The days are getting longer, the sun is getting stronger, my hair is getting curlier. Spring is here and I'm in my ninth week at Mac high school. The learning curve is still nearly as intense as the humidity.
#1. I can eat my lunch in less than 4 minutes. On Tuesday I moved through content faster then I expected in my equine science class. Thankfully, this class breaks in the middle for lunch, so I could plan and find more information while the students were in the cafeteria. After the first day of eating my lunch in a few short minutes, I realized how productive these 30 minutes could be. By the end of the week I was entering grades and writing a test while simultaneously eating my apple. It's official, nearly every part of my day is devoted to student teaching. I reflect on my day and lesson plan in my car on the way home, I think about the day while I'm getting ready in the morning, and I decide what to wear based on what we will be doing in the shop.
#2. Practice makes perfect...AND a lot of smoke. These last few weeks we have had everyone in the welding classes working. Every day we have two or three grinders working, two O-A torches, a MIG welder, and four or five Arc welders going at the same time. That might not seem like much, but without an exhaust system it gets a little hazy in the shop. And when you add the humidity in the Houston air these days the haze turns into a thick fog. The students are all on task these days and its exciting to see welds increase with practice. These three hours are quickly becoming my favorite my class periods. AND a brand new exhaust system is being installed this week.
#4. There's no big picture when you're 17. Every day I try to get students out of their desk and involved in the lesson in some way. This is ridiculously challenging in my equine science class. When I ask students to write something on the board, work in small groups, or present their poster to the class you'd think I was asking them for a kidney. The eye rolls are are so dramatic I worry they might get dizzy and fall out of their chairs. I usually respond with something like "I know, I know, you don't want to, but think about me-- I don't even like horses and I have to teach this stuff. We're all suffering." I try to casually coax them to the front of the room with subliminal messages about how handy public speaking skills, presentation skills, working in small groups, etc, will be in college or a workplace. They're not as concerned with these life skills as I am BUT we are seeing improvement. I once told them if there was a reality show on our class NO ONE would watch it, and it's not just because we talk about horses all day everyday. That got some laughs and for the first time a little expression in their voice. I'm already preparing for the postcard I'll get in my golden years thanking me for developing the skills they need in their current job.
#5. Students are hardworking, just not in the obvious ways. There were times when students would walk into class late and I had to work at not letting myself look annoyed. I would tell myself that students are different today then they were when I was in high school, that they aren't responsible, and have no respect for the clock. Recently, I got out of my rocking chair and stopped talking like I was senile 85 year old (no offense to the geri-s who might be reading) and looked at things a little differently. I realized that some students deserve a round of applause for showing up to school at all, and that it's not at easy as it was when I was in high school. I applaud the student who returned to class a short week after her brother was shot and killed, I'm exhausted for the teenage girl who's an obvious 17 months pregnant but still walks the halls everyday, and I sympathize with the student who works two jobs after school and on the weekends. (I thought lesson planning in the evenings was tough). Students are different in Aldine than they are in Iowa and it's not my job is not to harp on them for not getting their homework done or being late to school. My job is to make sure every moment of class is educationally significant because when the bell rings they're not my students anymore. They're not students at all.
#6. Do, Reflect, Apply. These last few weeks I've started channeling my inner Kolb, especially in welding class. When a student approaches me with a welded piece of metal I try to facilitate a discussion about what they did, how they might improve their skills, etc. The most obvious way for students to improve their welds, in their minds, is to grind it as opposed to practice. We are working on practicing.
#7. The Houston Rodeo = the Iowa State Fair of Texas. The last two months Arkadie and others have been preparing me for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. They go into how big it is and how much food there is and how many people attend and I always say, "I get it, I'm from Iowa. We have the best state fair in the entire land, please save your propaganda for someone who hasn't tasted a fried oreo." Well Rodeo Season is officially upon us and I'm excited to report the Iowa State Fair is still better. The only thing keeping the Rodeo in the running for second-best festival of all time are ALL the cowboy boots, and the cowboys in them.
#8. Relationships are like rollercoasters. My feelings for my students falter between adoration and disgust nearly daily. If they didn't act so mature sometimes I wouldn't be disappointed when they act like children, and if I didn't know how sweet they can be I wouldn't care that their attitude can be so sour sometimes.
