Chinese Language in the schools!

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/studentnews/01/19/transcript.thu/index.html#one

Chinese Language Program

            There is a very interesting program that is going on in Ohio right now that is teaching students in Elementary schools Chinese.  China was the highest increasing economy is 2010, according to the news article.  Chinese culture will be much more profound in the years to come and that is why they are starting to teaching the kids young about the language and culture.  The Chinese government is also paying for this program.  The school shown on clip is receiving $30,000 to pay for American students to learn Chinese.  Some are worried that they should not be doing this because China is a communist country.  I don’t think that teaching students about the culture and language is going to form these kids into communist.  It broadens their horizons.

            I think this program is a great idea and more schools across the country should do it.  I know that for that to happen there would have to be funding for it and I highly doubt China would be able to pay for all of that but in some way teachers need to start adapting other cultures around the world into their lesson plans.  I went to a private school for the first four years of Elementary school and I had to take Spanish class.  By kindergarten I could count to 100 in Spanish.  I can’t even do that now because I have lost that knowledge from never using it.  In high school most students are able to take a language course but it is not forced.  I have close family friends who are from the Netherlands and to graduate high school they must know 5 or 6 different languages.  Frankly American students have it easy but I think that this culture idea needs to be in classes at all ages much more.

            One of my best friends attends the University of Minnesota (tc campus) and her minor is Chinese.  When she told me that I was really thrown off because I had never expected her to take a Chinese class, and further more choose that as her minor.  Her father is in the army and made a huge impact on her and explaining the benefits of knowing other languages.  I was extremely impressed when I visited her and she started saying sentences in Chinese.  It is a very interesting language and hard to keep up with.

            Over winter break I went on a cruise with about 16 family members.  My uncle married a woman from Columbia about 4 years ago and some of her family was there.  My aunt Rocio is very good with English and actually speaks better than one of my professors here at SCSU.  Her family did a great job trying to interact and speak English to have a conversation.  It really made me wish I had kept up with my Spanish from high school and continue on with it besides the two courses I needed to get into college.  Over the weeks time with the Mariano’s (my aunt’s family) I realized that I know nothing about any other cultures besides the US.  And I really don’t know that much about news or government issues in the US.  I wish growing up I would have been more informed and cared about these other cultures because now I have to play the catch up game. 

            It would be extremely cool if the classrooms would start having to learn different languages at a young age and keep learning more and more as the students get older.  I know as a parent I am going to try and put my children in schools that have programs like the one I was in or similar.  As a teacher I am also going to put global issues in my lesson plans.  Learning about these global issues really helps a person be well balanced and informed on the world today.  I think it is great that some Ohio schools are teaching their students Chinese in Elementary schools, now if only that could be a countrywide program!

Freedom Writers Journal

Freedom Writer’s Journal

            When Erin met with the head of her department she had many hopes and expectations.  She talked about how if she were doing her job correctly that all her students would be standing in line at the door to get into class; that they would want to learn and succeed.  I think she knew it was going to be a tough crowd but nothing like reality hitting it on her first day when the students were literally hitting themselves.  She then realized that her hopes would take more work.  Erin expected her co-workers to support her and that the school/district would give her the supplies the classroom needed but that wasn’t the case.  She had to expect less from the people around her and expect more to receive more from her students. 

            Erin took on two part time jobs so that she would have extra money to pay for things that she wanted for her students and thought were necessary.  At the beginning of the year you can see where her husband starts to back away not understanding where she is coming from.  It later turned into a divorce from her husband.  At the beginning of the year she was also confronted with the different gangs in the classroom and no one getting along or getting anything done.  If there isn’t peace you can’t learn.  She had to figure out a way to get classmates getting along and focused to learn.  One thing she did to help keep classroom in order was to move the students seats around and to move Jamal who was making lots of jokes and starting fights right up to the very front seat right in front of her.

