The end of last week (besides being the end...) was a hard one with my students. They pushed me to my limits, and I to theirs. But, on the second to last day, I finally had my "breakthrough moment" with two of them. I don't think I will ever be able to accurately describe this experience to anyone else, but click on this link to read a snapshot of my reflections.
This one goes out to you, AA.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
It's Nearly Over
Well, Breakthrough summer 2010 is nearly over. Last night after celebration I said goodbye to all of my students for the last time, and Evaluation week begins bright and early Monday morning. It is finally starting to set it. I am no longer a 9th grade science teacher, and my students will not come back on Monday morning. I have no more lesson plans to write, no more bridges to make, and no more dances to teach. My time with Breakthrough is nearing to an end. It already feels like something is missing.
Over the next week I hope to write several updates that truly capture the best of the summer. I want to share everything I have experienced and never forget what I have had. So here is one tidbit for tonight:
All summer I taught the dance activity classes along with three other teachers. Last night, the classes performed the opening act for celebration. Although the students were INCREDIBLY nervous before taking the stage, they all danced their hearts out. I was so, so, so proud. What was even better was the looks on their faces and the excited screams they made all the way upstairs to the dressing room--they couldn't have been happier with their performance. Their excitement was contagious and was exactly the kind of motivation I needed to start the night off.
Over the next week I hope to write several updates that truly capture the best of the summer. I want to share everything I have experienced and never forget what I have had. So here is one tidbit for tonight:
All summer I taught the dance activity classes along with three other teachers. Last night, the classes performed the opening act for celebration. Although the students were INCREDIBLY nervous before taking the stage, they all danced their hearts out. I was so, so, so proud. What was even better was the looks on their faces and the excited screams they made all the way upstairs to the dressing room--they couldn't have been happier with their performance. Their excitement was contagious and was exactly the kind of motivation I needed to start the night off.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
National number 2
Check this link out again for another blog posting on the national site. This one is an important and meaningful post--not everything about Breakthrough is easy and fun!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The Nitty Gritty
I realize that most of my blog posts up until this point have been quite abstract; they are mostly reflections on my continually forming ideas on education and educational philosophy. However, on a day-to-day (okay, minute-to-minute, really) basis, I am much more grounded in the nitty gritty: what is happening in my classroom, with my students, and with other faculty. So here are some insights into the more concrete aspects of my life in Houston.
Every day I teach one section of alternative energy (it was supposed to be two, but small numbers forced my classes to combine) to rising ninth graders. As strange as it is to say it, I love teaching science. I wouldn't want to do it for life, but it is such a wonderful challenge to teach something completely new. Because alternative energy is a fairly new subject of study, there isn't really a set curriculum I have to teach. Therefore, I have adapted a lab-based approach to my class; nearly every day we are able to do something that involves building, designing, testing, and/or collecting data. Not only does this style of teaching keep the students engaged, it allows them to use the scientific method of thinking nearly every day---they are developing the skills they will have to have in high school and college science classes.
For the past week we were studying wind energy and the students built their own lab-sized windmills. They had to learn how to design effective blades (does number matter? Size? Shape? Pitch?), connect circuits, use a multimeter to record voltage, and so much more. We even had the students cut he PVC pipe and drill the necessary holes. Almost none of them had ever used a saw before. I don't think many of the students have had opportunities to do "real" labs before--labs that are not completely scripted out for them. It was really amazing to see them so excited about the simple things. And they learned a lot too :)
We have just started our next unit on solar energy. Although we don't have a really long and really fun windmill lab, we are still doing some fun things. To learn about passive solar heating, we made a simple solar water heater and then used a temperature reader ( I am sure there is a more scientific name..) to continually record data. I didn't think it would actually work, but it raised the water temp about 5 degrees Celsius. To learn about photovoltaic cells, we are going to be playing with solar cars! Okay, so maybe the right term is "experimenting," but it's the same thing, right? That was supposed to happen last week, but Hurricane Alex got in the way. We'll see how that goes.
