Method's Courses Blog

Reflection on Case Study Project

2010-05-02T18:28:00.002-04:00

Well, this blog is a little late, because I have already completed and posted my Case Study, but I will post this short reflection on where I was about a month ago.
So in my classroom, there are hardly any major behavior issues, so it was hard to pick a student to develop a BIP for. I ended up deciding that I would observe and develop a plan for a student that was having trouble making friends in the class. This student was the only African American student in my class, and one of only 3 in her grade level. In addition, her parents are both immigrants, and she was raised in a completely different style from other students in our class. Needless to say, she was having a little trouble finding ways to connect to many of the students in the class, and this was causing her to start bullying. I felt like I could really help her find ways to interact with her peers that were more positive, and get my assignment done at the same time! So I started making notes and observing her behavior and coming up with ideas for a BIP. About a month ago, however, a student in my class' parent came to me, because my CT had told her that I had an assignment to develop a BIP for a student in the class, and that parent really wanted me to work with her child. Her daughter was having a lot of trouble getting started on assignments and focusing during whole group instruction. It was starting to worry both her parents and myself, because we did not want this habit to affect her learning. Although it would've been really easy for me to explain to the parent that I had really already started my project, I felt like this was a situation that I could change plans and help both the parent and her daughter. But what to do with the student I had picked originally? I ended up just sharing my thoughts with our TA, and she worked on a plan for that student. Everything worked out, and both girls got the individualized plan that they needed, just not like I had originally planned! From that experience I think that I was reminded that a successful teacher is always FLEXIBLE, and reaches out to other adults in the school when her plate gets too full!

Response to CT Classroom Management

2010-05-02T18:19:00.003-04:00

My CT uses a combination of the district PBS system and the "Nurtured Heart" philosophy of classroom management. I can honestly say that I have never seen such an effective and logical support system for the students in a school. Students as a whole are sensitive to each others needs, understanding of differences, and genuinely apologetic when they make a mistake. Of course, there are always going to be outliers for any classroom management system put into place, but this is a system that honestly works for the vast majority of children in the school. Student developed classroom rules are posted clearly on the main wall for everyone to see, and logical consequences are in place for students that break those rules. It is a classroom community that takes pride in their thoughtfulness, and is meaningful and authentic for my students. There are no rewards such as stickers or trinkets for prizes, but rather "compliments." My teacher has made sure from the beginning of the school year that students understand that a teacher is always looking for good behavior to compliment, and the students understand that their good behavior is their contribution to a successful classroom.
If I had heard about this kind of classroom prior to being placed with my CT I probably would have laughed. I would not have thought that this kind of classroom sounded realistic or age appropriate (1st grade), but now I am a believer. I am definitely taking notes, because this is the kind of classroom I want to have in the future!

Response to Article in Article Bank

2010-05-02T18:06:00.002-04:00

I am reflecting on the article "Novice Teacher Success" from the BB file. I really appreciated the format of this article, as well as the advice it gives. It lists 20 things that every new teacher needs to know to make a happy and successful classroom. It kind of reminds me of the "First 100 Days of School" book for new teachers. Every 1st year teacher gets a little nervous when thinking about that first month of school. We all know that we are fully prepared, but sometimes new teachers think "Wow, this is it! Now I'm on my own!" Number 15 and 17 (Be a valuable team player and Never stop looking for new resources to enhance your effectiveness as a teacher) in this article reminded me that I am not losing the support system altogether, it is just changing a little. Rather than my university teachers and supervisors, I will have the members of my grade level team, specialists, and administrators that are more than willing to support me in any way they can. It is comforting to know that just about everyone working in a school has all experienced that all too monumental "1st Year" and they are not going to judge me or think I am not competent for reaching out for help if I need it!

