Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Disillusionment
Being a teacher is hard. As a teacher your job is to stand up in front of a room of at least 20, more often closer to 30, students and try to get them to all learn what it is you want them to learn. That in itself is impossible. Now imagine that you have to teach these students who all have problems. Some have a crappy home life, some are grieving, some are being picked on at school, some are exhausted from working all day and night to support themselves and some are simply tired of being trapped in a building where no one cares about them and who they are. It is hard enough to teach 20 or 30 teenagers anything but imagine trying to do it when they feel like they are in prison and you are their jailer. To top it all off teachers get no support. Most often schools are underfunded, and many teachers receive no help from administrators or fellow teachers because they are just as tired and frustrated by the whole situation as everyone else is. I know that being a teacher is a struggle. This chapter seems to be about how low we can fall and how sometimes even we, the teachers, break under pressure.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
The Story of School : Episode 3 1950-1980
Abstract:
These 30 years seemed to house the most dramatic and tense changes in schools mostly because of Brown Vs The Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act. These laws examined the rights of African American citizens to find that their children had a right to an education equal to that of white children. It was with these laws that other minority groups decided to petition congress for their rights to a fair education. Thus there were changes in education for women, ESL students, students with disabilities and other minority groups. These changes required schools to give equal opportunities to all, thus giving more people the ability to succeed at school and later on in life. However, it also put a strain on communities where integration wasn't so easy.
Reflection:
It seems very common sense to me that all students should be given an equal opportunity to get an education. I suppose that is a part of what the school system wanted children to learn. It seems like a foreign idea to me to even consider keeping someone out of a school or out of a class based on skin color, gender or differences in ability. I am glad that these laws have been passed to protect the rights of people who in the past didn't have those opportunities that I have now. The bus thing that came up at the end of the film did seem a little silly to me though. Those schools weren't keeping students of other races or ethnicities out of their schools, there just didn't happen to be a lot of difference in their region. In that case I think there were many other solutions that should have been attempted. Our schools should be diverse because it helps us all be better, more understanding and respectful people.
These 30 years seemed to house the most dramatic and tense changes in schools mostly because of Brown Vs The Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act. These laws examined the rights of African American citizens to find that their children had a right to an education equal to that of white children. It was with these laws that other minority groups decided to petition congress for their rights to a fair education. Thus there were changes in education for women, ESL students, students with disabilities and other minority groups. These changes required schools to give equal opportunities to all, thus giving more people the ability to succeed at school and later on in life. However, it also put a strain on communities where integration wasn't so easy.
Reflection:
It seems very common sense to me that all students should be given an equal opportunity to get an education. I suppose that is a part of what the school system wanted children to learn. It seems like a foreign idea to me to even consider keeping someone out of a school or out of a class based on skin color, gender or differences in ability. I am glad that these laws have been passed to protect the rights of people who in the past didn't have those opportunities that I have now. The bus thing that came up at the end of the film did seem a little silly to me though. Those schools weren't keeping students of other races or ethnicities out of their schools, there just didn't happen to be a lot of difference in their region. In that case I think there were many other solutions that should have been attempted. Our schools should be diverse because it helps us all be better, more understanding and respectful people.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Engagement
I loved entry 51, about the teacher who was taking the student across the border and entry 66 about the teacher who spent 200 dollars to make sure her student could go to college. Those things seemed like things I would do as a teacher. I know that I am one of those teachers that cares an awful lot about what happens to her students. Sometimes that idea really scares me. It means that I will be open to a lot of heartbreak and a lot of happiness. Those things don't scare me. I believe that all risks have a chance of failure and my students are always a risk I am willing to take. The part that scares me is that sometime I might go too far. I see myself burying myself in debt or losing sleep and therefore my health worrying or going to jail for illegally taking a student across the border cause they need to get home. I love these entries because the teachers were honest about how far they were willing to go for their kids. But it makes me all the more worried about how far I am willing to go. I am already the person all of my friends and family turn to for help and advice. I am already the person that bears everyone else's burdens. And I do that for those people mostly without having boundaries of how far I will go because I love them and they are family, I know they will never ask me to go too far. Many of my students will have no one else. Where do I draw the line for them? Do I draw a line? Can a person care for someone else too much? And if so, how much is too much?
