A Second Week Has Passed...

This second week at Willmar Middle School seemed to pass by so fast. I had a lot of fun getting to know the students. I probably learned 100 names or so, and hopefully I will remember them all. Mrs. Valdez teaches four different sections of 6th grade and one section of 7th grade. The same lessons are taught for all 6th graders.

This week was the last week of observation and I got a much better "feel" of the classroom, students, and the teaching style of Mrs. Valdez. The middle school students are harmless, but it is important to maintain an atmosphere of discipline in the classroom. They all like to have fun, but that fun can only come through discipline otherwise it can easily and rapidly become chaotic.

Mrs. Valdez does a great job when it comes to classroom discipline. She gives up to four participation points to each student every day. If a student misbehaves, she takes one point off and so on. Since participation is a significant part of the grade, students do not want to loose those points. She gives one to two warning to students if they are not behaving. After that, they are out of the classroom and loose all their participation points. It's been a week of learning how to be fair and fun at the same time. I am thankful!

Another interesting activity that is helping me grow, is to do lunch supervision during the 8th grade lunch period. Many teachers (around 4-5, including the principal and a police officer that works in the school) are also doing lunch supervision during that time. I am getting to know the 8th grade students as well and I always have a chance to talk with some of them for a while . They are starting to get to know me too and most of them want to talk. I enjoy this social time.

This coming week I will be shadowing what the teacher does. She will teach the 1st and 2nd period (6th grade) and I will do the same for the 3rd and 4th period. I am excited!

Willmar Middle School... Here I come!

This week was my first one at Willmar Middle School. I have confirmed my thought about loving middle school students. I enjoy their humor, their faces, their way of looking at things...
This week was not a normal week because if was the last week of Spanish for the first school quarter. All middle schoolers only take one quarter of Spanish per year. My coopearating teacher, Mrs. Valdez, teaches both 6th and 7th grade students. This final week, the 7th graders were doing a pinata (big ballon filled with candy that many Hispanics, especially from Mexico, brake during birthday and holidays). The studentsbuilt their own pinatas, decorated it, and filled it with candy. Today (Friday) the students broke their pinatas and were able to eat the candy. The 6th graders were learning about Mexico throughout the week and today they had a game and candy day because it was also their last day of Spanish.
The school has around 900 students (6th-7th-8th grades) and an average of 300 students per class. On Thursday, all the 7th graders had a retreat called the "Courage Retreat" that started in the morning and finished around 2:00 pm. The students were introduced to various active games, music, and dances. The retreat also included moments for small group interaction where students had to reflect on their fears and way of being courageous in their school. They talked about respecting others and care about other people. I loved being able to be with the 7th graders and share time with them, and just having fun.
This first week was definiteley a great one because I met many teachers and staff and also lots of students. I feel very comfortable working with the students and I am excited to teach them soon!
I realize that middle schoolers are very sensitive to their teachers and are also very energetic! I am eager to meet the new students that will come this second quarter!

First Teaching Week!

   The first week of student teaching is done. Wow. What a week of many challenges and lots of learning. This past week I was in charge of both Spanish II (11th grade) and III (12th grade). I also helped with some elementary Spanish by going to the elementary building and helping teach a 20 minutes lesson once a day on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. This week I taught a cultural unit for the TULIP requirement. I gave five lessons about several topics like pre-conceptions about Latin America and Hispanics, a presentation about Paraguay, culture, cultural barriers, and immigration. In the last lesson of my unit, students gave presentations about relevant aspects of Latin American countries.
   Something interesting about this first teaching week is that the 11th grade group is very different than the 12th grade one. On one hand, the 11th graders are seventeen in total. The majority of them are shy or not very participative with the exception of 3-4 students. Also, not many of them are super interested in learning Spanish, but they need to take it in order to go to a 4-years college. On the other hand, the 12th graders are a group of ten students who are interested in Spanish and most of them are very participative. Since I was giving a cultural unit, I was teaching the same content to both groups of students, but I used more Spanish words with Spanish III. 
   I discovered that the Spanish II group works better in small groups. If I would like them to share information with the whole group, then it works best if they can first pre-process the information within a small group. I also had a Bible verse or short reflection in Spanish on the board and also the schedule for the lesson. This helps me to stay organized and it helps the students so that they can refer to the schedule to know what is coming next and also stay organized and on task.
   Something that was very helpful was the pre-assessment. I was able to plan my lesson keeping in mind my students' needs. For example, when I asked them what they would want to learn from me most of them said that they wanted to know about Paraguay and about my perceptions of people from the States. Because of that, I gave a presentation about Paraguay and shared with them some of my experiences. The students also said that they learn better using technology and visuals/short films. In response to their inputs, I presented a short film, visuals and used technology. I realize that it is extremely important to let the students give inputs about how they like to learn and respect their responses by acknowledging them in the teaching practice.
   I appreciated getting to know the students and their unique personalities (I am still learning!). I feel that I connect with most of them and I pray God will give me more insight about how to connect with everyone. Communication and respect are key aspects of teaching and crucial in the process of learning about my students.
   This coming week I will be teaching Spanish I, II, and II. I am excited and nervous about what is ahead. I pray God will give me strength and courage for this coming week. =) 

