Student Teaching - Week #7

by Victoria Johnston - Mitchell Elementary

March has come and the weather is finally “warming” up here in Chicago. Four years ago 35 degrees sounded dreadful and now hearing it will be sunny and 35 or 40 is exciting. I have acclimated slightly to winter climates, but I will still take 110 degrees and a sun burn over possibilities of frost bite and wind chill.
           

Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO)

That said, one of the most exciting nights of the semester for me happened this past week. Thursday’s art event was attending the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Yo-Yo Ma was their guest soloist and having the opportunity to see one of the most well known and talented musicians in the world made me feel like a kid in a candy store. We sat behind the orchestra and, in my opinion, had some of the best seats in the house. Their selection of music with Yo-Yo Ma was a modern piece and dissonant at times, but it was melodic in its own way.  

Yo-Yo Ma with CSO

I never thought I would see a day when a twenty-three minute song seemed short. Also, the ease and unity with which the symphony played was astonishing.  The entirety of the performance sounded like one unified instrument. It was the best surround sound anyone could experience.  My inner classical music nerd came out during the performance leaving me wishing to come back weekly to their performances. This memory will remain in my mind as a highlight of the Chicago Semester experience.

Pizzeria Uno

I am becoming a deep dish expert the longer I live here. I tried Pizzeria Uno this weekend which is the home of the first Chicago deep dish pizza. I am torn between there and Giordano’s as my favorite, but since I could eat pizza on a regular basis I simply enjoyed sampling another deep dish pizza. To any visitor in Chicago I would recommend Pizzeria Uno or Giordano’s for a delicious pie.

The classroom was all over the map this week. I had some joyful days and a particularly difficult day. Wednesday was a half day and after the students left I had the opportunity to acquaint myself with other teachers and the school more at professional development. My students continue to bring me joy daily. Earlier in the week I played line-up trivia with the class where their table group can line up first if one person in their group gets the trivia question correct. I asked if any student knew where Kazakhstan is and one boy raised his hand (he often raises his hand only to guess) and said Asia. This is the correct answer, but he was shocked he was right since it was only a guess and the look of surprise on his face when I said, “You’re correct!” was priceless. 

Harlem Renaissance

Another great moment was while grading papers. I assigned students to write a letter to a friend about the Harlem Renaissance to practice their writing skill for the week and solidify their history lesson. One student wrote his letter to Paul Bunyan and it gave me a chuckle when I came across the letter. Friday, though, was a difficult day. The students did not listen well and many drama cases plagued the group throughout the day. I also had the heartbreaking moment of catching a student cheating during the math test. While the situation necessitated action, I wish that such things did not happen in the classroom. Mitchell has low tolerance for actions such as cheating and disrespect in the classroom, but some students still attempt to test the system.

Despite the rough day Friday, I am looking forward to continuing full time teaching and being in the classroom. Teaching is a joy I am glad to experience and while my time at Mitchell Elementary is short, I am greatly enjoying my set of 36 fifth graders and their unique personalities as people and as learners.

Student Teaching - Week #6

by Victoria Johnston - Mitchell Elementary



Joffrey Ballet - American Legends

As a Chicago resident I have the opportunity to become a cultured individual. I am taking full advantage of my fine arts pass and attending the weekly events. The Joffrey Ballet was on the agenda this week. Before Thursday I had seen one other professional ballet and that was The Nutcracker years ago. This ballet was an exquisite performance with great variety in every piece. It began with a more classical piece in four movements and moved to a piece that took place under the sea. I think the second was my favorite. I was continually astonished with the fluidity and grace the dancers exhibited and how flexible the human body can be. It was followed by another more classical piece and ended with Frank Sinatra songs broken into nine different sections. I enjoyed the variation of music and costumes, as well as the beautiful theater where it all took place. Thursday we will be attending the Chicago Symphony Orchestra where Yo-Yo Ma will be playing. I think everyone is looking forward to hearing a world renowned cellist.

