Drexeleduc611

Story of my teaching life!  This is a great article!  I can relate to a lot of these.  Last year I was able to count on my fingers how many times I ate lunch in the teachers lounge instead of at my desk.  Even though I go into school everyday super early to prepare for my day, I still don't have enough time to eat my lunch in "peace."  I am constantly on my computer, grading papers, emailing parents, preparing for my next lesson, preparing for a meeting, etc.  A lot of times, I look for filler activities on the internet to print out, so I can pull a small flex group, and can have something for the other students who can work independently.  This year has been the same way so far.  I wish I could be one of those teachers that enjoys eating their lunch while chatting with other teachers.  Instead, my lunch is always on the run, literally!

-Lauren Neary

I'm only student teaching and this is my experience, too!  Our school claims the morning for professional development every day from 7:15-7:45, then students begin rolling in at 8am - and my school day ends up starting at 7AM and ending at 5 or 5:30 PM - and everyone of those ten hours are jam packed with planning, grading, searching online, printing, and organizing for the day's classes or the next few days.  It's exhausting!  I wonder what it's like to be the teacher who enjoys eating lunch in the lounge? (I don't even know where the teachers' lounge is in my school!)

Nowadays we are creating opportunities in our lessons for collaboration, cooperation and student-directed learning. As opposed to the traditional instructional approach of teacher-led, students copy notes and memorize facts. Today we provide our students different contexts and media to address all types of learners. I love to see my students help/teach each other and they are only in 1st grade!-Cecilia Zapiec

This is a great point that you highlighted. I love the fact that I can take pictures of the whiteboard and print it for the students to put in their notebooks for reference later on. I think it is important for students to learn to take notes and tune in to important information, but for some this can be difficult. This is another way that teachers can support struggling learners and ensure everyone is getting the information they need. Clark Masters

I have assigned projects several times that require students to draw, take pictures, or create collages. I think it provides a creative way for students to reinforce what they have learned in class. It promotes critical thinking and they have to use technological resources in order to research the material they will need to complete the exercise. Brenna Wyatt

The best teacher, in my opinion, is not someone who talks a lot during the lesson and who thinks himself or herself as "sage-on-stage," but a human being who is willing to learn with his or her students. Since a teacher has more knowledge and experience than his or her students, his or her role becomes a safeguard of students' thinking. The teacher needs to be teach his or her students how to think sanely and sensibly by guiding them how to read articles and solve problems. Thus, a teacher is "guide-on-the-side" and 'facilitator-to-inspire-greater.' Written by Jing Yun He

Very profound Jingyun. I couldn't agree more.

Thanks for your comment Jingyun! I find myself constantly learning, especially with my 12th grade group of students studying brit lit - in some ways I'm learning it right alongside them and their input is extremely valuable.

Great points!! I get irritated when my children come home even with misinformation because the teachers refuses to admit they don't know something, which kind of goes along with your comment. I will admit to my students if I don't know an answer to something and then we can research it together or I encourage them to research it and let the class and me know what they find out. One of the key things I put into my introduction letter to the parents of the students I work with was that I looked forward to "learning along side" of their students, so I couldn't agree more with your sentiments. Thank you for sharing.

I very much enjoyed your post. I was just telling my student teaching supervisor how as a student, some of my favorite classes were the ones where it was a group discussion. I was an active participant in the education process and retained more from these lessons than simply sitting back and listening to someone talk to me for an hour. I understand lecture is necessary at times but I feel strongly it shouldn't be the only teaching strategy.

I can totally relate to this. I have teaching friends in several states that I text and Facebook with on a regular basis about challenges, questions, or just to share how things are going for me in the classroom. They are definitely quicker to respond to me and often more available than my CTs are. Even when my student teaching is all said and done, I will be moving and will rely on Social Media to connect and communicate with my CTs and principal here in NC. It is the easiest way to keep in touch these days.

I am communicating a Chinese teacher who teaches English in China about how to teach English to Chinese students in China. He and I regularly do qq instant messaging so that I share good articles how to teach ESL with him all the time. It is very effective to communicate with other persons on social websites.

I find I respond to friends and colleagues quicker via e-mail & social media rather than the phone most of the time. With everything going on in our daily lives, all the multi-tasking, it is often more convenient. Plus, I can look back at the conversation if I need to. I also have friends in various states that I am able to communicate with to get ideas and feedback. Brenna Wyatt

(Meredith Tate) This sentence caught my attention because I see it as very applicable and potentially helpful in a math class setting! I have seen students take pictures of assignments or step by step solutions of longer problems written on the board- but have not had students record an explanation of a particular topic. I think this could have been helpful when I was teaching a more challenging lesson on graphing/analyzing rational equations. Having students take a video of the instruction to play back as needed as they worked through problems of their own may have been an excellent resource. I really like this idea and think it is one that I will certainly be able to apply in the future!

