"the function of education"

During independent practice of a math lesson earlier this week, a student asked me, "why do I need to learn this?" [We were learning how addition & subtraction were related to each other (fact families), & practicing how to find all number sentences given 3 related numbers.]

After explaining why knowing how to use addition & subtraction, he smiled & said "OK." Quickly, he went back to work, while I thought about what had just happened.

A big part of teaching content is explaining why the learning is important. How will these kids use this knowledge in the future? My class is motivated to learn, but I know they would work even harder if I made more of an effort to set purpose during lessons.

Teaching is not just about content mastery. This MLK quote captures what it's all about. As this semester has come to a close, I'll take the winter break reflect upon how to teach the "whole" child.

ICEpocolypse

ICEpocolypse canceled school this past Friday, December 6th, & I believe teachers were more thrilled than students…I know I was! After prepping for an uber important observation Thursday (which ended up being canceled at around 12:30 a.m. Thursday), as well as other usual teacher tasks, I mentally needed a day off!

@emirolla

My days in ICEolation have meant lots of Netflix (Scandal + House of Cards) / cleaning / catching up on school work. NOTHING is open because the icy roads make driving nearly impossible. DFW just doesn't have the materials to handle this type of weather. & while ICEmaggedon has provided a nice vacation from real life, I'm hoping the roads will be better for school tomorrow…assuming we actually have school tomorrow. Roads are still VERY bad.

@j_jimenez

Each workday I venture towards east Berry to get to work. I see a drastic change along the drive from my TCU neighborhood to Stop Six. Besides the difference in infrastructure, I see a lot of people outside, walking. Less cars, more people walking to school, work…more homelessness.

On my mind are my students in/near stop 6. I hope their houses are warm enough, that they have enough blankets to stay covered, that their parents were not called into work during this awful weather, & that their food supply has been big enough. I hope school is not canceled tomorrow, because school might be more cozy than home to these kids during this time. Fingers crossed DFW can take care of the ice today.

bunny ears

"Teacher, can you tie my shoes?"

Everything that comes out of my students' mouth is a reminder of the special age in which they are. So dependent, so innocent, so honest...I absolutely adore it.

I remember when I learned how to tie my shoes. My older cousin was given the task to teach me & taught me the bunny ears way - make two bunny ears, loop them around each other & voila, problem solved! Since then, this method has been the sole way in which I tie my shoes. Such a tiny moment from my youth is part of my almost everyday routine. Insane.

I marvel at the fact that I have the same opportunity to impact so many tiny lives. These reflections make me realize how wonderful my job truly is.

Overcoming weaknesses

Sucky October happend around this time last year. Looking back, I don't think I've ever been as stressed, tired & miserable as I was then. I worked harder than ever to seemingly fail everyday - which takes a toll on you both mentally & physically.

This October is like a breath of fresh air in comparison - mostly because of an acquired skill developed all throughout last year. I'm now able to collaborate with a network of people (sounds silly, but it's a skill to me!!!)

As a college student, I hated group projects. I preferred working by myself. I kept up this mentality when it came to planning. I placed myself on my own island last year. I didn't lesson plan with others, share resources, etc...mostly because I didn't think I knew what I was doing. Little did I know this wasn't just affecting my health & happiness - it spilled over to the kind of education my kids received.

This year, I am in charge of everything math-related, while other members of my 1st grade team take care of literacy, writing, science, social studies, literacy centers, homework, parental outreach...everyone has their place, & I've never been prouder to be part of such a great crew! They are amazing. We meet 1-2 times a week to work, bouncing ideas off of one another. I am surviving this year because of them.

Advice to anyone in over your head as a 1st year teacher: ask for help from your fellow peers! You will be in such a better place because of it.

Silence

Selective mutism. I've never heard of this label before, until this year.

One of my students is labeled selectively mute. She did not speak one word day 1 of school. Nor day 2. The whole first week, actually, was pretty silent.

The silence was frustrating. I was frustrated. Seeking to understand, I reached out to friends, roommates and mentors. What is this label all about? How am I supposed to help this student? How can they be most successful? Turns out, my frustration = my investment.

Today, she spoke, in a complete sentence, in front of the whole class ツ

Baby steps.

First Grade Life

Week 1, year two, of teaching is in the books.

I don't remember week 1 as a first year teacher, although I do have recall performing under pure adrenaline, minimal sleep & a lot of caffeine. This week was so much different.

It was so much BETTER.

I felt prepared. Although the consistency of adrenaline, sleep & caffeine were reminiscent of the year prior, the fear of the unknown lingered less. Even though I'm instructing in a different content area, my 1 year experience as a teacher made all the difference.

I have 26 students in my homeroom - two of which do not speak Spanish. I'm hoping that my classroom size decreases within the next few weeks as student distribution will be leveled. We shall see!

First graders are funny...& they even think I'm funny (finally, someone laughs at my jokes). I'm still learning how to manage small children, but I'm really excited for what this year will bring.

A horned frog pillow - doesn't it just scream Reading Corner?!

The classroom, pre-setup

Final product!

So proud of my storage seats!

A wonderful 1st day gift from a team member!

I ended up separating the tables Thursday. 6 kids at 1 table=too much!

40 days

It's been about three months since I've updated my blog.

THREE MONTHS.

Before beginning my journey with Teach For America, I would maintain my travel blog consistently, & LOVED doing so. As April, May & June 2013 rolled around though...I felt burned out from teaching. So much so that it was hard to reflect in writing, because all I wanted was a break from work. The end of the year felt like a monotonous schedule of teaching, cleaning the classroom, prepping...

Forty days of summer is what it took to finally feel excited about work again. I can truly say I am ready to be back in the classroom - to meet my new students (this year I'll be teaching 2nd grade).

Those forty days consisted in a bit of travel to Austin, Denver & New Orleans, a lot of quality time spent with good friends & family, & an internship with a company that focuses more with my Advertising/PR major I received from TCU. I feel as if I've [re]discovered what makes me happy & what kind of balance I need to have between work/play.

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PS - My birthday is coming up...& I could not think of a better gift to receive than a classroom library full of books for the 2013-2014 school year (wink wink)! Just think, $10 = 1 book. For more information, see my Donor's choose account here. Thanks!