TJensen's blog

Why You Shouldn't Join the Mississippi Teacher Corps

1.)  If you simply saw my picture on the MTC website and thought, "Wow, he's hot.... maybe we can hook up."

2.)  If you are a bourgeois Ivy League self-proclaimed light to the poverty stricken Mississippi World, who has been called to lift the uneducated MIssissippian out of darkness.  This work has no room for elitism or walking resumés.  The kids won't care where you got your degree, what your GPA is or what organization elected you President.  In order to be successful in teaching, you will need to forget yourself.  What you have to give is much more important than "who you are".  

 3.)   If you can't handle a healthy dose of chaos.  The intercom will chime in every 10-15 min.  There will be many unplanned or forewarned assemblies.  You may find yourself holding  your home room for hours on end.  If you can't be flexible and learn to thrive in an environment that you don't always have control over, you will get easily distracted by the chaos.  

4.)  If you can't deal with disrespect,... especially in the form of what I refer to as the "full body eye-roll ".   Many of these students have never really been asked or expected to work at their full potential.  Sometimes encouraging this, evenly in creative non-confrontational ways, leads to various levels of disrespect.  (often simply through the  over-exaggerated  grunt, the infamous " Maaaaiiine " or the full body eye-roll .  Change is difficult for your students much as it is difficult for you.  Expect delays.  

5.)  If you don't like to clean toilets.  Often, schools lack the funding, organization or staff to cover all of their needs.  Be prepared to fill in positions that might not necessarily fit your skills, desires or janitorial training.  Be prepared to teach something you might not be certified in.... or even clean toilets.  

6.) If you value your "free time".  You will find that even being a mediocre teacher requires a considerable amount of work before, during and after school.  And, if you are doing this program for the right reasons you should never feel ok about just being an average teacher.  You know that these kids deserve better.  So, you will be lesson planning and grading and phone calling late into the night most every night.... for hours and hours a day.....oh yeah, and still be a mediocre teacher.  

6.)  If you don't believe that Lonesome Dove with Robert Duvall is the best Movie EVER MADE.

End the Fed Book Review

In End the Fed, Ron Paul's latest book since The Revolution: A Manifesto, Paul introduces the basic argument that "it is irresponsible, ineffective, and ultimately useless to have a serious economic debate without considering and challenging the role of the Federal Reserve".  Though some of Paul's economic conclusions are arguably extreme and pragmatic in their approach, he clearly addresses questions that are thought provoking and relevant in a post-economic meltdown world.  Perhaps the most universally agreeable portion of End the Fed, is in its early chapter as Paul discusses the nature and origins of the Federal Reserve; information of which the vast majority of people are unaware.

 

As an eleven term Texas Representative, Paul holds back few punches in his vocal lament of government involvement in the private financial sector, writing that "[t]he entire federal government,is one giant toxic asset at the moment. It certainly has no business telling the private sector how to run its affairs. It is in worse financial shape than all the companies in the private sector put together.”  Though many Libertarians and supporters of his cause to audit the Federal Reserve and End the Fed will cheer his aggressive disdain for government prevalent throughout this book, his sometimes extreme language will likely undermine his research credibility with the currently neutral reader.  

 

Dr. Paul acknowledges in his writing that abolishing the Federal Reserve would not be a cure all as all economic systems have inherent weaknesses, but it would dry up the limitless funds that make it possible for Washington to fund unnecessary wars, expand the government with few boundaries and run up obscene deficits.   Finally, Paul retells stories from his own fight against government waste and what he argues are the negative effects of the Federal Reserve (inflation, economic recessions, limitless money supply).  Though this portion of the book is definitely more anecdotal in nature, it does provide an enjoyable easy reading account of his efforts in Washington. 

Overall End the Fed provides a valuable thought provoking argument in evaluating the Federal Reserves role in shaping our national economic policy and fiscal health.   

 

 

 

           

First Semester Reflection

When I look back and consider this first semester teaching, the first thing that comes to mind is, "Maaaaiiiine, Look at dude!", but after I get Darnell's voice out of my head I seem to have more coherent and meaningful thoughts. 

The days seem like months and the months seem like days. I had no idea that a decently pressed snap western shirt was not the only tool that I would need to create a functioning classroom.  I mean, don't get me wrong... it was helpful. After one semester, I have already elevated my status to the most creative and effective Business Computerations teacher that Teacher Corps has ever been graced with in it's competitive 20 year history.

