hi! i'm currently in high school and (at this point) a billion percent positive that teaching little kids is what i want to do for the rest of my life. i kinda have a feel for college applications and stuff like that, but since my parents actually grew up in china, they don't have a lot of experience with what applying and testing and stuff is like in america. do you have any advice for someone who would love to pursue elementary education as a major but has absolutely no idea where to start?
I am so happy you know exactly what you want to do! Teaching is so rewarding, and I wouldnât trade it for the world! My advice would be to research, research, research! Find a school that you want to go to that has an elementary education program. Even if you canât major in Elementary Education, (I didnât) but can still go through the program you will be fine! A school that will guide you and train you and put you in the classroom (these are called practicums) for experience is what you want. You will have to take a test called the Praxis (it might have a different name depending on where you live) which is the test to get your licensure. Youâll take this as a sophomore or junior in college and your professors will help you with that!
I am excited to tell you that I have decided that my classroom theme will be....*cue drumroll please* American History! Yes, I am a nerd with a History BA, and I am so stoked! I turned these two stools that my parents had laying around in their garage, to my sharing stools when students share their work! I used chalk paint (blue) and milk paint (red and white) to do these, and I am so pleased with how they turned out.Â
I canât wait to put them in my room and see how it all ties together! Â
Remove everything from the board, clean it really well, and then use big letters to write âmean" in the middle of the board.
Show the video "Anti-Bullying PSA: The Price of Silence."
Ask students:
1) What was the video about?
2) What was ___ (character) thinking?
3) Why did ___ (character) act the way s/he did in the video?
My students identified several roles in the video: bully, victim, passive onlooker, and active onlooker. They recognized that fear, powerlessness, ignorance, and a need for acceptance, as well as many other emotions, might have been in play.
Day 2
Before class starts, fill the board with synonyms for mean, hate, and bullying. Â I used only "black and blue" markers. Some words were repeated. I also enlisted the help of several K-3 teachers to speed things along. The alphabetized list of words below will help you get started HERE.
Show the video "Stand Up, Stand Out: No Checking, No Capping, No Bullying."
Some speakers in this video have a slight Southern accent and/or use slang that may be unfamiliar to students. This is a good opportunity to remind students about cultural differences and emphasize the lessons to be learned when listeners keep an open mind about the speaker(s).
Ask students:
1) How do you feel about teasing others and being teased?
2) Is âteasingâ joking and kidding around, or is it bullying?
3) Why do people "check" or tease others?
Day 3
Before school write "How do you want to be remembered?" on the board. First, I "drew" the words using the edge of an eraser. Then, I wrote the letters using a thick, red line. Empty areas were filled in with extra words.
Show and discuss the videos: "Being a Friend" and "Stop Bullying PSA."
I love the third suggested video, "Don't Laugh at Me" by Mark Wills.Â
Ask students:
1) Besides standing up to a bully, what else can you do-- if you're being bullied or if you want to help a victim?
2) How can you make others feel wanted and important?
3) Do you think it makes a difference when someone walks up to a victim after they've been bullied? Why?
Encourage students to think about how they would want to be remembered by their peers if they suddenly had to move to another school.
Day 4
The teacher doesnât make any changes to the board today.
Show the video "Perfect" by Ahmir.
This video captured my students attention more than any of the others shown earlier in the week. That said, it's important to preview all materials used in the classroom to ensure that they are appropriate for your grade level and community. This video mentions "drinking a nice cold beer." It's the only such reference, and the performers are of drinking age.
Ask students:
1) What happened in the video?
2) Do you think this could really happen?
3) Why do you think this particular song was used in the video?
Tell the students that the idea for these lessons originally came from an online article with the title, "Erasing Meanness." Ask them, "What do you think the author meant when he selected that title?"
Announce that today they can literally erase meanness by replacing unkind words with happier words of their own. Allow students to use brightly colored markers to replace the words they choose to erase.
When students comment that there are still a lot of "black and blue" words, ask them, âWhat would happen if another group of students were also able to erase words?" This should help them understand that they can't "erase" all meanness and bullying by themselves, but their efforts can make a BIG difference.
Show one final video, "Antibullying- You are Perfect." This video was made by students.
The situations in this final video resonated with my students and left them feeling empowered. It was a great way to wrap up this week-long experience!
**Adapted from this blog here!
**See what other teachers added on to this lesson here!
Yesterday I attended a Charter School Job Fair! First things first, I absolutely love job fairs. Theyâre a really great way to practice your interviewing skills, meet teachers, administrators and principals and get your resume out there with absolutely no pressure.
If you are nervous about attending a job fair, donât be! Just make sure youâre prepared for the possible interview questions, have at least twenty copies of your resume, and let the experience teach you some things!
The fair went from 9-4, but I stayed until 2pm. There were about fifty schools, and the majority of them were only doing meet and greets. Meet and greets are when the schools come just to grab your resume, shake your hand, and have a short conversation with you. You can ask questions about their school and they will try and sell you on it! About fifteen schools were doing interviews as well, and you were able to sign up for one at their booth.
I went with two of my fellow teacher friends, and we had a blast! We talked to almost every school, and had interviews with a handful of them! We walked out with a few possible prospects and are going to some open houses this week!!
If you have questions for me about job fairs or charter schools, click here!
This is what my kids gave me at the end of my Student Teaching Semester! A personalized teacher bag absolutely stuffed with school supplies! Also chocolate! They know me well :) I miss them already!
Please fire me. Iâm a 5th grade teacher. One of my students decided that he didnât want to do his homework, so he blatantly refused, insulted me, then ripped it up and threw it in my face.
When his mother came to discuss her sonâs behavior, she told the principal that she wanted me fired for âupsetting her poor baby, and crushing his spirit with unthinkable amounts of homework.â
I had two digital interviews today! Both with schools in my state! Digital interviews are interview where you record your answers on the camera while the questions are listed off to the side. You aren't talking to anyone, you are just recording your answers.Â
I had never done this type of interview before, but I really like it! There are huge benefits to doing digital interviews. 1) You get to do them in your own home, and on your own time. Each question is displayed, and you get 30 seconds to look over the question and prepare to answer it. Then you get a set amount of time to answer the question. Most of my questions allowed me 3-4 minutes each question.Â
Each interview is different. My first interview was 5 questions and 10 minutes long. My second interview was 10 questions and 20 minutes long.Â
After you are done, you're done! The company or place where you interviewed will call you with a yes or no in 5 to 7 business days.Â
Hopefully I get a call back! Definitely don't hesitate to message me if you have a question about this process, and I will do my very best to answer it!
AHH! Today I was contacted by a recruiter for a prep school in Denver! I am so excited! They just build an elementary school last year, and so far, they only have grades K-1. They are adding 2nd grade this coming fall! Each grade is focused on college prep (yes even kinder) and each grade is co taught which means that there are two teachers in the room at all times, a Lead Teacher and a Co-Teacher. I have never had experience with Co-Teaching, however I believe that the more teachers in the room the better, and more learning can occur.Â
I am meeting with the recruiter on Monday January 26th to talk about my application and the STRIVE schools in general!Â
Job applications are literally the worst. They take so much time, and there is only a tiny percent chance that you will get called to an interview. It's so tough not having a job and kind of just floating around.Â
