A tale of two teachers
The Bureau County Republican is working with first-year teacher Rachel Gross of Princeton who is teaching third grade at John F. Kennedy School In Spring Valley and retiring teacher Roxana Noble of Princeton who teaches English and literature to seventh-grade students at Logan Junior High School in Princeton. Throughout the school year, the BCR will pose a question to both teachers. Following is this week's question and their answers:
With already a month into your first/final year, what do you anticipate being the biggest challenge you'll experience this year?
Roxana Noble's answer:
Even though many people think my biggest challenge this year will be cleaning out the room I’ve called home for 38 years, I know the biggest challenge I’ll experience is the same challenge I always face with junior high students: Getting them to express their unique ideas, to overcome the fear of being different, and to realize they will enjoy success if they just let their individuality shine. You see, junior high is a difficult time. No one wants to stand out; no one wants to be conspicuous. Junior high students just want to fit in and to be like everyone else.
At the beginning of the school year, I make students’ individualities a focus. I ask them to set goals to develop their uniqueness and to take risks with new ideas. The following poem is one I share with them right away:
“Kids Who Are Different” by Digby Wolfe
“Here’s to the kids who are different,
The kids who don’t always get A’s,
The kids who have ears twice the size of their peers,
And noses that go on for days ...
Here’s to the kids who are different,
The kids they call crazy and dumb,
The kids who don’t fit, with the guts and the grit,
Who dance to a different drum ...
Here’s to the kids who are different,
The kids with the mischievous streak,
For when they have grown, as history’s shown,
It’s their difference that makes them unique!”
Differences not only make students unique, but they also help them to be noticed in a good way. As a teacher, I know that if 17 students do a project in a similar way and one student does something entirely different, I especially notice the different project and applaud the student for letting his/her individuality show. A hint to parents: If your child has freedom in the way an assignment or project is done, encourage him/her to personalize the work. As long as students aren’t afraid to reveal themselves through their schoolwork, the end result will always be one-of-a-kind.
This philosophy can also carry over into adult life. Imagine this: Ten people are interviewed for a job. Nine people have good but similar answers. One person shares ideas that are unique, maybe even a little edgy. Odds are the employer will remember that one person, who will probably get the job.
This year, more than a dozen Logan students have had success in a contest called “Dare to Dream ... Expect to Succeed” because they weren’t afraid to express their ideas in unique ways. This contest, done through seventh-grade English classes, believes that inside all children is the potential for greatness. It asks students to express their dreams for their lives through projects exemplifying their individuality. I was ecstatic last year when I was notified two students won $5,000 college scholarships, four students won computers, and seven students won bundles of computer software in this nationwide contest. The prizes are proof that if you dare to express your dream in a unique way and expect to succeed, chances are you will. A new contest begins Oct. 26, and I’ve already started motivating my seventh-grade students, so that when contest time arrives, they won’t hesitate to express their unique dreams for their lives.
The following is an excerpt from a lesson I have already shared with my seventh-graders this year. This poem by Nadine Stair is from a book called, "If I Had My Life to Live Over," a collection of readings edited by Sandra Martz.
“If I had my life to live over,
I’d dare to make more mistakes next time,
I’d relax. I would limber up.
I would be sillier than I have been this trip.
I would perhaps have more actual troubles,
but I’d have fewer imaginary ones.
I would take fewer things seriously.
I would take more chances ...”
Here’s what I tell my students after we read this poem: “Nadine Stair is 85 years old and is looking back on her life with some regrets. You are at the beginning of your life looking forward. Don’t live your life so that you have these feelings when you are older. My challenge to you is this: Be yourself. Express yourself. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or to take chances. You are one-of-a-kind. Enjoy and share your individuality.” With that said, my biggest challenge begins — getting my students to reveal their unique ideas!
Rachel Gross' answer
As I look forward to the rest of the school year, I can see one major challenge ahead. After I received this question, I really had to think about what my “biggest” challenge would be. Suddenly it hit me — it was something that I had been dealing with and losing sleep over for the past few weeks.
When I was a student at Illinois State University, my professors always said each student learns in a different way and comes into the classroom with a different ability level. I noticed this during student teaching, and now I am fully realizing it in my classroom. My students all work at a different pace, and they all learn in a way that is unique for them. What I have found is that one way of teaching does not fit everyone’s needs. Therefore, my biggest challenge has been “How do I reach all of my students so that they learn to the best of their ability?”
Meeting the individual needs of each student in my classroom has proven tough, and one of the solutions I have come up with is to plan as many different types of activities so that each student will understand the lesson. One example of this occurred during the last chapter in science when I had my students read out of the book, do worksheets and art activities, play a trivia game, and do an experiment. I am hoping that by having a variety of activities, the concepts will be learned and reinforced. However, the challenge then evolves not only into meeting the individual needs of every student, but into the fact that there is not always enough time to do all of the activities. So what then?
By trying different things, I have found two other answers to meet each individual’s needs. One is to encourage the students to succeed by having competitions and prizes. The students are so excited when there is a new competition or prize that they can win, and I am happy to support their learning in any way possible. The other is to welcome and encourage parental support at home. With parental support, students are not only learning in the classroom, but at home as well.
While I have discovered some ideas to my biggest challenge so far this year, I know that there are more solutions out there. I also have a feeling that this will not only be a challenge this year, but for the rest of my teaching career. I realize I am going to have to keep looking for new solutions, and I am going to have to learn more about my students so I can help them to the best of my ability.
Although I am faced with these challenges, I have found the rewards greatly exceed these challenges when I see my students understand a lesson or learn a new concept.
