The British Accent Crack-Up

I don't know if I told you about this but Mr. Gunderson gave me the opportunity to lead reading groups outside the classroom. It was challenging working with certain students who just were not interested in doing any work. I spoke to Mr. Gunderson at the end of the day and he said he was glad that I experienced that because he really wanted me to understand how difficult it is to manage a class with rambunctious kids. That experience just reinforced my admiration of teachers.
Now, to the more recent past. My work schedule for the past three weeks has been different. The first week I was not feeling well so I asked Mr. Gunderson to send me a project he and I had been talking about. The project involved coming up with ideas for the Africa section of his curriculum. It was more challenging than I expected it to be but it was an interesting project. It was empowering for me to have the chance to incorporate political and economic crises that I have experienced into a lesson plan. He seemed pleased with the project and said he would share it with the other Geography teacher.
The next week I went in for half the day because the students had MCA tests in the morning. The day before, Mr. Gunderson had sent me an email asking if I could read out aloud to the students. I agreed. The article was an op-ed by a Nigerian woman. In this op-ed the woman shared about her life in the US with the goal of breaking Americans' stereotypes about Africa and Africans. Goodness, was this just not an experience and a half! When I read out aloud I sound more formal and the British tilt to my accent becomes stronger. One kid in one of the classes was just laughing uncontrollably and had to leave the class. It was actually funny for me and I actually kind of saw it coming. That was the only dramatic response though. The rest of the students in that girl's class and in the other two classes listened attentively and applauded at the end. That's the British Accent Crack-Up story :)
Last week the students still had MCA tests but I could not go in that afternoon because I had to attend the Community Recognition Awards ceremony. I asked Mr. Gunderson if I could cover more hours after my classes and exams end and he said it was fine because they only close in June. I think I have 23 hours so I need 7 more.

Crunch Time

I probably spent about 20 hours at my internship between this week and last week. It has been a pretty crazy time.



Last week we put on the Minnesota Design Diaries, an exhibit showcasing the clothes created by teen girls enrolled in Old Arizona's youth program. To celebrate the end of the program, there was a fashion show held in the Old Arizona theater where the girls and their designer mentors were able to show off their creations. It was wonderful to have watched the the entirety of this project: from when the girls met their partner designers two months ago, to the show where they modeled their clothes last Sunday.

Despite the fact that my greatest contribution to the show was that I painted the backdrop, (since I could neither sew nor drape fabric) I could not helping feeling a sense of pride as I heard the audience's applause. I think I was moved by this project because, after speaking with many of the girls, I realized that the power of being able to create something from nothing, then to be applauded for that achievement is a luxury that many of these girls hadn't experienced. Many of these girls grow up in poverty and struggle in many parts of their lives. Having an outlet where they are given the freedom to be creative and safe and cared for is very important. For many of the girls, these clothes were the first ones they've ever sewn and the event was also the first time that many of them got to stand up and be appreciated. It was incredible to see what a difference it made to have been given this attention. After the show, many of the girls were either ecstatic or beaming behind their shy smiles.

You can read what a fashion blogger thought about the show here: http://mnstyle.blogspot.com/2011/04/minnesota-design-diaries.html

Speech Problems at Ramsey

Apologies for the belated post--I have no excuse except for my recent forgetfulness. In the past couple weeks, the students have been working on creating and performing speeches. I started at Ramsey in the middle of the students' previous unit, and it has been nice to get to see this one from start to finish. I spent a lot of time working with kids on basics like how to use power point to display pictures, how to structure speeches, and how to do research. I enjoyed getting the time to interact with the students more one on one and to see aspects of their personalities come out in the speech topics they chose.

When performance time rolled around, some of the kids put together really fabulous speeches and had clearly put a lot of effort into preparing to give their speeches to the rest of the class. That said, many students did not. The classes are all fairly large and it took three days to get through all the students. Those who were prepared signed up for the first day, and from then on, the further down the list their teacher got, the worse the speeches got. I feel like, while exposing kids to public speaking in middle school is important, more time needed to be spent on the "how" part of speech giving. Lots of time was devoted to the kids writing speeches, but I think many needed more help figuring out how to give a solid speech, and they definitely needed more modeling of what that should look like. Granted, I was not there every day, but I'm not sure they ever got a concrete example of a speech being performed. Additionally, many of the students had a lot of anxiety about having to perform their speeches because they lacked confidence in their reading abilities and were afraid to even use note cards in front of 13-year-old peers who are not known for their sensitivity.

