Rafe Esquith

Well I have successfully passed student teaching with flying colors. Clearly there wasn’t any time to write or barely even breath for that matter. Since passing student teaching, I have been in the never-ending job search in the bad economy…not going well. However, I have hope and I continue to look everyday. Other than catching up and rambling on, I’ve decided to share about a teacher that I’ve been reading about who’s been a great inspiration to me and whose ideas are great and worth trying in any classroom. Of course, I’m sure that many of you have already heard of him: Rafe Esquith.

Rafe is a teacher in California and does amazing things with his students. His 5^th graders live in impoverished areas and often come from low socio-economic backgrounds and yet he gets them to perform Shakespeare and read, “To Kill a Mockingbird” each year. I wish I had read more about him before starting my urban student teaching placement; his words would have pushed me to work harder for them and his ideas and techniques could have come in handy. Having recently finished two of his books, “Teach Like Your Hair’s On Fire” and “There Are No Shortcuts” I’ve come to learn a lot about expectations and what it really means to be an outstanding teacher in today’s world. Hopefully I’ll be able to get a job with a classroom of my own where I can put some of my new ideas and skills to use. For any of you who haven’t read about Rafe or are interested in learning more, I’ve provided a link to his website below.

http://www.hobartshakespeareans.org/

Science Lesson

Today I taught my first full lesson from start to finish. It was a science lesson from a FOSS investigation kit, so that was exciting. The lesson involved how water moves through different earth substances (gravel and soil) and what implications that has for groundwater, plants and animals. This is a copy of my basic procedure:

Activity:

- Show the students the two earth materials that they have to work with, gravel and soil.

- Have students observe the different earth materials with their magnifying glasses.

- Ask the students what they think will happen if they added water to the soil. What would happen if they added water to the gravel? Will the water absorb?

- Have one student put a filter in each of their two plastic cups with holes.

- Have another student pour dry soil into one of the filter paper cups and gravel into the other.

- Have the students compare the weights of the two substances in the cups by putting them on a balance and seeing which one is heavier/denser.

- Have students place each of the smaller cups with holes into the larger cups.

- Use the syringe to squirt 50 ml of water in each soil sample.

- Students should observe for about 5 minutes what happens as the water filters through the two soil samples.

- After 5 minutes have students take their small plastic cups out of the large plastic cups and weigh them again on the scale. Which is heavier now? Why is that so?

Materials Per Group of 4 Students:

2 Large plastic cups

2 Filters

2 Small plastic cups with holes

2 Plastic cups

1 FOSS balance

1 Syringe (50ml)

2 Hand lenses

Water

Paper towels

Trays

Soil

Gravel

Overall, the lesson went very well and the students responded positively. One suggestion that my cooperating teacher (CT) gave me before I started was that I should designate a color to the four students in each group and call out instructions for people of each color. For example, “blue students, get the trays” or “yellow students set up the small cup with the soil”, etc. This turned out to be a great suggestion because it gave every student an equal opportunity to participate within their group.

Because this was such an interactive lesson and it involved lots of students working together, classroom management was a concern of mine. I had one student (who we’ve nicknamed “no bones” because he flops around like jello) with a syringe in his hand flailing around and almost poking other student’s eyes out. I had another group with two students who knocked their balance over with both cups in it, spilling their gravel and soil all over the table. I had one student trying to put the gravel in his mouth and another group fighting over whose desk the materials should all be on. Thankfully, I’ve been working with my CT on learning management skills and by silently moving around and dealing with situations; I was able to keep the lesson going without disrupting their learning.

I was so nervous for my first day of a full lesson that I almost threw up this morning. Now that it’s over and I have some things that I can work on, I’m more confident than ever that I can do this and be a leader in the classroom. Thank goodness for small confidence boosters.

Don't Judge

Don’t judge a student by their performance in school; you don’t always know where they’re coming from.

One student was complaining that their stomach hurt. They clutched it and doubled over in pain. I asked them what was wrong, where the hurt was and if it just started or if it had been hurting. The student explained that it hurt inside their stomach and that it had started out earlier in the morning but had only recently gotten worse. I informed my cooperating teacher (CT) about the situation and they said that we should reassure the student that everything was alright, but that we had better wait to see how they felt later.

