Living in Arizona is bittersweet, at least when it comes to the weather. The majority of the year is awesome, more specifically this time of year is awesome. I love waking up to crisp autumn air for months, while not having to dread a winter storm. On the other hand, I am not too big of a fan of heat weather. I become a disgruntled resident throughout the summer. It really feels like it just keep getting hotter and hotter every year.
Side note: This is my last post! If anyone has been following my posts throughout the semester, I hope it wasn't too brutal and thank you for taking the time to read my rants.
Ian
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Student Cross Walk
A fellow teacher explained to me an interesting issue the school has been dealing with since it opened 10 years ago. The school I am interning at is positioned near a fairly large and busy intersection. Generally right around the time school starts and the time school ends is when the traffic gets busier. The other fact about the location of this school is that it is located in Gilbert, but the intersection contains the cities of Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler and Maricopa County.
When the school was first build, the cities agreed to build a raised cross walk so the children could cross the street without dealing with the busy street. 10 years, later is has never been built. The cities were never able to agree upon how to split the cost of the project up. It's a shame.
When the school was first build, the cities agreed to build a raised cross walk so the children could cross the street without dealing with the busy street. 10 years, later is has never been built. The cities were never able to agree upon how to split the cost of the project up. It's a shame.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Disciplining Student
Discipling Students? I have run into this situation a few times since I started my internship. Should I discipline the students or not? The teacher is not always looking and in the more "interesting" classes the students try to push what they can get away with as often as possible.
Even though I am not a teacher, because I am an "adult" the kids treat me as one. So when the kids start acting crazy right around me I am never sure what to do.
Thankfully, I have only had to step in and tell the kids to calm down only a handful of times and it has not been a reoccurring problem.
Even though I am not a teacher, because I am an "adult" the kids treat me as one. So when the kids start acting crazy right around me I am never sure what to do.
Thankfully, I have only had to step in and tell the kids to calm down only a handful of times and it has not been a reoccurring problem.
Lunch Problem
Every day I run into the same problem, where to go to lunch? It's not that there are no restaurants around the school or that I'm a picky eater; the problem is that they are all chain fast food and restaurants.
Trying to find a coffee shop took me a good 45 mins the first day. I was finally able to find one that was 5 miles away from the school!
Thankfully I have figured out all of my coffee and food situations since the first few days of class.
Trying to find a coffee shop took me a good 45 mins the first day. I was finally able to find one that was 5 miles away from the school!
Thankfully I have figured out all of my coffee and food situations since the first few days of class.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Fire Drill
Today I survived my first fire drill. The class was spending the day in the library, so their fire drill exit route was a bit different then the usual drill. Other then that it was just an average fire drill. The kids found a dead bird and were screwing around with it until one of the teachers started yelling at the kids.
All in all it was a successful fire drill.
All in all it was a successful fire drill.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
End of Semester
The end of the semester is nearing and I couldn't be more happy. It wasn't that I didn't like my classes this semester, some of them I really enjoyed. I'm just happy to have finished what has proved to be one of my most challenging semesters yet.
I honestly can't wait for the spring semester to start up, it will mark my final semester! Throughout the last few years it has sometimes felt like this (schooling) would never end, but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Yippie!
I honestly can't wait for the spring semester to start up, it will mark my final semester! Throughout the last few years it has sometimes felt like this (schooling) would never end, but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Yippie!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The JET Program
This last week I sent in my application to the Japanese embassy in D.C. to apply for the JET Program. The JET Program is an English teaching exchange program run by the Japanese government.
Part of the reason why I choose to assist middle school English teachers throughout this semester was to gain teaching experience. The JET application process is notoriously competitive and every extra bit of experience helps.
The contract periods are one year long. If I am to be selected to participate in this program I would pretty much be spending the next year of my life in Japan. So long as you are in good standing with your school you are able to resign your contract up to four years. In general, the main goal of the JET Program is to not only teach English to Japanese student, but to share American culture with them. With that being said, they typically do not post you in highly urbanized areas, rather more suburban or more rural areas of Japan.
I am really excited; I have wanted to be a part of this program for a long time. I won't find out the results of the application and interview process until early April, otherwise I would post the results on the blog.
Part of the reason why I choose to assist middle school English teachers throughout this semester was to gain teaching experience. The JET application process is notoriously competitive and every extra bit of experience helps.
The contract periods are one year long. If I am to be selected to participate in this program I would pretty much be spending the next year of my life in Japan. So long as you are in good standing with your school you are able to resign your contract up to four years. In general, the main goal of the JET Program is to not only teach English to Japanese student, but to share American culture with them. With that being said, they typically do not post you in highly urbanized areas, rather more suburban or more rural areas of Japan.
