Mrs. Johnson's Tips and Tales of Teaching

     At the beginning of this year, I was the type of person who strove to be fifteen minutes early to all important meetings; I considered fifteen minutes early to be on time. If it wasn't an important meeting and more of a "social call", I strove to be 3 minutes early so as not to keep anyone waiting, have time to settle in to my surroundings, and small talk a bit with whomever I was meeting.      Now, I feel like I am constantly running late (even if by normal standards, I am technically on time), and I feel disorganized, ill-prepared, and/or just overwhelmed by the work that has to be done that day, or the spill-over work that I failed to get done the day(s) before. Do any of my peers feel this way? Does it ever end?? Is it a personal problem ??? According to friends/mentors who have been or are currently in my position or similar situations, this feeling never stops. They say that I must embrace my new normal- embrace the stress, the occasional mes...

I'd first like to start this blog apologizing to my readers, peers, and university professor for blogging late. Anytime I open my laptop or other technology with a screen with my son nearby he tries to eat it, and the last two weeks my husband's been working extra late, on top of us packing to move houses, so homework deadlines have been a little bit hard to keep up with- again, my deepest apologies!  Now, on to the blog! Last Thursday and Friday, I attended my very first Kansas Association for Teachers of English (KATE) Conference, and it was AWESOME! Not only did I get to meet Author Bill Konigsberg, but I also got some helpful tips and tricks from Editor Stacy Whitman! (And yes, I did do my little fan-girl squeal...don't judge me!)  I must say though, Of all the sessions I got to choose from the three that were the most inspiring or informative to me were "Publishing a YA Novel" with Mr. Konigsberg, "Student Teach to Teacher" with Holli Boyd and K...

Here is my genre reflection assignment. I chose to do it as a poem this time around, since I haven't written a piece of poetry in about a year and a half to two years. I hope you enjoy!  "A Look Inside" I took a look inside today, To see what I might find Among the blank masks of sitting statues At their desks so neatly aligned. I took a look inside today, Eyes watering from the strain Of cataloguing every detail Praying my actions wouldn’t be in vain. I took a look inside today, And still nothing came to light I try and reason with myself Whether it’s worth it, to stay and fight. I took a look inside today, And I was doubting I would ever see The people inside those hunks of stone- That they would remain a mystery to me. I took a look inside today, Not at their faces, but at their written works. The letters slanting this way and that, Revealing flaws, and troubles, and quirks When I took a look inside today, Thei...

     I've always placed significant value in the reflection process that keeping a journal provides, both in and outside of the classroom. I think they are a wonderful way to work through one's emotions with the journal acting as a confidant or therapist. Keeping a daily journal can drastically improve one's writing (and hand-writing- if they are doing it the old fashioned way). Not to mention, if you are documenting memorable occurrences in your life as they present themselves, and continue this for several years you can later look back on them and see how you have progressed (and grown!) overtime. You may be able to review your past mistakes or accomplishments and use those recordings of the past to avoid future mishaps and increase your chances of success. Suffice it to say, I want to encourage my students to keep a journal throughout their time in my class (and after if they choose to do so) to document their individual journeys through their lives and throu...

The first week of my internship was smooth sailing for the most part. My MT and I get along really well (although, that isn’t a surprise since she and I were paired together for my previous placement), and the paraprofessional who occasionally stops in, Miss T. , is still her cordial and humorous self. Even with three people in our room, we respect each other and the differing teaching styles we all have, and our cooperation is conducive to the learning environment. Speaking of teaching styles, let me tell you all about how I found out what my “style” is and how it connects to my copacetic partnership with my MT. (: On the first “official” day of class, my MT began with an activity to reveal the different learning styles of each individual student. I’ve attached a link to the “quiz” the students took here: Winnie the Pooh Leaning Style Quiz . The results, once calculated, would reveal whether the student was a Concrete Sequential (Owl), Abstract Sequential (Eeyore), Abstract Rand...

As a lot of you know, I took a brief hiatus from my educational studies to focus on having my beautiful son, Finnley. In truth, my goals have quite a bit to do with preparing to succeed in order to brighten his future, in addition to my husband's and my own. They are as follows: Develop a clearly defined study schedule for all of my classes (and the PLT & Praxis exams) and stick to it. Cooperate consistently with my MT to be sure I am creating a unit lesson plan that fits into her chosen curriculum, and follows the direction in which she is guiding her students as the semester progresses. Develop healthy and professional relationships with my peers, as well as making sure my students know that I am truly invested in their education and want to see them reach the height of their potentials.  Attain my degree!  I want to walk away from this experience holding that piece of paper in hand, a smile on my face, a mind filled with valuable lessons and experiences, an...

Hello everyone! I'm ecstatic to begin my teaching internship this year. What about all of you? Hopefully, everything goes as smoothly for you this first week as it has been going for me! Cheers! Mrs. Johnson