I am not sure why there was not more time put into the "how" factor. When the students did their poetry unit, they had weeks upon weeks of writing and examples before compiling their final projects for the unit. Speeches lasted three weeks (I think) and were somewhat disrupted by schedule changes to accommodate state exams. For me, the part that needed the most improvement was helping students prepare to get up in front of their peers and perform original work. I understood why students who had low confidence about reading skills did not feel as though being able to use note cards was going to benefit them. Those students for the most part did not even bother to write speeches because, in true ed psych form, it is easier to not do it than to do it and experience the feared failure. I think the supportive piece that was missing is hard to incorporate into a system with so many kids and so little time, coupled with a constant sense of urgency to get students where they need to be for state exams, but I think that not figure out a way to build in support and caring is going to hurt students more in the long run because it perpetuates feelings of inadequacy and learned helplessness that students have come to equate with school. I don't have a good solution for how to teach skills like public speaking in a way that does not marginalize students, but I hope I can come up with one before I take on my own classroom.

Expo Elementary

The past two weeks have been an interesting experience. The students have started doing MCA testing so the kids were either always very nervous or extremely worn out from the all day testing. It was interesting to watch how Lily tried to get her students relaxed about the test. One day she had the students play a money game where they would move their pieces around the board either gaining or losing their hard earned (fake) cash. This game was helpful because she let the students be as loud and energetic as they wanted to and it often made them forget about the test that was looming ahead of them. Another teacher in the school used a different method to relieve the student's stress. he could been seen out the window leading his students through a marital arts workout and you could tell that nearly every student was having fun. Along with the testing I had the opportunity to help with leading kids through the test. It was interesting to be on the other side of these high stakes testing from the normal student position I had only knew before. It brought back a wave of memories of the days in high school when the entire day was intended to complete these tests.

When the MCA testing was not going on I would often be working one on one with students that were trying to finish projects they had not finished. Since it is a reading class that I help with, most of the time the projects were either writing poetry or researching for an article they had to complete. I have found that during these one on one times students almost never want to work on the project. They would rather fire a barrage of questions at me about what it is like to be in college. This shows that at least at the elementary level the idea of going to college is something they want to some day make real, something that was very heartening to see.

One more week to go!

HSRA Update

Thing's have been going great at the High School for the Recording Arts. Some exciting things have happened since my last update. The teacher I work with and I were able to successfully organize a field trip to Macalester so the students could tour our radio station headquarters and observe a live show of mine. It was by far the most rewarding and fun experience that I've been a part of at HSRA. The students were really excited to come visit, they took times out of their personal lives, not the school day, to come visit and observe, and everything went smoothly. I even put a few students on the spot and asked them to help me introduce songs, read PSA's etc, and they stepped up and performed excellently. Even though somedays the students act tough or don't show much enthusiasm, they couldn't hide how excited they were and how proud they were of themselves. After going on the air they were all beaming for the rest of the evening and still talking about the experience the next time I went to HSRA to help.

The field trip has also inspired a new class that the teacher is hoping to get off the ground next year. The class would be about live-radio broadcasting and I'm trying to talk to program directors at Macalester's station to provide a one-hour time slot weekly next year so this program can really take off. I really hope everything works out for this idea to come to fruition; it will be an incredible opportunity for the students, and I'd also be extremely proud to have helped inspire and start a class at the same school that has provided so much inspiration and help to me throughout the past few months.

I just learned yesterday that after coming on the field trip to the radio station that one of the students I help applied for an internship with a radio station in Minneapolis, 89.9 KMOJ. She's a delightful student with a "gift of gab" so it would be awesome if she gets this internship.

Next week will be my last week at HSRA but I'm getting in touch with people so I can keep volunteering this summer and next year as well. If anyone is ever interested in helping, the teachers tell me every time I come in to bring more Mac students along so they would definitely love to have you. Good luck to everyone finishing the semester strong!

Music!

