So...lately I've been labeled as a stalker by my fellow MTCers. Now...before you get all paranoid, let me explain. Over the last couple of days, I've left several comments on FB profiles, pics, vids, etc. And because of my acknowledgements on a public site, I've been labeled as a stalker...go figure! LoL. So first Derek. Then Andrea. Now Maria. I chose to read Maria Lunsford blog from "cover to cover" and I'm glad I did! She's great! I chose Maria because 1. she taught middle school math and 2. she's a fellow ENFJ and 3. I love her eclectic style! (which actually came up today at lunch…) ANYWAY It was interesting to read about Maria progress during her first year. An aspiring English teacher, Maria was chosen to teach math in Byhalia Middle (?) and she definitely rose to the occasion! Because I’m a fan of concise communication, let’s whip out some bullet points. I was honestly amazed by how much I have in common with Maria! • Being overly sensitive sometimes • Detail-oriented • Valuing SLEEP! :) • Always looking for newer and better solutions • Preferring intimate relationships • Ability to avoid comprising entanglements, lol Even though Maria wasn’t given her dream job of being an English teacher, she was flexible and rolled with the punches when chosen to teach math. Not only that, she was determined to be the BEST math teacher she could be. She accepted nothing less than her very best, and I admire that about her. I feel others wouldn’t have tried as hard if given an undesired subject area. She was determined to make the kids believe she was a “freak who loooooovessss math.” o In her words, “MATH! I LOVE MATH! LET'S GET PUMPED ABOUT SOME ALTERNATE INTERIOR ANGLESSSSS!!!! THEY'RE AWESOME! ..... woops.... I mean.... GREAT!” lol o “It's been my goal for a very long time to be an English teacher, and I think I still will (maybe even next year), but I am starting to feel like I am an actual Math teacher because of these kids! o I had sort of been considering myself a ‘fake’ math teacher, especially during summer school when I was just starting out. Now, I am starting to enjoy the feeling of teaching math and I feel very proud of myself and my students when I hear them say ‘Ohhhhh! I get it! This is so easy!’ after struggling for years.” Maria was constantly critiquing herself and making the necessary adjustments to fit her kids or administration’s needs. Also, she ALWAYS looked for new, creative ways to make her math lessons engaging. She truly desired to teach mathematics to these kids. o “I would LOVE for someone to come to me and say, ‘Here are 4 things you can do to have a more engaging math lesson.’ Or ‘Here is a way to make a test that looks like the MCT2.’ This is what I need to be more effective.” o “A big problem that I am facing is making my lessons different from day to day and making them more engaging. I've pretty much stopped even trying to do sets with my classes and the construction paper has stayed in the closet for weeks now. More creative lessons would help them feel less burned out, too.” A few things I took from her blog and will be implementing in the August o Encouraging students to make an “educated guess” when asked to answer a question, rather than responding, “I don’t know.” o Not excepting “I don’t understand this stuff” or other vague responses when asking in what areas is help needed. Requiring the students to have higher expectations for themselves and actually verbalize the specific concept that seems to be causing confusion. o Door decoration ideas! o “Classroom rules are in effect.” Favorite Part of the Blog (in order) 3. To remember negatives on the number line, she sang Beyonce’s “To the left, to the left” (Irreplaceable); then, she related that to the negative sentiment of the song. o From the post: “Anyway, Charlie, who is ALWAYS singing, stands up and belts out THE. WHOLE. SONG. Yes, I let him do it, because you know what? No one else even tried. And this teensy kid knew all the words. Added bonus: so much emotion in the delivery.” 2. “There is a joke that we teachers have repeated often at school: Teacher: This is a desk. What is this? Student: Desk. Teacher: This is a desk. What is this? Student: Desk Teacher: Let’s practice more. Is this an A: Desk B: Pencil C: Book D: Door ? Student: Peeenncccciiii... Teacher: Nooo... Student: Desk Teacher: Yes! State test: Is this an A: Desk B: Pencil C: Book D: Door ? Student: C. Book Student: Ms. Teacher, that test was SO EASY! Yes, it’s silly, and yes, it’s kind of mean-spirited, but it describes a phenomenon that I can’t understand.” 1. Maria’s slope-Intercept song to “Bedrock” by Young Money "Ooh, baby, this formula will stick like glue, baby, y equals m x plus b, baby, the slope's in the m spot, call me y-intercept, I can make your b rock!"
· To the tune of "You Are Not Alone" by Michael Jackson:
o "Y is not alone/ It equals m x plus b/ M is the slope/ And b is the y-intercept/ yes b is the y-intercept/ and slope is rise over run/ so remember this equation/ and you will get this right on the test/ yes you will get this right on the *teeeeesssssst* (with flourish)"
· To the tune of "Pretty Boy Swag" by Soulja Boy
o "This right here is my slope. Y equals m x plus b. M is the slope, pay attention. B is the inter-cept swag, inter-cept swag, slope is the rise of my intercept swag.”
· To the tune of "Flex" by Party Boyz
o “Hands on your head while you try to graph the slope, wrote down the point when you first hit the door, m is the slope, and b is the intercept, put it all together and get y=mx+b, the slope is the rise over the run, then hit 'em with the slope again and then we'll be done, hit em with the slope hit em with the slope hit em with the slope and they'll be beggin for some more”
· To the tune of "Baby" by Justin Bieber
o “You know that y equals, m x plus b, it's the slope of a line now, it's so easy! M is my slope, rise over run, b is my y-intercept, ain't it so fun? And now we slopin', slopin', slopin' ooooh, we slopin', slopin', slopin', oooh, slopin', slopin', slopin', oooh, y equals m x plus b.... eeeee, slopin', slopin', slopin' ooooh, we slopin', slopin', slopin', oooh, slopin', slopin', slopin', oooh, slope is the rise over runn... uh huuuuh.”
Reading Maria’s blogs was eye-opening, insightful, entertaining, and encouraging!
P.S. I’m so tired. I’m sure there are grammatical errors in this post. Hopefully Maria won’t be too disappointed. :)
P. P. S. I DON'T KNOW WHY THE FREAKIN' FORMATTING IS SO WEIRD! UGH!
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