This semester has really opened my eyes and I have learned a lot about becoming a teacher. I have always thought of how it would be to become a teacher but after taking this course and learning all of the material I realize that my initial thoughts may not be completely accurate. I realize that I will have my work cut out for me and I will do my best to be an effective teacher. Even after learning many scary facts about teaching, I still want to pursue teaching as my career. I think I will be able to keep up with the demands of the job. I will always try to keep my students interested and involved by trying different teaching styles to incorporate different learning abilities. It will be my duty to ensure every child in my classroom receives a fair and appropriate education. I will keep an open mind when it comes to educating children from diverse backgrounds. I now understand many of the legal aspects of teaching. I also know that I will have a legal and moral obligation to report any signs of abuse. I have learned about the kind of teacher that I am going to become and understand that classroom management is very important. I do, however, realize that many of my teaching techniques will improve after trial and error and actual teaching experiences.
In my opinion, I think that being a good student is very closely related to becoming a good teacher. I think if a person is a good student they have good time management skills and a good work ethic. Being a good student also shows that personal responsibility, to accomplish every task assigned, is of great importance. I know that even though school can sometimes be overwhelming, I still always try my hardest to accomplish everything that needs to be completed. Not only is a high GPA important to me but also I enjoy learning new things. The fact that I am a matured adult has helped me throughout my college career tremendously. I want to learn and do as well as I possibly can. This was not how I felt during my high school career, unfortunately. Maturity is a wonderful thing and I am glad that I finally realize what I want to become and how I will be able to do it. It is going to be a long road to travel, but I am sure with a lot of hard work I will be able to do it!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Module 11
Focus question number 1 on page 428 says, 'Are teachers born, or made?' In my opinion, effective teachers are made. I do think that some people are born and they are sure that they want to become teachers but taking the classes in college to prepare a teacher is where they learn many of the successful techniques. In the text on page 429 it says many teachers possess natural talent, but most teaching is based on "tried and true" practices. Trial and error is a good way to find out if a strategy will be successful. While I was conducting my field experience at Southview Middle School, in Hopemills, Ms. Harmon showed me many successful strategies. One of the most important things that she told me was to keep the students interested and motivated, a teacher should let them stand and be involved as much as possible. In my opinion, the games that they played seemed to be fun and educational. I think Ms. Harmon was the type of teacher that was born to teach, but her life experiences by trial and error have helped her to become the successful teacher that she has become.
Focus question number 4 says, 'What are the roles of teacher and students in the pedagogical cycle?' The teacher instructs the class and teaches them a new topic. He or She, then, asks the students' questions about the material. The students answer the questions and their responses are then followed by feedback from the teacher. The teacher, in a way, is like an interventionist. They know what exact questions to ask to get the 'wheels' turning. The feedback is also scripted. Teachers know what final outcome they are trying to achieve and their questions and responses help lead to those outcomes. Again, in Ms. Harmon's class she taught a fun lesson that that incorporated this cycle. She taught a lesson, asked the students to write down something they remembered from the lesson, ball up the papers and throw them around the room and reenact a 'snowball fight.' She then had the students pick up someone else's paper and read it out loud. Ms. Harmon would respond with feedback and praises about the individuals responses. I think this lesson was an exact replica of the pedagogical cycle. It was not necessarily the typical lecture with questions and responses, it actually seemed to be more enjoyable for the students.
