EDSP 6644: Blog Reflection

As a lifelong student of foreign language (twenty years of Spanish and two in Cantonese and Mandarin), I consider teaching ELL students a tremendous privilege. The hard work of being a good student is one thing, but to tackle a new language while attempting to soak up all the other knowledge is a tall order for a child. Since some ELLs are also working to adapt to life in the United States, it's important to identify and honor the cultural learning curve families face as well. 

All this to say, planning a lesson for ELL kindergarteners helped me reflect on all the ways this is such sacred work. In my lesson I planned for lots of visuals, which is essential for improving communication as children acquire English. In an act of new-teacher eagerness, I would design and print the plural/singular picture card activity myself using fun and colorful illustrations. (This might be overkill, but I will maintain my earnest hopefulness until further notice!) I'm enjoying the process of imagining how to serve these students, and I think that is the biggest takeaway from this assignment for me. 

I also picked a book, Pete the Cat, that is as delightful as it is useful. I firmly believe the literature used in early childhood programs should be well-written and fun to read--not only age or reading-level appropriate. Pete the Cat meets all these standards, and the accompanying song will help kids remember the point of the entire lesson: Add an "s" to a word when there is more than one of something. 

Planning this lesson, reading about exceptional students every week, writing my peer-review paper, and discussing it all along the way with my teaching husband has deepened my understanding of how to properly support students with special needs in my classroom. I look forward to applying my knowledge and continuing to grow as an educator as I work to help them learn. 

Inspired by Buzzfeed: How to Move Beyond Survival Mode as a First Year Teacher

It's common knowledge that first-year teachers face an enormous learning curve as they begin careers in education. Even though every teacher had a first year once, it can be hard for newcomers to feel successful when surrounded by more experienced veterans in the field. There are, however, plenty of ways to cope with the challenges as a first-year teacher. In fact, it is possible for new teachers to avoid some pitfalls and truly flourish...or at least experience something beyond plain old survival mode. Here's how. 

Get organized. Meredith Nourie's manifesto on her biggest mistakes as a new teacher highlights one very fixable problem: the sin of being disorganized (2011). There are plenty of things beyond your control as a teacher--you cannot control a student's relationship with his parents, or a difficult class dynamic during third period. You can control whether you are prepared to teach, so getting sorted with materials and lessons plans matters. Even the least perceptive student can see fear in the eyes of a scrambling teacher--don't let this happen to you (more than you can help). Ask your fellow teachers what their strategies are for anything and everything, since part of this challenge is knowing where to begin. Borrow systems from people you trust and see how they work for you.

Show some humility.  Researchers at the University of Nebraska at Kearney found that hiring officials value candidates who are self-starters, have a passion for teaching, and feel "willing to reflect on their teaching methods and adjust their philosophy if necessary" (Ziebarth-Bovill, Kritzer, and Bovill, 2012). So you have a huge passion for Reggio-inspired environments, your team has used Rubbermaid storage bins for decades, and there is no budget for the hallowed wooden storage box? You are the newcomer. Do your best to pick your battles in your new school, even if it means adjusting your expectations. After you prove yourself as a valued, flexible team player, then you can start to pioneer some new ideas. Arrive with criticism, and you're borrowing trouble.

Be real about your privilege. Odds are, teaching will connect you with students and families who are different than you, no matter who you are. But particularly if you are a person with a whole lot of privilege, then you have some work to do in shifting any deficit thinking you may have toward your students. A perspective of "color blindness" ultimately marginalizes students of color by denying their problems exist, which many preservice teacher end up doing (McDonough, 2009). Do your part in gaining cultural competency by learning about the community where you teach. If parents are not native English speakers, learn how to greet them in their first language as a gesture of kindness and respect. Is a child's name difficult for you to pronounce? Spend time getting it exactly right, no excuses. Name and claim the areas you need to grow, and don't be shy about it. 

