Roger C. Sullivan High School

Roger C. Sullivan High School is located in the Rogers Park neighborhood in the northeastern corner of the city of Chicago.  It first opened its doors to students in 1926 and has been a staple in the Chicago Public School System for nearly one hundred years.  The student body is composed of approximately 800 students and serves as a neighborhood high school which welcomes students that live within close proximity of the institution.

http://www.sullivanhs.org/

Mission

Sullivan is committed to its students and takes pride in their academic excellence that has been a part of the school's storied tradition.  The mission lists these tenets:

• We believe that all students can learn.
• We believe it is the responsibility of the entire school community to help students learn.
• We believe that learning is a response to curiosity and is best fostered in active learning situations.
• We believe that the educational needs of a heterogeneous student body is multi-faceted and requires different instructional methods depending upon the course of study, faculty strengths, and student needs and talents.
• We believe that students must share in the responsibility for their own learning.
• We believe that each student's culture and heritage enriches the entire school-community and should be respected.
• We believe that teachers and administrators should continue to promote their own curiosity and intellectual development by engaging in professional learning activities and trainings.
    

Athletics and Clubs

Sullivan High School offers a number of extra-curricular activities including many clubs and quite a few athletic programs.

http://www.sullivanhs.org/clubs.jsp

http://www.sullivanhs.org/athletics/index.jsp

Demographic and Test Scores

For full use of this interactive report card, go to:
http://iirc.niu.edu/School.aspx?schoolID=150162990250042

Technology

In the classrooms that I've observed in, the technology consists of a few televisions here and there equipped with DVD players.

I hope to have use of a bit more sophisticated technology in my classroom such as digital projectors, and the like.  I hope to employ the use of an iPad in my lessons to enhance and make the material that I'm presenting more visual.

History Department

I observed in a number of classrooms within the History (Social Studies) Department and I must say that I was really impressed with most of the faculty.  They all seemed to be invested in their jobs and it was quite apparent that they wanted to be there.  They were all very hospitable and were happy to have me in their classroom.  I was able to sit in on World History courses, U.S. History courses, and Geography courses.  There is a large Nepalese population at Sullivan which meant that ELL were present in most classes.  I was also privy to a number of inclusion classes that had students with special needs that ranged from LDs to gifted students.  I only observed one classroom in which there was an aide which tells me that budget restrictions at Sullivan leave the faculty with little to no support at times.

Mrs. G.

Mrs. G. was my cooperating teacher at Sullivan High and she was always very welcoming and kind.  She had a way about her that commanded respect from her students without being a complete jerk bag.  She used the perfect mix of professionalism, humility, and cool to win her students over and it really showed when it came to her classroom management.  While there was a bit a chatter during her classes, (I'd like to see a classroom in which there isn't), she was able to maintain order and to keep the kids engaged while relaying the lesson in a manner in which the kids were quite responsive  Every teacher at Sullivan is responsible for taking attendance at the beginning of class and entering it into a spreadsheet that gets routed down to the main office.

As far as resources go, Mrs. G. dealt with very limited supplies but was still able to teach an effective lesson.  She used a pretty standard text book and as she taught her lesson, she wrote all of the notes that she expected her students to have (which they were able to use on quizzes) and went through all the material with them while having students participate and fill in the blanks, as it were.  Mrs. G. used a mix of lectures, readings, quizzes, and tests to effectively relay the material to her students.  I very much like her classroom atmosphere, her teaching methods, her classroom management, and her overall presence while teaching.  I feel like I will incorporate similar methods when I embark on my teaching career.

In the Classroom

Mrs. G. taught a few sections of World History and a couple of U.S. History courses.  While I was observing her class, she was teaching a lesson on The Renaissance and was covering The Crusades and religion in particular.  She encourage the students to participate, which they did with some cajoling, and she was able to get through the material in the allotted time.  She handed out works sheets and, like I mentioned before, walked through each lesson step by step with her students, answering any questions they had.  Her ability to incorporate humor into her lessons helped to garner respect from her students, as they gave her as much "trouble" as she was giving them.  The back and forth really helped to establish a mutual respect and made the classroom quite comfortable in which to observe.

