Homework

I have 2 papers left to write in order to complete my masters, just 2!
Not so bad, right? But...I am a brand new teacher and I need to
prepare! Writing a paper isn't preparing me! Well, it is in an
indirect way but it won't tell me what I need to do to set up a
classroom, make a seating chart (or if I even should?), catalog all
the novels I have purchased for my class library, oh, the list goes
on! Okay, I have said it, now I am must go work on my papers. They
are due 1 week from today...I gotta do it!!

I found this today on the internet.  I read it and thought OMG!!  I am in for a long, long fall season!! Okay, I have to remind myself, I have lived a long time and I can DO THIS! I am totally in the "anticipation phase" but I am realistic enough to know "reality" is going to be very challenging.  However, I am thinking that all my Daily 5/CAFE reading and research along with all my Whole Brain Teaching workshop training, reading and research, I have TOOLS that I can use!!  Granted, I have not practiced Daily 5 or WBT in a real classroom but I know with my new tools I am further ahead than I would be otherwise.

Phases of First-Year Teaching

newteachercenter.org | Aug 17th 2011
First-year teaching is a difficult challenge. Equally challenging is figuring out ways to support and assist beginning teachers as they enter the profession. Since 1988 the Santa Cruz New Teacher Project has been working to support the efforts of new teachers. After supporting nearly 1,500 new teachers, a number of developmental phases have been noted. While not every new teacher goes through this exact sequence, these phases are very useful in helping everyone involved -- administrators, other support personnel, and teacher education faculty--in the process of supporting new teachers. These teachers move through several phases from anticipation, to survival, to disillusionment, to rejuvenation, to reflection; then back to anticipation. Here's a look at the stages through which new teachers move during that crucial first year. New teacher quotations are taken from journal entries and end-of-the-year program evaluations.

ANTICIPATION PHASE

The anticipation phase begins during the student teaching portion of preservice preparation. The closer student teachers get to completing their assignment, the more excited and anxious they become about their first teaching position. They tend to romanticize the role of the teacher and the position. New teachers enter with a tremendous commitment to making a difference and a somewhat idealistic view of how to accomplish their goals. "I was elated to get the job but terrified about going from the simulated experience of student teaching to being the person completely in charge." This feeling of excitement carries new teachers through the first few weeks of school.

SURVIVAL PHASE

The first month of school is very overwhelming for new teachers. They are learning a lot and at a very rapid pace. Beginning teachers are instantly bombarded with a variety of problems and situations they had not anticipated. Despite teacher preparation programs, new teachers are caught off guard by the realities of teaching. "I thought I'd be busy, something like student teaching, but this is crazy. I'm feeling like I'm constantly running. It's hard to focus on other aspects of my life."
During the survival phase, most new teachers struggle to keep their heads above water. They become very focused and consumed with the day-to-day routine of teaching. There is little time to stop and reflect on their experiences. It is not uncommon for new teachers to spend up to seventy hours a week on schoolwork.
Particularly overwhelming is the constant need to develop curriculum. Veteran teachers routinely reuse excellent lessons and units from the past. New teachers, still uncertain of what will really work, must develop their lessons for the first time. Even depending on unfamiliar prepared curriculum such as textbooks is enormously time consuming.
"I thought there would be more time to get everything done. It's like working three jobs: 7:30-2:30, 2:30-6:00, with more time spent in the evening and on weekends." Although tired and surprised by the amount of work, first-year teachers usually maintain a tremendous amount of energy and commitment during the survival phase, harboring hope that soon the turmoil will subside.