Keep your time in check. The social narrative on Millennial work ethic is not always flattering. If you expect to leave your classroom at 4:15 p.m. every day, you are going to fulfill bad stereotypes and you're also not going to get your job done. On the other hand, if you don't leave until 10 p.m. three nights a week, misery is inevitable. Do your best to stay balanced while drinking from the newbie firehose. If you find yourself working so much your relationships, sleep, and/or health are suffering, ask for help from your administration or fellow teachers.

Be a connector. Principals hire self-starters "who can develop positive relationships within the teaching community" (Ziebarth-Bovill, et al., 2012). Be proactive by inviting people in for observations and by asking to visit other classrooms in your school. How does that third grade teacher manage such slick transitions? How can you tighten your teaching during literacy block? Don't be shy about asking for help, because you'll build trust and find friendship by risking a little vulnerability. 

Make lavish communication a priority. Research shows that "just about all families care about their children, want them to succeed, and are eager to obtain better information from schools and communities so as to remain good partners in their children's education" (Epstein, 2010). So give the parents what they want, and what they need to be a partner with you: regular, professional, personalized updates on how their kids are doing in school. Quick anecdotal emails can establish rapport early, and by building trust in the beginning, a foundation is set if and when more serious conversations need to happen about behavior or academic concerns. Joyce Epstein's research also supports the value of in-person conferences and emphasizing the need for open communication flowing both directions--not just teacher to family (2010).

The truth is your first year of teaching will likely leave you with some battle scars, but there are ways to set yourself up for success on many fronts. Try to apply the good pedagogy and practical wisdom you learned during training, and keep the perspective that "this too shall pass." Don't forget that the education of these students falls on many shoulders--you cannot take all the credit and you cannot take all the blame. Educational researchers Henderson and Mapp, of the National Center for Family & Community, sum it up this way: "The responsibility for children's educational development is a collaborative enterprise among parents, school staff, and community members" (2002). It takes a village, and you are only a first-year villager once. 

References

Epstein, J. (1995). School/family/community partnerships: caring for the children we

share. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(9), 701-712. Retrieved from: file:///Users/holizhar/Downloads/Epstein%202010%20(1).pdf

Henderson, A. & Mapp, K. A new wave of evidence: the impact of school, family, and

community connections on student achievement. (2002). Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Retrieved from: file:///Users/holizhar/Downloads/Henderson%202002.pdf

McDonough, K. (2009). Pathways to critical consciousness: a first-year teacher’s

engagement with issues of race and equity. Journal of Teacher Education, (60)5, 528-537.

Nourie, M.C. (2011). A first-year teacher’s top 10 mistakes. Clearing House, 84(6), 231-

232.

Ziebarth-Bovill, J., Kritzer, J,. & Bovill, R. (2012). The essential criteria for hiring first

year teacher candidates. Education, 133(1), 125-138.

Where to Go From Here: Reflection on EDU 6134 Professional Issues in Education

New teachers: Keep a sense of humor at all times. 

Program standard 8.2 aims to prepare new teachers so they "exemplify an understanding of professional responsibilities and policies" as they grow and develop in their field. Aspiring educators come from a wide variety of backgrounds, from young people who have wanted to teach since childhood to working adults who pursue a career change after years in another field. They do share common ground in one primary area, however: facing the steep learning curve of actually teaching for the very first time, and learning how to act professional as they face these challenges. 

I find myself in the second camp, career-changers, and as I reflect on the professional issues presented in our course, I appreciate the information provided regarding appropriate behavior, abuse prevention, the value of parent partnerships, and the important (albeit illusive) task of teacher collaboration, among other topics. But most of all, I continue to think about the common struggles new teachers face, wondering which areas will feel most difficult for me when I begin next fall, and how I might seek solutions so I don’t burn out too quickly. 

Dan Brown says, "Part of persevering in this profession involves carrying a high threshold for bureaucratic blunders, miscarriages of justice, untimely copy machine malfunctions, misguided policies, betrayals of trust, and other epic travesties—as well as one’s own mistakes" (2012, p. 27). I loved this wisdom when I read it two months ago, and it continues to be my favorite treasure from this quarter. Adjusting our expectations and the image we have of ourselves (bleeding-heart superheroes) makes space for the realities of teaching: We will have some hard days. We will have some terrible days. This is not the end of the world, this needn’t take us by surprise, and this doesn’t mean our students cannot learn from us.