I am really excited; I have wanted to be a part of this program for a long time. I won't find out the results of the application and interview process until early April, otherwise I would post the results on the blog.
Community Building
I was given the opportunity by one of the teachers I am assisting to teach her class this past Friday. A way to not only make Fridays a bit more relaxing, but a way to develop relationships the children would not otherwise develop between each other are through "community building" exercises.
For this particular community building exercise I talked to the class about birth order and how it effects their personalities. I Eventually divided the student into groups depending on their birth order. Each group discussed what stereotypes were associated with certain birth orders (it took a moment to explain the term "stereotype to the class).
Towards the end of class I had them all write what their groups came up with on the board and let each group agree or defend the stereotypes associated with their birth order. At this point in time the class basically lost their collective minds. The youngest who were described as babies would shoot back at the oldest explaining to them their bossy qualities. You could of sworn every single one of the middle children were the martyrs of their family, baring every misfortune.
The community building exercise was a good way for me to gain experience presenting lesson plans, while being able to connect with the kids.
For this particular community building exercise I talked to the class about birth order and how it effects their personalities. I Eventually divided the student into groups depending on their birth order. Each group discussed what stereotypes were associated with certain birth orders (it took a moment to explain the term "stereotype to the class).
Towards the end of class I had them all write what their groups came up with on the board and let each group agree or defend the stereotypes associated with their birth order. At this point in time the class basically lost their collective minds. The youngest who were described as babies would shoot back at the oldest explaining to them their bossy qualities. You could of sworn every single one of the middle children were the martyrs of their family, baring every misfortune.
The community building exercise was a good way for me to gain experience presenting lesson plans, while being able to connect with the kids.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Bus Drills
Today was bus drill day. I remember those days, I also remember getting detention because I kept jumping out of the emergency exit door instead of "properly" exiting the bus.
Buses today don't even have those awesome emergency exit doors in the back of the bus anymore! It was a bit disheartening to find that out. For the "drill," the kids just had to sit in the bus and hear a bus driver lecture about bus safety. Jumping out of the emergency exit at the end of the lecture was the best part of bus drills when I was kid! They're really missing out.
Buses today don't even have those awesome emergency exit doors in the back of the bus anymore! It was a bit disheartening to find that out. For the "drill," the kids just had to sit in the bus and hear a bus driver lecture about bus safety. Jumping out of the emergency exit at the end of the lecture was the best part of bus drills when I was kid! They're really missing out.
Individual Help
I spent some time today working with an ESL student with an in class test. It was a new experience to see the thought process of a student who understands the material but is struggling to translate what she is thinking into English.
The student was certainly capable of understanding the material, but the language barrier is a hurdle that appears be very hard to overcome for some students.
The student was certainly capable of understanding the material, but the language barrier is a hurdle that appears be very hard to overcome for some students.
Grading Papers
The majority of my time in one of my classes is spent grading quizzes. Thankfully all of the quizzes and tests I grade are multiple choice true/false so I can rely on a master key.
From my point of view, grading is a nice way to make the time fly by. If I were the actual teacher and had to take home papers to grade I would not be as excited. ...
and no, I do not use gold stars. :)
From my point of view, grading is a nice way to make the time fly by. If I were the actual teacher and had to take home papers to grade I would not be as excited. ...
and no, I do not use gold stars. :)
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Spelling Bee
This last Friday was the schools yearly spelling bee. The middle school I work at consists of only 7th and 8th grade. The spelling bee incorporated both grades. I was surprised by how many students participated in the spelling bee (about 40 or so).
There were some pretty tough words thrown out there the kids had to spell that I definitely would have spelt wrong. The enthusiasm coming for the student audience was funny to watch. Towards the end of the bee, when there were only three students left, the crowd was going nuts!
I was able to participate in the bee while a teacher had to attend a meeting. I was in charge of making sure the students were in their correct order when it was their turn to spell.
It was pretty fun day.
There were some pretty tough words thrown out there the kids had to spell that I definitely would have spelt wrong. The enthusiasm coming for the student audience was funny to watch. Towards the end of the bee, when there were only three students left, the crowd was going nuts!
I was able to participate in the bee while a teacher had to attend a meeting. I was in charge of making sure the students were in their correct order when it was their turn to spell.
It was pretty fun day.
Teaching My First Class
The other day I was able to teach a class for the first time. The teacher I was assisting for this particular class was out for the day and she instructed the substitute teacher to have me handle the lesson for the day.
It was an interesting experience that allowed me to get actual face time teaching in front of a class. Luckily the class I was teaching were a bunch of good kids so it went pretty smooth.
