Week 15: Preparing for Takeoff

Hearing the words "prepare for takeoff" has become quite commonplace for me now. Between plane flights to and from Indonesia, within Indonesia, and previous experiences overseas, preparing for takeoff is something that occurs quite often recently. I am currently sitting at the airport in Indonesia, preparing for takeoff and ready to go home, and once again, I will hear those familiar words.

Student teaching is a lot like preparing for takeoff. Taking off into the real world, with a real job, and real students. It's real now.

This process of preparation has been going on for the past 4 years in my education at Trinity, but it feels especially real now that I have a job after college. All of these lessons learned in student teaching are no longer things that I am going to use someday, but very soon. The lessons learned about classroom management, assessing, pacing, planning, and so much more, have all been ways in which I've been prepared to takeoff.

As I reflect back on this placement, there are so many ways in which I've been continually been preparing myself to be a real teacher. This week, my CT was absent from school and I had the chance to teach with no sub for the first time at this placement. Despite having a difficult class, I loved getting to run the class completely on my own, and it gave me a taste of having my own classroom, and a taste of what I will be taking off into next year.

This week, I also got to be part of the Easter Chapel that my school puts on. Not many teachers got to play a role in the Chapel, so it was quite exciting for me to play a part in it. Mr. Benjie was actually the one who asked me if I wanted to participate, so it was an honor to be able to follow through with that request. The title of my role was "Villager from Bethany." I had about a one page long script to memorize and then act out in front of the entire school, and on top of that, I was the first one up! I am used to speaking in front of a lot of people, but I was still a little bit nervous. Overall, the whole program went well and it was a lot of fun (definitely reliving my high school theater days!). It was fun to see my 5th graders getting excited about seeing their teacher on stage. Having the opportunity to participate in this out-of-the classroom gets me excited about getting to do fun things like this next year, whether it is programs in school or getting involved with programs at my school like theater or music or sports. Again, it's a little taste of what's to come, and I am continually being prepared by these experiences.

Another fun activity I got to see in my classroom was our class MSL trip. MSL stands for Mission of Service Learning. Basically, each class in the school goes on a few of these trips each year, and serve in some capacity within the community around them. My class went to a Christian Indonesian nursing home. Here, they got to play their ukeleles for the Omas, do origami and color with them, and play games with them. For as misbehaved (and disrespectful) as my students are in the classroom, I got to see a softer side of them as they interacted with the Omas. As many Asian cultures treat their elders with high respect, my students did this as well. As a 5th grader, I think I would have been hesitant to interact with elderly people, but my 5th graders just sat in the midst of all of them like it was completely normal, which was so special to watch! My student also played their ukuleles and sang, and boy, did they sing their hearts out, harmony and all. Being a music lover myself, I thoroughly enjoyed their performance, and I know the Omas did too, especially when they started to sing along! Another part of this that I enjoyed was getting to teach a bunch of elderly Indonesian women how to make an origami swan (I knew that hidden talent would come in handy eventually!). This service trip not only showed me more about Indonesian/Asian culture, but also about my students and what it means to them to serve others. These are all lessons that will prepare me to teach students next year and the years to come, especially as I will be in a similar environment.

On my last day, I showed my students a going away video that I had created for them, which includes pictures and videos of my time at SPH. (Click here to watch it: https://youtu.be/CvCFboI8unQ) They really enjoyed watching it. They smiled, they laughed, and they even said “noooo!” at the end when Selamat Jalan (Bahasa for “Goodbye”) appeared on the screen. Man, was this class a tough one, but oh how it has been preparing me for what is to come.

Whenever it's your first time on a plane-- your first time preparing for takeoff-- there are many mixed emotions: excitement, nerves, anticipation, fear, wonder, the list could go on. These are all feelings I have as I enter into this next chapter of my life as a real teacher. What lies ahead is unknown, but exciting, and I trust that God will continue to lead, guide, and direct even though the path is not always clear, and even though it seems as if I'm taking a giant leap of faith into the unknown. Yet I feel prepared, and I feel at peace. Trinity has prepared me for takeoff, my overseas experiences have prepared me for takeoff, and God has continually been at work in my life preparing me for takeoff.

Indonesia, it's been real, but I have to board my plane now, and prepare to takeoff into my teaching career.

Classroom Confidential: Chapter 7
Community in the classroom is important for students to feel safe, encouraged, and comfortable in the classroom environment around them, and will allow the greatest potential for learning. Although this type of community within the classroom is extremely important, teachers must also strive for ways to connect students with the community outside and around them, bringing students to gain a greater perspective of the world around them. In chapter 7, Schmidt outlines eight reasons for why community-based learning is highly effective for student learning. One strategy that stood out to me was that "community-based learning requires different ways of knowing." Each student learns best in a different way, and community-based learning involves many ways of thinking through incorporating thinking, talking, writing, and so much more. Another strategy that Schmidt wrote about in which I would love to see in my own classroom is that in community-based learning, "teaching and learning are shared." I love watching my students being able to learn from each other, and I especially love when my students teach me new things. Community-based learning allows and fosters all of these shared learning experiences.

