how well I've done.

There are no students tomorrow, so I can go over my first lesson with Miss Burgess; I'm also going to show her the calendar of events I've started for my whole unit.  Hopefully, she'll like my ideas have have some constructive criticism for me.

Also, in the English Journal--again, I'm too lazy to get it to point out the author's name--I've read an article in which a current high-school teacher made a list of why he teaches.  I think I'll do that on this blog after a couple weeks of student teaching.  That'll give me a real taste of what it was like when I got back to it months from now.

Looking forward (but kinda' nervous) to tomorrow...

Hopefully I'll be able to blog about it tomorrow.  See you then.  Cheers.

Teach to the Test!? Well, I Just Winged It.

I forgot to write about this a while ago, so I just wanted to take the time and write a quickie on the NYSTCE.  So, I decided to take two of the Teacher Certification Tests a couple weekends ago.  It was such a hectic summer, that I didn't get to prepare at all.  I was told, by multiple--well everyone I know who's a teacher or pre-service teacher--people, that there was no need to study.  Well, let me tell you... they were right.

It was kinda' insulting, to be completely honest.  I guess they're just checking that future teachers are competent.  Some of the questions were ridiculous.  I don't want to get into this, as this isn't what I really wanted to write about, but on a side note, the tests were incredibly easy.

What I really wanted to talk about was the test itself: a non-contextualized multiple-choice test.

As I mentioned above, these tests were astonishingly simple, so I didn't have a hard time.  But, there were a lot of questions--especially in the English sections--that I hesitated.  I knew the answer "they" wanted me to give, but there were others that could have easily been defended as being the "correct" answer.

So what about the Regents.  I'm trying to teach these kids not to be mindless-drones, and now they have to pick out ambiguous answers that have no relevance to anything?

I read a great article in the English Journal today--I'd love to tell you which one and by who, but I'm way too lazy to get up out right now.

They author basically just stated how teachers don't work together and should.  Basically his theory was that if teacher's work together--without being offended, bickering, and all the other child-like issues--they will be able to teach English the way they feel it should be taught.  But for now, he is stating the obvious: teachers do their own thing, teach the way they want during the year, then at the last minute teach to the test... awesome.

Well, just some food for thought for moi.  Cheers.

Paul's First Lecture

A lot to talk about today, but that would be overwhelming, so I just want to talk about Paul Shirley's lecture that I watched via streaming video this morning.  You can watch it too! 

First off, to be honest, this wasn't the most profound lecture that I've ever watched--especially one on globalization.  Paul Shirley is a professional (mostly aspiring NBA player) basketball player and writer.  He's written one book and has had many blogs while stationed on the bench in the NBA.  This lecture that he gave at his alma mater was interesting, mostly because of his unique perspective on traveling the world (he's played on something like twelve professional basketball across the world).  He spoke about how things were different for him and how he was able to market himself... it really wasn't anything new.

I, personally, thought that the most interesting part of this lecture came at the question-and-answer portion.  He answered a lot of tough questions very intelligently.  One particularly has been on my mind:

One student asked if him getting an engineering degree has helped him in his life as a writer and NBA player.  Paul made some jokes about how it's a stretch and how it certainly didn't help him get girls; then he said he attributed his degree for his problem-solving ability.  Then he went on to say something relevant to us English people.

He said that a lot of the classes that he had taken didn't help him at all.  He acutally refered to some program--I couldn't hear which, he was mumbling--that was archeiac and was nothing but a waste of time.  He said that, instead of classes such as this useless class he mentioned, he wished they were offered some more English and language classes.

Now I understand that this guy is a writer now, and he probably would have liked to take an English class becuase that's what he likes...

But I don't think that's what he was getting at.  He was speaking about a bigger population than just himself.  He was referring to basketball players and engineers.  He recognizes that reading and writing skills are such an important part in every person's life.

Now, I know that most of the people who will read this blog already understand the importance of our beloved niche.  But... is there something more here, something that can be used in class?  A lot of high-school students love sports; what if they heard a professional basketball player telling them the importance of the class that they hate?

I guess I'm not saying anything new.  I just wanted to write about this lecture, and, to be honest, I was a little disappointed in it.  I don't think it's Paul's fault either; I just think this is old news now.  I was hoping to hear more 'bout globalization; it's just not there.

