Summer Teaching

In A Dollop of Bitter and Lots of Sweet from Sioux's Page, Sioux talks about the summer graduate class she teaches. She asks,

“How about you? What bittersweet moment can you recall?”

I also teach a summer graduate class and this is the 8^th year I have done this. My class is for certified teachers who are getting their master’s degree in special education.

We only meet 4 weeks for 4 days a week. We have a summer program for students ages 6 -14 where we teaching them reading, math, and writing skills. The students only attend for 15 days over the 4 weeks. When they first meet with me, the teachers all have this incredulous look on their face because they can’t imagine making any kind of difference with students in that short of time. Yet, because of course requirements, they submit lesson plans and teach these skills every day to a class of 8 students.

By the second week, we are getting remarks from parents that they can already see a difference with their child. The children are coming home eager to read or show what they learned that day. Some are learning skills that they struggled with during the school year. The 3^rd week came with even more positive comments about the differences that the teachers have made with the students. Now, the teachers are proud but amazed at how they could actually make the difference in such a short time. I’m proud of my teachers and the program because I believe it is a great opportunity for the students who struggle with learning.

The bittersweet thing that stands out for me is the uncertainty that I gave enough to my own students (the teachers).

I have lots of questions that I’m not sure I have answers to yet but will be thinking about it for next year.

Did I teach the teachers enough to help them in their own classrooms?

I’m not sure the content area teachers have really bought into the idea of special education and will vary the activities and assessment enough for students with special needs. How can I get this message across better?

Teachers expressed a concern with having to individualize for students and meet the required standards. For me, it seems pretty easy which may come from experience. I need to remember that it didn’t happen overnight for me but developed  over the years. How can I convey this better for the teachers?

Did I give the struggling teacher enough confidence to continue her growth in her career?

Did I give enough support and encouragement when they needed it?

What could I do differently next year to make this course even better?

I hope I did a good job but I always have these thoughts that I could have done better. I felt this way every year that I taught in public school so I shouldn’t be surprised that I still feel this way. Will I ever feel I did a great job and leave it at that? I don’t think so.

What are your bittersweet moments? Please share.

Summer Learning Place 2015 Week 3

Week 3 went well at Summer Learning Place. Students were used to our routine and the teachers were getting into their groove. I observed a lot of great lessons also. I really enjoyed the younger students using food as manipulatives (froot loops, cheez it) for math lessons.

The one exciting thing that happened was that a parent didn’t pick up her child on time. In fact, she was about 70 minutes late. I called the number we had on file and realized that she listed the same number for her phone and her emergency number. I was afraid she had been in an wreck or something happened at home. Of course the little 7 year old was pretty worried too. She finally arrived at the time I was dialing the Sheriff’s Office. The next day we made sure that we had emergency number(s) for every student. In the future, I will check the files and have the teachers verify that we have at least 2 working numbers for each student.

I’m really pleased at how well the program is going this year. All of the teachers work very well together. I can’t believe how quickly this month has gone by and that this week is our last week!

Summer Learning Place 2015Week 2

Last week was the 2^nd week of Summer Learning Place 2015.

A lot of interesting things happened this week and we had some struggles but overall, it was a good week.

Here are some things I’ve learned this week:

• I love hearing from the parents that the students love coming here.
• The oldest students (middle school ages) are not that thrilled about being here but every year this is the same. The students may change but the attitude hasn’t.
• The teachers are learning that they can make a big difference in a short amount of time.
• When setting up a blog, it is important to set the right time zone.
• I have learned some interesting teaching strategies from my teachers.
• Making weekly reports with fun and interesting graphics can be challenging.
• Magic can happen when you only have a class of 8 students with 2 teachers!

Each of my teachers have started a blog in order to reflect about their teaching during this month. Please visit their blogs and leave a comment if you have time.

Teresa

Katrina

Lauren

Jamie

Mary Chappell

Elizabeth

Jennifer

April

Summer Learning Place 2015 Week 1

This year we have eight teachers and 32 children. The children will be taught strategies and lessons to improve their reading, math, and writing skills. The children come Monday through Thursday from 8:30- 11:30 for four weeks.

I ask that my teachers blog once a week about their classroom experience. The first week I want them to write their concerns and expectations as well as 3 goals they hope to accomplish this month.

My goals are:

• To encourage all of the children to show up regularly and make the parents feel that our program is worthwhile.
• Give the teachers a meaningful experience that will help them in their own classrooms.
• To learn some new strategies for the classroom from the teachers.

Stay tuned for future updates!