The Down and Dirty--It's not all Fun and Games

The Background

I started my original unit plan this week.  I opened by showing them the week’s objectives.  They were in the form of questions they would be able to answer by the end of the week.  I then explained to them what their final project will be.  I will explain it to you, too.

My unit is on food.  My essential question is: How is what we eat influenced by where we are?  The week begins with Iowa.  They will learn what regional foods are, but we will address the fact that we are not limited by our region.  They will keep a food journal to track where their food is coming from, when they buy it, where they buy it, etc.  They will make a food map, so they have a visual representation of how far their food travels, and they’ll talk about the advantages and disadvantages of a global food market.

Then they’ll learn all these things about Guatemala: what regional foods are, how they are influenced by the region itself, etc.  They will see a food map, a food journal, and a typical recipe of a Guatemalan person.  The cumulative assignment will be a letter from a Guatemalan student describing all these things, and they will answer her, writing the same things about Iowa.

This is pretty different from what they have been doing in class so far this year.  We have been doing a lot of grammar and a lot of vocabulary.  My teacher is good about contextualizing things—she adds her own spice to each lesson, but this is the first time they have focused more on culture than grammar.  I did this, though, because my teacher told me I could do a culture lesson because there was space in her curriculum, so I jumped at the opportunity.  It’s been a real challenge, because I don’t really have any curriculum I can use as a guide; I’m kind of building my own and seeing how it works out.

All right, after all that, back to the beginning.  Like I said, I started my unit plan this week, and today was the second day.  Yesterday, in one class period, a boy raised his hand and said (mind you, with a twinge of attitude in his voice) “So why are we learning about Iowa in Spanish class?” I gave him an answer: No, it was not going to be on the test.  Yes, it is part of culture, and you need to understand yourself before you start to understand another culture.

Realizing that the other classes probably also needed this rationale, I opened today, re-explaining myself.  I told them they needed information about Iowa to complete their final projects, and I re-explained what that was.  I told them it is part of the national standards for foreign language learning, and the reason for that is because you can’t fully understand a language without understanding the people and the place it comes from. I gave them an example. I told them we are starting with Iowa because the best way to learn anything is to make it relevant, and if we understand ourselves well, we can use that to make comparisons with other places, and it gives everything more context.

I stepped off my soap box. They rolled their eyes.

Overall, one class period is really receptive to the idea.  One is a little skeptical, but playing my “reindeer games,” as my teacher calls them.  This other class, though, with the boy who asked the question, is constantly challenging me.  They are very skeptical, and they’ll let me know it.  They are not always very respectful in their manner of doing so, either.  They’re still trying to figure out if I am someone they should listen to, so it feels like I’m constantly on trial when I’m in front of that class. 

So with regard to this class, my thinking could go two different ways:

Irrational Self:

They are snotty.  I see the girls talking in the corner and smirking, and then they look at me.  I can hear them in the back of the classroom asking, “So what we are we even doing?” and when I ask if they have a question, they don’t ask me.  They need attitude checks.

They have all been taught to the test.  They expect to only learn what they need to know for the test, and they deem everything else as irrelevant. 

They don’t like me.  They’ve decided that I am not enough of an authority figure in the classroom.  I haven’t gained their respect, so they don’t listen to me.

Rational Self:

Firstly, my unit plan is something really different, and of course they are going to be skeptical of that.  Not only is it different information, but it’s a different person teaching it, too.  Why is this new person changing up the classroom like this?  And maybe it’s too much different and not enough of what they’re used to.  I need to adjust my lesson to also make it compatible with the way they are used to learning foreign language, too.

They are going to challenge me.  I am a new student teacher, and they want to make sure I know what I’m talking about.  They are keeping me in check and fresh, and that’s an okay thing to do.  I should be able to explain why I’m doing everything I’m doing—that’s all part of the job, anyway.

If they’re deeming what I have to say/teach as irrelevant, I need to show them that it is relevant and important.  I also need to make them liable for the work they are doing, so those who are truly only motivated by a grade and evaluation are also motivated to work.

They may or may not like me, but that doesn’t matter.  They decided that I am not an authority figure because I am a pretty non-directive person.  I started the class a little too passive as far as classroom management, and they are still testing my limits.  I will do my best to keep it in line, but it’s too late to completely turn these classes around.  

 Also, a big reason lessons aren't going well in that difficult class is because I dread that class.  I expect them to not be excited and to challenge me, which makes me not perform to the best of my abilities.  They don't get the energy from me that other classes get, so of course they're not going to be as engaged.  I need to have confidence in myself and what I'm teaching.  I need to know that it's something important, regardless of what they think.  If this is true, then the lessons will go more smoothly. 

Reflection

It’s frustrating to be doing the bulk of my learning experience in a classroom in front of my biggest critics.  We spent years studying philosophy, and techniques, and deciding what we believe with regard to teaching and what kind of teachers we want to be.  We observed lessons and created them, and we got to practice here and there, too.  But this is it—this is the crash course in teaching, and we have to try and fail in front of classes full of students who need to learn from us, and who are going to test us (at least in my case).  They aren’t going to understand where we’re coming from.  They are taking us at face value, and they make their decision from that. Yikes.

I know that, even though this experience has been frustrating so far, I will take everything I’m learning and apply it to my next placement.  All those things that feel like failures to me will only make me better in the next seven weeks.