It is absolutely insane to me that I am in my final week of my Practicum II. I'm really excited that I will be returning to Mr. Scott's classroom for student teaching in a month and a half, but it will be so strange to step away from the classroom for over a month!
Classes were shortened on Wednesday, so I saw my usual two eighth grade classes in the time span that I would usually see one. They're currently working on a project for the American Revolution project where they are taking on the role of either a real or imaginary individual, deciding if they are going to be a loyalist or patriot, and write a letter to a loved one explaining what's happening. They're expected to be able to apply what they know about the positions of loyalists and patriots and the various acts such as the Quartering Act, Stamp Act, Intolerable Acts, and their reactions to events like the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party and have that be reflected in their letter.
There is also a component to it where students should handwrite it on fake parchment paper, to pretend that they are actually writing this letter in the late 1770s. Most students have decided to write it in cursive as they felt like this was more realistic. One student even took the time to do calligraphy on the "D" in "Dear". They are having the opportunity to make their learning a little more real, and for the most part, they seem to be enjoying it.
The second part of the day was spent touring the local technical center. While these students are only seventh and eighth graders, they could begin taking courses at the tech center in tenth grade. We got to explore 12 or 13 of the available programs, hear from the students and teachers in the programs, and see what they are currently working on. It was actually really incredible to see what they're doing. Jerry, a male student in seventh grade, immediately lit up with excitement when we entered the creative media and digital arts classrooms when he saw the large iMacs, photography equipment, heard that there is a radio station down the hallway, and that he would have the opportunity to use all of this equipment for free and gain college credit for it in his high school years. He turned to me and said, "this is the perfect classroom for me!"
Seeing Jerry's excitement and the excitement of other students as we visited culinary arts, construction, business, and other programs showed me that personalized learning and flexible pathways is SUCH a good thing. I've always thought it was a good idea but seeing how these flexible pathways are helping students who knew what they were interested in and that they could apply their math, science, and other knowledge to create something like an entire house while still in high school was eye opening. I turned to my friend and fellow student teacher and told her that if I had known what was taking place at the tech center when I was in school, I would have definitely attended the business program when I was a senior.
I know the tour was meant for the middle school students to see what options are available to them, but I honestly think I received as much information as they did. It should be a requirement of all area teachers to visit the tech center and see what options are available to students. It helps put everything into perspective and even come up with our own ways of making some of these projects real in our own classrooms even if students don't attend the technical center. I know that if I personally keep the visit in mind and apply aspects of it to my own classroom, I'll most likely be a better educator as a result of it.
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