Project Madness!

And now it is week #5/6...

After arriving to campus early this past Tuesday morning, my Community as a Resource group got together to shoot a video project to use in our "Tour of the School." Block-mate Grace and I played students at the elementary school (I don't know why I thought hipster frames denoted intelligence, but they are still quite adorable).

We had passing teachers laughing as we did elementary school cheers; we had fellow student teachers practically snorting out of their noses as we interviewed them in their "natural habitat."

All in all...it was fun to be a goober for a bit.

After working on fractions with the fifth graders, and reading a little more of The Sign of the Beaver, we were off once again to EDEL 430: Foundations of Instruction.

Both of our Professor Kims modeled an excellent co-taught lesson on the process of making ice cream. I've never made ice cream before (though once I watched it being made). A group member said we needed more ice, which might explain why our ice cream looked more like a milkshake........but it did taste oh so good!








We kept minute-by-minute observations of what was happening to our mixture during the ice cream-making process and at the conclusion, I made a little comic strip featuring "Chef Teddy" as a chef who takes us step-by-step into the process.

The Professors had a nice, even flow to their lesson and I enjoyed that they continued checking in with one another. That is one of many signs of fine co-teaching and it was lovely to experience.

One of our "expert group" lessons went up, featuring a lesson all about the ecosystem in general and certain systems in particular. In order to aid our understanding, the student teachers had us break into groups and take cards that contained various sea creatures. Once everyone had a card, the task was to figure out just exactly where in the food chain did that card belong?

Another good time to be had by all involved. 

Wednesday is usually the day off for our block, so I spent the day cleaning and getting the house in order. Then--and only then--can I really sit down and study. It took about five or more hours to get everything dusted, washed, vacuumed, mopped...but it was so rewarding to sit down in my office, the new Mumford and Sons album on, ready to study.

I opened my planner to find, to my delight, that I was a week ahead in reading and homework for a few classes...and sadly behind in two others. I swapped out Mumford and plugged in Module 2 for our Teacher Performance Assessments. Some dry work, no doubt, but the blessing with this one online class is that I can just sit in my quiet office, in my grubby clothes, and crochet or eat chips if I want to, while I view the lecture.

Thursday found us working more with phonics and phonemic awareness, as pictured above. Thank God for studying the International Phonetic Alphabet in my theatre undergraduate work! It was nice having that prior knowledge to build from and if I don't pass next week's phonics test, I will be more than a little peeved at myself. I think it will be flashcard time for me this weekend...

Lunchtime on campus! I love the food trucks. :)

In Mathematics Instruction, immediately following Language Arts Instruction, we broke into groups and discussed possible lesson modifications that could be made for English learners, unmotivated students, and gifted students. Our professor had us enter our ideas into a class Google docs, for future reference (which I immediately saved as a .PDF). We will be tutoring students in a few weeks, so she allowed us time to work on our group lesson plans. After that, she asked us to create word problems based on a food object (with nutrition facts attached) we had brought in from home.

The word problem needed to be designed for both lower and upper grades. I wrote mine regarding the deliciousness that is Nutella:

I was pretty proud of mine, but I couldn't quite squash the sneaking suspicion that I had not solved the problem correctly...

Our professor then took us all to the campus library and introduced us to the curriculum section that exists on the fourth floor. There were, to our amazement, many manipulatives and kits that were available for free check-out. My group promptly checked out two kits full of delightful tools that will assist us in our tutoring lesson.

And after six or so hours of class, we were done...but many of us were attending our student teaching placement's Back to School Night. I entered my master teacher's class to find this slide on her SmartBoard:

I am still not used to being called "Mrs. Slay"...it's only been three months, folks. I spent my day off not only cleaning but changing my name at the DMV and with Social Security. Maybe when it's on paper it will feel a little more real!

