My second placement is Fannett Metal High School. As discussed before, it is vastly different from Gettysburg Middle School.
The students are a lot “rougher around the edges.” My co-op is very nice but much different than my last. Mrs. McAllen is much freer and a lot less strict.
Classroom management will definitely be interesting because I feel like the class is used to being very free: not handing in homework, talking out, cussing, texting in class, ect. I’m wondering how they are going to handle my management.
The school is VERY rural. Students are used to four wheeling and farming after school. They know that they won’t be using their education in their futures.
Teachers here are very dependent. They don’t have groups or teams and they really don’t “hang out” together or discuss students in a productive way that is similar to Gettysburg. I’ve never met the principal and I only met other teachers in the hallway because I went out of my way to introduce myself. Teachers seem to only teach what they have to and they admit that students will not remember the content and that the students don’t care about the content. Recently, the teachers went on a “field trip” to West York (wealthy, FLS, all-around great school). Instead of coming back pumped up to change FM, they are just depressed because they know that resources and administrative offices will never let them make huge changes to curriculum and student behavior that they would like to. I’m not an experienced teacher and I admit that I don’t know a lot… but I believe FM’s problem comes from the top down. The administration needs to change before anything else will change.
The school is not interested in PSSA scores or anything that people think. They just are who they are. Despite my obsessive organization and LFS love, I think I may enjoy this craziness! I’m glad that I got to see Gettysburg, in all of its perfection, and now to see Fannett Metal… in all of its Fannett Metal-y-ness.
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Jenna,
ReplyDeleteI'm in the same boat with having such a different placement and co op! Not to scare you, but it is a strange and sometimes challenging to have a co op who has an obviously different teaching style than yourself. But don't worry too much... if anything, this experience will make you think "Okay, we are different and this isn't how I would run the class, but let me see if I can take anything from this co op and put it in a positive light."
I can't stress enough that it is hard to have a class that is not used to being disciplined and managed. However, once they get over the whole "omg, she's so uptight....", they will seriously love you and the structure you bring.
I'm looking forward to hearing about your next week! Much love and luck!
Ugh, Jenna... It is SO HARD to go from well-controlled students to out-of-control students. I am in the same boat. These kids feel like there is no need for them to be in school. Yesterday I assigned my 11th graders a reading assignment from a novel: 21 pages from Fahrenheit 451. The one girl goes "We have to read at home?!? I work on a farm. I don't have time to read at home." They only have 4 classes a day, so if that's all the homework I'm giving them, htey should be able to do it. It seems like students these days don't get the support from their parents that we had when I was their age. Since they feel like school is pointless and they're destined to have these agricultural jobs, they don't bother paying attention. They end up talking all the time. I think part of it is the environment my co-op has encouraged, but I can't really tell them that's wrong with her sitting in the room.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to hearing more next week! Good luck!
I 100% know EXACTLY what you are saying! These kids know that they will never use Modernist Literature in their lives! I'm really struggling to relate it to them. As for the behavior, I've just become really laid back about it as long as it doesn't disrupt my teaching or others' learning.
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