As the day went on and we were heading to lunch, I noticed that none of my students brought lunches, had money or have lunch passes. I also noticed that for the two days that I’ve been there, the students didn’t have a snack time. As my CT and I were sitting at the writing center eating lunch I asked about the lack of lunch/snacks in the room. I brought up that when I was in elementary school we had snack everyday to curb our hunger until lunch, especially if we had the last lunch wave like my class does now. My CT informed me that all of the students that attended this elementary school were on free lunch and that there was free breakfast available from 7:30 to 7:55 if they got there. I sat there and thought for a moment about the amount of poverty and the resources the families of these children lacked if it was enough for the principal (or whoever decides things like that) that the whole school needed to be on free lunch.

My CT nodded at my amazement and then stopped and looked at me harder as a light bulb went off in their head. “You know our little buddy with the stomach ache? I had them wait until after lunch to see if it goes away because the majority of the times, their stomach aches turn out to be hunger pangs. Sometimes, if we have time, I feed them snack that I buy and keep in the room, but sometimes we don’t have time with all of this testing. Every minute is valuable, you know?” I nodded.

As I reflected back on my day today, I realized how privileged I was to grow up and go to school where I did. One of the reasons that I was able to learn so well, was that all of my basic needs were fulfilled. I had a roof over my head, three meals a day, a comfy bed to sleep in, and space that was my own to play in. So many of the students that attend this urban elementary school, don’t have basic needs that all children should have so learning isn’t always the first thing on their mind, and who can blame them? Perhaps, the reason that students act out, don’t do their work or surprise us with their behavior (like that student we had act out on the first day!) can’t be judged for the face value of their actions alone, because you don’t always know where they’re coming from.

My First Day

Thursday was officially my first day of student teaching. The classroom is small for the 24 students and one teacher that occupy it for the entire day so adding a work space for me was difficult, but my cooperating teacher (CT) made me feel welcome. The room is filled with desks in groups of 6, a guided reading table, a writing center, a classroom library and a small carpet space where all of the students can fit if they squeeze together. There is student artwork and class work displayed all over the walls and the atmosphere is inviting and conducive to learning.

On my first day, I mostly observed, walked around and helped small groups; pretty basic things. The students started off the day with writer’s workshop, loosely based on Lucy Calkins’ model. I’m sure that my CT would like to incorporate more of Calkins’ into the classroom but they were provided with so few training days that they really don’t know that much about how to implement the program.

After other reading and writing activities the students settled in for art. Art is on a cart as there is no room for an art room this year. During this time my CT took me on a tour of the school. When we came back from the tour the art teacher informed us that some of the students had been misbehaving. My CT told them that she was disappointed in their poor choices and said that they would not be able to partake in their classroom duties that week (door holder, line leader etc.). One student became so enraged that they jumped out of their seat and threatened to punch my CT. They got right up in her face and began shouting “You did this to me! You make me so angry! Why do you have to ruin my life? Do you want some of this!?!?!?” My CT was silent as the student raged on and she held her hands out in a protective stance so that the student wouldn’t hit her. Finally, the student stopped, returned to their seat and put their head on the desk. My CT quickly and effectively had all of the student’s line up and called the teacher next door to take her class to lunch. When it was only the three of us left in the room, my CT can the student until she counted to 10 to start to make amends before she called the office, security and his parents. The student stared straight ahead and refused to acknowledge her.

After the appropriate measures were taken and the rest of the class came back from lunch, the students sat in a circle and had a class meaning on the meaning of respect and how to problem solve. Most of the students were afraid or surprised at the way their classmate had acted and offered several steps that he could have taken to avoid that situation.

At the end of my first day of student teaching, I learned a lot about classroom management, the importance of understanding your students and the challenges of working in an urban school. My CT knew her students well. She knew that the attack may have been based on the fact that something was going on at home, that having the responsibility of a classroom job may have meant so much to that student that they were going to fight for it, that maybe it was built up anger from something that had happened days ago, and that there were ways to get that student to open up and understand how to control their actions and their emotions. Even though this was one of my most intense and terrifying days ever spent in an elementary school classroom, I’ve begun to more deeply understand the value of working in an urban elementary school.

Seminar

I’ve arrived back at school for the semester and an intense regime of class has begun. Each day we have 6 hours worth of class to prepare us for student teaching in 8 days. We have two classes, Assessment and Evaluation and Professional Studies. On top of that we also have a seminar on student teaching that deals with some issues and challenges that we’ll face in our beginning days.

