Four Week Reflections

My first four weeks as "Student Teacher" have been a great experience, one which I will always looks back on with special reflection. Not only in getting to know a new school, students, faculty, staff, and procedures, but learning more about myself and why I enjoy the classroom experience. No day is ever the same, and I'm always on the lookout for those moments which define good learning (not just on the part of my students but for me as well).

As an ESL teacher I have a first-hour class with three Level 1 second language learners, and I am continuously amazed by their desire to acquire basic English in order to communicate with friends at school. I've watched them pass in the hallways while classmates offer greetings and smiles, but they want more than just "Hello" and "How's it going?" They seek opportunities to discuss culture, news and things that everyday American teenagers talk about...but a language barrier prevents that from being fully cultivated. My Friday Review Quiz indicates they are slowly making strides in common interactions like telling time, counting, and know what day of the week it is, but I'm sure they want to speed up the process in order to improve upon their fluency. It has to be frustrating knowing that you want to get somewhere quickly without understanding everything which has to take place in that journey.

After serving up my first test to the World Geography class, I set some time aside to analyze the various test scores...thinking about why this person did so well and why that person struggled with specific questions. Tests should do more than reveal who 'gets it' and who doesn't...and a good teacher will look into ways to adapt to the learning styles of their students. There are a handful of individuals who I want to double-back and instigate changes in the way I transmit information.
In closing, it is important to note that I find my best thinking taking place at the end of the day when I reflect back on events of the day and plan ahead for coming lesson plans. As it was in the business world, it's about thinking what I would do differently and making good notes. Some people punch out at the end of the school day, but those who truly desire to see themselves grow will keep their focus on the ultimate prize.

The Start to Another Chapter in My Book

Tomorrow marks another special occasion in my life, the first day as Student Teacher in a genuine high school classroom. While others may see this as a ho-hum event, it truly represents something unique in my life. I know I must keep my expectations in check in order to avoid any letdown, but I also see this as an opportunity to apply everything I've learned from not only UW-SP, but from the school of life (of which I've been an active member over the past 58 years). I will be able to pull from the many examples of many fantastic educators who influenced me in one way or another. Some of these lessons are simple and others complex, but they still hold special meaning for me as they occurred at a time when I didn't see relevance for anything that happened. I know this won't be easy and there is certain to be a few challenges along the way, but if I treat it as another opportunity to learn and to grow, it can impact all those I come in contact with in a positive manner.  Bring it on!

Moving just a little closer to the edge....

Today marks the end of my formalize classroom education at UW-Stevens Point, and within the next 30 days I'll be walking into a new setting as I begin my 5-1/2 month tenure as Student Teacher at Weyauwega High School. I leave behind a university that I've come to love, the interaction with young adults who often see me as a parent-figure, and a wealth of seasoned educators. Now I begin the process of transition from theory to practice and design to application. This is when I am able to tap into my real-world experiences and combine lesson outlines with new technology. I acknowledge that I've yet to meet any individual my age who is raring the charge for his first classroom with the liking of a 16-year old driving for the first time, but this is a special time in my life. It not only fulfills a dream, but unleashes a groundswell of hope and optimism for where all of this might take me. It's a time filled with opportunity, yet uncertainty. In moving just a little closer to the edge, there's a element of eager anticipation of what awaits me in the weeks to come.

