Field Experience Reflection

Field Experience

This semester I completed my first field experience in a classroom.  I was placed in a first grade class at Clearview Elementary in a Spanish Immersion class.  I had never actually worked or volunteered in a classroom when I wasn’t a student in the class.  I was very excited and nervous at the same time.  I chose to work with a math curriculum because I am currently taking MATH 330: Teaching Elementary Math and I thought it would be a great use of what I’m learning and use it in the class room.  After going to the training session I quickly realized that my MATH 330 class would be very little help since we were suppose to be using Fermi math.  

                        My students have taught me so much over the past weeks that I would never have learned if I did not experience it myself.  You have to be put in situations to know how you will actually handle them.  There is always “role play” and “what should you do if?”  But when you are on the spot with 24 eyes starring at you, you don’t always remember what you practiced before.  These children think the world of you and saying one wrong thing could break their hearts.  When I walk into the classroom now I get bombarded with hugs from almost all the students, and when they have to leave at the end of the day I have to tell them to get in line for the bus.   They see me as a role model and are always asking questions about my life.  I even had one little boy ask if he could marry me when he gets older.  It was very cute but I explained I was much older than him and that it was not possible.  Respect has to be earned by the students.  They will not listen to you until you prove to them that they should and that it is worth their time.  Disciplining the students is a hard line and knowing whether or not you can do that or if the teacher allows it is tricky.  I had to let my students know that when I am working with them that they have to listen and follow directions.

            While I was in the classroom I would work with the students about 4-6 kids at a time.  There were different stations in the class that they would rotate their groups every 10 minutes or so.  The teacher was very organized with materials, supplies, and where everything was located in the class.  I think this really helped the day go smooth and was less stressful for the students and the teacher.  The teacher also had several ways of getting the students attention when they would change activities or if students were being too loud.  Professora Kari (what the students would call the teacher) would either do a loud pattern of claps that the students would repeat exactly how she did or she also had a small set of hanging chimes that she was ding.  I think those were very good tactics used to control and get the attention of students.  Another thing that Professora Kari did was acknowledgement of good behavior and incentives.  There were different pins and prizes that students would receive for these things.  I think it is very important that we praise our kids for the good things they do instead of always punishing for the bad.

            Overall, I really enjoyed my experience and time at Clearview.  Professora Kari was a 1^st year teacher so we related on several levels.  I was very pleased to hear that she didn’t receive a “pink slip” last week.  It was very cool to talk about policies and issues that she and other teachers face that were mentioned in the book.  She gave me many pointers and we discussed many thoughts about Immersion programs, which was very insightful for myself.  I really appreciate everything she has done for me and I am actually planning on attending a field trip with the class in the end of May.  I will miss the students but maybe one day I will see them in another class or even my own down the road.

Philosophy of Education

Philosophy of Education

I believe that everyone has a calling.  I have concluded that my calling is to be a Special Education Teacher.  Through out this course we have studied many different topics and gone in-depth with many issues in the education system and our current educators around the world.  There are many different aspects to the philosophy of education and mine in particular.  We will look into the role of the student, the purpose of schools in society and my specific philosophy of education, teaching strategies and attributes, how we can prepare our students to be globally competent students and how the learning environment and class room management can affect students.

            When a student walks in the door on their first day of school they turn into a fragment of the population that we call students.  There are expectations that we have for our students as they fulfill their duties as learners.  When students are in elementary school they are so excited to be there and learn.  We need to take full advantage of this and help their little brains soak up as much as possible.  As a student gets older the nature of them will change and I want to make sure that they can be as excited about school on their first day of kindergarten to after they have taken their class exam in whatever level of education that is.  I expect my students to be willing to learn and accept the challenges that they will face during their education path.

            A philosophy of education is a set of ideas and beliefs that guides teachers’ actions and provides a framework for thinking about educational issues.  Throughout the world there are many schools that are completely different from each other depending on many things including; the country of school, whether it is a private or public school, the area that the school is located, the faculty, and background of the students who attend.  I believe that we need to focus on the individual student and the success of the individual.  A positive atmosphere can make or break the curriculum and the success of the students.  I also believe that the US needs to change the social reconstruction and what specific things should be emphasized. 

