...FIND A WAY to learn and do what interests you.
I learned so much about differentiation, equity vs equality, and levels of learning from this school year from two completely unique ways. The blind girl (Wanda) and AP students. Massacered by the first year I tried to teach an AP class, environmental science (not biology), I was obsessed with the labs and the lab pros with computers and with ti=85 calculators, the district field trip, a new school. St. bio. no ac. (honestly the AC presence has directly correlated with my school year success. If I am hot - i am hot tempered honry and unable to explain myself.
Terrified I was going to get on TBG Wanda's bad side I really did have to fight with her about being able to take notes by following our class along with the page numbers in the Interactive Notebooks. I think I was frustrated with them as well because they really were not writing any original thoughts or connecting the creative activities and drawings and cutting and pasting. I still love the packets from ypp, so 4 drill/vocab, 10 notes, 10 boxes/to do notes, like wildlifebio cornell notes
It was my best year teaching ever personally and difficult to demonstrate growth or accountability for the students. The best part was that I noticed that the more I felt forced to make a student do something my way, they were very capable of demonstrating their understanding in like a zillion other ways and love to try in different ways to do that. For some reason this culminated in TBG Wanda braving taking classes at the Tech School and other science teachers to study robotics and coding next year. The Iraqi speaking special ed student gave answers to cheerleaders and the football team. The english language learner that recited a clearly practiced speech, the first words he uttered all school year, at the end of our last class stood before me and said, "Thank you for teaching me with such a fun way and using so many different ways to show me. Thank you very much." And. Hayden came back to visit the first weeks of school second semester, I was all, hi! you here to meet some friends or something? he's all, no, I'm here to thank you for always giving me a chance and being the best teacher I ever had. I wanted to come back here and tell you that. - failed the kid every quarter for two years. First period class. Each day I would give him a paper and a pencil and he would stare straight ahead and not move for the entire class period. He didn't speak, didn't write a word, never returned the pencil. But he returned something bigger than I would have never known, that it is the relationships they only remember. And the relationships can show learning.
So= I'm way student centered. But this also has to mean that I have boundaries, focus, respect, and expectations that allow them to demonstrate understanding. The lessons from our choir director in that area has been extreme. It is one thing to explain it, but to have them demonstrate it and appreciate you so much for helping them is so defined by our school departments especially choir. She and have different high roads to be trailblazers for and I need to be like T. The best way to implement student centered learning using technology include problem based learning.
Check with the other people at school, how do they implement technology, major grades, minor grades, late work, excused absences, latenesses, discipline chains, PBIS, AVID Cs, FOOTBALL Cs, Performance/Sports make up assignments. The fact our kids learn differently and cannot sit in class for 1.5 hours a day but can take a pre test, finish a packet, and post test in 3 hours reduced our job to a kinkos and a daycare without recess.
I didn't help the deaf kid. The white stoner that sat in my class between lunches. The curly haired kid.
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