My sorry :(

I feel like a lot of my sorrys are general feelings that I have to combat on a daily basis. Because of this, I don't know that there's a lot of specifics that I can do to "fix" these. I'm working on maintaining my positive attitude even in the face of ridiculousness and frustration. That being said, one sorry I do have that I can do specific things towards is student apathy. I am a self motivated individual. I always have been. My parents never had to push me. No prize or reward for doing well was ever given nor needed. Doing well is its own reward for me. Even in high school, I worked hard because I personally wanted to do well and learn. Since this is who I am, it's extremely hard for me to understand how SO MANY of my high schoolers don't care. They don't care about anything. I just don't get it, and it's something I am CONSTANTLY struggling with in my classes.
One thing I can do, and am trying to do, is show the relevance to their lives as much as possible. I brought in the idea of facebook posts and rap when we were discussing first amendment rights, for example. I used a Lupe Fiasco song that talks about the Sudan conflict, too. Some of my students seem to get this, but some still could care less and just want to focus on their cell phones.
I do have some prouds though! One of my students has become my little project and success story! He pretty much had failing grades, but he made a B on our last test!!! AND, he told me he was interested in the navy but wasn't sure of the next step. I looked it up and gave him the local recruiter's number to call and he was SO excited! Then, I saw him later in the day sitting down and reading over his navy brocure! IT WAS AWESOME! :)

Keeping those kids in line...

1. I am going to set up clear guidelines for EVERYTHING! This includes plans for bathroom, homework, behavior, etc. One thing I’ve discovered is how hard it is to come into this classroom when my students have not had any clear, strong guidelines. For instance, I don’t think I would allow bathroom breaks after 10 minutes into the class. I would set up a basket for homework, where they could turn it in every day we have it at the beginning of class. My cooperating teacher does not have this system, so she is forced to walk up and down the aisles checking everyone’s homework, which is a total time waste AND leads to a ton of unnecessary talking!
2. I LOVE the whole thing we did in class this week about giving the students options. This would totally work with my students. I actually used it the other day. Two of the students were talking and using their cell phones the entire time, so I said “Donteral, you have two choices you can either move your seat over here or you can get written up.” And he moved! So I will definitely be using this!
3. Lastly, is the cell phone usage. I am honestly appalled at how much this generation texts! And at all times!!! Like really, are your random comments about how bored you are really that important?!? Ideally, I would implement a system where when they walk into class, they put their cell phones in a box. My phone could be in there with them; however, I don’t know if this would ever work, though, because a) kids might steal someone else’s phone and b) they could easily lie about not having their cell phone. At the least, I will definitely make every student put his/her bag at the front or the back of the room. They will be allowed to take out whatever stuff they need for MY class and then sit down at their seat. After the first week, they would be so used to it that they would just do it.

Ultimately, I think it needs to be about consistency and setting up procedures for everything beforehand. I think that’s one of the reasons why I’m struggling so much with student teaching, because it’s not technically my class so these kids have had 7 months of another teacher’s policies so I can’t do what I want to do.

How to make my curriculum unit EVEN better!

1. My lesson on the beginning of the war: I got comments that a graphic organizer might help because it's so much info. I kind thought that a K-W-L might work. They could do what they've heard about the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (a big chunk of the lesson). I also think I probably should've included some type of worksheet or questions to go along with when they were reading it.
2. In this lesson, students are comparing the differences in policies between JFK, LBJ and Nixon. I didn't quite understand what the MIVCA "challenging" meant. What I should have put as "challenging" was the fact that students are getting new information from different medias and sythnesizing them onto charts.
3. I received the comment that I probably didn't plan enough stuff for my lesson on the anti-war protests. I could add an exit slip: You were drafted. Write a letter to your mother/father/girlfriend/etc. I could also make sure I have specific questions for the discussion, including: How many of you would have participated? How many of you know someone that was involved? Would you consider participating in the Iraq war? Are there similarities between the two? Etc.

Oh, another blog!

