Reflection Work Sample Thing

I've been working, with the help of my lovely wife, on something called a teacher work sample and it has not been fun.

I'd thought I'd share with you what I've written so far in my reflection which is the somewhat fun part:

I have been very pleased with my students and will always be grateful to them and my supervising teachers for letting me learn so much on any given day. I know that the work we’ve done doesn’t translate well into this format without names or faces, but this was the student teaching experience I wanted. I’m not a scientist, I’m an English major, and, granted, I believe the two should work more often together, but I wanted to teach something I knew, and something that mattered. The opportunity came up when I saw A Connecticut… was on the curriculum. I knew the thing would be a bear. I had a pretty good idea what I was getting into. And I also knew I would learn a lot more if I was fighting for my life over something that mattered, than I would if I played it safe and followed the Unit book. I wanted to tell them a story worth telling, and it wasn’t an easy story to tell.

I was also fully supported by my supervising instructors, Sharon Crossen and Ian MacDonald. I believe that they both understood it would be a difficult experience for me, but that my intentions were good, and I had the interest of the students at heart. So let me talk about them.

Overall they are a remarkable group of kids, and there isn’t one I wouldn’t like to know better if only to solve the mystery. Many are challenging and talk too much and don’t really listen half the time; they don’t “get” the book. But sometimes they’ll shock me in a good way. I wish I had more time.

A few are brilliant in a variety of ways and I ache for them because I fear they’ll feel stifled and give up on their education. But they’ve surprised me too with their generosity toward their peers. In an instant, I can think of four that have helped their friends who are struggling with the material without even thinking about it, without asking for extra credit. One in particular realized early that I was setting a high bar and couldn’t wait to leap for it. I don’t think he’d had to leap in a long time.

I’ve also found a handful of students that have not been so gifted academically, and I’m relieved to find that we are not at war over this book, or my expectations. I have been careful to not allow anyone to fail in a public way unless it was due to complete disregard for instruction or something of that nature. Nor will I let a student fail who is willing to try. When I sent a student home with her failed test to show and work through with her Mom, I’m glad she understood that it was out of concern and hope without judgment.

The group/individual projects I also count as a success with the main failure being on my part. I recorded the presentations and enjoyed the majority of them with only a few disappointments, but I have yet to really grade them and give the students their direct feedback. I plan to make a DVD, but it is certainly a case where time and others projects have interfered with my doing what I know I ought to do. The projects were worth it for the sake of one student who blew his classmates away, not only with the outstanding professionalism of his presentation, but also a style and charisma that no one (including me) had ever expected.