The View From The Other Side

       A little over a week ago I had the unique opportunity of observing my cooperating teacher in action during conferences.  It was wonderful going back to my main placement school and seeing the significant progress our sweet half day kindergartener’s have made since the start of the school year.  It was also touching to hear how much the students and my cooperating teacher have missed me.

       At an all school staff meeting a few weeks ago, the topic of conferences brought out varying opinions from the teaching staff.  Starting this school year, the structure of these conferences has changed, as well as the intended objective of the conferences.  Some teachers voiced that they would only be using their October conference with parents as a tool to connects and build rapport with their students’ families.  Other teachers felt that they should mainly focus on academic progress and setting smart goals for their students during these meetings.  Other teachers felt conferences should be a mix of the two.   My cooperating teacher felt strongly that building a deeper relationship with parents was important, but that identifying areas of concern academically and setting a few realistic goals for their children was priority.  Upon observing several of these conferences, I was pleased to see that both objectives were accomplished. 

      In total I participated in six conferences, three of which were “target” students of mine who I have been following closely.   Being able to sit down with their parents and guardians was invaluable because it allowed us to gain so much insight into the backgrounds of the students and their families and their challenges, anxieties, and the ways they learn best.  Several of these families are experiencing a crisis in their family and two of the students are not living with their biological parents, but guardians instead.  To hear these tragic stories and to see the grief and disappointment felt by these grandparents raising their grandchildren was heartbreaking.  For this reason, I was glad that my cooperating teacher mainly set academic talk aside and just focused on giving support and encouragement to these hurting caregivers.  What was touching and personally moving to me was hearing the hopes that these grandparents had for their grandchildren.  They want a better life for them and they are working tirelessly to make sure they are feeling as safe, secure, and loved as possible.    As a mom and teacher it warmed my heart to hear my cooperating teacher offer these families her pledge that she would partner with them to ensure their grandchild’s success.   

      I didn’t realize how emotional conferences could be and was completely unprepared.  The entire day was strange for me as I have always been on the other side of the conference table.  Having a son who is thirteen and a daughter who is nine, I have been to my share of school conferences.  I look forward to these opportunities to connect with my child’s teacher and find them to be short, informational, and to the point.   I had no idea how much preparation goes into these conferences and how emotionally draining they can be for the teacher.  This had never occurred to me and it made me feel guilty that I had never brought a little gift for the teacher during my children’s conferences.  They deserve all the treats they can get.

     It was such a strange experience sitting on the “teacher side of the table” that at one point during a very uneventful conference with a very sweet mother I felt like I was having déjà vu.  I found that I grew a bit uncomfortable sitting with the teacher because I am so used to being the parent in the classroom during conferences.  While it was strange being asked questions about their child’s social and academic progress, it was also wonderful to be looked at and respected as a teacher.  All of the parents addressed me this way and it was very exciting and a bit moving for me.  Overall, I am so thankful that I was able to attend these conferences, as it allowed me to see my cooperating teacher, our student’s families, and myself in a new light.   How strange but enlightening to see the view from the other side .
~ Christy

Food Journal Reflection

For the past two weeks I have been keeping a daily food and activity journal.  Speaking honestly, I have to say that I found this task to be both annoying and insightful at the same time.  There is nothing fun about writing down each and every food and beverage that enters your body.   In fact, it was irritating at times. To help me keep track, I kept a small notepad in my purse and I would jot down my consumption and physical activity for the day.   At the end of the day, I would then transfer this information onto notebook paper in my class binder.  If I decide to continue journaling or pick it up again at a later date, I think I would definitely use an app on my phone or Kindle to simplify the process a bit.  Some of my classmates kept track of their consumption and exercise this way and swear that it is faster and easier than writing it out by hand.   

            The benefit to keeping this journal over the past two weeks was that it was extremely insightful.  I was able to look at a few days worth of entries and see clear patterns forming.  For example, I don’t drink nearly enough water.  I have never been a very “thirsty” person, but I was surprised to see that I only really drank liquids with meals.  I also noticed that I would bring my morning drink to class on class days, (which was typically a large coffee with cream and splenda), but never usually finish my drink by the time I left UW in the afternoon.  I would usually get tired of my drink or it would get cold and I would then just throw it away half full.  This meant that I was probably only drinking about 24 – 30 ounces of liquids a day, and maybe a fourth of those ounces would be actual water instead of milk or juice.  That’s terrible, and I had no idea that I was drinking so little.

 Another trend I noticed from keeping my food journal was that I don’t eat nearly enough fruits.  This surprised me because we keep so much fruit in our house.  My husband and I have a twelve year old son and an eight year old daughter and they LOVE fruit!  In fact, every week we go to the Yakima fruit stand in Bothell and the kids pick out the fruit for us.  We keep a huge fruit bowl on our kitchen counter and it is always full of their favorite choices, which are bananas, peaches, and mangos.  What I noticed from my journal was that I was only eating about one small piece of fruit or a few berries a day.  This was definitely an area that I needed to make a change in.

