NCTE

Are we ready for some good news yet?

Well, here it is. A few months ago, my BYU professor, Dr. Dawan Coombs, invited me to send in a proposal (along with a few other new teachers) to present at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) conference. The conference is in Boston in November 2013...and guess who will be going to the east coast this year?... Yup, ME!!!

I am still in awe that we were chosen to present. Here is a part of the email we received:

Dear Maichael Mayans:

Congratulations! As President-Elect and Program Chair, I am pleased to invite you to participate in the 2013 Annual Convention of the National Council of Teachers of English to be held November 21-24 in Boston, Massachusetts. Your proposal was selected from more than 2,000 submitted for this year’s convention.

It's official. :)  

It's also daunting..and nerve-wrecking...and an honor...and so many other emotions that I can't even name.

Now I need to apply to their diversity grant. The provide a few grants of up to $500 to first-time multicultural presenters. (Thanks Dad for that Cuban blood!). I'm also going to try and see if my district and/or school will help pay for some of the expenses. I have the flight, hotel, food, and frivolities to think about.


And if you want some more information on what exactly I will be presenting, here is our proposal write-up for you to enjoy:

Description:

What can new teachers contribute to the teaching of classical texts? This presentation highlights ways four new career teachers have re-invented traditional approaches to texts that are classroom staples in most schools. These teachers explore how pop culture, simulations, technology, and real-life connections to controversy help students see why these texts matter so much to us and why these texts should matter to them.

Kate Goodwin, a high school teacher in an urban district in Virginia, will explore how applying Web 2.0 principles makes studying Julius Caesar and Othello dynamic, interactive, and accessible to students fluent in new technologies. By demonstrating strategies used in her own classroom, such as remediation of the texts through social media and interactive reenactments, Kate shows how ideas behind the latest technology can guide and transform the way students read and interact with classic texts. 

Kristen Lofton, a second-year teacher at a growing suburban high school in Georgia, will showcase strategies she used to make the plot of Harper Lee’s classic To Kill A Mockingbird relevant to students over 50 years after its first publication.  By making connections between the modern world of her students and the world of this text, both the plot and the themes of took on new life in her classroom.

Maichael Mayans, a first-year middle school teacher in a rural district in Utah, will showcase how simulations and experiential learning helped her bring The Outsiders to life for another generation of tweens.  She will demonstrate and discuss how these hands-on experiences helped her students consider what it means to be an "outsider" and an "insider," as well as what happened when students pushed social norms in their community.

Lea Rackley, a high school teacher at an alternative school in Tennessee, exposes thematic connections between Romeo & Juliet and The Hunger Games that hooked her most disengaged students.  By teaching Romeo & Juliet alongside portions of the Hunger Games film, as well as through the use of theme-tracking charts, her class discuss the theme of star-crossed lovers, made connections between these stories, and analyzed the tools each medium used to communicate this theme. 

The presentation will involve audience participation and hands-on experience with the activities. Participants will leave with specific lesson ideas and handouts to help them apply these ideas in their own classrooms as well as new ways of thinking about the teaching of classical texts. 

Payson teen dies after weekend auto-pedestrian crash

News report: Teen hit by car in rural area

Yesterday was a really hard day to be at school. The halls have never been so silent.

As my students walked into my classroom, I invited them to write in their writer's notebooks about their feelings/experiences. Whenever I am going through hard times, I know that I am able to order my thoughts a little more and calm down as I write. Similarly, I think my students appreciated the time just to reflect privately and unload all their emotions onto the blank page. Those who wanted to share afterwards were given that opportunity to do so.

Unfortunately, even though our world seems to stop when we experience tragedy, the world and people around us keep going. I explained to my students that it seemed like a cruel joke that we still had to do state testing, but that is simply the truth. So, today we have testing...and who knows how that will go.

During this whole things, I have shed many tears. I hurt for my students. Some of them were at the party that night and one of my students did CPR on the girl while waiting for help to arrive. I can't even imagine how horrific that experience would be, and I hope that I can be a caring and understanding adult in their lives right now.

Sad News

I opened up my email tonight to find a message from the principal. She grievously informed us that 4 students had been in a car accident over the weekend. One student died; the others went to the hospital. I knew that girl who died. She worked as my teacher's assistant in first period and was a lovely girl. Honestly, when I first heard the news I was in shock and couldn't react. Afterwards, I shed some tears in thinking of her and her family. My heart is truly broken for them. It is hard to now think of this young lady and know that she will no longer light up my classroom during first period.

I am struck with how much love I have for my students. I really didn't know this girl for very long, only a few months. Still, I see every one of my students and imagine a long and beautiful future for all of them. I imagine friends, high school dance, college acceptance letters, jobs, dates, marriages, families, and futures where the things they have learned in my class will impact how they see the world and how they communicate their opinions and values. I see happiness when I look at my students. I see hardships as well as victories when I look at my students.

