Keosha+Grantham

Genre Reflection #1:
Collaboration

What would teaching as A new teacher be? Visions dance in mind Of lonely hours spent Hunched over paperwork, Hungry for genius- Activities and Materials and Inspiration that Must be provided, All by me. But that’s not what I see.

Or hear. There’s a soft chatter Emanating from The copy room and The lunch room and Hallway. If you want To find a teacher During their planning, Check a classroom that’s Near. So you want to be A teacher dear? Here’s:

An activity That we’ll be doing, These strategies work For me, and always Remember that Teaching is not “me”, But “we”. It's also, perhaps Most importantly, Not a one-way Relationship. So, What do //you// think about How this lesson went And what is your take On time management?

Genre Reflection #2
Act 1 Scene—//a typical seventh grade classroom is filled with thirty three students who walk through the door chattering and laughing. At the front of the classroom stands Ms. G, a young and overwhelmed-looking college student standing in front of the classroom. After much prodding, she manages to get the class settled on completing the warm-up and finally the talking subsides. As she looks around the room she sees thirty-two students doing the warm-up. One student, sitting in a front row chair is looking down at his hands, playing with an eraser that is speared with a pushpin.//

Ms. G. [Lightly taps on his desk to get his attention] Are you finished with your warm-up? No Effort. [Slowly brings his eyes up to my face] No. Ms. G. Okay. Go ahead and get your paper and pencil out and start working on it okay? No Effort. [Looks back without answering] Ms. G. [Returns after 5 minutes] your paper’s blank still! [Surprised] No Effort. Ms. G. We’re about to go over it now, but you need to make sure that you are completing the warm-up okay? They are good grammar practice.

Scene II – Day 2 Ms. G. [Scans the room and sees No Effort without materials out] Get started on your warm-up please. No Effort. [Starts to get his notebook out. Seeing Ms. G. still standing there begins to go over his notes written in highlighter with a pencil] Ms. G. [Kneeling by his desk] do you remember what the possessive pronoun is? Here, I’ll help you with the first one.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Scene III- Day 3 [After class] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Ms. G. Do you ever notice that No Effort frequently doesn’t complete his warm-up? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Ms. CT. No I haven’t seen that. He frequently also does not complete other work for this class though. He is a smart kid. He can easily get B’s when he tries. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Ms. G. I feel like addressing him to ask him why he doesn’t do work. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Ms.CT. Actually, it’s probably time that I got his parents on board. Let me call them and see if we get an improvement.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Scene IV <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Ms. G. No Effort, I need you to start your warm-up please. You’ve had three minutes to get started. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">No Effort. [holds up his paper] I’m finished. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Ms. G. [Eyebrows go up in surprise and are then quickly pushed down. The smile stays there though] Good job! I’m proud of you. No Effort <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Work No Problem. [smiles and seems to be amused by my excitement]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">That made my day.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> Genre Reflection #3
ABC School News

Today TOSS student Keosha Grantham was faced with a challenge. After weeks of working with her students, she was given the opportunity to demonstrate everything she learned about classroom management. On this day, November 4th, 2010, she executed an ambitious lesson plan with lots of transitions and group work. Did she survive? The answer is yes. Fortunately, Ms. Grantham was available for comment. “It felt amazing!” she gushed to our reporter. “The students seemed enthusiastic about the work. Most importantly however, I was able to keep control of the classroom and keep students on task.” Ms. Grantham has come far in five weeks indeed.

When asked if there was any particular moment where she felt success, Ms. Grantham responded, “There was! Near the end of the class period, students wanted to continue their conversations in  groups. It took two tries, but I persisted. The second try, the room was absolutely silent and 33 students got seated. It felt mystical!” Ms. Grantham told our reporters that she understands the challenges that other beginning teachers might face. She conveyed that what made the difference for her was remaining persistent in everything she does and to consistently follow through on expectations that are carefully communicated to students. Lastly,Ms. Grantham  tells us, "  having some  strategies under your belt doesn't  hurt either!"