Case Study Powerpoint

2010-05-02T12:57:00.002-04:00

March Reading

2010-03-21T14:58:00.002-04:00

"...Children who posses prerequisite behaviors to respond to a variety of situations are more likely to base their behavior on their beliefs and strategies for dealing with the problem that have proven effective in the past." As I was reading this section of the article I was thinking of one student in my class that refuses to raise his hand when he has something to say or has a question. Often, when the class is at the carpet, I will be explaining the next part of the day to the students, and many of them have questions. Most of my students have learned by now that if they have a question/comment, I will call on them if they have their hand raised. With this student however, he usually just shouts out. I tried the "please raise your hand" method, the 'ignore him until he raises his hand' strategy, and even the 'i'm going to sit quietly until he stops shouting out, then continue what I was saying' strategy. I would say that I have tried extensive and energetic praise when he DOES raise his hand, but he never does! In the end, I always end up answering his questions or letting him talk, because he repeats his question a million times until I answer it. It's a constant struggle of "do I answer the question and move on before he disrupts the lesson, or do I try to teach him to raise his hand, just like every other students in the class." The quote above (from the article) made me think, of course he shouts until I bend, it's always worked for him in the past. I think that after reading this article I have a resolve to continue working with him to learn to raise his hand. Maybe a conversation with him in which we make a deal that if he raises his hand I will call on him 1st, so that he doesn't have to shout out. If it is a lack of patience or fear or others saying what he was thinking (which I think it might be)then calling on him 1st when he raises his hand will hopefully solve both issues...

Creating a Classroom that Promotes Positive Behavior

2010-03-21T14:25:00.002-04:00

I appreciate the specific examples of data collection, intervention plans, and reinforcement examples. It is really helpful for our Classroom Management project. On pg. 297 of the article there is a specific example of a positive reinforcement system to use- the lottery system. While I think this might work very well in some classrooms, I have some issues with that idea. In the book we are reading with my supervisor, and in the "Nurtured Heart" book that my school follows for their PBS policies, the authors suggest that specific encouragement in the moment is the most effective reinforcement in a classroom, especially younger grades. To me it seems that having students simply write their name on a piece of paper in the hopes of winning a reward later is not best practice, and would probably be ineffective. In my classroom the students made a class promise at the beginning of the year to always try to do the right thing, even when no one is watching. As teachers we always give specific and positive encouragement to students that have acted kindly, responsibly, or achieved something they hadn't thought they would be able to do. In the moment that a positive act occurs is the best time to 'notice' the behavior, because then students have the act fresh on their minds, and other students that may have been involved get encouragement (or see an example of a positive behavior) as well. Pulling a student aside to write their name down loses a lot of that. In addition, I have noticed that over rewarding children can lead them to believe that the only reason to do the right thing is to benefit themselves. Giving praise that includes how their positive behavior improves the classroom environment in general is part of what we do at Scroggs, and it works very well. The children are much more concerned about others now than when the school year began. I do agree that there should be a way to reinforce the entire class after a certain amount of time filled with positive behaviors, but I think there is probably a better way other than a lottery system.

Classroom Management in Inclusive Settings

2010-01-26T20:47:00.002-05:00

The part of this article that I really gained the most from was the section on Promoting Membership. It really made me think of how in most classrooms a student with disabilities is thought of as a "special" member of the classroom, or someone that was just added to the group because there was not another place for the student. By promoting my student's awareness and appreciation of diversity I can create a classroom environment that really welcomes every student that walks through my classroom doors. Having said that, I'm finding really hard to truly foster my students diversity awareness in the classroom that I'm currently in. Most of the kids come from the same kinds of families- upper-class, traditionally structured, Caucasian families. They don't really get exposure to very many situations, other than the ones we set up in the classroom (like videos on the SMARTboard), that promote diversity. And because they are at that age (1st grade), I'm also finding that getting them to think about people other than themselves is equally as hard. I need some ideas for this particular classroom!

