Leader Vs. Boss

        Last class we talked a lot about cooperative learning and what it means for the class.  Rather than just putting students in groups, cooperative learning ensures that every member of the class has an important, necessary role in the group.  The main point being; the job can not be done without participation from everyone.

        Cooperative learning changes the whole "mantra" of the classroom from individual learning to learning as a team.  This of course changes the teacher's role in the classroom from being the "boss" to being a leader.  If you take a look at the picture above, you will see the main differences between a boss and a leader.  Leaders are coaches, they give credit to the classroom and they say "we" and "let's go" rather than "I" and "Go do this".

        It is important as a teacher candidate to think about where I fall on this spectrum.  We have to go back to some of our earlier classes and remember that the students are always out top priority!  Its not about how great of a teacher you are, but how well your students learn and can apply their knowledge.  I feel like there were some teachers in my high school that cared more about their teacher image and less about the students in their classes.  The bottom line is that if you focus on students and help them understand the material in ways that matter to them, you ARE a successful teacher.   Its not about being noticed, but knowing at the end of the day that you did all that you could to lead your students to the next level (whether its the next grade, college, the job field...).  

Chapter 11 - Helping Struggling Readers

       

            In my SPED 433 class we focused a lot  on struggling readers and how we could help them within the class.  Reading this chapter was just another valuable resource and a refresher on this topic.  As an English major, I know that reading will be a serious part of the class and I will need to help my students learn how to read and write at the appropriate grade level.  With that being said, I want to reiterate a point from the reading, "I'm a physics teacher, not a reading teacher".  This is true for every teacher, including English.  In a high school English class, it is not my responsibility to teach the students how to read... I teach them what they can do with their reading skills and I help them analyze advanced texts. 

          The problem is that if every teacher says "that's not my problem/responsibility" then we are doing  a disservice to our students.  Its easy to see the problem and ignore it (because of lack of time, need to focus on more students, need to care for your family) but there is one reason to take the challenge head on... and that's the student!  We have talked a lot about how students need to be our main focus, and if there is a problem with the student we need to help and guide them... but what happens when a high school student is in your class (any content!) and they can only read at a 7th grade level?  It is our responsibility as a teacher to help every student in our class!  It is our responsibility to work with the student's other teachers, or resource teachers, or their parents to work out a plan to help that student to succeed.  I want to clarify that in this specific instance I am not talking about strictly students that have IEP's or have a documented disability that requires extra time... I am talking about any student in your class that is having trouble.  

           The wake-up call for me was when we discussed in my class that struggling readers don't see pictures in their mind as they read.  To be honest, I couldn't understand how this could not happen for some people.  From a young age I enjoyed reading and I couldn't get enough.  I got that from my mother.  I recently talked to my dad about reading (because he doesn't read very often) and he told me that he was never able to connect to the reading.  He was never able to form the movie in his mind.  This is when it clicked for me!  Imagining what you are reading is A SKILL that must be TAUGHT.  Students don't just make pictures in their mind, at some point we are taught to do it (or in many people's cases, they aren't taught how to).  

 
          Reading would be a nightmare without the movie playing out in your mind!  We need to make sure that students are understanding, relating and imagining what they are reading!  Regardless of content or form of text.  

          Follow this link to learn about ways to help a struggling HIGH SCHOOL student.  The author explains the strategy of "annotation" which truly changed the way that I read anything.  Annotation is when you write notes in the margins of the text.  Any thoughts, notes, questions that you have get put right onto the text itself for you to recall.  This is a great technique for students to use with articles and even assignment sheets.  
  











         

Classroom Observation Post

What?

          During one of my observations, I watched a co-teaching classroom where one of the students repeatedly used his phone in the classroom.  The teachers in the classroom allow the students to use their phones for music only while they write, but this student was clearly texting or fooling around with his phone.  The "leading" teacher gave the student a verbal warning, then the "secondary" teacher also gave him a warning.  (Side note: for this specific period, one of the co-teachers has taken the lead to instruct writing while the other teacher takes a secondary role and conferences with the students.) After the third warning, the teachers agreed to press the button and a member of the restoration team came up to the room.  Before the member enters the room, the teacher has to fill out a referral form and give it to the member of the restoration team.  The team member takes the student out into the hall and talks to them,  then they call the teacher into the hall for a conference with the student.  From here, the teacher and restoration specialist decide on consequences and take the proper action.  In some cases, the student will be sent back into the room and in other cases they will remove the student for the rest of the period. I also learned that this specific student was a repeat offender and constantly took advantage of the opportunity to use his phone in the classroom.     

