J. is average size for an 8th grade boy, height and weight wise. His face and lips are a little chubby, but not overly so. He is a white male with long-ish hair that looks like a short cut that’s grown out. It often hangs in his face. J. likes to sit in the back of the classroom and does so whenever he can. He sits a little hunched over or slouched back and he almost always has his binder closed. J. shows up late every day, sometimes because he’s tardy and sometimes because he goes to a special ed classroom despite how smart he is. J. seems really reserved, never taking off his jacket or making himself “comfortable,” but he isn’t reserved to the point that he won’t interact at all. Usually, he won’t do his work and when I ask him why, he says “because it’s boring” or “I’ve already done this before” or “I’m just tired and don’t feel like it.”

Despite his lack of activity in class, J. is very, very smart. He loves to draw and is fairly good at it and when I can get him to write, his poems are extremely well worded and deep.

• I really want to dig deeper into him and get him to write more. He has a lot to say, he just never lets it out.
• His drawing could be used to help him a lot. He loves doing it and is very engaged in whatever he’s drawing.

J. is very quiet. He doesn’t say much unless he’s asked a question, and usually his answers are very brief (i.e. “I don’t know” or “sure”). He does a lot of physical gestures to answer questions, sometimes shrugging his shoulders instead of answering “I don’t know.”

J. doesn’t really ever seem sad or upset, but he also doesn’t ever really seem happy either. I’d describe him as “content.”

• Encouraging him in what he’s doing gets him to talk
• The only way I can get him to really focus on his work and do it is if I point out the things in it that I really like. Then he’ll have conversations with me about it and advance it.

J. has friends in the class, and he sometimes laughs and jokes with them, but even in those situations he’s very quiet and subdued in a way. He usually sticks to drawing all through the class period, keeping to himself.

With teachers, J. is very professional in his speak. Even when he is refusing to do work, he is respectful to the teacher.

He is upfront and honest with whoever he is talking to, telling it like it is. The students all know that he’s going to be late every day, but they don’t seem annoyed by it and they don’t seem to make fun of him for it.

• J. seems to enjoy interaction even though he doesn’t cry out for attention. I want to be able to speak to him more since that’s when he does his best work.
• I wonder what his relationships are like at home. He told me his whole family draws, so it sounds like they at least have open communication, and his poems don’t reflect any trouble in the home, but I wonder if he gets enough attention. It may be that he gets too much negative attention, at home and at school, because of his bad grades and lack of work.

J.’s favorite activity is drawing. His whole family draws, and once I encouraged that information out of him, he seemed to be proud to use it in his class activity, which was to write an “I Am From” poem. In that situation, I asked J. why he didn’t have anything written on his paper for his “I Am From” poem. He told me, matter-of-factly, that he was boring and he just didn’t have anything to write about. He didn’t seem upset in telling me this, just truthful, like he really just didn’t want to do the assignment because he didn’t have anything to say. I told him that I saw him drawing a lot, and that’s definitely something that’s interesting. He agreed. In class that day, they had ways to help them decide what to write about in their poems, and one of the tips was to use things you knew about family, history, food, shopping, etc. to write your poem. I asked him if he could apply drawing to any of those things. At first, he said no, but after talking to him a little more about his drawing, he told me his mom, dad, grandma, and aunts and uncles all draw, also. Without me even suggesting it, he realized “hey, I can use that in my poem!” and wrote it down. He worded it very poetically, saying “I am from the fingers of my family,” meaning that his family draws and so does he.

J. does really well with writing, especially when it comes to poetry and hidden meaning. I’ve noticed when he’s not working on assignments sometimes he’s writing his own poems and stories. When I ask him, he tells me “I’ve written lots of poems.”

From his poems and writings, I can see that he really likes video games, TV, and movies, which says even more to his tendency to work alone and whether or not he gets enough attention outside of school.

J. is, as I said, very smart. When I can get him to work, the work he produces exceeds anything he was supposed to be doing. He is very good at writing, and when he can do some kind of drawing, he’s even better.

I’ve never seen him in a setting other than humanities, but I assume that in math and science he’s so bored that he doesn’t do anything. He seems to do better when he can be creating something from his imagination. He hates using graphic organizers and doing all the steps that lead up to actually writing (pre-writing, rough drafts, etc.) so I think something that is as concrete as math would drive him crazy.

J. seems to get everything we do, but he refuses to do most of it. He knows that he isn’t getting a very good grade, but doesn’t seem too worried about it. He does his work when it suits him and when it’s boring to him, he doesn’t.