This coming week I will begin full-time teaching. I am nervous going into this week. Teaching a subject for the first time is always the hardest, but once I move past the starting line, planning and instruction come more easily. I greatly enjoyed teaching science for the first time this week, mostly because I had a great aha! moment in the midst of my lesson. I used The Lorax to introduce a unit on ecology and while reading the book I was able to teach reading strategies as well as briefly show students’ poetry to kick start their poetry unit next week. Another joy has been seeing the admiration from students for me grow. They are quicker to give me hugs and say hello in the hallways. I am greatly blessed to be in this classroom.

While I am nowhere near a master teacher, I can see great progress in my strategies and instruction since day one. My class appears to be learning, but either cabin fever is setting in or they are specifically attempting to test the student teacher. I have been shaping my classroom management and enjoying the relationships I am building with students, but some have been particularly disrespectful lately. It is frustrating at times, and as the teacher, I must be careful to not allow it to affect my teaching in a negative manner.

Last week I wrote about West Town and its changing face with gentrification. I experienced firsthand the wealthier part of the neighborhood today in my volunteer work. Today, I offered my time at a place near Mitchell that has after school programs and throws parties for kids on weekends. I did not realize until today it was more of a business than an organization. While it is a great resource and owned by wonderful people, it allowed me to see the split in resident life styles. It is interesting to see the drastic shift in such a small area.

Student Teaching - Week #5

by Victoria Johnston - Mitchell Elementary


Garrett's Chicago Mix



This week marked one month in Chicago. It is boggling how fast the time has gone and how much has happened. I feel as though I am a blooming expert at public transportation, but I still have run for my fair share of buses. I had the opportunity on Tuesday to explore downtown a little more on my own because we had the day off since it was Lincoln’s birthday and of course the Land of Lincoln must celebrate. I went to a gourmet popcorn shop called Garrett Popcorn that has their own “Chicago mix” consisting of cheese popcorn and caramel popcorn in the same bag. While I was apprehensive to try it, I am glad I did and would recommend it to any visitor.

There was no arts event this week, but throughout the past five weeks I have tried my fair share of coffee shops and restaurants. Besides the stereotypical Starbucks, I have enjoyed Argo Tea, Intelligentsia Coffee, Caribou Coffee, and The Corner Bakery. Every place has distinctive drinks making comparison difficult. This weekend my friends and I tried a Mongolian grill called Flat Top in Old Town. We all had the chance to be the chef and create our dishes with a plethora of vegetables, meats, and sauces. And while it is not unique to Chicago, dining at Taco Bell in Wrigleyville has become a weekly tradition.

Each week brings new challenges and joys in the classroom. Thursday was Valentine’s Day and Mitchell held a dance in the afternoon for 5^th grade to 8^th grade students. I worked the last hour of the dance selling flowers to students and it was wonderful to see my class in a different element. Students that are normally quiet showed off their dance moves and those who caught it enjoyed seeing Miss Johnston briefly dance to Gangnam style.

 I am adding subjects weekly and this week began teaching writing to students and conferencing on their reading. I also had my first observation by my adviser and while it was nerve-racking, I learned so much receiving specific feedback on my teaching. I am enjoying the continuation of relationship building with students, but it is difficult watching students who are bright yet have no desire to learn. That was my biggest struggle this week. My goal is to motivate every student to learn, but I cannot force that desire.

 

Ukranian Village

Finally, for a seminar project I had the opportunity to learn more about the Ukrainian Village neighborhood where Mitchell is located. A prevalent term I learned was gentrification, which is the restoring of run-down neighborhoods by the middle class. While this definition is worded positively, this process pushes local, low-income residents out because property taxes and rent increase. It also displaces the need for organizations that assist the low-income residents forcing them to move elsewhere. In ten years this neighborhood has the potential to be completely middle class moving the low-income families farther to the suburbs and transferring my students to other schools. It is a term I heard repeatedly in my interviews this week and it could change the face of many Chicago neighborhoods.