"Wise Teachers Make Learning A Joy"
-Chinese Proverb
-Chinese Proverb
Assignments:
Read the introduction and through page 11 of the text. Please reflect on any ahas or main points. Share what you are already doing in your classrooms or daily lives that foster a "Fun-damental" Attitude. After going over the Pop Quiz on pages 10 and 11 reflect on your personal results.
Read the introduction and through page 11 of the text. Please reflect on any ahas or main points. Share what you are already doing in your classrooms or daily lives that foster a "Fun-damental" Attitude. After going over the Pop Quiz on pages 10 and 11 reflect on your personal results.
Click on comments to add your thoughts, feelings and ideas
4 comments:
There is one statement that I definitely want to take with me from this class - from the Introduction: "learning and laughter go hand in hand." It's simple, to the point, and really sums up our goal.
I remember something that my students always enjoyed when I used to teach second grade. When I would introduce new letters for handwriting I would show them the correct way on the chalkboard and have them practice it in the air, on their palms, and on their partners' backs. Then we would play "Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down." I would write the letter on the board again. If I did it correctly, they would show me their thumbs up. If I did anything wrong (purposely, and sometimes not on purpose - they were picky!), they would show me thumbs down. Then they would have to tell me what was wrong with it. They always loved the game no matter how many times we played it. I noticed that it helped them a lot when writing the letter on their own after that. They knew exactly what little things to look for in their own handwriting that might cause a thumbs down, and they always got to circle some of their best ones which would get a thumbs up ratings.
Another way I try to foster a "Fun-damental attitude" is when I need my students' attention, I tell them I need to see their eyeballs. Then I open my eyes as wide as I possibly can and make eye contact with each and every student before I begin my directions. I always get lots of giggles (especially from younger children), and it really does seem to help them focus on what I say next.
As for the quiz - I did it twice - once a few days ago, and once today. The results were slightly different, probably because of thinking of different situations when reading the statements. Overall my score says that I'm doing well keeping a positive approach, but there is always room for improvement! I liked the variety of statements. I will try to remember to read through the list frequently to remind me of what's important.
I typed a long response yesterday and thought that I clicked on the "publish" button. I guess I didn't so I will try to remember what I wrote.
The introduction made sense to me; I agree with what was written. As an eighth grade teacher, you HAVE to have some sort of humor! I taught elementary school for 13 years before switching to 8th grade and to tell the truth, it seems like I am teaching the same things and doing the same things in both levels! The only difference is that the younger kids start off loving you right away and you have to do something really bad to have them lose their faith in you. With middle schoolers, in my opinion, they start off automatically not liking you and you have to work your tail off for them to gain their faith in you. What that something is, I believe, is humor. Once I show the students that I have a sense of humor, which somehow shows compassion, I usually have them for the rest of the year. It seems like the hardest classes I teach are the ones that don't seem to either get my humor, or the ones that don't have a sense of humor. The classes that laugh the most are always the classes that seem to do the best with my curriculum.
In 8th grade English, we finish the year with a humor unit. We teach about the different types of humor and start each lesson with different antecdotes taped on their desks. The students love this unit and it is a great way to keep them focused all the way to the end of the year.
I also took the quiz at different times. It appears that I do teach with humor and that I am doing a decent job, although many of the questions I answered using my classes that laughed vs. my classes that didn't laugh. It is amazing how some classes have such different senses of humor. I teach the same lesson five times a day and some classes laugh the entire time and others sit there and barely smile. I am hoping that this class will help me to find ways to reach those students that rarely smile.
As I was reading the selection, I was agreeing with the thought that we need to have humor in our classrooms. The older the child the more it helps with making a connection. However, I would like to add, students also want to know that as teachers, that we care about them.
I work in a very small, rural district where we all know one another, in and out of school. Students like to have that connection with you in the classroom, at Wal-mart, and at the football game.
As I read the other two postings, I could really relate to Lisbeth because I have also taught at the elementary and middle school levels. The older they get, the harder you have to work to keep their attention. Your humor needs to be quick to stay one step ahead. If it is not, it might be time to think about leaving teaching.
I have always thought that there are a lot of teachers that are much more knowledgeable than me, but the students respect me and enjoy my classes. Because of that, they are productive and do well in my room.
I think the quiz would be interesting to take at the start of the school year, midway, and at the end. The results would probably be more telling.
I think the best phrase is: The good news is that we have an opportunity each year to become memorable, life changing teachers for our students. (I could add "So if we had a tough class last year, take a deep breath because you get another group this fall!")In so many other professions, one is stuck with a bad boss/coworker/etc...we get to start fresh!
One section that I could relate to was on pg. 7. The author brought up "who would you rather have as a teacher?" He asked us to think of our past teachers and the characteristics of the ones we remembered. I remember many teachers but very few left an impact in my life....some positive and some negative. I think that I teach what I teach because I didn't enjoy the subject when I was in school. I wanted to make it something better for my students.
I know that I always keep a smile in the classroom, no matter what the situation. I find that it keeps me sane when I smile instead of letting it eat me up inside. It also keeps the tone for the classroom. If I allow my frustration with another student effect my entire class, it will be evident.
The pop quiz was a good reminder for me. One of my behaviors that I would like work is my constant worrying. I focus on what I don't want to happen in the classroom instead of what I want in the classroom. I thought that was a very good statement to reflect on.
Post a Comment