What separates a flailing new teacher from a professional is the understanding that our teaching will not be perfect no matter how hard we work. By soulfully expecting perfection, new teachers are inevitably crushed by the weight of dismissive parents, unhelpful colleagues, and disinterested students. The opportunity lies in applying the tools gained in a course such as this one: Find a better way to communicate with difficult parents (Is a language barrier making emails less effective, perhaps?). Reach out to the colleagues who can be supportive (and avoid the negative naysayers). Maintain healthy boundaries with students. Seek the advice of a teaching coach to make boring curriculum come to life for kids, and keep trying when the disillusionment hits hard come Christmas break (Moir, 2011).

Although I have not yet faced the first-year teacher blues, I am trying to translate some of the pressure I feel as a parent of two children (one preschooler, one newborn), with a spouse also in graduate school, living in a foreign country, into coping strategies that will be useful when I finally start to teach. I am seeking support from current teachers by asking questions about early learning and the importance of play. I have sought training on phonological awareness and grapho-motor development so as to build partnerships with teachers in the community ahead of time. I'm trying to peel back the cultural onion of families in Hong Kong through play ground chats, so I can relate to parents in my future school better. 

I am also working hard to laugh about the things that simply do not go perfectly—letting go of the ideal of homemade baby food may be perfect preparation for disappointing bulletin boards. I know the season of my imperfect but best-I-can studenthood will ultimately benefit my future kindergarten students. They will see a human being who works hard to maintain professional standards as an educator, imparting a love of reading, writing, and all kinds of learning, calling any perfectly trimmed bulletin boards icing on the cake.

References

Brown, D. (2012). Now that I know. Educational Leadership, May 2012, 24-48.
Moir, E. (2011). Phases of first year teaching. Retrieved     from: file:///Users/holizhar/Downloads/Moir%202011.pdf

Where to Go From Here: Reflection on EDU 6134 Professional Issues in Education

New teachers: Keep a sense of humor at all times. 

Program standard 8.2 aims to prepare new teachers so they "exemplify an understanding of professional responsibilities and policies" as they grow and develop in their field. Aspiring educators come from a wide variety of backgrounds, from young people who have wanted to teach since childhood to working adults who pursue a career change after years in another field. They do share common ground in one primary area, however: facing the steep learning curve of actually teaching for the very first time, and learning how to act professional as they face these challenges. 

I find myself in the second camp, career-changers, and as I reflect on the professional issues presented in our course, I appreciate the information provided regarding appropriate behavior, abuse prevention, the value of parent partnerships, and the important (albeit illusive) task of teacher collaboration, among other topics. But most of all, I continue to think about the common struggles new teachers face, wondering which areas will feel most difficult for me when I begin next fall, and how I might seek solutions so I don’t burn out too quickly. 

Dan Brown says, "Part of persevering in this profession involves carrying a high threshold for bureaucratic blunders, miscarriages of justice, untimely copy machine malfunctions, misguided policies, betrayals of trust, and other epic travesties—as well as one’s own mistakes" (2012, p. 27). I loved this wisdom when I read it two months ago, and it continues to be my favorite treasure from this quarter. Adjusting our expectations and the image we have of ourselves (bleeding-heart superheroes) makes space for the realities of teaching: We will have some hard days. We will have some terrible days. This is not the end of the world, this needn’t take us by surprise, and this doesn’t mean our students cannot learn from us.

What separates a flailing new teacher from a professional is the understanding that our teaching will not be perfect no matter how hard we work. By soulfully expecting perfection, new teachers are inevitably crushed by the weight of dismissive parents, unhelpful colleagues, and disinterested students. The opportunity lies in applying the tools gained in a course such as this one: Find a better way to communicate with difficult parents (Is a language barrier making emails less effective, perhaps?). Reach out to the colleagues who can be supportive (and avoid the negative naysayers). Maintain healthy boundaries with students. Seek the advice of a teaching coach to make boring curriculum come to life for kids, and keep trying when the disillusionment hits hard come Christmas break (Moir, 2011).