            Have you ever been around someone who is always negative and always bringing your mood down?  Imagine having a teacher be like that every day.  Many students have to deal with a negative environment and this tends to affect the students and create a negative image towards school for them.  I believe having a positive atmosphere in a classroom can really change a student outlook on school and many different life long lessons.  I believe that positive behavior and affirmation can really drive a student to want to succeed and complete that goal.  There are many teachers out in the world today that only teach to get that paycheck and therefore tend to be negative and not really care about their students.  Those students are really getting the short end of the stick and not realizing what is possible.  Being enriched with positivity in school and just positive behavior can really change a person’s life.

            The US has an act of congress called the No Child Left Behind; its goal is to set higher standards and establish goals that will improve individual outcomes in education.  I personally think that the NCLB doesn’t help an individual at all.  We as future educators need to focus on the specific need of each individual.  Not everyone is going to learn at the same rate we have to accommodate each student to what they are capable of and what they specifically need help with.  A positive atmosphere will really inspire and give students the drive that they want and need to succeed in school, the classroom, and for their future life.

            There is a lack of Social Reconstruction in the education system today.  I believe in the educational philosophy of social reconstruction, asserting that schools, teachers, and students should take the lead in addressing social problems and improving the society.  With social reconstruction the primary teaching method would be discussion.  I know from a personal experience that when you discuss things in class vs. reading a textbook you pick up much more information on the topic at hand.  You are going in-depth and have much more critical thinking about the topic when its discussed in a group setting.  Group projects and student collaboration will really help student learn but also develop communication skills that they will need down the road.  Schools and teachers need to comprehend that more discussion time in classes will really benefit the student and isn’t that what our goal is as educators?

            I believe that a highly qualified teacher has certain qualities and attributes and these are called teacher’s philosophies.  Having a spark inside you to want to educate and make the world a better place one student at a time has to be on the top.  You must be able to teach all type of students and not give attention to certain students over others.  Also being able to teach the same thing but multiple ways so that a student who learns differently from his/her classmates can all learn and understand concepts at the same time.  A great teacher needs to be organized, educated, caring, respectable, understanding, reliable, charismatic, smart, engaging, and fun!

            A teacher is the barrier of knowledge.  They should be student centered, pushing students to achieve more than they had imagined.  You can never stop learning things and many forget that.  I believe effective teaching strategies that I use would be to bring more critical thinking into the classroom throughout each lesson and not just here and there, if it is constant the student will gain much more knowledge.  I also want to have a great relationship with my students and I want them to know that I am always here for them in any situation.  I plan on working with EBD students and typically there are much more outside of school issues with these students and they need to be able to trust me and understand that I am there to talk and support them with whatever issue may arise.  Teachers also must have a strong communication with the parents.  Education and learning goes outside of the classroom walls and making sure that the student, parent, and teacher are on the same level will help everyone in the long run.  I will always do what is best for my students and sometimes parents will not agree but I am willing to take that chance if it means that they will have a better future because of it.

            We are in the 21^st century and that consists of a different type of educating and learning as students.  I want to prepare my students for the world now and what they will come across and make sure they are prepared for these situations.  The US unfortunately is behind the rest of the world in global competence and I want to change that.  I grew up in a public school in suburbia and rarely would we discuss or even go over global issues.  If you go over to China the students there are globally informed and know what is going on in the world around us.   I hope one day our students can get to that level but there is so much work to be done.  Tony Wagner writes in his book The Global Achievement Gap about how students from across the world are much more prepared that American students and will be taking the jobs that we have worked hard for.   We need to step up our game and define new survival skills for the future.  This includes the 21^st century skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and learning and working with people from other cultures, understanding other nations and languages, and being globally competent.

