Week 4

This week I  finally felt 100% comfortable in my classroom. I finally feel like this classroom is mine and these students are mine. I had the opportunity to take over for the day and my cooperating teacher was not in the classroom at all, and I found that this helped give me ownership and complete responsibility, which in turn forced me to be THE TEACHER. My classroom management skills improved a ton and I was able to feel in control.

I love middle school students. They are so much fun to teach because they can be silly one minute and then go back to working the next. I learned this week that being a middle school teacher means that you need to be able to be an entertainer. These kids respond well to goofy comments, funny images and examples, and really an overall performance when teaching. I've begun focusing my lessons and teaching style around this approach and I have seen awesome results!

In Social Studies this week I chose to start something new and different than Jeopardy. I created a Kahoot quiz where my students will work in groups to play against each other to prove their understanding of the material. I will be trying this next week on the Panama Canal. I am very excited! In order to prepare my students for Kahoot, I used it in a Bible lesson this week. They loved it. They created poster projects on the different furnishings located in the Tabernacle. After a group presented on it, they took a small Kahoot quiz on the material. This was effective for many reasons. First, they paid way better attention during the presentation because they wanted their group to win and second because they could learn how to play Kahoot and I could work out any kinks before we play it big time in Social Studies.

I am having so much fun trying new things in the classroom. My supervisor said, "Keep trying new things, if they fail, so what? At least you are trying!"

I took over devotions in the morning before we start the day and one of the girls in my classroom said to me, "I feel like you are our real teacher Ms. Disselkoen." This made my heart really warm because I know that these students respect me and feel comfortable with me. I am very thankful for my cooperating teacher and how much he has pushed me and helped me become a part of this awesome class. I am going to be so sad when I have to leave.

I have learned a lot this week, in addition to needed to be a performer sometimes and trying new things. I have learned more about the Navajo culture. First, I learned that I have been saying the word "Navajo" slightly wrong. I also learned that in the Navajo culture, snakes make them feel uncomfortable because it is similar to the devil. I learned this because in one of my math lessons we played a game called "snakes" and a few students had a huge problem with it. After this happened, a student came up to me and explained the Navajo Creation Story to me. This was beyond interesting and she said she would bring in an old book sometime for me to take a look at about this legend.

Next week I will be completing and 100% full time everyday. I am beyond excited to add math into my course load. I am not and have not been the best at math ever, but I think that this could be an advantage for my students. We will work through problems together step by step and hopefully it will help understand the material better. My cooperating teacher thinks so too and we are both excited!

God has blessed with me so much in this place and I feel overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness. I really hope that my time at Rehoboth is not done after student teaching. It has become home to me.

As far as adventures outside of teaching goes, I was able to hike the crevice this past weekend with a bunch of teachers. We had a blast inching our way through rocks and hiking in God's creation. I continue to be in awe of this beautiful place.

Week 3

This week has been a whirl wind! I'm happy, overwhelmed, excited, but stressed, and so many more emotions after this week.

Monday was MLK day and the students had no school, but the staff had an in-service day. This was fun to be apart of because I was able to experience what the life of a teacher is like on the "days off". We began the day with staff devotions, prayer, and worship. What a privilege we have to do this together! Another thing we did was a "tuning" exercise. We were split up into groups and had to tell our group an issue or problem we are having in the classroom or with our students. After this, the other staff members brainstormed ways to help you solve this issue or implement whatever you were having troubles with. I loved this experience, it showed true collaboration and the ideas and suggestions were fabulous!

My course load this week was basically full time. I taught everything but one mathematics class. This was a good experience, but it made for a stressful week. Early mornings and late nights were to be had by Ms. Disselkoen this week!

