MIDTERM REFLECTION ON STUDENT TEACHING GOALS

1. Classroom Goal: Build a meaningful and personal connection with each one of my students so that I
may better understand their learning strengths, challenges, and interests.
This has been in some respects the easiest and in some the most difficult goal. The relative
difficulty depends on the student in question as well as the environment surrounding my interactions
with that student. I feel that Ive been able to build relationships with many of my students through
conversations during and outside (before/after) class, particularly a group of boys that come early every
day for first period. Initially, I talked with them about sports and their lives. After building a rapport, I
started speaking to them about class.
I have a student who struggles mightily in my class. Actually, struggle implies that she
attempts something--this girl is completely withdrawn, mentally absent from everything in class. Her
mother contacted me After conferencing with her counselor, I found out that she is clinically depressed.
Interestingly enough, shes recently started coming to class early. And as my university supervisor,
Gretchen Edelen wisely noted, students come to class early for a reason. Im not sure exactly what
this girls reason is yet, but today I engaged her in conversation. I learned that her interests include
rodeo and trucks, she is currently reading If I Go, and that she wants to be a welder. This may seem like
an insignificant interaction, but I think these little conversations are the building blocks of significant
relationships. Whats important is not so much the topics discussed as the fact that the discussion
occurred.
Another challenge that Ive faced while pursuing this first goal is repairing a broken relationship
principal during my first full week of teaching:with a student. This is an incident report I sent to one of
my student(well call her Laura)s vice principal, Dawn:
Mr. Brophy and I have established that no one is to have their cell phones out in class.
Yesterday, Laura had her cell phone out on her desk. I asked her to put it away in her backpack.
She had not brought a backpack to class so she just put it in her pocket (we generally ask them
to put the phones completely away in their backpacks so that there will be no temptation to
text, etc. but because she had not brought a backpack, I was OK with the pocket). Today she
had her phone out on her desk again. I asked her to put it away in her backpack. She had again
not brought a backpack to class. As she was not wearing pants with pockets today, she just
wedged the phone between her leg and the chair. I offered to hold onto the phone for her

through the duration of the period. She refused. I asked, Laura, may I please have your
phone? She refused. I asked again, may I please have your phone? She refused. I asked
again, Laura, may I please have your phone? She said, you probably shouldnt talk to me like
that. I asked again, Laura, may I please have your phone? She picked up her phone and
notebook and left the room. I immediately informed Mr. Brophy, who went out in the hall to try
to find her.
After this interaction, Laura started skipping the majority of my classes. When she did show up,
she refused to participate or make any eye contact. I spoke with two of her Freshman teachers as well
as Dawn and they all told me that she is prickly and that it is very difficult to earn her trust. Without
going into too much detail here, I can say that Laura doesnt seem to have many rational, stable adults
in her home life.
About a week before midterm, Dawn met with Laura to try and figure out what was going on.
After this meeting, Dawn explained to me that Laura felt that she had missed so many classes it wasnt
worth trying to make anything up (I think her grade was something like a 20% at that point). Dawn had
told Laura that if she would go to class every day, she (Dawn) would speak to me about getting her
(Laura) an extension. I, of course, agreed and gave Laura an Incomplete. Dawn also encouraged me
to talk to Laura, very casually (without making her feel put on the spot or embarrassed) about a plan for
making up her work. I was, at first, indignant. I felt like I was being asked to enable poor behavior and
cater to petulance (it was also an affront to my own pride--I hadnt done anything wrong!) After some
reflection, however, I realized that maybe building a relationship was more important than demanding
that this young woman take responsibility for her actions--that her growth in the affective domain could
only come out of adults fostering positive and trusting relationships with her. She is sixteen, after all.
And while I feel that its important to motivate adolescents to be mature and responsible, I have to
realize that sometimes they need a little help to get there. Laura came to class the day after Dawn met
with me and I, very casually, approached and told her that I would give her an incomplete so that she
could have a chance to make up her Quarter 1 work. That was all it took--for the past couple of weeks,
Laura has been regularly attending class, participating, and steadily turning in missing assignments. Our
relationship seems to be steadily improving and that, in turn, improves the quality and regularity of
Lauras engagement with learning.

2. Learning Community Goal: Work with faculty and staff to create a warm, positive environment
that supports the Montana Behavior Initiatives core objectives for all students: be respectful, be
responsible, be involved, be a graduate.
Ive learned that this second goal is intimately bound up with my first goal. Good relationships
between students and educators are the foundation of a warm, positive, and respectful environment.
They are also the basis of student growth in the affective domain--relationships provide an intrinsic
motivator for responsibility. If a student has a positive relationship with his or her teacher, that student
is much more likely to take responsibility for work in order to maintain that relationship.
Teachers are not meant to work in isolation. Establishing and maintaining open lines of
communication and support with other teachers, administration, and staff is vital to the development of
a positive and productive school environment. Adolescents are very much in tune with the atmosphere
of a school and by modeling communicative, compassionate relationships, we can engage them in
shaping this atmosphere for the better.
3. Content Knowledge Goal: Continue my investigation into the literature of the early United States,
keeping a journal of my findings (in which I make at least one entry a week).
Ive been lax about this one. Honestly, I kind of forgot that it existed. I did however, present the
findings of my professional paper research at the MEA-MFT Conference. So far, two teachers have used
my work and reported back to me about it.
Since reviewing my goals about a week ago, Ive started keeping a couple of Google Folders
devoted to early American and early modern poetry, respectively. Ive been adding poems (and my
reflections/notes about them) steadily to these folders over the past few days--hopefully I can keep this
up.