I am a VIP

The most important thing I learned this semester is that I am a very important person in the lives of every student I come in contact with. The success of each child is influenced by the amount of effort I put in to being prepared. Becoming a teacher is an honor and a huge responsibility. To fully comprehend the capacity a teacher has to change the world is a gift that I wish every teacher possessed. I hope that I can live up to the very important task ahead of me. I have learned that the best teachers take every opportunity to increase and improve upon their skills. Because of this class I have a better idea of what types of skills I want to develop before I become a teacher.

I know that classroom management is the foundation to the success of both the student and the teacher. Thinking about my classroom and the materials I may need to organize it will help me to have those things when it comes time to set up my classroom. Due to the demographic of where I want to teach it would be a huge advantage to know Spanish. I want to be prepared to meet every child's needs no matter their cultural background. Another major key to the success of any classroom is having a teacher that is familiar with the different learning styles and flexible enough to implement and adjust wherever and whenever it is needed. I want the students that come to my class to leave feeling like they are a VIP. In order for this to happen, I must be one first.

Smooth Sailing

Everyone knows that smooth sailing is the only way to go. Just like the conditions out on the water will create this optimal experience, so do the conditions in our classrooms. In the classroom these optimal conditions are prepared in the form of classroom management. Classroom management is the management of time, materials, students and planning or preparations. Children/students thrive in an environment that is consistent and structured. This is exactly why the success of the teacher AND the students is so heavily reliant on classroom management. The students need to have a clear direction for what is expected and when. When a teacher effectively communicates their expectations and is consistent in delivering consequences, the students will quickly learn to govern their own choices.

The classroom I am observing is not only esthetically pleasing but impeccably organized! It is obvious that the teacher has spent countless hours to set up a classroom that will experience smooth sailing. This is not to say that there won't be some choppy water occasionally, but when that happens the teacher can quickly navigate the issue and return to smooth waters. One of my favorite strategies she uses is when the students are transitioning she will say something like I want everyone on the rug in 2 jack and jills. Then she will sing the nursery rhyme twice while the students scurry to the put their things away and sit on the rug. Another amazing strategy she uses is to clearly post what centers they are doing and when. The students also have a routine that they do each morning while they wait for announcements to begin. These students know exactly what is expected and so consequently the classroom functions beautifully.

Strategies For Engaging Students

Engagement strategies in the classroom are key to the functioning and success of your class. Because the class I am observing has many challenges involving learning delays, the teacher must have a variety of methods to actively engage all of her students. During center time the students are divided into groups. Generally speaking the groups consist of the same students, rarely changing. The groups were identified by grouping students with similar strengths, weaknesses, and reading levels. As the students rotate through the centers, they will find some that are independent working centers, but others may be completing the activity together. The rotating through centers allows the students to change activities frequently and to participate in a variety of work that engages all types of learners. A classroom where there isn't engaged learning can be frustrating and discouraging for the teacher and it is less than desirable or productive for the students.

A teacher must be proactive in creating a classroom that has an atmosphere conducive to active engagement. This is where creating an emotionally and intellectually safe classroom are important. Students need to feel safe and comfortable with their learning environment. When they feel safe they are more likely to engage in the learning process. Encouraging students to use positive feedback rather than things like shut up or laughing at another students response will help to create this safe learning environment. Teachers need to be aware of what their students are doing and how they are responding to different learning strategies. They will observe how their students respond and then adapt the environment accordingly. Every class is going to be different and a teacher must be willing to be flexible.

The Most Important Role of a Teacher: JUGGLER

A teacher has so many roles. Some may seem more important than others, but I submit that the most important role that a teacher plays is a juggler. A teacher must be able to do many things at once without dropping the ball. Being a teacher is quite possibly the closest thing to being a mother, it requires 24/7 time and heart investments. A teacher rarely gets to leave their work at work. When it comes home with them, the work also becomes their family's work. I am not saying that other jobs don't have sacrifices similar, but I AM saying that being a teacher requires great sacrifice. The juggling act that a teacher does is emotional, mental, physical as well as social. Keeping all of these balls in motion requires great confidence, endurance, concentration, adaptability, and the list goes on and on.

Ultimately the most important part of this equation is the student. Every role a teacher plays is for the student. So the why to a juggling teacher is because each student is an individual with a unique personality, family life, cultural background, weaknesses, strengths, etc. A teacher needs to be able to quickly transition from one child's needs to another child's needs on demand. Meeting the needs of each student reaches far beyond teaching them the required curriculum. A teacher communicates with parents, resolves concerns between students and for parents, encourages students, is a peacemaker, a storyteller, a nurse, a continued learner, friend, role model, collaborator, and many other wonderful things. Happy juggling my teacher friends!

Managing Assessments: How Do Teachers Do It?

Teachers have a variety of responsibilities, but perhaps one of the most important would be assessments. When teachers consistently conduct assessments they are more fully capable of meeting the needs of each individual student. Depending on what is being assessed a teacher can determine what types of adjustments need to be made for an individual or how to cover a particular section better so that the class as a whole gains a better understanding of it. Humans in general need some form of assessing, it perpetuates improvement. When we are being assessed or assessing someone else we need to keep in mind that this is a way to improve, not simply to criticize. The task is ongoing and is never really completed. Considering this, we need to acknowledge the time constraint involved. Teachers are busy!!!

