Summer School: Not Just a Great Mark Harmon Movie
Entering the last week of summer school (though many of my MTC colleagues are already finished), I am surprised by how much I care about the students I am working with. I'm not surprised that I care about my students, but I did not realize I would become this invested in summer school students who I only worked with for a month.
We had our big project due today, and of the six students in my small group, four handed them in on time. I felt like the shepherd in the Bible parable who had lost his sheep. Rather than rejoicing that four students had turned in great projects, I worried about my two stragglers who will lose ten points each day the project is late. I question my teaching, and wonder if I should have been harder on them during this process to ensure they finished on time. The other part of me understands these students must learn responsibility, and that is a skill that largely must be learned from personal experience. In the fall, I will not take for granted that my students will get work done on their own schedule. Instead, I will make many due dates for a large project, to ensure no student falls behind. This was the single most important lesson I learned in summer school.
Another important lesson I learned was the need for consistency in a classroom. I am looking forward to having my own classroom, with my own procedures, rules, and routines set up. I enjoyed working with my MTC colleagues, but their presence was distracting at times to the students. During one lesson, I was interupted several times by one of my colleagues who wanted to make a correction on what I felt was a minor point. Also, planning for a class is complicated when you must worry about what your fellow teachers will be teaching. Consistency is lost in this process, and consistency is necessary to a successful classroom.
I learned by watching the strengths and weaknesses of my fellow MTC teachers. Mr. Molina's humor, Ms. Savage's no-nonsense approach, and Mr. Heston's caring attitude are all characteristics I would do well to copy. I hope I was helpful to them by modelling confidence and control, and I do believe we all learned together and worked to hone our craft.
The upcoming fall is going to be a million times more challenging than summer school. Delta schools have much greater problems than Lafayette High, and I understand that this year will be a trying time. I am confident, however, that I will be able to make a huge difference in the lives of my students. I care very much about my summer school students, and I believe my investment in my students at Simmons High will be even greater. I have high expectations of my students, but I am able to do this only because I place such high expectations on my self. Summer school gave me some experience working with high schoolers, and I experienced both successes and failures. I know that I will learn a lot from both, and will be a stronger teacher because of my time at Lafayette this summer.
We had our big project due today, and of the six students in my small group, four handed them in on time. I felt like the shepherd in the Bible parable who had lost his sheep. Rather than rejoicing that four students had turned in great projects, I worried about my two stragglers who will lose ten points each day the project is late. I question my teaching, and wonder if I should have been harder on them during this process to ensure they finished on time. The other part of me understands these students must learn responsibility, and that is a skill that largely must be learned from personal experience. In the fall, I will not take for granted that my students will get work done on their own schedule. Instead, I will make many due dates for a large project, to ensure no student falls behind. This was the single most important lesson I learned in summer school.
Another important lesson I learned was the need for consistency in a classroom. I am looking forward to having my own classroom, with my own procedures, rules, and routines set up. I enjoyed working with my MTC colleagues, but their presence was distracting at times to the students. During one lesson, I was interupted several times by one of my colleagues who wanted to make a correction on what I felt was a minor point. Also, planning for a class is complicated when you must worry about what your fellow teachers will be teaching. Consistency is lost in this process, and consistency is necessary to a successful classroom.
I learned by watching the strengths and weaknesses of my fellow MTC teachers. Mr. Molina's humor, Ms. Savage's no-nonsense approach, and Mr. Heston's caring attitude are all characteristics I would do well to copy. I hope I was helpful to them by modelling confidence and control, and I do believe we all learned together and worked to hone our craft.
The upcoming fall is going to be a million times more challenging than summer school. Delta schools have much greater problems than Lafayette High, and I understand that this year will be a trying time. I am confident, however, that I will be able to make a huge difference in the lives of my students. I care very much about my summer school students, and I believe my investment in my students at Simmons High will be even greater. I have high expectations of my students, but I am able to do this only because I place such high expectations on my self. Summer school gave me some experience working with high schoolers, and I experienced both successes and failures. I know that I will learn a lot from both, and will be a stronger teacher because of my time at Lafayette this summer.
posted by Joel Hebert at 11:07 AM
1 Comments:
Joel,
Great reflection. I know your positive attitude and high expectations will lead to a successful first year at Simmons.
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