My classroom has really been changing for the better my last month or so.  I don't think it's solely because of my classroom management, though I think my writing assignments (which are given out with a student penned writing assignment rap performed by various artists) have had an impact.  I think the real difference is that I'm just starting to build the kind of relationship and trust with my students that allows me to interact and talk with them on a more personal and effective level.  My hope is that they are starting to realize that I really do care about their success, both as a group and individually.  

I remember my first day teaching.  I came home exhausted and a little overwhelmed.  I remember thinking, "I'm not sure if I can do that everyday."  I recognized an interesting change in myself over Thanksgiving Break when I thought to myself, "I kinda miss my kids."  So, perhaps the change was not so much in my students or their behavior, but ...in me.  

Pete Nelson's Speech

I do not know Pete, but his speech was so incredibly witty and honest, even while hitting on the big important questions, that I thoroughly enjoyed listening. 

He articulated a feeling that I have been experiencing lately very well.  Though I do not feel that I have been blessed with any noteworthy talents are aptitudes, I have found that in my life my success (or lack of) has been directly attributable to the amount of passionate work that I have been willing to invest toward a goal.   Pete acknowledges the reality of teaching in an experience most of us can relate to.... sometimes you work really really hard.... and it all just blows up in your face.   Sometimes I find it very difficult and discouraging to have such a deep desire to be of real benefit and value to these kids ..knowing they deserve so much better... only to find that many of the forces working against them are completely out of my control.  

I guess for me right now success cannot be so clearly defined by immidiate academic outcome, but by my willingness to get up every morning early and stay up every night late trying to create meaningful experiences and lessons for my students.   I hope that the simple fact right now that I do have nights where I can't sleep... with my mind too full of worries for my students.... no longer in general terms but in terms of names and faces and individual weaknesses. 

I hope that if I keep my heart in the right place, and continue to plan my lessons as if it might be the one day that someone is listening..... that perhaps my being here can be of some value to someone other than myself.  It was great to here some of my own feelings articulated in such a witty and honest way, by someone with more experience and insight than myself. 

Reflection on Sec. of Education Arne Duncan's speech

Teacher Preparation: Reforming the Uncertain Profession—Remarks of Secretary Arne Duncan at Teachers College, Columbia University

Can we honestly hope that the same government who created the unconstitutional centrally planned monolithic failure of a program, "No Child Left Behind", will be the leader in generating the kind of innovative creativity that will be required to solve the major problems facing the American education system?  You might as well place me in charge of the Mississippi Teacher Corps Aerobics, Yoga, Spinning and Wieght Loss Initiative.

Though I generally agreed with Secretary Duncan's definition of the problems facing the  American education system now and into the future, I was left with little hope that he was prepared to articulate any concise working solution to any of these major problems....  Even the most eloquent articulaton of the problem becomes only a more dissapointing failure when not connected to a driving workable comprehensive plan for addressing these problems.  And sadly, there seems to be a general consensus that the vast majority of schools of education across the country are not yet even fully engaged in the defining of the problem. 

I fear that the only force strong enough to encourage actual change in our current system on a national scale is abject necessity.  This is not do downplay the reality that we are already enduring an educational crisis, only to insert my belief that our current situation does not yet register in the general American Psyche as one requiring immediate attention.  Though our current system is full of ugly injustices and will ultimately create deep long term negative socioeconomic effects, individuals do not feel any major immediate personal discomfort with our failure. 

As long as the general public does not recognize and take a healthy ownership of this crisis, I fear that there is no governmental plan or program that can have any significant long lasting national impact.  Schools were never intended to answer to distant Federal Bureaucrats,... but to communities and parents. 

 

As a side note from my typical incoherent ramblings....  I found this quote to be personally motiviating from the speech:

In our new era of accountability, it is not enough for a teacher to say, "I taught it—but the students didn't learn it." As Linda Darling-Hammond has pointed out, that is akin to saying "the operation was a success but the patient died."

Best Practices Article

Toward Assessing Internet Use in the Social Studies Classroom: Developing an Inventory Based on a Review of Relevant Literature.

This best practices article identifies the increased use of internet web sites as the main and most common component of technology use in the classroom and then basically makes three research based conclusions that I am focusing on in this entry:

1.  Most Social Studies teachers (with access to internet in classroom) still use the text book more frequently than online material.

2.  Students respond more positively to interactive internet projected media sources than to a traditional text book.

3.  Teachers who consistenly develop lesson plans using internet sources are more likely to integrate interdisciplinary lessons than teachers who use a traditional textbook. 

