Hi Everyone,
This is probably going to be one of the most exciting blogs that I get to write!
Student Teaching is going well. My classroom is moving along and I'm almost halfway done. It has been flying by! This past week we had a school Mass for Ash Wednesday which is so cool to be a part of. Just watching all of the students participate in Mass is awesome.
I did a couple of PowerPoint Presentations this week for each class. We covered everything from England after the Reformation to Elasticity to The House of Representatives. It's amazing how many different topics I get to cover.
Friday I had all of my civics class play a redistricting game on www.redistrictinggame.org which was a lot of fun. Most of my students enjoyed it. It was able to give them first hand experience of what it takes to redistrict a state after each census.
This week I have my coop's wife coming in to talk about politics. She is running for US Senate for PA and you can find out more about here at www.pegluksik.com It should be very interesting for all of my classes to hear her speak!
Finally and most importantly I am having to start figuring out where my life is headed next year. I have officially received my first job offer! Tim Perkin's who is the director of the Study Abroad in France, which I participated in, contacted me. He has offered me a job working as a Residence Director/Teaching Assistant/Travel Agent/Tour Guide/Etc. for the France program next year.
If I were to take this job I would leave around Labor Day. I would live there for the Fall Semester, come home for Christmas, then go over for the Spring Semester. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to do that and it's something that I am taking into consideration. I would love to go back and to go back using my history skills would be even cooler!
Feel free to leave comments about what you think!
Talk to you soon,
John
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Snow Day Update
Hi All,
So Central PA has gotten hit with some more snow so today all schools were pretty much closed, including Bishop Carroll which is a huge plus! I needed a day to just sleep in a little bit.
Last week was Catholic Schools Week, so anyone who has ever been to or worked at a Catholic High School knows that CSW brings nothing but fun activities and lots of shortened classes (which is a big plus too). So we had Mass last Monday to kick off the week. It was very different from the way that BGA runs their Masses, but there was one major thing in common; you could tell that the community of BC was together as one family which, to me, is what Catholic Schools are all about.
Throughout the week there were other activities and a variety of dress down days. I was supposed to have gone to VA this past weekend, but due to the snow, the Lifeguard People canceled. So I went to school on Friday. BC doesn't do a Tournament of Champions type thing like BGA does, instead they have the SADD students do a Jeopardy Game. That morning I was asked to be a teacher in the competition, which was a huge honor, but in the back of my head all I could think about was like, "I don't know most of the school."
So that afternoon I got called up to participate and my Freshmen and Sophomores made signs and cheered me as I went up. So they must not hate my class! While playing Jeopardy, I didn't get to answer a single question! We came in 2nd place by 100 points, so all and all it was a good day.
This past Monday I played a review game with all of my classes in the style of "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader." All of my students seemed to enjoy it. Yesterday I gave them all a test and overall they did decently! We have a lot of exciting things coming up over the next couple of weeks, so I will make sure to come back and post pictures!
Hope everyone is doing well, talk to you soon,
John
So Central PA has gotten hit with some more snow so today all schools were pretty much closed, including Bishop Carroll which is a huge plus! I needed a day to just sleep in a little bit.
Last week was Catholic Schools Week, so anyone who has ever been to or worked at a Catholic High School knows that CSW brings nothing but fun activities and lots of shortened classes (which is a big plus too). So we had Mass last Monday to kick off the week. It was very different from the way that BGA runs their Masses, but there was one major thing in common; you could tell that the community of BC was together as one family which, to me, is what Catholic Schools are all about.
Throughout the week there were other activities and a variety of dress down days. I was supposed to have gone to VA this past weekend, but due to the snow, the Lifeguard People canceled. So I went to school on Friday. BC doesn't do a Tournament of Champions type thing like BGA does, instead they have the SADD students do a Jeopardy Game. That morning I was asked to be a teacher in the competition, which was a huge honor, but in the back of my head all I could think about was like, "I don't know most of the school."
So that afternoon I got called up to participate and my Freshmen and Sophomores made signs and cheered me as I went up. So they must not hate my class! While playing Jeopardy, I didn't get to answer a single question! We came in 2nd place by 100 points, so all and all it was a good day.