In my classroom, I have seen how community-based learning through something that SPH does called Service and Mission Learning (SML). These learning experiences allow classes to go on a trip somewhere in their community in which they can learn and serve. One of the classes at the school is collecting school items for a school by the dump in Jakarta for the kids there, who basically live in the place where everyone's garbage goes. That class will then get to take those school items and deliver it to this part of the community. Through this their perspectives expand of their own community in ways that they may have never realized existed.

Week 14: One Step at a Time

There are lots of stairs in my school. Every morning, I walk up 4 flights of stairs to my classroom, and above me, there are 6 more flights remaining. Throughout the day, I probably walk up and down at least 25 flights total. That can be an overwhelming amount just thinking about it, and it sometimes overwhelms my students a bit too, as they have a tendency to ask, "can we just take the lift?" The school wants students to use the stairs because it "builds character," so I respond with, "no, we'll just take it one flight and one step at a time."

Taking it one step at a time--that is similar to student teaching.

As I am coming to the end of my student teaching, I recall how overwhelming this semester seemed at the beginning. There were assignments to complete, students to teach, and the looming edTPA in the near future. And it's true, there are so many different aspects to student teaching, that when you look at it all at once, it is bound to be overwhelming. The edTPA, five classroom observations, weekly blogposts, daily lesson planning, classroom management, grading, and so much more. Oh, and on top of that, you should try and find a job. Yes, it's a lot.

It's kind of like 25 flights of stairs--overwhelming at seemingly impossible first, but can in fact be done by taking it one week, one assignment, and one step at a time.

These past few weeks, I was able to take a few more steps towards my journey in becoming an educator. Two weeks ago, I got my edTPA scores back (and passed!), which was a huge weight off my shoulders, and a seemingly giant step. At the beginning of the semester, the edTPA seemed too much to handle, but after taking it task by task and part by part, I eventually completed it.

Another huge step for me that happened a week and a half ago was getting a job! The past semester was crazy busy, and a job search only added more worry and stress to that busyness. Yet somehow, by the providence and guidance of God, I found, interviewed for, and accepted a job in the midst of all the chaos.

Okay, those were both some pretty huge steps. This week, I completed my final observation for student teaching, which might not seem as big, but it's another step nonetheless. I taught a math lesson about understanding and measuring volume, and I had my students all make their own unit cube from a net, which stood for one square unit. Then they used the cubes to collaborate with each other to experiment with and form other shapes with different volumes. We even gathered on the carpet for part of the lesson, which is usually quite a feat considering their typical behavior.

Another step that I'm working on is still classroom management. I've made small steps of progress throughout my time here, but I definitely don't have it all figured out yet. I have learned that students need a behavior management system in place at the beginning of the year. It is difficult for someone to come in and expect them to behave when their previous teacher does not have those same expectations. I have learned more about what to do and what not to do through this placement, especially with behavior management. This week I had the students doing mini performances in front of each other to practice the do's and don'ts of giving good speeches. In this activity they were engaged with watching their classmates, talked less than they usually do, and learned a lot about giving demonstrative speeches. It was a win in my book as far as classroom management goes. I look a back at the semester and see how far I have come (and they have come) in classroom management. It's encouraging to see this progress, no matter how small it may be. They stand in line a little better than they used to compared to when I came, they listen to me a little more than they used to, and they participate better now than when I first started. We're definitely not there yet, but step by step, we're getting there.

At the end of this two day week, I can see the top of the stairs. It's one more week of student teaching, a flight home, and a few final things to wrap up and I'm done. Student teaching (that thing that seemed like 25 flights of stairs) will be over and complete. It definitely wan't completed all at once, but it took one step at a time. When my students take the stairs because it "builds character," I do the same, and I'm doing the same now. Student teaching has been a journey, and although at times I wish I could take the lift past it all, I am thankful for taking it one step at a time, because suddenly, those 25 flights of stairs seem so close and oh so worth it.


Classroom Confidential: Chapter 11
So far in all of my placements, I have gotten to experience parent teacher conferences once, and that was at this placement in Indonesia. I got to watch a few different teacher facilitate their conferences, and it was interesting to see how each one communicated differently through their words, their mannerisms, and their responses. Communicating with parents effectively is extremely important because students' home life plays such a crucial role in their education and vice versa. In many cases, the teacher may be seeing the student more than the parents during the school year.

Through reading chapter 11, Schmidt taught me a few things about communication with parents, specifically with parent teacher conferences. For awhile, it seemed to me that PTCs were for the parents to be informed, but really, it is also a time for teacher to gather as much information about that student, so that they can best know how to teach that particular student most effectively. Schmidt also highlighted that this communication should be frequent, not just for PTCs. This can be done through weekly newsletter, frequent updates, and emails with the parents.

As I will be teaching overseas in Malaysia next year, I know that I will have to communicate with parents who speak a different language, resulting in a language barrier. This can be especially tricky to navigate. Because of this chapter, I feel better prepared cross-cultural communication with parents. There are so many different aspects to think about such as gestures, symbols, mannerisms, and so many other things that must be taken into account as they pertain to the cultures of those parents. What it comes down to is researching a little bit about that culture and their communication styles. Even things such as silence and the speed of speech can be a game changer for face-to-face communication!