Although I have not yet faced the first-year teacher blues, I am trying to translate some of the pressure I feel as a parent of two children (one preschooler, one newborn), with a spouse also in graduate school, living in a foreign country, into coping strategies that will be useful when I finally start to teach. I am seeking support from current teachers by asking questions about early learning and the importance of play. I have sought training on phonological awareness and grapho-motor development so as to build partnerships with teachers in the community ahead of time. I'm trying to peel back the cultural onion of families in Hong Kong through play ground chats, so I can relate to parents in my future school better. 

I am also working hard to laugh about the things that simply do not go perfectly—letting go of the ideal of homemade baby food may be perfect preparation for disappointing bulletin boards. I know the season of my imperfect but best-I-can studenthood will ultimately benefit my future kindergarten students. They will see a human being who works hard to maintain professional standards as an educator, imparting a love of reading, writing, and all kinds of learning, calling any perfectly trimmed bulletin boards icing on the cake.

References

Brown, D. (2012). Now that I know. Educational Leadership, May 2012, 24-48.
Moir, E. (2011). Phases of first year teaching. Retrieved     from: file:///Users/holizhar/Downloads/Moir%202011.pdf

Learners in Context: Midway Reflection

One month of intensive study on child development has led me to one important conclusion: I will likely spend the rest of my life as a teacher catching relatively small glimpses of our complex human nature, and still never fully understand it. It's a web so intricate, it frankly makes me stand in wonder at such marvelous creation. What beauty! I can imagine many chances to naturally engage in conversations exploring these issues throughout my career (just as Program Standard #8 requires). It's overwhelming, in a good way. 

As I have learned more about the various developmental theories, and the consequential educational practices stemming from each--hello, constructivism!--it is also clear to me that there are kernels of truth in all of these ideas. The biological nature of a child is absolutely hard-wired, but his intelligence, for example, may only be fully manifest when raised in the context of a loving, supportive home. The same child, born with incredible intellect but in a refugee camp, will likely never show the same kind of growth, or academic achievement as a child born to a healthy, safe family that sends him to school every day without event. Many of my peers' experience teaching ELL high school students highlights this same reality, and the inverse is true of my current posting at a high-octane international school. Children with much less natural "talent" will become CEOs, attorneys, and doctors because their environments (and their privilege) make it possible. 

The achievement gap, and the ways our system exacerbates it, has been on my mind a lot through this course of study, but Dr. Medina's vision for brain-friendly classrooms keep me hopeful. From a restructured teaching schedule that recycles content repeatedly throughout the day, to a school day that respects the body's natural need to nap (amen!), there are ways to improve the system that will greatly benefit young people (Medina, 53, 157). Learning would increase as information becomes rock solid through purposeful repetition, and a chance for the brain to process it during sleep. 

I am beginning to consider ways I can implement Medina's findings, as well as the big theories outlined Pressley and McCormick, in my own class, and I will begin with lots of "small bite" repetition. I think of this method as drip-drip-drip, hoping to fill each child's bucket with plenty of learning by the end of a school year. One veteran teacher advised to me pick one small slice of my teaching to master each year, and by doing so I will build an expert skill set over time. I look forward to trying "small bites" in my first "small slice"--there's a lifetime of learning to do, and I'm just getting started. 

Resources

Medina, J. (2014). Brain Rules. Seattle, WA: Pear Press.
Pressley, M. & McCormick, C.B. (2007). Child and adolescent development for educators. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Learners in Context: First Reflections

A quick pre-assessment of my background knowledge for Learners in Context tells me I will be doing a lot of learning this summer! All of the names and catch phrases in our short quiz--Vygotsky, Piaget, cognitive development, etc.--seem familiar, but the truth is that I haven't thought of most of them since I took a basic undergraduate psychology course thirteen years past.

