Organization is Key

Hello everyone! It's been a while and I know you all missed me ;D

It's summer break for me and I will soon be entering my first semester in college! I was clearing out all of my things from grade school and I stumbled upon all of my Ready, Set, Teach stuff! All the worksheets, lesson plans, and portfolios that I created were still intact. I decided it was time for some organization. I already had a portfolio made containing a couple of lesson plans, classroom ideas, my resume, and other teaching resources that I needed for the TAFE competition. I decided to put all my other lesson plans and important things inside the portfolio. Any copies and miscellaneous papers went into a file folder.

After finally organizing everything, I just realized how fit I am for being a teacher. It's hard work and it requires very specific skills such as organization and patience. These are things not everyone has. I'm so happy to be taking the road I am. It may not be the road I intended but I'm glad I'm on it. Everything seems to be falling in place just right! Now I just need the next four years to go by quicker...

And That's a Wrap

Today, I was faced with the inevitable. Saying goodbye to my 6th grade students on their graduation day was difficult. It was great spending one last day with them and cherishing these past year's moments. Although a few kids are moving out of state and going elsewhere, a good majority are sticking around in town so it's more like a "See you later" kind of thing. I'm honestly so proud of each and every one of them because they succeeded and did so many great things. I hope that one day I'll be able to see them again and watch them cross the stage to earn their real diploma. They will forever and always be my first class I ever taught. Today was emotional for many - it was also my last day of high school. Although I could care less about high school, I wish I could do this entire year over again with my students. It was so much fun and an experience I will never forget. I'm blessed to have had this amazing opportunity and I'm blessed to have had so much fun with it. 

If one of my students ever happens to stumble across this page, here's my advice to you: 
Never stop trying and always try your hardest. You have the potential so use it and use it to your fullest. Strive for the most difficult scenarios and always reach for you dreams. Given that, never stop dreaming. Also, it's never really "goodbye" but rather a "see you later" because life always has its little ways of bringing back a group of kids who grew up together. 

Summer Jobs and Work

Now that I'm unemployed in the tutoring business, I need a job. For the past year, I've been tutoring my cousin who is currently being homeschooled. It was a legit job - hard work and everything haha. Anywho, he finished his homeschooling yesterday and I realized that I have no job for the summer. 

I've been thinking I should expand my experience with kids more and possibly work at a daycare or something of that sort. My number one wish this summer is to work as a camp counselor because I honestly think it's a great way to get experience and have fun while working. 

I'm honestly not sure where this summer is going to take me - vacations upon vacations and busy schedules are all in the midst. Wherever it does take me, I'm looking forward to every bit of it :)

Last Day with Ready, Set, Teach

Last Thursday was my last day with my 6th grade kiddos! I haven't been able to post about this every since due to the busy schedule I had that day and the following weekend. However, I'm free now so here it goes! 

Overall, my experience with Ready, Set, Teach! and the kids this year was unforgettable. I cannot explain to you how much I will miss my kids. Teaching them and bonding with them was an amazing experience and they have truly taught me so much. Aside from the fun stuff, I was able to learn so much from my field site teacher and the children. They taught me how difficult it really is to be a teacher and how much patience and nurturing the career requires. They also taught me how much I love teaching. I just love knowing that my kids have walked away with knowledge in their little minds and a smile on their faces after they have left my class. It's a wonderful feeling - to change a life. I couldn't have asked for a better group of kids. This journey of mine has been incredible and a simple blog post cannot express to the fullest my true feelings. I'm so glad I took this class and I'm so glad to have come back to my educational roots. 

Although I'm very conflicted (still) on whether my true passion is engineering or education, I'm still experimenting. My plan is to take a few engineering courses in the fall semester and if I feel like it's something that I really love then I'll pursue it. If not, then I guess education was and always has been the right path for me to pursue! As for graduation, well I'm graduating in 10 days! Crazy right? These 10 days are going by so quickly and I'm so ready to begin this new chapter in my life. 

I just hope that one day, wherever I go, I'll look back upon my old Ready, Set, Teach! memories and remind myself of the first class I ever taught. 

