Living the Perfect Classroom & Homework Philosophy - Blog 2

Homework Philosophy & Perfect Classroom
I think my homework philosophy fits well with my perfect classroom. I'm all about providing support and scaffolding for all my students, and my homework always fits with that. Like I mentioned in my video, I used to have a problem assigning homework because I thought I needed to. In my experience and research, I've learned when it's appropriate so it's a much more balanced classroom experience.

Mis-Aligned
Right now my perfect classroom is not 100% supportive of my homework philosophy because I'm missing many of the necessary tools to be successful. I don't have an EQ board because the school has yet to provide any of its teachers (from the fire-impacted areas) with whiteboards. I also do not have an easy way to project information because my projector is on a cart in the middle of the room. It's not accessible during the hour so whatever I project needs to stay there the whole time. Because of these issues, plus the craziness of the beginning of the school year with the alternating schedule, my students - especially my 9th graders- are struggling more than ever before. No matter how often I bring this up, nothing is getting done to finish my classroom. The people in charge are more concerned that I painted one wall of my classroom than me not having the bare minimum of teaching tools in my classroom.

Changes
I could probably do a better job of scheduling homework. I want to get to a point where my whole trimester - day-by-day - is planned out and available for students to see. Part of me wants that, but the other part of me is worried because

1. Our school is very last minute and the schedule will be ruined within two weeks' time due to "unforeseen" events.

2. If I'm differentiating, how does that align with a pre-determined schedule? It doesn't. If I need to take an extra day to reteach a skill, then my whole calendar is ruined.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Presence and LaSallian Virtues

“There are men whose presence infuses trust and reverence.”    -T.S. Elliot Educator: I chose this quotation because I feel that with my calm, supportive personality, that I can infuse trust and reverence in my classroom. I'm not a super out-there teacher; I don't get loud, I don't jump into the middle of things, I keep my cool, stay back, and offer my services by being there. I'm reliable and people seek me out for support. I may not be a boisterous individual, but people know I'm there. Community: I feel a similar way here as I do as an educator. I do not speak up often in class, but I am present. I may not seek out ways to impress my knowledge of the material to the room, but if I'm asked, I will gladly share my thoughts. LaSallian Virtues: Calmness: I am calm but aware. I sit back, observe, and evaluate my surroundings but do not always readily engage outside of my cognition. Prudence: I am reasonable, straightforward, and accomm...
Read more

Molder of Dreams

Takeaways I feel like I resonated with his ideas about relationships. It's easy to get sidetracked by curriculum, standards, and teacher drama, but it's important to remember who you're working for: the students. Yes we all have a passion for our content areas, but teaching K-12 is about finding ways to encourage our students to care about our content. In some classes or with some material, the substance is engaging enough for some students, but in more polarizing environments, it takes more effort. Poem Sometimes I do feel like a molder of dreams because one of my favorite parts of my job is helping students identify their passions and coming up with ways for them to act on them. Teacher Impact Mz. Dennis and Ms. Valesano had the biggest impact on me in middle and high school, respectively. They encouraged me to follow my passions, found new ways to bring me into the conversation and activities, and were knowledgeable in their content areas. Coincidentally, they wer...
Read more

Teach Learn Lead Application

I attended a session on personalized learning, and I was intimated by just how scheduled and organized her school was that she could offer several different sessions at different levels all in one three hour block. My school is not structured that way, plus I didn't even know where to begin that mess, so I just took some of the basic ideas and implemented them in one lesson. In LA 9 we're reading Animal Farm  by George Orwell and I always do a lesson on the Russian Revolution since it's the whole point of the book. In the past, I've played a video and given all students the same questions, without any scaffolding. I always have some students who succeed and some who give up/don't start because they have such little background knowledge that it's too much for them to handle. This year I'm taking a more personalized learning approach. Students will choose their pathway to success - a Youtube Video or an Informational Text. Youtube Video This pathway c...
Read more