#9. Agriculture is everywhere in Houston, even on the street. Today I got to school and Arkadie told me had gotten an email from one of the assistant principals. Apparently, earlier in the morning there was Shetland pony and goat walking down the street in Houston so a couple of police officers in the area coaxed them to Mac's ag barn. I looked at Arkadie, who was not nearly as amused as I was. He had just gotten all the students to get their livestock out of those barns and now we running a boarding house, or barn, for neighborhood strays. Each class today was prefaced with "before we get started does anyone know anyone with a Shetland pony and a goat?" Tomorrow I'm going to try to convince Arakdie that the pony probably needs new shoes. (In equine we are discussing horse hoof care and nothing is better than a live demonstration).
#10. It's never going to slow down. I thought once I had a few lessons under my belt with my name in the back of it (really embracing the Texas thing these days), or once the livestock show was over, or once the days started getting longer, or once I got more adjusted to the school, schedule, traffic, etc, things might slow down. But they really aren't. Spring is coming in at full force, TAKS test are pressuring both students and teachers, and spring break seems like a million miles away. My roommates and I are convinced all the lesson planning, reflecting, and writing won't be so bad when we can do it by our pool (which will hopefully be next week!).
#11. It can't get much better than this. Texas has been, so far, one of the best experiences of my life. Even on the worst day, it's easy to laugh with my roommates about something funny a student said, what we saw on our way home from school in this crazy town, or how different this experience will be from anything we would have experienced in Iowa. Half price sushi, a walk on the boardwalk, and two-stepping are just some of the perks of this 14-week adventure. As early as 5:00am is, the day flies by. As long as it takes to think through a thought-provoking, interesting lesson, having student act interested and engaged during class makes it worth it. I secretly hope someday my students think back on their high school experience and say "remember when that white lady came from Ohio and had us write children book about beef breeds?" (To most students Iowa, Ohio, and Idaho are the same state).
There's so much to look forward to this week and I'm excited for my parents to be visiting this weekend. Pack your short-pants, dad, and your cowboy boots. You won't even look that ridiculous wearing them at the same time.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Seven in Seven.
The seven things I learned in my seventh week.
1. Teaching is like two-steppin'. I love going to school every morning, I enjoy seeing the students and I love talking about agriculture all day and I soak in every moment I get to spend with Arkadie. There are time, however, I feel teaching is like two-stepping in a huge circle at the Rifle Club on an old wooden floor; having a great time, but never going anywhere. I feel like in teaching sometimes I'm just going in circles repeating myself again, and again, and again. Two steps forward, one step back. Thankfully, if math serves me right we are still one step ahead--I HAVE to live in that step.
2. You have to celebrate the small victories. I administered my first real test last week. I'm usually completely opposed to old-fashioned, paper and pencil tests, but I decided after weeks of making books and posters it was time to gauge learning in a more concrete way. Knowing that how my students perform is also a reflection of my teaching I was nervous to grade the tests. I had helped both the ag teachers at Mac grade final exams and was mentally preparing myself for answers like "when they're cold" to the question, "when is it ok for girls to wear black pants as official dress as opposed a black skirt", and "Mr Arkadie" as the answer to "who is considered the founding father of The National FFA Organization". I was ready to feel completely depressed and spend the weekend trying to figure out why I ever thought I could teach. However, to my surprise my students knew the answers. They knew horse colors and markings, they understood colic and the digestive system, and some could even define 'monograstic'. Friday night I felt like Cam Newton accepting the Heisman—I didn’t deserve the attention or the prize but it felt right accepting anyway.
3. PowerPoint is not the answer. Planning for multiple classes each day and attempting to get through enough information and present it in an organized fashion often times PowerPoint seems like the most effective and efficient mode to teaching. However, when your bored just putting together a PowerPoint presentation you can be assured that the students will be bored listening to it. While I agree PowerPoint presentations are excellent for showing pictures and can supplement a lesson, they should never be used independently. I do use PowerPoint, but to supplement my lessons. There are times getting creative is difficult; thankfully I live with two other teachers, and when I needed help figuring what my students would use to “Brand” their piece of cake with frosting Tiff had the answer—ALUMINUM FOIL.
Which leads me to….