For now, I'm Ms. Ahmed to those same students and I won't be Ms. Ahmed again to another group of students for a while. It's a bittersweet feeling really. I'm happy to move forward, yet sad to see my kids go. This isn't the last chapter of my education journey - I know that for sure. Whether I pursue a teaching degree in generalist or one in STEM education, I know that someday I will be teaching in a classroom of my own and hopefully I'll be known as Mrs. Ahmed. ;)

Until then, this blog may be on a hiatus. Thank you all for following my RST journey! Let's begin on a new one at UTA :) 

With lot of love and education inspiration,
Miss Ahmed

Changes, changes

I asked my physics teacher, Mr. Dickerson, why he wanted to become a teacher. He told me this huge speech of his that brought tears to both our eyes. In short, he said that he wanted to teach because of the students. 

For a while now, I’ve been stuck in the middle of a very taut rope. On one side is engineering and on the other is education. Ever since I was a little kid, I wouldn’t really play with Barbies but rather fix things and figure how weird things worked. I would create my own little inventions out of cardboard and other things I could get my hands on. I was soon introduced to engineering. From then on, my entire family always said, “Oh Misbah will become an engineer. She’ll do great in engineering”. I was never given any other choices in my life. However, in the midst of figuring out how things would work, I would also lay all my unused Barbies and teddy bears in a line and teach them. I would teach them math and english right after I would get home from school. And that’s the story of how these two professions came into my life.

Now here’s where it got complicated. This past year, I was given an opportunity to take Ready, Set, Teach! It’s a class where we go out to elementary schools and student teach. I decided to pick 6th grade and I fell in love with them from the first day. The kids were the best. They never ceased to make me smile. When I got up to teach them, I fell even more in love with teaching. Walking away from that classroom, knowing I instilled knowledge in those little brains, put a feeling of utter and complete happiness in me. Happiness that has not died since that first day. As I began to love teaching more, I realized that my interest in engineering was fading very slowly. That interest fluctuates as a result of my bipolar disorder. I will love engineering so much one week and then lose interest the next. I’m also very stubborn. Well, when I didn’t know what to do, I began praying. I put my full faith in God and decided that He knows what is best for me. I also began looking at the pro’s and con’s of each profession. The pro’s of engineering was that it gave a good pay. The con’s: the pay was not going to last long - women will always get paid less, I also refuse to be put down by my male colleagues just because I am a female. The pro’s of teaching: I get a job right out of college due to my Ready, Set, Teach benefits, I get to do something that I absolutely love for the next 40 years of my life, and it’s something that I will never get tired of. The cons: the pay isn’t that great, but I was never in for a career because of the money. It was only until today that I was given what seems to be a sign from God. 

Engineering will always be a male dominated career. That does not mean that women will not be able to do it. It only means that women will be neglected in the work force and will be bullied at work to an extent. There’s never any guarantee that your boss will be kind and give you equal pay as the men. For the past four years, I’ve stressed over things I shouldn’t have stressed over and I don’t want the next four years of my life to be like that. I don’t want to miss family occasions because I have a test to study for. I also do not want to look for months for a job. Knowing I have a set job right out of college is the best thing anyone could ask for. All in all, I love teaching and there’s not more or less to it.

So here’s my final decision. I am officially changing my major from Civil Engineering to Education. It’s been a long journey trying to figure out what I need to do and I’m glad I’ve decided. To me, being able to teach a child and change that child’s life in some way, shape, or form is the best thing in the world. It’s about doing what I love and nothing else. No other profession can beat that. 

I am honestly in the happiest mood in the world right now :) 

Cluster and Field Trips

It's the time of the year when all schools are having all their special events and field trips! This time of the year is not only super exciting but it also means that the school year is coming to an end! I am most definitely ready to graduate - I'm actually very conflicted about it, however. You see, I've been wanting to graduate since I walked into my high school four years ago. Now that I've experienced Ready, Set, Teach; I never want to leave! I cannot express to you how thankful I am for these group of kids to enter my life and allow me to be their student teacher. It's definitely been a life changing experience that I will never forget. 