   The final area I noticed a deficiency in was in my physical exercise.  While I am quite active at work each weekday, (chasing after preschoolers, walking around the Zoo and parks on summer field trips each week, etc.) I noticed that when I am home from work or on the weekends, I am either relaxing or I am sitting, doing homework.  I can’t help the six and a half hours of “sit down” class time three days a week, but I can make better exercise choices (which will make me a better example for my children and future students) by making time to exercise during my non-work and school time. 

After the first week of journaling, (and once I noticed that there were three specific areas that needed improvement) I made new goals to follow for the second week.  Eating more fruit turned out to be the simplest thing for me to change.  The fruit was already there, staring me in the face.  I just needed to remember to grab it.  I quickly realized I needed a BIG reminder to do this.  So, I wrote myself a note on hot pink cardstock and I taped it to my big fruit bowl.  The note said “GOT FRUIT?”  Because my car keys hang nearby, the sign was a great reminder for me to grab a piece of fruit and a napkin for a snack on the go, on my way out the door.  This worked great, and I am keeping the sign up!

Getting more exercise and drinking more water were more difficult goals to reach.  I really don’t like the taste of plain water so my sweet husband got me some MIO water flavor enhancers to help with the taste.  This did make water more tasty but it didn’t help that I still am not very thirsty most of the time.  During the second week of this task I made a huge effort to drink a bottle worth of water in the morning and afternoon.  The MIO helped, and I stuck with this goal, but I was constantly having to remind myself to drink.  Getting more exercise was my third goal and the toughest challenge for me.  I am exhausted from going to school full time, working almost full time, and running a household and being a wife and mom.  I live a very busy life.  I find that when I have down time, I just want to relax, sleep or read.  I made the goal to exercise each day during the 2^nd week of my journaling. I didn’t accomplish this.  I did however, get in two 45 minute workouts during those seven days by reading while I walked on our treadmill at home.  I didn’t achieve my goal, but I added in exercise that was manageable for me with my busy schedule.   

The message that I will take away from participating in this activity is that I need to make my health more of a priority, and in doing so, I will be setting a better example for my students.  I have realized that my busy schedule is not likely to slow down anytime soon. This means that I need to not only be aware of what I am eating and of how much exercise I get, but I also need to make sure that I am getting enough sleep, healthy foods, and exercising so that I have the stamina to finish out this academic year and head out into the teaching world.  I can also have my students keep journals so that they  become more aware of their activities and so that they can also work to make healthier choices for their busy lives.

 ~ Christy

 

Highly Impressed!

Microteaching was the one thing I was looking forward to the most this summer quarter. I was so excited to get the opportunity to co-plan a lesson, carry out the lesson, and then reflect on the experience.  This task didn't disappoint me! I appreciated being allowed to choose between several topics and knew immediately that I wanted to teach on some aspect of sex education.  I chose this topic because its a subject that I feel is of high importance.  I also chose to microteach on sex education because I'm not embarrassed talking about the topic, and I enjoy a good challenge. 

 One aspect of the class I didn't anticipate was how much I would enjoy watching my classmates teaching. I had no doubts that they would all do a wonderful job, and they did!  Each group that planned and implemented their lesson did so with such preparation and passion.  It was clear to see that they approached this task thoughtfully and with great professionalism.  They were respectful of their topics and their audience, and after each lesson I couldn't help but think to myself how great it was and how they will make such fantastic educators.  Since my group taught on the last day of class, Craig, Sarah and I had the advantage of watching all of the other groups teach first, which allowed us to take inspiration and advice from their experiences.  While microteaching was as fun and challenging as I had anticipated, what I will carry with me long after this class is over, is the excitement, professionalism, and new teaching ideas that my cohort members shared with me. 

~ Christy

 

Brains, and Livers, and Lungs - OH MY!

          When I was thirteen, I came face to face with a brain in a jar.  My father, who was the long-time director of security at Bellevue College, was giving me an after hours tour of the campus.  His good friend was a Biology Professor and had shown my father some really interesting things over the years.  He had just gotten a new brain and a pair of eyeballs, and my dad couldn't wait to show them to me.  Of course, my dad knew that his daughter was very squeamish about these types of things so he told me we were visiting his friend's lab to make sure that all of the doors and cabinets were locked.  When he put the jar containing the brain in my hands I instantly felt sick to my stomach.  The eyeballs put me over the edge, and my dad had to pull over twice on the way home so that I could throw up.  Six years later, I had another encounter with "the brain."  I was living in Costa Rica on foreign exchange and my two good guy friends, Joe and Dave, took me to a museum in downtown San Jose.  Since I love museums, I couldn't wait! To my dismay, they took me to the very gruesome Museo Criminologico (criminology museum), which contained numerous body parts in jars, including a severed leg and arm, and a brain.  Again, I became sick to my stomach.  

