Abbie's Reflection Statement

In the beginning of the semester I was hesitant about this class. I really wanted to take it, but I wasn’t sure I could put as much effort or time into it as I wanted to, given the demands of the other four, required classes I was taking. But practicum block helped me realize I could do anything I put my mind to; that even thought it seemed like I could never accomplish what I wanted to, I always did. I had to find the drive, and did. So finding it for something I really wanted to do was easier than I believed it would be. It sounds corny, and perhaps it is, but this class was the sunshine in my semester of cloudy days. It turned out that this class made the semester worth while; I struggled with my other classes because I didn’t like any of them, and this one, focused on middle grades education, a newfound passion, made it all worth while, and I learned and experienced so much. There are a few select concepts and pieces that I pulled from the semester to reflect on.

I learned that integrated units are the backbone of a good middle school curriculum. When we went to Dirigo and spoke with the teams, we got to hear first hand how their integrated units worked. By exposing students to a specific topic or concept from various angles, they absorb more, relate it to and see the connection to their lives. Questions like, “Why are we doing/learning this?” no longer come into play because it is clear in the activities they participate in, in the content they learn.

While I say that integrated units are the backbone, clearly the teachers, made into teams, who create these units are the vertebrae that make up the backbone. We soon came to realize how much work is put into an integrated unit; it takes a lot of time, commitment, focus, creativity, and teamwork. We sat there and toiled and argued and brainstormed and gave advice and stared blankly at each other class after class in attempts to put together our unit. And we had an hour and forty-five minutes twice a week set aside specifically for that; I can’t imagine how difficult and time consuming it is for teachers in the field. On top of this time crunch, they’re actually trying out their units and individual lessons, so when they do meet, they’re discussing and reflecting on how well things went, or didn’t. It takes a lot of work; in addition to creating engaging, meaningful lessons for your content area, you must ensure that each one of those lessons is tailored to the concept lens.

Meeting with the Dirigo teams was an inspiring experience; it was amazing to be presenting our ideas to practicing teachers and have them welcome those ideas, as if we were colleagues rather than teachers-in-training. We met with the eighth grade team, and they had just done a unit on the Holocaust, so it was kind of like a compare-and-contrast session. It was interesting to see the similarities and be shocked by the things we didn’t think of. We had focused mainly on the concentration camps, but the science teacher looked at how the atomic bomb had turned the beaches nearby Hiroshima to glass. I spoke with the Language Arts teacher afterwards, and she gave me a more in-depth look at what she had done with poetry during her Holocaust unit. I can’t wait to bring this to a school and share my ideas and my knowledge and see where we can take them! It was an awe-inspiring learning experience; I felt so good coming away from our time there. The experience reinforced that experience is just as important as up-and-coming technology and the newest research –a healthy balance of the two is most effective, and that day, with us and them in the same room, we had it.

All the chapters we read and discussions we had about the “student-teacher-parent triad” reinforced my belief that it is necessary. However, as my sister and my mother are locked in a never-ending battle over my sister’s grades, I have mixed feelings as to whether or not it’s a good thing. My sister is a senior in high school, heading off to college in the fall, and my mother is still constantly on her about her grades and missing work because Mom accesses in online. She’s not going to be able to do that in the fall; it’s time to let go. I guess what I’m getting at with this is that I think it’s a gradual letting-go process, and in middle school it’s good, but once kids get into high school, parents and students need to be weaned off the parental involvement factor. But I digress. I believe that it is important to develop clear communication between all three parties, and early on in the school year so that an understanding relationship can bloom.

I found the student-oriented curriculum absolutely fascinating. I’d really like to see it in action; yes, they showed us the video, but I’d love to observe it actually taking place. I have so many questions, but I don’t know what they are. I just want to know more about it and see how it is implemented. It seems to be similar to the way that the Center for Teaching and Learning in Edgecomb is run, and it is reminiscent of the Montessori method. It’s just amazing to think of how much more kids would learn if they created their own learning experiences.

The books we read were a wonderful addition to the content of the course as well as the effect on group dynamic. It was another thing we had to work together on. I think it would be useful to allow for some choice and decision-making in terms of what book to read. Maybe have a list of several and allow the teams to choose, or have them bring in recommendations and then decide. While A Whole New Mind was interesting and certainly insightful, I would have had an easier time reading it and getting into it if I had been given a choice.

What we’ve learned and are learning –student-oriented curriculum, brain-based learning, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, student-led conferences, how boys and girls learn differently, the importance and effectiveness of team teaching, not to mention the amount of rich resources we acquired along the way—makes me want to work harder. None of this was implemented when I was in school; I received a fairly traditional schooling. I feel I’m not as equipped as I’d like to be, and I want to put everything I have into making sure my students don’t feel that way. Ever.

Jay High

I like school. Jay high school is awesome.

If I had been there...

This blog is a student sample for my eighth grade class' unit on the Holocaust.

I can't imagine what life would have been like living in the Holocaust. To have been put through that much pain and suffering is unimaginable. In this blog I'd like to share more of my feelings about what it would have been like to live through the Holocaust and to have been an outsider looking in (like I am now).

The victims of the Holocaust went through so much pain and suffering during Hitler's rule. First, all of their material possessions were taken away and they were told that they were the reason Germany was struggling. To be ridiculed like that must have been horrible. It hurts me to have people laugh at the stupid things I do, so it would be a million times worse if I had to go through what the victims went through. Then to be loaded into cattle cars and taken to concentration camps, they were treated like they weren’t even human. No one ever deserves to be treated like that. To have their family taken from them, forced to work nearly to death (if they were lucky), and then killed if they no longer served a “purpose.” This has to be one of the darkest parts of our history.