For the first day of the solar energy unit, I used a strategy my mentor teacher really recommends: stations. At each of the three stations, the students answered challenging questions, analyzed data, and/or watched short videos to help them discover some basics about solar energy; I really support discovery based learning, and this lesson exemplified that style perfectly. I am really happy with the way this lesson turned out. Just about all of the students were actively engaged all of the time, and because each station was only ten minutes long, they did not get bored. Even though it took more time to prepare, I can definitely see myself using this type of lesson in the future.
Okay, so that is it for now. I know I wanted to write more when I began, but for the life of me I cannot remember what I really wanted to say. More later!
Every day I teach one section of alternative energy (it was supposed to be two, but small numbers forced my classes to combine) to rising ninth graders. As strange as it is to say it, I love teaching science. I wouldn't want to do it for life, but it is such a wonderful challenge to teach something completely new. Because alternative energy is a fairly new subject of study, there isn't really a set curriculum I have to teach. Therefore, I have adapted a lab-based approach to my class; nearly every day we are able to do something that involves building, designing, testing, and/or collecting data. Not only does this style of teaching keep the students engaged, it allows them to use the scientific method of thinking nearly every day---they are developing the skills they will have to have in high school and college science classes.
For the past week we were studying wind energy and the students built their own lab-sized windmills. They had to learn how to design effective blades (does number matter? Size? Shape? Pitch?), connect circuits, use a multimeter to record voltage, and so much more. We even had the students cut he PVC pipe and drill the necessary holes. Almost none of them had ever used a saw before. I don't think many of the students have had opportunities to do "real" labs before--labs that are not completely scripted out for them. It was really amazing to see them so excited about the simple things. And they learned a lot too :)
We have just started our next unit on solar energy. Although we don't have a really long and really fun windmill lab, we are still doing some fun things. To learn about passive solar heating, we made a simple solar water heater and then used a temperature reader ( I am sure there is a more scientific name..) to continually record data. I didn't think it would actually work, but it raised the water temp about 5 degrees Celsius. To learn about photovoltaic cells, we are going to be playing with solar cars! Okay, so maybe the right term is "experimenting," but it's the same thing, right? That was supposed to happen last week, but Hurricane Alex got in the way. We'll see how that goes.
For the first day of the solar energy unit, I used a strategy my mentor teacher really recommends: stations. At each of the three stations, the students answered challenging questions, analyzed data, and/or watched short videos to help them discover some basics about solar energy; I really support discovery based learning, and this lesson exemplified that style perfectly. I am really happy with the way this lesson turned out. Just about all of the students were actively engaged all of the time, and because each station was only ten minutes long, they did not get bored. Even though it took more time to prepare, I can definitely see myself using this type of lesson in the future.
Okay, so that is it for now. I know I wanted to write more when I began, but for the life of me I cannot remember what I really wanted to say. More later!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Check it out
Instead of writing in here this weekend, I wrote a blog entry for the Breakthrough national site, and it is now on their website. Click here to check it out to see what I (and other teachers from around the country) am up to!
Happy reading!
Happy reading!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Rigor
All throughout my application process to Breakthrough, I kept reading about and hearing the phrase "academic rigor." It was tossed around so often, as one of my students reminded me recently, that it kind of lost its meaning. It became fluff. Today I finally discovered the true definition of this Breakthrough jargon. Academic rigor is about drawing out the potential in these kids both inside and outside of the classroom. Although "academic" infers activities that happen inside the classroom walls, every action a middle school student takes influences their academic achievement. Growth does not end at the end of each class period.
Every single one of these students are smart and well-behaved; they are not problem students. I get the feeling that they are used to mediocrity in their school-year middle schools. At Breakthrough, it is our job to change this attitude. It is not acceptable to barely complete homework assignments; every assignment must show evidence of deep thought. Challenge problems are not required, but strongly encouraged. Students who don't take the risk will be gently pushed until they do. It is not acceptable for students to give up in an activity class because the task is too easy or too hard. Instead, they must try 100% of the time to succeed or help others to reach their goals. It is not okay to simply show up each day and be a passive recipient of content knowledge. Every activity, discussion, and conversation is meant to help our students develop the skills needed to embrace academic rigor. Breakthrough is a way of life, and we strive to give our students everything they need to carry it out into the world with them.