The general overview that my master teacher gave--twice--to incoming parents reminded me of curtain speeches that were delivered after the shows for Missoula Children's Theatre. They were my least favorite thing to do on tour, and I suspect that these same speeches--now in the guise of something like Back to School Night--will be a bit of the same. When you're performing, you have a script and a costume to buffer you; when you bartend, there's a whole physical bar between you and the guests. When you are giving a curtain speech or delivering that general overview...it's nothing but you and that microphone. It's rather silly that something like that would make me feel any sort of anxiety, but there you are. If I contradict myself, very well, I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes...indeed.

And now, I'm wrapping this up because it is time for me to head over to my Visual/Performing Arts Instruction class.

Best,
Lissa xoxo

"Be brave, be strong, be true"

Last Friday, my block had the wonderful opportunity of attending an Arts in Education professional development workshop, led by ArtsTeach at the Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts.

I was, as can well be imagined, in absolute heaven. The rooms we were in were gorgeous rehearsal rooms. The space was open, wide and gracious. What a blessing and an humbling honor it would be to work in such a place.

Be brave and strong and true, the Vice President of Education told us in her workshop; taking heart from that, I took a breath and introduced myself to her, an education associate, and the Director of Education.

My block mates have been utterly bewildered by what I want to do; I finally had a concrete example to show them:

"That guy over there," I said, "he's got the job I want. Director of Education."

It was truly an inspiring experience, and we enjoyed some exemplary teaching by teaching artist Andrew Grueschow. I left with my heart full to brimming, my eyes shining, my spirit inspired--and exhilarated. Could I possibly dare to want to scale such heights? Why--why--have I pushed and worked and insisted on climbing such an Everest?

I was walking out of the Segerstrom, alone, deep in thought. I looked up, sun warm on my face, to see

so tall...so massive...

But I looked squarely at this structure, and took another glance at the performing arts center over my shoulder. I looked back at the structure. And something incredible happened: my breathing calmed, my brimming heart eased itself away from brimming over and was simply joyful, and I heard something--something--so clear, so amazing...Don't worry, dear heart...let it happen...

Reassurance and joy. And there was something emboldening in taking in the structure silhouetted against the brilliant blue California sky.

Week #3 into #4 of the Master's/Credential Program

Week #3 ended peacefully. I enjoyed a beautiful, luxurious day down in Newport Beach with my husband. He built a Greek theatre in the sand while I caught some sun and some rough surf.

I have been looking for some Malabrigo yarn since my last trip Missoula Children's Theatre-related trip to Missoula, Montana in Summer 2011. I'd used up what I had in my yarn stores since then and had found places in Newport that sold this fabulous yarn. On the way, we discovered this lovely shop:

and got delightfully lost inside. It was lovely, airy, and whimsical...a perfect place to visit on such a wonderful day. We then bought my yarn and having spotted a cupcakery by the name of SusieCakes, I begged to try it out. 

Since December 2011, I've been looking for a special red velvet cupcake. I was directing a production of Alice in Wonderland, Jr. for Newport Coast Elementary School and the moms brought in these AMAZING cupcakes. Of course, once consumed, I could never remember where they were from. I decided to go on a cupcake hunt and have tried The Perfect Cupcakery (Orange), Casey's Cupcakes (Newport), and Merely Sweets (Brea). None were THE ONE...until we randomly walked into SusieCakes on that blissfully perfect day.  

It never ceases to amaze me that the world is such a small world: as I took a celebratory bite of the PERFECT CUPCAKE, my co-teacher from the Playground (a youth film acting conservatory in Costa Mesa) dashed out to give me a cheerful hello ("I looked at the girl holding up the cupcake and thought, I like her. And then I realized it was you!")

After such a lovely day, I felt refreshed and ready to tackle school. I often said during my theatrical undergraduate work that the reason most students went crazy with stress is due to not taking the time to smell the flowers, go to the beach, enjoy a cupcake...you know, live life. The block leader for the Master's program reminds us daily: take time to enjoy yourself. It's absolutely true, not just for the student, but for anyone living life. It's too short to confine to the pages of a textbook; and anyway, text needs life for proper context. One can learn the craft of the theatre all day long, but it is experience that sets us apart and refines us.

