No Words

Everyone has a story. There's always something deeper than the dark, color-surrounded pupils of the eyes of whom we are so familiar.

I had no idea how deep these stories ran within the blood of my students. Yesterday CT and I sat down and she told me everything about their backgrounds and what their home-lives were like. Many go home at night to broken families with unsupportive, immature, or apathetic parents. No wonder some of their motivation is so low.

One of the main reasons why I want to be a teacher is so I can be a positive influence to those who don't have one. I'm not saying this to impress anyone, or make myself sound like a saint...because I'm not. I say it because for some kids (not just my students) school is the only safe, sane, stable place there is. I want to be a person that students feel comfortable talking with and can trust.

James 1:27 states:

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Merely being there for a child is the bare minimum of what God expects me to do with my calling as a teacher.

Rejoice

Can I just start out with saying that I love God and am constantly amazed at out how He works?

D and I were taking a walk and our friend, AC (not to be confused with air conditioning) came up to us and asked "Can I just tell you guys about how amazing God is?" Immediate response...um YEAH! He told us a story of a recent time when he experienced such a strong connection with God that it was overwhelming. My words would fall short compared to what he told us, but it really got me thinking about my faith. Overall I would say my beliefs and faith are strong, but sometimes my trust falls short. Often times I'll solely depend on myself and leave God out of the picture. Not okay. So my goal for the rest of the semester (well, more like the rest of my life) is to not be afraid to let go. Not be afraid to say, ok God, you got this...because no matter what, He does. I don't think I can be reminded of this enough.

On a similar note...


For dinner devotions this evening I shared Philippians 4:4-7:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Just chew on that for a second...

...Read it again...

...One more time...

And now my reason for reading it...

Being an ESL teacher is hard, it's a fact. Your patience will be tested and no two lessons will be the same. But I couldn't love it more. God has shown me little things this week that help me to know that things will be okay. Student E is our lowest student when it comes to comprehension. Her language skills are at a level 1ish, where the others are at a level 2. She tries though. But this week something really clicked, I don't know what it was but something just clicked! She was speaking as much as she could in English. She volunteered to give answers. She even translated directions from English to Spanish for a fellow student (normally others in the class do this for her). I was so excited! Yet that's not where the blessings stop. One of the days when she was using as much language as she could, the rest of the class started cheering her on. They were clapping and encouraging her in both English and Spanish. It made me so happy. The community among the students in my ESL classroom is strong, and I'm happy to be a part of it. 

No matter how hard student teaching (or anything in life) gets I need to rejoice. God has a reason for it and I need to trust that He'll guide me through.

Lessons Learned this Week

-Sometimes you just need to put the books a way and have a time to relate to your students.
-If you're helping a 7th grade boy study for math, make up raps...despite the fact that you'll look whiter than you already are (well those of you who are reading this that are white) it makes it fun.

Goals for Next Week

-Find more ways to differentiate

Leader of the Pack

Tuesday night
8:59
Bedtime is drawing ever nearer.

Do you ever have one of those days where things keep moving but your mind is kind of slow? I definitely did today. Maybe it's lack of sleep, maybe it's because I taught almost every period, I'm not really sure.

I arrived at school this morning around 8:00am. Shuffling into the pint sized office that I share with two other teachers, I started unpacking for the long day ahead of me. Being that my teacher had the pleasure of proctoring the ELDA (English Language Development Assessment), I was given the opportunity to play substitute :D. I was a little nervous, but mostly mutual. I hadn't had the chance to teach so much in one day. On the bright side, leading an ESL class is sometimes like leading a tutoring session. There's a small amount of students; the perfect opportunity for a lot more one-on-one time. Pretty much a teacher's dream.

Overall the day went well though, quite the confidence booster in all honesty. It was a nice rehearsal for my week of full time teacher that in inching its way closer. Tomorrow and the next day will be similar, I'll take the practice while I can though.

But no matter how tired I was or ever will be, I need to keep in mind that teaching is about the students not the dark circles forming under my eyes. If God can sacrifice His only son in order to save all of humanity, I can teach 9 periods of class to the best of my ability.

My supervisor is coming observe tomorrow, I'm ready though.
He's pretty chill.

Tuesday Night
9:21
Eyes...about...to...ZZzzzZZzzzz

Sorry this blog was dull...I'll try to make it more interesting on Friday.

