Welcome to room 4210
My current home is Huron High School in Ann Arbor, MI. Total enrollment at Huron is at 1,504 with a student-teacher ratio of 20:1 (per a review from US News and World Report). In my four years at Huron, I have taught English 9, English 10, American Literature, Creative Writing, Composition, World History, and Journalism. This year, my class list is English 9, Creative Writing, and Journalism. Not only do I teach at the 29th ranked public school in Michigan, I teach at the school that has been awarded the coolest high school mascot in the state - the River Rats. Huron is a great place for teaching, learning, and discovering.
|
Mascot - River Rat. Huron High School
|
my students are:
* diverse * Ethnic * multi-lingual * unique *
On a day of perfect attendance, I have 128 students come in and out of my classroom. Of these 128, I have eight students on individual education plans, seven English language learners, and five students receiving adaptations and accommodations to their curriculum. Within that mix, I have students whose ethnicities span the globe - Arabic, African, Hispanic, Pacific Islanders, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, African American, Caucasian, and more. The diverse mix of students I encounter every day is part of what makes my job exciting and challenging and teaches me valuable lessons every day.
My 7th hour composition class - spring 2017
In the classroom
Reading is "hands on." As many students get bored with just sitting and reading, I create lessons to get kids out of their seats and using the text in ways beyond just writing an essay or another route assignment. I love activities that get kids moving around the room and working with their peers. Gallery walks are one of my favorite activities; in this activity, quotes or photos are posted around the room on large pieces of paper. Students walk to these and write comments and connections they have. Additionally, students will make comments on their peers' ideas and thoughts, which creates a conversation without spoken words. This works well for those kids that have a lot to say but are not always comfortable talking to their peers. Additionally, I have students create posters, drawings, and diagrams of what we are reading based on things like themes, our International Baccalaureate inquiry statements, etc. This allows students to have a creative outlet and express thoughts and ideas in images.
Students get a say. I have always made a point to let students know that they need me to be held accountable to their learning needs. After I give a syllabus that explains norms and procedures for the class I ask them to write down their expectations of me as their teacher, and what I need to do to help them be successful in my classroom. This year, I had students draft social contracts. These were divided into three parts - "I will," referring to what individual students are expected to do, "M.E. will," as in, Ms. Eberts, to detail what they expect of me, and "we will," referring to expectations of the class as a whole. Everybody signed these documents, myself included, which means that we can all hold each other accountable to create the best learning environment possible.
|
Example social contracts
|
Students take the lead. As much as I can, I create activities that allow for students to lead their peers. This puts students in charge of their learning, and helps them to direct their intentions toward specific things that they are interested in. One of my favorite activities is student led Q&A. Students develop questions based on what they are reading to ask to the class and call on their peers for answers. This prompts students to develop questions beyond basic "yes" or "no" questions and to search for topics and concepts that they genuinely want to know more about. It's great to see students in positions where they are presenting information to the class and learning together, instead of always just listening to the teacher lecture.
Students collaborate. Knowledge is best built in a community. That's why I make collaborative activities as much as I can. When students work together, they can exchange ideas that lead to new ways of thinking and new ideas. Students do well when they work together, and the work they complete together is often of a higher quality than work that is completed individually. Additionally, students get to practice working together toward common goals, which is something they will do often in the world outside of high school.
We go beyond the walls. Learning and doing cannot be held within the walls of a classroom when the world offers so many opportunities for discovery. My journalism class has had opportunities to travel and learn about reporting and news. In October 2017, Sara Badalamente (the instructor for newspaper and yearbook) took our Journalism classes to Lansing for the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association's fall conference (MIPA). Students attended sessions with actual reporters, journalists, and other media publication specialists to learn about reporting, ethics, and publications in the real world.
Journalism, yearbook, and newspaper students at MIPA's fall conference
In November 2017, Sara and I took Journalism students to Dallas for the Journalism Education Association's (JEA) National Conference. This was very similar to the MIPA conference but on a national scale. Students attended sessions on an incredible array of topics in sports reporting, photo journalism, the First Amendment, student press rights, political reporting, "fake news," and so much more. The conference was four days and offered opportunities for competitive writing; one of our students was a winner in an on demand press conference and article follow up. Now, our student can say she has won a national writing award. The opportunities that exist outside the traditional classroom can help students grow and learn in ways that sitting at a desk cannot offer.
Our trip to JEA's National Conference in Dallas. Highlight - my brother's family lives in Texas, which meant I got to take my nephew to the aquarium with us :)