I walked away with the though that becoming a good teacher takes plenty of practice and does not happen over night.
It was an interesting experience that allowed me to get actual face time teaching in front of a class. Luckily the class I was teaching were a bunch of good kids so it went pretty smooth.
I walked away with the though that becoming a good teacher takes plenty of practice and does not happen over night.
Career Advising Event
This last Wednesday I attended a Nonprofit Foundation and Government Career panel. The panel consisted of 5 professionals who worked primarily in the government and nonprofit sector. One panel member was a CIA recruiter while another worked with the Make A Wish foundation. Each panelist spoke for 7 minutes and gave the audience a brief history of how they came to be where they are and what their jobs entail.
I am not particularly interested in government or non-profit work, but the panel was interesting enough. For someone who is interested in these fields the panel would have been an informative event.
I am not particularly interested in government or non-profit work, but the panel was interesting enough. For someone who is interested in these fields the panel would have been an informative event.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Book Talk
For today's blog I will discuss an interesting change in how the library now approaches students.
I'm not sure if this is a state-wide focus or just a Gilbert Public School district thing, but the school I am interning with puts an enormous amount of attention towards reading. Every day the school shuts for 20 minutes and everyone reads. The children are expected to set goals as to how much they read each quarter (every student has their own personal goal). So when I heard that the librarian was going to come in and do a "book talk" I wasn't really too surprised.
5 minutes into his talk a few thoughts occurred to me. 1) The librarian is using technology that would have never been in a class room a few years ago. 2) The covers for youth literature looks cool! The youth fiction cover art I remember weas always these odd looking hand drawn or what looked like water color pictures and always in pastels!
It was an interesting "book talk."
I'm not sure if this is a state-wide focus or just a Gilbert Public School district thing, but the school I am interning with puts an enormous amount of attention towards reading. Every day the school shuts for 20 minutes and everyone reads. The children are expected to set goals as to how much they read each quarter (every student has their own personal goal). So when I heard that the librarian was going to come in and do a "book talk" I wasn't really too surprised.
5 minutes into his talk a few thoughts occurred to me. 1) The librarian is using technology that would have never been in a class room a few years ago. 2) The covers for youth literature looks cool! The youth fiction cover art I remember weas always these odd looking hand drawn or what looked like water color pictures and always in pastels!
It was an interesting "book talk."
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Half Days
A little while back I was able to experience my first non-student half day. I now understand how teachers can end up the way some do after years of service.
Coinciding with the half day was a take your parent to school type day as well; so not only were the kids acting crazy, but the room was packed with parents.
In one of my classes, the majority of the students are what most would consider underperforming students. Personally I think it's counterproductive to throw all the slower students in one class, but that's beside the point. As the class was progressing, one of the students decided it was a good idea to start drawing on the back of a girls neck was a highlighter. This student who was drawing did not have his parent with him, but the student who was being drawn on did!
I was shocked a student would do that in front of another students own parent! Crazy kids.
Coinciding with the half day was a take your parent to school type day as well; so not only were the kids acting crazy, but the room was packed with parents.
In one of my classes, the majority of the students are what most would consider underperforming students. Personally I think it's counterproductive to throw all the slower students in one class, but that's beside the point. As the class was progressing, one of the students decided it was a good idea to start drawing on the back of a girls neck was a highlighter. This student who was drawing did not have his parent with him, but the student who was being drawn on did!
I was shocked a student would do that in front of another students own parent! Crazy kids.
Downtown Career Fair
Today I attended the internship and career fair that was being held near ASU's downtown campus.
It wasn't the largest career fair I have ever attended but was by no means sparse. The businesses that did attend ranged from credit card to travel web based companies. I also talked to a man from a naturopathic school of medicine, they were looking for students to enroll in their medical program.
Although I didn't find too many businesses that I would be interested in interning or working for it was nice to see a variety of industries. The only real issue I did have was the majority of the business representatives I did talk to were mainly there for customer service or call center jobs.
It wasn't the largest career fair I have ever attended but was by no means sparse. The businesses that did attend ranged from credit card to travel web based companies. I also talked to a man from a naturopathic school of medicine, they were looking for students to enroll in their medical program.
Although I didn't find too many businesses that I would be interested in interning or working for it was nice to see a variety of industries. The only real issue I did have was the majority of the business representatives I did talk to were mainly there for customer service or call center jobs.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
First Day of Class!
My first day of class was interesting to say the least. It brought back many memories of my middle school days, which haven't been too long ago but long enough for me not to cringe at the thought of 7th grade Spanish class anymore.
