My Classroom & Reading Experiences

* For confidentiality purposes, a pseudonym will be provided for the observed student  and mentor teacher *     On September 15th, 2022, I began my field placement at Thurmont Middle School observing a 7th grade Medieval History class. For some insight about the students in this class, my mentor teacher, Ms. G, informed me that around half of the students in this class had IEPs and were performing below grade level. While working with below-grade level students is not foreign to me as I have had the pleasure of working in an inclusion classroom in my previous field experiences, I was eager to see how this group of students engaged with course content, their peers, and their teachers. For this first observation post, I have decided to discuss a student by the name of George.       Before getting to my observations and interactions with George, let me provide context into the lesson that was being conducted. The lesson here was conducted over the span of...

     In Chapter 3 - The Masks of Anger and Apathy , Tovani explains the challenges of teaching apathetic students, promoting inquiry and connection with these students, and different strategies that can be used to engage and intrigue apathetic students. In my short time so far in the classroom, I have seen and worked with numerous students, similar to Mack, who are disinterested and struggle to any get any work done in and outside of class, so Tovani's insights and personal experiences spoke to me on a personal level.      As Tovani states, working with apathetic students can be frustrating. However, I was really drawn to her advice about using a "little honest modeling" because this is something I have done in my time in the classroom (Tovani, Pg. 49). The reality is that not every student is going to be motivated and interested about the content you are teaching. Apathetic students need that little "push" to spark their inquiry and grab their attention. O...

     In Chapter 2 - Wedgies, Drunken Bears, and the Stress of Shortsighted Planning , Tovani presents a number of intriguing points in relation to curriculum, student engagement (and causes for disengagement), and the concept of always staying ahead. For the last two years of college, I have read dozens of education-related of texts. So, the terms "curriculum" and "student engagement" are not foreign. However, what separates Tovani from the rest of these educational books is that Tovani not only incorporates his own teaching experiences into his philosophies, but she also digs beyond the surface to help unlock deeper meanings.       The first section that really caught my attention is labeled, Students Disengage Because They Have... on pages 24-26. In this section of text, Tovani explains that the knee jerk reaction for teachers when asked if they can influence boredom is "no." Tovani then goes on to detail that we as teachers make and plan the le...