Second-grade students are easily persuaded to do their work.  I have noticed that all it really takes is excitement on my part to get them energized about something.  However, maintaining that interest requires a learning experience that is engaging and relevant to each student.  The best resources I have used during my internship have been those that make learning fun – for example, the F.O.S.S. science kits that allow constructive, hands-on discovery or the Math Expressions math songs that make challenges like skip-counting so much more fun by adding music and dance moves.  These curriculums have little additions that make them  much more fun for students than a simple teacher-talk, student-listen curriculum.  Engaging students in learning is essential for knowledge-building that will last.  The best resources I have used are those that seek to engage students.

The second part of classroom teaching is maintaining a certain level of discipline and order in the classroom.  This was something I came into student-teaching rather wary of.  I had very little experience with classroom management and was a bit nervous.  I quickly found out, however, that it is really not as tough as it seems.  The key to classroom management is to treat my students like the smart human beings that they are.  Knowing who they are, as real people – what interests them, how they learn, etc – helps me to keep the classroom in order.  These students know that I respect them and am interested in their well-being and that respect goes both ways.  Now, that is not to say that I have not had to use stronger discipline from time to time, but I believe that once I have my own classroom and can build even closer relationships with my students that a majority of the time, classroom management will not be a significant problem.

Overall, student-teaching has been an incredible experience that has truly prepared me to be in the classroom.  I have learned the importance of mutual respect for classroom management (as well as other techniques).  I have learned that the best way to get students learning is to engage them and teach lessons that they find enjoyable.  I know that I am walking away from this experience with some very valuable strategies and resources.

The main reason, thus far, that I have had to adjust the curriculum is to meet the state standards.  In Washington state, students’ learning is supposed to meet the Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs) and so I plan my units and lessons around doing just that.  Sometimes the curriculum that is used in the school does not specifically meet those standards or includes units that are unnecessary for meeting those standards.  In those cases, I have either modified the curriculum or omitted entire units (especially in the subject of math where the curriculum seems to include many units that are unnecessary to meet 2^nd grade EALRs).  Because there is so much emphasis placed on meeting these state standards and having students learn them to mastery, there is no room in the curriculum for extra units.  For this reason I adjust the curriculum to meet those learning requirements.

Aside from meeting the EALRs, I also adjust the curriculum for the sake of fluidity in the classroom.  This is also largely based on formative assessment – as I teach I am able to judge whether or not students are understanding or if some re-teaching is needed.  If the whole class needs re-teaching I may spend some extra time on a subject or teach it in a way that is different than the curriculum presents it.  Sometimes it is simply necessary to modify curriculum instruction to meet the needs of struggling students, and not the whole class.  Both instances have occurred and called for curriculum modification in my classroom.  Just yesterday in the middle of a lesson about “main idea” when I started to realize I was getting blank stares from the audience, I stopped the Smartboard progression that I was using and moved instead to modeling with a book.  This went over with students much better and I felt like they truly grasped the important information.  This was a time when I felt modifying my lesson was absolutely necessary and benefited the entire class.  Because I know my students, what they are capable of, and what is difficult for them, I can adjust my teaching to fit their needs.

While it would be nice to not have to modify the curriculum or my teaching, I think that doing so would put my students at a disadvantage.  They would not be meeting the EALRs sufficiently and they would not get the teaching that they need, in some cases, to meet their needs.  All in all, I think modifying the curriculum will always be a part of my teaching as long as it is done to better reach students and help them meet those state standards.

To say that a student “is motivated” implies either an intrinsic motivation (to learn for the sake of learning or to learn because of an interest in a subject) or an extrinsic motivation (a reward for finishing a task).  In my class, I always attempt to focus on intrinsic motivation, but this does require some coercion and effort on my part.  While some students are genuinely interested in learning for the sake of learning, most do not have the attention span to do so.  For this reason, I attempt to make all lessons engaging and relevant to students.  A student becomes much more motivated to read a book when that book shares fascinating information about his favorite subject: dinosaurs.  A student becomes more motivated to learn about how systems balance when he or she gets to build bridges or experiment with balancing objects.  These are simply ways that I nudge students into becoming motivated to learn – and often by engaging students in activities, they thoroughly enjoy these activities without realizing that they are “working.”