Focus question number 4 says, 'What are the roles of teacher and students in the pedagogical cycle?' The teacher instructs the class and teaches them a new topic. He or She, then, asks the students' questions about the material. The students answer the questions and their responses are then followed by feedback from the teacher. The teacher, in a way, is like an interventionist. They know what exact questions to ask to get the 'wheels' turning. The feedback is also scripted. Teachers know what final outcome they are trying to achieve and their questions and responses help lead to those outcomes. Again, in Ms. Harmon's class she taught a fun lesson that that incorporated this cycle. She taught a lesson, asked the students to write down something they remembered from the lesson, ball up the papers and throw them around the room and reenact a 'snowball fight.' She then had the students pick up someone else's paper and read it out loud. Ms. Harmon would respond with feedback and praises about the individuals responses. I think this lesson was an exact replica of the pedagogical cycle. It was not necessarily the typical lecture with questions and responses, it actually seemed to be more enjoyable for the students.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Field Experience Day 2
On May 9, 2009 I completed my second and final day of field experience at Southview Middle School. Upon entering the lobby to the main office, I noticed all of the colorful posters with educational sayings. There were also multiplication facts written on the lighting fixtures on the ceilings. I thought that was a great idea. After receiving my visitor's pass, I was escorted to Mrs. Harmon's 7th grade Science class. The first thing that she had the students do was stand up and form a circle around the classroom. Mrs. Harmon squeezed the hand of the child to her left side and that child did the same and so on. She kept track of the time that it took the children to get back to the starting point. She then began her lesson about nerve cells and reaction time. Initially, I was wondering why they were doing that but once her lesson started I completely understood why she did this exercise. She used an overhead projector as a tool for teaching her lesson. Once the lesson was over, she asked the children to write down one fact that they remembered from the lesson and crumble up the paper. They were then asked to throw the balled up papers into the center of the classroom and repeat a few times and then pick up someone else's paper. Next she asked for some volunteers to read out loud the facts on the piece of paper that they picked up. She told me that this was called a "snow ball fight." I thought this was a really cool way of making sure that the children were learning something while having a little bit of fun.
The second period that I observed, Mrs. Harmon showed me a few more of her successful strategies that she would often use in the classroom. She taught this class the same lesson about nerves and reaction times. Once she was done teaching she showed me a different type of strategy called ball toss. It was like the 'wonder ball' game, once the music started, the children would pass the ball around the circle and when the music stopped the child holding the ball would have to answer a question about the lesson. I enjoyed this type of teaching strategy as well. Mrs. Harmon told me that an important way to keep the children involved was to let them stand-up as much as possible. She said that when children just sit and listen to a lecture, most often, the children do not pay attention as well as they would if they were involved.
I really enjoyed observing Mrs. Harmon's classes. I think I learned the most from her. I found her to be extremely helpful. She also gave me her email address so I could keep in touch with her in the future in case I had any questions. Overall, I had a really good experience and I am glad that I had to observe Mrs. Harmon's classes.
The second period that I observed, Mrs. Harmon showed me a few more of her successful strategies that she would often use in the classroom. She taught this class the same lesson about nerves and reaction times. Once she was done teaching she showed me a different type of strategy called ball toss. It was like the 'wonder ball' game, once the music started, the children would pass the ball around the circle and when the music stopped the child holding the ball would have to answer a question about the lesson. I enjoyed this type of teaching strategy as well. Mrs. Harmon told me that an important way to keep the children involved was to let them stand-up as much as possible. She said that when children just sit and listen to a lecture, most often, the children do not pay attention as well as they would if they were involved.
I really enjoyed observing Mrs. Harmon's classes. I think I learned the most from her. I found her to be extremely helpful. She also gave me her email address so I could keep in touch with her in the future in case I had any questions. Overall, I had a really good experience and I am glad that I had to observe Mrs. Harmon's classes.
Field Experience Day 1
On May 8, 2009 I completed my first 3 hours of field experience at Parkton Elementary School. Parkton Elementary is a school that services students from pre-k through the eighth grade. My day began in the parking lot where I noticed the landscaping was well maintained. The outside of the building was also well maintained. I first began by entering the main office to receive a visitor's pass. I was then escorted to a seventh grade math class. This class was taught by an Asian native, Mr. Ramondo. There was a total of 12 students, 5 girls and 7 boys. I noticed that one of the female students was blind. She sat at the front of the class. She did not have an assistant but Mr. Ramondo assigned one of the students to help her with specific tasks.
Mr. Ramondo began his lesson by passing out a multiple choice worksheet. He asked the students to complete the questions and then come to the front of the class and grab a colorful plastic egg. He, then, asked the students to write their names on a piece of paper and put the papers inside of the eggs. At the front of the class there were 4 baskets labeled A through D. Before the review of each answer, Mr. Ramondo would ask the students to put their eggs into the basket they thought contained the correct answer. He would then give every person, whose eggs were in the correct basket, a piece of candy. In my opinion, this type of lesson gave the children a reward for answering the questions correctly. A reward system is a good way to educate children.