So What?

           There are also two things to unpack from this experience: 1.) how this specific school deals with behavioral problems and 2.) how these specific teachers dealt with this case of behavior / their classroom management strategies.        

1.) School Behavior Management
          I honestly respect and appreciate the idea of a restoration team that comes in as a third party to settle any problems in the classroom.  It is great that they listen to the student's side of the story and then bring the teacher and have a conference between both parties.  This is a model of how to successfully solve problems in a professional and mature manner and it is very important for students to see this model.  It also takes some pressure away from the teacher and allows both the teacher and student to look back at the situation and explain their sides of the story.  The teacher in this case explained that she had given him numerous warnings but he didn't listen.  At the same time, the counter is that this method takes ALOT of valuable class time, especially if there is only one teacher in the room.

2.) Teacher's Classroom Management and Situation
          Thinking back to our classroom management panel, I remember that one of the teachers explained that you must have clear and concrete rules for the students to follow, otherwise they  will push you around or try to test your limits and take advantage of you.  The teachers have a no-phone policy (as does the school), but by offering the use of phones as a music device, I can see how students would be willing to test the waters.      

Now What?

          I have seen the gray area that occurs in classroom rules, and I will not allow students to use their phone under certain circumstances and not in others (this applies to every rule not just the cell phone rule).  The gray area makes sense to me and I will make sure that my students are clear about what the rules are, and what the consequences are for breaking them.  With that being said, I will take some of the CF behavioral procedure into my own classroom.  Regardless of what the school's behavioral policy is, I want to be able to conference with the students (and a neutral third party if possible) to discuss the situation and come up with appropriate consequences.  Our students are maturing adults and they need to see how real people should deal with rules.  In the workplace the students will have to consult their boss when things are done incorrectly, so in the classroom they should talk to the teacher.  We owe it to our students to tell them what the rules are, what the reasons are behind the rules and how the student broke the rules.  If we treat them with respect and explain the situation to them, there is a better chance that they will not break the rule again.   

Classroom Management Panel

        

        As a future educator it really hit home when one of the teachers explained that you can't teach unless you have a well-managed classroom.  So many times in our education program we are simply being told that classroom management is important, but not receiving any instruction or tips to having good classroom management.  This is why I was very grateful for the panel this week!  

        At the same time, I found it interesting that some of the most important management techniques are things that we were already taught like proximity control, eye contact and putting a hand on the student's shoulder.  I know that I am contradicting my first paragraph, but I am seriously wondering why so many education candidates feel that they are not prepared for classroom management (myself included)? 

        I think it starts with a few important points from the panel.  First off, we have to know our students.  Unfortunately, we don't currently have relationships with the students we teach and for myself specifically, I have to observe different classrooms at different times of the day due to my busy schedule.  It would be extremely beneficial for me to watch the same class throughout the week and see what their strengths and weaknesses are.  Another teacher on the panel explained that classroom behavior depends on each individual student as well as the time of day and what has happened throughout the day.  I have a feeling that the classroom management pieces won't click for us until we are able to fully integrate into a class and interact with the students on a constant basis.  

          The most important advice that I took away from the panel was to ask for help!  It is better to ask a veteran teacher for advice and help than to have a small problem turn into a huge issue.  I can totally understand the feeling of wanting to do everything right on your own (I often feel that in my personal life), but I can see how important it is to get through to the student(s) before their behavior escalates.  We need to always have our students' best interest at our core, even if it means admitting that you need help.  

          If you are still stressing about classroom management, I found this great link to 6 Classroom Management Tips for every teacher.  The first one "take charge of your class" really made sense to me.  The author explains that this doesn't meant telling everyone to be quiet, but simply engage the students so they are focused on you.  A statement like "how many of you saw The Hunger Games this weekend?" will get the students to be quiet and engaged in what you are saying.  From here, simply transition to the lesson and you should be in a good position.   