Specialist Observation

2009-10-16T13:59:00.002-04:00

In my placement classroom there is a 30 minute session every Wednesday when the AG teacher comes into the classroom. I was surprised the first time I saw this, because I thought that AG teachers usually only pull the 'gifted' students. While this teacher does that twice a week, she also goes into every classroom once a week to work on develop cognitive skills for all the students. This past week she began the session discussing convergent and divergent thinking with the class. She told the class that today they were going to work on their convergent or 'detective' thinking skills. She then showed them the painting 'Hand with Flowers' by Picasso. She told the students the name of the painting, and asked them to use the clues in the painting to figure out what's going on. It was amazing to me how fluently the students were able to discuss this work of art. They used their critical thinking skills to help each other decide that one hand in the picture is giving flowers to the other hand, and they even used some divergent thinking skills to come up with some reasons why someone might be giving flowers to someone else.
After the session I told the teacher that I was very impressed that students as young as 1st grade were able to not only use those 2 types of critical thinking skills, but also be able to recognize which type they were using. She told me that not only does this help them in the future on standardized tests, but it also helps the teachers and specialists identify the strengths of the students in each classroom. I was really proud of my students, and I definitely learned some things that I plan on using in my classroom.

Science Blog #5

2009-10-13T13:07:00.002-04:00

I went to my 1st grade class at Scroggs today, mainly to do my math interviews, but I also went to start a unit on insects. My class is going on a Field Trip to the Museum of Life and Sciences in Durham next week, and they have a fantastic insect room and butterfly house. My class happens to have the "Living Things" science kit right now as well, which includes things for an ant farm. So for the next 2 weeks I am doing a mini-unit on butterflies and other insects to prepare them for their trip to the Museum. Today was just an intro, where I read them the book "Bugs Are Insects" by Anne Rockwell and had them do the "draw/make a bug" activity that we did in our Arts Methods course last year. I set out plain white paper, scissors, construction paper, and colored pencils for them to make their bugs. It was in the middle of this activity where I ran into a problem that a UDL would've prevented. One of the boys in my class is color blind. I had no idea, because I've never seen this become a problem for him yet, and I didn't think to ask about such a thing. Usually he doesn't let this bother him, and of course most often it doesn't matter. When we were learning about insects, however, we were talking about the different parts an insect has, and while he could see everything, for some reason he got to thinking that maybe the head, thorax, and abdomen of an insect has to be a certain color. He got really upset, and I had to explain to him that for this activity we are making up our own insects, so it really didn't matter what color anything was.
Another student had a lot of trouble holding this scissors and cutting out the shapes he wanted to use for his insect. I've noticed that this student is always one of the last ones to finish cutting anything, but I've just always assumed that he liked to take his time, because he doesn't seem to have any physical disabilities. My CT told me that his fine motor skills aren't quite fully developed yet, and that he sometimes needs a little extra time/help cutting things.
These were small things, and certainly did not inhibit those students from learning, but it made me realize that if this had been a high stakes situation, or if my CT hadn't taken the time to notice these slight troubles, we would all still be assuming that these students were just "slow." I now know to modify my lessons to always describe as accurately as possible for the student who is color blind, and I learned that it helps the student with a developmental delay to have the cutting started before I give it to him.

Literacy Reflection for 10/12

2009-10-11T15:37:00.002-04:00

"It's one thing to say what we believe, but it's quite another to do what we believe, especially when mandates from far away ask us to compromise or change the way we do our jobs. Regardless of the curriculum, whether it's a new math program or a mandated approach to reading, there are are fundamental ways of being in our classroom that enable us to follow our beliefs as professionals and to follow our hearts as teachers of children."
This quote at the end of Chapter 1 in the Collins text really meant a lot to me this week. In my 1st grade classroom at Scroggs we are having a really hard time dealing with this concept. The Envisions math program and the new Guided Reading program are what they are, and most of our students are doing just fine. There are a few students that are on either side of grade level (high and low) that seriously need much more differentiated, stimulating, and meaningful lessons than the curriculum provides. Not only are the classroom teacher and I getting a little frustrated, but there are parents that are starting to question the curriculum. It was extremely frustrating this past week when the parent of a particularly gifted student cornered us afterschool and demanded to see the 'manual that tells us how to teach the material we've been teaching.' My CT and I share ideas and views on literacy and mathematics learning that are so much better than what the current curriculum provides, but the parents aren't seeing that. All they are seeing are the worksheets that the students bring home. I am glad that the Collins text addressed this, because I know that we can't be the only classroom struggling with this. Hopefully, parents will soon see just how hard we are working with their students outside of the "scripted" curriculum.