I also employ extrinsic motivation in my classroom.  While I would prefer not to use it at all, in some cases, it is necessary.  Extrinsic motivation, like offering class points for good behavior during specialist time, is something I mostly use for behavior routines.  While I wish students were intrinsically motivated to be quiet in the hallway or behave appropriately during specialist time, at this age they are so egocentric that these routines have to be practiced repeatedly in order for them to learn them.  These are not behaviors that are intrinsically understood at this age.  For this reason, I offer extrinsic rewards as a reminder to follow these behaviors.  I do believe there is a place for extrinsic motivation, especially for young students.

In a perfect world, all students would be intrinsically motivated to learn and pursue knowledge; however, in any classroom there are students who do not have this desire.  For this reason, I take my role as a teacher to mean that I sculpt and create lessons that will be engaging and relevant to my students – thus motivating them to participate and learn.  I also employ strategies of extrinsic motivation in the areas of routines and behavior that my students are yet to truly understand and be motivated to follow on their own.  I find that a combination of these two types of motivation coupled with students’ own interests and desires to grow in knowledge make an engaging and growing learning environment.

At my school, there is quite a bit of transience in the clientele.  For this reason, helping new students adjust to school is an important part of the teachers’ jobs.  Preparing the class beforehand, allows the students to be apprised of the arrival of a new student and to welcome them warmly.  In second grade, these students are always looking for new friends and playmates so the addition of a new student rarely causes a problem and is more a cause for excitement.  By preparing a desk, a book box, and journals for my new student ahead of time I can ease that transition by helping them be prepared for different classroom activities.  By assigning a certain student to be the new student’s “buddy” that helps them through the day, the new student can form instant connections and have an example to follow in the classroom.  Having a class meeting in which the class members share the classroom guidelines with the new student will help both introduce these to the new student as well as reinforce them in the classroom.  These are just a few ways to help a new student transition, but they focus on two important things: being prepared and being welcoming.

The role of the teacher is essential in preparing for a new student, especially with materials.  However, the class members have the abilities to be the most influential as they welcome a new student into their classroom culture.  As the teacher, the best thing I can do for a new student is to prepare the current students to be welcoming and outgoing toward the new student and trust that my students will provide a warm and helpful welcome.

While I cannot say that I have found myself treating students differently because of a stereotype (ie: Asian students are good at math), I have noticed that I sometimes adjust my lessons or call on certain students depending on the difficulty of the question.  I have probably communicated to students that I am catering the easier questions to “low” students when I know they can answer and too often counting on “high” students to answer the more difficult questions.   My thought about this is that I want the “low” students to feel successful in being able to answer questions, but by not making them answer the more difficult ones, I may be doing them a disservice by not challenging them enough.  I hold lofty expectations for those higher achieving students, and require them to use deeper thinking to answer questions; while this is great for them, it is unfair to not expect the same level of thinking from lower achieving students.

I have also found myself, when there are the same five “high” students with their hands raised, saying to the class, “Ok everyone, Students A, B, C, D, and E have their hands up – but I already know that they know the answer, I want to know if the rest of you know!”  This is my attempt to get others to participate that know the answers and are reluctant to share – however, I recognize that pointing out the high performance of those students may not be having the desired effect on the class.  While my intent by saying this is to pull in the participation of other students, I am also pointing out to the class the discrepancy between those “high” performers and the rest of the class.

As much as I do not like to say it, I think that my attitude and expectations for certain students does come across during lessons on occasion.  Of course, I try to limit this separation between “high” and “low” students as much as I possibly can.  After writing this, I will certainly be more aware of pointing out those discrepancies and try to keep my expectations equal for all members of the class.  Rather than lowering my expectations for lower achievers, I should find ways to modify assignments or offer extra help to those students.  Teacher attitudes and expectations are significant and can have a greater impact on students’ behavior than I ever realized.