Cool, Calm

I usually neglect my educational blog during the summer.  I don't know why; I feel like I lose a lot of great ideas by not writing about them.  Oh, well. 

I actually started two different blogs this summer.  I like to revert to the old, no-point blogging style over the summer.  I don't think I'm going to link to them, though...

One of my favorite things to do is go back to all my old blog posts.  Kinda' irrelevant but true nonetheless.

Anyway, I had an interested turn of events.  My host teacher at Cortland High accepted a job as the Junior-High Principal.  This left me, obviously, without a host teacher.  I frantically contacted all of the appropriate people and hoped that I would get a new placement soon.

Two days ago, my wish came true.  Now I'm at Marathon High.  At first I was incredibly disappointed, for no reason...

But, as it turns out, I really believe this is going to be great.  I feel that my new host teacher, Miss Burgess, and I see eye-to-eye.  She made me feel very comfortable, and I'm now, again, super-duper excited to start teaching... FINALLY!

It looks like I'm going to start teaching Shakespeare--A Midsummer Night's Dream, to be exact.  Miss B said that this is usually the kids' favorite unit (and hers), and she's letting me to do it!  I have big ideas for jazzing up S'speare.  Think: graphic  novel, videos, Comic LIfe and et cetera.  I have a lot of preparing to do becuase of the change in plans.

On a side note, I'm really diggin' Twitter.  I've been getting a lot of help via messages and replies in all of my work.  I didn't see the point at first; it's clear now.  What a cool app.  Check out PicLens too.  Great way to create a smorgasboard of all the photos you're looking at.

I'll be updating regularaly again.  Cheers.

Another Post Bites the Dust

Two consecutive days of good ol' bloggin', eh.

Well most of my night last night (and all of tonight, too) was spent working on the Writing Fellows brochure that I'm making.  Oddly enough, I managed to give myself "designer's block." 

It must be because I was away from my DEAR computer for so long.  Oh, well.  I let it soak in over night, and I was able to at least send out a first draft of something that I'm not ashamed to claim. 

It's a pretty simple three-fold brochure.  I decided to keep everything very straight-forward on the front and relatively straight-forward on the inside.  I did take the liberty to make the inside much more "open" (I'm not sure if that's even the right word).

My drafts usually end up incredibly different than my final draft, so I'm looking forward to the feedback that I'll get and the end result.  I'm usually pleased with how they turn out, so I'm not That worried.

It's starting to feel like student teaching is thisclose from becoming a reality.  Hopefully I'll be able to prepare myself enough (well, at least enough so that I'll be psychologically ready--which, in my case, is probably going to result in being over-prepared).  I'm re-reading To Kill A Mockingbird.  I'm teaching it at my second placement.  Still as good as the first time...

I'm still at my regular summer job, at Wolfe Plumbing.  I'm really running the whole warehouse this summer, though.  It's a lot more work, but I really do enjoy it.  Mr. Wolfe seems to be pleased with the way I'm doing things, so he may even be willing to outsource some work to me while I'm away.  That's pretty apropriate, isn't it.

I could never have done anything like that ten years ago...

Alright, well, another post bites the dust.  Have a good night, folks.

Sit Down, Stand Up

Oh, man... it's been a while.  I missed my TypePad blog.  I started experimenting with a Vox blog (for financial reasons, but it's just not the same.  Then during my hiatus from TypePad (and after, for that matter) I had some connectivity problems.

This summer has been absolutely stressful for me.  It just proves how much of a computer nerd I am.

Anyway, this post may be something only for me, but I figure I'll publish it anyway.

I'm really struggling with my preparation for my first student-teaching placement.  Mr. Cafararo has pretty much given me the reigns and let me lose on these 9th-graders.  The thing is... I think I'd much rather him have given me something... anything to use as a foundation.

I've given a lot of thought to doing a media literacy unit with the students, but I got the feeling that Mr. Caf was not "feeling that" so much.  I could still do it, and I may, but I really have to do some meticulous research.

I was looking through the huge textbook that he gave me, and save from two or three things, I don't really foresee myself using a lot of it. 

