Thanks for visiting Learning to Teach.

I don't make posts here anymore because I no longer teach. Still, I hope this blog entertains, educates, and inspires young teachers out there. If you would like to get a sense of how teaching goes in an inner-city environment, it's best to skim the posts from the beginning.

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John

I teach "regular," honors and AP US history this year. I hate the term "regular" but it's what students, administrators, and faculty refer to them as.

Anyways, my regular students are disgustingly behind my other students. I honestly wonder what they have been learning in school for 10 years. Clearly not much. I don't mean to make them sound stupid, because they are anything but. Their sense of humor, capacity to relate to the material, and personalities astound me. However, many cannot write a gramatically correct sentence. I truly realized how bad it was this week because I'm trying to teach them the 5 paragraph essay.

I design this great activity to teach them about a thesis, topic sentences, details, and concluding sentences and realize many cannot write a sentence with a subject and verb. I love teaching American History, but I'm going to focus solely on writing with my regular students.


John

Check out my powerpoints. From Reconstruction to World War Two.

http://homepage.mac.com/johnemoore1/FileSharing1.html

John

Sometimes I delude myself into thinking that Mr. Moore has become a very different person than John. Mr. Moore thinks American History is neato and that writing essays is a magical journey. He walks into Miami Northwestern Senior High School each morning with the same bagel sandwich (onions, dijon mustard, spinach, turkey and swiss cheese), carrots, granola bar, Dirty Brand potato chips, and banana, all layered haphazardly in a plastic grocery sack. He says good morning to faculty, greets a student or two, and steps into a third floor room on the Northeast corner of the school. There's a fabulous view of 95, and in winter, the sun blinds him when he opens the hurricane shutters.

But why do I have this desire - or perhaps need - to talk in the third person? It's me opening the hurricane shutters. I look in my drawer for chalk. I like holding chalk. That's right, I like holding a new piece of chalk, probably the same way my father likes holding a nail between his teeth when measuring a piece of wood. And I like "putting up my board;" writing the Do Now, Objective, and Agenda in my best handwriting, which still manages to look childish.

It's so quiet at 7:20. Then, they pour in, and before I know it, it's 9:10. I no longer dream that they all got all of it. But I hope that Brandon can tell someone how the president checks the congress through a veto. I'm not frustrated when Jennifer assures me on her exit quiz that the executive branch can impeach the president. At least she knows someone can impeach him. Then it's the federalist versus anti-federalists. On to the Louisiana purchase and before you know it, it's 1860 and South Carolina is seceding. But every morning, I'm carrying the same lunch into work and looking at the same empty chalk board.

Is Mr. Moore really, as they say, Mr. Bore? Am I boring? Is this really the life I want to be living? When I ponder my life here, I have serious doubts.

"Oh no," they assure me, "You are making a difference!" If one more person tells me I'm making a difference, I am going to chew sticks of chalk and spray that chalk board with the contents of my mouth. And I'll do it in front of my students!

Don't get me wrong. I believe I am making a difference, but I don't cherish the thought, and it doesn't give me comfort or the strength to go on.

I know its foolish to write in the third person about Mr. Moore. That's me in the classroom. It's my work. But it's been hard to accept, so I've been pretending that the illustrious John (who's coming out with a book deal soon) is biding his time while Mr. Moore does his thing. I'm accepting the fact that we're the same person, but I'm having a very hard time trying to figure out what happens when Mr. Moore bides his time while John does his thing.

I just spent 15 minutes cleaning my New Balance 45$ sneakers. I washed them with hot water and an old sock before whitening them with an applicator. I have been wearing my $45 K-Swisses (white) for the whole school year. However, I thought it was time for a change. (Sidenote: I got both pairs for a two-for-one deal at Foot Locker last September)

You gotta look good when you walk into Northwestern. The students do their best to look fly. The librarians wear makeup. African American english teachers sport heels and do their hair. The principle looks like an Armani advertisement during the week. Everyone (except the mal-adjusted shop teacher) takes a good look in the mirror before coming to school. We try to look good.

But I don't think looking good is the same thing as looking professional. When I try to look "professional" I end up looking like an eight-year-old going to Sunday school. That's not a good look to have going into Northwestern. Students will crack on me if I look like that. So, I wear jeans and collared shirts and that's that. I feel comfortable, I look good, and my students are achieving. But I noticed something today. My shoes were kind of dirty.

So, I whitened my New Balances. Tomorrow, I will look "so fresh and so clean." My kicks will be nice and crisp. Looks aren't everything, but Northwestern has taught me that looks are important.

Mr. Moore

Don't get me wrong. All of my students still see me as a complete nerd, and they are absolutely correct.

Mr. Moore

PS We had a tropical storm named Ernesto. It was weak, and everything is okay.

I taught a really good lesson today. The objectives were: SWBAT describe Spanish exploration & SWBAT analyze primary sources.

