Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 6

I connected to the idea within this chapter that talked about getting kids into that habit of free writing. It suggested that teachers find time in their lesson plans to fit in a regular space of free writing, when kids can respond to a relevant prompt in any way they'd like. If kids are given this time, they can write about something that pertains to what they're learning, but in a completely pressure free way.

I especially related to this as I am aspiring to be an English teacher, I have always believed that journal writing, and free writes are awesome ways to get kids a little bit more into writing. As a student, I found these opportunities the most fun because I didn't have to worry about being graded on it, I could just express myself. Eventually I learned to translate those feelings into an appreciation for all writing assignments, even ones which were less relevant and graded. I hope that I can get my students to want to write in journals and that they see that it;s a great way to become a better writer and a more independent thinker.

Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 10

I really liked chapter 10 in general because it talked about teachers finding ways to connect their subject material to the outside world. It mentioned designing projects that involve experts, finding a learning experience outside of the school, and arranging internships for students. All of the student comments showed how exciting these opportunities are for kids and how devoted they become to a project that was obviously designed with care by a teacher who clearly wants to expand the minds of his or her students.

I would really like to be able to create great outside learning experiences for my students. Especially because I know English can become a really mundane subject, I want to try to find ways to get my students to see the value of English outside of the classroom. I think that they will appreciate my efforts to get outside of the school that they are locked in for at least 6 hours a day. It's my hope that I can use my resources as a teacher to better the education of my students and to bring them out into the world that I am supposedly preparing them to enter one day.

Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 9

The thing that I automatically picked out from chapter nine was the part that stated, "Don't judge your success by whether students like you" (171). A student commented on this sentiment and said that, in general, kids appreciate a teacher who does his or her job everyday, without becoming overly concerned about being liked. Students respect that they will learn more if problems are dealt with instead of ignored and if their teacher acts as an authority figure instead of a friend all the time. In the long run, students will need and be grateful for these aspects of a teacher whether they show it or not.

I already know that I'm going to have a hard time letting go of what students think about me because I do have a constant desire to be liked by those who I'm around. However, I also feel that I will be a pretty strong and fair disciplinarian because a part of me is really devoted to my subject and the process of learning. I hope that these two sides of my personality can merge and work together so that I can stay in tune to my students and be liked and respected enough to know what punishments are appropriate and how to deal with situations in a satisfactory way for everyone involved.

Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 8

I really liked the part of chapter eight that stated, "focus on the important thinking we do, not just language mistakes" (151). This, paired with the idea that directly follows it, which talks about having a shared goal with these students to help them excel academically, are two very important ideas to me. Students who don't primarily speak English face so many difficulties coming into an English speaking school. If teachers can do everything in their power to ease and support that transition, as the book points out, than those students will have one less thing to struggle with.

I really want to be able to support all of my students equally. I have confidence that I can do this with many different types of learners, but the one thing I had never considered before was the fact that I'll have students who don't speak English at home, or who have just moved here from another country. I am now a lot more interested in starting to gather the tools I would need to make that experience a lot more enjoyable for those students. If I can do as the book suggests and make a point to pick out all of the really good things that my ESL kids do, than it would show both them and my other students that concepts and strong thinking can become more important than perfect grammar or speech.

Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 7

I appreciated the part of chapter seven that talked about how students prefer teachers who don't stick to textbooks, but who can supplement their curricula with relevant and interesting resources. Whether it's an article, a short story, a movie, or whatever else, students generally appreciate the efforts of a teacher to go above and beyond the standard textbook information. Students do notice teachers who feel bound by textbooks and standards, and what they really want is someone who can steer away from those boundaries.

I related to this idea a lot because I personally hate textbooks. I feel that more times than not, textbooks are really dry and boring for students to read. In my high school, we learned almost exclusively out of textbooks and I want to try my best not to fall into that trap in my classroom. It was interesting to read the opinions of actual students who feel the same way I do about expanding classroom material beyond textbooks.

Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 6

I liked the piece of chapter six that talked about encouraging students to get into a habit of free writing. It suggests that teachers should make an effort to build time into their plans for students to write a response to some relevant prompt. This way, they have a chance to use writing as a means of voicing their opinions about things that matter to them, and can start appreciating writing as an important skill in life beyond school.

As an English teacher this will come into play for me all the time. My passion is writing, and I want so badly to share that passion with my students and show them how much more it is is than some boring five paragraph essay to complete for a class. I want to find many different ways to get my students excited about writing, and having them keep journals is just one of the ways I think I will start. I consider it one of the best things I could do for my students if I can get them to write in their own spare time and enjoy all that it has to offer.

Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 5

I was most interested in the part of chapter 5 that spoke about group work and how teachers have to take the time to assure that each student is participating equally. It points out that groups often lend themselves to allowing one or two students to do all the work for the "benefit" of all of the members, and how important it is that teachers work against this tendency. It suggests assigning clear roles based on student's strengths as one potential solution to this problem.

Again, I believe that the reason I related to this idea is based on my experiences as a student. I was usually the person in a group who ended up doing all of the work and earning a good grade that four other people got without doing a thing. Because of this, I have an innate desire to combat this problem as a teacher by requiring evidence that every group member has participated. It's my hope that my students will see that group projects become that much more dynamic when every member works equally together.

Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 4

The part of chapter four which stood out to me the most was the piece about all of the other pressures, besides those in the classroom, that students feel all the time. It talks about the pressure that students put on themselves, that they feel from their parents, their friends, their social circles, their cultures, and a number of other sources. All of these things can take a number of different forms, but no matter how they appear, they all contribute to the overall achievement, or lack thereof, of students.

I think the reason that I liked this idea so much was that I experienced this kind of pressure as a student all throughout high school. I constantly felt that my teachers didn't realize that their class was not the only thing I had going on in my life. They would assign so much homework that it felt like they thought that I went home and had the rest of the night to spend diligently working on an essay. In actuality, I had a family, a job, friends, and responsibilities to take care of and homework was not always at the top of my priorities list. I would think to myself that I had just spent over six hours of my day in school, and now they expect me to spend all night on school too? And now, as I move towards becoming a teacher, I want so desperately to remember that feeling, and to treat my students as adults who have many other things in their lives besides my class. I would hate to think that I'll end up just like those teachers who I hated for complicating my after school life even more.

Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 3

The part of this chapter that stood out to me the most was the idea that teachers should involve their students in a discussion about behavioral expectations. It points out that if teachers take the time to make their rules clear from the beginning, than it becomes a lot more fair to use this as a part of assessments. It's also a lot easier to enforce these rules if every student has been made aware of them. It also suggests that putting these expectations in writing is a really good way to make them permanent and to have a resource to refer to when a rule is broken.

This idea struck me because discipline is one of the facets of teaching that worries me the most. The teachers that I had who I disliked the most were those that had unfair or inconsistent methods of disciplining. Because of this I take a lot of what was said by the student authors to heart. One boy stated, "Students don't want only the principals and teachers to be in control, they want the students to be more involved" (39). I really want to be the kind of teacher who allows the students to be involved in the disciplinary decision making, because that way they are more likely to want to follow the rules that they have had a part in making.