            Another factor in being in the 21^st century learning is technology.  There have been so many drastic movements in technology that sometimes it can be hard to keep up.  We need to teach students how to write emails and letters that don’t contain “text vocabulary.”  I believe that many teachers were have been in the field for quite some time should really learn themselves about this new technology and understand that students can learn easier with it.  I know I personally have a much easier time doing this on a computer because I am so comfortable on one and use it so much.  We can’t live in the past we need to move forward to the future and that consists of new teaching tools and strategies that are up to par with this fast world paste. 

            To have a good learning environment a teacher must be organized.  This doesn’t always mean that every little thing is neat in their classroom.  A teacher’s philosophy impacts a learning environment and your classroom management.  I’ve learned from working in a first grade class that if you aren’t organized and prepared the students are going to take over and get out of hand.  As we saw in the Science Express each station had their own everything and it was also clearly labeled and color coordinated.  The teacher I had my field experience with had the exact same concept.  There were 5 group tables in the classroom and the students were assigned to a group or table.  Each table had its own tools and utensils so that when doing an activity the students weren’t running around the room or waiting to use something.  There was also a cubby or box for each students to hold their take home mail, homework, assignments, or anything that needed to be kept safe.  At the end of the day the teacher would pass out each students’ folder and they would go over to their cubby to grab the things they would need to bring home.  This helps the students and teachers not loose things and stay organized.  There was a lot of structure and routine in the day’s activity and this really helps students stay focused and keeps the teacher sane.

            I want to become an educator to change students’ lives.  Everyone deserves that chance and opportunity.  I want to change the education system today and break the cycle of failure that we have some how come across.  I have learned that I was placed on his world to help people and change lives.  I want to break the cycle of students who come from bad homes and families and show them that they don’t have to be like that.  There are many more options out there then what they have come from or know and they just need someone to believe in them and show them the possibilities.  I know I can do this by my teaching philosophies and I hope that other teachers will realize this as well.  My purpose in life is to change lives and I am more than excited to have the opportunity to do this and am excited to change the world one day at a time.

With Crises, Universities Worry About Students Abroad

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/18/nyregion/18campus.html?ref=internationaleducation

The New York Times recently published a story about studying abroad that I thought was very interesting and related directly to our class discussions in the past weeks.  Over 250,000 students travel from the US across country to another country to attend school.  It has been a very popular idea that I know many of my friends/family have done and I eventually would like to do myself.  It is now possible to go to all 7 continents and study abroad.  Recent issues across the world have caused some serious problems for American students attending school in other countries.  Universities all over the US are starting to pull some of their programs and send for current students overseas.  At Temple University in Tokyo 100 American students have left out of the 3,300 students they currently have because of the recent earthquake and tsunami.  Cornell University is worried about their 500+ students they send across country every year.  "Much is at stake for colleges with footprints in other countries: not just students’ safety, but also the schools’ properties, liabilities and reputations."  Some schools are decided to end programs that they have had for many years because it isn't safe for their students and is also not helping the reputation of he school.  Boston University is ending its 20 year-old program in Niger after two French citizens were kidnapped from a local popular bar.
I am surprised that I haven't heard more of this in the news lately.  It scares me a little bit because so many schools are pulling their students out of these programs and sending them back to the US.  It's a pretty serious deal when that happens.  I am very interested in traveling abroad for the future and this could really impact my decision and what I end up doing.  I know this all could change in a matter of days depending on what is going on across the world politically and physically.  I hope that the world can pull it together so that these programs and students can continue.  I guess we will just have to see what happens.

