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You're right. If I've learned anything this semester, it's that teaching is a full-time job (and that's before extracurriculars). But, as you stated, it will get easier. We'll get more comfortable in our classroom, with our material, with our students, with our style/voice, and with our co-workers. And soon, student teaching will allow us to practice all we've learned. Put those theories into action!

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We're about to become teachers.  This idea is scary. Believe me, I am more than ready mentally to begin teaching and to have my own classroom, but the fact is, I am about to actually have my own classroom. Yikes! I won't have my professors to guide me.  I won't have my CT to save me.  I will be THE teacher.  I will have my own students.  I will be in charge of their learning.

College classes will be done in two weeks, and I will be moving up north to the Chicago area to student teach.  I will be student teaching in a school with 4,000 students.  Yes, you read that correctly.  The school has one of the most diverse populations I've ever encountered - the minority students are actually the majority.  There are low SES students and high SES students.  It is more than likely that I will have students in the classroom that have one or more disabilities.  I chose this setting because I want the challenge.  I want to dive head first into a potentially difficult situation so that if things get out of hand, I will have my CT there to help.  I'll hopefully learn how to handle all types of situations before having my own classroom.

And what to do after student teaching?  I'm lucky to be in a content area that is in very high demand all over the country.  I am also lucky that I really have nothing tying me down to Illinois.  There is a Facebook group that I am a member of that consists of FACS teachers from all over the world.  I recently posted in the group looking for advice on the job hunt.  Within two days, I had 68 responses of FACS teachers with job openings in their districts.  They were begging me to come to their schools.  Now, the job hunting process is a PAIN, but with this encouragement, hopefully I'll be able to find a job fairly quickly.

When I have my own classroom, I will take what I've learned in 219 as well as all of my other classes and hopefully create a positive classroom environment where my students will want to come to class and want to participate. I cannot wait to be that teacher that has the innovative lessons and enriching activities. I will become this teacher thanks to 219.

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Lesson plans are a pain.  Coming up with fun and interesting activities is a pain.  Teaching in general can be a pain.

A recent discussion I had with Dr. Smith led me thinking about this - when we take what we learned from 212-219, the concepts may have seemed separated and individualized. However, putting these concepts all together doesn't really happen until we are actually in the classroom. Sure, we practice teaching in these classes, and even get a brief feel for teaching in a secondary classroom, but until we are in front of our own students, in our own classroom, that's when I think these concepts will click.

From what we've learned in 219 and our other teaching classes, we can be sure to be the best possible teachers we can be.  We will graduate from the Illinois State University College of Education - an established an well-known program that produces the finest educators.  We will be one of these educators, and we know that we are ready and prepared for our lives as a teacher (hopefully with as little pain as possible).

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Post #3: Incorporating Modern Ideas into a FACS Classroom

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Post #3: Incorporating Modern Ideas into a FACS Classroom

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First and foremost, it's now called Family and Consumer Sciences for a reason.  I will get offended if anyone ever refers to it as Home Economics to me.  The term Home Economics is dated.  Home Economics was a class in school that girls took to prepare them to be a good housewife.  However, in today's modern society, this way of thinking does not work anymore.

Today's FACS classroom prepares all students (boys and girls) with life skills that they will need to be a successful member of society in the future.  We teach ideas that have already been established and modernize them so that they can relate to today's youth.

How many kids do you know that went to college not knowing how to do their laundry?  Or who can't boil an egg?  While some of you might be astonished by this, some are thinking, "yep, that was me".  A modern FACS classroom teaches these time-tested ideas and concepts to the modern generation so that they can be prepared to enter into society.  Where the "modern ideas" part comes into play is HOW we teach these tried-and-true concepts.  Teaching students how to boil and egg may now involve experimentation such as different groups boil the egg for a different number of minutes to compare how each turned out.  We may start by teaching them the basics of sewing (both hand-sewing and machine-aided sewing), but once they get the basic concepts down, the student can create modern pieces of clothing that can rival today's runway looks.

Taking older concepts and making them modern is simply done by utilizing activities and texts that will keep the students interested and motivated and showing them how it can be useful to their own lives in the present.

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Post #2: Putting together a FACS Text Set...

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Post #2: Putting together a FACS Text Set...