            There was a girl in Erin’s classroom named Eva.  She came from a gang back round where she watched her father get dragged to jail for no reason.  She lived the “gang life.”  She always was following what others were doing and had to support them.  This included constantly running from other gangs or protecting boundaries.  She witnessed shootings and was a part of some including one that was at a gas station with two other members from her class.  Eva had to go on trial and either lie and defend her people or tell the truth and stand up for what is right.  Most students in the English classroom 203 had multiple friends die by their freshman/sophomore year in high school.  Some had even been shot at them and survived.  Erin was dealing with a world that she knew nothing about.  One where the color of your skin and where you lived was all that mattered, not who you were as a person.

            Erin gave the students journals to write in.  She had to earn her respect as a teacher and as a white woman with the students.  She was able to learn more about the students’ lives by reading their journals.  It also gave the students a way to vent or share their experiences.   Once the students had better outlook on life and school their grades improved and their drive to learn more.  Erin showed the students that they were all alike.  They all had the same issues and that these issues wouldn’t direct their future.  Erin started being much more aggressive towards the students to get their attention and to do what she wanted of them.  Many of her teaching methods included bringing what they knew and were familiar with into the lessons like Tupac lyrics in her poems lesson.   She also let the students decided if they wanted her to read their journals.  She had a cabinet that was locked and if they wanted her to read the journals they would leave the notebook in the cabinet.

            The teaching methods that worked with the students in room 203 were ones that they could relate to in real life.  The Holocaust was similar to the war the students were facing every day living where they did.  She was able to give them Anne Frank’s Diary and have them read what someone who was their age had to go through as well.  It really helped the students reading about the struggles others had to go through just like they had to.

            The administration wasn’t a big fan of Erin.  Or maybe I should say her department head and principal.  Erin asked a lot from them and when she didn’t get the answer she wanted she kept going.  She was very determined and I think that intimidated some.  They couldn’t understand why she wanted to do what she was doing.  Erin had to go to the board many times starting with the books and curriculum she wanted to teach them.  And ending with her wanted to continue to have the same students past their freshman/sophomore years and onto their junior/senior years. 

            Erin expected her students to do well and succeed.  When Jamal stopped coming to class for a while then showed up with him critique on himself saying that he should be failing; she did not agree.  She took him aside and told him that he wasn’t a failure and that she would not let him think that.  Erin expecting more pushed them to be even better students.

            This movie is a great example of every teacher’s worse nightmare.  I think it showed how much you are able to succeed and become an incredible teacher on your first year when you are inexperienced.  And also to stick up for what you want and desire.  Erin had these goals and dreams for the students and she was determined to make those come true.  Every teacher must believe in themselves and what they are capable of.

Alternative Teacher Licensure

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/01/13/minn-house-takes-up-alternative-teacher-licensure/

In response to this article I am rather split thinking about the Alternative Teacher Licensure.  I can understand why students and current teachers who are in the field can be upset about this issue.  I am currently taking courses at a University to become a Special Education Teacher and I wouldn't want someone who hasn't fulfilled the material I have to take a job before me since I would assume that they would be paid less which isn't fair to me.  I pay lots of money to take these courses to be licensed and then someone in  mid career profession can just come in and take my job.  I know that the flip side of this is that districts and areas of the need for teachers can't control how many are enrolling in the field or are currently looking for jobs.  It could definitely be a better option for some schools that currently do not have enough staff.  It's better to have something than nothing at all.  I would have to do much more research in both areas before I would make any conclusion on the topic.

Why do I want to be a Special Education teacher?

I want to be a special education teacher because I feel like I have the  patience for the job.  I want to work with Emotional Behavior Disorder kids because my brother is one of those people and growing up my parents didn't have patience, but I did and was able to help him with his homework and help him succeed.  My ex boyfriend from high school also had EBD and his SPED teacher made a huge impact on him life and really pushed him to become better and succeed in life and I want to be able to have that impact on others.  I want them to be able to come to me with any questions or concerns they may have about school or any other issues that may rise.  I feel that I have the drive to become a great role model in others life and will be able to help them succeed and have a good time doing it. :)