Survey research clearly shows that one of the main reasons that teachers do not incorporate internet more frequently in the classroom is because it requires more time to sift through sources that might not necessarily parallel the desired curriculum objective.  On the other hand, textbooks typically organizes material, questions, and in-class helps into a teacher friendly professionally refereed sequence.  That is why I have truly appreciated the number of powerful and professionally produced internet sources we have been given as part of this Social Studies methods class.  It has definitely helped me to sift through the daunting number of websites out there and find some truly useful sources for potential lesson plans.

Also, in considering the learning styles of my students, the vast majority of my 9th grade students are clearly visual learners or mixed visual/textile learners.  Increasing the amount of effective visual internet media in a lesson only increases the level of student interest in the subject and as the research from this article concludes, students retained information from lessons incorporating projected internet media longer than from traditionally planned textbook lessons. 

Due to the breadth of knowledge encompassed in the discipline , Social Studies has more accessible potential and demand for the incorporation of interdisciplinary subject matter.  Educational based websites often provide increased access to appropriate interdisciplinary lesson support through categorized linked material and websites.  Again research has shown that teachers who regularly use internet media in the classroom are much more likely to draw from interdisciplinary material to support their lesson objectives, often through the sharing of links and internet videos recommended by teachers from other subjects who have used them effectively in a linked lesson.

Overall, I thought this was an insightful, though general research article on internet use in the Social Studies classroom.   The one major help I drew from this best practices article is that though using the internet in the classroom generally increases student interest and retention, a truly great lesson plan not only incorporates the internet, but does so only to provide powerful visual descriptions and to increase the use of interdisciplary material. 

 

Citations:
Shiveley, James M. and Vanfossen, Phillip J. (Spring 2009). Toward Assessing Internet Use in the Social Studies Classroom: Developing an Inventory Based on a Review of Relevant Literature. Journal of Social Studies Research. 1-17. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3823/is_200904/ai_n31511958/?tag=content;col1  

 

Shiveley, James M " Toward Assessing Internet Use in the Social Studies Classroom: Developing an Inventory Based on a Review of Relevant Literature ". Journal of Social Studies Research. FindArticles.com. 14 Nov, 2009. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3823/is_200904/ai_n31511958/

 

 

Tunica River Park Museum Lesson Plan Idea

BEFORE THE TRIP: Students will overview the history of attempted control of the Mississippi River inlet and valley by various world powers. The students will be asked to recognize why the River was so important geographically and economically to various powers. They will use their text book to fill out a worksheet on these and other historically important aspects of the Mississippi River.

AT THE TUNICA RIVER PARK MUSEUM: The students will view the various museum exhibits listing at least two specific positive forces of the Mississippi River (i.e. Commerce and Trade, fishing, hydroelectric power), two negative forces of the Mississippi River (Flooding death/damage and sunken vessels/lost goods due to debris) and two mixed aspects of the Mississippi River (Deep rich fertile soil deposits/caused by often damaging floods. Access to trade routes/often targeted territory during conflict). This list will be used in after trip activity and assessment.

ATER THE TRIP: Students will take their newly acquired knowledge of the Mississippi River to create a detailed comparison venn diagram of the positive, negative and mixed forces and influences of the Mighty Mississippi River. The students will be required to explain why their listed items fit under a specific category detailing how these forces have affected Mississippi's history, economy and culture. Students will be required to cite specific examples from the trip including exhibits, videos, artifacts, historical figures, music, etc.

ASSESSMENT:  Students will be assessed by their creation of River Park Work Portfolio based upon the following ruberic:

_______/10 pts. Pre-Assessment Worksheet on the history of sought control and other major historically significant people and events tied to the Mississippi River using the text and other in-class sources.

_______/30 pts.Field trip Assignment.  Students will be required to identify two aspects for each category of influnces/forces of the Mississippi River: Positive, Negative and Mixed with an explanation as to why that force should be categorized thus.  6 aspects required.  5pts for each aspect totaling 30 pts.

_______/60 pts. After trip culminating project.  Students will be required to create a detailed comparison/contrast venn diagram using the information they obtained from the River Park Museum and pre-assessment worksheet.  They will be required to correctly categorize and support their diagram citing specific museum exhibits, videos, artifacts, music, etc and the text.  Each sphere of their Venn diagram will require two examples and be worth a total of 20pts 3x20=60pts  (2 examples, 5 pts per examlple, 5 pts for supporting evidence=20pts per sphere)

Success Story

As a roving Business Computerations teacher, I have enjoyed some unique challenges this first year.  This has also presented me with the opportunity to enjoy some unique successes.  