Week 13: More Than a Teacher

I am learning that teachers often have to wear many hats, sometimes hats which leave them saying, "this wasn't in the job description," but at other times, hats which seem like a great honor to wear. As a teacher, you play many roles in your students' lives. From coach, to shoe-tyer, to encourager, to nose-wiper, to everything in between; teachers have the responsibility and privilege of wearing these various hats. Whether they want to or not, teachers do more than just teach in a classroom.

Good teachers are more than just a teacher.

I am writing this at the end of a difficult and tragic week for my students, for the teachers, and for the school community as a whole. First of all, it's testing week. During this week of Cambridge testing, the students were taking the most intensive tests of the year, and tests which may have an effect on their future schooling outcomes. It's been tense and stressful for some, despite our efforts to relieve the pressure and calm their nerves. Testing made the week hard, but it's not what made it so difficult and tragic.

This week, a teacher at my school, Mr. Benjie, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly.

In my short time at SPH, I had the chance to get to know Mr, Benjie a little bit, as well as his wife who is also a teacher at SPH, and his two young girls who both are students at SPH. Mr. Benjie teaches music, and was so dedicated to teaching music and leading worship both inside and outside school, and in fact, around the city. Being away from the strong community at Trinity has been difficult for me, and it has also been difficult to to suddenly try and be part of a new community on the other side of the world where I barely know anyone. But Benjie (and his family) were some of the people who have helped me see community here and feel more like a part of it. Early on in my time here, I wanted to visit a specific church, and I did not know how to get there, so Benjie and his family picked me up, brought me to their church, and got lunch with me afterwards even though I barely knew them at all. I got to learn about his life, his love for teaching, and his love for people and cultures and music. This was just one interaction, but even so, I could tell how much he loved this community and how much of an impact he had on it.

On Thursday at noon, the teachers all heard the news of Mr. Benjie's passing and had to deliver the news to their students. I watched as my CT broke the news to the students, something I don't think I could have done and still held it together. I watched my students react--some instantly, some gradually--with questions, tears, and looks of shock. As I walked to the lunch room with my students, the news was being told to the entire 6th grade, a class who had especially close ties to Mr. Benjie, whose daughter was also sitting in that lunch room. Hearing masses of students sobbing is one of the worst sounds to hear, and one that I hope to never hear again. What was and is our response as teachers when extremely difficult things like this happen?

This is a time that we must be more than teachers.

We can't just go on teaching as if nothing has happened. Suddenly those other hats must be worn, and teachers become counselors, friends, encouragers, and shoulders to cry on. In some senses, students need to be provided with normalcy in order to cope, and we tried to do some of that on Friday. The school also opened up spaces for counseling for students who needed it. There were tests cancelled, despite the importance of those tests. There were movies playing during RTI, even though students had work to do. I stayed in with a few girls and ate lunch with them in the classroom, even though there is normally no eating allowed in the classroom. Yes, normalcy is beneficial for some students, but others cope differently and have different needs. As a teacher, you must be able to recognize those varying needs and adapt.

Through these difficult times, teachers continue to teach, but they also teach things like...
        ...it's okay to be sad and cry.
        ...it's okay to be mad.
        ...it's okay to be confused.
        ...it's okay not to feel anything at all.

I know that being a teacher means you have to be prepared for the hard things, and I definitely caught a glimpse of that this week. Whether it's sudden deaths, sicknesses, weather emergencies, injuries, school shootings, or any other tragedy, teachers suddenly have to take on a new role when things like this happen. Part of that role is being strong for your students, even when it's difficult, or being brave when you feel like cowering away, or being prepared for students to ask a million questions that you might not have any answers to. Sometimes teachers simply need to be there for their students, in whatever way that is needed.

I have also recognized the importance of teachers being there for other teachers, and have been able to see that more this week. Teachers may have to be strong for our students, but it's different with other teachers, because they understand what it's like to be a teacher in that situation. Teachers can be there for other teachers and know that other teachers will be there for them. When so many teachers join together like this to support one another, they are more than teachers-- they are a community.

Benjie was definitely more than a teacher, and even I could see that.

He was a father and husband, who loved his two girls and his wife so much and so well. He was deeply involved in SPH, teaching music during and after school, and leading worship at chapel services with his wife. He may have worn even more hats at the school that I don't even know about. He was also involved in his church, leading worship there as well. He was involved in the community, leading and participating in music concerts around the city of Jakarta. I barely knew Benjie, but I can tell how much he is going to be missed by this community.

So thank you, Benjie, for showing me community, and thank you for showing me what it means like to be more than a teacher, even if I only knew you for a little while.