Regardless of my dwindling time with my students, I still have managed to sneak in some more time with them! On Wednesday, the kids were having a field trip to their local junior high and I decided to take the entire day off from my school to spend a school day with them. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE! First of all, I need to buy super comfy shoes when I become a teacher because they literally stand for 8 hours! Also, I now understand why teachers push for quiet/independent time. It was so serene when all the students were diligently working and you could hear a pin drop. The kids are so hyper during the school day and it's a lot to handle. After Wednesday, I will always give major props to any elementary school teacher. 

Today (Thursday) was the annual Cluster Track Meet. Also known as Cluster, the track meet is an all day event that's pretty much like field day - except you compete against other 6th graders from neighboring schools. All the elementary schools showed up to my high school because it was taking place in my high school's track field. I decided to take the school day off to watch them compete! During some of the events, I found myself tearing up because the kids were working so hard and they were winning and I was just so proud of them. They really needed a day off just to have fun after all the hard work and endless state testing they went through for the entire year. Although my elementary school did get quite a few 1st place ribbons, they didn't win overall - HOWEVER - the other schools were cheating heavily and were not following the Cluster rules. Knowing that our kids were playing fair made our losses AND wins a positive. 

For now, field trips are over and they have one more state test to take before school is out and they are ready to move on! I'm definitely going to cry, if not tear up during their graduation and clap out.

Six

6 years ago, I left my elementary school, not really knowing where I would end up in 6 years. I had the strongest yearning to go back to my elementary school for the past 6 years, but I never went through with it. I had no clue that I would be teaching 6 years later in the same elementary that I left and loved so much. It feels so weird to see my old classrooms, filled with other students and filled with a new teacher. 6 years ago, I was in my students' positions. 6 years ago, I had no ambition to be a teacher and now it's everything that I ever talk about! This makes me think: where will I be 6 years from now? Will I be in my city or across the country? Will I be a teacher or engineer? Will I be married  with kids? Hmm who knows! 

Happy

As the school year is winding down, it's becoming more surreal everyday that I have days left with my students. When I entered the RST program, I had no clue that I would grow such an attachment to them! I never thought that I would actually enjoy spending three hours on my feet, interacting with them. This school year has taught me so much. It was the year of finding an escape from all my worries and knowing everything would be okay. You know who taught me these things? My students. They were my escape each and every day. Whenever I entered the elementary school, there was nothing else on my mind other than my students. They also taught me how to become a more patient and calm human being. I was always rushing and fighting time and just trying to make everything okay by doing things quickly. I learned the hard way that the rabbit never wins. They made me realize that I should take my life day by day. I should never rush and in the end, life will work its mysterious ways to make everything work in my favor. I've said it once and I'll say one billion times more, RST was the best decision I have ever made in my life. Who knew that three hours with kids could make me so happy and blissful? My entire high school career could never amount up to the happiness this one class has brought me. 

I don't think I've ever really said and meant it, but here I go:

I love teaching.

Bibliography Lesson Plan

Next Tuesday's lesson will be about creating a bibliography for their research papers! I'm actually very surprised that 6th grade students need an entire lesson to explain to them how to create one and how to correctly format it. I figured it would be common sense, but some students need that extra help! I developed my lesson plan from scratch - like always. I decided I would post it up on here if anyone (pshaw) would ever find it useful and would want to use it. If anyone does use my lesson plan and the materials that go along with it, all I ask is that you give me credit, please!

Well, I'm off to printing all the lesson materials and creating the file folder for it! Tomorrow I see my students and there is one group I need to talk to about behaviour. I love this group, but last class, they were acting out. They need to understand that this GT project is a privilege that can/will be revoked if they continue to have behavioural problems. 