Questioning!

        This week we talked a lot about questions.  One of the most important things that I took from the lesson was that in order to ask a question (as a teacher) you need to know the answer that you are looking for.  If you are asking a lower lever question, you are going to get a lower level answer.  It just depends on what you want the students to tell you.
      
        I also realized that after doing the questioning activity, that it is easy to look at the questions you want to ask and convert them to a higher or lower level question.  This is something that helped me a lot this week as I prepared my SPED 433 lesson plan.  At first I found myself asking mostly lower level questions... until I thought back to this lesson and remembered to just change the way the question is asked.  Rather than asking "what does this word mean", I started to shift to "compare the use of this word and this word". 

        This week, my goal is to try and reflect on the questions that I ask every day.  I want to become aware of the questions I ask and also think about the answer I am looking for.  I am hoping that if I practice asking and answering questions now, I will be more comfortable when I am put in front of a class.

      I have also included yet another chart of different questions based on their respective levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. 

Are you "all questioned out" yet?
If you find any other exciting resources leave a comment so I can check them out :)

Co-Teaching Lesson Plan

          After watching the lesson planning process last class, I couldn't help but wish that someone could ask me the tough questions when I prepare my lesson plans.  As a student, we are expected to ask these questions ourselves and bring ourselves back from tangents.  I wish that our program would implement a talk through lesson plan where the students could meet with the professor and discuss their idea for a lesson (much like a conference about a paper).  This way we could practice getting feedback and hearing the questions like "where's the point of this lesson" and allow us to bounce off ideas with our instructor.  I have found lesson plans to be very hard to conceptualize because I'm not sure how students act in a classroom.  Having a peer to bounce ideas from would be a great resource that we could take advantage of.

          I also liked the lesson plan format that we were given from the session.  The student learning targets are right at the top which follows the UBD backwards design process.  The objectives are the first thing to think about, then how do they compare to Common Core standards?  It was also interesting to see a section about "language".  Since we are currently working in an urban school setting filled with many cultures, it is important to think about language conflicts that might arise.  Are there words that the students haven't encountered yet?  Are there things that the student might not have prior knowledge to draw off of?  In the same top section there are sections for "per-assessment" strategies and also "evidence of learning".  For anyone who is observing the class, all the information they need is right at the top of the lesson plan.  Basically, here's what we want to accomplish and here's how you can see it was achieved.  

          Watching the lesson planning process helped me to see what I've been missing; I need to visualize my class.  Of course this sounds silly and like I should have thought of it sooner, but I found it hard to teach people that I didn't know.  One of the teachers in the demonstration easily knew her students' strengths and weaknesses and was able to adjust her lesson accordingly.  I need to imagine my students (or try to learn the students from my observations) enough to understand how I should differentiate and adjust my lesson.  

Did you guys have trouble visualizing your students? 
How did the lesson planning demonstration influence your process? (Or not?) 

Ch. 9 - Book Clubs

What?
     Chapter 9 focused on implementing book clubs for every classroom.  Ideally, the teacher would produce a list of books ranging in reading level that all revolved around the same subject. Students would choose a book based on interest and form book groups around their choice. Students would develop a reading schedule and lead the discussion in their groups.  The class would create a book club rubric that they could self-evaluate for participation grades, and the teacher would monitor discussions rather than lead them.

So What?
     This strategy allows students to take responsibility for their education.  We want to create life long learners and book clubs will encourage students to pick materials that they want to read. Students will also experience and practice cooperative group work, which is the most successful way to have students work in groups.

