dilema #2

My mentor teacher is very burnt out and does not enjoy her job anymore. She does not make any lesson plans but relies on another teacher to make them for her. She is trying to pawn off all of her classes and the lesson planning on me everyday. I understand that this is what student teaching is, however she does not like the majority of my lesson plan ideas and offers very little help for creating them. I am essentially the student teacher of this other teacher making the lesson plans. My teacher comes to school and has no idea what she is teacher. I already don't want to do this anymore, having a mentor teacher even more burnt out than me is very draining.

Dillemma #2

I am currently having a hard time trying to talk my mentor teacher into differentiating her classroom. She has said, "Differentiation is not necessary in a mathematics classroom". There are two students who should be considered ESOL students in her third period class. They have yet to be placed into an ESOL classroom by the school and it is already towards the end of February. They are both "new" students, but they have both been at the school since September. They both cannot read English at all. They can read a little bit of Spanish. My mentor teacher just chooses to leave them behind and not worry about them while she is carrying out her lessons. They were failing every assignment they were given, because they could not do it independently. I decided to work with them individually, and read the assignments out loud to them. They are both smart students, and they are capable of succeeding with a little bit of extra attention. The textbook the students use offers vocabulary terms and certain assignments in Spanish. I printed them off for the students, and they thanked me profusely. I do not understand why my mentor teacher has not offered theses items to the students before. I worry about their education and preparation for the CRCTs once I leave her classroom. How can I make her understand the importance of differentiation, even in a mathematics classroom?

Dilemma 2

           My dilemma this week is not directly related to the classroom. I have been hit with a few challenges with my transportation, family, finance, work, and time. I know this is nothing but a minor road block so, I am just keeping the faith and continuing to strive and things are looking better. With having Monday off I was able to try to catch up and take care of business. But, on to another note I am excited about starting to teach in the classroom I'm glad I got a head start on my course work this semester because with all the things that happen already it could have been worse if I was procrastinating.  Keeping my goals in front of me and trying to attain them is all that is going on over here (AMBITION) !

Dilemma #2

Hello again!!
My dilemma for this week has to do with expectations.
I have a certain set of expectations required of me by Georgia State, but I also have expectations from HAN University (my school here). It has been a challenge trying to find a balance between the two because although they are similar, they do not always coincide.
Neither of them individually are anything I can't handle, it is just trying to find a happy medium that has been a bit of a challenge for me.
In the case of the expectations HAN has for me, culture again has been a huge factor. They are strongly emphasizing two things: taking initiative and being creative. These are both reasonable expectations and actually awesome requirements because it is forcing me to move outside of my comfort zone and really push my boundaries!! I think it is doing this even more than they anticipated though because I don’t know exactly where the “normal” boundaries lie!! For example, if they don’t use KWL charts here, me presenting this in the classroom would be “creative” and different. But, in America this wouldn’t necessarily be creative or different because this is a tool we use quite a bit!
So, in trying to meet the expectations of both of my universities, I have really been doing a lot of guess and check. Is this new and different?! How far outside of the box should I go or can I go? And then ultimately wondering if something is too far outside of the box. Do y’all think that is possible in teaching? Assuming appropriateness is not an issue do you think you could ever go too far outside the box? And what would that look like? Would that look the same in every culture?!
Hope y’all are doing well! Can’t wait to discuss!! :)

Dilemma #1

Hi Everyone!!
Sorry I am just now getting this posted!! My experience over here has been such a whirlwind, but I think that having been here for almost three weeks now I can officially say I am settled and starting to get the hang of things!!
Along the lines of getting settled, I would say that my first dilemma of the semester has been adjusting to the general differences in culture. Although the culture is similar in many ways to American culture, there are also many differences. What has been hard for me has been trying to navigate both general cultural differences (such as daily life things: going to the grocery store and trying to find food items that are labeled only in Dutch, using a bike as my primary means of transportation, etc.) while simultaneously navigating differences in the culture of education. Furthermore, I have to discern whether or not the differences are due to the culture of the country or my own personal culture. I know in a couple of our previous courses we were asked to look at culture and there are different types (country, community, personal, etc.) So, for me trying to get my bearings with all of that has been the biggest dilemma I'm facing.
But, I'm studying abroad, traveling through Europe on the weekends, and meeting amazing people from all over the world. So, to be honest I really can't complain! :)

Jess' Dilemma #2

      Hey. So my second dilemma that I am recently facing is that I am unsure about the subject I am teaching. I love Language Arts, but unfortunately 6th grade Language Arts is mostly Grammar. I am finding myself unsure of the material. There have been several times where I have to ask my mentor teacher to check my answer keys or to correct me while I'm teaching if I say something wrong. Because of this insecurity, I feel as if I am unfit to teach this topic or this grade. I know for sure I want to teach 8th grade Language Arts because the amount of Grammar is less during that year. What about 7th grade though? Does anyone know how much Grammar is meant to be taught? As the semester goes by, I am starting to realize which grades and which subjects I want to teach more. Is anyone else figuring this out as well?

Jess' Dilemma #1

           
        The first dilemma that I have had is keeping the students busy. A lot of the students on this particular team of teachers are gifted. The school took the students' CRCT scores in Math and placed them in a gifted level Math class; these students are learning seventh grade material in sixth grade. So, because these students students are placed on this team for gifted Math, they are expected to be accelerated or gifted in the other subjects as well.
         I'm in a Language Arts classroom. Some of the students are definitely gifted in all subjects but then there are some that are not. Because each class has a mixture of gifted/accelerated/average students, it becomes extremely difficult to keep everyone on the same track. Even when I assign multiple assignments, some students will still finish way ahead with time to spare. Is reading a library book after they're completed enough to suffice? What should I do?

What are YOU doing in your Student Teaching???

Hello All    
My issue is that I am not clear of my role inside the classroom. I would usually just sit and stand around observing and trying to form some type of relationship with the students. While roaming the class I would pay attention to everything and look for a chance to lead a discussion, activity, or warm-up. Nowadays I bring my laptop to class and work on assignments like this one and others in EDCI while also observing and looking for an opportunity to teach. I would like to know what others are doing in their student teaching? Thanks all!

Dilemma #1

         Hey! I am currently having an issue promoting a positive classroom community. I make a point to tell the students, every day, that no question is ever a dumb question. There is to be no laughing when someone either answers a question or asks one. I have also told them if they do not have anything nice to say, they do not need to say anything at all. This has worked with the students, but my mentor teacher brings the students down with negative comments more than the students do to each other. She constantly responds to students in a way that either embarrasses them or crushes their spirit. It is hard to tell the students to do something moral, when they have an adult figure frequently displaying the opposite behavior to them and/or in front of them. How can I help this situation while I am not the one in full control of the classroom? Thanks!  

-Ashton McClain