I started the day waking up at 6:30am, which for a long term night person (and loving it ) was a drastic change in pace. :) I arrived at school about a half hour before classes began and was introduced to all the teachers I would be helping out throughout the semester. I will be helping 4 teachers in total throughout the semester, ranging from 7th-8th grade.
I'm not sure why I didn't expect it, but I was surprised to see how each class and teacher had their own unique personality. One class could be filled with excitement verging on chaos while the next could be a routine by the book structured class.
I am excited to see what the rest of the semester has in store for me.
I started the day waking up at 6:30am, which for a long term night person (and loving it ) was a drastic change in pace. :) I arrived at school about a half hour before classes began and was introduced to all the teachers I would be helping out throughout the semester. I will be helping 4 teachers in total throughout the semester, ranging from 7th-8th grade.
I'm not sure why I didn't expect it, but I was surprised to see how each class and teacher had their own unique personality. One class could be filled with excitement verging on chaos while the next could be a routine by the book structured class.
I am excited to see what the rest of the semester has in store for me.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Department Meeting
In addition to tutoring with the AVID program I will be working with the English department aiding teachers in the classroom with ESL students. One of my first visits to the school as an intern involved attending the department meeting for the 7th and 8th grade English teachers.
The meeting was interesting to an extent. They largely covered what most children experience their first few days of class; what is expected of them along with a review of the rules and regulations of the school. Teachers were assigned bus duties and discussed new regulations for the upcoming school year.
Overall it was interesting to see the other, out of class side of being a middle school teacher, but one department meeting is more than enough for me.
The meeting was interesting to an extent. They largely covered what most children experience their first few days of class; what is expected of them along with a review of the rules and regulations of the school. Teachers were assigned bus duties and discussed new regulations for the upcoming school year.
Overall it was interesting to see the other, out of class side of being a middle school teacher, but one department meeting is more than enough for me.
AVID Training
This last Saturday I spent the better part of the day sitting in a stuffy room getting trained in AVID tutoring techniques! A portion of my internship will involve tutoring students who are borderline honors level students and need some extra help in becoming an honor student. The AVID Program, which stands from Advancement Via Individual Determination is a tutoring program initially developed for inner-city kids.
The intended length of the training is right around 16 hours but thankfully our instructors shortened the training to 8 hrs, which is still a long time to be sitting in a room but better than 16 hours. The training gave me some useful tips and information that I hope to implement in the classroom throughout my internship.
The intended length of the training is right around 16 hours but thankfully our instructors shortened the training to 8 hrs, which is still a long time to be sitting in a room but better than 16 hours. The training gave me some useful tips and information that I hope to implement in the classroom throughout my internship.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Fingerprints!
So, a requirement for teaching that I was unaware of and I think most people are unaware of is fingerprinting. I am not sure if this is a national mandate or a specific requirement for Arizona schools. So, before I could start teaching I had to get my fingerprints!
The process as a whole is pretty much what you expect. The place where I went to get my fingerprints was located in a cramped slightly worn down strip mall a few blocks away from downtown Gilbert. The ladies inside were nice and the entire process took no longer then 45 minutes, most of it was just waiting for my turn.
The only advice I can give to my fellow students concerning getting their fingerprints is: Don't have them done in jail and bring baby wipes.
The process as a whole is pretty much what you expect. The place where I went to get my fingerprints was located in a cramped slightly worn down strip mall a few blocks away from downtown Gilbert. The ladies inside were nice and the entire process took no longer then 45 minutes, most of it was just waiting for my turn.
The only advice I can give to my fellow students concerning getting their fingerprints is: Don't have them done in jail and bring baby wipes.
Introduction
I guess I will begin this blog by introducing who I am and what I plan on doing throughout this current semester.
My name is Ian and I am currently a senior in the school of Public Affairs studying Urban and Metropolitan Studies. I plan on graduating this upcoming Spring semester which I am incredibly excited about!
Throughout this semester I will be interning with Gilbert Public Schools at Highland Junior High. While interning I will be working in the English department assisting teachers with ESL students and tutoring children who are attempting to get into the honors program. I hope to come out of this internship with better leadership skills and a deeper understanding of the learner and development process.
My name is Ian and I am currently a senior in the school of Public Affairs studying Urban and Metropolitan Studies. I plan on graduating this upcoming Spring semester which I am incredibly excited about!
Throughout this semester I will be interning with Gilbert Public Schools at Highland Junior High. While interning I will be working in the English department assisting teachers with ESL students and tutoring children who are attempting to get into the honors program. I hope to come out of this internship with better leadership skills and a deeper understanding of the learner and development process.
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