I have discovered that my students are fascinated to learn about me as a “real” person.  For students at this age it can be hard to understand that the teacher is a real person (and does not live at school).  When they see me at the grocery store, or when I talk about my interests outside of school, students are fascinated.  By sharing with them details about my life, I can model an interest in learning both in and outside of school.  My students know that I am “in school” (graduate school) – just like them, and that I LOVE to read.  Sharing with them my favorite stories or talking about why I find lessons interesting helps engage students in that subject.  Helping my students know me as a real person shows them that learning is not just for kids, but adults too.

As a teacher, I will definitely be a lifelong learner – taking part in professional learning communities and continuing my education as I teach throughout the years.  Sharing with my students my interest in learning sets a great example for them and helps spark their own interests in the subjects we talk about in class.  Modeling interest and curiosity in learning is an essential way to get students to understand that I am a real person and know that there is a purpose behind what they are learning.  Sparking interest definitely helps engage students in lessons and help them to retain what they learn.

            In my classroom, my mentor teacher and I reward students who are choosing to be “on task” with tickets – these tickets they put their names on, and are entered into a drawing, drawn at the end of the week for small toys or trinkets.  Students who receive these tickets are those who are on task at the time of being asked, and surprisingly quickly, those around them follow suit as soon as they see the tickets come out.  This is a way to both reinforce positive behavior and also draw other students into making good choices as well.  Although I think I would make a few changes to the ticket system in my own classroom, I like the way reinforcing positive behavior and helping students make positive choices occurs with the giving of tickets.

            For the few students at every grade level who have severe behavioral issues, there is a different kind of positive reinforcement system.  These students meet every morning with the counselor in a small group and set daily goals for themselves.  Throughout the day, when the classroom teacher, or specialists, notice the student being on ask or behaving appropriately (especially in light of that goal) they mark a tally on the student’s goal sheet.  At the end of the day, the student can turn his or her tallies in, or collect them, for prizes.  This is a fairly new system for behavioral management and seems to be effective so far.  However, there was an incident last week in which the one student in my classroom who is part of this program decided to make his own tallies (very obvious to my mentor teacher and myself) and as a result lost all of his tallies for the day, even the ones he didn’t write himself.  So, there is definitely a learning curve that comes with the system, but so far it has been a fairly positive one.

            Throughout the whole school, teachers who catch students doing exemplary things can write “Panda Praises” for those students.  The school mascot is pandas.  Thus, the “Panda Praises” are written by teachers who catch students making good choices – these are read aloud to the class.  Students who receive these Panda Praises take them to office and put them in the fishbowl.  At the end of the week, a few names are drawn from the bowl and announced over the intercom for all the school to hear.  The students whose names are drawn get the opportunity to choose from a prize box, as well as get acknowledgement from all of the other staff and students.

            All in all, I think that positive reinforcement has a good effect on students’ decisions and making good choices.  I have to wonder in the back of my mind about the debate of intrinsic versus extrinsic motivations – however, I see that the system is working at ABC Elementary** and I know how ecstatic students are when they do receive these tickets, tallies, or Panda Praises.  It does feel good to be rewarded for working hard at something.  Positive reinforcement serves more than one purpose – rewarding those students who are behaving appropriately and motivating those who are not, to do so.  ABC Elementary**  has given me some excellent ideas about enacting such positive reinforcement practices in my future classroom.

