The Best Way to Start off the New Year

Lab Title: The Best Way to Start off the New Year

Problem Statement: What is the best way for a 1st year science teacher to start off the new year after almost 2 quarters of teaching?

Hypothesis: IF I backwards plan, following the behavioral management cycle, hold high expectations for my students, and do whatever it takes to make science interesting and fun THEN my students will learn and achieve.

Materials: Teacher, student, lots of paper, science text book, detention slips, and my running shoes.

Procedures:
1. Lesson plan with the GOAL in mind.
2. Wear a suit with Nike Sneakers and act mean. Students like tough teachers with swag. (Yes, I gave up on heels and now stick to Nikes and Sperrys and sometimes flats).
3. Do whatever it takes to ensure that your lesson and experiment go according to plan. Even if that means you have to pick up dirt from the school's courtyard. (No joke, that's my reality. I was digging up dirt on my first day back because it was the only thing from my list of materials that I didn't have and was not about to go BUY dirt when I could get it for free.)

Independent Variables: The topics I have to teach and the material students need to learn
Dependent Variables: Everything else

Observations and Analysis: One day a student realized (by looking at my class points system where I list all my classes and their points for good behavior) that I have NO planning period. He asks, "Ms. Hidalgo, you don't get a break?!" I told him: No, my life sucks. He just stared at me for like 5 seconds and says: "No it doesn't, you're a pretty, young lady!" I stared at him back, said "Uhh ok Charles," and continued to pass back graded work. I wanted to smile but have to act tough. I like my students sometimes.

I also have been teaching math during Saturday school. It's not too bad; I get more "practice" teaching, get a little extra cash, and get to spend more time with students in a more intimate setting (there are usually 6-7 students in a class) so it's really nice giving more one-on-one attention to help these students learn and understand math.

Overall though I can't tell if I'm improving. I can't tell how much my students are retaining. I enjoy my job on most days but I always feel like there is so much more I could be doing. I feel like I suck at teaching sometimes and like I am not making a huge difference. I feel like I am slaving away to a problem that cannot be solved. It's really tough.

I am probably going to apply for a Masters in Education on Leadership and Social Change. Classes would start in May at the University of Miami. But we'll see, nothing is final yet. The deadline is at the end of February.

There are some days where I really love what I do. Last week I had a great lesson/lab activity for my 8th graders on homeostasis. One person in each group jump roped for 2 minute intervals for 4 trials and the rest of the group measured things like heart rate, temperature, blood pressure and perspiration levels to see how the body changes with exercise. Sounds very basic, but it was a very cool and fun activity where they walked away understanding how the body regulates itself to keep cool. My students were enjoying the class, engaged in the work and learning. During the last 5 minutes I did a little jump roping competition with two other students but "lost." It was a great way to end the day.

There are other days where I feel so helpless. The students took another interim assessment made by the county to see their progress and they are making really small gains. Overall the 8th graders scored an average of 41% on the science test... which is higher than the 35% they got two months ago but still its SO low. It's heartbreaking how low these students are in reading and math, which of course affects science because science is mostly reading.

I wish I could just SEE and experience what works in these types of schools. It wouldn't be fair to observe a teacher in a charter or prep school because the demographics are pretty different. But I know there are transformative teachers out there who can turn around student achievement in low-income schools. One of my biggest criticisms of TFA is the lack of preparation for what I would be up against. It's not hard planning or thoroughly understanding the content for middle school science. It's not even that hard controlling the classroom if you have the right attitude and mindset. What IS hard is teaching in a way that is REALLY going to change these students' lives.

How should I present the information so that they are engaged? What are the best methods to have these students RETAIN the information? They understand when I explain, but they don't retain it and I don't know why. They can spit out facts but they can't APPLY the facts to answer higher order thinking questions.

Conclusion: So much more work needs to be done.