Lindsay.....Powers

Sorry this is so late. I suppose I got more wrapped up in everything that has to be done in this last semester than I thought. I cannot believe it is April already! Anyway, as far as "tensions and triumphs" is concerned, I really enjoyed it! I found it very beneficial to read about other teachers' experiences, especially beginning teachers. I do agree with Ashley that it could be elementary based at times and that some of the problems they encountered were not the same problems that would happen in a secondary classroom. However, I found it somehow inspiring to know that these teachers felt the same anxiety and sometimes depression as I did when doing my internship. Sometimes it is really hard to hold onto the ideas we have learned in class because it is so easy to fall into the trap of doing what is easy or what is acceptable.

Luckily, my host teacher let me have free reign of my classroom and was very helpful. When I felt like I had no creativity left in me, but did not want to let a lesson bore the students, she was there to help. She would give me old lessons she had done and ones that previous students teachers had done (she kept all of mine as well, teachers are such pack rats!) However, this really allowed me to take ideas from other sources and then form them into my own lessons or units. I was able to pull little ideas from places and then really run with it. I had an amazing experience in my classroom. There were certainly times when I felt like I just did not have the time to get to more interesting things and had to make sure the core information was taught and there were times that I had to teach things that I did not think were all that important, but I did my best to make them interesting. I really learned a lot about how to motivate students and that sometimes it is easy to get down on yourself because there is not enough time in the day to make every lesson perfect! I struggled with not being perfect and making every lesson riveting, much like the teachers in the book. I really related to them, but I learned as they did that you do not have to be perfect and that we learn as we go, just as the students do. However, the best part about this program and reading that book is that I knew I wasn't alone. I had other people to talk (or vent) to when I needed it.

As for action research, my data did not pan out as expected, but I did get some interesting results. My action research was similar to brandy's as in I did creative writing prompts daily to see if students' writing skills would improve. I focused on a male and female out of each of my five classes. I took those students' papers aside and marked (in my own file) a 1-4 on grammar, structure, length, and focus. I wanted to see how those specific skills would improve throughout the semester. unfortunatly, the data did not show a significant improvement, most students tended to stay consistent. However, I saw improvement in my students. Just as brandy noticed, they stopped complaining and eventually came into my room expecting to write. They would settle down faster and started to write more as the semester continued. I will definitely do this with my class again in the future. There are a few things I would change though. I would let the students come up with writing prompts and them give them the list they chose. I would let them choose what they were going to write about that day from the list, or I would throw out a current even issue they could write about. I think if they had more options they would be more likely to write more and enjoy it as well. I am excited to present my findings to the faculty because I hope it will inspire more teachers to have students write more often because not only is it great for writing skills, but it was also an excellent way for me to learn a lot about each of my students and gear lessons towards their interests. Overall, I think my internship experience went very well and really prepared me for my future classroom.