The Story of School: Episode 2 1900-1950
Abstract:
The video went over the many philosophies and approaches to education that were circulating around the United States during the 1900's and in to the 1950's. The video discussed the differences and the effects these ideas had on students, society and the educational system. Some of these ideas were very detrimental to students while some were not. Much of the school system of this time period was concerned with educating the masses. This education was specifically aimed at making immigrants to our country Americanized. It sought to teach them our language, our culture and about our government. The effects of this were often harmful to students.
Reflection:
Our country has come a long way since 1900 but I don't think we have come far enough. We still use the IQ test to judge someone's intelligence despite knowing it's biases. This is still often the deciding factor in pulling a child out of the classroom, separating them from their peers and forcing them into special education often causing more harm than good to the student. the country still fights over what should be taught in schools. Often there are even fights over who deserves a good education even though the law decided long ago that all children deserve a free appropriate public education. There were even some ideas in the 1900's that were good. Like the school the film described that existed in Gary, Illinois. I agree that there is so much more that school can offer besides reading, writing and math There is science (all the sciences, not just biology, physics, anatomy and chemistry), there is history (not just American, World, Current Events and Government), there is culture, there are skills and there are languages that are not taught in schools. Those things can be equally important. We have lost much of the drive to explore other topics that existed during this time period.
The video went over the many philosophies and approaches to education that were circulating around the United States during the 1900's and in to the 1950's. The video discussed the differences and the effects these ideas had on students, society and the educational system. Some of these ideas were very detrimental to students while some were not. Much of the school system of this time period was concerned with educating the masses. This education was specifically aimed at making immigrants to our country Americanized. It sought to teach them our language, our culture and about our government. The effects of this were often harmful to students.
Reflection:
Our country has come a long way since 1900 but I don't think we have come far enough. We still use the IQ test to judge someone's intelligence despite knowing it's biases. This is still often the deciding factor in pulling a child out of the classroom, separating them from their peers and forcing them into special education often causing more harm than good to the student. the country still fights over what should be taught in schools. Often there are even fights over who deserves a good education even though the law decided long ago that all children deserve a free appropriate public education. There were even some ideas in the 1900's that were good. Like the school the film described that existed in Gary, Illinois. I agree that there is so much more that school can offer besides reading, writing and math There is science (all the sciences, not just biology, physics, anatomy and chemistry), there is history (not just American, World, Current Events and Government), there is culture, there are skills and there are languages that are not taught in schools. Those things can be equally important. We have lost much of the drive to explore other topics that existed during this time period.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Generations Article
Abstract:
This article discusses the many differences that appear in the different generations. It looks at what these differences are and what happens when individuals from different generations are forced to interact together. Some of the traits compared are family, work ethics, communication styles, rewards, feedback, and leadership styles. The article also makes several suggestions on how to best get people from different generations to work together. Suggestions include things such as being explicit about how teams should communicate, giving rewards more immediately, providing feedback or giving leadership roles. It focuses mostly on getting different generations cooperating together in the work force.
Reflection:
Even though this article is geared towards the work environment I think it is also a good resource for teachers. Teachers often have to deal with parents from different generations than themselves. It makes sense that people growing up during different time periods would hold different values. Thus it also seems to make sense that understanding where others values stem from would make communications between teachers and parents easier. I certainly find it helpful to know that some parents would rather I call them then send an email. It is also helpful to know the parent’s feelings towards education. If they don’t think it is valuable I will certainly have a harder time convincing them of the importance of their child’s homework, where as if they do find it valuable I may not need to do any convincing at all.
This article discusses the many differences that appear in the different generations. It looks at what these differences are and what happens when individuals from different generations are forced to interact together. Some of the traits compared are family, work ethics, communication styles, rewards, feedback, and leadership styles. The article also makes several suggestions on how to best get people from different generations to work together. Suggestions include things such as being explicit about how teams should communicate, giving rewards more immediately, providing feedback or giving leadership roles. It focuses mostly on getting different generations cooperating together in the work force.