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I can see how it would be helpful and have often allowed students to take pictures in class of the blackboard or whiteboard when assignments & directions are listed. However, I also have concerns about cell phones being abused in class. Because they are small hand held devices, it is easy enough for students to start doing other things on them. It is something I would be compelled to monitor closely. Brenna Wyatt

(Meredith Tate) Hi Brenna, I definitely hear your concerns. When I first read the section, I initially thought about how helpful it would be to have students record the steps of a complex math problem. However, as you pointed out, there are some implications for classroom management. I guess if students get the "green light" to have phones out in class to record lessons, it would be very easy for this privilege to be abused. Another concern would be the possibility of students photographing and/or recording other students against their will (it sounds ridiculous, but it happened in my class!) Looking at this again, I think it might be a good idea to allow students to record within very specific parameters. For example, I could invite students to record one specific practice problem or record the lesson myself and post it for students to view in their own time. Thanks for bringing up some of these classroom management issues!

It didn't take me long to find out I'm a 21st century teacher, when I read number four on the list about switching around your desks and furniture every other day, that is defiantly me. The janitor at the school, who I am friends with, gives me a hard time about it, because I am always switching around the room, which messes with her cleaning, but she said she doesn't mind because she knows that it improves the learning of my students and how much I care about it. Even at teaching kindergarten, kids still can bored at seeing and hearing the same things day after day, so I want to change it up, not only in the daily routine of the learning process but in seating arrangement as well, Its like its the first of school ever day in my class. Students get excited, and improves the learning environment. Brittany Wilson 

I give you credit for your diligence in arranging your classroom. This is a concept that I have often struggled with because I can only think of a few ways to arrange a square room consisting of 20 desks. However, we have learned how to pull on an ample number of resources in this class that can help spur some ideas (K. Gordon).

I love this! Even in my student teaching experience we've changed the seating arrangements at least three times in the past two months, and I can definitely see how it changes student participation and in some cases, their attitudes towards learning. By changing up the seating arrangements students were able to work in groups with people who had different strengths than their own, and they could see what collaboration was like outside of their normal comfort zone. Plus, we have so much learning material posted on the walls that the students get a different view of helpful tips or class work during the regular class period, adding a bit of extra subtle learning. I think it's a great way to keep the class on their toes and remind them that the classroom is a constantly changing space. (Danielle Malone)

I wanted to change my seating arrangement, but it's difficult with so many different courses and classes - and only four minutes between each.  My co-op teacher said even though it's a great thought and concept, it's so difficult to apply in our school.  I wonder how these great ideas can apply to schools that are further behind and have more limitations than others? Thanks for sharing your response!

Blogging like other social media is a valuable tool for educators to share ideas and offer feedback. On more than one occasion, I have reviewed various blogs for ideas on assignments and ways to engage a diversified student body. I have often left feedback for the blog owners on the outcome on the class and ways that I have modified the lessons. Brenna Wyatt

What a great way to make connections!

I felt this one this week. While I don't blog, I found myself texting, calling, and venting my frustrations on Facebook. I know it is a constant learning process for teachers too, but I felt so disappointed with my less than stellar lesson. It felt like a waste of time, even though I know that the students really still learned from it and so did I. After venting and freeing myself from my own negativity, I regrouped and re-planned so that I could teach the material in a better manner.

I hate that feeling! I agree that being able to vent really helps change how we look at the lesson and what can be changed. I have also vented after a bad lesson plan by texting and going on facebook. I do like the idea of talking with other teachers through a blog post. I can see myself doing that in the future.

Although social media is so useful for connecting individuals within the educational sphere, I think the satire here raises a valid point that we could possibly be checking our social media too much. If every class we have utilizes an ongoing social media site for communication and discussion, that is a lot of posts for a teacher to check periodically and unfortunately, we don't get paid per post checked. I never really considered the workload that social media can cause for a teacher until this point here. (K. Gordon)

Does number 10, "collegial pessimism" refer to having an "anti-college" attitude? I'm not really sure what that means although it is a very entertaining simile.

The classroom that I am in for my methods course is a prime example of good classroom management. There has not been one issue in the whole time that I have been there, and the kids were on there best behavior for all the lessons that I conducted too. I almost felt guilty when my supervisor commented on how great the classroom climate was because I didn't feel like I deserved the credit for my mentoring teacher who had been grooming this behavior for the past 2 months. It takes a little more effort for the creativity aspect, but I have seen the nightmares that simply handing out worksheets everyday can cause. I don't want to be "that teacher."

This is a great comment!  I've been in a student teaching placement and am almost just finishing up -- my placement is a great experience because it is so challenging; I have three different courses I plan for and teach six out of eight periods!  Sometimes it is SO difficult to NOT hand out worksheets!  I always have to bear this in mind when I am creating non traditional assessments and various projects.  Thanks for sharing this post! 

I know this point is supposed to be comical, but this has actually happened to me quite a bit. When I do get a chance to run (before it gets too dark) I start thinking about my next lesson plan or the unit I'm working on, and all of a sudden I have a few great ideas and I'm not focusing on the actual run. When I created a unit for Jamestown and the Native Americans/Colonists from the novel "Blood on the River", most of the connection questions I came up with were created on the run. For me, sitting down at the computer and thinking about something directly might not yield the best results, but when I'm off doing something else I can think about the lesson organically, and that's where I can come up with plans or activities that are actually interesting and have some kind of connection to the students' lives. It's an odd situation, but it's been working for me! (Danielle Malone)

Danielle, that happens to me too. I love getting a lesson plan started and just letting it simmer in my thoughts as I go about with my day. Before I know it I have the entire lesson plan figured out in my head with, in my opinion, a lot of great ideas that bring the lesson to the real world for students to connect with.