Lesson Plan - Bibliography

Creating a Bibliography Lesson Plan
Help With Citations Worksheet

Bibliography Instructions

Calming Week

Usually, Monday's are very hectic and stressful, however, Ready Set Teach made it 10x better. My students truly do bring me happiness and calm. I have so much going on right now with projects, exams, etc that I've been a little angsty and just "ugh". Every time I pull into my elementary school, there's this weird aura of utter and complete bliss that fills me from head to toe. I'm not sure if this is just the school or the fact that I really enjoy being a teacher... Whatever it is, I love it. I forget about all the stress and whatnot. 

The GT project is going really well! We are almost finished and I just have one lesson to teach the kiddos before we wrap up the project. I'm so anxious to see all of their completed projects because it not only reflects on what they've achieved but also what I have taught them! 

Here's to another great day in Ready Set Teach! 

Busy busy busy

It's that time of the year where elementary kids are preparing for their STAAR exams and high school seniors (like me) are finishing up their last few months of school and whatnot. Wow. Where do I begin? These past two weeks in Ready, Set, Teach have been a complete blur! Let me just start with the fact that 6th grade totally wears me out! Don't get me wrong - I love my kids, but they are so energized and ready to learn with all of their questions and whatnot that I end up so drained by the time I clock out. 

GT projects are going really well! I do have some students who are struggling and need to work diligently and harder. They understand what to do and how to do it, but they are lazy (a pandemic sweeping students of all ages across America). I need to figure out how to motivate these particular students and get them excited to work on this project.. 

My first lesson for this semester will be on the 15th! I'm teaching my GT kids how to correctly write a bibliography. This is, apparently, a tough feat for these students. Which brings me to the question of, why does education in Texas suck so much? These students are learning less and less as the years go by due to all this unnecessary state testing. One thing I do know is that if I do become a teacher, I will most definitely teach at a private school. 

Post Spring Break

I can't believe how much I missed my students over Spring Break! Let's just start off with saying that they truly bring me happiness whenever I have my internship days. 

This week we finally began working on the GT Pursuit of Passion project! I honestly love working with a small group of kids who actually want to learn and have similar thoughts/ideas as me. Usually, with the other kids, I always have to repeat directions and go very slow. However, I can cruise through each part of the project in the allotted time with ease. 

The first group is a little awkward - the girls are very quiet and the boys only whisper. The entire 40 minutes is stretched out, but it will hopefully get easier once we get more in depth into the project and the project requires more talking amongst peers.

The second group is great! They all love to talk and ask questions about their project, the other two groups are very hesitant to do so. They also work diligently without getting off task and overall, it's a joy!

The third group is my most difficult group, partly because I'm not with them the entire time and also because they are so awkward and quiet! They work very very slowly and constantly have a hard time staying on task and working quickly. I'm not sure how I'm going to get them to work quicker, or we will never have their projects done (lol). However, a little girl from this group was writing her topic proposal and as I was walking I peeked at her paper. She wants to become a teacher and was inspired by me to take part in the Ready, Set, Teach! internship!! A huge grin flashed on my face. That might have been the first time I've ever seen one of my students write about teaching and being inspired by my internship. 

I think the only negative side to the GT project is not being able to see my other kids. Since I'm with the GT group the entire time of their class, I haven't really talked or said hello to any of the other students in 6th grade. Ah, well it's okay! I'll get to it when I teach my first lesson for this semester. 

Open House and Bulletin Boards

I haven't updated you all in such a while! In the midst of battling a nasty cold, I did get some teaching finished here and there...or maybe not haha

I actually did not get much finished in terms of lesson planning and actually teaching, however I did get my required bulletin board for this semester finished! I'll post the picture below.

It's an Asia bulletin board with the main focus on the Middle East. The "Did You Know" facts are about different countries and landmarks in the Middle East. The little string and loop highlights the students' area of testing. I debuted the bulletin board at their open house which was so amazing! I was able to meet so many parents and the mood of the entire thing was so much fun and pleasing. I felt very glad to be a part of these students' lives. Ahh teaching gives back so much to better the soul. 