Global Achievement Gap: Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Motivating Today's Students- and  Tomorrow's Workers
"What does it take to bring out the best in young people today, both in school and in the work place?"  Wagner asks this question at the very beginning of the chapter.  Many including myself are very worried about the work ethic of young people today and how it continues to decline.  I have noticed this over the years that we are caring less and less about our work ethic and some don't even have a work ethic.  I have had a job since I was 15 and always have taken it seriously trying to my best ability.  On the other hand my brother is 16 years old and my parents are struggling with him to get a job.  He has no motivation to work or even fill out applications and its rather pathetic.
Another impact of this generation is how differently we have grown up.  I grew up in a digital world.  There is not very much time out of the day that I am not on my blackberry or macbook or have my ipod on.  We have so many more distractions now that my parents ever had.  Because we grew up in the digital world we also learn differently.  I know I am much more comfortable doing tasks and finding information on a computer vs hard text.  We multi-task so much that we have to learn the same way which doesn't always work.  Parents need to step up their game and help their children with more critical thinking.  Simple conversations weekly can really help students with these skills.  If no one is pushing them and testing them then how will they get better?  We need to engage ourselves and our children to become all that we can be :)

Global Achievement Gap: Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Reinventing the Education Profession
Wagner talks about the path to a teacher a lot of this chapter.  The experiences of making it through college of education.  Most teacher prep programs are all the same.  We take courses and tests then we are "ready" for the real world.  We don't always develop the skills needed to be an effective teacher and receive enough experience with effective supervisors.  We need to come up with a new program where there is much more hands on training.  And where we can get good feedback from day1 instead of the very end of your last semester of college where bad habits are hard to break.

Group 8 Presentation

Group 8 presented on chapter 12 Creating Productive Learning Environments: Classroom Management.  The group shared valuable information that was not in the book.  They shared a website: www.dailycafe.com which is a great resource to have.  They also spoke about classroom management which I think it vital to the learning experience.  As we learned today in the Science Bus being organized can make such a huge difference.  We need to make learning easier and  accommodate for the students not necessarily the teachers.  There are many tools that this up and coming teachers will have access to that can make a huge difference such as smart boards.  There were several tips and ideas given during the presentation that will be very valuable as we continue our journey to teaching.

Revolutionizing Education in Ethiopia

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/international/2011/04/25/av.bruktawit.tigabu.bk.a.cnn?iref=allsearch

Brooke T is a childhood teacher in Ethiopia.  The education system doesn't start there until 1st grade where the students come in on the first day expecting to have already known the basics such as ABS's.  Brooke wanted to be able to help these students before they got into first grade learn because many do not have anyone to teach them.  Then the students are already behind when the start school.  Brooke and her husband came up with a program called Education Media to help children learn while they are watching tv.  It is on the only network in Ethiopia called National TV.  The show is a puppet show with the main character names Sime.  During the different shows they go over key things that children need to be taught like: cleanliness, being truthful, honesty, eating healths, how to prevent diseases and that reading is fun!  The audience for these shows is preschool age to prepare them for when they enter 1st grade.
I think it is great that Brooke created this show.  There are many educational shows here in the US and it is very vital to our learning experience.  Kids are getting much smarter and part of that is because they pick up on what they are watching at a much younger age.  Other countries need to pick up on that and create more shows so that we can reach out to these children.

UK Could Look to Poland, Where Private Universities Educate 30% of Students

http://www.educationnews.org/global/153333.html

The number of private universities in Poland has grown and now educating 30% of students.  Since the time of the communist party over 30 schools have opened and over 630,000 students are not enrolled.  Private schools require fees and tuition.  Private universities tend to be more focused on areas that directly feed the job market.  Smaller class sizes and less beauracuracy gives these schools an advantage to quick-moving world and are more ready for the work world.

Global Achievement Gap: Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Testing 1, 2, 3
No Child Left Behind has students preparing for these tests starting in 2nd grade.  If all these tests are not passed by 12th grade students do not graduate reguardless if they have taken all the required classes and received good grades following.  Wagner showed examples of tests given by states and explained what he thought of them.  For both tests most individuals now would fail the math part.  How many actually use algebra on a daily basis?  Obviously there are some professions where algebra is used regularly but for the rest of us its never used.  So why is it on these tests?
Wagner asked college students questions about their high school experience and the answers they found are exactly how I feel as well.  We didn't learn anything in high school to prepare us for our college courses.  We basically start all over in the learning process once you walk into your first lecture hall.  Its not such a bad thing because you don't remember much from high school because you are just memorizing things for tests then forgetting them weeks later.  The students were then asked about how they could have bettered their time in the high school class room.  Most said that there would be more time spent on writing, research skills, time management, and working with students in groups.  I work with fellow group members on a weekly basis, I never did that in high school once.  It sucks attending college having to learn all these skills on your own and usually failing the first few times.  This causes us to be less motivated in the long run.  Of course its all going to run you down and there is so much going on that motivation is going down farther and farther from earlier years.

