Week 4

It was another busy week! I am beginning to see that there are frequent variables in the academic schedules from day to day that can make planning difficult. For example, there are several pull outs for students to receive resource, EL, speech, or social work services. As I gave my first summative assessment in math, 3 students were pulled for resource and will now have to make up the test. As of this week, band was added to that mix. We have 6 students in band who will be pulled every Thursday, during a different period each week, but not at the same time. They are split into 2 groups of 3 students each. So, this week one group went during first period and the other during last period. Also, there was an assembly and parade that student attended the last hour of the day on 9/11 and a visit from the Cub/Boy Scouts that each grade level attended at a particular time on Thursday. Our time was right in the middle of math, but they were running late so worked on while waiting to be interrupted. This week coming up, we will have a "bus evacuation drill" and a visit from a local author on Friday. Additionally, 2 students from 3rd grade have joined our math class for enrichment. There is a lot to keep track of and make up for!  

My goals for this week were to begin filming/get students used to the camera, finalize the math segment that I will use for EdTPA, and figure out a better system for managing the workload of life, student teaching, and EdTPA. 

✅I am happy to say that I finally got to film the class and they were mostly unaware of the camera! Audio is going to be a bit of a challenge.

✅My EdTPA math segment has been chosen! I will be doing a multiplication segment on the 5's and 9's facts. 

✅⛔I am beginning to feel better about my workload as I am getting better acclimated to everything. I still feel that a better system, like a very set schedule for tasks outside the classroom, would be helpful. However, the time, effort, trial and error that would be involved is probably not worth it. By the time I'd be in a good groove, it would be December 🤣.

My goals for this week are to relax, enjoy myself in the classroom, and not lose my mind as I begin EdTPA content.

Classroom Confidential

This chapter reinforced my understanding of cultural awareness since many of these concepts were explored in my "Foundations of Teaching Bilingual/ESL Students" course. I like that she points being "culturally blind" as a flaw rather than a virtue. Saying that one does not recognize color or culture, and essentially views everyone as the same, is a denial of meaningful identity and self esteem for students. Such views dismiss a significant part of who our students are in life, and in turn dismisses that part them.