When I look
back over this course and consider the most valuable learning experiences I have
had, three come to mind: my observations/co-teaching at NPHS, the NELMS
Conference, and the cooperative learning activities. I was incredibly excited and nervous to
complete the observations and teach two lessons. I met with Ms. Cellucci, a phenomenal English
teacher over at North Providence High School.
She coached me and helped build my confidence when I was unsure of
myself. I expressed some concerns to her
at the beginning of my observations about my anxiety of standing in front of a
group of seniors who did not know me. In
all honesty, I was panicking—fear of the unknown and all that. She sat me down and told me that it was
normal to be tense; nonetheless, I should never let that stop me. After talking to her, I still encountered
nervousness, but I knew that with her support and guidance I would be just
fine.
After I had
completed the observations, Dominique and I met several times over the course
of two weeks to create our lessons.
Before this experience, I did not know how much harder it is to make
lessons with another person than it is to do the job alone. Scheduling conflicts made the process
troublesome, but the most time-consuming part of the assignment was making sure
that my partner and I were on the exact same page. We had to be specific when we spoke to each
other about our ideas to avoid confusion.
As difficult as it was though, I thoroughly enjoyed the co-teaching experience. I was able to do something I love with a
person whose company I greatly enjoy.
The second
valuable learning experience I encountered came when I attended the NELMS 34th
Annual Conference for middle level educators.
Several of my friends from another class were there as well, so we
decided to stick together. We all looked
through the brochure and decided which sessions we wanted to attend after the
keynote speaker had completed his presentation.
Three of us decided to visit a session titled “Using Writing and Media
to Persuade.” This session sounded the
most interesting to me because writing is a love of mine, and I would like to
find any way I can to help students feel passionate about writing. I was not disappointed. The entire concept of the meeting was to
encourage students to write about topics relevant to their strong beliefs and
interests. The speaker used one of her
students as an example for those in attendance.
The girl in question was an avid equestrian, and was appalled when she learned
of the poor treatment horses receive in circus shows. She wrote a scathing review that highlighted
her staunch beliefs about animal rights, and berated the deplorable way circus
animals are treated. I not only
appreciated the student’s viewpoint, but also the way she conveyed her message
to readers. According to the presenter,
this student had claimed that she disliked writing assignments in the past;
however, when given the opportunity to write on a topic she had strong beliefs
about, she completed the task and did a wonderful job. This goes to prove that if teachers would
simply incorporate non-academic literacies into their assignments, students
would feel a deeper engagement with their tasks and be more willing to complete
the work.
The last (but
certainly not least) valuable learning experience I had during the semester was
our cooperative learning day. Up until
that class, I really did not know that there was a difference between
cooperative learning and simple group work—in my mind, they were
interchangeable. I have had experience
in my past with cooperative learning, but I considered those activities to be
excellent group work assignments and nothing more. When I look back on my academic career, I can
see that the most effective experiences I have had while participating in group
activities came when teachers fostered cooperative learning environments. Cooperative learning puts an emphasis on
community and structured learning where group work simply thrusts students
together in hopes that they will accomplish something. Once I learned the distinction between the
terms, I decided that I would try to use cooperative learning instead of group
work as much as possible in my future classroom. I want to make sure that my students attain
as much learning as possible, and group work does not always allow that to
happen.
As far as
my final grade goes, I do not really know what I deserve. I tried to do my very best: I did the
reading, I participated in class, and I (mostly) turned my assignments in on
their due dates. On the other hand, this
semester my classes have been difficult, and life outside of school has been
troubling, to say the least. That being
the case, I know that doing my best was not always enough. I suppose, if I were to give myself a letter
grade, it would be a low “A” or a high “B.”
Maybe I am giving myself too much credit—I do not know. What I am sure of is that I gave every possible
effort to be successful in this class.
When the
class began, I was a bit overwhelmed, to say the least. I saw all of the rubrics and hand-outs and
had a “how in the world am I ever going to get through this” moment. I was able to calm myself down once I got
home because I decided to drink “too” much coffee (as if that is possible) and finish
re-reading The Return of the King.
When I was reading, I came across a passage that I had noticed, but
never paid attention to before. During
this portion of the book, Sam is engaged in an internal argument. Defeatist Sam says, “You might just as well
lie down now and give it up. You'll never get to the top anyway." Immediately following those lines, Optimistic
Sam says, "I'll get there, if I leave everything but my bones behind
(…)." This may sound a bit silly,
but that short passage hit me hard. I
realized that I had been fretting over “so much work” and did not consider that
I could handle it. I was able to
comprehend that, although there were many assignments and hurdles ahead of me,
my track record so far for living through difficult situations has been 100%...
and that is pretty good.
I know the
anecdote located mere centimeters above seems out of place for this assignment—what
do Samwise Gamgee, heavy workloads, and survival rates have to do with what I
learned in this course? The answer is:
everything. When I think back about all
the useful information I was able to obtain over the course of this class, I am
struck by the realization that I had not truly considered the amount of work and
effort that goes into teaching until I read Sam’s words. I know that my chosen career will cause me to
lose sleep trying to keep up with all my responsibilities. I also know that I am capable of doing what I
must (strictly within the parameters of the law, of course) to accomplish my
goals. Laying down and giving up are not
options. Teachers are responsible for
the education of countless not-yet-fully-grown people—that is not something to
be flippant about. I now understand, at
least a little bit, how much labor teaching entails, and I look forward to the
challenge.
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