Global Achievement Gap: Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Old World of School

We as students are lacking direction in school.  There are many skills that are essential for college that no one is taught and that becomes a huge problem during the first semester of college.  Some of these skills are: the ability to think critically, read complex material, apply knowledge to new problems, and write well.  Having these skills would have really put me in a much better situation starting college and I think if more students had these skills there would be much higher completion rate in colleges.
Wagner then goes on by visiting several different school and sits in the classroom to compare what differences across the US students are seeing.  Most of the elementary schools were teaching basic reading and writing skills.  Because of the NCLB students are being taught only what is on these tests, it is limiting their learning.  Many schools would cut the time of other subjects and material just to focus on the NCLB tests so that the school doesn't receive a "improved progress" in the results.  It is very clear that the US school systems are more worried about what the test results will en tale rather than the knowledge and information taught in class.

Global Achievement Gap: Chapter 1

The New World of Work and the Seven Survival Skills
Tony Wagner starts off by pointing out what the global achievement gap is and that there is two of them.  The first one is the gap between  the quality of schooling that most middle-class kids get in America and the quality of schooling available for most poor and minority children- and the consequent disparity in results.  The second one is the gap betwen what even our best suburban, urban, and rural public schools are teaching and testing vs what all students will need to suceed as learners, workers, and citizens in today's global knowledge economy.  No Child Left Behind was well intended but clearly isn't doing much for students today and not preparing us with survival skills for learning, working and citizenship.
Through out the chapter Wagner outlines the Seven Survival Skills that we need.
1.) Critical Thinking and Problem Solving- We as students need to learn how to think outside the box and not be able to answer a question only if it is in test question form.  We need to look at the way we look at questions and the prospective on them.
2.) Collaborations Across Networks and Leading by Influence-  Global awareness is laid out by the Partnership as using 21st century skills such as critical thinking and problem solving to understand and address global issues.   Learn from and work collabloratively with individuals representing diverse cultures, religions and lifestyles in a  spirit of mutual respect and open dialogue in personal, work and community contexts.  Understand other nations and cultures, including the use of non-English languages.
3.) Agility and Adaptability- WE have to think, be flexible, change, and be adaptive, and use a variety of tools to solve new problems.  Everything changes constantly and you have to be able to adapt and work with it.  You have to be able to take on these tasks and going above and beyond the status qouta that was given yesterday.
4.)  Initiative and Entrepreneurialism - Being able to go out and take the inititave over and over and trust your thoughts.  You have to keep going above and above.  "Leadership is the capacity to take inititave and trust your self to be creative."
5.)  Effective Oral and Written Communication-  In the work force today communication is done through email and memos and there is a effective way of doing that.  We aren't able to communicate up to standards.  We as teachers also need to teach our students how to write.  I know personally I am a horrible writer and that is because I was never really taught.  I know how to write a 5 paragraph essay but that is about it.  And that is also about the only thing I remember about any of my English classes in high school.  Teachers need to focus much more on the communication in the world today.
6.)  Accessing and Analyzing Information-  In today's world there is an incredible amount of information that is constantly changing.  We need to be consistent on having the most recent info and keep it stored in our brains.  We can no longer read the front page of the news paper to be informed and understand.  There is much more research, access and evaluate information.
7.) Curiosity and Imagination- We need to start thinking out of the box.  Using both the left and right sides of the brain.  Now days you must be on the top of your creative game because the competition is high and someone else will scoop up your prize.