The students are becoming very used to me... why do I say that? They are comfortable enough now to test me. I had some challenging moments that exhausted me and sometimes discouraged me, but overall pushed me and helped me grow as an educator and overall person. One particular moment I would like to never forget was when one student decided to throw a paper airplane in class. I caught it in midair, crinkled it, and threw it in the crash. The old Ms. Disselkoen would think this would over the top and terribly mean, but one thing I learned this week is some of these students come from some tough homes and they need and really only respond to tough love. I had some good talks about how to best handle situations where students are getting up in class, being disrespectful, and not caring about work with my cooperating teacher and I have found that the most important thing for me to do is stop, address the issue, be firm, and show my students tough love. They have responded positively to this, and I feel as though throughout the week I have gained their respect and bad behaviors have begun to clear up.

"Good days, bad days, you cannot let them affect the way you view yourself as a teacher." -Cooperating teacher

As far as my actually teaching went....I am happy and so excited. I have so much fun teaching 6th graders. I can play games, come up with silly scenarios, ask goofy questions, and make funny voices for characters in a book and they love it! Teaching is a blast and I love getting up each morning knowing I get to hang out with these students and teach.

I tried something new this week. My cooperating teacher is VERY loud and he can yell and get their attention, but this strategy does NOT work for me. I had to come up with a way to get students attention when I wanted to talk and have the room be quite. I began using a call and response. I say, "Class, class" the students say "Yes, yes". It works WONDERS for me! I have used this in some of my younger grades I have taught, so I was hesitant at first to try it, but it has worked all week and they picked up on it quickly. It has made noise level and transitions much smoother for me.

I will be continuing to teach both Bible classes, both Social Studies classes, and Reading next week. We are going to wait to add Math class to my load for one more week since they fell behind in their math lessons due to no school on Monday and other events throughout the week. As I go forward into next week I hope to try a few more things.

1. Take over morning devotions and prayer.
2. Practice getting my students moving more during lessons.
3. Doing a better job at transitions from beginning of classes to the end of classes. 

Week 2

I have learned so much about Rehoboth this week. For instance, I was out on a run and was climbing some rocks to get to higher ground so that I could see the sunset over the mountain tops. I found myself overlooking a Reservation, and as I did I heard some barking coming from the distance. Some "Res dogs" were coming toward me. Apparently "Res dogs" are a thing and are not very friendly. Thankfully I was too high and the dog ran off. At this moment the sun was setting and I became overwhelmed with thankfulness to be in such a beautiful place.
 In addition to this finding, I learned a lot about myself this week. I have been asked so many times why I have chosen to come here. I honestly have no idea, but I am being constantly reminded that I am where I need to be. God is so good. I have learned that I am a scared person, I worry too much, and I am too hard on myself. My cooperating teacher pointed out this week that I am too hard on myself. He asked me how I thought I was doing. I responded with, "Fine, but I think I could do better." He told me to stop being to hard on myself and that he is very impressed with how I am doing. I never thought that I was too hard on myself, but after a lot of thought, perhaps I am. I am choosing to be kinder to myself and to be thankful for the small victories each day.

What has happened this week in the life of Ms. Disselkoen and her 6th graders?

This week I took over teaching Bible in addition to Reading, which I took over last week. I have found I loved teaching Bible. It is a great time to get into discussions, debates, and really dig deeper into our faith as a class. The students love sharing opinions, but not out loud...at least not right away. I found quickly that if I want them to share and participate I need to have them write down their thoughts first. For example, I taught a Bible lesson where I had them discuss how people should prepare for worship. I had them write down three absolute "musts" for preparing for church (take a shower, dress-up, prayer,etc.). This led into a heated debate about whether or not God cares if you dress up or not for church. Playing devils advocate has been an interesting role and has gotten my students into some awesome discussions. It is fun to see youth discussing their faith.

In reading, we are doing a unit on the book Holes. The girls drew character charts based on what they read about the characters in the book. They will be adding post-it notes describing the characters after each time that we read. By the end of the book, we will be able to see how the characters have changed and grown.

I was able to observe math class this week. They use Singapore math, which involves bar models. This is the first time I have see this done in a school. I think it is a great system. They are using it for all grades, so each year it builds on each other. It is visual and uses bar models as a way to solve everything in math, which makes math easier I think. I am still learning how to use the bar models accurately, but I have enjoyed it thus far. I take over math in two weeks and I hope to incorporate a partner system. They do all of their math individually, but I think that it would be beneficial to see them partner together and hold each other accountable or what they are learning. I am excited to begin preparing for what that might look like.