**School name changed for privacy.

For conference week, students came to school for only half of the day, and teachers hosted conferences in the afternoons.  Some days the conferences even stretched into the evenings to accommodate parents’ schedules.  The format of these conferences was pretty basic: the teacher began by going over the report card with the parents, addressing any major questions or concerns, summarizing a few areas of praise, and identifying a few areas to focus on for future improvement.  The majority of the conferences were abounding in high praise for students who received “3”s (meeting grade level standards) and whose parents (and teacher) were proud of them.  However, even those students who were academically meeting grade level standards still had areas to focus on and to get better at.  Many students who are meeting standards academically in one area are not in another area, or are struggling with appropriate behavior issues.  Suffice it to say, no students are perfect!  For those students that are achieving below grade level, the teacher explained what she had observed and offered suggestions for the parents to do at home – to help bring these students to grade level.  Some parents seemed eager to put her suggestions into practice at home and others seemed completely apathetic, not only to her suggestions but to their conference itself.  That made me a little sad.  I was also saddened to hear some inside information about some of the students’ home lives (a lot of single-mom families) and different situations (students who had been abused or bullied in the past).  However, knowing those facts also sheds fresh light on who these students are, and part of the reason they act out sometimes.  I really felt like I was getting to know my students better, even if some things were hard to hear.  The great thing about my mentor teacher is that she loops between 1^st and 2^nd grade – so she has the same kids two years in a row.  This provides a great opportunity to really build a relationship with her students.  These conferences were not student-led (something I might be interested in trying when I have my own classroom) but about half of the students attended with their parents.  I think it was good to have the students there to hear what the teacher was saying and reinforce those good behaviors – and also to receive the praises for accomplishments in person.  However, I did notice that when the student was present, the teacher was not able to speak necessarily as freely as she may have done otherwise.  The other interesting thing about ABC Elementary** is its high frequency of ELL students.   Because of this, at least a third of the conferences required an interpreter (either Spanish or Vietnamese).  That made the process a bit longer, but I think it was necessary that ABC Elementary provide that service so communication could be open between the teacher and family.  In order to have a successful team working together to provide the best education for students, communication and collaboration between parents and teachers is essential.

Parent-teacher conference week has been an eye-opening experience.  In general I was happy to meet the parents of all the students I have been working with, as well as get some insight into their lives.  I have only been in the classroom for about a month, but I already care so much about these students and seeing them reach their goals and succeed in school.  I look forward to the day I can report such achievements to the parents of my own students and will take the lessons I learned from my mentor teacher about how to deal with the tougher cases to heart, to use in my future as well.  Right now, I’m looking forward to a bit of a more “normal” week next week.

**School name changed for privacy.

            “For the past several decades, no other topic in American education has received more scrutiny, or raised more eyebrows in concern, than school-based sex education (SBSE),” (Parker, 2001, p. 1).  In order to understand this hotly debated issue, it is important to know both sides of the argument.  Those in favor of sex education in schools argue that it is necessary because students are engaging in sexual activity at younger and younger ages and not doing so in safe ways.  Parker (2001) states, “The reality of the present generation is that the majority of American young people will engage in sexual risk-taking behavior prior to high school graduation,” (p.2).  Because parents are not taking their role as mentors to their children seriously in this area, the job is left up to the schools to teach students safe sexual practices.  These students who are sexually active too early in life are making uneducated choices that can often lead to sexually transmitted diseases and the most worrisome condition of all: the HIV infection. Parker (2001) claims that, “Each year, 20,000 young people between the ages of 13-25 are infected with HIV,” (p. 3).  Advocates of school-based sex education believe that teachers and schools have the best opportunity to educate young students about the dangers of risky sexual behavior and prepare them for making appropriate choices when the time comes.  Conversely, those who oppose school-based sex education believe that schools are encouraging students to have premarital intercourse and abandoning the moral and religious implications of doing so.  Closely tied to this, many believe that these courses on sex education awaken the carnal desires of young students before their natural occurrence.  Psychiatrist James Parsons (as cited in Public Schools: Sex in the Classroom, 1969) opposes any sex education in primary schools because, as he claims, “‘…there is a latency period, between the age of six and the time of puberty, of sexual interest.’ Forcing sex education on children in this period can cause them to ‘become over stimulated and obsessed’ and can ‘produce perversion in adults,’” (Public Schools: Sex in the Classroom, 1969). Critics of school-based sex education often believe that the place of this teaching should be in the home or the church.  Both sides bring up valid points, but which argument is more prudent for the wellbeing of young students today?