I was then escorted to a fifth grade math class for the next period. This class was taught by Mrs. Norton. Her class had 19 students made up of 7 girls and 12 boys. In Mrs. Nortons classroom there was a Smart Board, where she completed most of her lesson. The children were asked to take out their workbooks and answer the word problems using the Versa Tiles. These tiles were labeled 1-10 and there were spots A-J in each tile holder. If the students' answered the questions correctly and put the proper tiles in the correct spots, a pattern on the back sides of the tiles would be present. This was an easy way for Mrs. Norton to spot the children who had the correct answers. Two of the children just made a pattern of tiles and Mrs. Norton reprimanded them for not answering the questions and just making a pattern. At that point, she took a dollar, of fake money, away from them for being dishonest. I also noticed that Mrs. Norton would give the children a dollar for completing their homework. She also took dollars away from them for not having their homework. I asked her what the dollars could buy for them and she said they have to pay a dollar to have the ability to talk at lunch. She told me that they also have auctions. I think the money system was a good idea. It taught the children to take responsibility for their actions, i.e. not completing their homework. If they wanted to talk in the cafeteria, they would have to pay money. This was a good way to teach them the value of a dollar.
For the third period, I stayed in Mrs. Nortons class to observe an EC classroom in progress. A teacher's assistant came in to Mrs. Nortons class for this period to help out. The class was made up of 15 students, 14 boys and 1 girl. I have learned in my SED 3000 class that the majority of children with disabilities are boys and this student ratio in this class helped to reinforce this fact. The children were learning to use calculators to help answer math problems. One of the boys was very disruptive and caused many distractions. Even though there were many distractions, in my opinion, Mrs. Norton remained in control. A few of the students appeared to answer the questions extremely fast, while others took longer to answer. In my opinion, some of those children did not have to be in that particular class. I am not saying that they are not EC, I just think that the placement of some of them was probably not necessarily in the their best interest.
Overall, I had a really enjoyable time watching both of these teachers instruct their classes. I learned a few different strategies that seemed to be very successful. This experience was very helpful and I am glad that I had to observe these classrooms.
Mr. Ramondo began his lesson by passing out a multiple choice worksheet. He asked the students to complete the questions and then come to the front of the class and grab a colorful plastic egg. He, then, asked the students to write their names on a piece of paper and put the papers inside of the eggs. At the front of the class there were 4 baskets labeled A through D. Before the review of each answer, Mr. Ramondo would ask the students to put their eggs into the basket they thought contained the correct answer. He would then give every person, whose eggs were in the correct basket, a piece of candy. In my opinion, this type of lesson gave the children a reward for answering the questions correctly. A reward system is a good way to educate children.
I was then escorted to a fifth grade math class for the next period. This class was taught by Mrs. Norton. Her class had 19 students made up of 7 girls and 12 boys. In Mrs. Nortons classroom there was a Smart Board, where she completed most of her lesson. The children were asked to take out their workbooks and answer the word problems using the Versa Tiles. These tiles were labeled 1-10 and there were spots A-J in each tile holder. If the students' answered the questions correctly and put the proper tiles in the correct spots, a pattern on the back sides of the tiles would be present. This was an easy way for Mrs. Norton to spot the children who had the correct answers. Two of the children just made a pattern of tiles and Mrs. Norton reprimanded them for not answering the questions and just making a pattern. At that point, she took a dollar, of fake money, away from them for being dishonest. I also noticed that Mrs. Norton would give the children a dollar for completing their homework. She also took dollars away from them for not having their homework. I asked her what the dollars could buy for them and she said they have to pay a dollar to have the ability to talk at lunch. She told me that they also have auctions. I think the money system was a good idea. It taught the children to take responsibility for their actions, i.e. not completing their homework. If they wanted to talk in the cafeteria, they would have to pay money. This was a good way to teach them the value of a dollar.