More Insight

   This second week of teaching has given me more insight about the students, the school sub culture, my cooperating teacher, and a sense of belonging and acceptance related to this place. I feel privileged to be here. Yesterday I told some teachers that I think I could not have started my teaching career in better place than this school. The environment reminds me of Dordt. It is a small school, students and teachers know each other pretty well, and there is a supporting community among teachers and outside of school (and there is a small Dordt-Northwestern competition gong on too!). This school also reminds me of my high school because I was in a private christian school that had around 300 students. I feel more acquainted with the students because I am learning many names and also information about them and their personalities. Each morning during prep time, Mrs. Pollema and I have one student that we pray for. Before we pray, Mrs. Pollema gives me some insight about the student so that we can pray for them with understanding. I love how God works in this way.

   On Tuesday I was able to play guitar and sing a worship song in Spanish with SPAN II. I also had the opportunity of connecting with a student because he is related to a couple I know. He started to talk to me about his family and how he is involved with his church and school. I enjoy opportunities like this to establish good relationships with students.

   On Thursday I also had the opportunity of connecting with the students through chapel. I gave a short message on relationships and God's desire to have a relationship with us. I talked about God's characteristics (loving, caring, gracious, forgiving, etc.) and ended the message with a song. Many students came to me afterward and thanked me for the message. I praise God for letting me express a bit of His heart for them. I truly felt as if all those students (7th-12th grades) were my children and I was talking to them as a mother and from my heart.

   I have several comments and observations about my cooperating teacher:

<> She connects words in English and Spanish that sound alike to help the students remember them.
<> She uses student's knowledge to build more knowledge (she constructs knowledge!).
<> She shares with her students various resources like a webpage, videos about mission trips she made to Belize, Spain, and Italy, fun videos, and useful links.
<> I really like that she has a Spanish website. In that website she shares links and resources, information about me (a picture and and introduction of myself), assignments, announcements, etc.
<> She teaches in a very calmed, relaxed, and fun way. This helps students feel safe and relaxed too.
<> She connects her class and activities in her class with how to live a Christian life, applying it to our everyday lives. Ex: she said that once in a while we can have fiestas "just because" in the same way that God freely gives us grace and we don't need to earn it. =)
<> She used the "Macarena" dance to review the months of the year. We moved our bodies and learned using TPR. Great!

   The time for me to teach is coming (next week!) and I am feeling really excited and a little nervous. How can I meet my students' needs is the biggest question right now. Will I be adequate for teaching? How will I practically demonstrate to my students that I care for them? My career as a teacher seems to be more "serious" right now. I pray God will give me strength, courage, and wisdom for this new season in my life.

   To finish, I am posting a video that I shared with Mrs. Pollema and later she shared with the students. FUN!

This was my first week at school. WOW. How different it feels to be on “the other side”. It has been a while since I experienced some anxiety because of the first day of school. I had an idea of what to expect, but it was my first formal day of student teaching. That first day we only had classes until noon. Before classes start, we had a time of worship and introductions with all K-12 students, students’ parents, teachers, and school staff. It really surprised me to see many parents at convocation. I asked about it and the elementary principal told me that this time is very important to the community and that this community cares for education. I liked this statement and agree that is extremely important to have the support of parents and school community.

After convocation, I had a quick overview of all the classes that my cooperating teacher, Mrs. Pollema, is in charge of: 5 in total: SPAN I, SPAN II, SPAN III, ENG 9, and PICTURE NOVELS. Every class that she teaches came to the classroom for around fifteen minutes and I observed the students as they came in.