This news of the accident will obviously effect us for the rest of the school year. This week we have state testing (whelp, I'm thinking quite a few students aren't going to do very well because they will be mentally preoccupied with other emotions). I just pray that I can be a caring and understanding teacher to those students who were especially close to this girl. I want to be able to discern how to best help them through this time of sadness and mourning. I guess we will all just take it one day at a time.

Laughter Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

What a roller coaster of a week. There have been so many tragedies this week, what with the Boston Marathon bombing and a few people who have gone missing in the last few days. Scary times.

Luckily, I laughed a lot this week. I actually find this pretty ironic since this week was actually very boring as far as lesson plans and assignments go. We are currently preparing for the end of year testing, and this means we have a lot of boring reviews and practices. But, amidst all the annoyed students and national tragedies, I found plenty of things to bring a smile to my face.

First of all, it's amusing to hear what students think of you as a teach. As I passed out another review worksheet, one student commented, "Sheesh, teachers have it easy. All they do is make worksheets and then watch other people do them." HAHAHA. So that's what I've been doing with all those early and late hours at school...just making worksheets, eh?

Then we have the kids who are falling asleep in my class because they can't seem to practice self discipline at home and go to bed early. When I saw one of my students at the back of the class obviously asleep, I told another student to smack him awake. He lifted his head and I saw that the whole left side of his face was bright red and dented with imprints of his jacket. I had to work really hard to keep in my laughter. He just looked so out of it, and I felt his pain. By that time of day, I just want a nap too!

And then of course there are funny/cute things that I see on students' assignments. Every week I give them an article to read and answer questions. During this, I have also taught them how to anotate a text (and can I just brag for a second? They are doing so so so well at annotating! They really get it! At the beginning, I think they were confused why anyone would write their comments, questions, and connections in the margins, but now they are actually writing thoughtful things and coming to really good conclusions. I love it!). Anyway, so this article talks about tips some of the most successful college students suggest. On the section entitled "Pursue passion, not A's", one hard-working-straight-A student wrote, "My whole life is a lie!" I laughed.
On another paper, I found a very sweet note from a student. What a perfect way to bring a smile. I think this is one of the perks of teaching junior high. Do you honestly think I would get notes like this from high schoolers? Here it is.

Then there are always those annoying, talkative, happiness-sucking classes that just turn me into a Disney witch. Yeah, I told my 5th and 6th period classes at the beginning of the week that they were on probation. If they got 5 tallies in the week, they would have to do "Behavior Bootcamp" (what I did with my 7th and 8th period class last semester). The kids who experienced Behavior Bootcamp from before urgently told the other students that they DID NOT want to experience it. I also arranged with them a reward system. If they get 10 positive points, they get to watch a movie (yes, I plan to strategically time that movie to be the last week of school). The best day was Thursday. Students started filing into the classroom. Some students decided to take an active role in reminding their peers to be quiet; they would shush the people walking in the door and then tell them to start working. I was so please to see them all come in, start the bell work quietly and on their own, and continue being attentive as I called out for people to share what they had written. Honestly, it was such a simple pleasure, but it was exactly what I needed for the day. They were working so hard to impress me. I realized that it is important to find the right type of motivation for each class. Finally I have found it for this period! :)

And lastly there is the ever-crazy, ever-worrisom job search. I wont go into all the craziness, but I am happy to report that I have two job interviews lined up for next Wednesday. I can only hope and pray for the best. Surprisingly, I am confident that everything really will turn out fine and that I should just be myself. While I am far from a perfect teacher, I feel like I have worked really had this year to be a good, fun, effective teacher. And I think, for the most part, that I have succeeded in that endeavor. It is so wonderful to have so many friends and family rooting for me and helping me along the way. Thank you!

Spring Break is upon us

This last week I wanted to do something that would be student led and not cause me a ton of stress. To finish off our persuasion/argument unit, I had my students create a unique product and then make a power point to advertise it. When I was gone for the teacher fair, they made prototype They spent all week writing their power points and inlcuded the following sections:

• Celebrity Endorsements
• Product Description 
• Target Audience 
• History of the Company 
• 3 Reasons why someone should buy their product

 Yesterday they all presented, and it was a huge success. Here are a few pictures of their very creative projects:

Here we see the Bender Binder (a binder that shrinks so as to fit in your pocket), the iPhone 7 (see-through so as to allow you not to trip as you walk and text), the robo-hat and a futuristic TV.

This is the Money Tree. Their slogan was "Grow, Harvest, Invest." :)  

Purposeful Pocket Purse and a fashion shovel. The ladies who created the fashion shovel had Luke Bryan (country singer) as their celebrity endorser and quoted him as saying, "I'm so glad I can still look sexy while diggin it."   :)

The Everything Kit (stores everything you need for school). YES PLEASE!

Animal deodorant. Here you see Creamy Kitty and Dogxibo for your lovable pets.

