Teacher's Diary

Death Valley - Why Educators Should Take More Trips

My trip to Death Valley is beyond spectacular. It is exhausting, with far more information being thrown at me than I can possibly take in, but exhilarating - climbing craters at dusk, sliding down moonlit sand dunes and hiking for miles amid eerily quiet rocks.

This place would be incredible at any time, even if I had come as a tourist, but being part of a group of all Earth Science teachers from New York gives it a whole new meaning. We are learning the in-depth geology of this place, while also practicing our field study skills so that we can share them with our students. I am becoming better at rapidly identifying rocks and looking at features to tell geologic history. I know my students will benefit from my experience too.

I had initially signed up for this trip as a way of getting graduate credit quickly (3 credits in 8 days is not bad), but now I understand why it is worth so many credits. We wake at dawn every morning, head to the field and spend 12-14 hours in the field, basically staying out until it gets dark. We hike for miles, talking about the rock formations along the way. By the time we get home, I'm too tired to even organize my notes or think about grading or planning for school.

Earth science teachers have so many opportunities to get out into the field with geologists, often completely free. Being a student in the field reminds us about why we love science to begin with. We get to explore, get dirty and really learn something new. It is this experience that is so important to share with our students. Too many of my inner-city kids have already buried their natural curiosity. As a science teacher, it is my job to dig it back out and make them enjoy learning again. Sometimes it is difficult to see how when stuck in a classroom from 8am - 3pm every day, but here in the wide open air, it is obvious.

I am already planning Death Valley centered lessons for when I get back. I hope that by sharing my amazing experience, I can inspire some of them to give science a chance. Hopefully it will stir up their adventurous, curious side and get them excited about Earth Science.

Photo courtesy of http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/california/death-valley

Death Valley!

To all my avid readers, I apologize for not posting in the past few days. The last few days before break were hectic and now I am in Death Valley on a geologic adventure and have little time to write. But I promise, now that I'm settled in, to begin posting updates on how the trip is going.

For now, though, I highly recommend any Earth Science teacher, or anyone in general visit Death Valley. It is truly incredible. More to come!

Help Save Student MetroCards!

The City of New York is considering eliminating the student MetroCard to save money. While this seems like a potentially good idea, educators at high-needs schools like mine know that attendance with plummet if this is passed. We struggle with attendance as it is, so adding yet another reason for kids not to come to school is clearly not going to help.

I have been teaching for less than a full school year and I have already had 2 parents tell me that they cannot come to school for a meeting because they cannot afford a MetroCard. While this may be an excuse, it can't be far from the truth when 80% of my students get free or reduced-price lunch and even then sometimes ask me for a quarter to buy it. Eliminating their MetroCards will simply give them one more reason to skip out on school. It is utterly unacceptable.

If you agree that this is not the best way for the City of New York to save money, please sign this petition. It only takes a moment and if it prevents the government from getting rid of student MetroCards, your signature will have been so valuable. Please take a moment to sign!

College for Illegal Immigrants?

I found out today that one of my favorite students is an illegal immigrant. I had had an inkling that this was the case, but today, she finally admitted it outright - I am the only one at the school who she has told. We were talking about it because she was arguing that she will not be able to go to college because she doesn't have documentation, whereas I was arguing that she could. But how easy is it?

I know it is possible because I have heard the student center in our building discussing financial aid for illegal immigrants, but I wanted to know how feasible it actually is. Without a college degree, my student's options for jobs will be even more limited than her peers and I don't want that for her. Of course I came home and began looking for resources that might be able to help her.

I found this article very useful, as it describes ways of getting financial aid as an undocumented student. I learned that several states, including New York, allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state prices despite their status. Although I don't know much about it, the Dream Act came up a lot in my Internet wanderings as well. From what I gathered, the debate is that the act would allow around 65,000 undocumented students who graduate from US high schools to attend college and eventually (after meeting certain conditions) becoming citizens; however, it would also cost taxpayers money and seems somewhat unfair when considering all the people who wait for years for proper documentation before coming to the United States.

