The Apple Doesn't Fall Far...

Parents.

Sometimes I do not fully understand them, but at other times they are such a great gift to teachers.

While I haven't had Parent-Teacher Conferences yet, I feel like I have had a good amount of contact with parents.  Whether it was through questioning emails or while at basketball games or simply at the local gas station. I have had the pleasure of having great contact with several parents before the actual conferences.

This has been a great experience for me. It is so different being in a small, tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone and if you are new you stick out in the crowd. At the last few basketball games I've been to parents have stopped and said, "Are you a teacher here?" I quickly explain that I am student teaching in math class. There are several different reactions to this, but most say, "So how's insert child's name doing?" It really has been like an informal parent-teacher conference at several of these games and fundraisers. Luckily my CT was there when the president of the school board asked me about his student.

One of the greatest moments that I have the opportunity to experience was when I got to congratulate a parent for her daughter getting an A on a recent test. I was surprised when the parent said she had no idea that her daughter did that well. It was great to bring an unexpected surprise to a parent about the success of their child. I look forward to more interaction with parents.

What interaction have you had with parents outside of conferences?

On the EDGE of Discovery

Caution: Technology May Interrupt ENHANCE Learning!

After attending the UNL TechEDGE Conference I have seen the importance of incorporating technology in my teaching and professional development.

This week I got the chance to review using the Nearpod app on the iPads.  I didn't feel completely ready to incorporate this into my class, after all, I am just beginning my own discovery with this plethora of new technology.  However, one thing that I thought is that I could possibly never feel totally prepared to introduce technology into my lesson plans.  So, I thought that the best way for me to get used to it would be to jump in with both feet. Sometimes you just have to jump in and be ok with failing, but learning what to do next time.

I started out class saying, "Today we are going to do a review over special right triangles."  I could hear the groans sweep across the room.  Then I continued, "However I want to try something a  little different. We are going to do our review on the iPads."  This is when their ears perked and they sat up a little straighter.  Even though the school has an iPad cart for everyone's use, usually it stays in the room that is its' "home base."  This usually means teachers don't take advantage of this resource.

The lesson went really well.  The students didn't totally understand the material that I was going to be quizzing them over, but I thought that this review style made them a little more eager to try to succeed rather than just sitting idly by.  The students really liked not only the app, but just the change of "scenery." I would say that this lesson was a success for me and I am excited to keep incorporating it into more lessons to come.

One of the greatest things about this was that my CT and I were planning out the next two weeks, with me being gone next week for the symposium she asked me if I could help her make a Nearpod review for Algebra and a Kahoot! review for Geometry. She said it went over so well with the students that she wanted to try her hand at it.  I feel like this is exactly what it means to be a support to your fellow teachers while collaborating.

Do you want to build a snowman?

This week, just like every week, has given me its fair share of valuable experiences.  Even as a teacher I am still learning every day.  This week there were three snow days and a late start.  The only real day of school that we had was on Friday (which we all can argue is not really a good day for teaching). It has been such a strange week.  I started reflecting on my experience with this question: "Are snow days a good or bad thing for a teacher?"  This question didn't come to me without any insight into my own experience.

While it can be argued by some teachers that snow days are always good because they provide an overworked employee with a spontaneous day off, I have to ask, "At what cost?"  It seems that a snow day or a personal day or a sick day can throw a wrench into your routine as well as throwing off your entire lesson plan for the week.  After these days off I felt like I had some things more under control, but they were more limited to my extra duties for college.  Things at my school were still giving me stress and lesson planning didn't stop and grading never got easier.  You would think a spontaneous day off should be a little more of a day off.

There are a couple things that I learned from this.  First, I do not think I would be willing to take a personal day if I had to make several sub plans to keep my classes going.  It wouldn't be my first choice.  Second, while snow days are fun and exciting for me as a student teacher or for some new teachers they can be great stressors since there is now more of a time crunch on your class.  Third, sometimes teachers just need to know when to walk away from school stuff.  I believe you can always make a lesson better and better and better, but there needs to be a point where I can say, "That's a really good lesson.  I know there are things I could improve upon or practice more, but I can look over it during planning period too."

With all this in mind I am thankful that I got all the time off so I could focus on things that aren't school related at all like friends and hobbies and exercise.  Now just looking ahead at next week it's a little daunting to think about how much we still have to cover, but I just have to believe that it will all work out.

Moral of the story: Don't spend an entire day off thinking about school..sometimes you just have to go build a snowman.