The classroom I am observing requires almost daily assessments. These cute first graders come from many backgrounds and many are ESL students. The standardized tests are nearly obsolete for these kids. They can't yet compete with other first graders who are performing at grade level. However, based on consistent assessments we know that these student have progressed by leaps and bounds. As a parent of elementary aged children I try to volunteer as often as possible. Many times I am asked to sit outside of the classroom performing portions of assessments with individual students. The classroom I am observing has technicians as well as parent helpers coming in throughout the day, and they too are handing many of the assessments. Consistent assessments are critical to the progression of any student, but in particular students with special needs. Teachers need all of the help they can get.

Support For English Learners

I think this illustration says it perfectly. Dorothy has traveled (not by choice) to a distant land where she finds nothing to be familiar. Our students that come to our classes who are english learners are not just learning a new language. Typically they come from homes where mom and dad and most likely other extended family members speak only their native language and live traditional cultures. For these students, attending school is very much like traveling to a distant land and finding nothing to be familiar. Not only do they not understand the english language but they are confused by the traditions and cultures that we find to be so common. Often attending school can feel like they are abandoning their family's language and traditions. This brings a flood of emotions including guilt and embarrassment. They feel guilty because they quickly learn things that their parents don't know or understand and embarrassment because when mom or dad need to come to school to address concerns or questions the student is often the parents interpreter. Attending school for the english learner is completely foreign.

The classroom I am observing has several students that are english learners. They frequently leave the classroom to attend either speech or other exceptional leaners services. The teacher never makes a big deal about the students leaving. They usually slip in and out very quietly. On one occasion a parent came in to talk to the teacher. The mother brought with her an older child to do her interpreting. The mother's face smiled with ease as the teacher was able to speak to her directly in her language. This is rarely the case, but it was heart warming to see that mother's face smile as she was able to communicate and understand what was going on in her child's education. During centers in this classroom the english learners spend a great deal of one on one time with the teacher. The teacher has designed her centers to accommodate this time without it creating a problem for the other students.

As I consider the things I can do to prepare myself for these students it has been simple for me to recognize some things I can do to make this challenge these family's face a little less traumatizing. I want to learn Spanish. Often the students requiring english learning come from Spanish speaking families. The smile on that mother's face communicated so much! I want to make it a priority to learn about and understand a variety of cultures. The more familiar I am with different cultures the easier it will be to share the understanding with my class. The more we each can understand about another culture the less different we will feel and this is so very important to each and every student. As Dorothy said, "There's no place like home", I too want my students to have a feeling of belonging, a place that feels like home.

One On One

Opportunities to work one on one with a student aren't very often. Teachers are busy and have the daunting task of meeting the needs of EVERY student.The classroom I work in has only 12 students. This is a small class size compared to most. It is small for a very good reason. The principal at this elementary school is a huge advocate for literacy. She has made it a priority in her school to give every possible resource available to the students that are struggling to read. Her solution has been smaller class sizes for these particular students as well as increased mentor/technicians throughout the day. The one on one that these students receive is critical to their success in literacy.

I have been invited a few times to work with a student one on one. Just this last week I worked with a boy who was struggling with keeping his writing sitting on the foot line of his paper. Each time he began to leave the line I had to redirect him. He quickly became frustrated and wanted to just stop. We learned together to make a game of it and I was able to make progress with him. Teachers don't typically have the time to put that much effort in to one students handwriting. The thing that I have noticed the most is that these students who have an increased influence on literacy throughout their day have these moments where the light comes on and it shines through their eyes. These moments are the reasons teachers teach.

Throughout history educators have faced many challenges in meeting the needs of their students. Just as history has shaped our public education today, I believe that what this school is doing for literacy is shaping these young lives. The adults that are advocating for these children are shaping the future. It takes parents, teachers, administrators and other community members to take an active role in ensuring that our government is supporting education in the best possible way. Drastic measures were taken in the no segregation laws. The Little Rock Nine made incredible sacrifices. They had great courage and accomplished great things! We need to stop being so passive about the education our children receive and have the courage to give them the resources they deserve.

What does a teacher do all day?

The tasks a teacher does all day are directly correlated with their students. The classroom I am observing is a first grade class. The students in this class are reading level delayed. It was interesting to see the activities that these students were doing compared to a standard first grade class. The teacher clearly had to plan her activities to focus on the development of their reading skills no matter the subject she was teaching. She did the typical introduction to the day, calendar, days in school, season, weather etc. However as they went through these activities she was constantly pointing out things to read and how to decode them.

The teacher has gone to great lengths to be in tune with the needs of her particular students. Knowing and understanding the different learning modalities as well as the learning theories and the development of the brain have had and will continue to have an influence on how this teacher organizes her materials and manipulatives as well as how she interacts with her students. The teacher needs to be flexible when presenting new material so that she can meet the needs of her students at all levels. I think that teaching is a juggling act! While observing this teacher I assisted by cutting and assembling a number of manipulatives that the teacher would be using during math. She had clearly taken time at home to find them and print them.

Teachers are busy ALL day long. It is a good thing that teachers teach because they want to and not because the have to. It takes a lot of heart to really invest in these little developing minds. The teacher I am observing understands that incorporating all of the learning modalities will have the farthest reaching effect on her students. Teaching is one of the most challenging jobs there is but I believe it is also one of the most rewarding.