I have already lectured on Columbus, so they had some background knowledge. The Do Now question was "Was Columbus a hero, villain, or something in between? Support your opinion with details." The responses revealed a lot of myths they had about Columbus (that he brought slaves, and believed the earth was flat). Students had to share out, and when called upon, tell what their partner said about the question.

Then I did a word web on "seminar." Seminar (noun)---Def: A group of advanced students doing research and presenting their results. ---Syn: meeting, forum, discussion. Examples---1) Senior seminars in class 2) Today's lesson.

I assume that all my students are going to college in class and treat it as a rule that they are. I will not hold any lower expectation for any of them. I explained about freshmen lectures in huge auditoriums and compared it to my lecture from last week. Then I explained that seminars were where real meaningful learning takes place.

We read a section from Columbus' log together. They were quick to believe everything he wrote, and I had to remind them of Author's purpose. In the log, Columbus seems like a real sweet guy who just wants to show the natives the way to Jesus. I had them "research" three other documents on their own, explaining that they would have to share their "results" during the upcoming seminar.

There was a section from "In Defense of the Indian" by Las Casas that was great. One of the most popular descriptions was of the Spaniards cutting hands off of Indians but leaving a little bit of skin so they hung from their wrists. During the silent reading, some students actually gasped or laughed out loud at that part. There was also a reading about Coronado being misled by natives about the cities of gold, and a revisionist named Stannard lambasting Columbus as a typically racist European.

I had prepared discussion questions for the same reading with AP, so I used them again. The seminar opened with one minute rounds (everyone has to say something that interested them, but they cant's speak for more than a minute). Amazingly, only one student responded with the typical "nothing interested me." The seminar went very well which made me feel great. One of my biggest weaknesses is generating discussion.

We closed with "Pick a Side." I wrote two extreme opinions on the board like so: 1)Door: Columbus was a racist European responsible for the onset of a genocide 2) Window: Columbus wanted to establish friendly relations with the Native Americans in order to show them the way to Jesus. Students had to stand next to the door, window, or somewhere in between. It was a nice connection back to the Do Now question. I think I met the objectives pretty well.

In other news, I am loving preparing lectures for AP. I found three packages of trancparencies that I am picking and choosing from. I am learning/remembering so much about early American history, and I am working my AP students to death.

John

My school has a smell, a noise, and a rhythm that is unmistakeable. I wouldn't say there is no other place I'd rather be. Mexico was nice, and I prefer watching VH1 than grading student writing. However, I have felt this week - perhaps arrogantly - like a pro.

I didn't get nearly as ahead as I could have in my planning days. My room is very orderly and efficient, but it lacks color. To be blatantly sexist, it lacks a feminine touch that I simply do not have. There are positive messages (Typed in MS Word. Courier Bold is the font), but if I could describe it one word, it would have to be "accountability." It is clear when you walk in, that work and learning take place there. Expectations are high.

I came off like a mean guy last year, and I am anything but. This year, I have been 90% honest and open with my students. I tell them about Teach for America, my educational background, and the expectations I hold for them and myself.

Here's an excerpt from my AP US History syllabus:
Expectations of Students:
You are expected to take on the responsibilities of a high achieving college student. This means:
Reading before you come to class: 40-60 pages every week
Taking notes and studying them: You will be quizzed on everything you read, so it is important to fully digest the information from the text.
Writing essays: Approximately 1 per unit
Creating flashcards: 500 before the course is over!
Participating: Coming to class with questions prepared, and contributing to discussions.

What you can Expect from Me:
Accountability: I will provide accountability by giving you a graded quiz once a week, regularly assigned essays, and at least 4 AP style tests before the exam on May 11. I will update and post grades every 7-10 days.
Preparedness: I will come to class with additional notes, topics for discussion, and activities that promote your historical thinking and writing skills.
Support: I will do whatever is in my power to help you on your way to becoming a high achieving collegian.

Shawn Chamberson came in late on Thursday after not having shown up on Tuesday. I knew his type as soon as he walked in: insecure but would never admit it, smart, funny, and about 2 inches from blowing up in my face if I pushed him too hard too fast. He tried, unsuccessfully, to take a seat without me assigning him one, and was pretending to be asleep 5 minutes later (legs sprawled, mouth open). I would have made a big fuss last year, but I've learned better. I quietly placed the assignment sheet on his nose.

I made all my classes laugh multiple times in the first week. It's so easy. I try a joke out in 1st period, and use it over all day long. Doing our first KWLs, my students were shy about saying what they knew about American History. Whenever they made a point, even if it was as simple as "Slaves came from Africa" I would yell somewhat orgasmically "yeeeeaah." They think I'm crazy. Especially before a quiz, when I ask them to be quiet. "Can you hear it Dyshonette? Shhhhh. Listen. Chooka Chooka Chooka Chooooo Choooo! It's the A train, coming through!" They give me stares like I am the antithesis of cool, but I know they like it.

I'm teaching AP and Honors which is wonderful, because I am seeing a side of Northwestern that I didn't know existed last year. AP is like a whole other prep. There is so much material and so little time. I am treating it like a college level class and so far, the students are responding. More updates soon.

Mr. Moore