DISILLUSIONMENT PHASE

After six to eight weeks of nonstop work and stress, new teachers enter the disillusionment phase. The intensity and length of the phase varies among new teachers. The extensive time commitment, the realization that things are probably not going as smoothly as they want, and low morale contribute to this period of disenchantment. New teachers begin questioning both their commitment and their competence. Many new teachers get sick during this phase.
Compounding an already difficult situation is the fact that new teachers are confronted with several new events during this time frame. They are faced with back-to-school night, parent conferences, and their first formal evaluation by the site administrator. Each of these important milestones places an already vulnerable individual in a very stressful situation.
Back-to-school night means giving a speech to parents about plans for the year that are most likely still unclear in the new teacher's mind. Some parents are uneasy when they realize the teacher is just beginning and many times pose questions or make demands that intimidate a new teacher.
Parent conferences require new teachers to be highly organized, articulate, tactful and prepared to confer with parents about each student's progress. This type of communication with parents can be awkward and difficult for a beginning teacher. New teachers generally begin with the idea that parents are partners in the learning process and are not prepared for parents' concerns or criticisms. These criticisms hit new teachers at a time of waning self-esteem.
This is also the first time that new teachers are formally evaluated by their principal. They are, for the most part, uncertain about the process itself and anxious about their own competence and ability to perform. Developing and presenting a "showpiece" lesson is time-consuming and stressful.
During the disillusionment phase classroom management is a major source of distress. "I thought I'd be focusing more on curriculum and less on classroom management and discipline. I'm stressed because I have some very problematic students who are low academically, and I think about them every second my eyes are open."
At this point, the accumulated stress of the first-year teacher, coupled with months of excessive time allotted to teaching, often brings complaints from family members and friends. This is a very difficult and challenging phase for new entries into the profession. They express self-doubt, have lower self-esteem and question their professional commitment. In fact, getting through this phase may be the toughest challenge they face as a new teacher.

REJUVENATION

The rejuvenation phase is characterized by a slow rise in the new teacher's attitude toward teaching. It generally begins in January. Having a winter break makes a tremendous difference for new teachers. It allows them to resume a more normal lifestyle, with plenty of rest, food, exercise, and time for family and friends. This vacation is the first opportunity that new teachers have for organizing materials and planning curriculum. It is a time for them to sort through materials that have accumulated and prepare new ones. This breath of fresh air gives novice teachers a broader perspective with renewed hope.
They seem ready to put past problems behind them. A better understanding of the system, an acceptance of the realities of teaching, and a sense of accomplishment help to rejuvenate new teachers. Through their experiences in the first half of the year, beginning teachers gain new coping strategies and skills to prevent, reduce, or manage many problems they are likely to encounter in the second half of the year. Many feel a great sense of relief that they have made it through the first half of the year. During this phase, new teachers focus on curriculum development, long-term planning and teaching strategies.
"I'm really excited about my story writing center, although the organization of it has at times been haphazard. Story writing has definitely revived my journals." The rejuvenation phase tends to last into spring with many ups and downs along the way. Toward the end of this phase, new teachers begin to raise concerns about whether they can get everything done prior to the end of school. They also wonder how their students will do on the tests, questioning once again their own effectiveness as teachers. "I'm fearful of these big tests. Can you be fired if your kids do poorly? I don't know enough about them to know what I haven't taught, and I'm sure it's a lot."

REFLECTION

The reflection phase beginning in May is a particularly invigorating time for first-year teachers. Reflecting back over the year, they highlight events that were successful and those that were not. They think about the various changes that they plan to make the following year in management, curriculum, and teaching strategies. The end is in sight, and they have almost made it; but more importantly, a vision emerges as to what their second year will look like, which brings them to a new phase of anticipation. "I think that for next year I'd like to start the letter puppets earlier in the year to introduce the kids to more letters."
It is critical that we assist new teachers and ease the transition from student teacher to full-time professional. Recognizing the phases new teachers go through gives us a framework within which we can begin to design support programs to make the first year of teaching a more positive experience for our new colleagues.
This article was originally written for publication in the newsletter for the California New Teacher Project, published by the California Department of Education (CDE), 1990.
Original Page: http://newteachercenter.org/blog/phases-first-year-teaching
Shared from Pocket

Sent from my iPad

NASA-JSC Preservice Teacher Institute (PSTI)

