Weekly blog post 3

Highlight:
I think the highlight of my week is definitely being around students. basically, I am getting to know more students better and sometimes they are surprising and hilarious. Here are a few quotes that made me chuckle:
"onomatopoeia is not a real word, that's probably a type of mexican food."
"I can't do my entry task right now, I have to wash my arm."
"this worksheet is causing me spiritual problems."
And this joke a student felt obligated to tell me:
"where does a boat go when it's sick? To the doc(k)"

But seriously, sometimes students are just great, even when they're crazy. I heard one student saying something about Jewish people, and I instantly walked over to make sure nothing shady was going down. When I asked him what they were talking about, The student asked me if  I had ever seen freedom writers. He told me he was explaining that the part where the students were passing around a picture was just like what hitler did with the Jews, and that it was "totally heart breaking." (stereotype was a vocab word, and he was explains it to his group.) where I heard a piece of a conversation and thought that they were saying something possibly racist, they were actually having a deep and insightful conversation.

Something that made me think differently:
One of the things making my think differently about education this week is seeing how different teachers at the school react to things like the MSP test. The English teacher I work with is doing activities to prep students for the test, one math teacher is giving students two days off to decompress from the test, and the social studies teacher I work with is doing a "fun" enrichment activity, working with underground railroad quilts. I think that all three ideas have their merits, because the kids are stressed and worn down with testing issues right now. I guess my thought is that it's ok to approach issues differently, and sometimes it's ok to give students a break or do something different.

One approach:
One thing I want to use is  the idea as playing music as an incentive during independent work times. The teacher I observe told students if they worked quietly, she'd play the radio for the rest of the period. I think this is a good idea, and the right kind of music can be helpful and soothing while working, as well as a good group incentive. In practice, there were problems with the idea. She allowed the music without the good behavior, which made the class less productive. Also, she was using pandora and playing a random hits station. It played Katy perry and Justin timberlake and I think students were distracted. I think you have to have a way to control the music if you're going to use it. But its a good idea in theory, I think.

Perplexing issues:
one perplexing issue I am having is once again how to balance my desire for more experience and my cooperating teachers plans. I am in a second classroom, and right now I'm still getting used to watching what they're doing and what the social studies teachers methods are. I don't know when or if I am going to be teaching in the class, or if I can help with management when students act out. I am just waiting for further instruction, and it's an awkward place. I like both of my cooperating teachers though, and I think I just need time to adjust to a new and different classroom.