This week, the whole school has been a part of the January Series held on Calvin College's Campus. They have been projecting it live in the Church and classes have had the opportunity to go to a few of these. My class went to one on "Children of War" and "Autism". I felt that both of these were appropriate for my students to learn more about. We had some hard discussions after about them. Many students did not know what is going on in other countries and how children are being forced to kill and be a part of war. It was a huge eye opener and now we are trying to come up with something that we can do as class and school to help others.

In the 6th grade we had "the talk". This week Hands of Hope came in three days to talk to the students about puberty and their bodies. The girls and boys were separated and were taught about his and were given the chance to ask questions. Surprisingly, I learned more about the Navajo culture through this. When women in the Navajo culture become a women, they celebrate with a  Kinaalda.  Through this talk, I also learned of a lot of hurt in this community. Many girls were sharing stories (anonymous) about things they deal with at home or have dealt with. My heart hurts for these girls and boys that I teach. Something surprising that I learned was when in an emergency, they advice to you call a loved one before 911, because often times 911 will not answer or are very slow to answer. This is amazing to me, especially coming from Grand Rapids and Chicago.

Next week I will be adding social studies to my workload. I cannot wait!

I hope to learn and discover more about my teaching in the week ahead. I want to see how I can make learning fun by incorporating fun activities that get students excited. Sometimes in the 6th grade, it is easy to have boring teaching and learning through lecture. I want my classes to be more than lectures.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - -

Week 1

 This week was my first week in New Mexico! Before we go any further, you need to know that  I was very nervous for this new adventure. On Christmas break, I often found myself asking why I even decided to go away for student teaching in the first place. I found myself feeling that it would be easier to go back to Trinity, back to the familiar. As the date approached, the more nervous I became. The day before I left, I prayed. I prayed that God would go ahead of me and prepare a place. I prayed for peace and confidence. When I arrived on Saturday, I found myself in a new, beautiful home. The scenery here is absolutely God breathed and displays His beauty each day. 

This week, as I reflect on the people I met, the experiences I have had, the hikes I have went on, the students I have worked with, and the lessons I have taught I realized that God went ahead of me and prepared a place more perfect than I could ever imagine for me. I was reminded of this on a hike when I found my name actually engraved in the rock; serving as a reminder that God has chosen me and made a place for me here. I was meant to come to Rehoboth Christian School and serve. I cannot wait to see how else I am used and streched as I continue to student teach the next few weeks. 

​​

Since this is my new home, I thought I should show you my new house! Caitlin and I are living in the upstairs of the Mission House with another girl named Sam. Sam was a student teacher from Calvin ​​College last semester, but is not working full time at one of the nearby Gallup public schools.

  We are blessed with our own rooms, bathrooms, and kitchen. Although, we have not had to use our kitchen very much since we have been here because the people are so friendly and are constantly inviting us to dinner at their houses and taking us out to eat to try new foods. Until this week, I never knew what "red or green?" meant...so much I am learning about the culture here! Mr. Ipple invited us to a dinner in the fellowship hall on Tuesday evening where we learned about the Navajo culture. We tried some Navajo tacos and blue corn mush. They were both actually quite delicious. We also got to ask questions, watch a dance, and hear old stories that have been passed down. It was a great learning experience and I believe will help me as I continue to go into the classroom and teach. Being able to know and understand more about some of the different cultures that are a part of Rehoboth Christian School and this area will help me prepare and teach in a more appropriate way. 

