Domain 1 Content/Subject Matter
At the end of lunch today, one of the Title 1 aides and my teacher and I were discussing grammar and the comment was made that it is not in the standards. Then they mentioned that spelling was not in the standards and that the principal from last year had wanted them to get rid of their spelling books (I don't think my teacher ever mentioned her reasoning behind it). I could tell that my teacher was definitely not for that decision, and it just made me think about how we are so set in our ways, we don't even "see the light".
To me, if we are all instruction based on our specific standards then we will hit everything. Spelling, for so long, has just been give the words Monday, pretest Wednesday, final test on Thursday. To think anything different is radical:)! The old school ways just make me realize how we as teachers receive our stereotypes...the old school way of teacing doesn't really cause us to truly teach nor does it call us out of our comfort zones. I am not meaning to sound negative or disrepectful to my teacher or any other teachers; I am just thinking through it all.
My teacher told me yesterday that one of my students said he hates teachers after something I had said or did or something. And then today, she told me she heard him say it again. I am probably thinking about this way too much, but I was just wondering why she told me that. Is she trying to put me down or to make me feel bad? Because even if that's not her purpose, I just don't understand why you would say that to someone without backing it up with encouragement or "excuses" for the student. She wasn't pointing fingers at me or being cruel about it...and I definitely think it is important to know, but I hope that I would have handled that situation better.
Thanks for the helpful information in your last post. I will let you know if I can meet sometime soon!! I think it will be good once the portfolio is in, and I can really keen on some things that I want to do...like figuring out the comprehension issue and planning my writing lessons better, etc.
I love teaching! When does your principal"ing" end?
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Olivia,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up many valid points. I know spelling is in second grade standards ... didn't realize it wasn't in third grade standars... I'll have to research it a bit. My response is standard or not if you are teaching the students skills for success then you are teaching these skills through a variety of means ... students need to see the purpose behind learning to spell and use it in a meaningful way - not just solely writing the words and taking a pretest/postest. It should be integrated into what the students do all throughout the day. Just my thoughts...
Don't take your teachers comment personally...I know it is easier said than done. I'm not sure it was even appropriate to bring up unless she can give more explanation to his/her frustrations. What would be more important is to check in with the student to be sure something else wasn't wrong and that they were seeking attention through these comments.
Hang in there!
Prof. Forshey
PS.. Your self-analysis papers look great! Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to them. It has been quite eventful the past two days! I finish my internship this semester on Dec. 1st. I'll be working on my projects all weekend.