Chapter 3 Literacy Reflection

2009-10-04T19:48:00.002-04:00

I really enjoyed reading the section about Kidwatching in our text this week. It makes sense that teachers should always want to know as much as possible about their students, and I'm sure this is something that most teachers strive to do. With time constraints during the day, however, I can easily see this being one of those things that unfortunately get "swept under the rug." That is what I am glad Flint offered some ideas for not only how we can ask our students about what they are interested in, but also how to actually keep track of our notes about each student. I liked the idea of a clipboard and sticky notes. That is an inexpensive and easily accessible way to keep track of our mental notes about our students.
Another idea I liked was the student-and-student interviews. It is good for us to get a student response to a questionnaire or ask our students interest questions in person, but I would think that if the students asked each other these questions it would give them a chance to get to know each other, and maybe they would be more honest talking to their friends. And it's more fun!

Educating Peter

2009-10-01T08:20:00.002-04:00

When I started watching "Educating Peter" I wasn't sure how I would feel about it. There were definitely some things that I saw happening that would make me very uncomfortable as a teacher. It would definitely be a big challenge to have a student like Peter in the classroom, one that I'm sure I'm not ready for. As I begin teaching I want to get as much experience as possible in the first 3 years. I want to be able to have a very flexible classroom in order to change systems often to know what works best for me. I feel like with a student with a disability it would be harder to be that flexible. After I have some experience under my belt I think that I would be more than willing, and a lot more prepared, to have students with a disability in my classroom. I definitely think that every student deserves a quality education, and I believe that it is my responsibility to ensure every student in my classroom gets the same amount of energy, knowledge, and caring from me. I'm just not sure how I would give students with disabilities as much as they deserve if I'm not completely sure I am ready.

Teacher as Reader Reflection 2

2009-09-27T17:23:00.002-04:00

As I finished reading "After Tupac and D Foster" I realized that there are a lot of things I know about reading that I 'forget' I know. Even the most simple tricks I use for comprehension, like going back and re-reading a paragraph when I don't understand what's going on, are things that I learned. Things that someone taught me as a young reader. A lot of times I just assume that tricks like that are common sense. If you are lost, go back and re-read; if you don't understand a word, use the context clues to figure it out. In this assignment we were supposed to think about what processes we use as readers that might be more difficult for young readers, and through that I realized that these tools might NOT be common sense for young readers.
For example, the chapters in this book are fairly short and would make a good transition from simple chapter books to novels for a 4th or 5th grader. Because the chapters are so short, however, there are a lot of events and a lot of information presented to the reader all at one time. I found that there were several times that I had to go back to an earlier chapter to remember who was who, and what happened earlier in the book to make what's going on now relevant. I could definitely see where a young reader that might not have learned that skill yet would have a big problem with comprehension throughout this book.
I really enjoyed this book; it was a great read. I enjoyed even more thinking about how a young reader would read the book, because I feel like it opened my eyes to things that I can teach my students that I now just DO.

Literacy Reflection #3

2009-09-27T16:09:00.003-04:00

I really appreciated the story about Angie in the beginning of Chapter 2 of our textbook. I want to be a Kindergarten teacher, and I've often thought about what I would do when I faced the challenge of teaching such young children who might not have ever had to deal with Standard English. Of course I usually think about ELL students, but it's equally important to think about the students that speak 'English' that is just a little different.
I understand where the teacher is coming from in the story. Later in the chapter it talks about how the students in today's classrooms are taught that unless you know and understand Standard English, you can't be successful in this country. I would never want to tell a child that the knowledge he or she brings into my classroom isn't valid, because it most certainly IS. I also would not want to ignore it completely and know that a child is leaving my classroom on a below average level just because he or she still doesn't comprehend Standard English text/language. It's a very delicate balance that teachers have to deal with, and it's probably one of the biggest challenges of all, especially for K-2 teachers who want to find middle ground between the correctionist perspective and the constrastive perspective.
I think Angie's story definitely put into context what the rest of the chapter was explaining in 'teacher language.' It's important for us to understand the concepts of codeswitching and how language is learned and then used. We can use that to remember that all of our students bring valuable life experiences into our classrooms, and finding ways to use that knowledge in a productive way that benefits every student.