Classroom Confidential: Chapter 12
As a future educator, "lifelong learner" is always a label I have used to describe myself. To me, lifelong learner means to have a curiosity for the world around you that never runs out, and to realize that you are never done learning. Through teaching, you may be helping your students to learn, but you are also learning along the way as well. I plan on being a lifelong learner wherever my teaching journey may take me. God has created such a world of abundance in which there are endless things to discover. Knowing that I can never discover everything God has created, but I can try shows that I will never be done learning and that I am always going to be a lifelong learner, just as he is never done teaching me. These are ideas that I want to instill in my future students.

Chapter 12 talks about this idea of being a lifelong learner. Through Schmidt's writing, I found a few interesting ways to foster this lifelong learning. She talks about finding colleagues to learn from. By having a relationship with fellow teachers, you learn from each other through their ideas, advice, and experience, and also get to build support for one another along the way. It is also important for teachers to get connected to communities of knowledge existing outside their immediate school community. In making these connection, you gain knowledge from outside perspectives and gain more opportunities to grow and develop professionally. For students, they also should be provided with opportunities to learn from one another, whether that be in the classroom, or cross-age.

Week 12: Stress Well, Test Well?

Next week is testing week. That means this week was test prep week.

Cambridge testing is something that I had never heard of until arriving in Indonesia. I had already known about the pressure that is put on children in Asian cultures when it comes to testing, but I was not quite sure what to expect in this school setting. Over the past few weeks, I have learned that there is just as much pressure on these students to test well from their parents as any other typical Asian school setting. Although the teachers do not pressure them (in fact, we do the opposite!), they are getting a lot of pressure put on them at home.

The school recommends that we prepare by teaching to the test much farther in advance, but my cooperating teacher (and many other teachers) have decided that one "test prep" week should be enough. All of what the students have been learning this year has been, in a sense, preparing them for these tests. The curriculum that we use is Cambridge curriculum, so each lesson and unit taught all year is preparing them from the Cambridge tests. If they participate and do their work throughout the year, then the tests really should not be that big of a deal. Yet, there are still parents who worry about their child doing well on the tests, requesting extra study material and tutor recommendations and strategies for preparing. In all this, these children are under a lot of stress. All this stress does not make them test better.

The stress seemed to show a little bit more each week, and it especially showed this week. As it, test prep week, we have explicitly referred to the test and what to expect. It seems that each time I mention it, some of the students viscerally show their worry for this test, asking questions about it, or simply whimpering a little bit.

Test prep sounds super boring. If it is done by reading through example test questions and skill and drill strategies. These types of boring strategies can also be stress-inducing as students become overwhelmed by the amount of facts that seemingly need to be memorized.

It doesn't have to be boring though.

That was my goal for the week. Even though I had to do a week of test prep, I tried to have some fun with it. Two weeks ago, I mentioned how unsuccessful our review game was, but that I was going to continue to look for fun and different ways to review. Well, I found something that worked! Throughout the week, we had an ongoing math competition between tables using fun team names and whiteboards. I would project a practice question on the board and one student from each table would stand in the front to answer the question on their whiteboard. As questions came up, I would address them and review concepts with the whole class. Each team was given five "phone a friends" in which I would choose a student from their table to come up and help them. This ensured that every student would participate in solving the problems because they could be picked to come up. We also had a rule that I could take away points if they were not participating or misbehaving. Overall, this worked very well! Each table got to pick a fun team name, resulting in the following names and final scores:

-Chicken Littles: 23

-My Hero Academia: 25 (winner!!)

-Avocado Toasts: 23

-Pub G: 22

This game started on Monday, and was a continuous game throughout the week. This kept students more invested in the game each day, ready to continue the competition. On the last day, during the last 10 minutes of class, we did a speed round which involved every single student in the class. On the test, there is a mental math section where students only get 5, 10, or 15 seconds to answer a question. For the speed round, I would state the question, and each student was given 5 seconds to answer on their whiteboard, and then they would put their whiteboard on the ground and go to the back on the line, and the next person from their table would be up to answer the next question. Although it was a bit chaotic, the activity went well and was effective.

Another way that I tried to make test prep a little more fun and engaging was during science. There is a science portion of the test, and again it is all review of what the students have been learning all year. At the beginning of the week, we made mind maps on big sheets of paper where the students brainstormed all that they had learned over the past year. In the middle, we wrote 5th grade science, and from there it branched out to Biology, Chemistry, and Physics to which students created the rest. Students also needed a lot of practice with reviewing the concepts related to plants.

For the steps of plant germination, I created a sequencing game where the students were given 6 strips of paper in random order which each had a step in the germination process. Each table had a set of strips and worked together to put them in the correct sequencing. From there, we talked about what the sequence was, and why it made sense for plants to germinate in this way.

Another specific thing that the students needed work reviewing was the parts of a flower and the life cycle of a flower. Rather than just reading and lecturing through these concepts, we did a more interactive activity. Each student was given a card. If they had an orange card, it meant that they were a step in the life cycle of a flower (there were only 6). If they got a white card, they either had a word or definition. They had to search through the class to find their pair. Once the pair found each other, they had to present that part of a flower to the class using whatever resources they chose. This ensured that each student had a task to focus on and was involved in the overall learning of the class in a fun way.