Lessons Learned Today
-Keep a sense of humor.
-It's important to stay positive about a lesson, even if you're tired and not into it.

Goals for this Week
-Go to bed earlier.
-Teach super awesomely.

Flexibility

I am a person of habit. I don't always like to admit it, but I am. Sometimes I'll even subconsciously repeat certain ways of how to do things just because I'm comfortable with it. After all, if it isn't broke don't fix it...right? Wrong!

Throughout my student teaching career so far, I've learned that many times things won't go as planned. I've experienced people showing up late for important appointments, students forgetting crucial assignments, and the like. However, today I was given the chance to really practice thinking on my feet (I always though this was kind of a silly phrase, no one has brains on their feet...). I walked in this morning and CT was sitting at her desk, in a bit of a tizzy. (One thing you should know about CT is that she is not only the ESL teacher but the school translator as well.) She told me that she had to translate for parent teacher conferences today from 10:00-11:30am, which meant I would be teaching in her place. My heart start pumping a bit because the most I had taught these students was one lesson. I took it as a positive challenge though, I need to start teaching more anyways, so why not jump in head first? It's not like I hadn't worked with the kids before, and they were all familiar with me. CT gave me the run down for the three periods I would be teaching and then she was off.

Second period there was only one student, so it sailed right on by. Third started out as a little bit more of a challenge. One of the students kind of has an attitude sometimes, but once we got working they all were pretty well engaged. I think it helped that I asked them a lot of questions about traditions in their home country of Mexico. It was nice to be able to relate to my students in this way. Once fourth came though, things got a little bit more interesting.

The lesson itself went fine. We reviewed their homework and I had them play a game where they practice giving each other commands in English. They seemed to enjoy it. After all, how many times are you told to tell someone else to do something? (Whoa, a command to give commands...it's almost like Inception...but not). As we were working, a loud click sounded and all the lights out in the library went off (our classroom is located in small room in the library). One of my students gave out a quick "What the heck!" in broken English. Our lights were fine so we continued to work, but not for long. Soon we were in the dark as well. CT came back from translating and told us that school would be let out for the afternoon due to the loss of power. We were all little excited to say the least.

Apparently what happened was there was someone burning a chain-link fence and the flames made their way up a pole to one of our power lines. So our fuses went ka-put.

I can't complain though, it's nice to have the afternoon off :).

Tomorrow should be an easy day too. We're having shortened classes due to the middle school and high school dodge ball tournaments. Apparently it's a really big deal to the students, they make teams for it and everything! There's nothing like watching 100+ students pelt each other with foam spheres to get the weekend going ;).

If anything else blog worthy comes up (like a tornado, flash flood, or zombie attack) I'll be sure to write.

Until next week.

Lessons Learned this Week
-Don't ever expect things to go as planned, especially as an ESL teacher.
-Even if there is a language barrier, try to talk and relate to your students.

Goals for Next Week
-Teach more lessons.
-Find different ways to keep everyone engaged in the lessons.

Quirks

I don't really have much to report for today, but I thought it would be fun to share these lists with you.

You know you're a student teacher when...
-You wear black pants, black shoes, black socks, with a black dress jacket and you're not going to a funeral.
-You go to bed way earlier than any of your other roommates.
-You don't have to pay for Spring Break housing...cha-ching!
-You start speaking in education terms and your friends give you an odd look.
-You become a copy machine master.
-You learn way more in 7+ weeks about teaching than all four years at Dordt combined.

You know you're an ESL student teacher when...
-You realize that without differentiation you're pretty much a failure.
-You start reading things in the accent of your students in your head.
-You get the biggest grammar review of your life.
-Your students tell you that something is the translation of a word in their language, so you say it but the word turns out to mean something foolish instead. (It's important to keep a good sense of humor.)
-You have the ability to talk to your students in both English and their native language (kind of).

 "Those who can, do. Those who understand, teach." Aristotle

Broken English with a Side of Humility

There are many things I love more than anything in this world, one of them being a good slap of realization.

As I sit at my kitchen table eating pot-stickers from Fareway (Asian food gods please don't smite me), I can't help but to reflect on everything that has happened this past week. Let me first start with saying that I have so much respect for my cooperating teacher (we'll call her CT).

