Since June, when the IU Vorhaus Teacher
Fellows Program launched, the eight participants have been meeting,
exchanging ideas and experiences, and working to develop their
digital stories as a foundation for further work. One goal of
creating these stories is to share authentic, classroom experiences and,
using technology, make them available to a wider audience. To
this end, each week, Fellows post vignettes of ongoing classroom
activities, and respond to the writing of others on a group weblog.
Some versions of these stories may be used to create additional digital videos which can be
made available for dissemination. Through these stories Vorhaus
Fellows are sharing the day to day challenges that make up the
fabric of classroom life.
During lunch at a recent working session,
Earl Walls became the first teacher to go public, reading his
work to the entire group. Francesca Saveri, who directs the Fellows
Program for IU, commented, "Earl read his piece Papers
to Correct. Heads nodded, clusters of laughter, we all knew
exactly what he was talking about and began to share our own stories
of stuff. We hope to continue sharing stories in this way."
Earl Walls' story:
I have papers to correct. This
thought has been with me like a dull headache since September
4th. That was the first day of school, and I wanted to get to
know my students' strengths and weaknesses, their skills, and
their needs. The idea of a comprehensive skills assessment seemed
like a good one at the time. So I pulled out my teacher's resource
book, went to the copy machine and cranked out about 30 six-page
packets. There was math, reading, science, social studies, spelling,
and grammar.
Using a two-hour block of time
on the 2nd day of school, I passed out the assessments and watched
with the keen eye, and listened with sharp ears that only a classroom
teacher could develop after years of administering tests. I watched
for bodies squirming in seats trying to reach a position that
would allow for wandering eyeballs. I listened for whispers hidden
by the sound of the air conditioner that asked, "Which one are
you on?" I looked for body language that said, "I know what I'm
doing, this is a snap." Or, "I really don't have a clue about
this stuff, and I'm really not taking it seriously." I looked
for sign language that asked, "What did you get for number 8?"
I saw tongues hanging out, and sweat on the brows, and thought,
"This will be invaluable information, that will help me plan for
the entire first semester.
After the 2-hour block, it was
time for lunch. I thought they should be finished, but I guess
the summer rust was still in place. I decided not to push it after
lunch. The next morning, we finished up after about an hour.
Now, all I have to do is take a little time
to correct them and we're in business. Maybe I'll start on them
after our staff meeting today. The staff meeting lasted until
after 5:00 pm. Well, I'll take them home with me. The night came
and went, and the papers traveled home and back to work with me,
but they never made it out of my book bag. Well, the days got
longer, and busier, moving with the speed of light, sometimes
just a runaway blur. Forms to complete, deadlines to beat, lessons
to prepare and teach, and meetings galore. Staff Meeting, Student
Success Team Meeting, School Site Council Meeting, Circuit Meeting,
PTA Meeting, School Site Technologists Meeting, SPECTRUM meeting,
and district-wide staff developments. The days turned into weeks,
and I kept carrying those papers around with me. I took them home,
I took them to my parents' house, I took them to my son's swimming
lessons, and out to dinner. I even took them to church, but they
never made it out of the bag. Whenever asked about the bag, I'd
just say, "I've got papers to correct."
Earl's story continues on the
next
page.