I spent all last week (July 8-14) learning how to tap into all the FREE resources
that are available through NASA! Wow, is there a lot!
As part of this experience, I lived at a local hotel with 29 other
preservice teachers from all over the US and took a bus daily to
Johnson Space Center. Our days were basically 8am till 5pm, dinner at
the hotel, another class at 6:30pm till about 8pm. Each day we had
3-4 presenters. Most presenters were former teachers that now work at
NASA. There jobs are to reach out to teachers with all the NASA
resources that included developed lessons that link to the common core
standards. As well as, webinars, streaming interviews, asking the
astronauts on the International Space Station questions or to do
experiments, and so many other resources.
We had speakers share about how the earth was formed, how to
make paper/foam rockets, how to teach math, about all the various
program offered to teachers through the various departments of NASA.

The best of all was our ASTRONAUT speaker, Clay Anderson. Wow, he was
an incredible speaker, funny, witty, and entertaining. He shared
poignant, emotional, personal stories that were touching and
inspirational. He informed us new teachers that we have an important
job to do: educate future astronaut, scientists, engineers.....yes, a
big job!!

Below are a bunch of NASA links. I am going to be applying for the
reduced gravity program next year, so check it out.

Below are just a few of the many resources available through NASA!!

Apply here preservice teachers!! http://education.jsc.nasa.gov/psti/
http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlnasa/units/index.html
http://mas.aerospacescholars.org/
NASA Explorer Schools:
http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/nes2/home/index.html
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/microgravity/home/index.html
http://reducedgravity.jsc.nasa.gov/
NASA-JSC main website for educators:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
NEON teacher network: http://neon.intronetworks.com/#

Simulated Impact Craters (dropping marbles into a container that is layered with baking soda and unsweetened cocoa)

Setting up a mass (weight) activity

Layering lava layers

Holding a piece of a meteorite that is 4.5 billion years old 

Sorting the 4 earth processes

More earth process sorting by planets

July 2012 PSTI Cohort holding our "mission patches" that we each designed.

We are now certified MOON ROCK handlers! How cool is  that??

The Texas teachers with Astronaut Clay Anderson! Oh boy, he was awesome!!

New Teacher Ideals

Today, I have decided to start blogging about my dreams for my
upcoming school year. First, I want to implement Daily 5 and CAFE. My
vision for my future class will be a group of 5th graders who will be
eager to learn and will be open to whatever I offer, however I know it
will NEVER be that easy. Most likely, I will have to convert more than
a few to love learning!! I believe Daily 5 will give me the literacy
structure that I will need to help those who need to become
stronger in reading. Also, I want to convert any 5th graders from what I
guess, are casual readers, into READERS. For those who are doing well
in reading, I hope to strengthen their reading foundation and take
them to high levels of fluency and comprehension.

I want to use Whole Brain Teaching (WBT) as a method of teaching. I
used a few parts last fall during my student teaching and found that
it provided me some structure. I used class/yes, hands/eye, the 5
rules and started on the super improvers board (but it was a flop). I
believe the WBT will provide a path of teaching that will be dynamic,
interactive and fun. I understand better, after the conference
in Louisiana, that class/yes and teach/okay are really ment to work
together instead of in isolation. From watching and listening to
others at the WBT conference, I could hear and see how when used
together there is a real rhythm to the pair and it does keep learning
active and interesting!!

Finally, I want a classroom that is open to and embraces diversity. I
have done a lot of research on teaching minority students and it is
imperative that I honor and respect who they are and their  home culture. 
This includes children from African American, Hispanic,
Asians and even European. We all come from a variety of life
experiences and culture. We may all be born in the USA (or not) but that does
not mean we all have the same cultural experience and it certainly
does not mean that one culture is superior over another. I want my
students to know they have a voice and I want to provide them role
models that represent them and their life's experiences. I will not
expect any of them to leave who they are at the door and conform to my
idea of culture. Research is clear, when students are embraced and
celebrate for who they are, they are more successful. Students who
are expected to conform to some other interpretation of culture that
is different than their own, are less successful. I am going for
success!