some websites I discovered that will be helpful in the future for my teaching career...
Education Needs New Ideas
14 years ago
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Our Book: Freedom Writers
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And I also watched the actual Freedom Writers Movie...
My Reaction to the Movie:
Our Words, Our Voice.
In the movie, Freedom Writers, Ms. Erin Gruwell is forced to think on her feet as she faces her first days of being a teacher dealing with inner city kids who have never been known to have much potential. Ms. Gruwell is the first teacher who stands behind these “throw away students” to give them power over their lives. Through simple life lessons she empowers her students with a voice to change their world-reading for knowledge, writing to free themselves, and using education to control their own destinies. She gives her students the one thing they have never had: a voice of their own.
In the movie, Freedom Writers, Ms. Erin Gruwell is forced to think on her feet as she faces her first days of being a teacher dealing with inner city kids who have never been known to have much potential. Ms. Gruwell is the first teacher who stands behind these “throw away students” to give them power over their lives. Through simple life lessons she empowers her students with a voice to change their world-reading for knowledge, writing to free themselves, and using education to control their own destinies. She gives her students the one thing they have never had: a voice of their own.
Freedom Writers is a movie with a very powerful message. Ms. Gruwell starts her first teaching career in a school of inner city kids whose normal days consist of drive-by shootings, drugs, and gangs. As her meticulously planned lessons are thrown out when she finds none of her students have heard of the Holocaust, Ms. Gruwell is forced to think on her feet. Through methods of adaptation, Ms. Gruwell battles for her students and against the school system and fights to make the classroom matter to her students.
So how did she do it? There were many different strategies Ms. Gruwell used in her teaching. She went above and beyond simple teaching styles to impact the kids of her classroom. She worked jobs outside of her job as a teacher just to have extra money to buy her kids news books and provide opportunities outside the classroom. She personally got to know each one of her students, took a cognitive style to learning, with hands on connections and experiences. She adapted her teaching to fit into her classroom and made changes when necessary. She stood up for what she believed in, and her students. She gave them respect and expected the same back from them along with the promise of succeeding.
In Woolfolk’s text a good teacher is defined as having three central qualities. Good teachers care about their students and establish positive interpersonal relationships. They also keep classroom organization under control without being mean, and lastly are good motivators by making learning fun with creativity. Ms. Gruwell was the definition of a good teacher for all these reasons and more.
First off, Ms. Gruwell worked very hard to establish positive interpersonal relationships with her students from the first day of class. She started this by establishing a base: their composition notebooks, or diaries. Here, she really got to know her students and understand their backgrounds. She could manipulate the lessons to reach out to things that could apply to them. Once the students understood she was there to support them a stronger bond was established, and much more learning was accomplished. It was through her personal caring that her students learned to trust her.
Secondly, Ms. Gruwell kept the classroom under control without having to be strict or rude. She set an expectation of her students and they learned to respect her through the respect she gave them. She acted as an authoritative figure to them. She took their learned helplessness and turned it around into achieving and believing students. She set the bar high and taught them to have a voice for themselves. During a time of self evaluation Ms. Gruwell asked the students to evaluate their progress and give themselves a grade. After one student gave himself an F Ms. Gruwell was very upset. She retorted, “You know what this is? This is a Fuck You to me and everyone in this class. I don't want excuses. I know what you're up against. We're all of us up against something. So you better make up your mind, because until you have the balls to look me straight in the eye and tell me this is all you deserve, I am not letting you fail. Even if that means coming to your house every night until you finish the work. I see who you are. Do you understand me? I can see you. And you are not failing.”