Okay, okay...what about my classroom??? What about student teaching??? My classroom is amazing and so is my cooperating teacher. I am in the 6th grade with Nick Donkersloot. The first day, I was welcomed into the classroom, introduced, and immersed in Rehoboth, and given a tour. I have never felt so welcomed and a part of a classroom before on a first day. My cooperating teacher is hilarious. He is goofy in the classroom and you can tell that the students absolutely love him and respect him has a teacher. It is fun to watch him interact with the kids. I find myself laughing at all of his jokes along with the students. My cooperating teacher teaches Bible, math, social studies to both classes of 6th graders. He also teaches reading to the 6th grade girls, and the other 6th grade teacher teaches reading to the 6th grade boys. This week, on the second day, I already began teaching reading. I am doing a reading unit on the book Holes by Louis Sachar. He gave me some materials, but really this is my own unit that I get design and it is going to be my "baby" for the next seven weeks. Each week, our plan is to add another subject to my teaching load. Next week will be Bible. I am so excited! As far as classroom management, the students manage themselves. What I mean by this is the day I arrived, Nick and I started a new management plan. The students sit in groups. Each group works together and tries to earn points. The way they earn points is being the first group sitting and ready to go for the lesson, they brought all their materials to class, they brought their assignment books to class, their assignment books are signed by a parent each day, and so on. The group with the most points at the end of the week get to pick a food day for the following week, (Nick and I both agree that food is the bets motivator). The kids love it! They run into the classroom, they call each other at home to remind each other what to do and bring to school, they hold each other accountable. It is fun to see!

​​

Weirdly enough, this week Rehoboth Christian School had two snow days and a two hour delay. On Wednesday we had a two hour delay, so I had to adjust my lesson plan for reading and on Thursday and Friday, we had snow days. I was quite bummed about this because one, I never expected the weather to be this bad and two, I have been having such a fun time in school that I want to be there and I want to be teaching. Hopefully next week the weather clears up and I can be in the classroom more. I begin taking over Bible class on Monday already. I am so excited!

What have I learned thus far? 

I have learned that teaching 6th graders is actually fun. I thought I was not going to enjoy it and it was going to be hard. It may be too early to speak, but I think 6th grade has been my favorite already even after just (barely) one week. I learned that it is very important to let students have independence, especially at this age. I learned it is important to find what motivates students, in our classes case it is food and the ability to participate on sports teams. I have also learned that some of my students eat lamb heads and I will probably be forced to eat something that involves lamb before I leave... All in all, I have learned that being a teacher you must be flexible because you never know how many snow days you will have, it is important to get involved in your community, and you must always remember that God has hand picked everyone in your classroom, including you.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - -  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Classroom Confidential - Schmidt

1. In Classroom Confidential Schmidt refers to multiples intelligence's. What intelligence's do you hope to use in your teaching and why?

In the classroom, I would hope that I would try and use all of the multiple intelligence's. Some specifically that I hope to use in my teaching is "self-smart-interapersonal intelligence" and "people-smart-interpersonal intelligence". I hope to use both of these because in the 6th grade I find that these would be very valuable for all. I want my students to be self motivated and understand their own feelings and values. I think that this is important at this stage of life. They are beginning to understand who they are in the world and in the classroom. Other the other hand, I want them to be able to develop their social skills. I think it is vauable for students to be able to understand their peers and what motivates them. I want my students to be self and peer motivators. I can do all I can to try and push and help these students, but if they do not want to do it themselves, nothing will get done. Teaching them to value their educaiton and find what motivates them to do better will strengthen the classes. I beleive they can do this through understanding themselves better and their peers.

2. Schmidt asserts that “activity without cognition is just a way to keep kids from smacking each other…Idle hands may be the devil’s workshop, but clueless hands aren’t much better… before you switch on the hands, you must ease the brain into gear and keep it running” (p. 15). Are there ways you will use Schmidt’s “full brain learning”? Explain.

There are many ways that I will use Schmidt's "full brain learning" approach. I think it is easier in the 6th grade to tap into their minds and find what it meaningful to them about the world. I also have seen it modeled for me on how to give studenst many different ways to go about a project or task. I have seen promotion of social and communication skills by talking about ideas and have already begun using this in my own lessons. I think that it will be easier in the 6th grade to use the "full brain learning". I am very excited to see how my students use these tasks and learn throughout the time I am here.