Today was a great day to be working at Central! Our active learning professional development after school was great. We focused on professional learning networks and what they can do for our careers as a means of individualilzed professional development. More specifically we focused on Twitter.
It was a small group and I felt like everyone was engaged and contributed to the professional development. I had a co-presenter today, but it didn't feel like we were the ones presenting. Some of the other people were new to Twitter and others already had an account. They were all asking good questions and helping each other. We were all on the same page and working together really well.
Central Junior High is full of supportive educators and administrators who are there for the right reasons. They encourage each other and support each other. They offer positive feedback on things that are happening in classrooms. When someone has an idea, they listen and brainstorm with each other. Overall, it is an amazing place to spend the days. When tragedy strikes, like it did in Boston today, it makes me take a look around and realize how incredibly fortunate I am in my life. I am grateful for the team of teachers and principal I work with in the junior high.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Monday, April 1, 2013
A great compliment
Our eighth grade students were paired up with juniors or seniors and went to their classes with them for two periods for the "Freshmen Experience." When talking with one of my students after his experience, he told me that he went to the Pre-Calc/Trig class in the high school. I asked how it was and if he thought he'd enjoy that class when he gets to high school; he likes math and is very good at it, so I figured he'd say he loved it and can't wait to get there. He told me that the teacher was talking about all of this crazy stuff he's never heard of before and asked if anyone had any questions. My student raised his hand and said "When are they going to use this in life?" The teacher answered with "they're probably not going to." My student said, "then why are you teaching it to them?"
I know what you're thinking because I was thinking the same thing, but don't judge my student yet. Wait until the end of the story!
The teacher responded with "I'm sure that Mrs. Litchfield teaches you things in your math class that you're never going to use either." Listen to the amazing compliment that my student gave me; he said "No. Everything we do has a real-life application. We don't ever just do problems to be doing them. They're always connected to something." I wanted to hug him when he said this! That was one of my goals this year and I have worked so hard to make it a reality. It was so nice of him to notice and have enough courage to share it with others. I have been telling them all year that it's ok to ask questions about what/why you're learning something. It's ok to ask for more out of your education than just a lecture and 25 problems of homework. These kids learn in a totally different way than I did and it's time we recognize this and step up to give them what they deserve. How wonderful that he noticed!
My student did not mean for his questions to be rude. He's a very kind, caring, curious, and probably the hardest working young man I know. He just wanted to know when this could be used in life. In my classroom, asking when we're going to use this is a perfectly acceptable question. Matter of fact, I encourage it. I talked to the other teacher to make sure he didn't get the wrong impression of this student. He said he liked having someone in his class that was interested and wanted to know what the purpose of the math is. I told him he was going to love having this student! He's incredible and, lucky for me, I get to have him next year too!!
I know what you're thinking because I was thinking the same thing, but don't judge my student yet. Wait until the end of the story!
The teacher responded with "I'm sure that Mrs. Litchfield teaches you things in your math class that you're never going to use either." Listen to the amazing compliment that my student gave me; he said "No. Everything we do has a real-life application. We don't ever just do problems to be doing them. They're always connected to something." I wanted to hug him when he said this! That was one of my goals this year and I have worked so hard to make it a reality. It was so nice of him to notice and have enough courage to share it with others. I have been telling them all year that it's ok to ask questions about what/why you're learning something. It's ok to ask for more out of your education than just a lecture and 25 problems of homework. These kids learn in a totally different way than I did and it's time we recognize this and step up to give them what they deserve. How wonderful that he noticed!
My student did not mean for his questions to be rude. He's a very kind, caring, curious, and probably the hardest working young man I know. He just wanted to know when this could be used in life. In my classroom, asking when we're going to use this is a perfectly acceptable question. Matter of fact, I encourage it. I talked to the other teacher to make sure he didn't get the wrong impression of this student. He said he liked having someone in his class that was interested and wanted to know what the purpose of the math is. I told him he was going to love having this student! He's incredible and, lucky for me, I get to have him next year too!!
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