For English, the students needed to prepare for the writing portion of the test, both fiction and nonfiction. They did practice this writing by writing out their own essay responses to two different prompts, but after their writing, they got to look over other students' writing to do partner editing. Students would pair up with another and read through the writing of another student and look for errors, room for improvement, and then give suggestions. One skill we were heavily focussing on was correct spelling. Overall, I think the students learned the importance of going over their writing, especially when they have extra time on the test to do so.

Even though there were engaging and fun activities incorporated into the test prep this week, it was still a lot for students. So on Friday afternoon during our RTI time (which is basically a study hall at this school), the kids asked if they could play Asia's Got Talent. With the permission of my CT of course, we set up a background on the screen for Asia's Got Talent and had a few of them be the judges.

At least seven different students came up (with their contestant number tag) and gave mini performances that were mostly just silly. We had the rule that you were only allowed to say over-the-top encouraging things, so each performance ended with a "that was brilliant" or "by far the best somersault I've ever seen in all eleven years of my life." The students even created a golden buzzer made of a pencil sharpener and yellow paper that they would throw as confetti. Some students sang solos or duets, danced, rapped, or drew scribbles on paper while dancing. Even though this time was not used for test prep, it helped the kids relax and destress a bit.

Kids need a chance to be kids.

No, stressing students out does not make them test better. It actually does the opposite. Instead, using engaging and fun activities that make learning more enjoyable will be of much greater benefit as the students will be less stressed and more confident in their own learning.



A few other events of the week:
-I passed my edTPA! Wahoo!
-We had Wednesday off because of Muhammed's Ascension (and Islamic holiday).
-A student had a meltdown (partly because of this upcoming testing) which meant I taught the entire day while my CT sat with him. It was a good experience to solo teach and also see how this type of situation is to be handled.



Classroom Confidential: Chapter 10
Social justice is a topic that can often get overlooked in the classroom, yet it is something that can be so easily woven into instruction. It is also a topic that is vital to be part of instruction. In definition, social justice is "justice in terms of distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society." It is a big deal, and students need to know about it because without the knowledge of social justice issues around them, they living inside of a bubble, and a selfish one at that. America has many social justice issues of its own, and teaching overseas, I have gotten to experience first-hand and see the social justice issues around the world. This has opened up my worldview to see people differently, open me up to different perspectives, and love people better. By opening up students' eyes to different struggles and differing views, you open up their world, exposing them to real life. Page 216 says, "When you introduce your students to social justice education, you encourage them to look at the real world inquisitively, boldly, and from various points of view to observe how other people, particularly children, exist." Through teaching social justice, students become better people. Chapter 10 introduces this idea of weaving social justice into the classroom and give a lot of resources for how to do this.

As Christians, social justice should inevitably be part of our lives through the way we love and the way we serve. As Christian teachers, it should inevitably part of the way we teach. Throughout scripture, God commands us to seek justice. For example, Isaiah 1:17 says "Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." This is just one example of where the Lord tells us to help his children who need justice. In my current placement, the students to Mission of Service Learning, which is when they go on a field trip in which they can take part in serving others as well as have their eyes opened to injustices right in their city. When I was in high school, we always set one week aside from school for Service Week. Each year you would serve in a particular community, and each year, you would get a little farther from home. I feel that all of these experiences greatly contributed to my expanded worldview, and overall taught me a new aspect of the character of God, in which I should strive to be like. I would love my future students to experience these same things, whether it is something I teach in or out of the classroom.

Week 11: Toppling Towers of Spaghetti

On Friday, my class built spaghetti towers.

We just finished a math unit, so for the final day before March break, jumping straight into the next math unit wasn't ideal. Instead, we did a STEM activity involving spaghetti, yarn, tape, and marshmallows.

Not only did it involve those four things, but those were the only materials that my students were allowed to use. Each group of three students was given 10 sticks spaghetti, 20 inches of yarn, 1 yard of tape, and 1 marshmallow. Their goal was to build the tallest standing structure to support their marshmallow using only those materials with 15 minutes on the clock. Their structure would be measured from the floor to the marshmallow. Here are a few pictures of my students hard at work....

Looks like hard work, right? It's true, my students put a lot of hard work, strategizing, and logical thinking into building their spaghetti towers.

But you know what? They all fell.

Yep. Every single one of them. As soon as the fifteen minute timer went off, their hands had to take their hands off their structures. No sooner had they taken their hands off when one by one, each structure toppled over. There was a bag of marshmallows on the line for the winning team, but unfortunately, no one was awarded that bag of marshmallows since not one team met the requirements (but don't worry, they still split the prize and got one marshmallow each).

The students may have failed at building their spaghetti structure, but that doesn't mean that the activity was a failure. There was still a lot to learn. We talked about what worked and what didn't. We talked about the importance of both planning and risk taking. We viewed pictures of successful structures, and what we would change for next time. Here are a few specific things that we learned from this activity...

Trying something sometimes means taking a risk.