5. Teachers are friends. And resources. And lifesavers.
6. You have to put your money where your mouth is. After spending WEEKS in the shop explaining how to use the torch effectively it finally took me putting on my safety shades, taking the torch, and cutting a clean line before students realized pointing the torch at a 45 degree angle and pushing the melted metal with oxygen works much better than ANYTHING there were trying. There were, of course, some in the class who still refused to listen to me. That is, until, the smallest kid in the class who goes by the rapper name “lil Barbie” and sports a rat tail cut a perfectly straight line and then thanked me for teaching him with a fist pound. Job well done, Lil Barbie.
7. Priorities get completely re-prioritized. When I first got down to Texas I went nearly a month without talking to my dad, lost nearly all communication with my friends, and could not even begin to tell you what has happened on my favorite, and only, TV show I watch—the Office. In the past three weeks I have hardly touched my graduate thesis and lately gotten a little concerned by the amount of dirt compiling in our apartment. I know they said that student teaching would require every ounce of energy I had and that the students come first. What I didn’t know was that I would put AWAY, not aside, everything that I hold important and dear to me, and completely neglect all of the things I wanted for myself. I know I’m doing to this to get experience, but they way I see it, I’m preparing myself for a job I do not have the time to apply for—an honestly, a job I’m not even sure I want. After three consecutive weeks and weekends of working I finally took a trip to San Antonio. While the weekend was enjoyable I was so stressed out the next week and felt so far behind I nearly regretted going. Then I realized if I’m not careful I’ll spend 4 months in this state and see nothing but my apartment, the school, and the 4 roads in between.
1. Teaching is like two-steppin'. I love going to school every morning, I enjoy seeing the students and I love talking about agriculture all day and I soak in every moment I get to spend with Arkadie. There are time, however, I feel teaching is like two-stepping in a huge circle at the Rifle Club on an old wooden floor; having a great time, but never going anywhere. I feel like in teaching sometimes I'm just going in circles repeating myself again, and again, and again. Two steps forward, one step back. Thankfully, if math serves me right we are still one step ahead--I HAVE to live in that step.
2. You have to celebrate the small victories. I administered my first real test last week. I'm usually completely opposed to old-fashioned, paper and pencil tests, but I decided after weeks of making books and posters it was time to gauge learning in a more concrete way. Knowing that how my students perform is also a reflection of my teaching I was nervous to grade the tests. I had helped both the ag teachers at Mac grade final exams and was mentally preparing myself for answers like "when they're cold" to the question, "when is it ok for girls to wear black pants as official dress as opposed a black skirt", and "Mr Arkadie" as the answer to "who is considered the founding father of The National FFA Organization". I was ready to feel completely depressed and spend the weekend trying to figure out why I ever thought I could teach. However, to my surprise my students knew the answers. They knew horse colors and markings, they understood colic and the digestive system, and some could even define 'monograstic'. Friday night I felt like Cam Newton accepting the Heisman—I didn’t deserve the attention or the prize but it felt right accepting anyway.
3. PowerPoint is not the answer. Planning for multiple classes each day and attempting to get through enough information and present it in an organized fashion often times PowerPoint seems like the most effective and efficient mode to teaching. However, when your bored just putting together a PowerPoint presentation you can be assured that the students will be bored listening to it. While I agree PowerPoint presentations are excellent for showing pictures and can supplement a lesson, they should never be used independently. I do use PowerPoint, but to supplement my lessons. There are times getting creative is difficult; thankfully I live with two other teachers, and when I needed help figuring what my students would use to “Brand” their piece of cake with frosting Tiff had the answer—ALUMINUM FOIL.
Which leads me to….
5. Teachers are friends. And resources. And lifesavers.
6. You have to put your money where your mouth is. After spending WEEKS in the shop explaining how to use the torch effectively it finally took me putting on my safety shades, taking the torch, and cutting a clean line before students realized pointing the torch at a 45 degree angle and pushing the melted metal with oxygen works much better than ANYTHING there were trying. There were, of course, some in the class who still refused to listen to me. That is, until, the smallest kid in the class who goes by the rapper name “lil Barbie” and sports a rat tail cut a perfectly straight line and then thanked me for teaching him with a fist pound. Job well done, Lil Barbie.
