For today I shifted gears and decided to observe Mrs. Moore's classes. It was interesting to view the similarities and differences in teaching styles between the husband and wife team. It didn't take me long to identify that both were extremely hard workers who were devoted to their jobs. Yesterday after school I asked Mr. Moore how he came up with all of his project ideas and he told me that through exploration, brainstorming, and hours of sifting through ideas on the internet, he was able to come up with some interesting and unique ways of presenting material. While talking to Mrs. Moore this morning she also conveyed that there are no shortcuts in becoming a good educator. She also explained to me that a teacher doesn't gain "momentum" or their stride until about year 3 of teaching. It was not unusual for her and Mr. Moore to work from wee hours of the morning until late hours of the night figuring out lesson plans during their first few years of teaching.
Today I felt completely inspired to teach in rural Alaska because this teaching experience appears to have more flexibility and opportunity than the urban schools that I'm accustomed to. I plan on teaching in several subject areas: English, French, and Psychology, and the rural curriculum definitely leaves much more room for teaching special topics as opposed to a strict planned out schedule that must be followed exactly.
After telling Mrs. Moore how impressed I was by everyone's teaching techniques, she explained to me that the teaching philosophy that the school was using is called the "PEAK: Learning System." P.E.A.K. stands for "Performance Excellence for All Kids." Not long after Ashley came down to Mrs. Moore's room and lent me a book (provided to us by Mr. Dube, the principal) on the PEAK philosophy. At this point I am sifting through this book finding teaching techniques and effective ways in which to run my future classroom.
Today I felt completely inspired to teach in rural Alaska because this teaching experience appears to have more flexibility and opportunity than the urban schools that I'm accustomed to. I plan on teaching in several subject areas: English, French, and Psychology, and the rural curriculum definitely leaves much more room for teaching special topics as opposed to a strict planned out schedule that must be followed exactly.
After telling Mrs. Moore how impressed I was by everyone's teaching techniques, she explained to me that the teaching philosophy that the school was using is called the "PEAK: Learning System." P.E.A.K. stands for "Performance Excellence for All Kids." Not long after Ashley came down to Mrs. Moore's room and lent me a book (provided to us by Mr. Dube, the principal) on the PEAK philosophy. At this point I am sifting through this book finding teaching techniques and effective ways in which to run my future classroom.
In the morning Mrs. Moore taught middle school English. For lunch I met up with Ashley in the cafeteria and we discussed our days. She also is having a wonderful observation experience, however I must say that this experience is quite different for each of us. She originally is from King Salmon so she went to the school that we are observing and is planning on doing her intern year in the Naknek school (which I learned today is actually called Bristol Bay High School) English room. So in addition to observing she also is learning about teaching techniques that will be helpful to know for next year.
In the afternoon Mrs. Moore had a French II course which I followed along and happily observed. I lent her my Iphone which has a variety of French music on it. While talking with her I also learned that we went to the same French camp "Lac du Bois" in Bemidji, MN, it's amazing to see what a small world it is! Who would have thought that all the way in Naknek,AK I'd run into someone with the same French background as me!
The two last classes of the day were both history classes, because history is not my content area, I simply observed her teaching style. Through observation I noticed that Mrs. Moore only made positive suggestions. Sometimes they were strong suggestions but nonetheless she was always upbeat and positive.
After school Ashley and I met up at the office and I asked her if we could stop at the store before heading home. I honestly wanted to buy something but really didn't need anything. Even though Ashley's mom Laurie offered me some thank you cards from her younger daughter's graduation, I still decided to look to see what their selection was. Well unfortunately they didn't have any thank you cards but I found this awesome Hannah Montana table cloth. I know that my purchase made me to appear as if I had the maturity of a six year old, however I knew that this Hannah Montana table cloth was an archive item that could no longer be purchased. I'm sure that I'll be able to use it as a gag gift later on down the road. Also at the store milk was $10 a gallon so $5.99 sufficed in terms of my purchase.
In the afternoon Mrs. Moore had a French II course which I followed along and happily observed. I lent her my Iphone which has a variety of French music on it. While talking with her I also learned that we went to the same French camp "Lac du Bois" in Bemidji, MN, it's amazing to see what a small world it is! Who would have thought that all the way in Naknek,AK I'd run into someone with the same French background as me!
The two last classes of the day were both history classes, because history is not my content area, I simply observed her teaching style. Through observation I noticed that Mrs. Moore only made positive suggestions. Sometimes they were strong suggestions but nonetheless she was always upbeat and positive.
After school Ashley and I met up at the office and I asked her if we could stop at the store before heading home. I honestly wanted to buy something but really didn't need anything. Even though Ashley's mom Laurie offered me some thank you cards from her younger daughter's graduation, I still decided to look to see what their selection was. Well unfortunately they didn't have any thank you cards but I found this awesome Hannah Montana table cloth. I know that my purchase made me to appear as if I had the maturity of a six year old, however I knew that this Hannah Montana table cloth was an archive item that could no longer be purchased. I'm sure that I'll be able to use it as a gag gift later on down the road. Also at the store milk was $10 a gallon so $5.99 sufficed in terms of my purchase.