        You can imagine my enthusiasm when Carrie, our health professor, announced we would be spending time in the Biology lab, looking at brains, livers, and lungs.  On the morning of the visit to the lab I felt both nervous and nauseous. To combat those feelings, I gave myself  a stern pep-talk about being brave and not letting my squeamishness keep me from participating in our class.  I also began thinking about how important it is for teachers to set a good example for their students.  I want my future students to be curious and "in awe" of their bodies.  I wouldn't want them to feel squeamish like I do at times, or think these organs are uninteresting or "gross."   This means that as a teacher, I will need to be very mindful of my words, attitudes, and actions, because they can have a profound impact on my students.  While I didn't hold the heart or brain in my hands, I did get close enough to them to see what wonders they really are. And for that, I am very proud of myself!

~ Christy

Jump Ropes and Hula Hoops!

Who knew that jump ropes and hula hoops could be so much fun! I am a bit emarrased to say that prior to our last class, it had been years since I had any real interaction with either jump ropes or hula hoops.  This is terrible because my eight year old daughter loves to play with both, and often practices on our back patio. I love watching her play with these toys and I am an attentive and supportive audience when she wants to show me a new trick or skill that she has mastered.  Sadly though, I have never given much thought to picking them up and playing with them myself.  I guess I just figured that they were solely a kids toy.  Thanks to our last class, my thoughts on these toys have significantly changed.  I had a blast playing around with these toys and it was so fun to take a moment to look around our crowded little dance studio and see that my fellow classmates were enjoying themselves as well.  It was like we were school children again, and we were free, and a bit crazy (and competative), and feeling giddy.  As a future middle school teacher, it not only showed me that there are wonderful ways of integreating fitness into your classrooms, but it reminded me that even older students love to have fun and be silly too.     

Let the Microteaching Begin!

I am so impressed with my fellow cohort members!  Our first day of microteaching began, which meant that small groups would practice teaching a short lesson while those remaining classmates would take on the role of students.  The first two teaching groups were wonderful and their lessons not only reflected care and creativity, but they were age appropriate and engaging as well.  What impressed me most about these teachers was their professional presence and respect for their class.  They were able to manage the classroom (and some questions thrown at them)  very well.  In fact, they all seemed quite at ease asking and answering questions from their "students."  This process made me wonder about my "audience," and what I should expect when I participate in my microteaching session.  Knowing that my fellow classmates will be acting the age of children in our intended grade, makes me want to put even more time and thought into planning our lesson.  It has me wondering what knowledge and experience a student in our intended age group would have about our topic prior to our teaching it, and what questions they may present.  This is exciting, as it leads you to anticipate your students' needs, responses, and questions.  Over all, I think it is going to be a very rewarding experience. What a great way to get our feet wet...by teaching each other!
 
~ Christy

Is It Abuse?

       Our class time today focused on the topic of child abuse and neglect.  While this isn't the first time I have examined this subject, I did learn a lot of new information that I will take with me as I venture out into the world of teaching.  What I found most useful was reading the "Is it abuse?" scenarios and then comparing the details and circumstances to Washington State law.   What I learned is that the law is not as black and white as it would seem.  In fact, there is a bit of "grey area" within the law,  What this means to me is that we as educators need to rely on our common sense, the advice and assistance of our school administration, and the law itself to help us determine if in fact, abuse or neglect has occurred and therefore must be reported.  

      Discussing mandatory reporting guidelines and watching the video on making a CPS report brought back memories of the times I have had to initiate reports in the past. In each of these instances, I felt compelled to report my suspicions, and knew in my gut that I had made the right decision to do so.  I took this responsibility very seriously and though I knew I was making the correct choice in reporting, I can recall feeling very worried about the situation and sick to my stomach for what the child was going through.  In my experience, not knowing what happened to the child that I had reported on was very difficult emotionally.  In three of the four instances in which I filed a report, I never found out what happened to the child or their family.  It left me wondering if the family received the help and support they needed and if they were able to stay together as a family unit.  It also left me wanting to do more to help the child.  A few years ago I found a way to do more to help children who have experienced abuse and neglect.  I began volunteering at the Treehouse organization.  Treehouse is a non-profit King County organization that provides benefits and services to more than 5,000 children living in foster care.  I began volunteering monthly, working directly with foster families to help meet some of their foster child's most basic needs.  It has been an extremely rewarding experience for me, and one I plan to continue for years to come!

~ Christy