Tuesday was the first “normal-schedule” day. Classes went until 3:15. I had the opportunity of introducing myself to students and telling them where I come from (using a map) and gave them some basic information about myself. I enjoyed asking them if they knew which countries border Paraguay. After a while, I showed them the map. During class I noticed that the teacher does a good job motivating her students to learn Spanish. She asked them questions like which professions/careers need the knowledge of Spanish and why is it important to learn Spanish. On the next day she also showed them a video that shows how people are using their knowledge of Spanish in different professions. I like this kind of motivation because it helps the student think of how they can apply their knowledge into everyday, life situations.

On Tuesday we also went over the handbook that contains the school policies and it was useful to learn more about the school rules. At the end of the period, during Spanish III, the class of ten students divided in two groups and I helped lead one of those groups. We practiced some Spanish through coversation.

On Wednesday I helped the teacher hang some posters and decorated the room a lithe bit. I also brought a collection of books in Spanish of different levels so that the students could read them and have fun as they learn. At one point during a Spanish class, the teacher let the students get up of their seats and go check out the different books that were in the back. I think that having different resources like books adds much more flavor and interest to the lessons.

On Thursday I noticed some teaching techniques that the teacher uses. One of them is to reward students with a candy after they give a correct answer or do an assignment well. Students are very receptive to getting rewards and encouragement. The teacher is also very flexible to changes that occur and can interrupt her lesson or plan for the day. She quickly adapts to those changes and tries to make the most out of them. She also builds up on student previous knowledge. For example, the class of SPAN I (freshmen) had Spanish when they were in 8^th grade. On Thursday she asked all students of that class to randomly say a word that they remembered. An activity like this helps the students construct their knowledge on what they have previously learned and continue learning and building connections. Something else that she did today was to start the class of English 9 with a video and then she asked questions about the video. I noticed how the students were engaged this way. Starting class with an attention grabber is crucial in any lesson.

As the first week has gone, I noticed how each group is different from each other and unique in their group dynamics and have some peculiar individuals. I especially liked the ENG 9 and Picture Novels class. Both of these groups are freshmen and I can feel some of their enthusiasm and passion for learning more. This is different from higschoolers, who seem to be a little more passive in general.  I also noticed that some students stick out more than others either because they disrupt the classroom a little or because they ask more questions than others and seem to be more interested in the lesson. Overall, all of the groups seem to be respectful of the teacher and try to listen well.

Now more than ever I realize that is truly a privilege to be in a Christian school that seeks to honor God in everything they do. Activities like worship, prayer, chapel on Tuesdays and Thursdays, praying at the beginning of the first period of the day, before lunch, at the end of the last period of the day, praying for one specific student every day with Mrs. Pollema, and other activities have given me a broader perspective of the school mission that is to equip students for a life of service. I feel privileged to student teach at Central Minnesota Christian School.

In-service Time

For the last two days I was part of the in-service at Central Minnesota Christian School in Prinsburg. It was a real honor to be surrounded by many teachers and feel part of everything that was happening. After breakfast, we did introductions and described our summer in four words or less. Following introductions, we had a speaker come and talk about adoption and how children who are adopted may feel. She told her personal story of what she went through as a Korean American adoptee. She talked about diversity and how important it is to consider a multicultural classroom in our school. I enjoyed listening to her story and thinking about how important it is to be sensitive to my future students and their different backgrounds. I think I have a great opportunity to teach about diversity because I will be teaching Spanish and about foreign cultures. It is important to show my students that being different does not mean that it is bad, rather is a great way of learning about others and ourselves.

Today we learned a little bit about how to use technology in the classroom and we also did some activities  to get to know each other a little more. One of the questions that we had to ask others and also answer was why do we teach. I said that even though I am just starting, I would like to teach to inspire others. I want to be able to see what my students can achieve and who they can be and kindly show it to them. I want to see them applying what they have learned outside of the school. I think I would be proud of them if I see them trying to talk in Spanish to a Hispanic lady in the restaurant. I would like to see them trying to learn Spanish and appreciating other cultures. It is fun to imagine how I will be with my students and all that together we could learn.

I really appreciated having an in-service time because I was able to meet other teachers and get a little more acquainted with the school culture and with people from the school. I am excited fpr this coming week when I will be able to meet the students and observe how the school routine goes.