Teacher Characteristics that I would like to develop / strengthen:

1. Fluidity

What- If any given class period goes in an unintended, yet meaningful or worthwhile direction, I want to be better at both accepting and enhancing such unplanned turns in the road.

Why- As a new teacher, I feel like I go into any given class with an extremely rigid plan in mind. Particularly in an English / Language Arts classroom, literary discussions and other planned activities will undoubtedly, and by all means should, veer off course. So long as such tangents remain productive, I want to be better at encouraging them instead of feeling pressured to move on.

How- As a teacher, it’s always better to over-plan than under-plan. Planning lessons in sections in such a way that a follow-up activity or “next-step” and easily be postponed until the following day allows for the fluidity that I envision. “Picking up where we left off” at the start of the next lesson is certainly not a bad thing, and if anything can be viewed as a means of ensuring that students carry their learning with them and will be held accountable for it beyond the bell.

2. Communication with Parents

What- Be it for academic reasons or disruptive behavior, parents or guardians should be made aware of their students’ performance in the classroom as often as possible.

Why- I’ve found that a quick phone conversation or email exchange can be incredibly insightful when trying to get to the bottom of a student’s struggles in the classroom. Oftentimes when a student isn’t reaching his or her full potential, there are external factors bigger than instruction at play that must be acknowledged and addressed. Likewise, if a student is putting forth a remarkable effort, regularly comes to class with a positive attitude, or in any other way is presenting a model of ideal classroom behavior, his or her work deserves to be rewarded and recognized through parental contact.

How- I was at first hesitant to contact parents if a student wasn’t doing well in my class because I felt like it was my fault and I feared I would let them down. However, I now know that calls or emails home don’t need to be long, drawn-out affairs. Instead, consistent, short and to the point notifications in some way shape or form are the best route to collaborative success, and feel less intimidating as a teacher.

3. Collaboration with fellow teachers

What- The richest resource at a teacher’s disposal in any given school (beyond the limitless lessons we can learn from our students) are the collective experiences, educational philosophies, practices, and curriculum of our fellow teachers.

Why- Just like our students, all teachers are defined by a unique set of strengths, perspectives, and stories to share. The more that we get into the habit of using this boundless and easily-accessible resource to the best of our advantage, the better educators we will all become.

How- As teachers, we all have a specific vision of what a classroom should look like and what kind of learning should take place in it, and that being said, it can be easy to fall into a pattern of complete self-reliance in creating our learning environments and curriculum. However, we should be collaborating, both within the bounds of our departments and grade levels and in an inter-disciplinary or cross-curricular manner. It’s only natural that students should be reading The Scarlet Letter in English class at the same time that they’re learning about Puritanism in History, or The Great Gatsby simultaneously with a unit on The Roaring Twenties or The Jazz Age. Teachers should meet as often as possible, but also make time in our busy schedules to observe one another’s classrooms. This allows us to observe both diverse teaching styles and techniques, and our students’ behavior and performance in other classroom environments.

Views / Obstacles / Words of Wisdom

I. My views of teaching and learning include:

1. A constructive learning environment occurs when: A safe space has been created in order for students to do their best learning. Safe meaning physically safe, but also socially and emotionally safe in that students feel comfortable expressing their opinions, beliefs, and confusions without having to fear the judgment of their peers or instructor. Instead, they know that any of the above will be met with enthusiasm, that their ideas are valued, and that they are a valuable addition to the learning environment at hand.
2. Meaningful connections and experiences in learning happen when: Students are taught to value one another as their most valuable form of “curriculum.” The best teachers don’t see themselves as a one-man (or woman) show, but instead master the art of conducting a classroom in such a way that students learn from one another’s diverse experiences, identities, abilities, strengths, and perspectives. I always tell my students that if they were only in class to learn from me, they could be at home being home-schooled, and that the more they respect one another the more they will grow through exposure to one another’s ideas. There is no better way to foster open-mindedness and self-discovery than through comparison of our experiences to those of others.
3. I know others have learned when: They are able to apply lessons to their lives outside of the classroom, independently build upon what has been taught, or use it as a foundation to further their learning. A few months ago, we were reading Ancient Chinese Poetry in my sophomore English class. As part of a pre-reading historical context lesson, we were discussing the practice of foot-binding. I was in the library with a student of mine weeks after the lesson, and we were looking at a plant on the windowsill that was struggling to thrive because it was stuck in a small pot that hindered its growth. My student remarked “that’s kinda like the Ancient Chinese women that we learned about.” Although to him the comment was just made in passing, I was beyond ecstatic because I knew the lesson had been made meaningful to him, that he had taken ownership of what he had learned, and was able to apply it to the world around him in unforeseen ways.