Now What?
     I can't help but worry about students who don't complete their reading assignment.  I understand that I will obviously tell if they don't complete the assignment and I can give them less credit, but if they miss one reading assignment they will be far behind their group.  Plus, the group members are depending on each other to spark discussion and if they don't read then they will all lose out.  
     Book clubs are also something that we will have to develop over the year as a class.  You can't just start a book club any random day, there needs to be immense planning with lessons on reading strategies and cooperative group work.  Sure, having the clubs meet every other Friday for 20 minutes isn't a lot of class time, but the amount of preparation and planning that goes into book clubs will take quite a while.  Like our administration panel explained, we will need to sell this activity and really get students hyped about book clubs.  Is it something that could be implemented anywhere? Perhaps.  
     This link is another resource that suggests book clubs in the high school class, and reading it made me feel more confident.  Perhaps I'm just over-worried because I haven't been in front of a classroom yet!  The author of this blog taught her students to brainstorm solutions to problems as they arise which allows the students to accept responsibility and self-reflect.  I really like the idea of students taking control of their education and learning with each other.   
Do you think this is a strategy that could be implemented in an inner city public school?

Ch. 6 - How to Use Textbooks

    

     There were a lot of great strategies in this chapter that offered extra guidance and practice for students while they are reading textbooks.  In my last two blog posts I kept saying that we need to teach out students how to navigate textbooks, but I honestly had no answer.  I was happy to have some answers, but I was also a little weary of some of the techniques. 

     Jigsawing through a textbook seems like a great technique that can be used for all grade levels.  I would love to implement this activity in cooperative groups where students each have a job (after they all read the text).  Students could even create a presentation on the section of the textbook and use large post-it paper to diagram the section out.  The modifications that I made to the lesson would probably be used for a section that I have chosen to expand rather than contract.  At the same time, it would be a good idea to have students Jigsaw a section that we are "glazing over" to allow students to interact with the text, but also not spend too much time on it.  The only challenge that I can immediately think of is how much class time will be dedicated to Jigsawing.  Would I have the students read the section in class and then discuss it?  Or should the students know what sections to read for homework and come in ready to discuss?  What if certain students don't complete the homework and the group suffers?  

     While reading about the "Guide-O-Rama" and "Textbook Circles", I can't help but question if these two strategies are geared for younger students.  With the "Guide-O-Rama" I can see how a teacher would be able to pose guided questions or help prompt students' thinking, but I can't help but question if the students would use it to their advantage.  In my own experiences in high school I know that the majority of the "honors students" wouldn't have used the guide and instead would have read the textbook straight or tried to copy the answers from another student.  I can see how the "textbook circles" would work, especially by giving each student a specific role in the group.  I think maybe the idea of book clubs or circles is seen as a younger activity and I wonder if high school students would think that they deserve a more challenging activity.  At the same time, "textbook circles" would allow the students to work in cooperative groups and explore the text with their peers.  I would be interested in trying the activity out and getting  the students' opinion of it. 

     While looking for strategies online I came across this website which offers the advantages and disadvantages of textbooks in the classroom but also gives you advice on how to improve on the disadvantages.  Its easy to say something doesn't work, but this site gives you some answers about how to fix the problem!

Were there any strategies that you particularly liked or disliked?
Did you find this like helpful? 

     
     

Textbooks For Reference

     This week we had a lot of important readings, but one of the most important facts that stood out to me was that textbooks are created to be reference books.  Would we ever have students read the dictionary or an encyclopedia from cover to cover?  (I know teachers that used this as punishment!)  The answer should be "no!", so why do we see teachers repeatedly forcing students to read every chapter in a textbook?  As teachers, it is our responsibility to teach students how to read/use the textbooks. 

    "Textbooks are designed to inventory huge amounts of information that can be looked up when needed"(40)

       Our book explains that there is too much information for students to digest at once.  We need to show our students how to look up the information they need, and when they can simply skim a section or chapter. Not every picture or figure is necessary to every topic, and sometimes students are forced into information overload. Follow this link to see some textbook strategies directed toward college students.  The method of looking at headings, subheadings and pictures before you start reading the chapter is a great way to break information up into sections or topics.  

     "Central topics are not covered in enough depth to give student a chance to truly understand them" (39). 

     In this case, we (the teacher) need to provide additional resources and information about certain topics.  If the textbook grazes over a large topic,event or person we need to open up the topic and provide extra sources.  At the same time, we can use textbooks to provide background information or to show the connections between topics.  The textbooks provide a skeleton or outline of what we can cover as teachers, but we need to "open" certain topics and bring the information to life.