It is a dangerous topic and one that I had happily avoided until now. But as an advocate for my students, I must now weigh the facts and consider what I think is right. Certainly, I want all of my students to have the opportunity to go to college. I want them to succeed and I don't want students like this one to have to consider getting married to someone they don't love just to stay in this country (which is part of what I spoke with this student about today).

Still, I don't feel I know enough about this issue to state a firm opinion. But now I have a real reason to research the issue and find out what I can do to help.

Photo of the Week

Lately, the moon has been reminding me of the Cheshire Cat, or perhaps I am just thinking about the new Alice in Wonderland movie. Last night, though, I was eating dinner with some friends in their backyard and the moon peeking through the branches of the trees looked very smile-like. Perhaps my students have noticed it too.

This post explains the science behind the seemingly tilted moon. It includes some great diagrams too. Enjoy!

A Day at the Mines

Today was a gorgeous day, full of blue skies, turkey vultures and mine shafts. That's right, I took my kids on a field trip to Sterling Hill Mining Museum in Ogdensburg, New Jersey, where they got to learn about the dangers of mining and the rock types that abound in a mine.

I have said it before and will continue to say it: I believe trips are the best way to get kids excited about learning. My students are often rowdy to the point of wildness, unruly and unmanageable. But get them out in a field in New Jersey and they will beg you to help them fill their cardboard box with the 6 different rocks they are supposed to find. The toughest kids grow wide-eyed upon entering the cold, damp mine tunnel. It was an experience that none of them are likely to have again and I made it possible for them.

Talk about an authentic learning experience. Our tour guide was an old, soft-spoken man who worked in a mine himself for most of his life. He told the kids stories about how he started out as a "mucker," breaking up rocks by hand that hadn't been broken down enough in the initial dynamite blast. He told them about a friend of his who was crushed under a giant piece of iron and killed. And he told them about the marble that lined the walls we walked through. They took it all in and really experienced it.

Trips are hands-on learning amplified. Not only are the kids investigating science for themselves, they are experiencing it with their whole bodies. Taken out of their normal, safe environment, even the toughest kids become angels. They know instinctively that they can't get away with things that they get away with back at school, so they don't even attempt it. I am always truly amazed to see that side of them.

For anyone in the New York or New Jersey area, I highly recommend that you take your students to Sterling Hill. The tour guides are fabulous and the learning experience the kids receive is unparalleled. I could tell that it opened so many of them up to science and made what we have been learning about come alive.

To the right, check out one of the cool fluorescent rocks found at the mine!

Abandonment Complexes

One of the teachers at our school is leaving this week. She's not going on maternity leave or moving with her husband to another state. She's not sick, nor is anyone in her family sick. And all the kids came to me asking, "Why is she leaving us?"

Although these kids complain about having to come to school, it is moments like these that make you realize that they actually love it. They love the consistency that many of them do not have in their lives outside of school. They are constantly pushing against us to see how hard we will push back - the harder we push signifying greater love for them. So it hurts them when they feel we are abandoning them.

Ignore the fact that they constantly complained about this teacher until today, when they found out. Ignore the fact that they tried to hide out in my classroom instead of going to hers. Ignore the fact that cries of "I hate Ms. X" were often bandied about my classroom. Today, they all looked indignant and asked why she was leaving.

My advisory students still talk about the advisor they had last year, a math teacher who left the school at the end of the year, and I know that several of them took it personally when she left. I can only imagine how this teacher's advisory is going to feel when she abandons them mid-year. Many of these students are familiar with abandonment in their personal lives and they grow to expect more from their school environment. I can see how much it pains them when we let them down.

I'm sure in time, they will get used to the new teacher, but the whole ordeal made me think about my own situation at school. The school is not great and I considered leaving for a while, although I never would have left in the middle of the year. However, I don't know if I could bear hurting these kids like that, after all some of them have been through. But does that mean I'm stuck at this school forever? In the end, I've decided to stick it out for a couple more years. After all, what could be more rewarding than helping a suffering school get better? At the same time, I know I need to be careful because I tend to get too attached and I don't want to end up in a situation where I'm staying in a bad job just to avoid hurting the kids. They will rebound.