Science Blog #3

2009-09-26T12:10:00.003-04:00

Going into Haw River, I was not excited about the bubble activity. I know that kids love bubbles, so I know that the activity would be fun for them, but I was not sure how much knowledge about surface tension they would walk away with. It's a really tough situation anyway, because we had never met the kids so it was impossible to tailor the lesson for our class the way we normally would. We were also only there for one day, so it's hard to do any follow up for assessment of content knowledge.
Having said that, I think the activity went over pretty smoothly. It was not as complicated as I think it could've been once Anna and I started exploring the ideas with our students. I am really glad that someone in our method's class thought of the idea of dropping water on a penny to help explain surface tension, because that really helped our group of 2nd graders visualize that difficult concept.
Midway through the activity Anna thought of a genius idea. We were really close to the board and there were some magnets sitting there. She took the students to the board and showed them that when the magnets are close to the board you can feel the board pulling the magnet towards it. She explained to them that that's kind of how the water molecules act with each other, which creates the surface tension. I think that helped solidify the surface tension concept.
And of course blowing the bubbles was a hit! :)

Teacher as a Reader- Blog 1

2009-09-25T12:15:00.002-04:00

I am reading "After Tupac and D Foster" by Jacqueline Woodson. I picked this book because of the name Tupac. I've never really listened to much Rap, so I don't know very much about Tupac the artist, other than he was shot a few times. So I thought this would be a good book to use to learn some interesting facts. The very first sentence had me hooked- "The summer before D Foster's real mama came and took her away, Tupac wasn't dead yet."
As I've started reading the book, I find it very hard to think of the thought processes I would have if I were about 12 or 13 years old and reading this book. It's really hard to put what I know as a 21 year old adult out of my head and think about how a child would read it.
Having said that, however, I can remember as a pre-teen having all these big dreams about being famous and changing the world, so I could see a girl that age really connecting with the character's in this book. I also remember (and I still do this) trying to put myself into the book, as one of the main characters. It helps me process what is going on in the book, and keep track of relationships and events in the plot. This book is making that so difficult! The book is written in 1st person, which normally makes it easier to make myself the main character in my mind, but I'm about halfway through and I still don't know the name of the main character. She hasn't ever referred to herself using her name, nor has someone else in the book said her name. It's always 'girl' from her friends and 'baby' from her mother. I'm sure this is something that is author is doing on purpose, but if I were 12-13 and reading this I think I would be really frustrated that I didn't know the name of the main character!

Literacy Reflection #2

2009-09-20T13:47:00.002-04:00

I am in a 1st grade classroom at Mary Scroggs Elementary. I think my class is unique because my teacher was a Kindergarten teacher last year, so at least half the class had her last year, and the other half she is fairly familiar with because of conversing with other Kindergarten teachers. Because of this, my teacher already had a good idea of where the children were in their reading levels, writing skills, and literacy skills in general. This is beneficial for us because not only do we know pretty much where to start with guided reading groups and Writer's Workshop, but we also know which kids need extra help/challenge from the support staff.
My teacher uses the leveled reading texts that all other 1st grade classrooms use, but we haven't started that yet. The literacy coach for K-2 has been coming in and doing benchmarks with the students in order to report those scores to the district. I know this is something that is very important, and probably very beneficial for most classroom teachers, but for us it is kind of a pain. We haven't been able to start any guiding reading groups until this next week because the benchmark tests are taking forever. I'm excited to see how this is going to work in our classroom this next week.
My teacher likes to use the Lucy Calkins text for writer's workshop, and the "Words their Way" for word study and writer's workshop. I really like these texts. Not only are they very user friendly, but the lessons leave so much room for differentiation. I can't wait to plan units soon with these resources!