The Center for Civic Education has various resources for sale, including student texts, multimedia files, and other publications. Professionally, they offer seminars, training, conferences, summer institutes, etc. all throughout the country (including SC!). I might consider joining this organization because its basic principle is so dear to mine: that students should be educated as citizens of the world, ready to change society for the better; however, I dislike that you have to pay for all the major resources and that there is no lesson plan, which would help me a lot as a student teacher. I also looked into a group called Teaching Tolerance, which I liked a lot. I think I’d be more likely to join this group, since it has so many awesome lesson plans and ideas and activities for free, as well as interesting articles and publications available online. At the same time, though, it stays true to my core education philosophy of civic education. It is an organization created to teach students about disparities in the world and their country/state, etc.

My Action Plan!

When I envision my classroom, I want an environment and atmosphere that promotes citizenship education. The worst citizen is an apathetic one, and as a teacher I will do my part to create graduates concerned with the world around them, knowing their rights and exercising them. To do this, my students need to be educated in a way that will make them want to make a difference. I believe that every student can become informed, caring individuals with intelligent and knowledgably formed opinions. This includes all students, regardless of their current GPA or background.
In my classroom, I’m dealing with some of the most apathetic students I’ve ever seen or heard of. Some of my students don’t care if they graduate high school, don’t care if they pass the class, don’t even care if they’re enjoying their day. I honestly didn’t even know there were teenagers like this, and this has become my biggest problem as a student teacher. I was prepared for the talking kids and the texting during class, but not students who will not even take out their book to get credit for the day. To get to these students, I’m trying to explain the world and their part in it in a way that encourages participation in society for its betterment; teaching them that they can make a difference, helping them decide on what kind of difference they want to make, and how to achieve their goals.
Logistically, this means allowing debates and discussions on different current events and topics. This also means asking those sometimes difficult questions to get them thinking, while creating an atmosphere where students feel safe to defend their issues, yet still hear another student out. In order to do this, I as the teacher must be informative, challenging and encouraging. I’d also like to create some type of service learning project. This way, students can see how they can truly change and affect their government. I also believe it will help those apathetic students get more excited about learning by relating the material to their personal worlds and providing an active learning environment.
More specifically, I’m thinking of implementing some kind of debate every Friday, loosely based on current events (when possible). This would be a concrete step to getting students thinking about their place in the world. I could also do a project where they have to at least attempt to change their world (think Pay It Forward, but not as extreme). I’m a little unsure of exactly how to go about doing this and implementing it, though. At the very least, I could require them to write their senator or something, but I’m hoping to create a project on a grander scale.
Ultimately, I just want my students to rise from apathy into passionate citizens! As I’m writing this, I’m starting to see the reality of the situation-that I’ll never reach every student- but I can hope and try, right???

I believe in potential...

I believe in the power of potential. Every person, regardless of race, religion, background or creed has the power to be extraordinary. It is innate, inherent, given by God. No one was made to be just average; we were all created to fulfill our wildest dreams and our highest aspirations. In many, this potential lies dormant, waiting for someone to come along and reawaken it.
Many have called me childish because I do believe in this so strongly. I think it’s ok to let little girls believe they can be CEOs, and tell little boys that they can be Police Chief one day. I do this because I genuinely trust that whatever is in their heart can be accomplished with hard work, faith, and love. People have called me silly and unrealistic and even irresponsible and downright foolish because I believe in such inner power. But to me, there are no limits to what individuals can do because there are no limits to what our Creator made in us.
Besides, why is it so wrong to believe in these things? Why is it wrong to tell young people that they can become President of the United States or an astronaut or attain whatever dreams are in their hearts?
No one is made without some inner light and purpose. No one is made to not be truly satisfied with his or her life and over the moon happy. No one is made to settle for the average, when inside a star is bursting to shine.
I see the beauty in every individual, be it child or adult, because I know there is something great in there. My goal is to encourage everyone I meet to become who they were destined to be: an extraordinary individual. Dreams are only limited by potential, and potential is limitless, so dream away.