And lastly, but not least, Ms. Gruwell took a very creative approach to teaching. Coming into the classroom Ms. Gruwell started motivating her students through extrinsic motivation. She did this by first purchasing them brand new books, something teachers had never done for them before. She also took them on educational field trips to places that tied in with the books they were reading. Slowly these extrinsic motivations became intrinsic motivations for the students. These students began doing their schoolwork, not simply for the rewards Ms. Gruwell gave them, but because they enjoyed the satisfaction of succeeding. Self efficacy was also a huge part of Ms. G's teaching strategy. Through believing that she could reach these "throw away students" Ms. G always made sure that each student knew they had the potential to succeed. She set the bar higher than it had ever been set before forcing the students to excel to the best of their abilities. In her toast for change speech, Ms. G tells her students that all the voices that have told them can't succeed will be silenced. The toast, creatively impacts the students to start on a new beginning.
As the definition of a good teacher, Ms. Gruwell excelled beyond her job description to make an impact on the lives of these previously recognized “throw away students”. Through simple lessons she empowered her students with a voice to change their world. She handed them the power of education to have control over their own destinies.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Teacher of the Year Award...
The Scenario: Winning teacher of the year award and the letter I would write...
Residents of the Community,
It is with great appreciation that I accept this teacher of the year award in my community. First off, I would like to thank everyone who came to recognize me for such an honor, and for all the support I’ve always had from many people in this wonderful community.
Long ago, while still preparing for my job in college, I observed a teacher at a surrounding district. She came to be one of my greatest role models after my first observation experience. I’ll never forget one day as we talked before class, she told me, “Always be the person you think you are. In teaching it will show if you can’t be yourself, and if you can’t be yourself you can’t be true to the kids.” This quote resonates in my head today, it is solely the lesson I strive to live by in my classroom. I don’t know a better way to put it, than my observing teaching put it herself.
I truly believe this quote. There is no way I would be where I am today without these words of wisdom. It is true to say since I’ve started teaching I’ve grown and learned a lot. But who I am has never changed. The person I think I am has defined who I really am, and that is something the kids have come to know very well. With hope in keeping myself constant, I have seen my students develop into their own people as well, and this is one of my many goals for them. When they know my expectations for them, they feel comfortable to adjust to a new environment and surroundings. My first and foremost goal in my career is the kids, and is it because of them that I do what I do.
Another belief I’ve had in my classroom from day one is that you must catch kids being good. It is one of the most rewarding experiences to catch the bully befriending. Not only does it force the student to know they are being good, but gives them a reason to keep excelling. I like to see kids pushed beyond what they think they can achieve. I would love to see them go the extra 110%, because not only does that apply to their school work, but to all aspects of their lives. I pray that the teaching I do for them, not only improves them in their school setting, but for their future and current life lessons.
With this, I also believe there are certain ways to go about teaching. Research shows, hands on learning seems to help the majority of kids in their schoolwork. Not only does it let kids handle life like examples it helps them remember the concept. I feel in doing this in a classroom it intrigues the students and helps a student reach success. More kids get into the lesson and want to participate. Having an active mind creates openings to teach so much more! Interaction is key in my classroom, I want to be there for the kids, to let them ask questions, get involved, and be excited just like I am! Passion is something you can’t teach, but only draw into.
Flexibility is also a key component to a good teacher. I am willing to try new ideas, adapt completely, or even slightly change a lesson plan in order for improvement in my classroom. Lesson plans differently affect students and I believe as an educator it is my goal to reach out to all of them. Every child is different, comes from a different background, and therefore requires different attention.
While there are rights and wrongs in teaching, I know no teacher can ever be perfect. I don’t believe that there is any certain way to achieve perfection, but we can keep working towards it. I know my career is ever changing, ever learning, and ever developing. There is something we all can do to improve ourselves each day. And that is what teaching is really about to me. There are no black and white instructions, only a vibrant pallet of colors waiting to be unleashed.
