Thoughts on Teacher Writing

Shannon O’Loughlin
7/26/12

Second Piece of Teacher Writing (compiled from different dates throughout the course)

Joy in my classroom???

teachers who influence me - why, when, where

Teachers who’ve influenced me have done things I liked, too.  My high school English teacher used to do fun writing activities - she was Jewish and married to a Catholic, and I used to babysit for her sometimes  Andrea Fusco - she gave me a diary when I graduated.  She always wore very “Englishy” outfits.  My 7th grade English teacher, Mr. Fouracre, was so nice, and he always had us do independent reading with an oral or written report, which was horribly scary to do the oral report.  In my professional teaching career, My first real boss, Betty Heiney, was so nurturing and supportive, in a “general of war” way - she came across very formally, but she was soft under her shell.  I have a picture of her from a Halloween dance as a general - she had a soda, but it looked like a beer. She always had my back, and let me order whatever books I’ve wanted.  I have been lucky to have contact with amazing teachers, and the ones that influence me are the ones I like to bounce ideas off of, even if they seem crazy.  My coteacher this year, Justin Coffman, and I would often bring in music into our lessons to “jazz them up” or make them more fun for the kids.  Introducing the intro to Romeo and Juliet using rap - for the entire chorus’s prelude - was a huge hit.  Using imovies to use quote identification or highlite major parts of the play was so cool, and setting them to hip hop music?  Genius  - these were Justin’s inspirations, and I was blessed to have him - we had a ton of fun, and I think the kids did, too.  The greatest s lesson I’ve learned so far is that I can still improve, but to believe in myself along the way.

Thoughts on David’s Creative Writing Demo:

The activity was easy to do, fun, and clearly explained.  It was innately tailored to each individual, without being overly-planned.  Within the structure of the activity, there was total personal freedom of choice in what to write about, and how to do it, which was very gratifying.  You had to be interested in this, because you were in control of it, so it was almost automatically engaging.  This activity forced me to delve into memories I hadn’t thought about in years, and it was very satisfying. This made creating a poem a non-threatening experience, and one that would work well with students of all levels, on multiple layers of the spectrum.  I know I am looking forward to trying it with my classes.  This type of activity puts less stress on the teacher as the educator, and puts the responsibility for work on the learner.  The student MUST produce, or you only have yourself to blame, which I love!  Excuses don’t work, which is another great thing about this.

7/10/12 How can we use SI in our classrooms?  

I totally plan on stealing these awesome guided freewrite ideas - the words turning into a place freewrite turning into a poem, the character inside and outside snippet, and even the joy thing.  These, I think are great, and trying not to worry if the kids will “get” it, because I have to just go with the fact that these exercises can apply to everyone at all levels.  I think even in a set curriculum, the guided freewrite ideas can easily turn into pieces for a portfolio - students could write as a character finding joy within a story or themselves.  

Big Idea - better quality writing through more fun assignments
Tangible - do the 7 min. freewrite every day?

anything more opinion forming and thought provoking

what was happening in the situation, for the teacher, and for the learner

Write about a time you experienced authentic learning

The first thing that comes to mind where authentic learning took place is not necessarily the most academic.  I was working two jobs, deciding whether I wanted to continue teaching in the process.  I worked at a non-kill animal shelter, where many litters of kittens got dropped off, some of whom were still nursing and unable to do anything without their mothers.  One particular group had three infant kittens and the mother had freaked out and escaped.  I was shown how to bottle feed the kitties, and of the utmost importance of then taking a warm wet washcloth to stimulate their genitals, as a mother cat would do with her tongue.  The lady modeled this on one of the kittens while I watched.  I then had to bottle feed a kitty and stimulate him.  There was a small “poof” as liquid poo came out, and I knew I had done it right.  I was amazed.  I had no idea before this that mother cats did that.  The idea was that doing this stimulated the kitties body systems to get rid of waste.  Unless the mother cat licked them (or we used a washcloth) the babies could die.  (Internal septicemia / toxicity).  So I took the litter home and had to feed the three babies every two to three hours, and immediately after, stimulate them with the washcloth.  I also had to make sure they were warm and cared for.  

What does this (authentic learning) mean for my teaching?  This means that my students will ideally be able to go out on a limb with something they’ve never done before, and have success.  They will be able to learn a new skill (any kind) and be able to correctly apply it to their writing or their lives.  I must teach in a way I would want to be taught.  As a teacher,I have to put myself in the learner’s position - do the assignments the kids do, grade myself as I would grade the kids - on a similar scale - learn how I would want to be assessed.  Authentic learning means I have to think outside the box.