It's hard to believe I've been teaching for one month. In retrospect it feels like less than a few days. In practice, it feels epic.
I still don't think I have a good grasp of the reality of me being a teacher yet. It's very surreal. It's like I don't believe I'm a real teacher.
There are a lot of jobs where you can sit behind your desk or stand behind a counter and not really do much all day. Interaction with people can be pretty limited in jobs like that. While there are a TON of crazy things that can happen being a teacher (and remember this is only from one month of experience), it's still a very invigorating (?) job. I go into class prepared as can be, but I also go in prepared to manage the craziest events I can imagine. I guess in that way, it's sort of a rush.
I gave my first unit test yesterday. Most of my students failed. Many didn't even show. I completely expected both. Those who did pass are the ones that show up everyday and ready to work. Good for them. Those who did not pass were the ones who mess around during class, interrupt the lesson or only show up sporadically and late. Good for them too. Hopefully they will see that failure is a result of their behavior. Although, I am aware that I have to connect the cause-effect relationship of hard work and success for them as they are unable to do it independently.
I fully expect my students to improve their grades. From what I hear, the first two tests are pretty awful. It was quite disheartening to see the Scantron sheets shoot through the reader with such low percentages printed in dot matrix red ink. I was actually amazed to see one student actually get 100%. I still need to check it to be sure. I guess since most of the questions were multiple choice, anything above a 25% is better than guessing. Anything below that and it must have been just bad chance or they were trying to fail.
One step at a time I guess. For now I'll enjoy my time off next week.
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Quiet Before the Storm
Rumor is that the first year of teaching tends to be the most difficult. Given that, I would like to do my best to enjoy the free time I have during August. So, I booked a five-day vacation to San Francisco, CA.
I've been to CA before, but other parts such as LA, Palm Spring, San Diego... SoCal basically. However, from all the ranting and raving I keep hearing, it seems SF is one hell of a city, even on par with NYC. Now I love NYC, so I have a hard time imagining this. I'm totally open to the idea of falling in love with another city though.
One of the great things about teaching is that a teacher's skill is in high demand just about everywhere. So if I happen to fall in love with some city and I want to move and live there, I would probably be able to find a teaching position relatively easily. Certification would be a hurdle of sorts, but often NY's certification is transferrable to other states. I would also like to make sure I am vested in the pension system here before I make any drastic moves, so that means at least five years. Also, the perfect amount of time to hone my skills and build a reputation.
Don't get me wrong. I realize I have not even begun teaching, technically. I think having some healthy foresight and a future plan of options is a good idea though. NYC is great, but I imagine after a few decades it can really wear on a person, unless you're exorbitantly wealthy.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Coming to a Close
I'm a bit bothered that I have not posted in a while, but it is with good reason. I am in the home stretch of training. The last day of my graduate course is today. I still have to revise a few lesson plans for the final project, but aside from that, there are no more scheduled meeting times. That means my last 12 hour day is today! YAYAYA!
Next week, I still am required to go to my field training site to observe and teach. This is often the highlight of my day. I get to work with students as a whole class, in small groups or one on one. Establishing a healthy academic relationship with them is satisfying for me and beneficial for them. Today was the midterm for two sections of Living Environment I've been observing and occasionally teaching. Unfortunately, I do not expect many of them to do well. During classes they were often not engaged or enjoying themselves and therefore not effectively learning.
I do not quite understand this, but when they were finishing the test, they found it acceptable to hand it into me telling that it was finished. I would look at it, see that there were at least five questions not answered. I returned it to them saying that is was, indeed, not finished and that I wanted them to try to answer the questions. It seems that many of them are so easily satisfied with low mediocrity or failure.
One student insisted that he did not know and had nothing to write. I insisted that he write something, even if it was that he did not know. Hopefully this well let them see that they must know when something is finished before they can finish it well. Obviously, this presents an overwhelming challenge for both student and teacher. Most importantly, I think they do understand that I have a genuine concern for their academic success. My ability to address that in summer school is limited because these are technically not my classes, but it gives me insight into what I would like to see in the fall.
Also, next week, I must attend my Student Achievement Framework sessions from 2-4 at CCNY, a much better and earlier time slot than 4-6. Once next week is over, I am free for most of August until the last week on Thursday when I have to report to my school for teacher orientation. In retrospect, training has gone by extremely fast even though it felt like time was static while I was in it. I look forward (with some mild trepidation) to establishing my own class in the fall and continuing to learn how to help students do well in every aspect of their lives.
Monday, April 14, 2008
BTW, You'll be paying us more...
I preface this by saying that I have no problem paying for my education. It is a worthwile cost and I am quite willing to take responsibility for it.
