Propaganda!

I gave my first two lessons this week! My first lesson was on propaganda and was related to Orwell's Animal Farm. My first lesson on propaganda...is that ironic? I'm glad that we're reading this book in my first block because I've never read it before. I'm learning a lot through teaching and through taking the class! My second lesson was a contrast between Joseph Conrad and Chinua Achebe's Civil Peace. I studied Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart in my English 3001 class at Minnesota and it really opened my eyes to the wrongings of colonialism, so I was very excited to teach this lesson. I think the students responded well. The more time I spend in front of the classroom, the more I learn about developing my own teaching style.

I was having a conversation with one of my students yesterday. He asked me, "Mr. Griffey, how old are you? 30?" "Nope, I replied." "27?" "Nope..." "24?" "A little lower..." "22?" "Yep," I answered. He looks around and yells, "Aw he's a kid just like us!" And that made me feel a bit awkward and I realized that the age gap between me and my students is quite narrow.

I'm almost at the half way point in my training, and I can honestly say that I feel overwhelmed by all of the content and information that we are recieving. I'll leave my framework sessions and return the next morning having already forgotton everything from the previous day. I shared with my FA that I feel like I'm drowning in information, but she responded positively, saying that was normal and to be expected. So while I continue to soak up every ounce of knowledge and strategy possible, I've been trying to write down and take as many notes as I can.

This past week we spent time learning how to develop FBA and BIP (Functional Behavioral Assesment and Behavior Intervention Plan) which can sometimes be written for SPED students. We completed an interesting case study activity on a student with Tourette's and ADHD. At first I found the exercise farily straightforward and one-dimensional since the student with Tourette's would not require any behavior intervention since the tics would be caused by the disability. However as we worked through the case study, we found that her tics would worsen when she would be required to do activities on her own, or in the case of this study, when the teacher criticized her for not being interested in the assignment. Even worse, the teacher accused her of not really having to clear her throat, which was part of her Tourette's. Our group decided that in our BIP we would allow the student to participate in more group activities, engage in more tactile and aesthetic activities, and if the student has trouble supressing her tics, allow her to take a walk and get a drink or do something active.

I've found out that I will most likely recieve a placement in an MRP room. I am anxious to recieve my placement though it probably won't come until mid August. I've already developed some ideas about my classroom, such as a daily goal sheet that every student must fill out in the morning, and a "safe zone" part of the room with couches and legos where students can hang out if they're having a bad day.

A few months ago I was having a discussion with my swim coach. He told me that at night he would lay in bed and think about coaching. I'm at the point where I come home and lay in bed and think about teaching. It's weird but I can't get teaching out of my mind. Look at me now, it's 8:00 on a Friday night and I'm blogging about teaching. I gotta get out of here!

Summer Institute

I began my summer institute training last Wednesday at South Division High School. This was my first time meeting many of the other cohort members. Immediately I was impressed by the qualifications, ideals, and attitudes of everyone else. I feel fortunate to be immersed in a group of over 50 people who are working together to close the achievement gap within Milwaukee's high need schools.

Let me walk you through my typical day of summer institute, although bear in mind that there really is no 'typical' day, each day is packed with different activities and lessons. I arrive at Hamilton high school at around 8:00 for summer school where I have been observing my CT (cooperating teacher) and will soon be teaching short lessons and eventually teaching full classes by the end of the term. I am very fortunate to be placed with a highly motivated, energetic English teacher who has been extremely helpful, to say the least, in accomodating our requirements for training and in genuily caring about our preparation for the fall.

The bell rings at 12:30 and I usually stick around to talk with my CT about lesson plans for the next week. Then we have until 1:30 to travel back to South Division and eat lunch.


At 1:30 we break into small groups. Since I am teaching Special Education next year, 17 of the SPED Fellows are grouped together with an FA for instruction. So far our FAs (fellow advisers) have began to provide us with the basic tools we will need to begin creating lesson plans and understanding how to implement IEPs (Individualized Education Plans.) We spend about 2 1/2 hours in small groups per day with our FAs under their direction, participating in group work, problem solving, and discussions all directly related towards raising student achievement.

The final part of the day may consist of an all corhort meeting, a group panel discussion, or individual check in time with our FAs. Today we had a panel discussion with three special education teachers who teach in MRP (most restrictive placement...I know...lots of acronyms!) classrooms. Their advice and experience gave me lots of ideas on how to set up my classroom, how to add variety to the school day, and some basic ideas on classroom management.

So far the experience has been terrific. I am excited to continue my summer training and learn more about the techniques involved in closing the achievement gap and raising student achievement.

First Post

This blog will be dedicated to documenting my journey into my new career in education. I will be writing about my training with the Milwaukee Teaching Fellows program beginning on June 24th and will continue to record my experiences into my first year of teaching. Thanks for reading, and I'm looking forward to sharing my progress with you!