I feel teaching goes along with one of my favorite sayings, “Dance like no one is watching.” It’s not the things that you do to deserve recognition, it’s the things that you when you don’t want to be noticed: the little things that count. And I truly believe that in this community I’ve had that chance, the chance to make a small difference in one child’s life, that goes on to someday make a big difference in the lives of many. Through community involvement, extracurricular activities, and other functions I believe teaching isn’t my only job, it’s my title. Teaching doesn’t end when the bell rings, but rings throughout all aspects of my life forever. Thank you so much for this honor, I couldn’t be more appreciative.
Sincerely,
Katie Trewartha
Residents of the Community,
It is with great appreciation that I accept this teacher of the year award in my community. First off, I would like to thank everyone who came to recognize me for such an honor, and for all the support I’ve always had from many people in this wonderful community.
Long ago, while still preparing for my job in college, I observed a teacher at a surrounding district. She came to be one of my greatest role models after my first observation experience. I’ll never forget one day as we talked before class, she told me, “Always be the person you think you are. In teaching it will show if you can’t be yourself, and if you can’t be yourself you can’t be true to the kids.” This quote resonates in my head today, it is solely the lesson I strive to live by in my classroom. I don’t know a better way to put it, than my observing teaching put it herself.
I truly believe this quote. There is no way I would be where I am today without these words of wisdom. It is true to say since I’ve started teaching I’ve grown and learned a lot. But who I am has never changed. The person I think I am has defined who I really am, and that is something the kids have come to know very well. With hope in keeping myself constant, I have seen my students develop into their own people as well, and this is one of my many goals for them. When they know my expectations for them, they feel comfortable to adjust to a new environment and surroundings. My first and foremost goal in my career is the kids, and is it because of them that I do what I do.
Another belief I’ve had in my classroom from day one is that you must catch kids being good. It is one of the most rewarding experiences to catch the bully befriending. Not only does it force the student to know they are being good, but gives them a reason to keep excelling. I like to see kids pushed beyond what they think they can achieve. I would love to see them go the extra 110%, because not only does that apply to their school work, but to all aspects of their lives. I pray that the teaching I do for them, not only improves them in their school setting, but for their future and current life lessons.
With this, I also believe there are certain ways to go about teaching. Research shows, hands on learning seems to help the majority of kids in their schoolwork. Not only does it let kids handle life like examples it helps them remember the concept. I feel in doing this in a classroom it intrigues the students and helps a student reach success. More kids get into the lesson and want to participate. Having an active mind creates openings to teach so much more! Interaction is key in my classroom, I want to be there for the kids, to let them ask questions, get involved, and be excited just like I am! Passion is something you can’t teach, but only draw into.
Flexibility is also a key component to a good teacher. I am willing to try new ideas, adapt completely, or even slightly change a lesson plan in order for improvement in my classroom. Lesson plans differently affect students and I believe as an educator it is my goal to reach out to all of them. Every child is different, comes from a different background, and therefore requires different attention.
While there are rights and wrongs in teaching, I know no teacher can ever be perfect. I don’t believe that there is any certain way to achieve perfection, but we can keep working towards it. I know my career is ever changing, ever learning, and ever developing. There is something we all can do to improve ourselves each day. And that is what teaching is really about to me. There are no black and white instructions, only a vibrant pallet of colors waiting to be unleashed.
I feel teaching goes along with one of my favorite sayings, “Dance like no one is watching.” It’s not the things that you do to deserve recognition, it’s the things that you when you don’t want to be noticed: the little things that count. And I truly believe that in this community I’ve had that chance, the chance to make a small difference in one child’s life, that goes on to someday make a big difference in the lives of many. Through community involvement, extracurricular activities, and other functions I believe teaching isn’t my only job, it’s my title. Teaching doesn’t end when the bell rings, but rings throughout all aspects of my life forever. Thank you so much for this honor, I couldn’t be more appreciative.
Sincerely,
Katie Trewartha
Self-Reminders...