That said, I received an email today from the NYC Fellows Program. The subject read: "Important Update Regarding Your NYCTF Enrollment: Action Required." Thus far, any status updates on myNYCTF have been either positive or neutral. I am not sure this update falls into either one of those categories.
As fellows know, NYCTF covers the majority of the cost of our masters degrees and the rest is covered by bimonthly deductions from our paychecks beginning in October 08 in the amount of $115, no wait, $125, no... $150 per paycheck?
As it turns out, fellows' financial responsibility for our Masters degrees has increased from $5,500 to $6,600. Because of this change, fellows are required to electronically sign another Fellow Committment Form agreeing to the change.
A TIME magazine article recently listed education as the most secure profession during a recession. (I read the article in hard copy and have not been able to find it online- When/If I do, I will post it.) While I do not disagree with TIME, the email from NYCTF cites budget cuts as the reason for our increased financial responsibility. I must reiterate that educational costs are a noble expense, but the bottom line is that my paycheck will be less because of the city's economic constraints. Looks like education is not as secure as TIME claims it to be, at least to some degree.
A Short Addendum:
As the state of the economy slowly, but surely cuts into my future paychecks, I acknowledge another source of funding. NYCTF gives the opportunity to current fellows to apply for an AmeriCorps grant which has a potential education value of just under $10K. I can't pay my landlord with it, but it will certainly mitigate the effect of any outstanding student loans.
Another Short Addendum:
After a thorough Google search, I've found the article I referenced above. However, I cannot seem to find it directly in TIME, so maybe it was published elsewhere - my mistake. The article "5 Recession-Proof Careers" by freelance writer, Clare Kaufman was published online, albeit with no apparent date. It lists teacher only second to nurse in recession-proof careers. Here is the link: http://education.yahoo.net/degrees/articles/featured_5_recession_proof_careers.html
That said, I received an email today from the NYC Fellows Program. The subject read: "Important Update Regarding Your NYCTF Enrollment: Action Required." Thus far, any status updates on myNYCTF have been either positive or neutral. I am not sure this update falls into either one of those categories.
As fellows know, NYCTF covers the majority of the cost of our masters degrees and the rest is covered by bimonthly deductions from our paychecks beginning in October 08 in the amount of $115, no wait, $125, no... $150 per paycheck?
As it turns out, fellows' financial responsibility for our Masters degrees has increased from $5,500 to $6,600. Because of this change, fellows are required to electronically sign another Fellow Committment Form agreeing to the change.
A TIME magazine article recently listed education as the most secure profession during a recession. (I read the article in hard copy and have not been able to find it online- When/If I do, I will post it.) While I do not disagree with TIME, the email from NYCTF cites budget cuts as the reason for our increased financial responsibility. I must reiterate that educational costs are a noble expense, but the bottom line is that my paycheck will be less because of the city's economic constraints. Looks like education is not as secure as TIME claims it to be, at least to some degree.
A Short Addendum:
As the state of the economy slowly, but surely cuts into my future paychecks, I acknowledge another source of funding. NYCTF gives the opportunity to current fellows to apply for an AmeriCorps grant which has a potential education value of just under $10K. I can't pay my landlord with it, but it will certainly mitigate the effect of any outstanding student loans.
Another Short Addendum:
After a thorough Google search, I've found the article I referenced above. However, I cannot seem to find it directly in TIME, so maybe it was published elsewhere - my mistake. The article "5 Recession-Proof Careers" by freelance writer, Clare Kaufman was published online, albeit with no apparent date. It lists teacher only second to nurse in recession-proof careers. Here is the link: http://education.yahoo.net/degrees/articles/featured_5_recession_proof_careers.html
Friday, April 11, 2008
Resume & Cover Letter Workshop
As fellows, we have a wide variety of resources at our disposal. Those resources are centralized on the myNYCTF website. One of the events recently offered was a workshop on developing an appropriate resume and cover letter for submitting to principals during the job search. I attended the event last night.
To be frank, a lot of the material covered in the workshop felt pedantic. Anyone who has written and revised a resume that has helped acquire a job would have known most of the content that was covered.
Conversely, a fellow's resume should abide by a few conventions, specific to education. An example would include putting teaching experiences or experiences with children near the top of the document (it may seem intuitive, but all might not see it the same). For the most part, most things presented in the workshop would apply to any general resume.
I have never written a cover letter, proper. Often resumes are sent out as email attachments in response to a craiglist posting accompanied by a short paragraph in the body of the email. When applying for teaching position, a cover letter is essential. It should introduce you, express interest and expand (not repeat) upon the content of the resume.