I really want to have a positive student-teaching experience...
I really want to have a positive student-teaching experience...
I really want to have a positive student-teaching experience...
I really want to have a positive student-teaching experience...
I really want to have a positive student-teaching experience...
I really want to have a positive student-teaching experience...

I need to get-a move on and start really writing things down.  I feel like I've literally spend three weeks brainstorming.

Next step is to just start writing.  I need to start something, anything.  If it doesn't work, then it doesn't work, and I'll move on.

Time isn't going to stand still.

My second placement has been easier.  I actually have more done for that; this is mostly because I have much less freedom.  This isn't a bad thing, trust me.  But, who knows...

Anyway, I don't like writing long posts (I wouldn't want to read it all either), but I do have one more "good" thing to write about:

One of the students from one of my Comic Life Workshops sent me an email.  He basically confessed that Comic Life makes him happy and that he cannot wait until the next one.  I get the impression that he's working on "something big."

That made my day.

Good and Bad News

The good news is that my Macbook is back!  The bad news is that I had to send it to Apple (in Memphis!) to get fixed.  I was having some major keyboard problems, but those seem to be a thing of the past.

I'm going to start using my blog to record and test some of my ideas for student teaching.  I'm excited to start writing again.  I also have some work to do for the Cortland Writing Program (brouchure and website).  So, I'll be busy.  I'm also working almost 50 hours a week!  WOW!

It feels good to be able to start saving some money.  It's always frustrating to run up a ridiculous tab on my credit card during the school year...

Hopefully those days are coming to a close.

Well, I'm going to do some InDesign-ing.  Good to be back!

Google Doc Experiment

I haven't had too much time to work with it, but I think that Google Docs is going to be one of the most frequented technologies that I'll be using over the next couple of years.

I can really see some potential for collaboration on a personal level (for the work that I do professionally) and on a student level (students can collaborate on one document, slide, spreadsheet, etc.).

I have some concerns in the software:

• How does the collaboration happen?
• What are the advantages of working offline (hopefully this will minimize access problems)?
• What does the final product look like?
• How about areas of accrediting the authors?
• What other potential is there?
• Could this lead to the same hesitation I'm meeting about Wikis?

I really like some of the features:

• You can upload PowerPoint slides that you've made in PowerPoint (students can work on them individually and then pull them together).
• There are multiple saving options.
• It's a word processor, spreadsheet, and powerpoint creator.

Mostly I need to spend some more time working on this.  I wish I knew about it earlier in my college career.  There have been plenty of times that I've had group work that lead to discombobulated powerpoints for various reasons.

We'll see, I guess.  Does anyone else have any feedback for me on this?  I'm a newbie!  I've heard so much about it; hopefully it will be as great as I've heard.

Also, follow me on Twitter if you have it!  I need to expand my personal learning network!

A Comic Time: The Light at the End of the Tunnel

It seems that the Comic Life seminars that I've been doing are pretty popular.  Another library wants me to come to Cortland this summer and do another.  Even though the turn out hasn't been that great, I do enjoy doing it and will probably make the trek up here for another go-'round. 

One teenager was doing a poetry unit and said that he was going to ask his teacher if he could put his poem into a comic.  I thought that was really cool.  There are actually some really great graphic novels that are books of poetry put to pictures to enhance the meaning: one being Missouri Boy.  It's a little existential, but I really enjoyed it.

I would love to do a poetry unit and have the kids choose from a plethora of projects.  One, obviously, would be a comic.

I've also been thinking of ways to get the students writing more.  In my observation, I haven't seen the students write at all... they should be writing everyday!  How do you become a writer without writing?  It's depressing, really.

The semester is coming to a close, and I'm really starting to get excited about student teaching.  I'll finally be able to have a class to myself (well, sort of).  This is what I've been waiting for!  I have so many ideas; I'm so excited.

Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with this blog on a regular basis.  I'd love to come back after it's over and see what it felt like at the time.  I'll even be able to use it to correct myself and my lessons.  Well, I have some InDesign work to do tomorrow, so I'm going to finish watching the NBA Playoff and head to bed.  It was a good weekend.  Still struggling for money, but I'm almost done!  Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Kind of a random post... my apologies.  Cheers.