At what point do I need to draw the line and just fend for myself?

Photo of the Week

This week's photo is a still shot of a video, found here, that shows a comet entering the sun on March 13th. My students are always excited by anything related to astronomy, so I figured other educators could certainly use this video in their classrooms. I plan to show the video as a Do Now exercise and have the kids come up with ideas about what it is before showing them this article from Discovery News, which explains what is happening. It's a great way to get kids making predictions and getting engaged in science.

Digital Classroom - Introduction

In my graduate class (which focuses on literacy in the content-area class), we have focused a lot on how to incorporate technology into the classroom. Now, I consider myself pretty computer literate - I mean, I write a blog, use Facebook and Twitter and can even do some basic HTML programming. But as a first-year teacher, I have been finding it difficult to find time to incorporate these things into my classroom.

For one thing, working in a high-need school, I don't have very many resources at hand. We are lucky enough to have two computer carts, but that must be shared between the 20 or so teachers. And there are only about 4 digital projectors between us. Forget about Smartboards and the like...

I used DonorsChoose to fund a projector for my own classroom, so now at least I don't have to fight for that. However, I can't use DonorsChoose for everything and it takes time to write a proposal and wait for it to be funded and delivered. Now that I have the projector, though, I have been able to incorporate videos into my lessons and have found that the one way to get every kid completely silent is to stick them in front of the screen. Even in my worst class, kids settle down when the projector comes out and a video starts.

But lately in grad school we have been discussing other ways to incorporate technology into our classrooms. There have been so many advances in what we can do with computers and over the internet that showing class videos no longer constitutes forward thinking in terms of technology. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are now being considered tools for increasing literacy. Many teachers are setting up blogs to communicate with students and get them thinking about the material outside the classroom.

It's true that I struggle to get students to do homework and something like Twitter can be accessed on a phone or Sidekick even if the student does not have a computer. Many of my students already use Twitter, but do they know how to use it responsibly? Can they use it to communicate a short, concise message that still makes sense? At first, I thought blogs could be useful but didn't see how Twitter could possibly further classroom discussion. At the same time, I myself have written about the incredible rate of change for technology today.

This week, I plan to focus on several of the articles we have read in class and discuss ways in which these tools can be incorporated more effectively into the classroom. If you are ready to make your classroom more high-tech, stay tuned for upcoming posts!

Another Rough Day

Having a bad day has really become part of my routine. By now, I am used to lessons going horribly awry, unpredictable events taking up my prep time and never knowing in advance what state my students will be in by the time they arrive in my classroom.

Today I started the day tired and slightly under-prepared. I had my lesson planned, but I hadn't made my copies and my first period prep was taken up dealing with students. I managed to get to class with the correct copies, but it stressed e out having to rush. Then, I found out that one of my advisees is pregnant - with her second child. Only this time, she doesn't want to keep the baby. As one of only 2 teachers this girl has told, I feel responsible for making sure she gets through this ok. But I have zero experience with abortions.

I was not ready for all of this when I started in September.

Now that I have grown to know these kids and this environment, however, I can accept events as they come. I may not have all the answers to give this girl, but I do have the confidence to give her advice about what to do, how to be safe. We had the whole "how to use birth control" talk and I will keep monitoring her for changes.

I am finding myself more and more detached from my job as the year goes on. Not that I don't care about these students! Anyone who knows me can tell you that I wouldn't give up this job for the world. I love my students and the challenges they provide for me, and I am no longer bogged down by these challenges. I no longer come home saying "I just don't know if these kids will make it." As the same time, I don't want to become one of those heartless old teachers I knew and feared growing up.

The good news is the difficult days are getting farther apart, with many more good days intervening. And to be honest, today ended with one fantastic class. Overall, I think I am handling the bad days in a much more calm and responsible way. I am sure it will continue to improve as the year continues.