Today as I was preparing to teach my 1st period class, I received some sad and unexpected news. Earlier in the semester, one of my master teachers was diagnosed with cancer, and so took a leave of absence. Although I felt a bit lost without his optimism and support, I understood his need to leave. Unfortunately, he passed away on Saturday. I wasn't sure how to respond. This was a teacher loved by students and faculty alike. Anything said about him revealed a sincere and deep respect for his practice and person. My second master teacher chose to have his students simply reflect on their experiences with my master teacher or their thoughts about death. I thought it was an appropriate and beautiful way to respond to the situation. Earlier in the semester, I also lost some one close to me. With the demands of the program and student teaching, I believe that I was unable to address my thoughts and feelings. But as the semester slows down and I am better able to look closely at all that has happened I realize the importance of allowing yourself some quiet space to reflect; I am only now beginning to realize how much this passing has effected me. But, I saw that sense of reflection today in the students as they wrote. Perhaps this will be my source of reflection.

Relevant?

With so few weeks left in the semester, I've decided not to begin another novel with my 9th grade class, instead planning for a unit on poetry. Last semester, we read several articles on strategies for teaching poetry. I was also inspired by our class mates' poetry books and I know I have many students who would enjoy writing and creating a poetry book. As some of the readings from las semester suggested, I chose to begin the unit with an exploration of what the word "poetry" meant to the students then introduce the concept of slam and performance poetry. I found a really (or so I thought) interesting and engaging article that discusses the connections between hip hop and slam poetry. My students are quite knowledgable on the subject, so I thought that opening a discussion of the similarities between the two forms would help them once we started reading and (hopefully) performing poetry. But perhaps because it was Friday or perhaps because it was expository writing, I had such trouble getting the students to focus. I am asking a slam poet to come to talk and perform for the students - maybe his expertise will engage and inspire the students.

Random

How do you channel students' energy when they want to talk about subjects that are off topic? I have found that as the semester goes on, my students have become more comfortable with me and more willing to engage in off topic conversation. I'm sure many of you know how random these conversations may be. Pokeman, fast food, the substitute they do not like. But I like to encourage my students to speak up and have a voice in the classroom, so sometimes I am reluctant to move them towards content. I think the answer lies in trying to connect what they are interested in to what we are studying in class ... but I have to manage a sneaky way of doing so. Perhaps I just need to gain more experience in leading classroom discussion, allowing students to veer off into other topics, but still be able to get them back to content, all the while illuminating the connections. To find those connections ...

Schedules

Last week (or was it the week before?) was the final week of testing at my school. Never before had the reality of the week's rythym been more obvious than during these two weeks of inconsistency. Students need a sense of safety, and although they will never admit it, this safety comes from a sense of routine. Students need to count on something, so it might as well be a schedule, even if what happens in between is different from day to day. But with the testing schedule, everything was complete chaos. Every day was like a Monday, with me trying to get the students to focus. Eventually things began to even out, but then the testing schedule was replaced by "old reliable" - 50 minutes, five days a week. The students revolted! I think they had grown accustomed to not seeing me every day. For a student teacher, who has to work hard to motivate and engage students, a messed up schedule is no fun because suddenly, all the small problems begin to become much more obvious. And I've spent the last two weeks trying to get over it.