Thus far, on my educational path to become a teacher I have had many inspirations of what I would like my model classroom to look like someday! There have been so many great opportunities already and important pieces of information I never want to forget. So today I decided I NEED to write them all down! These are just little tidbits and (random) pieces of things I've picked up so far... I'm sure it will get updated often! But I honestly think one of the most important things for my future is to build upon the advice of others. So here goes!
Communication: This has got to be by far the most important things I've heard over and over again from MANY sources! I know that I won't have too much trouble with this, however I just need to remember to always keep communication lines open to all parents. Be open with them, and not just when their kids are struggling. Start off with a positive aspect, or maybe even just catch their child being good! Make yourself available and establish a trusting bond with the parents because of course they would love to know every detail of their child!
Technology: If there's one thing that hasn't been more iterated in this class it's keeping up with technology! After watching the video on youtube about "Shift Happens" I feel like this is something very important for us as future educators to focus on, especially going into dealing with this generation. It's a very positive thing and we need to be aware of the capabilities of this generation and the impact of technology. It can be a very useful tool when used correctly. I also found a neat website that talks about the implementation of technology in the classroom and how it's going to be the future. Click Here!
Passion: Of course! Passion is key in teaching! You gotta love what you are doing, every single inch of it, and if you don't love it the kids will know! You must be in teaching for the right reasons, which I believe I am. But like Mr. Riley said teaching can't be about you, it's gotta be about the kids. It was a great reminder than you can't just love the kids, but you must love working with kids. You must be the person in their lives that wants to make the difference. And with that attitude going into teaching I feel like there's be so many lives to reach. I can remember my math high school teacher was such a dork because he loved math so much, but it really made us love it too! In fact he would use all sorts of different things to get us to like math. Check out the youtube clip on the video bar..."What you know about Math?"
Confidence: In my amazing J Term experience of Ed 185 I had the chance to work with a really great cooperative teacher. There was one thing she told me that will never leave my head, "Always be the person you think you are because in teaching it will show if you can’t be yourself, and then you can’t be true to the kids." It's so true! You must have your own self-confidence and know what tasks and goals you want them to accomplish before they can even begin their self-discovery. Elementary teachers are a vital part of young kids' lives and they must start by being confident and trusting themselves in order for anyone else to trust in them. With this confidence, letting your kids to know you is a good thing! Make it personal, and let them know they know you too! They want to be a part of your lives as much as you want to be a part of theirs.
Use Your Resources: I don't think I heard this enough from my cooperating teacher and other teachers of the building as well. There are so many resources available to teachers and we must utilize them to our full potential! So many hands on learning kits and tools have been created to assist in a child's learning and enhance the fun of learning! It's so important to use these available to us. It's not always necessary, but can be a very effective teaching strategy. It helps get the kids motivated and wanting to learn!
Little Pieces: And lastly but not least, work at things in chunks! Take everything one step at a time and applaud even small improvement! Every little step matters...and encouragement is the key to motivating students as well. My cooperating teacher once told me it's not how much you accomplish but if you learned it along the way. She wouldn't try to rush through things when a day of school was missed for a snow day or something, but just try to get back on track with where her class was at. Always being on her feet ready for everything! Note the small things :)
So... these are just some of my ideas so far! I want to remember all these useful tidbits of advice for when I start to teach! I'm sure they will come in handy! There is so many more, and I'm sure there will be some to add as well! Can't wait to use it soon!!!
Communication: This has got to be by far the most important things I've heard over and over again from MANY sources! I know that I won't have too much trouble with this, however I just need to remember to always keep communication lines open to all parents. Be open with them, and not just when their kids are struggling. Start off with a positive aspect, or maybe even just catch their child being good! Make yourself available and establish a trusting bond with the parents because of course they would love to know every detail of their child!Technology: If there's one thing that hasn't been more iterated in this class it's keeping up with technology! After watching the video on youtube about "Shift Happens" I feel like this is something very important for us as future educators to focus on, especially going into dealing with this generation. It's a very positive thing and we need to be aware of the capabilities of this generation and the impact of technology. It can be a very useful tool when used correctly. I also found a neat website that talks about the implementation of technology in the classroom and how it's going to be the future. Click Here!