This past Monday I played a review game with all of my classes in the style of "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader." All of my students seemed to enjoy it. Yesterday I gave them all a test and overall they did decently! We have a lot of exciting things coming up over the next couple of weeks, so I will make sure to come back and post pictures!
Hope everyone is doing well, talk to you soon,
John
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Looking Back
Hi Everyone,
Hope you are doing well. This past week has really taken me on a roller coaster ride! The beginning of the week was extremely difficult with my sixth period class I as commented earlier. After having the class from hell, my coop sat me down and told me about a Scrubs episode that he had seen. JD (the main character) is talking with Dr. Cox (his mentor) about the death of three patients in the hospital died. Dr. Cox had gotten them each an organ, and had no clue that the individual who donated them was infected with rabies.
After the transplants they all died and Dr. Cox went into a deep depression. After being out for a while JD went to visit him and told him that "He wishes that he could care so much about those patients when he is in the field that long." This really gave me a confident boost because I learned that teaching is more than just lecturing or preparing lesson plans. It is truly being there for all of your students.
Even if the students are misbehaving you are still there. I have learned that I wouldn't be a good teacher if I didn't let a class get to me like that. Since then, sixth period has truly turned around and have been on top of their work and participation in class.
I will post more this week with updates!
Enjoy,
John
Hope you are doing well. This past week has really taken me on a roller coaster ride! The beginning of the week was extremely difficult with my sixth period class I as commented earlier. After having the class from hell, my coop sat me down and told me about a Scrubs episode that he had seen. JD (the main character) is talking with Dr. Cox (his mentor) about the death of three patients in the hospital died. Dr. Cox had gotten them each an organ, and had no clue that the individual who donated them was infected with rabies.
After the transplants they all died and Dr. Cox went into a deep depression. After being out for a while JD went to visit him and told him that "He wishes that he could care so much about those patients when he is in the field that long." This really gave me a confident boost because I learned that teaching is more than just lecturing or preparing lesson plans. It is truly being there for all of your students.
Even if the students are misbehaving you are still there. I have learned that I wouldn't be a good teacher if I didn't let a class get to me like that. Since then, sixth period has truly turned around and have been on top of their work and participation in class.
I will post more this week with updates!
Enjoy,
John
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
The Past Couple of Days
Hi Everyone,
Sorry I haven't updated in a while. It has been a busy couple of days trying to keep my head above water with PowerPoints, Lesson Plans, APO, and everything else I have!
So yesterday was a good and bad day. Every period, with the exception of one, were absolutely great. They were completely focused and centered on accomplishing everything we needed to do. Period 6 however was absolutely beyond all control. My coop told me that he had never seen them so disrespectful and would have blown it. So last night I spent a lot of time thinking about how I wanted to handle the situation.
So I announced in class, feeling frustrated with them, that they will have a quiz. So today I came in with my plan of action handling sixth period. I stood in the hallway when the bell rang and waited for everyone to arrive. As they did, I handed them a quiz and asked them to enter the room quietly and begin. On the board I explained rules of not talking, etc.
After collecting the quizzes, I began my lesson and was met with one or two issues, so I wrote a pink slip (my first written warning) and that immediately corrected their behavior. The rest of the period they were extremely focused and quiet. So tomorrow when I go into class I'm going to be just as firm with them and make sure that this positive behavior stays around. I will update soon to see if they are still this focused!
Hope all is well!
John
P.S. Happy Birthday Nana Ag!!!!!
Sorry I haven't updated in a while. It has been a busy couple of days trying to keep my head above water with PowerPoints, Lesson Plans, APO, and everything else I have!
So yesterday was a good and bad day. Every period, with the exception of one, were absolutely great. They were completely focused and centered on accomplishing everything we needed to do. Period 6 however was absolutely beyond all control. My coop told me that he had never seen them so disrespectful and would have blown it. So last night I spent a lot of time thinking about how I wanted to handle the situation.
