To Trust or not To Trust

This year so far I've been fairly chill with my students, especially my advanced kids. They know when it's time to get down to business, but they know it's a fun class to be in too. And I enjoy them too.

Except for today.

We were in the auditorium where they were performing scenes. And when we came back to the classroom, something of my educational assistant's was missing. My classroom door leading to the outside stays unlocked. Since no one fessed up about taking the item, we were led to believe someone came in and stole it. We asked our students to keep their eyes out for it on campus, and to return it to me if someone found it. And someone did. But the student who found it wouldn't tell me it who he got it from. He said it would be bad for him if he said. He said the student who took it said it was lying by the door, that he didn't realize it belonged to someone in class.

So now I'm stuck.
Do I punish the class as a whole for breaking my trust? Or do I let it slide on the assumption that it was an outside student, and crack down on the door-locking and the security?

I'm even more disappointed because it was my advanced students. I thought that of all my classes, they were the ones I had to worry about the least. If it even was them...
And what's next? What else could get stolen? My personal stuff? More valuable items?

I hate feeling like this; disappointment, mistrust.
Tomorrow may be better.

Romeo, Juliet, and Testing (again...)

Shakespeare is marked as one of the exemplars in Common Core, which NM has adopted (much to the chagrin of some educators here in the land of enchantment). As such, and really even before that I think because I wasn't in school in the Age of Common Core and we were still required to read Shakespeare. But anyway, (probably) because it's an exemplar in the standards (code name CCSS), I am now two weeks in to teaching Romeo and Juliet to my two classes of freshmen. The main question I've asked them from the beginning of this unit has been "Why Romeo and Juliet? If this play was written over 500 years ago, why do we still read it?" I think it's important students think about those things, even if they don't come up with an answer right away. In fact, I don't think they should be able to come up with an answer to that question immediately. It's a big question that takes some thought.

How is it going, you ask?
Fairly well, I think. I'm taking a different approach to it than my teachers did when I was in high school. Back then, we watched the film version after completing reading the play from our 9th grade textbook. My class did the reverse: we watched the film first, and now are diving in to the text of the play. But even then, we won't be reading the entirety of the play. Mainly, I don't have enough time left in the school year to do so. But also, what's the point in dragging them kicking and screaming through language they don't understand? Just to say "Oh hey, I read Romeo and Juliet freshmen year. I don't remember anything we learned during it, but I read most of it." Shakespeare was meant to be heard and watched, not read from a page in a book. I even struggle with simply reading Shakespeare, and I'm a Shakespeare nerd with a theatre degree. So, I figured I'd try to help them create the picture in their minds of what goes on in the story before we dive in to the text. They watched the film last Wednesday-Friday, with me pausing after major events to recap the story and what led up to that point.
Today we read Act 1, sc. 1, in class after testing and for the most part, it went well. It was mostly driven by me asking questions that they answered with small, monosyllabic answers. I hope 4th period does better, but maybe it's my fault. I might be jumping on their answers. I'll try to be more aware of not doing that tomorrow. I think, too, instead of writing sonnets on Thursday, we'll read Act 1, sc 2. But since class is still two hours long, thanks to PARCC testing, we may have time to do both.

That's all for now. I'll try to be better about reporting back as the year draws to a close.
Ciao!

First day of Romeo and Juliet!

Today was the first day of my Romeo and Juliet unit with my 9th graders. I think it went pretty well, but I did end up with about 15 minutes of extra time at the end of my lecture about the history/biography of Shakespeare. I also am a bit worried on how to make the info more exciting for them. I wonder if it's just this class period (which, to be honest, it might just be them and their lack of care for anything related to school) or if it was my information, or the way I presented it.
Hmm... probably should ask my CT what she thinks.

Friday I get to spend 2 whole hours with them! Yay...
We're going to do a Shakespearean insult challenge, after they get basic information regarding the structure of Shakespeare. You know, iambic pentameter, sonnets, soliloquies, etc.

Like I said, I think that the lesson went pretty well. Better than I was expecting, to be honest. I know it's hard to lecture. And it's hard to be a student sitting through lecture. I did tell them that it was important that they know some of the biography/history of Shakespeare, but I don't think that's the most important thing for them to learn about Romeo and Juliet.

So I'm a bit stumped, but have some things to try for tomorrow. Talk then!