So far we’ve talked in depth about teaching as a profession, No Child Left Behind, tenure, classroom management, and assessment. All non-education students say that the student teaching semester is a joke, I have a feeling that they would all be surprised about the amount of work we’re doing.

I’d like to write more but I have a paper and a 30 minute presentation to prepare for.

Eating Right

Childhood obesity is a growing concern for many American families. On the school front it’s also a concern. Less time in the gym to make time for testing, limited recess or taking away recess as a punishment for students limit their physical activity during the day. Allowing children to play is not only a part of growing up, learning social skills and forming relationships, it’s also an energy outlet that allows them to pursue physical activities and interests that are limited by the classroom space. Even though recess and physical activity have changed, lunches have not.

A common lunch includes gushers, fruit rollups, snack pack puddings, chips, fruit snacks or candies. Even if the students are provided a healthy sandwich or fruit these options are compromised by the other lunch box elements. One way to start a child’s day out right is to start with a healthy lunch packed from home. Try replacing sugary snacks with fruits, yogurts and other healthy options that will provide students with energy but remain healthy and meet their dietary needs.

This article on BBC talks about the effects of healthy v. unhealthy lunches on children and even provides an example menu for a week of what are good options to put in your child’s lunch.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8454692.stm

In preparation for student teaching, my roommate and I were talking about what kinds of things we were going to buy in bulk to take with us in our lunches. Obviously, it’s not economical or logical to buy some things in bulk such as fresh fruits or yogurts that are perishable and can go bad. But other healthy options such as natural granola bars, whole grain breads and natural peanut butter are all options that we are looking into. Also, finding snacks that have lower calories and are healthier such as low sodium baked chips or 100 calorie pack snacks are good options.

Inferior Education

I read this article on BBC news and it caught my attention. The article focuses on an ethnic group in the Czech Republic known as the Roma (gypsy). Lack of equal education makes it hard for these children to earn a competitive place in the economy thus adding to their social exclusion as adults. The article focuses on the issue of these children and mentions that it’s a vicious circle, less educational opportunities create lower social standing which leads to their children receiving less educational opportunities. While this case is specific to the Czech Republic and to a specific ethnic minority, trends such as this can also be seen in the education system of the United States.

School districts in the United States have huge gaps based on socio-economic status of the students and based on ethnicity. The school district that I’m student teaching in is Allentown School District and it is in the 2nd percentile of the entire state of Pennsylvania, that’s almost rock bottom. Ten minutes away is East Penn School District where I’ve also taught at, they’re in the 83rd percentile for Pennsylvania. Other than 10 minutes apart in location, what are some other differences between the two? Allentown sports a poverty rating of 82.6%, East Penn only has 11.8%. Allentown is comprised of 80.6% minorities; East Penn is 13.6% minorities. What do their test scores reflect, student ability or an inferior education based on their socio-economic status?

A child’s ethnicity and economic background are no excuse for an inferior education. Just because their parents can’t afford state of the art facilities doesn’t mean that good facilities shouldn’t be provided to the students. In order to break the vicious circle of “systematic discrimination” of students based on their background, we need to provide equal educational opportunities to all students.

Article on BBC about unequal education in schools in the Czech Republic: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8456882.stm

BrainPop

Our education program consists of a series of fieldwork placements. Prior to this semester I’ve spent over 100 hours working in different classrooms and teaching lessons. Last semester I was in a sixth grade classroom in a middle school. My cooperating teacher introduced me to an interesting site that was interactive, used videos and supplied quizzes and worksheets. BrainPop is a site featuring two main characters Tim and Moby, a robot and a human, who answer questions on life’s mysteries and explain them in an interactive video.

The kids loved when my cooperating teacher used a BrainPop video to begin a new unit or to quickly demonstrate a fact about a particular topic. I signed up for a trial prescription and it is definitely a site worth trying in your classroom.

http://www.brainpop.com/

Beginning

Today begins the documentation of my semester of student teaching. As of now I’m still on winter break, but I start back to school on Tuesday January 19th 2010. Right now I have to read four textbooks and a huge packet to prepare for the first 9 days of class that I have (including Saturday and Sunday!) before I begin student teaching.

The first placement that I have will be for 6 weeks at a third grade classroom in an urban school. This elementary school is the lowest performing school in the entire school district and a large percentage of the students are homeless and speak English as a second language. I recently found out that 7 of the students in my class have learning disabilities and the class as a whole is lower performing especially in reading where only one student is reading at a third grade level.

If you have any advice or comments I’d love to hear it!