For the third period, I stayed in Mrs. Nortons class to observe an EC classroom in progress. A teacher's assistant came in to Mrs. Nortons class for this period to help out. The class was made up of 15 students, 14 boys and 1 girl. I have learned in my SED 3000 class that the majority of children with disabilities are boys and this student ratio in this class helped to reinforce this fact. The children were learning to use calculators to help answer math problems. One of the boys was very disruptive and caused many distractions. Even though there were many distractions, in my opinion, Mrs. Norton remained in control. A few of the students appeared to answer the questions extremely fast, while others took longer to answer. In my opinion, some of those children did not have to be in that particular class. I am not saying that they are not EC, I just think that the placement of some of them was probably not necessarily in the their best interest.
Overall, I had a really enjoyable time watching both of these teachers instruct their classes. I learned a few different strategies that seemed to be very successful. This experience was very helpful and I am glad that I had to observe these classrooms.
Module 10
Teachers' Rights and Responsibilities
The situation that I chose to discuss was situation 3. The reason that I choose this situation is because I fall under this type of category. I am not married and I am living with my boyfriend. I found this situation interesting because I had no idea that something like this could happen in the United States.
This situation began with a teacher who was well liked by her students and her colleagues. Her teaching was said to be effective and creative. The school officials, however, did not appreciate her life outside of the classroom because she was unmarried and living with her boyfriend. The officials felt that she was a poor role model for the students. The school system, then, publicly announced that her cohabitation was having a negative influence on her students. She was ultimately suspended for her actions.
The legal decision said that it was wrong for the school system to have made a public announcement. They said it was unfair to do this in order to gain community support. The court ruled that her behavior outside of the classroom did not interfere with her effectiveness with the students. The board lost it's case and the teacher kept her job because there was neither loss of creditibility nor a significant disruption of the educational process.
Students' Rights and Responsibilities
The second situation that I chose to discuss was situation 15. The reason that I chose this situation was because drugs are a definite problem in many schools across the US. I think school officials should have definite rights when it comes to searching the school for drugs. In my opinion, once a student decides to bring drugs into a school some, not all, of his/her rights should be surrendered.
It starts out with a school that apparently has been having a lot of drug related issues. School authoritites order a locker search. Trained police dogs are brought in to expedite the process. The dogs sniff suspiciouly at several students and those particular students are brought into the locker rooms and strip-searched.
Immediately after reading this I thought that the strip-searching part was uncalled for and illegal. After reading the legal decision which did, in fact, say that the officials were acting illegally when conducting the strip-searches, my opinion was confirmed. The locker searches were said to be appropriate. The decision also spoke about the dogs sniffing people, rather than things. This type of situation is allowable only if the dogs are reliable and the student, being sniffed, is a reasonable suspect.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Module 9
The topic of school funding always brings about debates. Many school districts believe that their budget is never large enough. I think the Leandro lawsuit brought about many good mandates. I think the State of NC saying that a level II score represents a sound, basic education is wrong. A level II score is below grade level. I can not understand why any country, especially America, advocates educating children below grade level.
The state's defense that the problems lie at the local level is also joke. While I was still reading the the Leandro article and before I got to Judge Manning's rulings, I was outraged by the state's ability to push the blame on to someone else. I was hopeful when I concluded the article and noticed that the judge was hard on them for passing off the blame. In my opinion, I think local governments are definitely responsible for education, but in the end, I think if a local government is not doing their job successfully, the state government should step in. In turn, I also think if each state government is not successful, I think the federal government should intervene. This country has a chain of command for a reason and it should be used when necessary. The finger pointing has to stop and remedies for situations have to start.
I also liked the ruling that all at-risk children should receive a pre-k education. I think it is true that some environments or circumstances lead to disadvantages. I do think that everyone learns at different paces. Even children who are brought up in a nice area and have a two parent home may still face challenges. I think pre-k is a wonderful idea for all children and especially those at-risk.
I do agree with Judge Manning's ruling about smaller class sizes, as well. When the student to teacher ratio is high less will be accomplished. It is a fact that if a teacher gets to know the child on a personal level, there are more feelings and therefore the teacher has some emotional involvement. If a person is emotionally involved with someone, chances are they want he/she to succeed.
This case showed that school districts that were less fortunate, financially, were not receiving as much money as they should have been receiving. More often than not, the successful economic districts receive more money than the less fortunate districts, which in turn, can lead to racial and cultural tension. It shows a lack of 'fairness.' Every school district in America should have equal treatment along with equal funding.
