Letters

The very first section, “Managing a Class of thirty-five” immediately caught my attention because my senior class during my internship consisted of 37 students. I was terrified of this group because of the size and had to quickly adjust so they wouldn’t walk all over me. I began by giving students a list of rules. We created them together and even hung them up on the wall. It at first seemed a little childish, but whenever a student was misbehaving, I simply would call out the rule number in which they needed to abide. This section also mentions setting rules and enforcing them. That was another issue of mine. Once we had established these rules, it was my responsibility to discipline those who broke them. Another point I found interesting was assigning groups and seats – specifically groups. I changed the seating chart frequently and noticed right away that students could not be allowed to choose their own groups. The loudness and disruptions are not always the students’ fault, but the atmosphere was often disrupting simply because this group was so large. Clearly it is easier to work with a group of 15-20 students, but we aren’t always given that luxury and we must work to create a safe atmosphere in which rules and discipline are enforced.

“Managing Your Time”

I chose this section because everyone can use a little time management help. In our Education 602 class we discussed various ways that teachers are relieved throughout the school day, but sometimes it just isn’t enough time. The discussion of organization was helpful, because it’s more than simply organizing your desk or your file cabinet. It means organization within organization – not just a drawer for lesson plans and a drawer for activities, but activities with lesson plans in their own places. I consider myself to be very organized, but teaching for fifteen weeks made me think otherwise. Teaching is a job that is never ending. It goes home with you on the evenings and weekends, and if you can’t manage your time effectively, you won’t have time for the rest of your life.

“Professional Reading”

I thought this section would be appropriate for this group. I think it’s important to continue growing and learning as a teacher. In order to learn new methods and ideas, teachers can take on professional reading for these strategies. This book for example is wonderful for novice English teachers like me. It focuses on actual stories of novice teachers who were struggling and Burke provides solutions. I found the idea of reflecting on relationships with students to be interesting and something I hadn’t considered before.

“Handling the Pressure”

I can remember the times during my internship when I struggled, and I would tell people that there was just so much pressure – pressure to effectively manage the classroom, pressure to help every student, pressure to impress my colleagues, pressure to create fun and interesting lessons. There were times when I wondered if I truly possessed a passion for teaching. Burke expresses what I thought to be true, that not everyone is completely passionate about teaching, which is why there are guides and mentors throughout the process. I also liked the little tips he provided for reaching out to students: saying hi in hallways, talking to them about what they like, writing notes with praise, and sharing things in which they are interested (stories, articles, comics).

“Learning the Most from Each Semester’s Experiences”

The 5 year program emphasizes reflection and so does this section. Not only is it important to focus on times when we are successful, but also times when things didn’t go the way we originally planned. We can’t be afraid of criticism, but must listen to it and ultimately learn from it. Another interesting point was revising instruction. As an English teacher I am constantly revising writing, but I never really thought about how important it is to revise instruction. Sometimes when a lesson fails it simply needs a few tweaks, and other times it needs a lot of changes. Either way, it started out as a good idea, and we should work to revise any instruction that doesn’t completely work.

Overall, the book is very informative and I love the idea of hearing about issues from novice teachers . A lot of the issues discussed are things that I encountered during my internship, so I think the book is great for novice teachers.