Like these spaghetti towers, sometimes you just have to stop overcomplicating things and take a risk. This week, my students had multiple tests, so I thought it would be a nice break to do a fun review activity in the form of a game. It involved movement and noise, so I thought it would for sure be a success. We ended up having to stop the game twice because of noise levels, arguing, and lack of listening. That being said, I will not be doing that game again. Playing this type of review game was risky, especially with this class. But I did learn that my class cannot handle this type of game, and I will plan accordingly in the future. Despite taking this seemingly unsuccessful risk, I think that it is important to encourage students to take risks in their work.

This week, I got to experience parent teacher conferences. I got to sit in on the conferences of a few different teachers (all with the parents' permission), so it was good to see how teachers differed from each other in running their conferences. During some of these conferences, one thing that continually came up, was the need for the student to take more risks. Students can get so stuck in right and wrong thinking, that they forget to think outside the box. Instead of focussing so heavily on getting a specific grade (which is countercultural in many Asian cultures), kids need to be kids, taking risks, and putting creativity into the work they do.


If something does not work the first time, that doesn't mean that you've failed.

Many of my students started their spaghetti towers by creating a base, which was actually a really great idea. They were definitely onto something. They did not quite get it to work, but the whole idea was not in and of itself a failure. I have also tried a few things (such as that review game) that seemed to be failures at first, but it doesn't mean I've failed. I have emphasized how loud and noisy my class can be. And really, they are so loud. all. the. time. You can imagine that the week before spring break wasn't any calmer. Well I decided to try something out to try to gather their attention when it seemed to be straying off. The whole "one, two, three, eyes on me" seems to be too juvenile for them,  and I DON'T want to revert to their last student teacher's method of using a whistle (although I've been tempted). It needed to be fun, interactive, and maybe even involve a bit of movement. So I tried the "If you hear me clap once," except I'd say it kind of quiet the first time, so only the students around me could hear, and I would say different numbers not starting at one. It was kind of like a game, and I hyped it up as much as I could. Once I started trying it during class, some of the boys refused to clap even though I called them out, and since there is no behavior management system in place, there is no consequence in place for not listening to me. Even though this method did not work, I am going to continue to look for different attention-getter strategies. Any suggestions are welcome!


You learn from your mistakes.

As each spaghetti tower toppled over, I'm sure many of my student thought to themselves, oh no, I've made a mistake. Despite this, the students still learned from their mistakes and they learned from the activity. You do not always get things right the first time and that's life, but you can choose to learn from those mistakes. I am noticing that the same goes for teaching as well. I am a student teacher right now, so if I am going to make some mistakes, now is the time, especially while being supported by a cooperating teacher. I had my first observation this week, and overall it went really well. It is nice to get feedback from people who are experienced in the field of education and can help you see the ways you are doing well as well as the ways in which you can improve. The main improvement that I was told in which I could make based on this observation is stopping to get all the students' attention. This is feedback that I will use to continue to keep trying and keep getting better so that I can be the best teacher that I can be.


When you get it, it's a really great thing.

After the spaghetti tower activities, we got to see picture of successful spaghetti towers that hadn't toppled. My students oohed and ahhed at the simple, but creative structures, saying things like, "we totally could have done that!" Although it takes mistakes to get there, when you finally find something that works, it is a wonderful thing. Even though I just went on and listed some of the things that did not work so well for me, I also had moments this week where I though, wow, this is really working well! I taught the final science lesson of the book this week, which was on exploring space. For part of the lesson, I turned off the lights and we simply viewed pictures taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Students could comment on what they liked about it and what they wondered about it. There were 100 pictures in the album, but we only had time for about 15. When I stopped it, they wanted to see more. I also heard a student say, "I love learning about science!" (which is something I never would have heard at my last placement!) I also showed my students a video about comparing the earth to the size of a golfball to show them how big the rest of space really is, and how we cannot even begin to wrap our minds around how small we are and how big this universe and God really are. This was one of those lessons where I thought afterwards, this really worked well. I could tell my students learned a lot and were impacted by the lesson.

Another thing that I got to see this week, which I thought went very well, were student led conferences (SLCs). For SLCs, parents would come to class and the student would show them different activities in science, math, and English, showing them what we have been learning recently. The students seemed to be so excited about showing their parents what they were learning. It was especially fun to see those students who don't usually participate start explaining the content in ways that I did not even realize they knew!

And now...

It's off to Cambodia for (a much needed) Spring Break!



Classroom Confidential: Chapter 6
One strategy that I enjoyed reading about which I could incorporate into my own teaching is the section about codes. At my last placement, there was a "Crypto Club" which was having students decode things and look at ciphers. Simply by having review activities or even introducing a concept in this way would be more engaging for the students.

Listen and Draw was another strategy that I could see myself easily incorporating into my teaching. My students right now love to be busy doing things, and many have trouble just sitting still and listening. By having my students engage in the activity of drawing the things they are envisioning in their heads, I would be catering to a variety of learning styles. I also think it would be cool to use these pictures for sort of a gallery walk style discussion where we could see the things that our classmates made and then talk about it as a class.