As tedious as it may be to hold a current job, matriculate full time and conduct a full-fledged job search, it is a necessary step to succeed in the teaching fellowship. While I feel somewhat overwhlemed, I am sure that with a few keen revisions and additions to my resume and an articulate cover letter, I will acquire a position at a school where I will be a happy and effective educator.
To be frank, a lot of the material covered in the workshop felt pedantic. Anyone who has written and revised a resume that has helped acquire a job would have known most of the content that was covered.
Conversely, a fellow's resume should abide by a few conventions, specific to education. An example would include putting teaching experiences or experiences with children near the top of the document (it may seem intuitive, but all might not see it the same). For the most part, most things presented in the workshop would apply to any general resume.
I have never written a cover letter, proper. Often resumes are sent out as email attachments in response to a craiglist posting accompanied by a short paragraph in the body of the email. When applying for teaching position, a cover letter is essential. It should introduce you, express interest and expand (not repeat) upon the content of the resume.
As tedious as it may be to hold a current job, matriculate full time and conduct a full-fledged job search, it is a necessary step to succeed in the teaching fellowship. While I feel somewhat overwhlemed, I am sure that with a few keen revisions and additions to my resume and an articulate cover letter, I will acquire a position at a school where I will be a happy and effective educator.
NYCTF Experience
Keeping a blog is a high maintenance activity, but I am determined to do so.
Recently, I was accepted into the New York City Teaching Fellows. The program is intended to recruit new teachers from other disciplines, fields or fresh out of college. Fellows receive intensive training in the summer preceding the school year. Before the school year begins, fellows are hired as teachers in their assigned subject areas and borough. While the program trains fellows to teach in New York City's under-served public schools, each fellow is responsible to secure a teaching position at a school in his or her assigned borough and subject.
In preparation for training, fellows must conduct a school visit during which he or she observes a class for not less than two hours. The experience is intended to immerse fellows in a school's culture and give them a taste of what their new career might be like.
In my own experience, I contacted a fellow who teaches biology in the Bronx and observed his classroom. It was unlike any educational experience of my own. Students were loud and rowdy. A few sat in the back of the classroom, physically separated from the students in the front. Those in the back either had their own conversations, completely unrelated to the class, or slept. In the front, students noisily, albeit enthusiastically interacted with the teacher, engaging the material. The whole process was simultaneously exciting, terrifying and motivating.
While the teacher warned me that his classes tended to be more lively than others, I was still glad to see his portion of the student behavioral spectrum. I left feeling ready and excited to begin my new career.
Some time later, I found the teacher whose class I observed kept a blog of his thoughts and reflections about his experience teaching. His record keeping inspired me to keep such a record myself in the form of this blog. While he has kept his since the second semester of teaching, I hope to maintain a more comprehensive one that starts from the beginning. I would like to document the Teaching Fellows process from acceptance to pre-training to training to teaching to the unknown.
Hence, this is the beginning of what I hope will be an insightful record of events upon which I may look in the future and others may look in the present. It will illuminate the inner workings of the Teaching Fellows program and the raw experience of teaching in New York City.
Recently, I was accepted into the New York City Teaching Fellows. The program is intended to recruit new teachers from other disciplines, fields or fresh out of college. Fellows receive intensive training in the summer preceding the school year. Before the school year begins, fellows are hired as teachers in their assigned subject areas and borough. While the program trains fellows to teach in New York City's under-served public schools, each fellow is responsible to secure a teaching position at a school in his or her assigned borough and subject.
In preparation for training, fellows must conduct a school visit during which he or she observes a class for not less than two hours. The experience is intended to immerse fellows in a school's culture and give them a taste of what their new career might be like.
In my own experience, I contacted a fellow who teaches biology in the Bronx and observed his classroom. It was unlike any educational experience of my own. Students were loud and rowdy. A few sat in the back of the classroom, physically separated from the students in the front. Those in the back either had their own conversations, completely unrelated to the class, or slept. In the front, students noisily, albeit enthusiastically interacted with the teacher, engaging the material. The whole process was simultaneously exciting, terrifying and motivating.
While the teacher warned me that his classes tended to be more lively than others, I was still glad to see his portion of the student behavioral spectrum. I left feeling ready and excited to begin my new career.
Some time later, I found the teacher whose class I observed kept a blog of his thoughts and reflections about his experience teaching. His record keeping inspired me to keep such a record myself in the form of this blog. While he has kept his since the second semester of teaching, I hope to maintain a more comprehensive one that starts from the beginning. I would like to document the Teaching Fellows process from acceptance to pre-training to training to teaching to the unknown.
Hence, this is the beginning of what I hope will be an insightful record of events upon which I may look in the future and others may look in the present. It will illuminate the inner workings of the Teaching Fellows program and the raw experience of teaching in New York City.
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