7. Priorities get completely re-prioritized. When I first got down to Texas I went nearly a month without talking to my dad, lost nearly all communication with my friends, and could not even begin to tell you what has happened on my favorite, and only, TV show I watch—the Office. In the past three weeks I have hardly touched my graduate thesis and lately gotten a little concerned by the amount of dirt compiling in our apartment. I know they said that student teaching would require every ounce of energy I had and that the students come first. What I didn’t know was that I would put AWAY, not aside, everything that I hold important and dear to me, and completely neglect all of the things I wanted for myself. I know I’m doing to this to get experience, but they way I see it, I’m preparing myself for a job I do not have the time to apply for—an honestly, a job I’m not even sure I want. After three consecutive weeks and weekends of working I finally took a trip to San Antonio. While the weekend was enjoyable I was so stressed out the next week and felt so far behind I nearly regretted going. Then I realized if I’m not careful I’ll spend 4 months in this state and see nothing but my apartment, the school, and the 4 roads in between.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Teaching While Learning
1. Weekends are never over rated. After what seemed like a month of committing weekends to the livestock show, a weekend in San Antonio with one of the most fun cowgirls I know was complete bliss. Until we nearly got ourselves run out of Texas. It's true what they say, everything is bigger in Texas, especially the egos.
2. Whoever said there's no money in agriculture was wrong. At the Aldine ISD Livestock show last week the champion steer sold for $16,000 and ALL of that goes to the pocket of the student. One student walked away with a cool 30g's this weekend. The show in general was a great experience, not only for the students but also for me. It was great to see students in official dress showing the animals they had been tending to for months and to see several succeed and make the sale. This is experiential learning at its best--I wish Kolb and Dewey were here.
3. Good people make all the difference. Ag teachers are some of the greatest people I know, especially the ones I get to work with. Working with the 9 agriculture teachers in the Aldine District the week before the show would hardly constitute as work to me. Between the laughs we managed to the entire show set-up and Tiff and I impressed some so much that several agreed their next wives would have to be from Iowa. Apparently, on the long list of things Texas is superior at, kicking livestock shavings and setting up pens is not one of them. Chalk it up as a win, Iowa.
4. Diversity is fun.
5. Goats are ridiculous. Picture for a moment a HUGE, stadium like space covered with carpet with a show ring in the center, well organized corals to one side leading to pig pens and on the other side tied steers and pens for lambs and goats. Imagine buckets and show boxes sitting neatly next pens and the smell of wood shavings filling the air. It's a nice image-- and one very common to anyone who has been to an indoor livestock show. NOW, imagine walking into this space and seeing goats, dozens of goats running around, standing on show boxes, and eating EVERYTHING. That's what the ag teachers walked into on Friday late-morning when we arrived at the Aldine livestock show. GOATS everywhere. And while there were not dozens of goats (I've always been a tad dramatic) there were close to 10 that would not stay in a pen to save their life. Suddenly I hated myself for thinking the species was cute my first day at MacArthur. Finally, after nearly an hour of chasing goats and re-chasing goats, we put all the goats in a different pen and decided students could get and separate theirs in the morning. It seriously reminded me of one of those carnival games where you pick out plastic duckie from a kidee pool. So many dang goats.
6. You can't always shoot from the hip. Being a native cowboy, Arkadie is a bit of a maverick when he teaches, with very little planning or lesson plans. He's constantly asking me what I'm doing during our prep period when I'm writing lessons then says something like "why Rudolphi? Just shoot from the hip." I suppose after 31 years of teaching you can shoot from wherever you like, but I know if I walked into class without at least a general idea of what I was going to do for class I'd be a mess. Like, for instance, my first week. Arkadie was teaching equine science and the lesson started off talking about measuring a horse, then somehow moved to treating a colicing horse, and then transitioned to the first horses ever domesticated. Somewhere amidst the feverish note taking a student made a completely off-the-wall comment and Arkadie threw up his hands and said "I can't do it Rudolphi, take over." I was not prepared, at all, to start teaching. There was no plan, no outline, no general flow of conversation. I was taken completely off guard-- thankfully there was only about 10 minutes left of class and I facilitated a make-shift class discussion about horses.