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This was honestly one of the last quests that I completed, because I was dreading having to narrow down a set of texts for my discipline.  Going back to my first post about what a "text" actually is in the broad world of Family and Consumer Sciences, I had to take so many different learning areas and try to figure out the best "text" that would enhance the learning experiences of the students, as well as aid in my teachings.
I eventually decided to put together a text set on Pregnancy.  Pregnancy is one of those lessons where most of your information is going to come from a textbook and straight lecturing is all-too-common. So to challenge myself, I decided to try and find non-textbook "texts" that could be utilized by myself to teach a lesson on Pregnancy.  Trying to make learning about Pregnancy interesting to high schoolers is a challenge.

I started off by using a viral video of two people finding out that they are going to be grandparents.  This video is absolutely hilarious and I think it would be a great attention-getting introduction to the lesson.

The second "text" that I want to utilize is a CrashCourse video from Youtube on Pregnancy as a whole process.  It's a little fast-paced, and there is some language in there that the students might not understand.  However, I think the host of the video makes the subject more interesting and the graphics are more contemporary.

The third "text" that I want to utilize is a website with interactive information on alcohol and drug use during pregnancy.  Because students are at an age where they may start experimenting with drugs/alcohol and sexual behaviors (let's be honest, most teenagers think they are invincible), I wanted to show them the consequences of their actions.

The fourth "text" that I want to utilize is an infographic of not only what happens to an unborn baby when the mother drinks alcohol, but what can happen to the child as it grows up and how complications in development can occur.  This infographic goes along with the previous "text" but it broadens the scope of the consequences of drinking alcohol during pregnancy.

The fifth "text" that I want to utilize is another infographic, this time on the costs of raising a child in today's society.  I feel that very few teenagers/high schoolers have a true concept on money and finances.  This infographic could show them how much money it actually takes to raise a child and how much their parents sacrificed to bring them to the point they are at today.

The sixth and final "text" that I want to utilize is a website - stayteen.org. This website can be so useful to high schoolers because it gives them resources and advice on things such as types of birth control, abstinence, relationships, etc. that they may not be receiving at home. It's purely educational, but the website makes it fun.

Check out my text set here...
https://www.tes.com/lessons/lW9F-uwrRZ7etA/pregnancy

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I have a hard time (still) wrapping my head around what a text "is".  The truth is, it can really be anything that you utilize within your classroom that enhances the learning experience or is used as an aid in your teachings.

When Dr. Smith was going over this with us at the beginning of this semester, I admit that I only associated the word "text" with a textbook.  After all, isn't this one of the most utilized texts within each classroom?  A textbook is an indisputable source for information and a guide for us as teachers on what to teach over the course of the semester.  However, one can only utilize a textbook up to a certain point.  They're usually all the same - written word, information, maybe some reflective questions at the end of each chapter; where is the creativity and the interest?  How do I as a teacher think outside this textbook box?  Are students really going to stay engaged with just a textbook as the sole text source for a class?

I feel lucky to be associated with Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS).  As a whole, FACS is mostly hands-on based and rarely utilizes the written word (as in a textbook) for information and activities.  Take a Foods class for example.  You may use a textbook for information on learning about nutrients and dietetics, but the nitty gritty of what a Foods class is, is using skills learned through in-person or video demonstration to create delicious food dishes.  So, in this case, my "text" would be whatever video demonstrations I would show the class.

Let's go with another FACS example.  We'll now look at a Child Development/Parenting class.  I'll admit that out of all the subject areas that FACS consists of, this class would be the most likely to use an actual textbook in class to learn.  However, one of the greatest "texts" that can be utilized in a class of this subject matter is the always-dreaded robot baby (The brand name for it is actually called RealCare Baby, but it's essentially a robot - that's why I always refer to it in a joking manner as a robot baby).  It's basically a doll that is controlled by a computer program to cry and "need" something.  It is up to the student to figure out this need, perform this need, and get the baby to stop crying.  Is this not a "text"?  Does it not enhance the learning experience? Does it not aid in my teaching of parenting and child development concepts?

I'll close by saying this - I am a very concrete person. I like things that are real and factual. Concepts just aren't my thing. So when thinking about the concept of a "text" in a classroom, my initial thought will, I think, always be a textbook. However, as long as something enhances the student's learning experience and aids me in my teachings, I'll be happy to consider it a "text" in my classroom.