Module 12

Wow, I can’t believe we are at the end of the course! I have learned a lot in this class, and working in this group has been good. I think overall we had a great group, and I am glad some of you were already teaching. It’s good to have a few different viewpoints. I still want to be a teacher, but I still want to stick with my original plan of teaching at a community college. I understand I may have to teach a few years in lower levels, and that is fine with me. I will be as prepared as I can be, and give it my best. I think that I can keep up with the demands of teaching with help from my friends and family. I have relatives who have been there, done that, so that helps a GREAT deal.

I think that I have said it many times before, but to me one of the most important roles of a teacher is to see each student as an individual and connect with them. Class’s are not a mold, and should not be treated as such. A teacher prepares children for the future – they spark learning. They inspire and help the children want to ask questions.

I did not realize how many rules teachers had to follow. I did not know as much about NCLB as I do now. I didn’t realize the demands a teacher has on them to meet so much criteria.

Good students are not those that make straight A’s. Good students are those that want to learn, try to learn. Good teachers are the one’s that realize A students are not the only good students. Good teachers want to help all students, teach them all that learning is important in life.

Module 11

Wow, this class has flown by! For my first question I chose "Are teachers born, or made?" Having been raised around a few teachers I have some insight on this. One of my family members became a teacher, got into her classroom and was not happy. She struggled the first few years and was not happy in her life. My mother told her that maybe teaching wasn't meant for her. My aunt was mad at first, but those turned out to be the best words she heard. She wanted to prove my mother wrong. Today she will tell you if you go into teaching because you 'can't think of anything else to do' then you will hate it. She told me that when I first mentioned becoming a teacher. I thought about it long and hard. My aunt was not born a teacher, but over the years she was made into one. I myself had her twice, in 4th grade and again in 7th. Her teaching methods have changed over the 20 years she has been teaching, and today she loves her job. It's evident in the students she's helped. She loves what she does now, and has grown into a wonderful teacher. To tie into another question, "How can teachers best tap into different student learning styles?" The same aunt read an article on it years ago, before there was much research on it. Since then the learning styles had her hooked. I remember in my 7th grade class she would read out loud, have students read, presentations, movies, posters, she went through everything and would note each students responses and what they learned best at. I didn't know at the time, but our class was a gunnie pig class for her. She loves using different techniques to help each learning style learn.

I want to say that some people, like Mrs. P, one of the teachers I interviewed, are born for teaching. I had her the first year she started to teach - and she was wonderful then. She had a knack for it from the start. So while most teachers are not born teachers, some are. It doesn't make one any better than the other.

Module 10

In the Teachers' Rights and Responsibilities I choose Situation 1. I think all of these situations were hard and had two sides. For this issue the teacher is asked questions she should not have to answer. She is asked "Are you planning to get married or have children in the near future?"

I understand both points of view. I see how if she is in the system for a short time and has a child, she has to take leave. That puts the school out of money and time by having to find a sub to stand in for her. However, I have to side on the side of the teacher. Her business is her business, especially getting married. I would be furious and disappointed if I was turned down because I was married - it does not seem fair. The questions asked are now inappropriate and illegal, and do not have to be answered.

For the Students' Rights and Responsibilities I chose Situation 15 to write about, because I remember this from high school. Searching students for drugs happend occasionally and there was always outrage. The strip-search is very, very immoral and wrong. I'm glad that that it is illegal. However, I do not thing there is a thing wrong with searching lockers, cars or even book bags. If the student has nothing to hide, then why care? I saw many things happen in high school that never should have - steps have to be taken to make the school safe.

Field Experience 2

I just complete my field experience requirements at SFL elementary. I observed Ms. A at SFL, and her 4th grade class. The school is a very small school, very personal and welcoming. I was very welcomed in the classroom by the teacher and the students. Ms. A has a rotating classroom, her student's being split between two teachers. She teaches science and math - with exceptions. Today they did a math project where they went outside and measured certain items to get the area and perimeter. Then it was time for lunch, recess, then Radical Reading. Ms. A does an amazing job with her students. She knows them all very well, along with most of the other students at the school. She has a good relationship with many of the parents along with the other teachers. The class was very orderly and quite. It was interesting to see the 'behind the scenes' during lunch and recess. I also got some insight on other teachers, and dealing with difficult parents.

Module 9

This is hard to decide. I know that every child should have a good education, regardless of how much their parents make - but this raises some other questions and problems. Resources should be available for students, but all of this costs. Where does the money come from? Who pays for it? How is it determined that a student needs financial help? Where is the line drawn? I

Judge Manning had a tough case, but I agree with the fact that he ruled on the side of the at-risk children. I also like how he suggested that the locals may be at fault too.