7. Sometimes you can shoot from the hip. Today instead of welding Arkadie and I talked to the students about coming adults, not becoming fathers, and finding a career instead of just a job. I've labeled these fireside chats; "Arkadie's Advice" and nearly once a week he sits down and attempts to make men out of the mis-fits in welding class.
8. Don't let teaching get in the way of learning. As a student teacher the emphasis should be on being a student first and then a teacher. However, with all the planning that's necessary and the general concern of how lessons will go, if I will run short on time or material, if students will understand anything, if the lessons are fun and exciting, if my objectives match my content, etc it's often easy to emphasize the teaching and forget that I'm a student first. I find that often times I get so bogged down with details that I stress myself out and take all the fun out of life. If I'm too focused on my content and my lessons I completely neglect the students. I forget to ask how their day is, forget to laugh with them, and show genuine concern for each of them. There are times my interest approach is going to flop (heard that!) but that's not my concern anymore. I've found out that if I first sign Kenny Chesney songs in the hall way with a student who has the name "Black Jesus" embroidered in his letter mans jacket, or discuss cowboy boots or Rodeo concerts with the girls, or bond with the only other red-head I've met in Houston thus far over the animals she's taking to the show--IF I LISTEN and LEARN before I try to teach-- the students will be much more receptive to me during class.
Now, I have taken it upon myself to be not only a student of MacArthur High School, but also a student of Houston, TX. This means with every opportunity that arises to go somewhere or do something I jump on it. I KNOW I should be writing lesson plans and reflecting on my day instead of going for sushi happy hour, but teacher burn-out is real, and if I'm going to sign a contract in a few months committing my weekends and summers to students, CDEs, FFA camps, and SAEs you better believe I'm going to have the California roll with extra wasabi (and at half price!). I am absolutely going to sit three wide with the windows down in a beat-up pick-up headed to south Texas to see Santa Gertrudis and Longhorn cattle, eat a brisket sandwich, talk cotton, spend a Saturday evening at the Rifle Club, and remember the Alamo. I am a student of this perpetually red, ridiculously proud state.
9. The south will rise again. Apparently most Yankees have the details of the Civil War completely wrong. Thankfully, Katie and I ran into a couple of gals of who were not only genuinely surprised we didn't take Texas History in the sixth grade but also willing to set us straight. I think I'll focus on agricultural education.
10. Not every day can be a good day. My mood today is less than enthusiastic about teaching and high school students in general. I feel as though I put so much effort into entertaining lesson plans and it's completely wasted sometimes on students who will not keep their mouth shut long enough to listen. I have a new tactic planned for tomorrow-- I'll let you know how it goes.
11. Not every day can be a bad day....at least let's hope not.
I'd like to again, thank my family, friends, and Canadians who keeps reading. If you need a warm place visit, Space Town is always an option and the Rodeo is coming up.
2. Whoever said there's no money in agriculture was wrong. At the Aldine ISD Livestock show last week the champion steer sold for $16,000 and ALL of that goes to the pocket of the student. One student walked away with a cool 30g's this weekend. The show in general was a great experience, not only for the students but also for me. It was great to see students in official dress showing the animals they had been tending to for months and to see several succeed and make the sale. This is experiential learning at its best--I wish Kolb and Dewey were here.
3. Good people make all the difference. Ag teachers are some of the greatest people I know, especially the ones I get to work with. Working with the 9 agriculture teachers in the Aldine District the week before the show would hardly constitute as work to me. Between the laughs we managed to the entire show set-up and Tiff and I impressed some so much that several agreed their next wives would have to be from Iowa. Apparently, on the long list of things Texas is superior at, kicking livestock shavings and setting up pens is not one of them. Chalk it up as a win, Iowa.
4. Diversity is fun.
5. Goats are ridiculous. Picture for a moment a HUGE, stadium like space covered with carpet with a show ring in the center, well organized corals to one side leading to pig pens and on the other side tied steers and pens for lambs and goats. Imagine buckets and show boxes sitting neatly next pens and the smell of wood shavings filling the air. It's a nice image-- and one very common to anyone who has been to an indoor livestock show. NOW, imagine walking into this space and seeing goats, dozens of goats running around, standing on show boxes, and eating EVERYTHING. That's what the ag teachers walked into on Friday late-morning when we arrived at the Aldine livestock show. GOATS everywhere. And while there were not dozens of goats (I've always been a tad dramatic) there were close to 10 that would not stay in a pen to save their life. Suddenly I hated myself for thinking the species was cute my first day at MacArthur. Finally, after nearly an hour of chasing goats and re-chasing goats, we put all the goats in a different pen and decided students could get and separate theirs in the morning. It seriously reminded me of one of those carnival games where you pick out plastic duckie from a kidee pool. So many dang goats.