I don't know if it was a coincidence or not but the first grade class started singing songs the same week I started attending musical rehearsals with my third grade classroom. (Quick sidenote, the sub Ms. Haley for the first grade classroom, had this neat way of singing instructions sometimes that I really liked and it seemed effective.)

There is no full or part-time music teacher at Horace Mann anymore BUT, the PTA raised a $1,000 stipend for the old music teacher to come back and put on a musical with some of the grades. I get to learn the songs (much quicker than the other students) and am a stronger singer than the classroom teachers so now I get to stand up front and be an example while the two classrooms sing, it's very fun and they all smile and at me.

I've been learning a great deal about how Horace Mann manages to keep music in the school despite not having a staff member for it. The first graders have learned songs all year with a CD and the help of their teacher. The third graders sometimes practice with a CD but also have a rehearsal once or twice a week with the ex-music teacher Ms. Barens.

The third grade teacher Ms. Dahl told me that through fund raising and class-room teachers help there is a musical performance of some sort every spring for all the grades. They have overcome budget cuts and still allowed for music to be a part of the students curriculum. Through my interview with Ms. Dahl I also learned that volunteer parents teach the students about orchestral and classical music in the spring. Well it might not be the spring. So music has been great.

Beyond that, I'm becoming a great deal more comfortable with my role as a task-master. I do offer help, I spell words and repeat instructions or read with small groups in the third grade, but most of the time if I'm talking to a student I'm a task master. I'm telling them to focus or pointing out where they went wrong and teachers really aprpeciate that. Having over twenty children together all at once can lead to chaos and they handle it so well but if someone else is in the classroom they are so thankful to have a second pair of eyes, another shusher, someone to run out in the hallway and disperse the mob around the drinking fountain. I have shed my last hesitancy about scolding or feeling I have any credentials to discipline the kids and feel as if I'm helping the teachers by doing this role.

I've gotten confirmation that this is what I should be doing as well, by being asked to circle the classroom or "keep J.W. on task." Things like that. As an in class assistant for an elementary school, you can't expect to be inspiring, I have learned to believe that keeping the kids from talking or stealing someone else's crayon is what I should be doing. And it helps, because the teacher knows more than I do and she wants them doing the task at hand. She's the governor and I'm the cop.

Differences

Everything has been going really smoothly at both the lab and Laura Jeffrey Academy.

Unfortunately for me, L.J. has break until after finals, which means last week was my last time there for this school year. Hopefully, though, I'll return next year and work with the same teacher, Ms. Lizzie. I think very highly of her, her teaching style, and her interpersonal skills with the girls at the school. That would mean I would continue to work with 8th graders on math. The 8th graders I worked with will be graduating this summer, though, which means I won't get to work with them again. I'm sure they're excited to graduate, but I'm bummed that I only had a few weeks to get to know them. They're so cool!

On the positive side, I've found that I really love facilitating math learning. Although I sometimes make mistakes when I'm trying to solve mathematical problems, it can be good to show kids, and especially middle-school aged girls, that it's okay to make mistakes, and that it's possible to still solve a problem even if a few mistakes are made along the way. At least, that was the message I tried to send them as I guided the problem-solving process.

In addition to loving math, I've found that I love being in the school and, in particular, the Laura Jeffrey environment. The energy is inspiring, there's constant mental growth, and it's SO fun to see the students "get it": that point during a tutoring session when the light bulb flicks on and they understand something they previously didn't. That's pretty cool.

At this point, I'm thinking that I'd like to pursue placement at Laura Jeffrey for at least the 2011-2012 school year and maybe longer. I'd like to keep my options open though, because, as much as I love L.J., I want a variety of experiences to help be an effective learning facilitator later in life.

Although I'd like to stay at L.J., I'm not particularly interested in staying in this particular lab at the U. Perhaps I'd like to pursue a different lab, one that has to do with child development or learning, but I'm not as interested in the subject matter of this lab as I thought I'd be. But that's okay! It was a great experience and I LOVED going over to the U. (Beautiful campus and a relaxing bus ride. Plus a Dunn Brothers in the basement of the building I worked in.)

Overall, both experiences have been an enlightening exploration of education and own career interests. It's exciting to contemplate future possibilities . . .