So I announced in class, feeling frustrated with them, that they will have a quiz. So today I came in with my plan of action handling sixth period. I stood in the hallway when the bell rang and waited for everyone to arrive. As they did, I handed them a quiz and asked them to enter the room quietly and begin. On the board I explained rules of not talking, etc.
After collecting the quizzes, I began my lesson and was met with one or two issues, so I wrote a pink slip (my first written warning) and that immediately corrected their behavior. The rest of the period they were extremely focused and quiet. So tomorrow when I go into class I'm going to be just as firm with them and make sure that this positive behavior stays around. I will update soon to see if they are still this focused!
Hope all is well!
John
P.S. Happy Birthday Nana Ag!!!!!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The Past Two Days
Hi Everyone,
Sorry I didn't get the chance to update yesterday, it was just nonstop from 6:15am-12:00midnight. So yesterday was my second day and it went a lot better then I thought it would. I taught my first 3 new lessons.
Civics we focused on what it means to be a state and to have a government. In World History we did story time and talked about the early crusades. Economics was fun talking about Feudalism. My sixth period class actually was better then I thought they would be. I tried taking the advice of many people and treat each day as a new day and it worked!
Today I gave quizzes in every class. Only one period did the entire class bomb the quiz (I'm giving a different one tomorrow and I'm going to teach them how to take a quiz). I taught the Byzantine response to the Crusaders from Europe. Finally in economics we talked about mercantilism! Yes mercantilism... I can't believe it either. Believe it or not the students in 7th period understood it!
Tomorrow I'm finishing the first chapter of civics, doing primary source analysis and the current economic situation. Well that's about it!
Check back soon,
John
Sorry I didn't get the chance to update yesterday, it was just nonstop from 6:15am-12:00midnight. So yesterday was my second day and it went a lot better then I thought it would. I taught my first 3 new lessons.
Civics we focused on what it means to be a state and to have a government. In World History we did story time and talked about the early crusades. Economics was fun talking about Feudalism. My sixth period class actually was better then I thought they would be. I tried taking the advice of many people and treat each day as a new day and it worked!
Today I gave quizzes in every class. Only one period did the entire class bomb the quiz (I'm giving a different one tomorrow and I'm going to teach them how to take a quiz). I taught the Byzantine response to the Crusaders from Europe. Finally in economics we talked about mercantilism! Yes mercantilism... I can't believe it either. Believe it or not the students in 7th period understood it!
Tomorrow I'm finishing the first chapter of civics, doing primary source analysis and the current economic situation. Well that's about it!
Check back soon,
John
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
FIRST DAY TEACHING
Hi Everyone,
So I have officially survived my first day of teaching!
For the most part my day went really well! 6 out of the 7 periods I had a very positive experience!
My supervisor Mr. Cunningham came to observe my 4th period World History Class. He said that I did a really good job!!!!! (That's definitely a plus)
6th period was definitely a rough class. My coop explained that they were attempting to push me to my breaking point to figure out what they can do to annoy me. My coop then told me that I handled myself very well and didn't give in to their games. So hopefully tomorrow I will be able to keep myself composed again!
Well that's it!
John
So I have officially survived my first day of teaching!
For the most part my day went really well! 6 out of the 7 periods I had a very positive experience!
My supervisor Mr. Cunningham came to observe my 4th period World History Class. He said that I did a really good job!!!!! (That's definitely a plus)
6th period was definitely a rough class. My coop explained that they were attempting to push me to my breaking point to figure out what they can do to annoy me. My coop then told me that I handled myself very well and didn't give in to their games. So hopefully tomorrow I will be able to keep myself composed again!
Well that's it!
John
Monday, January 18, 2010
My Classroom
Hi Everyone,
Today we had a faculty in-service. After learning CPR for about the 3rd time in the past 6 months I got some time to work on my classroom. Here are some pictures.
RULE BOARD
DESK NUMBERS
HOMEWORK BOARD
CLASSROOM LAYOUT
ENJOY,
John
Today we had a faculty in-service. After learning CPR for about the 3rd time in the past 6 months I got some time to work on my classroom. Here are some pictures.
RULE BOARD
DESK NUMBERS
HOMEWORK BOARD
CLASSROOM LAYOUT
ENJOY,
John
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