I was impressed with the creativity, but I was also pleased with their persuasive abilities. I think it was a job well done.

Now its time to relax and enjoy spring break (Oh, and yes I still have Outsider essays to grade over vacation....grrrr.....)

BYU Teacher Fair

Ok people, yesterday was INSANE! I requested a substitute teacher for Friday because I had to go to the teacher fair at BYU. Wow, teacher fairs area crazy!

 First, let me tell you about Thursday. When I told my students that I wouldn't be at school on Friday, they naturally asked why. This was the conversation that followed:
Me: Well, I have to go to this fair so that I can have a job next year.
Students: WHAT!?!? You aren't going to be here next year!?!?!? You can't leave. You are such a great teacher!!!
Me: (Sighs because I know that I've told them this before) No, I wont be here. This is only an intern spot. They don't have a position open for me for next year.
 Students: So, if another English teacher leaves, then you will be able to stay?
Me: Yeah, I guess so.
Students: OK, who can we sabotage???
:)

 I'm flattered that my kids want to keep me around.

 Anyway, onto the teacher fair. I got there right as it started, 9:00am baby! It was already packed and I had no idea where to go. The days before the fair, I had made plans of the top districts I wanted to visit and a few I wanted to interview with.

Well, with all the madness I didn't get to interview with all of them, but in the end I did have 6 interviews total at the following schools/districts:
-ALA (its a charter school in Arizona)
-Davis county School District (Farmington/Kaysville area)
-Granite School District (Salt Lake area)
-Box Elder School District (semi-rural Utah)
-Duchesne School District (in rural Utah)
- Jefferson School District (Rexburg, Idaho area)

 The only other district that I was sad to not interview with was Salt Lake School District. Others, like Alpine and Jordan School Districts, weren't interviewing at the teacher fair.

 I wont go into a ton of detail about the interviews. Really there was only one that I felt I didn't do well in because it was so stiff-feeling. I do better in a more natural, conversational interview. Really, I rocked the other interviews, and I had 3 interviewers specifically tell me that I did a fantastic job on the screening interview. :) Yay!

 I had to be honest with some of the districts. Duchesne, for example, I explained my hesitation because I need to be somewhere where I can be social. The woman I interviewed with was awesome and she was able to convince me a little more to keep that district open as an option. In fact, she wants me to come out some time in the next few weeks to see the schools and meet principals who are looking for English teachers (yeah, I guess I made a pretty great impression on her). But...still, we are talking about rural Utah here. Probably not my first choice, but I am keeping my options open. Who knows where the Lord has planned for me to end up.

 More than anything, this experience helped me gain confidence that I will be able to get a job for this next year. People enjoy talking to me in interviews, and I think I give them a positive yet honest reflection of myself. The job hunt is still going on, but at least now I have a few more good contacts.

The "Outsider"/"Insider" Experiences

For our final project for The Outsiders, I wanted my students to think deeply about what it feels like to be an "insider" (accepted, feeling of belonging, a part of a group, etc.) and an "outsider" (unwanted, awkward, alone, etc.)  I had them write about a time when they felt like an "insider" and think about why they felt that way and how others saw them. Then (the fun part) I told them that they had to go be an "outsider" some time during that next week. I gave them ideas about how they could break social norms and then analyze how people reacted towards them and how they felt.

Well, the project isn't over yet, but I have already had some interesting stories come from this. On Friday one of my students came to class wearing his clothes backwards (both shirt and pants) and walking backwards to class. He told me that he had already been called a "freak" 3 times in the school hallways. Another kid told me that he had gotten flipped off when he had done his outsider activity (woops, I wasn't really expecting that to happen).

Today I was very touched when a young woman in my class shared with me what she did. She started out by saying that her dad helped her think of her outsider experience. She is a very danty and pretty girl, and her father had her put on a very large shirt and stuff it with pillows so that she looked very much overweight. He then had her return movies to the Walmart Redbox and do some other errands. She seemed very somber as she told the class about how people stared at her or she heard some of them laugh or say mean things. She told us about how she felt embarrassed. I was so impressed with her story, and I could tell that the experience had made an impression on her.

After school I called her dad to personally thank him for his help in this assingment. He said to me, "well, I wanted her to really feel it. My daughter has had a blessed life. She is blessed with beauty and she knows it. She always has had good friends and family. When she was originally coming up with ideas for your assignment, I told her, 'Those ideas are too fun. You can't do something with your friends because the point is to feel alone and awkward. You have always had that support. You need to actually do something that allows you to feel what the other side feels.' " Needless to say, I was very impressed with dad. I thanked him again for his support.

So hopefully this assignment is able to make a difference in at least a few students' lives. I know that not everyone will let the lesson sink in, but I think it will touch the hearts or a few students. Hopefully they will be able to remember their experience when they are faced with a choice of how to treat someone whom they see as different and as an "outsider".