The first day of Week #4, my co-teaching student teacher and I started our day back in our fourth/fifth grade combo class. I'm still adjusting after starting my first week in Preppy K (transitional kindergarten), but I am learning new names, and getting familiar with the routines. After finding myself dismally behind in the fourth graders' math (rounding and place value), my co-teaching partner had me observe her teach a mini lesson to the fourth graders in their common hallway space known as "the pod." The kids had no idea, but I was acutely embarrassed. I smiled and listened politely to the lesson, and felt much improved by it. We'll see--the math battle continues...

After lunch, we attended our Foundations of Teaching class, where we broke into small groups and discussed English language acquisition and gifted learners. We made posters having to do with instruction and strategy:

(I don't know why it got labeled "Fab Phonics Folks" because this is clearly not phonics.) We also conducted an experiment with milk, food coloring, and a Q-tip dipped in dish soap. Once the Q-tip met the milk and food coloring, beautiful ripples appeared. After observing the ripples, our block leader had us write a "Windspark" poem on it. Mine was simple enough:

I dreamed...

I was a starfish

In a golden-blue pool;

Waving, floating, laughing

Blissfully.

Another poem I scribbled in later:

I dreamed...

I was a Laugh

Deep inside a heart.

Bursting for freedom,

Joyfully.

The next day, my partner and I handled morning duty (under our master teacher's watchful eye) and I joked around with the kids about their likes, dislikes, breakfast preferences, and other things. I think it helped break the ice, because the fourth graders were practically demanding my attention during math. This second go-around went much better, and I felt that warm glow that comes when you see comprehension in a child's eyes. That moment is truly priceless and I'm sure it is one of the reasons why many of us teach.

In our English Leaner Instruction course later that day, we watched a poignant, albeit painful, documentary following an immigrant family from Mexico. They were initially denied entrance as a family until they found enough sponsors and after having achieved that, they moved to Kansas, where they had a house and the children were in good schools.

The children excelled, but the mother was lonely for the community she'd enjoyed back home. She arranged for the family to move to California and their eldest daughter, Nora, was denied entry to high school because she was too old. In Kansas, that had not been an issue. Now Nora was to give up on dreams of an education--a public school education we all take for granted--in order to pick fruit in the fields to support her family.

It reminds me of author Frank McCourt's teacher in Angela's Ashes: he tells Frank to go to America, there are no opportunities for him in Ireland where "we throw our talented children on the dungheap."

I spent our Wednesday off catching up on laundry, studying, and powering through a new online class. With the addition of the online class, our total of classes is up to six. 

I also picked up my marriage license, and am looking forward to getting the paperwork all changed to reflect  my taking my husband's name. It seems almost old-fashioned to do that, but I feel such a clear separation between the girl I was and the wife I am aiming to be. I like closure, and changing my name will help with that. Besides, it's the name of the man I love. I have no issue with it.

In Language Arts Instruction, we covered phonics and spent the whole class period in station rotations, each station having to relate to early literacy. My group was so pleasant and easy to work with. We had an amusing and sometimes uproarious morning working with phonics. After a quick lunch, in which my Foundations group finalized our lesson plan regarding the three branches of government,  we had Mathematics Instruction and put together last week's homework: math puzzles! 

Our professor had scheduled a guest speaker, a young lady from Population Connection. We participated in a workshop all designed to assist us in educating our future students about taking care of Earth and its fragile resources.We went outside and made a circle out of yarn (to represent the Earth). Each of us represented a population of over 250,000 people and as we counted through the years, we added ourselves to the planet circle. There was much muttering about eugenics, population control, birth control, and the like. It's great to know what the problem is (overpopulation), but how does one go about solving such a problem? This is the director's mindset coming uppermost in me: I see a set of problems and I want to fix them. But what do you say to the people of overcrowded areas? Are they not allowed to have children anymore? Who determines that? There was talk about educating the populace, and I wish those tasked with that job the best of luck. When it is against certain religious practices to use birth control, the battle only becomes more steep and difficult. I believe in educating the populace about their choices and the consequences of those choices, and promoting sexual education facts versus fictions. We can hope and pray that educating the world will help the global family with this issue.