So what do I know about child development? Becoming a mother four and a half years ago has been the greatest practice in understanding how little people develop and grow, from the wide-eyed, serious infant stare (Are you in there, smiles and laughter?) to three-year-old tantrums to potty training and learning how to adjust to life as a sibling (which is the latest news at our house--I delivered a baby boy on June 3). 

When my first child was born, learning to read his cues and meet his needs felt intuitive in many ways, but it seemed I could never be quick enough to respond before a full-fledged infant protest began. Now that I have another baby, the comparing of children, despite all efforts to halt it, has begun! Our new baby is incredibly docile, patient, and it's only with his arrival that I can see just how distinct my children's personalities are from birth. It is definitely increasing my conviction of nature in the nature vs. nurture debate. 

Medina's findings on the importance of sleep are obviously no surprise to me in my current season of life. In fact, they come as welcome relief to me when I feel like I can hardly get a coherent sentence out after a wakeful night of feedings and rocking the baby to sleep! 

Also, the sleep data would be a useful tool for families at the international school where I have worked the past two years. Many students, some as young as four, are constantly scheduled with music lessons, swimming playdates, phonics, math, or foreign language tutoring (really), and exhibit definite signs of exhaustion at school. These are tiny children who are "working 60 hour weeks," as the teachers have come to say, and they are stressed out, distracted, and agitated. If parents better understood that our brains need sleep to essentially finish the work--the learning--they start during the day, perhaps they would place rest and a decent bedtime higher on the priority list (Medina, 40). I know our students would surely appreciate the chance to play and rest more, and work less.

References

Medina, J. (2014). Brain rules. Seattle, WA: Pear Press. 

You Answe

Learning with Technology: Trying it out!

The culminating project for Learning with Technology (EDTC 6431) is a highly developed lesson plan designed for second grade readers. Check out the process by which I brainstormed, researched, planned, and revised this experience over the course of the quarter. Many thanks to my classmates and professor, Dr. Wicks, for great suggestions and guidance along the way!

Check out the entire project right here. 

ISTE Standard #5: Teaching Digital Citizenship

A question to prompt my research: What are some best practice guidelines for teachers of young students when it comes to introducing internet safety?

Private schools, especially schools outside the United States, are not subject to the same legal requirements from the Department of Education on digital citizenship, so although many of these schools have technology resources, the training and policies vary greatly from school to school (more than in public schools, from what I understand from my public school-teaching peers). It may fall to the teacher to develop her own strategy for keeping students safe if these policies aren't fully developed.

In my search for basic tools for early elementary teachers, I found some great starting resources for the youngest learners. PBS Kids actually has a cute online game that teaches basic internet safety and citizenship called Webonauts, which could work well as a primer. It's got fun music and little avatars that will keep kids engaged as they cover Internet 101. For pre-readers, I can picture working through the program with a small group, or perhaps even via projector as an entire class. (Note: The site requires Flash, which makes sense since the copyright says 2010, but at least the content is still relevant.)

From the footer of the site: The Webonauts Internet Academy empowers kids to make responsible and respectful decisions in their online internactions. Taking on the role of a Webonaut, kids explore a series of missions that teach key issues of web safety and digital citizenship. 

The game's motto is Observe, Respect, Contribute, and the design is space-inspired:

As players continue through the game, they begin to learn the importance of their own careful decisions as they develop their earliest digital footprints. Paying attention to the content they encounter (is this appropriate or does it make me feel unsafe?), choosing kindness (say no to online cruelty), and sharing one's own perspective thoughtfully (give, don't just take)--these ideals are all woven into the Webonauts experience.

For schools still working toward longterm policies and practices, the state of Virginia's Department of Education seems to be a pioneer in establishing these rules from the ground up. Look no further than their website, which contains one especially scrupulous document, for every possible digital citizenship scenario (from the mild to most horrifying). 

I think parents and teachers alike will face an uphill battle in raising a new generation of children in the "Wild Wild West" of the internet, but I know the gifts our children receive from a connected world will outweigh the dangers. As long as we do not become complacent in our commitment to keeping them safe, students will benefit in immeasurable ways from the treasure trove of information at our fingertips. It's a massive privilege and responsibility, no doubt.