Graduate class #4

Procedures, procedures, procedures. I thought of nothing more in the 3 hours of class. I've struggled since the first day I taught my own class and didn't have words for what bothered me. Now I know, after watching Harry Wong, that I lack explicit procedures. What a simple concept! When I picked other teachers' brains I was simply asking, "What are your procedures?" In my science classes the next day I looked for major holes in my procedures and gave my students a couple of 'revised classroom procedures' that immediately made a difference in the efficiency of the classes.

In our hour-long discussion in small groups I felt aimless and wished for a guide of some sort. One woman in my group dominates the discussion with unrelated stories and I long for meaningful discussions about how I could apply understanding by design in my classroom. She does not seem to like children, especially high schoolers, and does not aspire to be a teacher, so the conversations turn to her dislike and distrust of children in libraries. The other woman has a wealth of knowledge and I long for more structured guidance from her or someone like her.