The state's defense that the problems lie at the local level is also joke. While I was still reading the the Leandro article and before I got to Judge Manning's rulings, I was outraged by the state's ability to push the blame on to someone else. I was hopeful when I concluded the article and noticed that the judge was hard on them for passing off the blame. In my opinion, I think local governments are definitely responsible for education, but in the end, I think if a local government is not doing their job successfully, the state government should step in. In turn, I also think if each state government is not successful, I think the federal government should intervene. This country has a chain of command for a reason and it should be used when necessary. The finger pointing has to stop and remedies for situations have to start.
I also liked the ruling that all at-risk children should receive a pre-k education. I think it is true that some environments or circumstances lead to disadvantages. I do think that everyone learns at different paces. Even children who are brought up in a nice area and have a two parent home may still face challenges. I think pre-k is a wonderful idea for all children and especially those at-risk.
I do agree with Judge Manning's ruling about smaller class sizes, as well. When the student to teacher ratio is high less will be accomplished. It is a fact that if a teacher gets to know the child on a personal level, there are more feelings and therefore the teacher has some emotional involvement. If a person is emotionally involved with someone, chances are they want he/she to succeed.
This case showed that school districts that were less fortunate, financially, were not receiving as much money as they should have been receiving. More often than not, the successful economic districts receive more money than the less fortunate districts, which in turn, can lead to racial and cultural tension. It shows a lack of 'fairness.' Every school district in America should have equal treatment along with equal funding.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Module 8
The video with Dr. William Ayers discussing his philosophy on education was informing. There were a lot of statements about his philosophy that I agree with and that are part of my own philosophy on education. I think that he was correct in saying that our student's are not just empty vessels to fill or blank canvas' to paint on. They do have prior knowledge and their own history's before they step foot into our classrooms. I do not think that it is a teacher's job to necessarily mold student's into what he/she wants the student's to become. In my opinion, there should be some form of freedom of choice, so that each child can develop individually. We are not educating an army of robots, I think individuality is a necessity.
I also agreed with his idea's about moral and ethical commitments. Teacher's do teach moral behavior, even if they are not aware of it. The way a teacher addresses or does not address a problem can be a lesson of morals. I think Dr. Ayers had a good point about the commitments of teachers.
I did not disagree with any of his points. The world is ever changing and therefore our ways or philosophy's of teaching must adapt to these changes.
In module 4, Goals for Schools, I said,"I think work ethic, cultural diversity, maintaining America's history, eliminating racism and other such hates, are all very important issues. Schools are not only just for improving standardized test scores, there are other just as important reasons for schooling." I still feel strongly about these issues and my opinions have not swayed from my original feelings.
The type of classroom that I would have would be one that was full of positive emotions. I know that I am not going to be the type of teacher that says,"sit down and be quiet." I think group discussions are extremely important because new issues will always arise. I know that I do not know everything and therefore I am open to learning new things from my students. I know I am a human and I will definitely make mistakes. The ability to not let your pride get in the way is an important quality for a successful teacher.
I also agreed with his idea's about moral and ethical commitments. Teacher's do teach moral behavior, even if they are not aware of it. The way a teacher addresses or does not address a problem can be a lesson of morals. I think Dr. Ayers had a good point about the commitments of teachers.
I did not disagree with any of his points. The world is ever changing and therefore our ways or philosophy's of teaching must adapt to these changes.
In module 4, Goals for Schools, I said,"I think work ethic, cultural diversity, maintaining America's history, eliminating racism and other such hates, are all very important issues. Schools are not only just for improving standardized test scores, there are other just as important reasons for schooling." I still feel strongly about these issues and my opinions have not swayed from my original feelings.
The type of classroom that I would have would be one that was full of positive emotions. I know that I am not going to be the type of teacher that says,"sit down and be quiet." I think group discussions are extremely important because new issues will always arise. I know that I do not know everything and therefore I am open to learning new things from my students. I know I am a human and I will definitely make mistakes. The ability to not let your pride get in the way is an important quality for a successful teacher.
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