My Life:Branded

Easy going, a deep thinker and Teacher at Heart

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Im invited to my own wedding! #wedding #collegelife #longdistancemasters #soclose #cantwait

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One week at a time...

Over the last little bit of my student teaching experience I have chosen to write what happened that day. Unfortunately, as things have picked up I have forgotten to write. Instead of every day, I will be writing weekly. 

This week was long and tough to say the least.  This was a combination of horrible sleep patterns, long nights of planning, and hours upon hours of grading. I have concluded after spending more than 10hours a day at my school planning that teachers work more than anyone would believe.  Teaching takes more time, planning and commitment than people think. Students come in with all kinds of problems, issues, and things that impact them at home that I then deal with during the day. This “deal with” mentality isn’t one I say with spite. Its something that I love to do. Honestly I live to do it.

Reminding me of a great poem of truth about teachers here you go!

-I AM THE MOST FORTUNATE OF MEN-

I am that most fortunate of men for I am eternal.

Others live merely in the world of today;I live in the world of tomorrow.

Others find purpose in the transient and the temporal; 

I find meaning in the enduring and the eternal.

For I am charged with that most sacred mission - 

to transmit all that our forebears lived for, loved for,and died for to the next generation.I span the generations - 

making the wisdom of the past live now so that the future will have meaning.

I make wisdom live, for I am no mere bearer of knowledge.

I do not simply teach the mind;I reach the heart and - 

when I reach the heart; I touch the soul.To those who say

two generations hence what will I be

if not a distant memory, I respond:

Though the mind fades, memories linger.

Though the body fails, the spirit prevails.

Though the scroll burns, the letters dance in the air. 

By Rabbi Zev Schostak

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From Fly to Worm...

Many times in life, things don't work out or go the way that we necessarily wanted.  We then are faced with the option of continuing with what we got or moving toward a better more effective method.  Today, that is exactly what I did. Simplified information, walked students straight through things with students and helped them along the way.  I then paced them.  Giving them 3minutes to complete on task, 2 minutes to complete another task and then introduced new material in between.  This worked great today.  I feel as though I am plugging along and helping the students get to where they need to be.  This lesson was basic and had a simple tempo.  Sometimes we find that in life things need to be stripped to its bare essentials and then built up from there. Everyone has a thing in their lives that are increasingly complex or disorganized.  You might even be in a relationship where things are complicated on certain aspects of each individual person. From there, we strip it to its bare essentials.  Look at fishing. Many people spend crazy amounts of money getting the right fly that works for their style of fishing.  Over time, you get a lucky fly and that is the only one you use. No other one is like it. When that fish is plopped on the deck of your boat, the first thing you care about is getting the fly out.  There comes a time with every fisherman where that fly looks old and raggedy or they might even lose it.  You try a similar lure with no result. What happens then?  You strip it back to the essentials.  You make the early drive to get the freshest worms and you move on from there. Stripping things to the essentials is what gives it value and is what restores balance in what you're doing. 

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College Humor Student Loans #studentloans #collegelife #itcanbecontracted #fail

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It's all about a new approach...

I have found that my 20-2 class hasn't been doing anything to show me that there is lasting learning.  I feel as though I am constantly overshooting them and making things more complicated for them as students who are struggling to start.  While this might be the nature of the beast when it come tiered levels in schools I think its too much.  This then leads me to realize that I need to scratch what I am doing and start over. Start at the bare basics.  That's the only resort I can think of.  Nothing less, nothing more. ' Doesn't this come up in life? You attempt to make a part of your life fit perfectly into another portion.  You might give up beliefs and standards along the way but at least it might work, right?  Not really. Sometimes, we need to take what we have in front of us, look at it, admit its not working and move to change our approach.  This could be in a job, in school, or even in a relationship. We must face the fact that things might not work. Even though they don't work the way we had wished, we move through and develop a new approach. A new way of creating a sense of balance or harmony again in our lives. Be honest with yourself when something isn't working. Decide to dump it or fight through with another approach. Sometimes the desired approach doesn't make it self evident as soon as we would wish.  Life is a journey and we might just need to take different means of transportation. 

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Plan, Plan, Plan and the Tango

Today's lessons went okay but I found myself stressing out when I found that I had not planned well enough.  I was frustrated and discouraged yet determined to follow through. I didn't anticipate what would go wrong and plan accordingly.  I was just off my game.  I still strived for success in the work that students were doing and brought in outside sources as best I could.  I explained the middle east to the students and worked through some of the key concepts that struck up confusion or conversation during the students inquiry. Ultimately, I think I did an okay job but who strives for "okay". Planning was lacking but follow through was evident lacking in planning will be the death of me! When looking at this happening to me today, I realize that I can take two things from this:

1. Sometimes you should plan better for everything you could possibly for see.  This means avoiding the thoughts of "oh, it will be fine". 2. Sometimes, its just good to learn and move on to the next day.  Students still showed that they were learning if they desired to put forth the work.  As a teacher we should know that teaching is a two way street. You must be able to understand that even though we might put in a crazy amount of work into curriculum pacing, planning, prepping and grading it still comes down to if the students actually want to learn that day. It takes two to tango.  This isn't just with teaching, its in life.  We as people need to take the responsibility off of ourselves when we have done the work and others have not. Look at relationships, family, work, and even friends. If the work isn't being put in on the other parties side, something needs to change.  You must work to your best ability, reflect, and move on...