            The reality of the current debate is that it is not so much a question of whether or not sex education should be taught in schools (the answer is overwhelmingly: yes) but rather what that education should consist of.  While there remain advocates of keeping sex education out of school entirely, Parker (2001) states, “In a recent poll, 93% of all American supported SBSE {school-based sex education} in high schools, and 84% supported SBSE in middle/junior high schools,” (p. 2).  The question now has become: what components of sex education should be taught?  Should teachers instruct students in a more “comprehensive” sex education, including topics such as contraception and sexual orientation, or maintain an “abstinence-only” stance, advocating that students simply abstain from sexual behavior and any other discussion about sexuality.  Advocates of a comprehensive sex education claim that abstinence-only programs are antiquated and leave students vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases that could be prevented with the appropriate education.  The truth is that, “Nearly half of students engage in sexual activity before the age of 19…How can schools be asked to leave students ill prepared to protect themselves once they’re sexually active?” (Stover, 2007, p. 43).  On the contrary, supporters of abstinence-only curriculums state that, “…only abstinence can keep them safe from sexually transmitted diseases,” (Stover, 2007, p. 41) and that teaching students a comprehensive sex education is promoting “moral anarchy.” Joneen Krauth-Mackenzie, executive direction of WAIT (Why Am I Tempted? Training organization) claims and questions, “…most people would agree that sex within marriage is the healthiest and most emotionally satisfying – and is society’s ideal.  So why not make that the standard?” (Stover, 2007, p. 44).  In truth, the argument boils down to a question asked by Amitai Etizioni (1997), “Should we consider it (sex education) a matter of health and safety bereft of moral content?” (p. 20).  Given that most Americans (excluding my parents and a few of their counterparts) agree that teachers should take the responsibility for teaching sex education, should it be taught as a mechanical, value-free curriculum or is it a moral matter that requires the incorporation of values instruction?

            As is generally the case, I find that there must be an appropriate middle ground for this debate that will allow for the best possible education and protection of young students today.  While I myself am a “religious” person, I find that the reality of young students’ risky sexual activity makes this topic impossible to ignore.  I believe that the answer lies in educating students in the full gamut of their options, as well as instructing them in the moral implications of their choices.  As Warren A. Nord and Charles C. Haynes (1998) affirm, “…if we are to include controversial issues in the sex education curriculum, then, as always, students must hear the different voices – secular and religious, conservative and liberal – that are part of our cultural conversation,” (p.193).  Education of any sort cannot leave out the prominent voices that shape the debate – students must hear both sides and be informed in making their decisions.  The truth is that students should be receiving a moral education all throughout their public school years and when the time comes to make such a substantial moral decision, they should be prepared to do so.  Finally, I believe that this sensitive education of students should not be left to schools alone.  Parents remain the biggest influences on their children’s lives and have the ability to shape students’ decision-making.  Etzioni (1997) states, “The fact that some of the responsibility for sex education is delegated to schools does not mean that parents have lost their right and duty to be involved in decision making concerning the education to which their children are subjected, especially with highly charged and normatively loaded issues.  Parents should be involved in education for intimacy.  They have both rights and responsibilities in this area, (p. 23).  Parents who do not approve of the school’s message still have the right to pull their children from the classes and instruct them at home.  However, parents also have the ability to answer questions and supplement students’ instruction in the subject, especially in the area of morality.  The key idea here is that the more informed students are – the better choices they will make.  Therefore, I advocate a curriculum that discusses both the scientific aspects of sex education as well as the moral implications; I also propose that parents not leave these matters solely up to the school’s instruction.  Parents should be encouraged to supplement this knowledge with their family beliefs and carry on a running dialogue in which students feel free to ask questions and ponder such big decisions before making them.           

            “In the debate over sex education, one thing is undisputed: The average kid today is immersed in sexual imagery,” (Masland, 2011, p.1).  Sex is a part of the world today and kids are bombarded with it from a very young age.  The idea of leaving sex completely out of education is no longer even a realistic discussion.  An overwhelming majority of Americans believe that school-based sex education is the answer to prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies in young students.  While the debate now rages about whether to promote a more comprehensive or an abstinence-only program, I believe that the most beneficial answer for students is to accept that this is an issue that is not going away, and educate students thoroughly about the subject.  Leaving students in the dark about such a sensitive and loaded topic as their sexuality is exactly what will cause them to make poor choices.  Finding a middle ground that advocates abstinence but also provides age-appropriate sex information seems to be the most responsible approach to take.  This is not a matter for schools to take on alone.  Etzioni (1997) states, “As educators, we cannot single-handedly deliver all the desired outcomes,” (p.23).  Parents play a significant part in influencing the decision-making of their children.  Together, parents and teachers can work to shape the moral awareness of students and create opportunities for students to be appropriately informed about their responsibilities in this subject area.  Students cannot be forced to make “good” decisions, but they can choose to make informed decisions if they are aware of the consequences of their actions, both physical and moral.