Missed Opportunities

Doug Buehl came to campus the other night as a guest of the UW-SP Social Studies Club. Despite a somewhat mild December evening, the room was filled with lots of empty chairs, and I feel my fellow uuniversity students missed a wonderful opportunity to gain thoughtful insight from one of the nation's best-qualified literacy instructors. His 90-minute presentation was filled with fresh perspectives on ways that we read and comprehend information, be it within the subject of history, music, science, math and other disciplines. His opening salvo about reading the inner sleeve of his classical music CD was as realistic as it gets and I instantly identified with what he was saying. And while this event was sponsored by the Social Studies Club within the School of Education, I questioned whether students from the other disciplines saw this as a "reading affair" rather than one of THE BEST learning events of the school year. After all, the topic of reading only deals with those who are English Majors, right? I doubt whether future doctors and lawyers need to know how to read. Scientists and engineers will never recognize an instruction manual, much less write one. And musicians and artists rarely comprehend text in their professions. As I noted, there was a huge missed opportunity by students from within the entire campus of UW-SP last week. Next time I hope people recognize this for what it really was...a vast goldmine of unquestionable knowledge and wealth!

Thoughts on Veterans Day 11-11-11

This morning I volunteered ten minutes of my time to read some of the many names of fallen soldiers from the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It was part of a project put forth by the UW-SP Veteran Club, and it provided a stark reminder about how these individuals gave their time and life in the cause of freedom. It wasn't until I stepped behind the podium that I began to think of how they impacted others, for they sacrificed everything for us. In our world this group of fallen soldiers would no longer experience love and family, they would never again see the faces of friends and community, the smiles of their loved ones, and the joys of father/motherhood, and everything else we often take for granted.
There was no crowd of students listening to what I said, but rather most individuals kept to their paths of going to or from the DUC. There were one or two people who paused to offer their respect, perhaps a prayer or moment of meditation. The roll of names was steady and consistent, no elevated pitch when emphasizing Private First Class, Sargent or Special Forces. In God's eyes they were His children fallen in battle, and I know He was there with open arms when their lives passed from our world to His.
As I read each name, I saw a face and imagined where they might now be had there been no war. There were moments when I choked back emotion, trying to maintain my poise and respect. Both my father and father-in-law were Veterans of WWII and the Korean conflict respectively, and I wondered how life would have changed not only for myself and my wife, but also my son had they not survived those wars. It put their sacrifice into a whole new perspective. Today was a sobering experience and one which I will long look back on. It defines who we are as a country, community, family and most of all, individuals who care to make a difference in the world. To all the veterans, be they living or deceased, I am most grateful for your service to our country. You are not...and will never be forgotten!

Collaboration In My Future Classroom

The word "collaboration" is apparently getting a lot of press today, and the Journal Sentinel reports that teachers are going to be partially assessed on their collaboration with one another. I consider this to be a worthy attribute, but it is important to remember that teacher collaboration goes beyond the immediate walls of the school and draws upon interactions with educators in other facilities. It goes beyond the water cooler and into the ocean of ideas which transpose education. I like the expression 'Knowledge Garden' as it relates to the concept of collaboration...walking amidst a range of topics and conversation...sometimes engaging, sometimes interacting, and sometimes just observing. My knowledge garden is grounded in my community. Mike McMaster said it well when he noted our sense of fit, of competence, of belonging comes from being "of community." Those individuals who understand this concept see themselves as having an identity grounded in their community, having the ability to expand into other communities with little difficulty. So often this is the result of collaboration with others. We live in a time of unlimited sources of electronic and social technologies, and the level of our intelligence and wisdom could be magnified many times over if we would only let go of some of mundane routines which have become traditional 'habits' of themselves. Collaboration allows us to learn from others in ways which are truly special. Stay tuned for more....

Reflection, Inflection, and Connection

The words of reflection, inflection and connection are composed of prefixes which imply the concept of self and the need to ponder one's actions in life. Regardless of our profession, there is great strength to be had by pausing to think how we impact our surroundings in a positive or negative way. While many imply this is a way of second guessing ourselves, it provides the opportunity to question the path we travel...whether we change our ways or stay the course. Change is not something to fear as long as we remain committed to being positive in our everyday actions and personal resolve. As an future educator, how can we not teach our students to embrace change if we remain stuck in teaching styles which were formulated and styled for classrooms which were constructed 30-plus years ago? We know the answer for what it is and it all begins with a conversation about being the best we can be.