Hello! My
name is Lisa Myers. I live in
Traverse City, MI and have taught second grade for the last four years at
Central Grade Elementary School. A
little over a year ago my husband-to-be and I eloped in Fiji. We just built a house, so when I’m not
teaching or working on class assignments I am busy with house projects. In my free time I love to enjoy the
beauty of Northern Michigan summers by biking, SUPing, or lounging in my
hammock with a good book. I also
love to travel! I am very excited
to be completing the MATC program with this course.
In the first clip, The First Day, I was
reminded of the first day of school and the importance of setting the standard from
the moment students enter the classroom.
A first impression is very important. Mr. Prezbo was not assertive and trusted that the kids
would go to their assigned desk.
Unfortunately this did not happen.
Chaos ensued as he passed out bus passes to the wrong students and got
even worse as the students exited the classroom without listening. I think this
is a good reminder of the importance of understanding the demographic and
culture of students you are teaching.
Mr. Prezbo took for granted a simple thing such as having students go to
an assigned desk. Possibly with
some communication with colleagues about these students Mr. Prezbo would have
been better prepared on how best to communicate with them so he could have potentially
avoided that mess and gave a better first impression. When Mr. Prezbo told Randy to just
take a hall pass it was clear he did not understand these students. Randy took Mr. Prezbo’s trust for
granted and stole a whole stack of hall passes.
In the next
clip, Detention and After-School Bonding, it still appeared that Mr. Prezbo did
not have a good handle of these students.
He was making exceptions for students in detention and allowed all of
them to leave “just this one time” when the students started listing reasons for
needing to leave. It does seem
like Mr. Prezbo is starting to try to get to know the students on a personal
level when he was talking to a couple of the boys outside of school. I’m
wondering if this will work in his favor or if the students will take advantage
of him. Based on what a few
students shared about their home life it seems that they face many troubles and
really need to think about survival.
In the
fourth clip, Sharing a Happy Moment, it seems that Mr. Prezbo is finally
starting to understand the students and learns that the way he will reach these
students is by connecting content to their life. When he discovered their interest in poker and gambling he
quickly thought about how he could relate gambling to what he needed to teach
the kids. The kids were so engaged
and wanted to learn about the odds on dice. This really shows the importance of connecting content and
curriculum to students interested, especially with difficult students to earn
respect. Like Mr. Prezbo
said, you need to “trick them into thinking they aren’t learning and they
do.”
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the course! Great to have someone in the course from TC, one of the most lovely places in the world! I have learned a new word now, too, as I didn't know what SUPing. I'm a big bike rider so it's wonderful that you get to enjoy the great biking of Northern Michigan!
I enjoyed your reflections on the video clips. That first day is hard for me to watch, as it brings me back to the anxiety of my own first day. I probably did a little better than Mr. P, but perhaps not much better! It's so clear in that scene that school can become a game, in certain circumstances, and there's no just no way for a teacher to "win" at it. If the kids won't sit in their seats, how can he know their names, get to know them? I remember I had one class that started making up names for themselves during roll call and doing other things to confuse me. That whole scene is a metaphor for me about how hard it is to really know students in a way that will help you as a teacher.
Certainly, as you note, communicating with colleagues is about the best we can do in that situation. Teaching is so tricky because the school context can matter so much. New teachers like Mr. P definitely need someone to show them the ropes; they should never be hung out to dry like that on the first day.
I look forward to our class and learning more about you as a teacher and person!
Kyle