New Team of Cadets in the House!

I am so excited about this new term and the 11 cadets that have chosen to take the course. Look at this group!!!!

We have 2 males and 9 females enrolled, and they are all super candidates. I have a feeling that they will bring me up when I'm down and that they will all succeed and thrive in the program.

I have enjoyed getting to know them (again, for some) and look forward to preparing them for Field Experience and possible teaching careers.

Here's hoping that they won't have trouble setting up a blog for me!!! Crossing my fingers!!!!

Week Four

I have to admit; I had no idea what to expect from this course. And now, as I sit thinking on it, I see that it is going to likely be one of the highlights of my teaching career.

This week we have explored needs and styles of all kids. It truly is amazing how varied we all are. Now we will embark on a discussion of multiculturalism and how important that is. I hope that all of these activities and discussions will open their eyes to the diversity they are bound to have in their classes. 

I truly to appreciate and enjoy each Teacher Cadet in the class. They all bring something unique to the table and tend to have some great perspectives on things.

I hope they realize that even though this is my first time teaching the course, it is BY NO MEANS my first encounter with any of this material. Getting an undergrad and grad degree in education means that I have been exposed to most if not all of the concepts and knowledge that TC curriculum includes.  However, it is amazing that when one is on the teaching end and not the receiving end, it hits home all the more.

 I am uber-excited to hear them present their first of many "lessons" when they present their barrier to learning on Friday. I hope that they will show their mad teaching skills and enjoy doing it. Overall, they rock, and so does this class.

One of the current issues in education right now is grading. We are reading a book called A Repair Kit for Grading, which explains that there are 15 basic principles about our current grading system that are wrong. For example, the author says that students should not be given "Bonus Points" or bonus items on tests and also should never be given a group grade. I wonder what the Cadets think of these fixes.

Looking forward to another week with this group. They amazed me with their positive and cheerful interactions with the middle school kids and Mrs. Williams' students.

Teacher Cadets Initial Training (Winthrop U)

Today marks the second day of training for Teacher Cadets, and I am overwhelmed, but at the same time, very excited. Heck, we got to watch a reinactment of a guy proposing to his girlfriend by singing her a song that he wrote. It was incredibly romantic and weird all at the same time. It is strange how you can feel so many different emotions simultaneously. :)

Anyway, I feel like I am going to be embarking on a wonderful journey as the Teacher Cadets instructor at Gilbert High School. Mrs. Harpe has been in this position for so many years, and has done the job so well. I hope I can do it justice and that I will enjoy the longevity that she did. The curriculum seems to be one that will take me back to the main reasons I became a teacher in the first place.

Carol Jackson, one of the teachers who is leading the training here at Winthrop, shared a great insiprational quote today. She told us that we should be the kind of teacher who is the "first one to the window" and then shared this scenario:

During class one day, it suddenly begins to snow. The first kind of teacher would close all of the blinds, forbidding children to be distracted by it; the other kind of teacher would be the first one to look, admiring the snow and then immediately change the lessons to incorporate the concept of snow in as many ways as possible. I know that we have so many things to juggle as teachers, and now, more than ever, we feel the dark clouds of accountability and standardized testing hanging over us. However, after reviewing the Teacher Cadet program curriculum, I have remembered what it means to teach and have been able to change perspectives. It's funny how I had really felt so inadequate this past year, even contemplating looking for alternative employment. Now, I have a fresh mindset and plan to refocus myself before the fall semster begins. I have to prepare my mind and my heart as I begin my nineteenth year in this profession. Maybe some of the joy, hope, and integrity that I may have lost these past few years is going to be recouped. I have every reason to think that it will.

I appreciate this opportunity and am grateful to my principals, Ann O'Cain and Laura Covington, for allowing me the privilege to teach this course. I am so excited to be embarking on this new territory in education.