Passion: Of course! Passion is key in teaching! You gotta love what you are doing, every single inch of it, and if you don't love it the kids will know! You must be in teaching for the right reasons, which I believe I am. But like Mr. Riley said teaching can't be about you, it's gotta be about the kids. It was a great reminder than you can't just love the kids, but you must love working with kids. You must be the person in their lives that wants to make the difference. And with that attitude going into teaching I feel like there's be so many lives to reach. I can remember my math high school teacher was such a dork because he loved math so much, but it really made us love it too! In fact he would use all sorts of different things to get us to like math. Check out the youtube clip on the video bar..."What you know about Math?"
Confidence: In my amazing J Term experience of Ed 185 I had the chance to work with a really great cooperative teacher. There was one thing she told me that will never leave my head, "Always be the person you think you are because in teaching it will show if you can’t be yourself, and then you can’t be true to the kids." It's so true! You must have your own self-confidence and know what tasks and goals you want them to accomplish before they can even begin their self-discovery. Elementary teachers are a vital part of young kids' lives and they must start by being confident and trusting themselves in order for anyone else to trust in them. With this confidence, letting your kids to know you is a good thing! Make it personal, and let them know they know you too! They want to be a part of your lives as much as you want to be a part of theirs.
Use Your Resources: I don't think I heard this enough from my cooperating teacher and other teachers of the building as well. There are so many resources available to teachers and we must utilize them to our full potential! So many hands on learning kits and tools have been created to assist in a child's learning and enhance the fun of learning! It's so important to use these available to us. It's not always necessary, but can be a very effective teaching strategy. It helps get the kids motivated and wanting to learn!
Little Pieces: And lastly but not least, work at things in chunks! Take everything one step at a time and applaud even small improvement! Every little step matters...and encouragement is the key to motivating students as well. My cooperating teacher once told me it's not how much you accomplish but if you learned it along the way. She wouldn't try to rush through things when a day of school was missed for a snow day or something, but just try to get back on track with where her class was at. Always being on her feet ready for everything! Note the small things :)
So... these are just some of my ideas so far! I want to remember all these useful tidbits of advice for when I start to teach! I'm sure they will come in handy! There is so many more, and I'm sure there will be some to add as well! Can't wait to use it soon!!!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Chalk!
Chalk, the official teacher version of the Office! What a hilarious show this was! I really enjoyed watching this for our Monday night gathering. I think mostly it gave us some insight as what not to become as teachers, which is definitely a good thing to see as well as hear good things to do. The characters on this show fit their parts perfectly! How hilarious! I really get a kick out of the history teacher, who informs his students that he had only been teaching for about an hour and ten minutes official after class started! I think it's going to be a great reference to see these teachers in order to see what works and what doesn't. Of course none of us are going to be perfect when we start, and could maybe be somewhat like these people on this show. But like these teachers do, we need to adapt to different teaching styles to see what works and what doesn't in order to engage kids in what we are teaching. All of these techniques are very realistic and seem like they could be likely to happen in our classrooms so I feel like Chalk is somewhat preparing us for the real world! Reality t.v.! :) Here's a pretty great example of the history teacher lacking a little flavor for teaching, I'd say...check it out!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS6Xc_l0Kjo