Reflection:
Even though this article is geared towards the work environment I think it is also a good resource for teachers. Teachers often have to deal with parents from different generations than themselves. It makes sense that people growing up during different time periods would hold different values. Thus it also seems to make sense that understanding where others values stem from would make communications between teachers and parents easier. I certainly find it helpful to know that some parents would rather I call them then send an email. It is also helpful to know the parent’s feelings towards education. If they don’t think it is valuable I will certainly have a harder time convincing them of the importance of their child’s homework, where as if they do find it valuable I may not need to do any convincing at all.
Challenges
I related to many of the stories from this section of the book. While I am not a product of gang violence or rape, I have never done any substances or lived with an addict, and I haven’t ever been homeless these things are much a part of my past. They all happened to my mom. My biological grandmother, I call her Donna because she has never been a part of my life, was a pregnant teen who gave my mom up to her mother, the woman I knew as Grammie Johnson. Grammie was a mean drunk. My mom dealt by doing drugs, which eventually caused her to drop out of school and run away from home. My mom has lived on her own since she was 15. My mom eventually got her life together, she got cleaned up, got her GED and went to bartending school. She met my dad and got married. They got divorced. While I did grow up in a home where money was always stretched thin, I was lucky. Unlike many of the kids in these journal entries I had a mom who knew what poverty could do to you and who knew what trying to get lost in something else, even for a little while can make you lose forever. My mom took any help she could get, and always put us first. She made sure we had everything we needed and most of what we wanted. If it wasn’t for her courage though I would not be in college and my brother and I would probably be in the same situation these kids found themselves in. In many ways I am a success story. In that way I connected to entry 36. I hope that someday I can share my mom’s story and even my story with them in order to give them hope. I want them to know that they can take charge of their lives, that they can change their circumstances no matter how bleak it looks and that money is not the obstacle in often seems when you don’t have any. Hard work and determination do pay off.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Anticipation
I really related to the third diary entry in this section because it was about a teacher’s first day ever teaching a class. I understood the feelings of inadequacy. I remember during practicum having the same thoughts and feelings and I often worry that no matter how much I know and no matter how prepared I am for a class, I will never truly know what it is I am doing. It is silly and I know that. 4 years of training for a job should be more than adequate. I should feel more prepared for my first teaching job. I also related to this one because the teacher had a small inner conflict about how much to share with the class. I was worried about that during practicum too but I realized very quickly that the students respected me more when I shared my interests and who I was with them, and even more when I showed interest in their interests. The seventeenth entry was similar to the idea of sharing. The teacher in that one was faced with students who wanted to know about sex and had not been allowed to get that information from other teachers. I think that people often feel uncomfortable talking about sex. And that is really too bad because how else are students supposed to get that information? I hope that if I am ever in a situation similar to this teacher, that I won’t be so embarrassed that I will forget that education is more important than those feelings.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Diversity Article
Abstract:
All students learn differently. Most teachers realize this but for some reason schools have yet to implement enough this information effectively in the classroom. These different learning styles are born both of our nature and our experience. The combination makes all individuals unique while allowing for many similarities especially among individuals who have a similar culture. It is important to remember that different cultures have different values. This helps teacher’s understand why a student may have a slightly different learning style.
Reflection:
This seems to be repeated over and over in all of our education classes. It is important to use multiple strategies to teach students in order to have the best success at reaching them and thus insuring they are grasping the material. So why is it so hard to do it? Are teachers simply not skilled enough? Are schools not tolerant enough of new ideas? I think it is probably more the second one. Sometimes the past is tougher to break than we think. The article’s inclusion of culture was new though and I think it made an interesting point that because different cultures value different skills more highly that those values may affect a person’s multiples intelligences.
All students learn differently. Most teachers realize this but for some reason schools have yet to implement enough this information effectively in the classroom. These different learning styles are born both of our nature and our experience. The combination makes all individuals unique while allowing for many similarities especially among individuals who have a similar culture. It is important to remember that different cultures have different values. This helps teacher’s understand why a student may have a slightly different learning style.
Reflection:
This seems to be repeated over and over in all of our education classes. It is important to use multiple strategies to teach students in order to have the best success at reaching them and thus insuring they are grasping the material. So why is it so hard to do it? Are teachers simply not skilled enough? Are schools not tolerant enough of new ideas? I think it is probably more the second one. Sometimes the past is tougher to break than we think. The article’s inclusion of culture was new though and I think it made an interesting point that because different cultures value different skills more highly that those values may affect a person’s multiples intelligences.
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