I can't even describe how well she works with these students. Her expectations are high, but the way she teaches makes it possible for her students to meet her standards. She's constantly figuring out different ways to help her students succeed in a way that works best for them. Something all teachers should aspire to do. But the thing I like best about watching her is how she interacts with the students. CT treats them like real people, not just students but real people. That might sound weird...let me explain. Instead of talking at students she talks with them. She allows time for simple, personal discussion. By doing so her students can relate to her, which leads to trust and comfort. A safe and comfortable environment is a necessity when working with ELL's (English Language Learners). Honestly, I hope I can have as a good of a relationship with my future students as she does with her's. Being an ESL teacher is more than just a classroom job. You're constantly playing mediator between classroom teachers, parents, administrators, and other students. You're the parent. You're the encourager, the punisher (is that a word? well it is now...), and on top of that you still have to teach.

I must say though, listening to Spanglish all day does have a certain charm to it ;).

Another thing that kind of hit me hard this week was the reality that when I'm a teacher, I can't put my needs first. I know that sounds kind of vain, but bear with me. As a college student, at least in my case, it can sometimes be hard to not get a little self-absorbed. I need to get MY homework done, I need to find MY future job, I need to go to MY classes, I need to have money for MY food, I want to make time for MY friends and ME. Are you sensing a reoccurring theme here? I am. Earlier this week when I was observing in the classroom I started thinking about how tired I was and how I wished I had gone to bed at a more reasonable hour. Then I stopped, looked up, and saw CT sitting there teaching four NC's (new comers). Though her eyes looked a little sleepy she still had an encouraging attitude toward her students. With each broken English word they spoke and each correct answer they gave she kept pushing them a long. It was then that I realized my attitude needed to change. Education is about the students. If we can't help our students succeed then we aren't doing our job. No matter if it means lack of sleep or staying at school long after the final bell rings. Being a teacher means more than just receiving tenure, benefits, and money. Whether a student passes or fails may or may not be your fault...but no pressure.

Your teachers (at least most of them) care more about you than you might think.

Lessons Learned this Week
-So many.

Goals for Next Week
-Start teaching small lessons.
-Be patient.
-Be encouraging.
-Speak slowly and enunciate.

Estoy la Profe.

And so another session of student teaching begins...

First of all I apologize if half of this doesn't make any sense, my brain is a little fried.

My carpool and I drove up to school at about quarter to eight. Opening the large, glass doors of the entrance we saw the smiling faces of teachers and students. We introduced ourselves to the elementary principal and he was gracious enough to walk us to our classrooms. Through the library door I ventured and found a room, smaller than my bedroom, with the letters "ESL" printed on the side.

I talked with my teacher for a bit before the day began. Once the bell rang we walked into our cracker-box sized classroom and elementary aged students made their way in. Before I continue let me remind you that I am going to be teaching in an ESL (English as a Second Language) classroom. My students range anywhere from elementary to high school. And as, I learned today, their English range is even more all over the place. Anyway, where was I....oh yes elementary ESL. Each of these students (all three of them) are either on or going to be on an Individualized Education Program. Which brings some extra challenges. This basically means that they are behind in someway and need extra help, most common amongst Special Ed. students. Keep in mind though, ESL is not a form of Special Ed.

Honestly the whole day was kind of a blur. Students (all of Hispanic origin) constantly in and out, it's definitely different having classes by period instead of the whole day. The class I really enjoyed observing was the beginners. They're just starting to speak English so there is a lot of Spanish mixed-in with their conversation. But the cool part was that I could understand a good majority of what they were saying. Granted there were times where they spoke so quickly it was kind of like...uhhhhhhh? It's both scary and a confidence booster. I'm excited to be able to converse with them in two languages, but worried that they'll ask something in Spanish that I won't be able to understand. It'll work out though.

Once 1:30 rolled around my cooperating teacher, supervisor, and I all sat down and had a chat about expectations. It was a great meeting, they're both very encouraging and willing to help with anything.

This is going to be a teaching experience like nothing I've had before. It will require more thinking, planning, and stamina than my prior one...and I couldn't be more excited :D.

Goals for this Week
-Remember the names of all my students.
-Get to know my students.

Lessons Learned from Today
-I'm so thankful I took Spanish classes.
-Teaching doesn't mean you need to be a tight-wad.