This week has been packed: I finished filming my edTPA lessons, my students began PARCC testing, I attended an IEP meeting I really was turned off by, all in a weeks work!
Starting off with edTPA filming, it’s a huge relief to have it done. I was worried with how PARCC with affect my students’ schedule and how everything would pan out in the end, but thankfully it worked out well. I was crunched for time including the final assessment, but overall I was very pleased with the outcome, my efforts put into it, and my students positive feedback regarding the edTPA. It forced me to really think about the lessons that I’m planning, are the engaging, will the students get what they should out of it, and what will I need to improve on for next time. Some of the things I really noticed I need to work on is my time management. It’s difficult to be giving time restrictions when so many students work at different paces, but obviously that’s part of being a teacher. In my opinion, every teacher is always or should always be learning. If a teacher ever stops learning, that marks the end of their era and passion.
PARCC testing was chaotic. The whole test is frustrating to see the students take because it essentially tests the skills that I feel my students most lack on. The students really have not had formal testing like the PARCC expects, and though the teachers have prepared the students the best they could have, the students need time to perfect and better those skills of writing and math. It was also definitely irritating that they only test the students in language arts and math, but not science or even social studies? How is that even fair? Science, to me, is a very important subject and the fact that students are not tested in it makes me angry. My hard work and passion should definitely be something students should be expected to know. Honestly, math and language arts are important, but its also important to teach students STEM so they can find their interests in medicine and engineering.
Attending the IEP meeting was one of the worst experiences of my life. It was in regards to a parent request on one of my students and the two “evaluators” there could not be more difficult and not on the same page. The two did not agree on the same things. One felt the student did NOT need to be evaluated for an IEP or sped placement, the other felt that the doctor of the student made an incorrect determination on what the student needed, and the whole time it was going back and forth between evaluating the student of not. It made me pretty nervous for my future students and even my future kids. I truly think one of the most important things is for everyone to remain professional when handing these scenarios in order to best support the student. As a student teacher I just sat and observed how the other teachers, principal, and intervention coordinator handled everything. I must say, the staff and peers that are at my junior high do everything to ensure each student is given all the support to achieve, and they sure delivered. All teachers and staff kept the student and the demands of his parent in mind when discussing the “next steps” and the ending was a common understanding from all perspectives.
Ms. P