[kristenmeriewieder-deactivated2]

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Nufsaid

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Isis, Mr. D and dimmed lights

Today was my first day of teaching an actual lesson instead of teaching based off of what the teacher had planned. I had found myself continuously unimpressed with my planning that was happening last night. I was confused, frustrated and then straight up annoyed. I didn't know how deep into the study of the Arab Spring. I didn't know if I should delve deep or look at it on the surface.  Just when all hope was lost and the midnight oil had long run dry, it hit me. I knew what to do. I had a plan. With a plan in mind. I made the wise decision to go to bed!   *insert obnoxious alarm sound*

I freaked out for a moment thinking I was really late. I wasn't. I was up really really....REALLY early! I laughed at myself on the way down the stairs to the dining table where I instantly pounded out a lesson with 90% signed sealed and delivered.  Driving to school I theorized and planned in my head how things would happen.  The lessons went great! I then taught the same class again and simply fine tuned it. I discovered that I am going to dim the lights in my classroom and give each student as long as they could possibly need for their quiz.  This worked out well. To the second class, I knew things would fly by faster so I threw in a Mr. D video. The kids liked it after a quiz and who doesn't love Mr. D. Its interesting how we over stress when it comes to work we must do.  We think about things too much and shut down opportunities to connect with people around us who we truly do love. Maybe we should take less time worrying and take more time to enjoy the moment of which we are in.  This thought reminds me of a girl I have in a class on Careers. She stresses out and over thinks every little assignment.  Yes, there could be some anxiety and I will make the necessary accommodations but maybe she should learn to enjoy the moment and see that even if things go wrong, life goes on. 

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Treating women with care is not something that is to be ignored. You must cherish not only the love a woman has for you but also the heart.  We must guard her heart with all we have. 

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Equal treatment for all...

Today, I taught both social studies 20-1 and 20-2.  For the "-2" crew I sat down at my stool, the bell rang and they kept trickling in and talking. For the "-1" gang, I sat down at my stool and instantly they had their eyes on me. I cracked a joke and 75% of them laughed!  I might be exaggerating on the reaction of the kids to my joke but there is a huge difference in mentality between my two classes. On one end I have a group who continuously tells me, "as long as I get a 50%, I'm good".  The other pushes to know more and pushes to figure out more about the topic we're talking about. This affects me. For the "-1" group I found myself throwing current events into my set and giving deeper more meaningful learning opportunities. The "-2" groupI got rid of the current events, I pushed for learning but not to the same standard. This is something my cooperating teacher and I both realized. Because of this hindsight, I can see myself working toward the direction of pushing both equally and challenging each in their own way to rise to the challenge.  Why do we teach current affairs? Why did I teach students about what happened to Chris Kyle and Eddie Ray Routh? About PTSD? About all the hundreds of Veterans home from the middle east trying to assimulate back into society? 

To get kids to think about problems outside their own. 

Too often we students find that History is what it's name suggests. The underlying reason for studying history is not to say that we study it to not repeat the past.  The reason I study history and the emphasis I want to put on my students is that we study history and social studies to understand what has led our world nations to this point in time, to comprehend what is happening around us now, and to determine what should be happening within a given society. We need to look at the world around us with a more critical mind and its up to good teachers to strive to push our students to do the same exact thing. 

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Day 2... Each day better than the last..

So, day two. I realize that I should start drinking more coffee and that giving it up is a terrible idea. Its not as though I looked at the coffee sitting on the table and said that I don't need it. I just realized that I don't have time if I want to hit snooze twice starting at 6:15.  The classes went well and the students who were attempting to make a rap battle based on the underlying causes of the french revolution realized that there was no way that their group could finish it because they were so disorganized.  Yup! They realized it all on their own! That is one moment when teaching that you brag about.  When my 20-1 class wanted me to watch the tv show "Trialer Park Boys", I thought it would be dumb but I realized it was exactly what gives people sporadic brain damage. Absolute garbage. So I told the students today before they I got them working and it brought about a pretty good laugh.  I think they respect that I watched it.  When looking at students during Career Management class students continuously showed me that they were working on what they should be doing. They pumped out resumes and cover letters and truly impressed me. There is an odd mix of kids but each one shows me that they desire to accomplish something.  Each day I realize that I am supposed to be a teacher. I love the interaction, the jokes, and the pushes along the way that I can give them to truly work, through working they might love the learning.  I find teaching is not the random spewing of information that makes you a teacher but the one interaction that you have that brings a twinkle to their eye and a smile on their face.  Curriculum is vital to a school but hopefully we don't forget the child that the curriculum is being pumped into.

