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Becoming more aware

Two things crossed my mind this week.  Well, two that are worth writing about. 

Normally I’m not afraid to try new things and make mistakes (in the classroom) because learning opportunities happen when we mess up.  But today a trip to the grocery store made me think about how I do things.  Of the 20 places I could have stopped for detergent and milk, I choose the one with 4 of my students selling Girl Scout cookies.   So I stop, buy a couple boxes and make small talk with their moms.  It really never crossed my mind but when I make changes in the classroom or use new types of technology, it reaches far outside the wall of our school.  Parents set up rewards and consequences at home based on what we do at school.  If I make changes and keep the parents out of the loop, it makes it tough on the students and their parents.  So thank you to Kroger and Thin Mints for making me aware of the changes I will make Monday.   


We started writing reflections this week.  I was careful not to give too many guidelines because many second graders tend to do exactly what you ask them too.  Black and white is more abundant than gray.  I am working on that but structure is important to them so I guess I'm not super surprised they don't always think outside the box.  What I don’t want is a summary of the week, a description of a project or information throw up.  I’d rather hear about their thoughts, opinions and hopefully, have that move to being better self-expression and self-understanding.  I’ll attach some examples from week one and wait a few week to post some more and see if we’ve made any progression.  They are on the right track.

Student Reflections





Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 18, 2018 at 7:23 PM

    The student reflections make me realize how our students think vs. how we think and how our actions in the classroom do impact them.

    It was interesting how the three students had completely different responses as well! The first mentioned things done in class but also discussed his/her own behavior (talking) and the need for being proactive (impressive word choice!), and the third mentioned how they usually do ELA on a computer. Yet the second student was focused internally on his/her dog and mom, which proves to be a reminder that sometimes what we do takes a backseat to what our students are thinking and feeling.

    I teach junior high, and this makes me curious to think about what my students would say if I gave them an open-ended prompt like this!

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  2. UnknownMarch 2, 2018 at 5:18 AM

    Jason,
    Your first thought had me sitting here nodding in agreement and smiling--- First, because I love girl scout cookies and I ALWAYS stop to buy some. Secondly, I have had to make a lot of adjustments in my classroom regarding my communication with parents in order to meet their needs and the needs of their students. I had previously co-taught math for 6 hours a day, and worked with students whose parents weren't overly involved. We sent weekly grade updates, called parents when needed, and saw them at conferences. Moving to a smaller Life Skills environment with 7 students has drastically changed that. The parents have more of a desire to be involved--- and really enjoy/need my ClassDojo updates, notes home, pictures, texts, remind notes. It's somewhat of a 360 degree switch from where I was at--- But I don't mind it, and having the parents on board and interested is a breath of fresh air!

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