6. You can't always shoot from the hip. Being a native cowboy, Arkadie is a bit of a maverick when he teaches, with very little planning or lesson plans. He's constantly asking me what I'm doing during our prep period when I'm writing lessons then says something like "why Rudolphi? Just shoot from the hip." I suppose after 31 years of teaching you can shoot from wherever you like, but I know if I walked into class without at least a general idea of what I was going to do for class I'd be a mess. Like, for instance, my first week. Arkadie was teaching equine science and the lesson started off talking about measuring a horse, then somehow moved to treating a colicing horse, and then transitioned to the first horses ever domesticated. Somewhere amidst the feverish note taking a student made a completely off-the-wall comment and Arkadie threw up his hands and said "I can't do it Rudolphi, take over." I was not prepared, at all, to start teaching. There was no plan, no outline, no general flow of conversation. I was taken completely off guard-- thankfully there was only about 10 minutes left of class and I facilitated a make-shift class discussion about horses.
7. Sometimes you can shoot from the hip. Today instead of welding Arkadie and I talked to the students about coming adults, not becoming fathers, and finding a career instead of just a job. I've labeled these fireside chats; "Arkadie's Advice" and nearly once a week he sits down and attempts to make men out of the mis-fits in welding class.
8. Don't let teaching get in the way of learning. As a student teacher the emphasis should be on being a student first and then a teacher. However, with all the planning that's necessary and the general concern of how lessons will go, if I will run short on time or material, if students will understand anything, if the lessons are fun and exciting, if my objectives match my content, etc it's often easy to emphasize the teaching and forget that I'm a student first. I find that often times I get so bogged down with details that I stress myself out and take all the fun out of life. If I'm too focused on my content and my lessons I completely neglect the students. I forget to ask how their day is, forget to laugh with them, and show genuine concern for each of them. There are times my interest approach is going to flop (heard that!) but that's not my concern anymore. I've found out that if I first sign Kenny Chesney songs in the hall way with a student who has the name "Black Jesus" embroidered in his letter mans jacket, or discuss cowboy boots or Rodeo concerts with the girls, or bond with the only other red-head I've met in Houston thus far over the animals she's taking to the show--IF I LISTEN and LEARN before I try to teach-- the students will be much more receptive to me during class.
Now, I have taken it upon myself to be not only a student of MacArthur High School, but also a student of Houston, TX. This means with every opportunity that arises to go somewhere or do something I jump on it. I KNOW I should be writing lesson plans and reflecting on my day instead of going for sushi happy hour, but teacher burn-out is real, and if I'm going to sign a contract in a few months committing my weekends and summers to students, CDEs, FFA camps, and SAEs you better believe I'm going to have the California roll with extra wasabi (and at half price!). I am absolutely going to sit three wide with the windows down in a beat-up pick-up headed to south Texas to see Santa Gertrudis and Longhorn cattle, eat a brisket sandwich, talk cotton, spend a Saturday evening at the Rifle Club, and remember the Alamo. I am a student of this perpetually red, ridiculously proud state.
9. The south will rise again. Apparently most Yankees have the details of the Civil War completely wrong. Thankfully, Katie and I ran into a couple of gals of who were not only genuinely surprised we didn't take Texas History in the sixth grade but also willing to set us straight. I think I'll focus on agricultural education.
10. Not every day can be a good day. My mood today is less than enthusiastic about teaching and high school students in general. I feel as though I put so much effort into entertaining lesson plans and it's completely wasted sometimes on students who will not keep their mouth shut long enough to listen. I have a new tactic planned for tomorrow-- I'll let you know how it goes.
11. Not every day can be a bad day....at least let's hope not.
I'd like to again, thank my family, friends, and Canadians who keeps reading. If you need a warm place visit, Space Town is always an option and the Rodeo is coming up.
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