For the second section of watching Chalk I feel like the movie really gave me a sense of how NOT to teach. I felt that some of the teachers were there for the right reasons, and some definitely not. For example the teacher who only wanted to win teacher of the year. However, I do know that this movie will be beneficial to my teaching career in some way. It's just one of the many things I'll have to keep in mind when thinking of how to manage my teaching in the future!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Parents Forum
Well, it was a fun way to finish up our series by talking to the parents of some students from the community in Decorah. I was really interested in what they had to say about many aspects of the school day. I guess what they were saying was just resounding in my head as I kept thinking, "Ok Katie remember this! You will need to know this..." While they were talking I just wanted to start writing a list of all the things I need to remember for when I become a teacher, which will most defintely be a blog for another day :). One of the most interesting aspects that these teachers touched on I felt was the feeling they had towards NCLB. Kind of like we had talked about in class today, I guess after hearing all the other educators views on NCLB I was starting to accept it as a postitve thing. Like Jim mentioned, I was thinking after the parent forum that maybe I was being too easily bought into and having too much of a positive thought about it! They really didn't like it! I guess it was nice to see from the outside of an "Educational Perspective" what someone not doing our job thought about the whole dilema. Like one of the ladies mentioned, she felt it labeled her child. And like Steve mentioned, so my child has a low english grammer grade...what are we going to do about that? Sit around at night at work on english grammer? I mean there really are some aspects you just can't change. And I feel that NCLB does have some positive and negative aspects. I think as teachers it is our goal to compromise these two aspects and at parent teachers conferences need to not focus on all the data driven things, but more personal things with each student. We may have that data, but don't need to label kids by their scores. So much to figure out for the future of my teaching career! Should be lots of fun! I can't wait! :)
Monday, November 3, 2008
Luther Graduates Forum
Wow! It was really great to have these teachers come talk to us on Monday night... very helpful I felt! It was really neat to have the perspective of very new teachers, all under less than 10 years of experience. It was also very sweet that all of them attended Luther, so I think I felt more of a personal connection to them, and vice versa. They really understand what we are going through as ed students at Luther and I think all of their responses really fit into something we could relate to and understand. I just felt like their discussions were very relevant into my life because that will be us hopefully very soon! It was nice to have someone so close to us in age explain how they have coped with situations thus far in their beginning teaching careers. To get into more specifics, there were two very important points they brought up that really hit interest with me. The first thing being that sometime teaching takes twists you don't expect it to. For example, the teacher that ended up going back to school to get her special education degree because she was wanted for that position. I think that's really need that she was able to be so flexible and change pace to find something she truly now has come to love and enjoy doing! I think it's always good to be flexible, just like they explained. The other really important point they brought up was in response to a question about NCLB. The math teacher explained that she used to teach to the test because she was in a school that was on the list, but now that she found her groove she doesn't feel she needs to do that, especially at a new school. She reminded us that you can't be too much of a perfectionist. She explained that she always had all these high hopes for what to accomplish in a day, but you can't always get everything done and you just have to be happy you got some learning accomplished. The main point I took away from their visiting was that you need to be ready to expect everything! Be ready to be on your feet ready to tackle any new challenges that come to you! I'm even more excited to be a teacher now! I feel like I need to start a list of all these things I want to remember to do when I'm a teacher, so many people have such good advice. But like the music teacher explained, you have to take all of that knowledge and create yourself, into the teacher you are going to be!