Any who, it's getting late and I'm still dealing with a bit of a cold. At least it's Spring Break! I'm looking forward to finally meeting with my GT kids and beginning on their project. :)

Exhaustion

I know, I know, I've been absent from my usual writing and posting. It seems as though I've caught a bit of a cold from my kids... However, I'm doing better now aside from my post nasal drip. 

My field-site teacher has finally prepared everything for me to begin working with the GT kids on their pursuit of passion project! I'm so excited to help them through this very long and tough journey. I'm very positive all of their hard work and perseverance will pay off when they have their entire project put together and they are rewarded for their efforts. 

The other day, my kids were totally out of control. I just couldn't seem to get them on task and stay focused. I was entirely frustrated with them until my field site teacher stepped in and saved the day. After this minor incident, I realized that I didn't know how to instill discipline in children. They need to understand that just because their teacher has stepped out of the room does not mean their student teacher cannot instill discipline on them. Ugh. They tire me out. 

Pursuit of Passion and Living History Museum

Today was the day that my sixth graders presented their Living History Museum in front of their entire elementary school! Let me begin with saying that I am so so so proud of each and everyone one of them. Earlier this week, many of the kids were so ill-prepared that my field site teacher insisted on canceling the entire presentation. I'm so glad she didn't! Regardless of how terrible their practice presentations went during the beginning of the week, each one of the kids pulled through and made the entire museum alive (pun intended)! The museum was such a nice wrap-up for a very stressful and eventful week. 

Now that the museum is over, I need to begin planning for my bulletin board which will be debuted during open house! Since they're learning about the Middle East next in Social Studies, I'll be making a Middle Eastern themed board. Hmm I think I'll just get ideas off of pinterest...

My semester long special project that I'll be doing is with the GT students. It's called Pursuit of Passion. I was given the materials today by my field site teacher and shortly, I'll begin going over all the rules and activities they need to complete. I'm excited to begin working with the higher level thinkers, being a GT kid myself! 

I don't think a smile ever wiped off my face today because of my kids. Ahh the perks of having a teaching internship :) 

Short and Sweet

Teaching is so tiring! I'm only at field site for 3 hours, but it wipes me out so quickly. Today was a bit of a boring day (even my field site teacher agreed) - I supervised and watched the kids present for their living history museum. 

**Off topic moment: For future reference, I definitely want to use the living history museum idea as a full blown unit. The students pick a historical figure, research them, and eventually dress up at their historical figure and recite a short biography when an audience member pretends to press a button that brings their figure to life!**

Homeroom's assignment was to finish their sarcophagi for Open House. While I was supervising, a couple of kids were talking very inappropriately. I had to step in and give them a short and simple lecture about bullying and why it's not okay. I know that they're only sixth grade, but they need to know at an earlier age that name calling and harassment is never okay and can be defined as bullying at a certain point. I wish that elementary and schools in general had more lessons about bullying and other social issues. These things are serious and can effect others in very negative ways.

Regardless of the issues I deal with during my internship, I love it so much and I absolutely love every one of my kids!

Pathways

Today, a very talented and overall wonderful teacher of mine left the education field to pursue a career in what he loves most - web design! He was a Computer Science teacher and I've had him as my teacher for almost 2 years. His leaving was bittersweet and it also gave me some food for thought. 

I wish to pursue a career in education - however, I've never imagined going into the teaching field right out of college. I always thought I would spend a few years in the engineering field, focusing solely on Civil Engineering, and then retire to a teaching job. My former Comp Sci teacher never really had an intent to become a teacher, nor did he think (when he first began teaching) that he would soon move onto a career fully focused on Web Design. His history made me the think, "What does the future have in store for me?". I have so many aspirations: becoming an educator, a civil engineer, an advocate, and a baker. I've always wanted to open up my own bakery but never thought it would be a plausible career for me. Same goes for civil engineering and teaching. 

Right now, at this very moment, I have a plan for my life. I don't know what's to come in the future but all I know (or want to believe) is that the future is going to work just the way I want it to. However, life obviously doesn't work like that. God may have a completely different plan for me. Who knows where I'll be after college. I may be a teacher, an engineer, a baker, or maybe even something completely out of my mindset such as a civil rights lawyer!