J. is great with metaphor and hidden meaning. He is very poetic in all his writing and his poems could bring one to tears. He enjoys talking about life, but he’s never specific about his own. He talks about life in general.

Students like J. really draw me to them because of how smart they really are and have much potential they have. My cooperating teacher, Mrs. Barksdale, told me when we first met that “these kids are our biggest untapped resource.” Despite the fact that they are from urban areas with a lot of gang and drug activity, despite their refusal to do some of the work, the kids are extremely smart and have brilliant ideas in their heads. J., I know, is one of those “untapped resources.” He could change the world with his insight and his ability to work alone. He also has potential to have great relationships; he’s very easy going and friendly, even when he doesn’t necessarily like someone. Even though he’s very quiet, he gets along well with everyone. I’ve never heard him get into an argument or talk poorly about anyone.

When J. laughs or smiles at something that he’s working on, my heart sinks knowing that he’s so smart but doesn’t let it out. I’ve gotten through to him a little bit. I don’t think he would have written his “I Am From” poem at all if I hadn’t asked him about his drawing. He ended up creating something amazing about the neighborhoods and homes he’s lived in, about gang shootings and home cooked meals, about drawing and writing. With a little encouragement, J. can go very far.

The Life of A Teacher: Free Time, Anyone?

Though I promised that this would be my daily outlet and reflection place, where I'd re-articulate what I'm learning as a pre-teacher, life as a teacher is proving to be more than time consuming.

Obviously I didn't get into this field expecting it to be easy. I didn't get into it expecting to have a lot of free time. I knew how hard it was going to be. But actually experiencing how hard it is is much different.

My cooperating teacher had me teach a few lessons. She designed them, so it made everything a little less stressful, but getting in front of the class, especially with the teacher there, was nerve racking. I did it before, when she was gone. I think I wrote about that. The sub was... well, a little worthless (as subs can be... but I don't blame them. More on that later, I suppose), and I didn't have any choice but to take over. I knew what the class was supposed to be doing, I knew how the teacher taught, and I took over. It was a great experience and the kids relayed that I did a great job.

However, when it came to performing a lesson that the teacher designed in front of that teacher, I was a little frazzled. I did okay anyway, and took a lot from the experience. There's no reason to be nervous in front of the kids. Yes, if you screw up they may eat you alive, but they're just kids.

Well, my cooperating teacher was expecting. As in a child. And she was expecting to be in class another week. I didn't think she'd last, but we all hoped. One more week of the WASL. One more week to prepare for the permanent sub. One more week where she could use her own lesson plans and not design them for someone else.

She didn't last. She had her baby on Sunday, and I'm extremely congratulatory. Unfortunately, on Monday, there was no real lesson plan. The sub was as subs normally are and the kids were ready to take full advantage of it.

When I stepped into the classroom and saw that the teacher was obviously either in labor or caring for a newborn (since she wasn't there), I turned into a teacher.

It was an amazing transformation. I was like a super hero...

Faster than a speeding pencil, more powerful than the meanest principal, able to motivate tall students in a single phrase... (well, maybe not... but it sure felt that way)

Look! Up in the front of the class! It's a sub! It's the principal! No! It's MS. HALL!

Silliness aside, the kids were a lot more receptive of me as a teacher this time. I had to pull a few mean teacher moves ("Excuse me!" for quiet, "I need you three to seperate...") but they did the work I asked of them without any more hesitation than they normally have as 14 year olds who are too cool for school.

Creating a lesson on the spot was the best experience I could have asked for. Luckily, my cooperating teacher briefed me a little bit on "the plan"... luckily, I had some examples of previous years of the poetry books they were to create...

I don't want to brag, but I ruled. I was a little shaky at points... but that's to be expected. After all, I'm not a teacher [yet]. I've never created a lesson plan that's actually been taught to students. But I did, sort of, this time! Sure, the plan was pretty much in place... but ... well...

I learned a lot. I learned that you have to follow through on your threats (which I did, mostly. One kid, unfortunately, got sent to the office [actualy I didn't choose that punishment, the sub did]). I learned that you can't reach every student every time, but you better darn well try.

I also learned that being a teacher isn't easy... but it's the best thing I could ever imagine doing. I love when a kid creates a poem they weren't going to create just because I told him it sounded great. I love when students who normally do nothing are engaged in what I have to say. I love this job!!