One last strategy/activity that I would like to implement into my teaching is the Everyone's an Editor strategy, specifically the Editor-in-Chief. So far, it seems like the students I have had for student teaching could use a lot of help on editing their work. Students can be quick to see the errors of others, but not see the flaws in their own work. By having each student actively participate in the editing process in a way that seems like a game, they will be more motivated to find those small errors within their and others' writing.

Week 10: Can You Hear Me Now?

You have most likely heard the well known phrase, "Can you hear me now?" which appears in a Verizon (or was it Sprint?) cell phone commercial. I found myself saying this phrase, "can you hear me now" frequently while attempting to FaceTime a friend, and fellow student teacher, last week due to the sometimes spotty WiFi. I would be talking to my friend, telling her about my experience in Indonesia so far, and suddenly I would realize she wasn't listening because she could no longer hear me. With lots of redialing, reconnecting, and repeated can you hear me nows, we were slowly but surely able to catch up with each other and really hear what each other had to say.

As strange as this may sound, I have had similar experiences to this FaceTime call in my classroom this past week. I taught my first lesson last week. Similar to the FaceTime call, I was talking and in the middle of the lesson, when I realized that my students seemed to not be listening and that they could no longer hear me. This was not because because of faulty WiFi or confusing concepts, but rather it was because students were talking while I was. When one students started talking, others started talking, and to make matters worse, I didn't quite have their names all down yet. It seemed like what I was saying was not quite reaching them.

This trend continued in my future lessons as well. I taught one or two lessons every day last week and had the same continuous problem. My students were just plain noisy while I was teaching. This was very frustrating for me at first. Because of the lack of behavior management system, I did not have a set way of getting their attention. By loudly stating "5th graders!" and then individually calling them out for talking, I can eventually get them to quiet down. But no sooner after I start speaking, I hear the mumble of voices under mine once again.

In my last placement, there was a strict behavior management system in place. If the students talked while I was talking, they would be told to be quiet by me, their teacher, and if it persisted, they would be told to flip their card. This seemed to work for all the students, and because of this, silence was common.

Here, silence is rare.

As I continued to observe and teach, I have come to realize something about the lack of silence. Noise and talking doesn't mean that my students are not engaged. At my last placement, if my students were talking, it meant that they were off task. Here, I do not think it's quite the case. It is hard to get this class to quiet down, but a lot of the time, this is due to the fact that they are all shouting out answers and vocalizing their thought processes.

They are just noisy learners.

It took me a little bit to realize this fact and face this truth, but talking does not mean not engaged. My students are hearing me just fine (most of the time). When I look at their assignments and evaluate their learning, they are learning in my lessons even though I often doubt whether they even hear me. However, it doesn't stop at simply being heard. I can go one step further and connect with them on a more meaningful level through the way that I teach.

Just like that FaceTime call, I need to continually look for ways to reconnect to my students.

Reconnecting to my students looks different for each class. In order to reconnect to my students, I need to know how they learn best. I have quickly learned that these students learn best when given the opportunity and the freedom to talk. Illinois Professional Teaching Standard says, "The competent teacher plans and designs instruction based on content area knowledge, diverse student characteristics, student performance data, curriculum goals, and the community context. The teacher plans for ongoing student growth and achievement." The specific and diverse needs of this class is that they need to move and talk while learning. I am intentionally trying to find ways to make lessons extra engaging and hands-on for this group. Here are a few ways that I have incorporated noise and movement into the classroom...

-In math, we are working with 3D shapes, so we have been creating our own 3D shapes by cutting them out and folding them to make our own.

-For science, we are learning about the solar system. I had students get up to model this by having one student be the sun, one student be the earth and it's rotation/revolution, and one student be the moon and it's rotation/revolution. Students have also done this in small groups as well.

-When we look at something on the board, they all have the option of getting up and sitting on the carpet.

-In general, I am more lax about the volume level in my class while teaching, as long as students can still hear me.

By catering to my students' diverse needs, I am trying to reach them and I am trying to get the to hear me. They are used to learning in a noisy environment, but I think teaching with this diverse characteristic in mind has helped them to learn even more. Teaching in this type of environment is definitely not something I am used to this, and it is something that I am still navigating through. I am starting to accept that teaching with complete silence is just not going to happen with this class.

I know what they say, silence is golden, but this class doesn't seem to be in the market for that.



Here are a few other highlights from the week:

-I finished and submitted my edTPA! Yay! Because of this, I feel like I can relax and enjoy my placement a bit more. So far, it is so nice to have this weight off my shoulders!

-I got to observe an ELL classroom. When I got there, the students were each allowed to ask me one question, so I answered questions like "What is your favorite color?" and "What is your favorite fruit?" In their lesson they talked about big animals and small animals and participated in some pretty engaging activities. Every time I observe an ESL setting, I am reminded how much I love it! Whether it is next year or somewhere down the road, I would love to teach in an ELL classroom.