I wish I could have seen him talk at UNCP. I love the quote, when he said "It's not about the buildings. It's about delivering sound basic education to kids."

I think there is so much more behind the sceans that needs to be considered. I'd love to just say, "Everyone needs a good education. And they will have that right" but it's not that easy.

Field Experience 1

I observed a High School English class at PCH. It was interesting to go back, things look diffrent now. My teacher was actually one I had in 8th grade! Ms. P is amazing, and I still think so. I loved watching her teach, you can see it very clearly that she loves what she does. She has been teaching for many years, and for 3 years at PCH. She has had 9 at risk classes during that time!! One of the classes I got to observe was such a class. She explained to me some of the students that were in the class. Including one who's IQ was less than 60, but was in all normal classes. Each and every student that walked into her room she greated, and asked "How was the basketball game last night?" or "How's you dog doing?" or any number of questions. She knew each students name, something about their life, and got them all engaged with her by asking questions. She makes everyone feel welcome in her room.

I don't think I would do anything diffrent. I would like to know more about her at risk classes, and how she handles them. Which I get to for an interview with another class! That I'm looking forward to.

Her AP class was not as interesting to watch, but she treated them no diffrent than her other class. She knew them all. She had the classes under control at all times, but she would let them talk out if it was appropriate.

Module 8

I agree that a student is not an empty vessel, and seeing every student as an individual human being. I like the idea about the ‘voyage of discovery’. And not all students are the same. I understand what he was saying about being different and the same. I liked most of what this guy said. Asking questions, creating curiosity, etc.
I think a line has to be drawn because he said something about relaying our morals, values, etc onto the students. That’s fine as long as the teacher has the proper morals and values, but what are the proper morals and values? Universal ones are fine, doing good to others, etc. But nothing like beliefs or religion should be pressed upon a student. When he explained about beating the students down, that was a great point. Everyday we have the chance to shape moral’s, I agree too. I like what he said, I just think that the line needs to be clear. He brought another one up again is the truth, and teaching the truth. The same thing applies here.
I love that he said we don’t know everything, and we shouldn’t think that. I think that overall his ideas are great, but caution needs to be applied.
Having took the test, which someone had taken before me, I was surprised at how different my answers were on this. Unlike before, when my answers were right along with everyone else - now it’s different. “Each student should determine his or her individual curriculum, and teachers should guide and help them.” The person before me disagreed. I strongly agree with this! What gives us the right to dictate what our students become? I think that individualism is one of the key factors in teaching.
Not everyone is the same. So why have the same curriculum for everyone? I’m not saying that if the student thinks they shouldn’t do any work then that’s ok. I’m saying that we should cater to the students skills, if they have an interest then go with it. Make learning fun. Don’t we all do better in the classes we enjoy? Everyone should be involved with this, not just the teachers.

Module 7

The first topic I choose was Native American Tribes: The History of Miseducation. I choose this because I have an interest in the Native Americans and anytime I can learn more about them, anything about them, I take the opportunity.

I personally think what was done to them was far worse than anything Americans have done to any other culture. Even in this it is evident; we forced them to learn what we wanted and then didn’t provide what we said we would. If you do a search words line genocide and holocaust come up in some of the websites, how far is this from the truth? Is it the truth?

This site is PACKED full of tons of information on Native Americans. From there history to today. It also links sites off of it, there is endless surfing from there.

http://www.nativeamericans.com/History.htm

One of the sites talking about the 500 year war... It tells how we forced our ways on the Native Americans.

http://www.unitednativeamerica.com/aiholocaust.html

And I thought that it was important to note today there are tons of sites dedicated to the education of Native Americans. This is the Bureau of Indian Education…

http://enan.bia.edu/home.aspx



Colonial New England Education, “God’s Classrooms” was my next topic. School being meant to ‘save souls’. Here are a couple of sites more on that…

This one talks about how most of the information was learned at home (at first), and it’s evolution. Also about the ‘patron saint’ of education.

http://www.acadweb.wwu.edu/osl/colonial_america.htm

And to tie it into today, God in the classroom…

http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/vq/VQFALL01/religion.html

Module 6

This is directed in general, but with wording it could go to Obama himself...