She also taught a lesson on The Great Depression in her U.S. History class.  While this may not be a enjoyable subject for most, the way in which she offered the material helped the students to understand that it is a part of our history and that it helped to make us stronger as a society.  She showed newsreels, photos, and offered clippings from various publications that had been photocopied in order to present a more visual lesson.

My Pal, K.S.

We were set to tutor in the library at Sullivan and from the start, it seemed as if it was going to be a struggle.  Nothing we couldn't overcome with a little effort, but the kids were not wanting our help and made no bones about telling us to **** off (we're all adults here).  After a few periods of circling over the students like vultures looking for prey, I was eventually able to make nice with a young fella named K.S.  He is a freshman and really has a good head on his shoulders.  He was putting together a PowerPoint on Cuba which is a subject that really fascinates me.  He was very open to having me help him organize his presentation and to make suggestions that I felt would enhance his assignment.  He is originally from the Andhra Pradesh District in India and has been in Chicago for about a year.  He is quite fluent in English as it was a language that he learned alongside his native tongue growing up.  He enjoys playing soccer after school and is interested in trying out for the school squad next year.  Academically, he is very committed and always asks the right questions.  He really excels in math and says that he is still trying to adjust and do well in music class.  Look how organized this kid is!

Mini Lesson for K.S.

Since K.S. struggled with music class, I've decided to teach him a mini lesson on the history of rock and roll.  I will cover my favorite bands/performers as I feel it important to teach something that I enjoy thoroughly.


Objectives:   Science, Technology, and Society (IPTS 1, NCSS 1.8, ISBE Core SS 25).    Demonstrates, capabilities, and dispositions to organize and provide instruction at the appropriate school level for the study of science, technology and society.

SWBAT:  Have an appreciation for, and understand a brief history of, rock and roll music. 

Materials:  PowerPoint
                  You Tube
                  My brain

Introduction:  I will begin by listing the bands that I will include in my brief history and assess whether or not he knows anything about any of the bands mentioned.

Bands:  The Clash, The Ramones, Joy Division, New Order, Blondie, The Pixies, Sonic Youth, Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal, Jay Reatard, Black Lips, Dum Dum Girls

Summary:  This is a lineage of rock music that goes from punk rock to post punk to indie rock to desert rock to garage band rock to flower punk.  This timeline beings in the mid 1970s and goes through to today.  The Clash and the Ramones helped to establish the punk rock scene on both sides of the pond and have influenced so many bands to date that I don't have the time or the energy to list.  Joy Division, New Order, and Blondie picked up where punk rock left off to form what was known as post punk and was responsible for incorporating synthetic sounds into punk laden tracks.  The Pixies and Sonic youth in the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s, hit the music scene hard with their brilliant song writing and amazing lyrical ability.  In the late 1990s and mid 2000s, Queens of the Stone Age, The Eagles of Death Metal, and Jay Reatard blew the music world's collective mind with their heavy infusion of a throwback garage style rock with heavy guitar riffs and clever lyrics.  Today, bands like The Black Lips and the Dum Dum Girls are keeping music fans mesmerized with their ability to thrown down live shows with incredibly high levels of energy.

I will present a few sound clips and photos of these bands to K.S. which will be the meat of our lesson.

Conclusion: Any questions will be answered that he might have and I will give him a quick quiz to assess what he has learned.

New Order

The Clash

The Pixies

Black Lips

Dum Dum Girls

Eagles of Death Metal

Sonic  Youth

The Ramones

Joy Division

Blondie

Queens of the Stone Age

Jay Reatard

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6F228D5113FBE2FB&feature=mh_lolz