Trust is Key - Adrienne

Everyone has made some really great points about teaching and action research. So many things to think about on top of things presented in the book. I was afraid to read the book at first because of the horror stories that were sure to unfold. I am glad that I did though. It kind of mirrors my student teaching experience because it was very difficult in the beginning but towards the end I could see how much I had brought to the classroom and how much I was going to miss seeing the students learn. I think that the important thing about being a beginner teacher is being resiliant. There are going to be problems but we have to be willing to keep trying.

When I entered the program I was afraid that I would forget all the ideas I had about how I wanted to teach. I didn't want to be indoctrinated on some idea of teaching that I didn't agree with. I am glad that it hasn't happened. I have been able to take everything that I have learned and experienced and interpret in a way that makes sense for my style of teaching.

I think that many of us are still struggling with issues of classroom management and behaviors. I really want to think on that concept the next few weeks. I want to look at some plans that teachers have written for their classrooms and see what one would look like for mine. I want students to have imput in the methods but I am not sure if I am up for that in the first year.

My action research went pretty well. The students were reluctant to read every day at first but by the end they were asking for more time and they did not want me to take the books with me. (= The results showed an increase in comprehension and engagement but not a huge increase. I think that I would need to do the program for a full year and I would change some of my strategies. One thing that bothered me is that my host teacher did not read when we were supposed to be reading and modeling is very important to an SSR program. I would also like to have more space to display books. I had originally intended to have more discussion of the books they were reading but there was not really time for it. I would like to try and fit that in because I saw some students discussing their books and inspiring each other to read something.

All-in-all I liked my student teaching but it was very difficult. My PDS does not really have good principal leadership and most of the teachers do not respect the administration because they feel like they are not treated as equals. I feel like there are a lot of opportuinties at my PDS to make changes but I am not sure if I would be able to. Someone mentioned that new teachers are not listened to and that is evident in my school. The English department is the worst. Two teachers pretty much try to control the others and they even fight over what books can be read at what times. I think that it all stems from the administration not being strong. Maybe the whole school just needs a hardcore team-building activity week in the summer to help them trust each other. That is the key to good relationships in the school and the classroom - trust.