Reflection

I have learned that I need to always have patience. Whether it be with students, faculty, or just the school day in general, patience is key. I realized that no matter what you want to get accomplished in a day, that things will inevitably come up and force you to reconsider your plans. I need to make sure that I do not get frustrated by this, and am flexible to change. Students do need to have a structure, and I think giving them specific amounts of time to do something is good, but it is important to listen to them if they really do struggle or need more time.

I also realized that students will always surprise you. The 8th graders I worked with were always thinking of clever ways to complete an assignment (or a witty excuse for why it wasn’t finished). I love how much students respond to you when you show them that you really do care about them. I think it is important for students to see me as someone that is there to teach them, as well as listen to them. I want students to feel comfortable enough with me to tell me when they are struggling and know that I want to help them succeed.

Finally, I realized how much I am going to miss those kids. It was very hard for me to leave the kids, and I loved going back for my final evaluation and having so many be excited to see me. I think it is crucial for students and their teachers to have positive working relationships. I am so looking forward to meeting the students at BMS and becoming a part of their academic world. I’m a little uneasy, but the excitement outweighs the nerves.

Rubrics

Throughout my middle and high school career, I can not think of rubrics really being used. Teachers seemed to grade papers on what they thought was right or wrong and we just had to look at their comments to understand why we received the grade we received. I loved when the teacher gave ample feedback, and I normally never had a complaint if I could figure out why they gave me a specific grade based on their comments. However, I was also the student who would ask why if a teacher just assigned a grade and never gave me any real reason. In college, minus education classes, I also never received a rubric for a paper, where I think I would have liked a rubric the most. I had to learn how to write for the professor on my own, figuring out their personal writing style based on their comments and critiques on my first paper – then I would tailor the rest of my papers accordingly. I feel like rubrics set a standard that everyone must meet, and I think that overall they are a good idea, especially in schools today.

Rubrics have really been brought to my attention this semester. Dalton is using rubrics fairly often, and I am sure I will encounter them at Blacksburg Middle, as well as I will be making them myself. I do think Wilson made some good points about how student’s writing never seems to surprise her and that rubrics do not (typically) account for potential, effort, and progress. I agree that many times we do not want students “writing for the rubric,” but I feel that is what many of them do. Many times rubrics may not give students enough freedom to be themselves, which is why some subjectivity or openness should still be left in a rubric. If I was a student given a rubric, I would simply write exactly to the rubric, making sure all elements were included; my creative thinking would turn to more practical thinking as I tried to make sure I followed the guidelines to get the good grade. Many students need the guidelines, and rubrics are a good way to prevent bias. I think the most important thing is to remember that there is no perfect rubric, and a student’s reasoning for doing something the way they did should always be taken into consideration.