Testing Schedule and a Study in Naps

Monday, again. We're still on our testing schedule, with the Math department being the ones doing the testing now that English is done. We'll be on this 2-hour block schedule today and tomorrow, and Wednesday and Thursday will be C-day schedules for an assembly and a make-up snow day.

So, we've been doing some documentary watching, frontloading for their research project that will be assigned this week. But some of my students feel that when a movie comes on, it's time for them to sleep. And I'm not really sure how to address this issue. Thoughts? (I'll ask my classmates too, and see what they have to say, at the risk of starting a riot during open forum in this week's seminar class.)

Evaluated should be my middle name

Sorry friends. Testing has started and life is crazy these days.

My evaluation went well. My supervisor from UNM is awesome and always has really great feedback for me. I chose to film myself teaching on the same day she came (part of my requirements for my seminar class are to film myself teaching twice) and she could tell I was definitely edgier than normal.

I hate being on film. Hate it, hate it, hate it. There's a reason I chose theatre and the stage versus film.


Must go, lots of homework to do. I should be back by the end of the week with another post about returning back to instruction post-standardized testing.

Tata!
-c

Comic Superheroes and the Art of Validating Answers

We've been studying superheroes all week! And will be for the next like six weeks!! Yay!!

Today I had a great discussion with my CT about responding to student responses, which stemmed out of an actual incident in class. I posed a question to the class, and Student A raised his hand to answer. His answer was not what I was looking for, and I told him so. Student B raised her hand, said practically the same thing that Student A did, and yet I didn't shut down her response as an incorrect one. 

Honestly I didn't ever realize that I had, in a nutshell, invalidated Student A's response by letting Student B answer when they were saying basically the same thing as Student A. My CT brought it to my attention, and then we talked about ways to avoid doing that. It's something she still finds herself doing, and she's been teaching for 15 years. That's one thing I don't understand about my classmates who are student teaching too, and their CT's leave the room when they take over. Who would be there to notice things like that if my CT wasn't in the room? How would I know that this was something I was doing if my CT hadn't pointed it out?

My problem with it was not that she was giving me a critique, but rather that I had failed my students somehow and/or had not met some ridiculous expectation that I had set for myself. I tend to hold myself to pretty high standards and when I fail to meet those standards, my usual reaction is to cry. I know, I know. Like I said, it's not that I was freaking out at my CT for calling me on that, but rather that I was disappointed in myself and was upset at failing. So we had that conversation about how that's a skill that takes teachers years to learn.

So I wouldn't say that it was a failure, by any means. Heck, Student A may not have even noticed that I had done that. But I know now, and will strive to not do that anymore.

Tomorrow I get to test out my lesson that I want to use for my observation from my PTI at UNM. I'll probably be back Thursday with a report of how the observation went.

Tata!

4th period lesson - The Odyssey

Today's lesson went great! Another copycat: I did with 4th period what my CT did with 3rd period yesterday.

Pronouns went way better today too! Yay! This section of pronouns was easier than the last section too. I clarified for them when apostrophes should and should not be used. Now they're empowered to never ever ever ever use apostrophes when using possessive pronouns! And to know the difference between your and you're, as well as their, they're, and there. I hope if they leave my class learning nothing else, they will at least have learned that difference and will never ever make that mistake again!
We started "The Odyssey" today, and I think they're going to like it. I mean, who wouldn't love a story full of sex, fighting, blood, and maritime adventure?! :)

One thing I need to work on in my own teaching, that I noticed today, is how to make sure I stay on track and my students learn what I want them to learn. While I was observing my CT teaching this lesson yesterday and taking notes, I jotted down in the textbook things I thought were important and things she touched on with the other class. But as I read out loud and then started talking to them about what happened, summarizing characters, etc. I got a few confused looks and started feeling like I was wandering all over the place in my discussion and my "lecturing", if you could call it that. Maybe I'll pick my CT's brain about how to make sure I stay on track.

For my seminar class at college, we need to develop a professional development plan. Ugh. I need to pick her brain about that too. I'm probably going to do mine on classroom management, but we'll see what she says too.

Today is going to be a looooonnnngggg day. Teaching, work, and more work tonight. (Jack White is playing at Popejoy tonight!). So we'll see what tomorrow is like, and how much coffee I'll need to make it through! :)