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Line em up! #timetomark #gradingisdeath

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I'm Back!

Today starts my student teaching at a huge public high school.  Yes, to some this is average but to a small school guy its huge. Today I started teaching all of the classes that I will keep all the way until the end. Most don't do that but I consider myself to be an all or nothing guy.   I started off teaching Social Studies 20-2 (the "-2" means a lower tier).  Students in this class were frustrating to say the least.  You could tell that motivation was at a minimal and drive for success was a foreign concept.  I guess I'll have to teach them the drive aspect of life.  While students weren't very responsive when I was asking them what they might like me to do or not do, I could tell that they were sizing me up.  This makes sense, they want to know who I am and what kind of teacher I will be.  Only time will tell. I think with time things will grow and they will work just as hard as I do.  The next class was the Social Studies 20-1. Man was that a good way to start.  Joking around, talking and talking about tv shows. Apparently I need to watch a show called "Trailer Park Boys". It sounds like a dumb show but all the students love it.  Either way, I found that while it was a good time, there was learning taking place.  Students would ask me about an aspect of the French Revolution and I was using everything in me to ask guiding questions and have the student dig deeper. It was a great class.  Finally I taught Career and Life Management.  I'm not sure what to make of this class. Part of me thinks it is boring but the importance of teaching students how to make a resume, cover letter and portfolio is really making me think twice. The class went well and found myself overly prepared for a class that the students don't enjoy very much.   When looking at teaching, I find that it is what I make of it. It makes me wonder what makes teachers run dry of the humor, encouragement and love. Maybe they never really had it in them to start with... Now on to planning, grading and all things teacher!

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Day 3- On the count of three say, "Ooops!"

Well, today marked day three.  Today all I had to teach was bible to grade 7 students.  To make things a little more complicated, there was picture day today.  This meant that you would have no idea when classes would be called out of the lesson to take photos.  Fun right! My teachers direct words were, "well, welcome to being a teacher".   Students trickled in and instantly I knew that there was something different.  The boys actually looked well groomed and many of the girls had done their hair differently and had even put on heels (of which only a small percentage could actually walk in...haha ).  Some of the boys had gotten their hair cut yesterday afternoon, they were most likely forced to do so.  As kids slowly came in before the bell rang the girls were comparing how they woke up extra early to do their hear and that their moms MADE them use a hair dryer.  I found this entertaining because of what they would soon partake in every morning for the rest of their lives.   Since no one knew when students would be pulled out for class but knew it would be at some point in the class, I decided to play some music through the speaker system off my phone (integration of technology!) and give the kids more time on the comic strips that I had assigned last class.  They soon got pulled out to take individual photos.  As students trickled back into the classroom after taking photos they seemed more responsive and were working well. My instant thought was that I am a bomb.com teacher.  I have given the students something to do after they learn material that reinforces what we discussed, I have them doing something fun and interactive.  What more could you want???

Then after some time of students making awesome comic strips I had not heard the bell.  I figured that I would hear the long and obnoxiously loud bell at some point and kept giving the students time to work on their work.  And after all, they were working so well! I didn't want it to end! Soon my cooperating teacher looked up and told me that class had ended 10 minutes ago.  I looked up and my instant thought was, "oh crap..."

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Day 2- For Gold, For Glory, For God!

Last night I worked for hours thinking of how to teach imperialism in an interesting and interactive way.  I resorted to working with prezi.com (a great presentation program) and doing activities and demonstrations to help reinforce the information presented. This lesson went okay and there was multiple students participating, which was encouraging to say the least. The essential lesson was on the reasons for imperial expansion. For gold, for glory, for God

For many explorers their priority list was a combination of these three factors.  In many cases, God was at the bottom of the totem pole.

Even though the phrase, "For God, For Glory, For Gold" was coined a long time ago, doesn't it still apply?  This was something that I asked my students for part of their homework.  This leads me to ask you, what is your priority list? In what order does God, Glory, Gold happen for you in your life?

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Day 1-Super Oatmeal Mush

Well, today I taught my first lesson and to get to know students better I asked them three questions (typical right?).  Where they were born, what their super power would be if they had one, and what their favorite food is. The usual right? The answers to the super power question is what sparked my interest.  Answers ranged from invisibility to flight and one boy even said the ability to make money.  One girl in the front raised her hand, which made me smile, and she said, "all super powers."  After that comment the responses from most of the kids was "all power". Not because they couldn't think of something else to say but because that they thought it would be awesome to be able to do anything. Just a thought... I find it interesting how students at this age can be so enthusiastic and elaborate with their imaginations about such a question but as we age we get more solid in reality and our imagination dissipates.  Its like the imaginative mind is a bowl of oatmeal.  At first its delicious and brings happiness to our morning but as it sits, it will soon solidify and it gets gross.

This leads me to wonder what the response would be if you asked a five year old this very question.  What might might the answers be? Even more so, what would your super power be?  I hope your imagination hasn't become gross and solid like a bowl of oatmeal...

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Here you go! You're Set!