Waiting on Superman Reflection

Watching the film Waiting on Superman was very touching.  There were many great statistics and facts I never knew about.  Some of these were rather disturbing.  This movie watched several students and their journey to getting into a better school.  I never realized the difference some schools can make.  I never thought about the people who lived in bad neighborhoods and just want their children in a better education system.  What would it be like to have your fate rely on a lottery system.  There was a grate quote that tells it all.  "Schools haven't changed but the people around them have."  I think it is horrible that tenure is saving many old teachers who don't know about the 21st century while new fresh teachers are getting the boot.
Every student deserves an equal education and depending on where you live that won't be true.   The video says that it is more expensive for someone to live in prision than to attend a private school.  We spend millions of dollars on convicts yet they might be able to prevent that by sending them to better schools.
This video really touched me.  I never want a child to be left behind because of where they live.  Many children get a horrible education in bad schools.  Obviously there is much to be done in the US.  You don't ever hear about the range of good to bad schools in other countries.  There the students are excited about school and care what is going on and the teachers help their students down a path to succeed.  This video really opened up my eyes to the world around what I know.  Since I have never lived in a area like this it was good to become educated and see whats going on in the world around me.

2 Million Minutes

2 Million Minutes is a video we watched in class.  It compares United States, China and India's school system.  It is estimated that each student spends 2 million minutes in school.  There is such a large range of differences on each student's 2 million minutes in school throughout these different countries.  Students in China and India act very different from our schools.  They see school as a privilege and take it very seriously while we complain about going every day.  In the US we focus so much on sports.  These other countries did not spend nearly as much time, money or effort on sports.  They would rather be doing other activities that work their brain and are proven to help with academics.  I also noticed that families play a huge role in the education of the children.  The parents are there every step of the way making sure they are succeeding.  The families are much closer and care much more about how their children are doing.  There is a huge cultural difference between the two countries and it makes me want to move to another country to raise my family.  The US rated number 1 in confidence.  Maybe that is because we are always competing in sports so we know that we need the confidence.  Hopefully in the future we will have more than just confidence because the populations from other countries are going to come and steal the jobs we are competing for and they WILL WIN.  They are much smarter and overall much more prepared that any student from America.

Philosophy of Education

We took a short quiz in class that was to help us with forming our own personal philosophy of education.  We were asked 16 questions and then we would be scored in the categories of: Perennialism, Essentialism, Progessivism, and Social Reconstruction. I scored the highest on Progessivism and Social Reconstruction.  Which means I view goals as dynamic and emphasizes that learning should be experience based and relevant to students lives.  A teacher involving students in the problem-based learning activities would be applying progessivist philosophy.  Also that I see schools and other institutions in need of restructuring, with marginalized people and their works elevated to more prominent positions in the content of schooling.
These test results are exactly how I feel about the Philosophy of education.  I think that there need to be some major changes because its clear what we are doing now isn't working.  Students aren't learning like they use to.  These stupid tests need to go out the door because it the real world they will never need to know the stuff on those tests.  Teachers spend way too much time preparing for the tests when they could be teaching other things.  Also students do so much better when what they are learning relates to their lives.  When they can see that it is going to effect them in the future and be apart of the change now.  I honestly don't know if schools will ever be restructured to where they should be but I know as a future teacher that I am going to do my best to help the situation.  I won't be going out of the books and standard lessons that teachers have used in the past.  I also know that I won't let any student fall behind.  I want to become a teacher for those students whose parents don't care or the ones who don't have parents.  These students need us the most because they are more or less "forgotten."  I want to help break the vicious cycle in many families lives that will change their lives forever.  I want to be that change. :)