I think it's time I let God open pathways for me, instead of diverging off the path He's already created...

Regardless of these really deep "shower thoughts", life's looking güd. :) 

PS, I have my internship tomorrow and I'm so excited to see the kids! 

Valentine's Day: Student Teaching Edition

I was asked by a number of my students if I would be their valentine...I could have gone many routes with my answer.

First off, being a Muslim, I do not celebrate or take part in Valentine's Day. I could have told my students that I don't celebrate the holiday, but that would have resulted in too many questions and explaining to do so I decided not to tell them..

My next route was to say "No, I'm sorry", however, then I would be breaking quite a few 11 year old hearts. I didn't want to do that so you can only guess what I did say.

In the end, after thinking out all of my options (I had so many more options in my head), I went with saying, "Sure!" and not screwing around with tween boys' feelings. Today, I was treated with cute valentines and sweets. Although it was great to receive gifts, I didn't need them to feel loved or be happy! My students' presence makes me overjoyed and gushy because they're all just so darn cute :)

Overall, it's been a superb day!

Exciting News!!

After school today, I decided to head to the elementary school just to ask my field site teacher a few questions and it's always fun to pop into their class when they least expect it! After the dismissal bell rang, I was able to get a few things sorted out for the semester. We discussed upcoming projects that I beyond excited about! 

1) As part of the Texas Performance Standards Project, my field site teacher is pulling out the GT (gifted and talented) students from each period and pairing these groups of kids with me! The project that they will be working on for two and a half months is called the Pursuit of Passion project. They will be required to research a topic, write an essay, and create a product (some type of visual). There's so many more details and kinks to the project, but way too difficult and unnecessary to explain. I was a GT student which makes this experience even greater. For the last semester, I've been working with special needs kids. Now, I get to work with students who are on a completely different level (this should be interesting...)! Also, this project can count for the special project I have to do with the kids :)

2) Open house is coming up and I am required to create a bulletin board for the students and parents during the event. Creating a bulletin board isn't the exciting part about all of this..it's the fact that I'll be there during Open House that excites me! I cannot wait to meet all the parents and finally interact with them. I'm assuming it will be exciting for the students as well since they will be able to introduce me to their parents!

3) Lastly, I'm going to be a speaker at their sixth grade graduation! I just need to create an inspiring speech and try not to cry when I stand up on stage to speak... 

First Day Back

Today was my first day back at the elementary school, and  I was more than ecstatic to see the little kiddos. I missed them so much after a two and a half month hiatus consisting of holidays, training, and competitions. I was expecting a little bit more interaction with the entire class  in each period (I teach sixth grade and they switch classes so I have 2 classes that I stay with for the full time and 1 class that I stay with for half the time due to my lunch break and the rest of the school day), however, it was more of a one-on-one with the kids who did not finish their classwork that was assigned two weeks ago(!). 

I took the kids who didn't finish their classwork to the ZAPP lab (not sure why it's named that) where there was a fairly strict fill-in teacher who I happened to bond with. She made my job so much easier since the kids were constantly working and we were able to talk about teaching and the various enjoyments of it. 

In first period, there was a student who had missed quite a bit of school and had fallen very behind in his work. I was able to do a one-on-one tutoring with him and it really opened my eyes. These kids are being tested so much that their learning is almost robotic. They're given information, told to memorize it, and given a test in every stinking subject. In my one semester of observation, I've seen so much of this robotic "learning" and it was only until today that I realized how terrible it is. The child I was working with is so bright! He's got a great mind and he knows so much about the world. However, with the stringent education guidelines and constant assessments, the child isn't able to learn what he wants to learn. Here is a child who is so intelligent and has such great potential but he's being held back in his education because he can't reach the stupid state guidelines? Just because he can't seem to grasp what the state wants him to grasp does not mean he isn't able to further his education to the next grade level. All students have their weaknesses and strengths, but the state cannot hold them all back.

These tests are ridiculous. Like Albert Einstein said, "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." That's what these students believe.