     This chapter helped me to understand that sometimes textbooks are necessary (especially if they are required by law) and we need to make the best use of the mass of information.  Should students read textbooks straight through and constantly answer the end of the section questions? Definitely not!  But they should learn the skills to navigate through reference books and how to use primary sources to fill in the gaps!

Is It Necessary to Use Textbooks?

     After reading this chapter, I started to question the use of textbooks in class.  The author's suggest that textbooks should be used in conjunction with other materials, but I am thinking about completely removing textbooks all together!  
      
     My main reason for removing text books is because they produce lazy work.  Everyone knows that its not difficult for a teacher to say "read chapter one in class and complete the discussion questions at the end of the section for homework", but it is not teaching students how to read and analyze, it is teaching them how to skim and copy answers word-for-word.  I recall the many times that a teacher had me work or read from a textbook and I found it very easy and "safe".  I knew that I would finish before my classmates and I would be able to do other work or read to pass the rest of the class time.  Even copying definitions from the glossary was a joke, because so many of my classmates would copy the entire paragraph word-for-word without understanding the meaning.  They would endlessly copy the examples and other definitions of the word, without looking at the context of the word and determining the correct definition.  This is NOT learning.  Textbooks are the easy way out for students and teachers when it comes to lessons.  

   Another reason that I am against textbooks, is because they are almost always BORING.  There, I said it.  When I heard about the policy that all students would have to read mostly non-fiction, my heart dropped because it sounds so dreadful.  Then I realized... non-fiction isn't always boring!  As long as something is written well, students will enjoy it.  I have read numerous forms of non-fiction literature and I didn't even realize that it was non-fiction.  There are interesting stories to be told and the best way to share them is through personal accounts, diaries and articles.  Our students need to learn how to read and analyze in the real world!  

     Textbooks almost always present one side or one aspect of what they are teaching.  This is most obvious in my experience through history textbooks.  I know I already brought up this point but, history is written by the winners.  (In reality, there are accounts of both sides, but the winner's story is the one most widely taught.)  This can apply to my major (English)
 as well.  Last semester my professor had us read historical accounts about Othello and Julius Caesar after we started reading Shakespeare's plays.  (WAIT! You mean the plays are reflective of real historical events?!?! - me last semester).  We were able to look at the ways Shakespeare changed the details of the the stories to make them more dramatic, and I learned a lot about Shakespeare in that class than any other class on Shakespeare combined.  Who said that non-fiction had to be boring?

     I'm gonna leave you with two challenges:
          1.) Stop using that dreaded textbook! (Nobody likes it!)
          2.) Look for exciting/interesting non-fiction works for your students to read! 

 

Central Falls Scavenger Hunt

Central Falls Scavenger Hunt Results
   

     In this sacred space, the famous and infamous are side by side.  But in one part you can see the bullet holes left by a battle that took place between strikers and the National Guard

          One of the most interesting questions on our list was about the Saylesville Massacre, which took place during the Great Textile Strike of 1934. According to rifuture.org, a strike started on Labor Day in 1934 because workers wanted higher wages and better working conditions.  When a local factory called for protection, bullets were fired and hundreds of protesters were severely injured. I also found this video footage of the massacre.

When people dine out, what types of restaurants are most popular? 

   I found this question to be one of the hardest to answer because it is hard to tell which restaurants are popular just by looking at online data and seeing the restaurants.  I did, however, find this picture from an event called "dine Central Falls". This shows some popular restaurants and what type of food they serve.  In a quote from the online article, "it may be the smallest city in the smallest state, but Central Falls is home to more than 30 unique restaurants, many serving authentic ethnic cuisine from eight different nations". 

 I also looked at information on UrbanSpoon which suggested that the most popular restaurants are: Aui's Paisa Restaurant, Beirano, and La Sopresa Bakery.   

 Becoming wealthy during the Gold Rush of 1849, she remembered her hometown and donated $50,000 to build the most recognizable feature of the city.  Everyone knows who she is and can see her donation... time after time.