Ideal Teacher Prep Program

There are many things that as a student I wish were different for my education and goal towards being a educator.  First off I really feel that "gen eds" would be changed.  I am currently finishing my last gen eds and I have no motivation for these courses.  There are many of these classes that I am taking just to fulfill my requirements but am not gaining any knowdlege in them.  I think we should have a different type of "gen ed" where its similar but relates more to a teachers point of view.
I also think that we should be required as college students to take a second language.  It could be Spanish or Chinese or even sign language.  I am currently taking sign language but SCSU only offers 2 courses so after this semester I will be done.  In high school you are told you take a language because most college require that but then after high school you forget everything you have learned because you are not using it.  If college students were forced to take a language we would learn more about the culture and we would also remember things from high school so you don't have to start at ground zero again.
I think we should also have more on teh job training and practice.  In the education field we have to do many field experiences which is great because you learn so much working in the field vs learning in a class room.  I know many other programs do not require this field work and students are not learning as much as they should.  They get thrown out into the real world job with no help and experience in what they are actually doing.  Learning and studying is one thing but reacting and doing a job is another.

Group 4 Presentation

Group 4 presented on chapter 7: The Educational Philosophy: The Intellectual Foundations of American Education.  They talked about the Philosophy of Education and its different sectors.  They gave us the Philosophy of Education test to see what our thoughts were on that.  This information is a huge part of what our final paper will be on.  They also showed many movie clips on each aspect of the philosophy which kept me interested ad involved in the topic its self.

Group 3 Presentation

Group 3 presented on Chapter 6 Education in the United States: It's Historical Roots.  There was a lot of information presented in this chapter.  We discussed the difference over history on what and how teachers teach.  There are many things that are the same in the way we teach but at the same time its a new era.  Technology has to be a part of teaching and is daily with students of all ages.  I have a 1st grade class right now that uses smart boards and many years ago that would have never happened.  They also had a interview with a teacher that has been in the field many years and how they have been able to change they way they teach over the years.

Group 2 Presentation

Group 2 presented on Chapter 4: Student Diversity: Culture, Language, and Gender.   We talked about the different types of cultures and diversity.  Also about ELL and different transitional programs.  They asked questions about how we would react or what we would do in different situations.  We also talked about what it would be like to have single-sex classrooms.  I really enjoyed hearing about what the other students in class thought about this topic.  The group did a great job getting the class involved into the presentation and discussion questions.

Group 5 Presentation

Group 5 presented on chapter 8 in the book; The Organization of American Schools.  We discussed the different types of schools and how they are organized.  The goals of American schools were: academic, social, civic, and vocational.  They spoke about 4 day school weeks and the pros and cons and how that would effect us.  I brought up how in high school we were on the block system which meant we had 4 quarters a year with 4 classes per day, 5 days a week.  I really enjoyed this because we were in class around 90 minutes and we could discuss an entire topic and have time to work on homework and questions.  If I had homework I could usually get in done quickly after school.  My senior year they switched and went to a 6 period day.  It really sucked because I wouldn't have time to go over home work assignments and you could possibly have up to 6 subjects of home work after school.  I really enjoyed the longer classes. Anyways I think that the group did a good job teaching us about the topic and the class had very good discussion on it during presentation.

Group 6 Presentation

Group 6 presented on Chapter 9, Government and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools.  They talked about the different ways that schools are run and some of the political aspects of schools.  I learned a lot about where money comes from for these schools and how it is distributed.  They had great interviews and discussion questions.  They also presented the website: studentsfirst.org which is a great website for students and teachers.  I learned a lot about the schools and government in this presentation and I thought they did a great job presenting.  Very knowledgeable on the topic!

