My First Ever Teacher Journal, from August, 2015

I was grateful to spend my first week as student-teacher mostly in the position of observer. I feel that I gained a sense of how to set expectations for student behavior and work-ethic through watching my mentor teachers and Claremont administration. On the first day of school, I saw how teachers stood in the hallways to shake students’ hands and welcome them back (if returning to Claremont) or welcome them to the community (if new to the school). Teacher body language was positive while the students were entering the homerooms.

Mr. Weyler immediately created a space of trust and respect with his attendance taking. After reading each name, he confirmed the correct pronunciation, walked over to the student (sometimes shaking a hand) and told the student that it was nice to meet her or him. Several times he reiterated that it was going to be a great year with them. Mr. Weyler also went over some basic classrooms policies, but did not beat these to death. He mentioned that he does not like students who have cell phones out because it is disrespectful; however, his policy is reasonable because he allows students to ask to use phones for important in-class tasks. Similarly, his seating policy is reasonable since students often will be moving around for class projects and can then choose to sit with whoever they want. Mr. Weyler was always firm and confident in his directives, but at the same time kind and witty. He made constant jokes about English class, kindly self-deprecated a bit, and used constant positive reinforcement. For instance, a student said she does not understand English class, to which Mr. Weyler commented that he does not understand a lot of things but that that provides an opportunity for learning. He never yelled or ever raised his voice, but he did ask students to “stick with me,” “help me understand this,” or he told them “I need you to do this for me.”

I took extra note of [principal] Ricci Hall’s visit to the class. He stopped by to welcome the ninth-grade to the high school level, reminding them the importance of freshman year for the beginning of the college application process. He emphasized that these students were a very bright class and have a lot to offer the school. So far everything being communicated is caring, non-deficit, and directed towards everyone. I heard other administrators in the halls tell students what a great class they are and how excited the teachers are to work with them all year.

Back in Mr. Weyler’s class all week, there was emphasis placed on student-centered discussion. Mr. Weyler did not offer any answers. For example, instead of pointing out lines in a poem that he thought were important, he had students read the poem out loud and mark-up favorite lines. He expected students to share the lines aloud and offer explanation for their choices. This yielded rich and diverse answers, I found. After activities like these, Mr. Weyler always commented something like, “See! You are doing poetry!” Students seem to feel respected. Very few refuse to answer a question when called on and even fewer are hostile in class. One of his comments leads to many smiles: “I think there was a scheduling mistake. You all must be tenth-graders!”

The attitude was set similarly in other classes [that I observed]. Mrs. Tomaino spent time learning all the students’ names in the first class, and I could tell many appreciated the gesture. So far one theme I see emerging is that genuine care for the students leads to respectful classes. Students who see teachers make every effort to get to know them respond with respect to the teachers. Even when misbehaviors occur, the tone is not angry, but rather calm: “You know, I really don’t like that in my classroom…” Mrs. Hunt in eighth-grade also adds a vibe of simplicity and clarity to her first classes as she has students do a lot of small group work to build classroom community.

I have always believed that the first week of school is vital for helping set expectations for the remainder of the year. This week has affirmed my stance. The teachers and administrators have all shown their care for student voice. They consistently praise students for what they do well, yet never degrade a student who has done something inappropriate. Student voice is the center of instructional time. […]

In other interactions, I always saw the value of building a rapport with students. School staff, including counselors, gets to know students as individuals. There is an overall expectation of success at Claremont and the Ubuntu philosophy is highlighted by all teachers and staff. This is not to say that everything was perfect at Claremont. Though mild misbehaviors were absolutely prevalent, their effects were minimized by teachers who refrained from arguing. Those students who acted out of line of the expectations were kindly reminded of Claremont’s philosophy of educating students. Firm and assertive teachers thus have become the best tool for fostering school culture. My first week at Claremont was rich with examples of teachers demanding the best out of their students. In turn, I saw much good work in offered from those students.

My Final MAT Teacher Journal, from April, 2016

I have done it; I have made my journey to the end of the Master of Arts in Teaching practicum. I feel tired and enthused, wise and thirsty. I know I have much more to learn. Still, though, I cannot help but feel proud of all of the progress that I have made this year. I hope that this final reflection journal (though not my final teaching reflection) can serve to look back on the year as a whole as well as show some examples of growth from this last week.