I can't help but laugh at myself for not realizing the "time after time" pun!  This is of course a reference to Caroline Cogswell who donated Cogswell Tower.  Accodring to Cenrtalfallsri.com, "A bequest by Caroline Cogswell led to construction in 1904 of the eppnymously-named tower, whose four clock faces provide unparalleled views of the city in all four directions".
  




Visit the Central Falls library.  What events and resources are available?

Online, I was able to look at the library's calendar.  I found out that every Thursday at 11am, there is "Story Time" for children ages 0-5 and at 3pm there is an all-ages "Movie Time".  On Tuesdays at 3pm, there is a meeting for the Manga/Anime Club which is geared towards teens.  I was very happy to see that the library offers free activities for children and families!




     Overall, this scavenger hunt was a great experience!  I loved trying to figure out the answers to the clues and it was great to learn about a place that I honestly knew little about.  I always knew that there was a ton of history in Rhode Island, but I never knew how much history happened just 20 minutes away from my house!  This activity seems imperative for a teacher when they are moving or teaching in a new area.  Knowing the facts that I just learned, I would try to form cool lessons where the students could see the history where they live and make real-life connections.  Looking into restaurants, parks and churches also helped me to get a better feel for the type of things my students might be interested outside of school.  I can't wait to discover more information about Central Falls and other areas in Rhode Island!  

Understanding By Design

     

     One of the biggest ideas in this week’s reading assignment was essential questions. Until now, I never really thought about them as important, but I have definitely been converted!  Students should always question what they are being taught, because there is always a bias present.  Questions like, “from whose viewpoint are we seeing or reading?” and “what’s the evidence, and how reliable is it?” should be asked regularly by every person, especially students!  How many people studied the Holocaust from Germany’s point of view? My guess is not many.  Every historical war or event is told/taught by one side but there is always another perspective.  Students need to learn to be critical about the information they receive, and this is a skill that will help them throughout life. 

     To take the idea of essential questions a little further, I think teaching students to question everything will help them gain a critical lens, but it will also make critical writing more accessible.  Many students have trouble coming up with the abstract idea of a thesis or essential question for research papers, but if we teachers make it second nature to spark questions and challenge ideas, critical writing may become easier for students.  It is one thing to have an opinion, but another thing entirely to be able to formally produce a thesis-driven paper with evidence to support your opinion.  An assessment for essential question – related themes could be a culminating debate, discussion or essay where students can look at all the research they have collected, choose a stance, and present their ideas to the class.

     As teachers, we are NOT looking for a regurgitation of our own thoughts, but a well-developed idea formed by our students on their own.  Like we discussed last class, its about teaching the skills more than the content.  Our students need to be able to write, argue and debate using support from a variety of sources both in and out of school.        

Here is an interesting video that I found about essential questions in the classroom its only about 2 minutes long, but it solidifies the idea of essential questions and why they are important in the classroom!

Follow this link to the video :) 

Let me know what you think!

        

Ch.1/2

          In many of my English classes (since Middle School and all the way to College) I have taken reading comprehension quizzes after reading assignments.  At the same time, I have constantly struggled with them, because I felt like it was impossible to remember every detail of the 8-10 chapters that I had to  read, on top of other homework and out of school activities.  There were reading quizzes that I failed strictly because I didn't really read the chapters, but there were others that I had prepared for and still got low grades.  

          After reading Chapter 2, I realized that most of the problem lies with the questions on the quiz.  In college I had a professor that would quiz us on minor details that he felt we should know after reading every piece.  For example, how old is the main character and what was the narrator holding in his hands?.  Seriously?  I would literally read the entire work but I would still get answers wrong.  None of the questions asked about major plot points or required a summary, so it became a game called "guess what the teacher will want to know".  That is not reading for me.  This quiz designed to prove who was doing the homework simply showed that reading doesn't matter, as long as you can guess the answers correctly. 

          The example on pg. 22 really stood out to me, because it served as a wake-up call.  Why do teachers ask these ridiculous questions that don't prove anything?  Even the quiz by our authors had the answer to question 1 hidden in question 5.  Students should never get a throw-away question.  Its not about students passing or getting an A, its about students learning to read, comprehend, analyze and repeat.  These reading quizzes should have short answer questions that are based on the plot, or it could take the form  of a short essay, blog post, or free write about what happened so far in the book.  As Chapter 2 explained, we need to teach our students how to comprehend, and our assessments must match our goal.