State ignores teacher licensing violations

http://www.startribune.com/local/119537854.html

I actually found this article on someone's facebook page that I went to high school with.  The article talks about my district in particular so I thought it'd be a great article to share!
Over the past few months we have been discussing the new teacher laws that were passed on being able to teach but not necessarily have gone to college for that particular subject.  Well this article goes into detail about that and ranks some of the schools on their performance of that.  There are over 900 Minnesota teachers who have violated rules in their class room.  41 teachers in my school district #622 have racked up more than 150 violations in the past 5 years.  I graduated 4 years ago in May but these violations were still very much present while I attended school.  We as students are getting punished here.  We aren't choosing for these things to happen and there isn't much we can do.  I have no problem saying that I received a crappy education from my high school.  I had to work a lot harder in college because I was not prepared and didn't know lots of the "basics" I should have already been taught.  It has been a struggle to get to the level that students are in my grade because I had to go above and beyond what everyone else has been doing.  My brother is a sophomore in high school right now and I know they have been making changes to the curriculum which has been much needed, but some of the chances aren't the best decisions.  They have FINALLY changed the math ciriculum to "normal math" algebra, geometry, trig, etc.  When I was in high school we had "integrated math."  It was very frustrating as a student because you would get little bits and pieces each year but never fully understood the concept.  Students graduating around my time (2007) were basically screwed for the ACT's and college entrance exams and first year college math.
They also changed the schedule of school from a block period (4 quarters/year, 4 classes/day) to Trimesters and 6 period days.  This creates much more homework for the student and too many things going on.  I hope that the state of Minnesota can change these violations sooner the better so that our future students get the education they deserve.

Cathleen Black Is Out as City Schools Chancellor

Article

Cathleen Black stepped down as New York City school Chancellor last week after NYC's mayor Michael Bloomberg urged her to resign after being in the position for only several months.  Black originally worked as a chairwomen for Hearest Magazines.  The position of school chancellor will be filled now by Joel Kline who is a formal federal prosecutor but has worked in the past as a chancellor for over 8 years.  Kline has been involved in many of the education system for many years and informed on what should be happening and is a fighter for kids.
We discussed thing issue a bit in class last week and the topic of being asked to resign or getting the letter that you won't be coming back in the fall.  It is something that every teacher worries about for months coming up to the time it happens.  I can already see myself not sleeping because I won't know if I will have a job.  With the economy like it is today it is so hard to find a job that it's the scariest thing in the world.  I watched my father who is very well educated and has a incredible resume and portfolio get laid off his job he had been at for 25 years.  Then he struggled with and is still struggling with getting a job that was equal to what he was at.
I don't think that a employer should ever urge you to resign but in many occurrences that is the case.  It is easier for them to do that then coming up with an excuse to fire you.  In the long run you know you are basically being fired and that is what will hit you emotionally.  There just isn't that word after your name "Terminated."   In cases like the one this story has it is very clear that the education system in NYC needed some help.  But I still don't understand why they would hire someone like Black when she had no experience in the first place in such a large education system like New York City.

Finland Phenominom

Today's video was a documentary about Finland and their education system.  The author of The Global Achievement Gap, Tony Wagner went and visited many schools in Finland.  He sat and observed class rooms, spoke with students, teachers, professors, and college students who are going to school to become educators in Finland.  Newsweek ranked Finland #1 country on education while the US was ranked #26.  There were many differences that Finland has in their education system that would be really cool to try here but unfortunately I think as a society it would never work for us because it is too hard to break old habits.  The populations are completely different and there is many more issues that the US faces than Finland.  Here are some key ideas I picked up on while watching the film.

CLASS-SCHOOLS IN GENERAL:

-       Discover on their own

-       Only a few lessons a day

-       Knowledge procreation

-       Warm up and cool down in lessons

-       Introducing concepts with other resources like youtube then going back to book material

-       Music or listening comprehensions to “cool down class”

-       Teaching students how to think and engage in learning

-       Early prevention of struggling students

-       Upper secondary: education track or vocational track- 40% choose vocational

-       Very little testing

BECOMING A TEACHER AND SCHOOLING

-       To become a teacher you need high grades to be accepted into University

-       Teaching is a self esteem profession vs. US where if they cannot succeed at anything else they turn to teaching

-       3 years bachelors and 2 years of masters required

-       Teacher education: all have masters, research based education

-       While students are in school they have to create lesson plans and have them corrected before teaching and then after teaching lesson there is a review session with professor and students which is very important

-       Professors coach student teachers