-I taught my first lesson! Overall, it went well. Ironically, I was teaching a lesson on how the earth's movement affects seasons, only to realize that Indonesia does not quite have those seasons (only rainy and dry). It was fun trying to explain this, but I think my students understood. I have noticed that there are lots of little cultural differences like this that pop up while I plan my lessons. For example, I was putting together an "I Spy" game for my students with different real life 3D shapes and realized that I was finding things that they might not know what it was!

Week 9: Out of the Ordinary

Halo from Indo! (Halo is hello, Indo is Indonesia--you get the point.)

Just like that, my first week of student teaching in Indonesia is done! Part of me feels like I just got here yesterday, and another part of me feels like I've already been here for much longer. Time is a weird thing! Speaking of time, I am thirteen, now twelve, hours ahead over here, and am just about over some major jet lag. There is so much I could say about my first week especially as I am in both a new classroom and a new country.

To sum it up, this week was a bit (okay, A LOT) out of the ordinary.

On Sunday, my taxi picked me up from the airport and weaved through the infamous Jakarta traffic to the southern side of the city where it dropped me off in front of my apartment. No wait, it dropped me off in front of a mall. Wait, no it was the school.

Actually, it is all three of those things. I live in an apartment that is beneath the school that is connected to the mall all in one huge high-rise building. Not so ordinary, right? Here is the view from my apartment:

The coming week was also sure to be out of the ordinary as three of the five days were dress up days, one was a holiday (day off), and one was a professional development day, all of which I was informed of upon my arrival. Monday was the start of book week, so the students could either wear their uniform, or dress up like a book character. Tuesday was Dr. Seuss day, so the students could dress up like any Dr. Seuss character. Wednesday was dress like an author day (which I still do not understand what that means). Below is a picture of my class on Dr. Seuss day. About 3/4 of the school was either Thing 1 or Thing 2, hence all the red shirts. I attempted (very last minute might I add) to dress as Horton from Horton Hears a Who.

Before this placement, I had been in the same 6th grade classroom since August, so the students, the teacher, and the way things were run had become ordinary. Coming to a new placement, with new students, and a new cooperating teacher, things are far from my previous standard of ordinary.

It became ordinary for my students to be quiet, not really enjoying school. You could say my students are out of the ordinary as they are a pretty energetic and talkative bunch.

It became ordinary for my cooperating teacher to be pretty strict. You could say my new CT is out of the ordinary under that standard.

It became ordinary for there to be a closely followed behavior management system in place. Again, that would be a bit out of the ordinary here, or at least in this classroom.

To flesh out some of these out-of-the-ordinary qualities, I'll explain what I mean. When telling other people that I am a student teacher in this particular class, they cringe a bit and say "good luck." This particular class is notorious for being full of energy, noisy, and with as much craziness for it to still be a good thing. Apparently their last student teacher had to use a whistle. They are unlike any other class in the school, or so I've heard. For some reason, they just have an extra dose of energy than other classes, and they always have. As for the way my cooperating teacher handles this, I was surprised off the bat. During class while my CT is teaching, the students often walk around and talk during the lesson. I am still trying to figure out how much "withitness" my CT has that this is all going on. Through my own observing, I was able to see a lot of what went on behind the scenes, which was a lot. As I mentioned, there is not much of a classroom management system in place. In fact there is not one. This is a huge change of pace from my last placement because whenever students would talk there, they would immediately be punished. Here, they just talk all the time. I am seeing both extremes, so it will be interesting navigating this way of managing a classroom once I start teaching.

When I first observed this rambunctiousness during class, I thought there was no way that the students are actually learning, but when I checked their work, they knew exactly what they are doing. These students are smart. I mean this as nicely as possible, but this is a huge change from my first placement. Those students were very low, especially in math. My 5th graders here do great with math as well as other subjects. On Dr. Seuss Day, my CT had a spur of the moment idea in reading to have them write their own Dr. Seuss stories. This is going to be interesting. So that's what they did. The students paired up or worked on their own and spent 20 minutes or so working on writing a Dr. Seuss style story. As I walked around, looking and listening in on their conversations and work, I was surprised by what I saw. These students were writing stories that were way above the level of what I would expect from 5th graders, incorporating creative writing styles and original ideas. Their writing was extraordinary compared to my 6th graders in my last placement, which is a refreshing change of pace.

Do you know what else is out of the ordinary, in fact, it's extraordinary? This is a Christian school! I have never been in a placement at a Christian school during my time at Trinity. I am discovering how much of a gift it is to be able to talk about Jesus with your students freely and openly. Wednesday is Chapel day, so after lunch we all gathered as 4th-6th grade classes on the very top floor for Chapel. Some of the students from my class led worship, which was so cool to watch, and then one of the PE teachers gave a message.

Another out-of-the-ordinary thing that I have enjoyed is squeezing the entire 5th grade class on one elevator at the end of the day to go 5 floors down to street level. Oh, and did I mention that there are 13 floors in this building and that during the school day, we only use the stairs?

There are a lot of ways that life here in Indonesia is out of the ordinary to me. The traffic, the language, the temperature, the food, etc.--All of these things make life out of the ordinary right now, but over time, I am sure some of these things will become more ordinary to me as I adjust.