Have you had any experiences with reading quizzes? 
What method could we us to see whether or not students have read their assignment?  

Literacy

My name is Jessica Souza and I am literate in the sport of competitive running.  It sounds funny, but I promise that it is more challenging than you would guess.  In fact, it was much more challenging than I would have guessed when I signed up for my middle school’s cross country team in 8th grade.  My mom insisted that I find an extra-curricular activity and assured me that cross country would simply be running.  I was told that students wouldn’t have to try out and that there would be no “cuts, so I hesitantly joined.  Now, I’ll be honest and say that I wasn’t the greatest person on the team, but I realized that running took a lot of hard work and dedication, but it was also very rewarding.

          

I eagerly attended the meeting for cross country runners in the fall of my freshman year of high school.  I could tell that this year was going to be different.  Our coach was already mapping out our training schedule, and there was a legacy to live up to.  A few years before I started high school there was a female cross country star whose picture was in our hall of fame.  The second I saw her picture, the goal started to form in my mind.  She was the role model that I had never met.  Practices grew longer and I could feel my body getting into shape.  This was when I started to become literate in running. 

           There are two elements to running; mental and physical.  Mentally, you are racing yourself, your past times and trying to prove to yourself that you can work harder.  When the gun goes off, you have to think strategically about the run.  You have to run out fast enough to get a good place (too close and you’ll die out, too far and you won’t have much of a chance to move up) but you have to know when to settle in and start pacing yourself too.  The hardest part is deciding when to kick!  This is different for every person, because it depends on how long you can sprint.  I’ve seen people start before they can see the finish line and they pick off every person in their path.  At the same time, I’ve seen people so out of breath that they had no energy to kick at the end.  For me, I knew my kick was short, but if there was someone within distance to challenge me, I could pass them in a flash.  The other mental component was when you started to feel pain or discomfort.  Like when you start to get anxious and your stomach is filled with butterflies and cramps and your mind begs you to stop.  Or with a mile to go, your legs are burning and you know that you have the opportunity to stop and walk, but do you decide to take it?  Your mind is flooded with different thoughts, but can your body handle all of these emotions along with the physical labor?

           This brings me to the physical element of running.  Something that every runner has to become literate in, is their training schedule.  We would run a long distance super slow on a Monday to stretch our muscles, then Tuesday’s practice would be an average length at race-pace.  On Wednesday’s we would do hill workouts and timed laps to improve our speed, and Thursday’s we would have another race-pace run.  On Friday’s we would either run an easy work out (if there was a meet that weekend) or run another slow but long distance.  The most important thing to know about training is that the more miles you are used to running, the easier your short race distance will feel. 

           Throughout my years as a runner I became more and more literate through practice and my relationships with various coaches.  There was my coach from middle school, three different coaches from high school and off-season I practiced with a local team which had the most impact on me and my training.  Here I learned about specific stretches and how they would help me prepare for practice or a race.  We also talked about race strategies and that it is helpful to run with a partner and talk during practice, because it will help regular your breathing.  This led me to become the fastest girl on my high school team during my senior year.

My entire experience of running cross country has impacted my life in many ways.  I have learned to respect the amount of work that people put into anything they are passionate about (who knew that running would be so hard?!) and that hard work always pay off in the end.  I knew when I put 100% into my workouts and those were the races where I broke my personal records.  At the same time, I knew when I was cheating myself out of a good workout and it showed at that race.  I would love to use the idea of setting a goal and working towards it in the classroom.  I want students to beat their personal records (grades, writing ability...etc) and strive to achieve the best quality of work they can!  Running is also a great stress reliever and I would encourage anyone to try it out (it doesn’t have to be competitively).  Cross country taught me about friendships, coaching and it helped me to understand myself better.  I would have never imagined that I would belong to a junior olympic team, or that I my team would make it the nationals (twice!).  Running taught me a lot about the sport, but even more about myself.