Day 19 (Nov 9 Thu)
CRC this week had us continue looking at grade 5 MCAS math questions, tried to solve them and reason why the students had such difficulties with getting the right answer. It was interesting to note that different people had different solutions and it was eye-opening for me to see, as a "math -person/teacher" what and how others navigated their way to obtaining their solutions, the way they thought and how they perceived students to think likewise - a new perspective for me.
Somehow or other, one of the Harvard interns felt 'threaten' and 'put down' by the teachers on the table. She raised it up during our debriefing session, mentioning how uncomfortable it was to contribute her ideas and how unappreciated she felt sharing her knowledge (she's a math coach previously, I believe). I was a little surprised she felt that way because no way did I see any 'attacks', much less a personal attack. Perhaps she was sensitive and a little over-reacting but well, it might not be for me to say. I sure hope that things will work out well in the group. It's really a very unique and passionate group - all geared to get things in favor of the students in school.
Anyway, I have to comment that the atmosphere amongst most of the teachers was a little tense. Apparently there was an announcement after the elections (& after all the democrats take house) that The Murphy would be converted into a pilot school. I wasn't sure what that entailed but because many of the teachers did not have a contract with the Boston Teachers' Union, they were in the risk of getting fired, if the principal didn't like them (which sounds scary but then again, this "scheme" of not being to fire teacher, esp bad teachers, just because they had worked 10 years, wasn't really good either..) I guess there are always pros and cons to everything and one would have to weigh what would matter most. I'm planning to open my options by 1. taking the high school MTEL for math, and 2. checking out charter and private schools. =)
School went as normal. Some of the students are getting a little more pushy - they push their limits more. I guess on the general, I've really great kids so I'm not too worried. Some of them had a hard time with long division. Karen took a day off to revisit the steps and gave the students (312 only) some questions for homework. A few of them have yet to really master the concept but I guess they're moving there. There was quite a bit of lag time where she spent (I felt) too much attention (& time) on 1 single student, neglecting the rest of the class. Yet, the expectation was that 'you keep quiet - respect each other - and have your eyes on the board while each of the 10 students presented individual problems. I wasn't sure if I would have checked the students' work before getting them to present, because they would have slowed the class down when Karen had to go through the problem on the board and get the student to arrive at the right answer (which probably is the hardest part.)
So yep, I've spoken to Karen about the possibility of subbing (substitute teacher) when she takes her maternity leave and I believe she will be breaking the good news to Mrs Russo after thanksgiving. =) Hopefully Mrs Russo will be convinced that I'll make a better sub than anyone else because I would have been with the kids for almost the full academic year.. *keeps fingers crossed*
Somehow or other, one of the Harvard interns felt 'threaten' and 'put down' by the teachers on the table. She raised it up during our debriefing session, mentioning how uncomfortable it was to contribute her ideas and how unappreciated she felt sharing her knowledge (she's a math coach previously, I believe). I was a little surprised she felt that way because no way did I see any 'attacks', much less a personal attack. Perhaps she was sensitive and a little over-reacting but well, it might not be for me to say. I sure hope that things will work out well in the group. It's really a very unique and passionate group - all geared to get things in favor of the students in school.
Anyway, I have to comment that the atmosphere amongst most of the teachers was a little tense. Apparently there was an announcement after the elections (& after all the democrats take house) that The Murphy would be converted into a pilot school. I wasn't sure what that entailed but because many of the teachers did not have a contract with the Boston Teachers' Union, they were in the risk of getting fired, if the principal didn't like them (which sounds scary but then again, this "scheme" of not being to fire teacher, esp bad teachers, just because they had worked 10 years, wasn't really good either..) I guess there are always pros and cons to everything and one would have to weigh what would matter most. I'm planning to open my options by 1. taking the high school MTEL for math, and 2. checking out charter and private schools. =)
School went as normal. Some of the students are getting a little more pushy - they push their limits more. I guess on the general, I've really great kids so I'm not too worried. Some of them had a hard time with long division. Karen took a day off to revisit the steps and gave the students (312 only) some questions for homework. A few of them have yet to really master the concept but I guess they're moving there. There was quite a bit of lag time where she spent (I felt) too much attention (& time) on 1 single student, neglecting the rest of the class. Yet, the expectation was that 'you keep quiet - respect each other - and have your eyes on the board while each of the 10 students presented individual problems. I wasn't sure if I would have checked the students' work before getting them to present, because they would have slowed the class down when Karen had to go through the problem on the board and get the student to arrive at the right answer (which probably is the hardest part.)
So yep, I've spoken to Karen about the possibility of subbing (substitute teacher) when she takes her maternity leave and I believe she will be breaking the good news to Mrs Russo after thanksgiving. =) Hopefully Mrs Russo will be convinced that I'll make a better sub than anyone else because I would have been with the kids for almost the full academic year.. *keeps fingers crossed*
posted by sarabel @ 4:53 PM
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