As you can see, our planet circle was crowded very quickly:

We returned to the classroom and worked in groups on such problems as "How tall would a million sheets of paper be?" and "How many ping pong balls will it take to fill this room?"

We all received certificates at the end of the workshop and our professor reminded us to place the workshop on our resumes. 

And now, it's time for bed so that I can make it down to the Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts for my Visual/Performing Arts Instruction class early tomorrow morning.

Best,
Lissa xoxoxo

Week Two

Today!

We had two classes today. Our classes were flexible last week (Week One), with one online, others face-to-face, and one class just simply gave us the day off.

Today, we had Language Arts Instruction and Mathematics & Technology: Curriculum and Instruction. Language Arts was fascinating: we did a lot of practical phonological and phonemic awareness activities that we will one day be able to do with our own students. (I am having this reaffirmed everyday: I am a pragmatic learner and learn best when lectures had real-world application.) We also read and discussed our first "book club" book. This week's theme was the alphabet and we were all to bring in a children's alphabet book. We had everything from Chicka Chicka Boom Boom to Star Wars ABC (and my offering, Alphabet Under Construction, about a mouse building the alphabet, one letter at a time).

Our professor was awesome and let us out early and our mathematics professor was awesome and e-mailed us all to tell us to come to class a little later, giving us an hour and fifteen for lunch. Some of my blockmates and I walked around the CSU Fullerton quad area, for the event known as "DiscoverFest" when every group, fraternity, sorority, etc. is out in full display and force. Here's a pic I snapped:

I was amused that this was considered part of DiscoverFest, and that people were actually contributing money. It reminded me of

Mathematics & Technology: we used Google Docs, projected onto a Prometheus Smart Board, to collaborate as a class on a real-world issue: when setting up a carpool, how does one determine how much gas money should be paid?

In Mathematics & Technology, we went online and explored the California Core Standards and Content Standards. We discussed the standards in groups of five, each group member reading the standards in ascending order. My partner and I started reading the first grade standards aloud, the next person responded with second grade, then third, then fourth, then fifth. It was interesting to note the progression of the "spinal curriculum"--"Curriculum in which students repeat the study of a subject at different grade levels, each time at a higher level of difficulty and in greater depth."

An example of this would be the Content Standards, which list first graders as being able to compute simple math up to 100. Second grade, up to 1000...and so on. Each grade builds upon the foundation of the last, but, as our professor asked us, what happens if in one grade the foundation is improperly laid?

She had given us the assignment, due today, of writing our own personal math histories. This assignment tied in nicely to this question, as poor instruction had resulted in mislaid foundations for myself and many of my blockmates. There was a moment, as we shared our experiences in a class discussion, that one could hear the pain from so many years' struggle. I know the tears were in my own voice, though I wouldn't show a single one. Math has been one long struggle, from start to now (I won't even say, to finish, because I know math isn't finished with me yet), but it was somewhat comforting to hear that I wasn't alone. I volunteered to type our responses in real time into our class lecture PowerPoint. The slide I was typing into held positive and negative math experiences. It was sad to see that the negatives far outweighed the positives, just like in my personal math history assignment.

Teacher attitude, instruction, missing out on an important ring in the spiral curriculum--these were all major themes in my blockmates' histories. Is it any wonder that the US is far behind in math and science? This was a diverse and random sampling of Southern California college students--and most admitted and agreed to those major themes.

The question I continue to ask myself is how will I, as an educator, address this? I do not want to pass on my personal math anxiety and others' anxiety was passed onto me.
I want to be stronger than my fears and weaknesses.