The Buzz of Teaching

I'm a sucker for nostalgia, so this summer I restarted playing Pokemon Go (Go Team Instinct) and have been playing that for a few hours a day. It started as a fun way to break up my day but has since turned into an excuse for me to go enjoy the weather outside, and my farmer's tan is proof that I'm enjoying it. Something I did that I haven't done in a really long time was visit St. Cloud State University. I hadn't been there in a few years, and I don't know why. I loved attending college there. I learned so much, I met so many different people, and got amazing opportunities that I wouldn't have gotten anywhere else. One of my best friends and I (we met at SCSU, freshmen year) grabbed our phones and headed to State to go for a walk, reminisce, and look at how the campus has changed. It's crazy how much it's stayed the same, and many of the changes we noticed were subtle. Was that sign always there? This sprinkler has been broken for like 8 yea...

Strengths I feel my two strongest areas are Challenging and Collaborative. I've been told I'm a more difficult teacher because I have high expectations of my students (and hold them accountable for their work). When I first started teaching I was teaching WAY below my students' cognitive levels because my only experience was 6th and 7th grade, so teaching 9th and 10th graders was way different. I learned a lot that year so my curriculum has grown and expanded as well. I also began teaching Honors and AP classes and that rigor has seeped into my regular LA 9 as well, and I love it. I've always been a Collaborative teacher, but my mindset has improved. I used to put students in groups and give projects just because I thought that was the best thing, but now I do it thoughtfully, with purpose. The results are infinitely better than before. Growth I've grown the most in my Student-Centered and Challenging categories. Since I already discussed my growth in regards to...

Superpowers I feel I have many talents and skills as a teacher that make my life easier. I've excellent at organization, I'm a quick learner who is flexible and willing to change directions and plans based on what's needed in my classroom. I also make lots of connections between my content and real life. I get complimented on many of the things I do as a teacher, which is sometimes a double-edged sword because while the compliments make me feel good, I worry that there's someone else who will just as quickly say the opposite thing. Also I know some people in my department feel like I'm showing off or gloating about my classroom and how I teach, but I'm not, I'm just sharing my day. Secret Identity I do sometimes hide my abilities. If I know an admin or another teacher is looking for help with a project I don't want to do, I try to hide from their radar so I don't get talked to about it. I'm a fixer and I love to look at a problem and figure o...

1. Compare/Contrast Fox and de La Salle are both leaders in their communities. Both of them understand that their life needed improvements, so they took chances and moved on to try bigger and better things. While de La Salle and Fox were both met with opposition during their journeys, Fox appeared in more danger because he was shot, while de La Salle (from what I read) was not put in physical danger. Finally, both of them are clear protectors, Fox protecting his family and de La Salle protecting his ideology. 2. 12 Virtues I identified with Gravity and Silence. I try to keep a positive, yet professional personality at work so I am treated with dignity but also so my profession is treated with dignity. I feel I am good at creating student-led activities and reducing the "sage on the stage" stereotype. At the beginning of my teaching career, I didn't have a very full toolbox so I often was the sage on the stage, but now I rarely do this. I wish I was able to show more...

As I was watching the movie I immediately recognized the first scene of Mr. Fox and his friend infiltrating the chicken coop as relating to education. Mr. Fox had a plan all ready to go, thoughtful, detailed, and when he explained it to his friend, he was met with a blank stare. I thought it was funny because this happens so often in the classroom; you put all this time and effort into organizing and explaining a task carefully and there are still some students who either just don't get it or don't show any kind of response so it's hard to know how they feel about the directions. I also related to the moment once they were inside the barbed wire fence, when Mr. Fox was explaining all the tricks they'll need to do to get from Point A to Point B, and then his friend just says... hey, why don't we just go that way instead? The camera pans over and it's the same path, just without any of the obstacles. I felt this related to teaching because we are so quick to fig...

1. Why do educators choose coercion or punishment? Coercion is all about power dynamics. If a teacher feels a student has disrespected them by challenging their power and authority, they react with coercion and punishments. It's like a "they slighted me so I'm going to slight them" mentality. It's important to distinguish that coercion purposefully removes context and meaning behind the actions by refusing to dignify the student with reasoning as to why they are being punished. One example the text gave was that two students were talking so the teacher just said "You, move!" This is coercion because it removes the meaning behind the action. If you were to explain your reasoning, "Hey, please move to this other seat because you have been talking with your friend for too long and it's disrupting class." is it still coercion? 4. What assumptions are made by a teacher who uses rewards? I imagine that teachers who lead with offering a reward...

What Did I Agree With? I was engaged with this reading from the start! I loved the introductory conversation that set the context for the rest of the piece. I agreed with the author when he stated education has somewhat become a fill-in-the-blank experience. I've encountered many students who expect this type of learning and many teachers who push this narrative as well.  I also found myself also relating heavily to the idea of "the glaze" the terrible apathy that adorns so many students' faces when they're challenged to complete a task on any kind of timeline. I've seen that many of my students struggle with due dates because they don't understand how to organize their schedules and block out time to accomplish a task. For several years I've given my students calendars with daily timelines for big projects but still, a number of students use the glaze and fail to complete the assignment. Its frustrating.  Challenges to My Thinking I appreci...