The beginning of the year pushed me to be a better classroom manager in addition to teacher. Students, to draw from Rick Smith’s Conscious Classroom Management, yearned for a push to the right behavioral path. I was constantly finding the best ways to teach students lessons in respect, before I taught the content. I often struggled to find my identity as a teacher. There were many instances of students talking over one another in discussions and debates that I just did not know how to respond to appropriately. I suppose I had not yet found my teacher’s voice.

That voice continues to develop, but I know now what I sound like, and can sound like. In my development this year, I took into consideration both logistical and philosophical changes. For example, to manage the classroom better, I changed little things about my teaching, including referring to students directly by name when I either needed to commend them or help them understand how to be more respectful. I worked to model better my expectations and to hold students to high standards through rewriting and classroom dialogue. My juniors now smile when I tell them to “SAY MORE” following an in-class comment. Saying more has become the expectation, the norm. But I have also changed philosophically to adapt to my practice and students. For example, I have grown this year in my expectations of students. I emphasize a growth mindset for my students even more often now, such as in our latest thesis essay with the freshmen where I let them pick their own topics based on a theme and gave them all the chance to be graded based on targeted focus areas. Everyone is improving in their own ways.

This week highlights my many areas of growth, particularly in classroom management and powerful teaching and learning.

It began with my freshmen. The high point after a beautiful climb in classroom decorum since early January was taking the group outside to look at the “other side of technology” during our technology unit. Students got the chance to talk about what it means to play freely, as opposed to be entertained by technology. We sat on the swings, and students told me all about contrasts in technology and the lack thereof. My freshmen have shown good improvements in speaking and listening, though their strongest areas have been in reading and writing. They know how to provide evidence and analyze it in thesis essays. They understand what it means to reflect on life experiences and relate them to literature in memoir writing. They have shown enormous progress collectively and student to student.

It continued with my juniors. We have worked these past few weeks with A Streetcar Named Desire, and I credit the play with helping students come alive in their classroom discussions and understanding of literature. Before the unit and its essential questions, I only regularly heard from 3 students. Now, I regularly hear from 10 and the remaining dozen better contribute to class either in discussion or in their writing. For example, for the last Streetcar performance of the year, eight students volunteered to be actors. This was the highest number of the unit; students wrote to me to say that the performances made drama come alive for them.

As a final reflection, I asked my students to critique my teaching this year, since we have spent so much time reflecting on their learning. As I have always said, teaching and learning are like a lock and a key—one is no good without the other. I asked both my freshmen and my juniors questions about what I have done well, what I could do better, what they thought my goals were this year, and how they feel they have grown as readers, writers, speakers, and listeners. Results were unanimously positive, with the highlight comments being…

• Porcella wants us “to think bigger, broader, and to grow in our vocabulary and writing.”
• “He gave us other points of view if we didn’t understand.”
• Porcella “pushed us as students when he didn’t have to.”
• I have improved as a listener in that “I wasn’t just hearing ideas anymore…I actually listened to them and processed them.”
• Porcella was good at “teaching and not giving up on the kids and helping us understand things we didn’t understand.”
• “I noticed that I have improved because before I used to not talk in class but thanks to Mr. Porcella I feel comfortable saying whatever I have to say.”
• “He pushed us to do better in class. When he asked a question and someone answered, he always said to say more, and give more details.”
• “Mr. Porcella is a great teacher and I see his determination when he comes to class.”
• “Mr. Porcella is a good teacher, so I think that he do well is to teach me how to comprehend reading […] I feel my writer is best in this year.” [From an L1 English language learner, writing in English.]
• “I feel that the biggest thing Mr. Porcella wanted me to learn was how to properly write our essays and what we can do to make them better!”
• “Keep up the good work because I may have been a difficult student, but I know you’re a good teacher.”
• “What Mr. Porcella did well is when we would talk to him he would listen to use and take our advice.”
• Porcella wanted us to learn “responsibility and how to find other ways to interpret stuff.”
• “It was a fun year with him and he’s a great teacher who has good methods.”
• “I used to be shy but I am not anymore.”
• “I know he wanted us to learn that all of the writing we do is something special, even if we don’t think it is and he wanted us to believe in ourselves and work hard.”
• “Even though some of what we did was hard, he did everything right and he made me feel more confident in my writing.”
• “Even though I was being rude at times, I still think he is a great teacher.”
• “Thanks to you I read more.”
• Porcella wanted us to learn “how to be kind and how to cooperate better with others.”
• I have become a better listener because “when someone talks I hear them before I speak.”
• “His class is amazing and it taught me many things.”

And that is the recipe for a great year. Thank you to my students for helping me to learn.