Resources:

Allen, L. (March 10, 2009). ‘It’s not who they are it’s what they are like’: Re-conceptualising             sexuality education’s ‘best educator’ debate. Sex Education, 9, 1, 33-49.

Etzioni, A. (January 01, 1997). Education for Intimacy. Educational Leadership : Journal of the             Department of Supervision and Curriculum Development, N.e.a, 54, 8, 20.

Masland, Molly.  (2011).  Carnal Knowledge: The Sex Ed Debate.  Msnbc.com.  Retrieved from:             http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3071001/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

Nord, Warren A. & Haynes, Charles C. (1998).  Taking Religion Seriously Across the             Curriculum.  Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Parker, J. T., & ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education. (2001). School-based             sex education: A new millennium update. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on             Teaching and Teacher Education.

Public Schools: Sex in the Classroom.  (1969).  TIME.  Retrieved from:             http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901130-2,00.html

Stover, D. (January 01, 2006). Should We Be Teaching Sex Education or Sexual Abstinence?            Education Digest, 72, 5, 41-48.

This week I took over doing the calendar routine with the students.  This is something that they do every day; there is a Smartboard progression in which the students mark the days of the week on the calendar (practicing ordinal numbers and patterns), sing math songs, do some other work with numbers, find pairs of numbers to equal one-hundred, and use coins to make a certain amount of money.  This has been going extremely well for me, with the exception of a few issues with the Smartboard – I am still getting familiar with using it and sometimes I make mistakes, which of course, the students find amusing.  Fortunately, they are sweet kids and they help me out when I have trouble.  I also taught a few other lessons, including one about communities (social studies), one about making inferences (reading), and vocabulary and spelling lessons (writing).  The reading and writing lessons went very well.  With the social studies lesson the students had a hard time with understanding the differences between cities, states, countries, and continents.  So, I spoke with my mentor teacher and before the next social studies lesson I’m going to do a Circle Diagram (graphic organizer) with the students to help them gain some perspective on the relation between and sizes of these different forms of communities.  All in all, the lessons went very well and I was surprised at how natural it felt to be in front of the class – I thought I would be nervous, but I felt like I fell naturally into the role.

The second experience was being left alone with the class for the first time.  My teacher had to leave early one day for an IEP meeting and she left me alone with the class for just the last half an hour of the day.  Again, I was surprised at how comfortable I felt in this situation.  I simply followed the normal procedure for reading time and the end-of-the-day routines and all went relatively smoothly – although the students were very worried about why Mrs. Downey** had disappeared.  Today, I had an impromptu takeover of the class because a parent of a student who struggles with significant behavior issues dropped by.  Mrs. Downey** really needed to speak with her and the school’s educational assistant and so they left the classroom, and left me in charge!  This also went well as I was able to get the students seated and situated and give an impromptu follow-up lesson to the one given previously about inferences – to further reinforce these concepts.

Finally, I found myself having to reinforce consequences for poor behavior a couple times this week.  This was difficult for me because although I know it was justified, I just really didn’t want to “punish” students.  However, knowing that it was for their own good, I did do a couple things.  First of all, students tried to move seats when they realized that their normal teacher was not in the classroom.  This was obviously unacceptable and I had to sternly talk to students about this and about being respectful of the teacher, no matter who she is.  Also, I had to warn one student repeatedly about playing with a light-up toy in class.  Finally, I took it away because she refused to quit playing with it and distracting others.  She wouldn’t give it to me until I got very firm and serious with her.  At the end of the day, she and I had a little mini-conference about appropriate behavior and she won’t be bringing the toy back to class (hopefully!).  Although these were just minor incidents, I think I will have to toughen up a bit when I am truly in charge of the class.

While I loved my opportunities to teach this week, I was surprised at how difficult some of the classroom management duties were for me.  However, now that I’ve had a taste of both good and bad aspects of the classroom I am looking forward to what the future holds and what new things I will experience in the upcoming weeks.  Next week I will be sitting in on parent-teacher conferences and I am definitely looking forward to that as well.

**Teacher’s name changed to respect her privacy.