Today I Feel Like a Teacher

I taught my first real life full length Math lesson today.  I was nervous.  Math has never been my strong suit.  It turns out that things as simple as adding and subtracting are done way differently than the way I learned to do it.  This makes things difficult when you are trying to teach something that relies on some form of computation, as mine did today.  Today’s lesson was about estimating differences.

These poor students were subjected to a lot of Math today.  They started with their Bell Work (written and expanded form of a number) as they do every morning, then they did their Math CAT test (which is interesting on it’s own) in place of their Daily 5, and then came my 60 minutes of Math.  Way too much, but since that is what my lesson was prepared for as per discussion, that is what I taught.  I knew keeping their attention through my direct teaching was going to be tough after so much Math focus so I wanted to get right to the game I had planned for them.

My students were supposed to have the concepts of using front-end rounding, compatible numbers, compensation, and estimating sums down from their previous lessons.  Only trouble with that was my students were behind in their Math.  This could have turned my entire lesson into a huge mess, but I tried not to let that happen.  Instead I decided to take a bunch of things out of my lesson and bring the focus strictly to estimating by rounding to the thousands position and then subtracting.  I started by drawing a bar on the board with Ballpark Estimate on one side and Close to the Actual on the other so the students could see when it was appropriate to be far off than the actual or when it is necessary to be closer to the actual number when estimating.  The students required a little prompting to come up with examples that weren’t just numbers but rather real life examples.  It seemed that by the end of that they understood a little bit better.  For the actual lesson part it was clear who were the strong students in Math and who just didn’t get it.

After providing the students with a couple examples that we worked through together and introducing the concept of Benchmarks (without mentioning the term itself) we moved on to the game.  There were some students who performed really well on their own and didn’t need much instruction and others who needed a lot of instruction.  One of the most rewarding parts was seeing how excited a couple of students were when they went from admittedly not knowing what I was talking about to coming up to me to show me that they had gotten one or two completely on their own.  It was such an awesome feeling.  It is what made me feel like a real teacher today.

One thing that I really need to work on is watching the time.  That hour flew by! I would have loved to have had more time for the game and I missed my exit slip completely.  I think I need to carry my phone to buzz and notify me when I need to go from set to development to my closure.  I think I will continue to learn something every lesson, and I am okay with that.

Since I missed what was supposed to be my awesome Halloween Art lesson, I am up for Art again in two weeks!

Have a great Remembrance Day and I look forward to any feedback!

Jen

 

What Does a Teacher Make?

Watching this video makes you feel a kind of conviction.  Yeah! That is right! We are important!  Once you examine the actual words more closely, you see that the argument is maybe not one that you want to be on the side of.  I think that while Mali thinks he is trying to say some positive things, and in the form of slam poetry you have to be a little over the top, he comes across as a little bit aggressive.  Okay, maybe a lot aggressive.  Mali starts by making a generalization about what all others think about teachers.  That we cannot do, so we teach.  I know there are some people who think we are crazy to want to be teachers, so he is not completely wrong in making that statement.  I do understand why he started his story with a villain, it gets more people on board with him.  A villain gives you that original feeling of conviction.  A “how dare they!” feeling.

When Mali gets into “what he makes”, he begins to sound more demanding and controlling than he is caring.  He has the power to build a child up, but also to tear him or her down.  Mali knows what is best for his students, better than they know themselves.  He even knows better than the students’ parents!  Parents should “tremble in fear” when he calls.  There is a clear hierarchy in his lines.  Mali is on top and everyone else is below him.

The noblest act of courage he has ever seen is a child standing up to a bully.  Not to say that this act is not courageous and should not be acknowledged, but some of the onus should be on him stop bullying in his classroom as well.  Why is the phone call not to the parents of the bully as well?  “I make parents see their children for who they are” has the implication that parents don’t know their children.  Parents are important educators as well and we should aim to work with them instead of against them.

For a few lines Mali really gets it right.  He speaks of developing potential and encouraging wonder, questioning, and critique.  After those few lines he loses momentum again.  Mali forces apology and has the power (somehow) to make students mean it.  He teaches a lesson that he deems important.  A lesson that seems more like a personal annoyance of Mali’s as opposed to the most important thing one can learn. Teaching a child to spell “definitely beautiful” over and over so that they never get it wrong again does not seem like an overly efficient use of time.  Mali holds rules over the kids (show your work here but don’t show your work here) and they better be followed.

In the end, if you do everything he says, people will probably still judge you. But hey! Screw them!  It seems like there could be a better lesson in here.

Mali’s closing lines are both a hit and a miss.  Teachers make a difference.  This is wonderful and true.  We are here learning how to make positive differences in children’s lives.  The “now what about you” line turns him in to the same person as the villain we were rooting against in the beginning.

I cannot say that everything Taylor Mali says in What Teachers Make is negative but I do think what I would say would be a little different.  My version would go something like this:

You want to know what I make?

I make kids do better than they ever thought they could.

I make them feel like the grade they receive isn’t everything, as long as they are trying their best.

I make time for questions, even when they come at bad times and are asked multiple times.

I make sure kids needs are met and that they feel comfortable, even in study hall.

I build relationships with each one of my students and their family and I make sure that we all stay on the same page.

I recognize courage, bravery, honesty, understanding, effort, and confidence (or lack thereof) and I acknowledge each one of those things to make sure kids (and parents) know they are important to me.

I make kids wonder, inquire, criticize, and apologize when necessary.

I make kids a part of a big family that meets in a classroom, gym, or playground.

I make kids read and write and spell and learn.

I do this while making sure they are having FUN.

I make kids ready to become whatever it is they want to become and I don’t judge them for this.

I make a difference and I hope that you do too.