To be a soldier looking in on the holocaust must have been like peering into another world. Only this world makes your stomach turn because instead of people staring back at you, their are skeletons. And it hurts so much, because you know that you can't give them all the food you have, because it will only make them feel worse. However, knowing that I had helped to liberate these people and give them the freedom they deserved would be a great honor. To know that I helped to save their lives, it would be life-changing. Just learning about what happened in the Holocaust has made me promise to never let it happen again, so I can only imagine how it made a liberator feel.

This unit has given me so much respect for the victims of the Holocaust.

Turning Points 2000: Chapter 9

Chapter 9 of Turning Points 2000 is all about parental and community involvement in schools. By combining schools with parents and the community, students will have a strong foundation on which they can learn more effectively. Parents should also create a home environment that encourages learning and also have high expectations for their child's learning. Moreover, with more constant contact between schools and parents there will be less of a reason for parents to put their guard up when a school calls home. Student-led conferences are also a way to get parental involvement (in a way) and have contact between parents and teachers. The surrounding community can also be seen as a an extension of the school as well and parents and schools should utilize the tools that the community may offer. Finally, a great way to incorporate the community is through service learning.

A lot of the information given in this chapter can be seen as common sense but most of it needs to be reiterated because many parents still are not involved enough with their children's education. Everybody wins when parents and the community are involved. Teacher and student attitudes both improve and that means more effective teaching is bound to occur. Holding parent nights in middle schools is a great way for teachers, parents, and those involved in the community to get acquainted. These types of get-togethers allow for all parties involved to develop some sort of communication structure.

MMM 15 -synthesized

Abstract:
Chapter 15 in Meet Me in the Middle discusses the importance of involving parents in their students’ education. Here Wormeli coins the term “student/teacher/parent triad” (172) to describe the necessary open communication between all three parties –parents are a vital ingredient in the recipe of student success because students’ learning does not only occur inside school grounds. Wormeli also stressed the idea of sending out postcards to parents whose children have done something positive; this shows them that we are paying attention and we appreciate student effort and work. So often, news is only sent home for bad behavior or trouble in class; these postcards help students’ success by highlighting the things they do well. Wormeli gives several suggestions that are both digital and non-digital to accommodate families that may not have internet access; it is important to be flexible so that all parents can be involved. Schoolnotes.com, blackboard.com and myclass.net are a few internet sites that serve similar functions as a wiki; parents and students can access it anywhere to look up homework, notes from class, directions for upcoming projects, quizzes/tests, and grades. Email is also a great way to communicate. For families who do not have computers at home or internet access, mailing out newsletters, making home visits and inviting parents to the classroom are ways to keep communication open and parents involved.

Reflection:
Everyone seemed to find this chapter useful; it gave several suggestions for communicating with parents and students at home. This open and understanding relationship between parents, teachers and students helps ensure student success by making expectations known to all parties involved, which in turn avoids “he said, she said” situations. Many of us seemed to have our sights set on having a wiki in our classroom to serve this purpose, but this chapter helped open our eyes to other ways of communicating and involving families that do not have access to the internet.
There were some concerns, however. A few people did not like the idea of giving out home phone numbers or personal email to students because to do so would force us to walk a thin line. This can be a) overwhelming for us as teachers because young students may take advantage of it and call us with every little problem, and b) asking for trouble in that it can be seen as inappropriate, or escalate quickly to that end. Another concern a few people expressed was that still not all parents would become involved in their child’s education, and what can we do? What other ways can we get parents involved? And then there is the idea that students need to be weaned off parent “helicopters,” that parents should only get involved to a certain degree, and that students need to be held accountable and take some responsibility for their work and their education.

Boys and Girls Learn Differently

Honestly, I have nothing bad to say about your presentation. You incorporated the most important things I can think of into this presentation: humor, discussion, interaction, and having us physically involved. Most of all, it was very informative. Personally, you kept me in suspense because you had me and a few others dress up while the other half did not. I had no idea why but it definitely got me thinking about the presentation a lot. You really taught us that not only do boys and girls learn differently but we do things differently as well. Case in point: the human knot activity. The ladies thought things out while the guys got competitive and just went really fast. Overall, excellent job and nice comic at the end. It made me laugh quite a bit and at the same time gave some closure to your presentation. Great job!

Book Respone to "Boys and Girls Learn Differently"

Overall I thought you guys did an awesome job. I loved how your presentation was more hands on than just you guys standing up there telling us what the book was about. Through your activities you showed us what the book was about. I thought it was very clever how you only told half the class to dress the same, while not telling the other half. It showed to me how in middle school students are judged so much on what they wear, and more learning can take place when students don't have to worry about being picked on in class. Even though I was a little mad that I didn't get a stress ball, that activity showed how different boys are than girls when it comes to paying attention to a lecture. I usually take notes because it helps me pay attention in class, but that same strategy doesn't work for guys. By far my favorite activity was the human knot. It was a great example of how different guys and girls really are. It would have been great if we could of had a team of all guys and a team of all girls, but the point was still shown. The guys did more of a trial and error method, where the girls had to think it out first. Because of this I am leaning toward have separate math classes. It just seems like the most differences are in math. Great job on the book presentation!