No Child Left Behind?
Have you ever wondered if we are going about education in the wrong ways? I have, and I have come to the conclusion that No Child Left Behind is a joke, at best. With this method a label is put on a student early on, either they help the school, could help the school, or hurt the school.
If a child passes there standardized tests then they are not worried about. No attention is given to them, they go through there school years undetected. If a child scores low, but has the possibility of improving enough to pass they are the one’s the school concentrates on. If a child scores low enough they are given the title ‘failure’. These students are the one’s who are hurt the most. Drop out rates are higher than ever, do you really wonder why?
When a child is placed at the low end of the scale and classified as a failure, what are they to do? The resources available for No Child Left Behind are for those that could pass, not those that wont pass.
What does the testing do for us? What does it tell us? That Bobby can pass his EOC, his science, his reading, his math? That he will succeed in the world because he can do this? Bobby is our future, but what about Grant? Grant didn’t pass his tests, in fact he probably never will, he doesn’t find a passion in the classroom. Outside of the classroom he has taught his dog how to sit, bow, stand, speak and a hundred other tricks, if you name it he can teach it. But Grant will never succeed in life, he will drop out because he ‘can’t’ he can’t pass the tests he can’t bring his grades up, he can’t understand why the school system failed him.
Why wont it fail? It’s doomed to. What happened to preparing our youth for the future? I’m so glad to know that our future can bubble in A, B, C or D on a form. This lets me sleep well at night. There are hundreds of thousands of jobs that do not require any math skills, or even reading skills, especially the type of reading and math taught in the classroom.
We do not need high stake tests to figure out who a student is as an individual, what do we need? We need qualified teachers with high morals and understanding, individuals ready and willing to help students be the best they can. From encouraging a dog trainer to the next rocket scientist, it doesn’t matter. A test should not determine who you are.
We are programming our young students to be robots, to obey and test test test. We should be programming them to ask questions, seek answers, be themselves. Strive to be the best they can, no matter what it is. Student’s need to think outside the bubbles! Think for themselves!
Some, like President Obama, says that the funding for the schools have gone to the wrong places. He says the way the schools are assessed is not fair, I think assessing the schools is not fair! He say’s that we need to look at the student as an individual (and I agree with this statement!), but he goes on to say that the student needs to be looked at as an individual to reach the goals that No Child Left Behind places on them. The goals that No Child Left Behind places are useless, and if the goal of No Child Left Behind is reached by 2014 it will be because that many students have dropped out and given up. Obama believes that every child can reach the goals, I don’t think this is practical. Some can’t, and that should be ok. There are other places in this world they can excel.
No child left behind? Lovely words with empty meaning. If we could strive to reach the true meaning of the words, to understand that not every student will do well at testing, to understand that some are happy not being doctors or lawyers or working at businesses… then, and only then will we be reaching for a No Child Left Behind goal.

Module 5

(This is hypothetical, I thought this would be an interesting way to respond!)

While teaching my fourth grade class I overhead one of the white males call a black student a ‘nigger’. I was horrified and shocked. I quickly explained to the class (who all had heard it) that this word is not appropriate to use, ever. I explained to them that it was used in a very degrading way during the times of slavery, and that the word is putting down a whole race of peoples. The boy chimed in and said, “Well, my father says it all the time!”

I told him that sometimes we have to be better than our parents, and rise above the past. I created a lesson plan for the next day and taught on slavery and racism. I tried to explain cultural diversity, and that we needed to be accepting of everyone because they had the same feelings as we did. I spent the day answering questions and reading short essays and stories wrote about slavery. I asked the students to write a short paragraph on why the word should not be used, and asked them if they had any more questions they didn’t want to ask they should see me after class.

I was happy to hear the white boy apologize for his wording.


Suppose the parents ‘just don’t care’. That’s the situation I would be most uncomfortable in. They were born in the slums, and that’s were they believe they will stay. (I remember a child like this in High School – which is why I’ve, chose it.) There child is going to school only because they ‘got to’. I remember the teacher, a friend of mine and a friend still, had a hard time trying to convince the student that he did in fact need to be in school. And that he could be better than his parents. It was a sad situation, what do you do when you are faced with it? He had been brought up his whole life thinking that all he will be is nothing. She tried to talk with the parents, with him; with other teachers… they did the best they could. Like them, I would offer extra help, get him counseling if he was willing… just try to get his mind set changed that he could do it. Show stories where others like him succeeded, show him it’s possible. I would be there for him to make it possible – do whatever it takes.

Module 4

I think that in my younger years I did not see the Goals for Schools being met. Not at all. I think that it was a get in, get out, and teach what we have to kind of a deal. There was no diversity in the school really, just whites and a few African Americas. Through middle school I remember it changing. The goals were not met enough, but we had more ‘opportunities’. I remember going places, having fun days where we would learn about different cultures. One day we brought in dishes that would be similar to what the pilgrims ate, then the next what the Indians would eat. In Spanish we always learned about that culture. It wasn’t where the learning should have been, but it was defiantly better.

I think that there are various schools for various children. Not everyone is the same, so there has to be accommodations made. All serve a purpose, to some extent. My brother has dyslexia, and went to a private school early on. He didn’t do well. He hated to go to school, and it got to the point where he had therapy. Then finally, my mother couldn’t take the 2-3 hours it took to literally drag him into the classroom, and decided to try homeschooling. That didn’t work either. He never graduated high school, never even attended high school. He is about to turn 18 at the end of this month. Obviously what was done for him didn’t work, and what he did for himself didn’t work.