II. Obstacles and Words of Wisdom:

A. The top 5 obstacles facing middle level educators:

            1. The potential for our students to become distracted by the social / emotional turmoil that comes with the territory of their stage of development.  

`           2. The distractions of physical development and puberty, which often make the first rung of Maslow’s ladder- that composed of basic needs- more of a priority than what we are trying to teach them in our classrooms.

            3. Our students’ hesitancy to participate or share their opinions, for fear of what their peers will think of them or embarrassing themselves.

            4. Professional responsibilities that can feel like hoops to jump through or busy-work, which take time away from lesson planning, grading, and working with students.

            5. School systems that inhibit, or at least do not actively promote, professional growth.

B. The top 5 obstacles facing pre-adolescent and early-adolescent students:

1. The social / emotional turmoil that middle school years can bring.

`           2. The confusing, distracting, and oftentimes embarrassing effects of physical development and puberty.

            3. The pressures to “fit in” and feel accepted by peers, and the efforts to behave or appear in ways that aren’t genuine in order to achieve that goal.

            4. The quest to both determine and stay true to a self-identity.

            5. The torture of bullying- both being victimized by bullies, in person and now online, and the pressure to bully others.

C. The top 5 things that young adolescent students need to know:

            1. Any feelings of confusing or uncertainty that are currently defining their lives are only temporary.

`           2. There’s plenty of time to grow up: don’t be in such a rush! Enjoy the final days of your childhood before it’s too late!

3. Their peers are, to an extent, inherently judgmental and even cruel at this age: while this will NEVER excuse their behavior, gaining this perspective will perhaps allow students to endure the brutal social realities they’re facing. 

            4. It’s never worth it to pretend to be someone you’re not: as tempting as this is at a time when the pressure is on to fit in more than ever before, the tremendous effort it requires are exhausting and ultimately never proves to be worth your time and energy.

            5. Cherish the people in your life who love you for who you are and care about you because you will later regret the friendships you let fall to the wayside in the chaos of middle school.

Response to "Worlds Apart..."

I loved reading your post, because I have always wholeheartedly agreed that the "unifying power" of the moon, as you put it, is completely underrated and under-utilized. The notion that we all see the same  moon, regardless of geographical location or the era of time in which we live, is a powerful ponder.

This past spring in my sophomore English class, we were studying Chinese, West African and Latin American poetry, with each region moving from Ancient to more modern eras. I dubbed one day in class "Moon Day": the students began by free writing, writing 60-second poems and 6-word-stories on the moon. We then read an Ancient Chinese poem on the moon, Li Po's "Still Night Thoughts" side by side with a 20th Century Chinese poet's interpretation of the moon- Xu De-Min's "The Moon Rises Slowly Over the Ocean." I stressed the concept that you just described, namely that the two poets were looking at the exact same moon when crafting their poems, and that in turn it was the exact same moon that we see every night now, in Chicago in the year 2013. The students loved this idea, particularly as urban high-schoolers who didn't often take the time to appreciate the components of nature that they had access to.

I always tell people that I have a special connection to the moon because I was born under a full moon; my mother was in bed, looked up at the full moon out of her window, and her water broke. I have always paid special attention to the cycle of the moon, and always make sure I'm aware of when the full moon will fall each month. I was telling my students all of this when we did our "Moon Day" lesson this past year, and they were nothing short of skeptical. They jumped at the opportunity to make (well-intentioned) fun of me- "So does that make you a werewolf?"

In all seriousness, I encouraged my students to take some time to look at the moon that night. I think the act of moon-gazing brings a welcome moment of peace in their often over-scheduled lives. I felt sure that in their days and nights defined by facebook, twitter, instagram and beyond, doing a bit of pondering under the moon would have a calming effect.

On a final note, taking my post in a different direction, I think the educational power of music, particularly musicals, is worth exploring regardless of the grade or subject matter we teach. I religiously watched the first few seasons of Glee (especially as I prepared to enter the field of secondary education), and was always impressed by the show's ability to tackle tough issues through music for the target audience of middle-level and high school students. "Worlds Apart" likewise presents the racial subtext of Huck and Jim's relationship in an approachable way, inviting students to ease their way into a discussion that might be difficult to launch into without the help of song.