Literacy Reflection #1

2009-09-12T21:40:00.002-04:00

Chapter 1 of our text talked a lot about the "No Child Left Behind" act. I think it's interesting that people attribute all of the problems associated with the curriculum in most schools to that act, when it's actually just an amendment to an act that has been in place since 1965. I know that NCLB brought about a lot more Standardized Testing than ever before, but it's definitely not a new problem. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was part of Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. That act has been reauthorized every 5 or 6 years since then. The original purpose of the act was to fight to close the achievement gap between high and middle class students and low-income students. I think that everyone would agree that is a notable goal, one that we all want to see achieved soon. The effects, however, is that there is so much accountability on teacher's parts that it dictates a lot of what is taught in the classroom. If it's not tested, it's really not taught. I have seen my own CT struggling with balancing what she knows needs to be taught with things that she wants to teach, and are fun to learn about. There is hardly any time at all for Social Studies instruction, unless it's integrated into a literacy unit. And science is taught, but almost as an afterthought. It's a very stressful thing for K-2 teachers, I can't imagine what 3-5 teachers go through with EOG's.

Literacy Autobiography

2009-09-11T16:52:00.000-04:00

10 Finger Story

1- I remember rushing home with my “Dick and Jane” books that the Kindergarten teacher gave me to read. My elementary school was in a very poor area, and didn’t have money for new books; “Dick and Jane” books were old and tattered. To me they were precious treasure.

2- My little sister hated reading. I thought that, being her hero and all, she would learn to love it in order to keep up with me. I was wrong. The only thing she wanted to read was the TV guide to see when “All That” came on.

3- My sister refusing to read finally pays off- she can’t read the rules to our Deluxe Edition Monopoly game. So I “read” the rules to her. She never figured out how I won every game.

4- My mom marries my Step-Father, and we move. I’m now in much better school. I’m in 3^rd grade. I join the A.G. class, and I love it. Beverly Clary is my personal hero.

5- “Are you there, God? It’s me Margaret.” Middle School. Enough said.

6- Freshman year. Mrs. Ramsey. Romeo and Juliet. We have writing partners. After Jeffrey and I share our essays with each other Mrs. Ramsey tells us that we are going to share with the class. Jeffrey immediately raises his hand and says “Nicole has the best paper I’ve ever heard.” He was very cute.

7- AP English classes. Mr. Putnam tries so hard to be cool. I love him anyway. I’ve never worked so hard in my life, but reading Zora Neale Hurston was definitely worth it.

8- Senior Year=Graduation Speech. I knew from the beginning I wanted to be the one to give that final speech for our entire class. The Valedictorian should be the one to give the final speech right? She didn’t. I did. She used a few choice words to express her anger. I laughed.

9- Carolina. Well, I try to read everything I’m supposed to. But between Italian, Psych case analyses, and studying the night life, there just isn’t enough time for poetry and novels.

10- I’m a junior, and I’m in a Kindergarten classroom. The students are working on “5 Finger Stories” in their writer’s workshop time. Their faces light up whenever anyone takes 5 minutes to listen to their story and praise their fantastic handwriting and attention to detail. It reminds me of 2 things- why I love reading and writing, and why I want to be a teacher.

Science Blog #2

2009-09-11T16:48:00.001-04:00

After writing my Science Autobiography and reading the chapter in “Ready, Set, Science” I see a clear reason why I never liked science. It wasn’t taught right. Science should be something that children learn by DOING. I understand that this isn’t always possible, but in most cases it could be. I believe that when kids have ‘hands on’ learning experiences they are much more likely to be invested in their learning on a much deeper level. It just makes it more fun! I believe that when teachers integrate their lessons, and make them as interactive as possible, there is much more room for reaching many different types of learners and also room for extension activities for students that are above or below the target level.