Every single one of these students are smart and well-behaved; they are not problem students. I get the feeling that they are used to mediocrity in their school-year middle schools. At Breakthrough, it is our job to change this attitude. It is not acceptable to barely complete homework assignments; every assignment must show evidence of deep thought. Challenge problems are not required, but strongly encouraged. Students who don't take the risk will be gently pushed until they do. It is not acceptable for students to give up in an activity class because the task is too easy or too hard. Instead, they must try 100% of the time to succeed or help others to reach their goals. It is not okay to simply show up each day and be a passive recipient of content knowledge. Every activity, discussion, and conversation is meant to help our students develop the skills needed to embrace academic rigor. Breakthrough is a way of life, and we strive to give our students everything they need to carry it out into the world with them.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Summer camp and Middle School
After three full days of school Breakthrough Houston style, I now officially feel like a Breakthrough teacher. And, after just a few short (but yet so long) days, I have realized the ultimate difference between a normal middle school and the Breakthrough philosophy: Breakthrough makes school fun. Everyday we greet the kids with cheers and high-fives when they get off of the bus. We do silly dances with them at breakfast and lunch, and have them create skits with vocabulary words. We have friendly competitions between families (or teams), and give a spirit stick each day to the student who most embodies the Breakthrough attitude. We have superheros and villains kidnap teachers out of classrooms as part of daily lesson plans. We wave goodbye to them as they get in their cars and on the buses. In other words, we bring summer camp into the school.
At the same time, however, we have exceedingly high academic expectations of our students. We expect them to take five academic classes and one elective every day. We expect them to complete their two hours of homework each night and to call their teachers if they do not understand an assignment. A half completed assignment is no better than an uncompleted one. The students are supposed to be challenged and accept challenges. There is simply no place for mediocrity.
And guess what. It works.
So, by infusing a rigorous academic curriculum with time-traveling, high-fiving, crazy dancing teachers, adolescents are actually excited about school. They want to learn and they realize how lucky they are to be receiving an education. Why don't we do this in all middle schools, not just he nonprofit organizations that are supplements to middle schools? Why don't we, as teachers, pour as much energy into teaching as we want our students to put into learning? If looking silly and acting like camp counselors instills an attitude of "excellence in learning" in 12, 13, and 14-year-olds, then looking silly is worth it.
BTH Cheer of the Day (by virtue of the amount of times we sang it :) )
People in the front, let me hear you grunt
Grrrrrr.
People in the middle, let me hear you sizzle.
szzzzzz.
People in the rear, let me hear you cheer.
Whooooo!
Gooooooo Breakthrough!
Gooooooo Breakthrough!
At the same time, however, we have exceedingly high academic expectations of our students. We expect them to take five academic classes and one elective every day. We expect them to complete their two hours of homework each night and to call their teachers if they do not understand an assignment. A half completed assignment is no better than an uncompleted one. The students are supposed to be challenged and accept challenges. There is simply no place for mediocrity.
And guess what. It works.
So, by infusing a rigorous academic curriculum with time-traveling, high-fiving, crazy dancing teachers, adolescents are actually excited about school. They want to learn and they realize how lucky they are to be receiving an education. Why don't we do this in all middle schools, not just he nonprofit organizations that are supplements to middle schools? Why don't we, as teachers, pour as much energy into teaching as we want our students to put into learning? If looking silly and acting like camp counselors instills an attitude of "excellence in learning" in 12, 13, and 14-year-olds, then looking silly is worth it.
BTH Cheer of the Day (by virtue of the amount of times we sang it :) )
People in the front, let me hear you grunt
Grrrrrr.
People in the middle, let me hear you sizzle.
szzzzzz.
People in the rear, let me hear you cheer.
Whooooo!
Gooooooo Breakthrough!
Gooooooo Breakthrough!
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