Monday, October 27, 2008
School Board Panel
I thought that the school board panel tonight was very interesting and informative. The school board members did a very good job of presenting their opinions on the topics addressed by all of us students and Jim. I thought a lot of what they said was very useful to us as teachers, in a different way from what we learned from the administrators from Decorah school district the previous weeks. I really liked the insight the school board gave us on their way of dealing with issues that arise. It was very intriguing to hear about how the money is allotted in those types of situations and how certain money can only be used in certain places and not used to cover up where you are lacking in other spots. I thought the most interesting two points that were brought up in the later of the forum was about NCLB and incorporating foreign language into children at a younger age. First off, again it was just a surprise to me that they had so many positive things to say about NCLB. For some reason I feel like there's always been a negative connotation on this law, but from what we have heard from these people it seems like it has only come in handy. I really liked how they said that even if they still didn't have the law that they would probably still enforce the testing. I guess NCLB really can't be all that bad if they have seem major improvements from it and all. It was good to hear that it was helping for the best! Also about incorporating language into schools at an earlier age was also something great to hear. I babysat a family this summer where the kids were 3, 5, and 8 and no lie everyday they begged me to teach them Spanish, so I did! And honestly by the end of the summer they knew a lot of the basic words and would use them all the time! It's very exciting to see kids get so motivated about these things, just like our visitors were saying. Being and ESL Elem. Ed major this is definitely something that is going to come into my future and that to me is great to hear! It was a pleasure to have them come talk to us tonight! Thanks :)
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
AdministrativePanel
When the two faculty of Decorah Schools came to talk to us in a sort of panel style on Monday night I feel it was very helpful to gain their opinions and knowledge of subject matter. They were very informative in their style of presenting and very open to questions and working us as students into a part of their lives. I feel like they gave us a very real opinion of what it is like in administration work and in schools in general. I took a large piece of what they said away with me, but there were some main focuses I'd like to talk about quickly. First off, like we talked about in class, NCLB. It was interesting that they had really no complaints about the NCLB act, which almost seemed surprising, however as we discussed in class they really have to support it. It's a law that everyone is going to have to abide with, so you might as well find the positives in it right? I really think they showed a high sense of positivity towards this law, just agreeing that it was "one piece of the pie", one part of the long processes involved in school matters. I like what they said in regards to NCLB that if the teachers and doing just what they need to do, it doesn't need to be NLCB centered, but the NLCB date will follow naturally. If teachers are doing what they need to do, the data will support that, and I'd have to agree. In their closing words they gave out their "best advice for beginning teachers". If I had to remember one part that was most important about their visit it would be their advice. You can't just love kids, you have to love working with the kids and wanting to impact their lives. You have to love what you do and never give up your true passion, because the rest will follow. It was a great experience to have their perspective!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
"High Stakes Community Schools"
I thought this debate we did on Monday night was very interesting. I really liked the idea of a "mock school board" meeting because I really think it put things into perspective for me. Someday this is going to be us! It's going to be us fighting for our rights and teachers and us receiving new curriculum changes and ideas to improve our schools. I think this debate served a really good purpose of making us truly think what we believe in. That is what I really enjoy about this class is that fact that everyday we are challenged to think what would we do in this situation? I really like an open minded class like this where everyone's opinion are heard and we are all defending our opinions. In this, I think that this hypothetical situation of "High Stakes" schools was perfect in the way of challenging our beliefs and depicting the fine line between too much structure versus none at all. For my group, we chose to be the supporting parents of high achieving students for the proposal. It was interesting to stand on that side of the debate because obviously many people in the room were much against it. At first when we chose this support group I wasn't so sure I actually agreed with the proposal fully. But, after looking into the points it had and talking with my group members, it actually seemed pretty reasonable. Maybe not so extreme about the things the teachers would have to go through, but the general idea of the proposal had a lot of good ideas! We talked about the strengths of this proposal in our group and we came up with a lot of different ideas. Mostly we said that yes, we do support this idea as parents of higher achieving students because not only does this plan raise the bar for our students, but ALL students in general and if you set this bar high, kids will strive to reach it. We also talked about how this more individualistic idea with each student would give these students much more motivation to achieve. I feel a lot of this proposal is much needed in this school district. So most of these things do seem extreme, but there really isn't anything wrong with a lot of the ideas, what are they going to hurt? There is so much more to bring up about the debate, however I think in general terms it was great way for us to learn the material. I think interaction like this is key to remembering certain ideas and for developing us into proper teachers. It's great to see different techniques our professors use because someday we will most likely be incorporating them into our daily routine! I really enjoyed this hypothetical debate.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Ch. 3 Discussion
Today, our group had a very good discussion on Ch. 3. It was very thought provoking and we touched on a lot of important issues. One main theme we focused on seemed to be the extra work you need to put in as a teacher. Teaching isn't only the science of providing kids a learning environment with the proper information for them to take in, there are many things we do in addition to that. One of those side things we must do in zoom in on each student and investigate the things that make them "tick". As a teacher, I feel that it should be expected that you know quite a bit of background information about your students. There is a science to a child's behavior, and if things aren't going quite w
ell, it may be quite apparent it is due to something happening outside of school. We talked a lot about reading into the behaviors of a child and using that to identify what could be the underlying reason for that. For example, a bully at school may not be receiving any attention at home, or perhaps is being abused. If you better understand the ins and outs of your students at school, it may help you gear certain activities to better suit their needs. This doesn't just have to be with behaviors, but also maybe some kids perform better at math then reading, and you need to have a variety of things to let every student shine. At such a young age, it is most important for kids to build up their positive self-esteem and to prevent them from feeling in superior. Of course, it's impossible to let this never happen, but the best you can build them up, gears them for a brighter future of possibilities in their lives. We discussed in our group how teaching really doesn't have a defined job description, it always requires you to be on your feet, ready to dive in and try something new. And as future teachers, I feel this is something we should all be ready to take on!