When I am a teacher I will try to abide by the Goals for Schools, without making the children zombies. After watching that first video, it really was haunting to think how true that might be. Children need to be prepared to learn, expand, grow, think, etc on their own.

Module 2

Schooling is necessary for children. Although it might interfere in some ways, it has to be there. School is the beginning of children's life's. Without it they would struggle in everything. They would have hard times finding any type of jobs, they would be uneducated and not socolized. They would be outcasts. I think that there is more that could be done to make schooling better, but no changes will happen overnight. All students need to have more time taken to make sure they excel in what they do best.

Children learn in many ways. Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic ant Tactical are the broad terms. But they learn by watching others, role models. I think that this could be the most important thing in a child's life. Without good role models what foundation does a child have?

I am classified as a visual learner. I have to see what I learn. However, I still learn in many diff rent ways. I learn from others, from doing, from my mistakes.

I have always been involved in Girl Scouts, 4-H and other clubs because of my parents. I've done countless lectures on different subjects. One of the main one's I did was on reptiles. I loved it!! People are so scared of snakes, because they don't understand. A child is MUCH more likely to have there minds changed than an adult. A child would say they were scared because there parents said they should be! Usually at the beginning nobody would even touch the snakes I brought, or even get up close enough to see them. By the end, they would - that's how I know I taught them something. Of course I made it clear that some snakes are dangerous, and that all could bite. My main gole was to get people not to kill them, because there is really no need. I usually had an hour to give my lecture... which included pictures and mounted snakes for visual aid. They could ask questions, look at the live snakes I brought and I usually brought a safe snake they could touch. It was all about local snakes.

Blog # 1

Why do I want to be a teacher? That's a very good question. Out of high school I had no idea what I wanted to do, and for the next couple of years I still hadn't figured it out. It occurred to me one day, that I had always done well in my English classes. I'd always helped the teachers with students who needed to catch up or some tutoring. I loved reading and analyzing works... so it finally hit me that I should think about teaching English. I don't think that I could deal with regular classes in high school, but I always loved being in my AP English classes. The behavior was like night and day. So that's my goal, to teach higher level English classes in high school. Or perhaps even teach at a CC.

The worst teacher I've ever had... I was never any problem through all my years in school. I was usually at the top of the class, and never turned in any late work. I remember the first day of class the teacher assured us that even if we didn't do great on the tests if we did our work and participated we were sure to pass. I did all my work, all the extra work, all homework and participated as much as I could. I worked hard and was tutored. I did well, except on tests. I got the flu and had a family member pass away in that same semester, but would always have all my work to give into the teachers when I got back. I never was behind on turning anything in. All my teachers had me down as missing 7 days (you can only miss 8 or you have to take summer school classes). My teacher said I had missed 9 and needed to sign up for summer school. A week and 1/2 after school let out we were supposed to go on vacation, but I signed up anyway and worked my tail off to get done in 1 1/2 weeks with my summer school, the teachers said that was the fastest anyone had completed it with an A. I did all this, and in the end when I got my report card back during the summer, the teacher failed me by one point anyway! I was so upset, it was the first class I had ever failed. I didn't fail one since then, either. So I guess it's obvious why I didn't like her to much. I talked with her repeatedly through my class with her, asked if there was anything more I could do for a better grade, and I was under the impression I would pass her class. She was NEVER friendly to me, never extended any kind of helping hand... although she was very helpful and nice to other students. I don't know if I somehow got on her bad side, but she seemed to not like me from day 1. Other students in the class noticed her attitude toward me too, although I never said anything.

Now, for the best teacher I've ever had... It's a tie. In high school I had the best English teacher. She didn't ask for to much, but wanted to challenge you at the same time. To me it seemed that she looked at each student in a different light, and would challenge them to there own abilities. She was fair, but not easy. She got the whole class involved on topics, and broke the mold for the 'usual' teaching methods. Onto Sandhills, I had an incredible teacher. (To bad I can't name names here!) He made everyone in his class think. Many of the things he taught I will never forget. He took the time to actually get to know people, and again expected just enough out of each person. He was ALWAYS friendly, I don't remember seeing him in a bad mood - ever. His positive attitude reflected on the whole class. I took as many classes as I could with him, and enjoyed going to his class everyday. I think that the main point with both of these teachers is that they loved what they did. It was very clear that they wanted to be at the front of the classroom teaching it. Fair, kind (but still firm), intelligent... those are just a few of the reasons they were great teachers. I also don't remember any behavior problems out of any of there students.