Week 4 September 10-14, 2012

For the past few weeks in my PDS, my mentor teacher and I have been implementing her form of classroom management. I have found it is a lot different and sometimes harder to create a management plan when you are teaching in a grade that switches classes every period compared to a class (like an elementary grade) that stays in the same class the entire day. Luckily, I didn't have to think to much about some type of plan for my classes because my mentor teacher has already developed a really good one. She has all 5 periods of classes she teaches written on the chalk board with 5 blank spaces going out from each of the 5 periods. Her plan is that she will not ask a class to QUIET down. She will go over to the board and write a letter each time she feels like the class is out of control. At the end of each week, the class that has the fewest letters receives an award like an Opps Coupon, or first to lunch coupon. This is a great system because the students are still really young, just coming out of elementary school and they are still competitive and awards like the coupons work well for them. If a class gets the entire word QUIET spelled out, they eat lunch in our classroom.

This week I tried doing some partner/group work with the English class I have taken over. It worked really well! This particular class gets a long very well, even though they are awfully chatty! They still get quality work done, so as long as they are working cooperatively and not disturbing other groups, I don't mind if they talk. They worked with a partner to fill out a few sheet for their Chapter 1 grammar test, and they enjoyed it. I think this was a great way for the students to work together on something that can be kind of boring and tedious, so it was just something different for them.

This week I also got to sit in on a SAT meeting. It was very eye opening. It truly showed me how much the teachers and administration care of each and every student. They took their planning time to meet along with the student's parent. I was able to see all the documentation like SR's ABC's, grades, and papers done by the student that is needed to prove this student needs a SAT. The mother of the child really seemed to want to help her child, which seemed to make the meeting more peaceful and move smoothly. My mentor teacher cautioned me that sometimes parents become defendant of their child and look past the issues that may be there. I saw how the team of teachers came together and formed a special plan for the student in order to get them back on track with their grades and classwork.

The team of 6th grade teachers at my PDS have built a really great professional learning community. They come together everyday and discuss everything from announcements to issues in their classrooms. They offer each other advice and critiques, but in a way that is helpful. I hope that when I become a teacher I have a strong relationship with the other teachers around me. They have each other to fall back on when something isn't going well. I think the most important thing about being in teaching profession is to build that strong relationship with others and share advice and ideas with others. We shouldn't hide behind our classroom doors and not be open to suggestions of others. We should let other professional educators in and hear their advice, even if we do not agree with it.

Next week in the English class I currently teach, we are starting a novel study and I am really excited because literature is my favorite thing and the group of students I have do really great work!