We’ve been hearing a lot about Cognitively Guided Instruction in our math class, and I think that teachers can use those same problem solving processes in science instruction as well. That would be the perfect opportunity for developing those all so important meta-cognition skills. It’s also a good opportunity for teachers to build portfolios, have the students make journals, or any other kind of alternative assessments.

Science Autobiography

2009-09-07T21:27:00.002-04:00

Elementary School
I have no memories of Science lessons or science classes until 3rd grade. Mrs. Mills was the school science instructor, and she traveled from room to room, once a week for 3rd grade and twice a week for 4th and 5th grades. Mrs. Mills was probably one of the meanest teachers I've ever had. Science was NOT exciting when she was teaching. There was never an experiment, never any demonstration, and most definitely never any student participation. In fact, anyone who touched anything on Mrs. Mills' cart got sent straight to the principal. The only thing I remember about Mrs. Mills' science lessons is memorizing the steps to the Scientific Method. In 4th grade, she did bring in different fruits for us to see different sized seeds. Although the lesson was very simply and way below grade level, I remember no one complained, because for once we got to put our hands on something "science." Science was NOT my favorite subject, but I believe that had a lot to do with the way it was presented to me.

Middle School
Wow. I am sitting on my couch writing this, and for the life of me I cannot remember anything to do with science in Middle School. I don't remember any science teachers and I don't remember a classroom where scientific instruction took place. I'm sure I had science courses, but it obviously did not make that big of an impression on me. Wait, I just remembered- 8th grade. Mr. Morehead. We talked about evolution, and I was one of only 4 students in my class whose parents did NOT take them out of class for that unit. I liked Mr. Morehead, a lot. He wrote in my yearbook that year "I know you will EVOLVE into a successful high school student!" I liked the idea of having a teacher who took the time to get to know each student, and having an inside joke with such a smart teacher made me feel special. I felt bad for Mr. Morehead, because he had to fight with ignorant parents year after year about the topics he was required to teach- like evolution. That is one of the many things teacher's have to deal with that most people don't realize until they are in the profession. It must be very stressful to have to deal with balancing what you want to teach with what you are required to teach, and then with what parents allow their children to learn.

High School
Environmental Science, freshman year. That was my favorite science. We had projects that semester that were amazing. We followed hurricanes throughout hurricane season. We had a NOAA radio in our classroom, and we learned the language of weather and how to interpret it. We tracked hurricanes on our graph paper maps. For the first time, I had a science class where I was actually learning by doing, and not just listening to lectures.

Biology, sophomore year. That was alright. The teacher was great, and we did disect frogs. I just never really got into Biology like I did Environmental. What was great about this class though was that for the first time my high school had a cart of MacBooks that all the science classes shared. We were supposed to be using them to watch interactive videos and slideshows about different systems in the human body, but my friends and I were too busy trying to figure out how to secretly download music to iTunes.

Chemistry, junior year. I hated chemistry. My teacher played the favorites game, and I wasn't a favorite. I never got my questions answered. Had it not been for my friend Emilee, who was a senior in AP Chem, I don't think I would've passed. For some reason Chemistry just did NOT make sense for me at all. I think that another reason I hated Chem was that there were never very many visual demonstrations to help me wrap my head around the complex ideas being presented to me. I'm not sure if that had to do with the subject or the teacher, but either way it made for a miserable semester.

After writing all of that, I realize now how little I really cared about science in school. I wish that I had gotten a better set of teachers, aside from 8th grade and 9th grade, because I know that the poor instruction had a lot to do with my outlook on the subject. I feel like science can be such an interesting, dynamic, and exciting subject- but only if the teacher makes it that way. I hope that as a teacher I can make science much more interesting for my students than it was for me.

Hello World!

2009-09-01T12:15:00.000-04:00

Hi everybody! I am Nicole, and I am at Mary Scroggs teaching 1st grade. I can't wait to share ideas with you all this year!