I would like to title my success, "Conquering the first 5 minutes".  As I have noted in a previous blog, as a roving freshman teacher, I found that as I would move to my next room, often after many of my students had already arrived, I would enter the High School stage production of Lord of the Flies.  I then found myself spending at least the first 10 minutes of class "managing" rather than teaching.  This was frustrating and often led to other classroom management problems later during the lesson.  

With the great advice of some other teachers, I instituted a new tardy and "Do Now" policy requiring students to be in their seat ready to work before the bell rings.  Additionally, the Do Now policy required students to be silently working on their Do Now work or they would receive a "zero" and/or a writing assignment based upon the severity of the disruptive behavior.  

The success I have found is that creating a relatively quiet and "on-task" first five minutes of class, improves the overall learning environment of the entire class period.  This has greatly improved my overall lessons and drastically increased the number of teaching/learning minutes per class period.  And as is clear on my students test scores... the more the students see and work with the material l present, the more improved their skills are on that particular objective.  

This has made a major difference in my classroom and perhaps the most noticeable difference is that due to the reduced number of behavioral distractions, I am more able to be myself and prepare more interesting and demanding lesson plans.  In fact, in my own humble opinion, this success has made me the greatest Business Computerations teacher to have ever participated in Teacher Corps.  

Does Homework work?

Without the support of parents in the home, homework seems to be a punishment by default for eager-to-please students who likely already mastered the objective during class.  For students who don't have support at home and who are struggling in your class even with proper teaching and intervention, homework will not get finished and will likely hurt their already discouraging grade. 

 

What I most liked about this blog read was the attached letter from a principal who had decided to have a "no homework" policy.  Pointing to lack of supportive research behind aggressive homework and after school work, he had ultimately penned a policy against homework at his school.  What I really liked however was that he had encouraged what I believe to be more effective "HOMEWORK" with the following list:

The research is telling us that if we want to improve attitudes, mental and physical health and academic performance, we as parents need to promote the following 5 things:

• Children need to play outside for at least an hour after the school day. They should be at the point where they are almost sweating.
• Dinner with your family every night or at least 4 times a week. This is shown to decrease eating disorders in females, decrease smoking and drug abuse rates in males and recent research suggests it teaches life-long good eating habits—more fruits and vegetables.
• Early to bed. Research suggests that children need 10-12 hours of sleep a day to be ready to learn.
• Limited television, video games and computer time, especially an hour before bed time.
• Reading time every evening. This is a great time for the whole family to sit and read together.

 

Homework seems to punish both the students who are able and willing to do it through extra work and those who cannot and thus will not complete homework by discouraging them. Though some assignments requiring them to do some work outside of the classroom can be effective and appropriate, I rarely give out homework just to give them extra indpendant practice just to push them harder.  It's unfortunate that there is not more of the "HOMEwork" recommended by this wyoming principal occuring.   

High Expectations? Not so fast.

Rubinstein's blog entry on the pitfall of "High Expectations" was a well needed read.  Between hearing the behavioral horror stories from veteran teachers in our program to my own desire to blow these kids mind with amazingly creative lessons and demanding objectives, I entered the classroom with a lot of misplaced "expectations".  

I however found quickly that Rubenstein's comment "When you make things too complicated, students don’t rise to your ‘high expectations,’ they lose confidence in themselves"  to be the unfortunate reality to my early lesson plans.  I suppose that even after the rather dismal performance on my early basic skills check, I still was in awe regarding my student's lack of basic math skills.  I wanted so desperately to help them grasp the big stuff that I ended up trying to force them to drink from a fire hose of information.  Again he was right when he said, "‘Low expectations,’ it’s true, are a self-fulfilling prophecy, but ‘high expectations’ generally are not" 

It reminded me of the words often given to us by Ben during Summer Training of removing yourself from any expectations.  Ultimately I talked to some math teachers at our school and decided to adjust my Business Math class to be in part a remediation class using basic math skills in applied real life situations.  It has helped push them in areas they have weaknesses while simultaneously keeping things (semi) interesting. 

I learned that it's not simply about having "high" expectations, it's about having the "right" expectations.  Now I just have to figure out where that line is.