the messy art of teaching
i do actually think teaching is part art, even though TFA thinks it's pure science. the art part of it gets me through the day, though.
but really, i am thinking of the messy art of a colleague. we are teaching the same story. it is from the textbook, but it has a video that accompanies it. that's the fun part, the buy in, for the kids. so i got the video from the video store and told her she could borrow it. she sends a kid over during the class she's planning to show it in (i didn't need it until way later in the day and she totally could have asked me for it earlier). the following period (we have the same free period) she came in to return the video to me and tell me that her LCD projector wasn't working so she couldn't play it on her computer, and her TV was facing the wrong way so she tried to have kids gather around it (out of their desks). she said she spent a good deal of the period trying to make the media work as well as disciplining/referrals. (apparently she sent 5 kids to the office. to put it in perspective, i think i've written maybe 6 referrals so far this year.)
okay, i forgot to say that she's a new teacher and i'm really trying to support her in a helpful but not critical way. when she came in and told me this stuff about her media not working, i thought "oh geez. she should have checked it before school began." then i thought, "how can you suggest that she check her media in a non-negative/scolding way?" so i said, "oh man. i've totally been there before. i guess you learned to check your media before your lesson begins. i learned that lesson the hard way too." maybe it was rude what i said, maybe not helpful, but she totally glossed over it and just kept complaining.
i'm trying to help. really i am. there are a few first year teachers at our school who are acting like the only people this has ever happened to--the only people who have ever gone through something like this. maybe they're confiding in me for some reason because i did TFA, also, i dunno, but really....there's this other girl who can be really rude when she's in a bad mood and i just think that acting that way towards your co-workers is innapropriate.
it's weird, too, because i'm almost finished reading this book called "relentless pursuit" about TFA's organization, selection process, and the first year of teaching for 4 kids at locke high school in los angeles. it talks all about how they use data and this really specific process of rating to select TFA teachers. they make profiles of successful teachers and then try to select new corps members who fit that profile. they make profiles of teachers who quit and try to avoid selecting new corps members who fit that profile. and yet two people from my school have quit and one is miserable. go figure--see, i told you that it's an art, not a science. i don't know, i really have a lot of faith in TFA but this book and all its data is pretty weird and amazing.
so yeah. things are going well for me. i have a new system where kids get up to 10 minutes of "game/free" time on fridays. it's really really fun. so far i have gotten to do a puzzle and play apples to apples with my kids. they definitely earned it--the idea is that if they don't waste those ten minutes of time during class, they get them at the end of the week.
but really, i am thinking of the messy art of a colleague. we are teaching the same story. it is from the textbook, but it has a video that accompanies it. that's the fun part, the buy in, for the kids. so i got the video from the video store and told her she could borrow it. she sends a kid over during the class she's planning to show it in (i didn't need it until way later in the day and she totally could have asked me for it earlier). the following period (we have the same free period) she came in to return the video to me and tell me that her LCD projector wasn't working so she couldn't play it on her computer, and her TV was facing the wrong way so she tried to have kids gather around it (out of their desks). she said she spent a good deal of the period trying to make the media work as well as disciplining/referrals. (apparently she sent 5 kids to the office. to put it in perspective, i think i've written maybe 6 referrals so far this year.)
okay, i forgot to say that she's a new teacher and i'm really trying to support her in a helpful but not critical way. when she came in and told me this stuff about her media not working, i thought "oh geez. she should have checked it before school began." then i thought, "how can you suggest that she check her media in a non-negative/scolding way?" so i said, "oh man. i've totally been there before. i guess you learned to check your media before your lesson begins. i learned that lesson the hard way too." maybe it was rude what i said, maybe not helpful, but she totally glossed over it and just kept complaining.
i'm trying to help. really i am. there are a few first year teachers at our school who are acting like the only people this has ever happened to--the only people who have ever gone through something like this. maybe they're confiding in me for some reason because i did TFA, also, i dunno, but really....there's this other girl who can be really rude when she's in a bad mood and i just think that acting that way towards your co-workers is innapropriate.
it's weird, too, because i'm almost finished reading this book called "relentless pursuit" about TFA's organization, selection process, and the first year of teaching for 4 kids at locke high school in los angeles. it talks all about how they use data and this really specific process of rating to select TFA teachers. they make profiles of successful teachers and then try to select new corps members who fit that profile. they make profiles of teachers who quit and try to avoid selecting new corps members who fit that profile. and yet two people from my school have quit and one is miserable. go figure--see, i told you that it's an art, not a science. i don't know, i really have a lot of faith in TFA but this book and all its data is pretty weird and amazing.
so yeah. things are going well for me. i have a new system where kids get up to 10 minutes of "game/free" time on fridays. it's really really fun. so far i have gotten to do a puzzle and play apples to apples with my kids. they definitely earned it--the idea is that if they don't waste those ten minutes of time during class, they get them at the end of the week.
posted by Allyson B. at
8:11 AM
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