ell, it may be quite apparent it is due to something happening outside of school. We talked a lot about reading into the behaviors of a child and using that to identify what could be the underlying reason for that. For example, a bully at school may not be receiving any attention at home, or perhaps is being abused. If you better understand the ins and outs of your students at school, it may help you gear certain activities to better suit their needs. This doesn't just have to be with behaviors, but also maybe some kids perform better at math then reading, and you need to have a variety of things to let every student shine. At such a young age, it is most important for kids to build up their positive self-esteem and to prevent them from feeling in superior. Of course, it's impossible to let this never happen, but the best you can build them up, gears them for a brighter future of possibilities in their lives. We discussed in our group how teaching really doesn't have a defined job description, it always requires you to be on your feet, ready to dive in and try something new. And as future teachers, I feel this is something we should all be ready to take on! Sunday, September 28, 2008
Chalk and Wire
Erin's presentation about Chalk and Wire was very effective. Before her presentation, I had no idea what Chalk and Wire even was and now I feel much more educated on the ins and outs of the program. Chalk and Wire seems like such a good idea. I'm very excited to start using this program to build up my online portfolio. I feel it will serve as such a good resume in my future. I like the idea of organizing and storing all the activities and assignments I have done throughout college in the folders of competencies. This way I will feel like I have completed everything and know where it is at when I am finished! Jennifer's part of the presentation was also very helpful. It's nice to just be reminded again of important information and dates. It also helped me know what exactly I need to do to apply to the Education Department, and other important things such as that. I feel that the Education Department houses many staff members that are excited to see us excel in our careers as teachers from Luther! It is really great to have so many people rooting in our favor and I'm very excited for the future of my teaching career!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Better Grades in Less Time!
http://www.totalsuccess.com/"Lions for Lambs" Reflection
Lions for Lambs was a great movie. I thought it was very attention grabbing, but also had a great message. I feel like the main theme of the video was taking the extra time to reach out to students of potential. Like we discussed in class, it is far too often that the students who are doing best in school are ignored. In the movie, the boy who is starting to slack on his actual potential is targeted. I think this was a very neat thing to show in a movie, because I feel it reminds us that we need to catch students being good. As teachers, like Robert Redford states, we are salespeople. We need to sell the students to themselves and convince them of their underlying abilities. Also as teachers we need to ask ourselves, what are our motives to teaching? I feel once we have that established, it's much easier to teach students to reach their true potential. Good teaching is a variety of assets, but this one is one of the more important I feel.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Introduction
Hey! I'm Katie, and this will be the start of my Ed. Psych class blogging! I've very excited about this class and getting into more education classes for my major! I have wanted to be a teacher ever since the day I can remember, it's something I'm very passionate about. I love kids so much and can't wait to work with them for the rest of my life!!! More later...
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