How can you incorporate the STEM concepts to a particular project or lesson plan in your classroom (or a classroom you’ve been in)?

It would take a bit of work but incorporating STEM into lessons would be beneficial and fun. My co-teacher and I could develop a station lesson plan and hit all of the STEM areas during the period. The kids are familiar with the station procedures so I think they would enjoy doing something fun.

Have you had to go to your school counselor to assist in a situation? What was your experience in working with the counselor? Were you able to get the student or parent the resources they needed? If you have not had an experience with a school counselor, after hearing this webinar…what scares you the most about the topics discussed? What thoughts did you have reflecting on the content of this webinar?

I work with my counselor on a daily basis. I have many schedule changes I have to make throughout the year. Placing kids in appropriate settings requires me to be in constant contact with the sped counselor. She is wonderful at what she does and I am thankful to work with her. She also speaks with my students who have emotional disabilities or other issues that come up.

After participating in the webinar about Common Core Standards, what are your concerns? What ah-ha did you have about CCS? What will you continue to do or do differently to ensure that you are teaching to the CCS?

Coherency seems to be an issue. I try and chunk the information but having all the parts flow together is difficult. I really like the increased role of informational text. My concerns would be upping the level of rigor in my questioning. I want to try and help my students read for evidence and be able to make arguments.

Have you been impacted by poverty?

When I was in middle school my father became ill and could no longer work. My mother worked hard, but we did not have as much money as we used to. We never let this bring us down but poverty has been a part of our life ever since. It has made all of us work harder and appreciate what he have. I try to make my classroom a positive environment that the kids can feel safe in. I hope that my class will be a place that the kids can forget about any problems they have at home and simply love to learn.

This year, what has worked and what hasn't in your classroom? What will you do differently?

In regards to discipline, one of the things that did not work is writing the kids names on the board. High school kids find this silly and seem to get in more trouble. One of the things that worked is explicitly explaining the rules and procedures of the classroom and giving the kids plenty of time to practice. I also remained firm in my consequences and the class quickly learned what is expected of them.

Did yo experience bullying as a child, either as a victim, witness or bully? How did you survive that experience and what did you learn from it that is helping you as a teacher?

My brother and I experienced bullying as children because we were white. The other kids would call us names and beat us up. We kept our head up and fought back as best we could and eventually the other kids left us alone. Later in school many of the kids that picked on us apologized. I learned that the kids were insecure in themselves and they took it out on others. I remember this now as a teacher and I try to give all of my kids a positive and caring experience in school. Maybe if the kids feel better about themselves they won't pick on others.

Which of the strategies you have learned today will you implement tomorrow in your classroom? What kind of outcome do you think it will have?

I am going to implement the SIP strategy. I will look for opportunities to give specific feedback as soon as I recognize an opportunity. I will tell the student exactly what they did that was good. I will make this feedback positive to help the student feel good about their progress. I don't expect to see immediate outcomes but I believe over time the students will become aware of the positive things they are doing and strive to continue making progress. Many of my students feel bad about failing classes in the past and now they try to hide during classroom activities and discussions. I hope by implementing the SIP strategy I will be able to help this kids open up and feel good about themselves.