Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Final Blog

During this course I have learned a lot of new information that will help me become the teacher I have always wanted to be. I have also come upon a lot of information I already knew, but because of the way it was presented in the course, I saw it in a whole new light. As teaches are are not only responsible for teaching students the core academics they will need in life, but also how to be part of a functioning community and society. If we ever see a student that is being put down by someone else, especially another teacher, we need to help them see that they are great at everything they do as long as they try their best. One great thing about the blogs was that we were able to see everyone else's ideas. It was really great to see that all the other future teachers in the class have the same positive views about teaching that I do. Hopefully this new generation of teachers will be able to teach students in a way that all of America is happy with because if there is one thing people in this country can all agree on, it is that everyone wants the best education for the nation's children.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

"It takes a village to raise a child"

After taking this course, it has become very clear to me that education is not as simple as "teacher educated student." As the saying goes, "it takes a village to raise a child." I firmly believe that it also takes a "village" to educate a child. The most obvious person who children learn from is their teachers at school. Teachers not only teach students academics but also skills about how to function in a society. Student's also learn a lot from their parents like how to deal with other people in life and just general knowledge you need to know to succeed and be happy in life. People in the community can also have a big influence on students. Coaches are can have a large influence on a child's education. I have a cousin who is very rebellious and does not listen to his teachers or parents but one person he will listen to is his coach. I think he does this because he looks up to him and does not want to disappoint him. Other people in the community help students learn too. The program "Big Brother, Big Sister" pairs young children with suitable role models from the community for them to learn from. A friendship usually grows between the student and role model which is a great thing, especially for students who don't have a stable family life. I also think that if students have someone they can talk to and really depend on, like a role model from Big Brother, Big Sister, or a coach, they are less likely to drop our of school or get in trouble.

The final group of people in a "village" that can help students learn are the students themselves. Because many classrooms are so diverse, students can teach each other. Having a "show and tell" like program set up in the class where students can teach others about themselves and their culture would be very beneficial. Doing this would also help prepare students for later in life where they will be dealing with other people who will most likely be from a different culture or lifestyle all together. Because educating children is so important to our society, many people want to be a part of it which is an amazing thing!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Social Justice in Education: Discrimination

When I first read the "Rethinking Our Classrooms" article, one section stuck out to me like a sore thumb. When the article is talking about how many children's books focus on a white and powerful character all I could think about was the book, "Through My Eyes" by Ruby Bridges. My mom had the privilege of meeting Ruby Bridges a couple years ago and she brought me back a signed copy of her book. All I could think about was how great it would have been to have a book like this taught to me when I was in elementary school.


Ruby Bridges was the first African-American child to attend an all-white elementary school in the South, and she did this when she was six years old! I think teaching students about Ruby Bridges would be a wonderful way to talk about discrimination, one of the many social justice topics in America today. I feel that the students, especially the younger ones, would benefit from hearing Ruby's story because she is someone who was also just a kid going to elementary school and they could easily relate to her. I could ask the students, "What would you do if tomorrow when you came to school, people were mad you came, because of the color of your skin, or your eyes or your hair?" This would get the students to think about the feelings Ruby had when she was a little girl being discriminated against while in school.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Educational Philosophies: Behaviorism

When I first learned about the educational philosophies that teachers teach by, I was glad to hear there were so many options and it seemed that there were enough of them to fit every style of teaching. The one that intrigued me the most was behaviorism and I started to think, why does it appeal to so many people? Behaviorism claims that human psychology can be studied by observations. There were many people who helped develop behaviorism but some of the most notable were Ivan Pavlov and B.F. Skinner who created different types of conditioning which they proved very effective. Behaviorism is seen in school because that is where behaviors are learned. The skills that students learn through behaviorism are skills that will help them outside of school in the real world. Behaviorism uses conditioning to alter the students behaviors. The students who do well get rewarded by the teacher and therefore they are motivated to accomplish things later in life because they know that if they succeed they will be rewarded. The method of conditioning the students is very different than any of the other methods used the other educational philosophies and i think this is why so many people chose to teach using it. I think that I would try and incorporate the conditioning used in behaviorism in my teaching but I would not rely on it and I would mix it with other styles of teaching that I found to be effective. I think that studying the many philosophies of education that are out there is an important thing for a person to do before they start teaching, in order from them to become a successful educator.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Teaching Students with Executive Functioning Problems

How can teachers help students who have executive functioning problems? Psychologists have only recently discovered that children can have problems with their executive functioning. Children with these problems have trouble doing various things including estimating time and distance, mentally solving problems in different situations, and anticipating consequences. Their brains perform the tasks too quickly in the subconscious that they are not even aware it happened. They can also have a problem with their working memory. As a teacher, we are taught to look for signs in our students in case they have a learning disability and there are a lot of signs that teachers will see if one of their students has problems with executive functioning. One of these signs is that the student does not understand how long an assignment will take, therefore has trouble completing it in time. Another sign that a student has trouble with executive functioning is if they have trouble initiating activities and they have trouble coming up with ideas on their own. Although this is a relatively new disability there are still many strategies that can be used for these students that help with their problem. The teacher can give the student clear step-by-step instructions possibly with a visual aid. They can also have the student use planners and timers in the classroom and at home so they can get their work done on time. Now matter what strategies are used to help the student, it is best to have the ones used at school and at home be very similar because people with executive functioning disorders do better if their routines are the same no matter what setting they are in.

I really think that this disability is an important one for teachers to know about because if they don't know about it, and one of their students has a executive functioning disorder, they would just pass the student off as lazy or say that they have A.D.D. Compared to many other disabilities I have learned about, it seems like there are more strategies and ideas about how to teach the people with the disorder effectively. As teachers one of our goals is to successfully teach all of our students what the need to know and with the strategies discovered and the strategies still to be developed to successfully teach children with this disorder, I think reaching that goal has gotten more realistic.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Educating Multiracial Students

A topic that is hot in the field of education today is the schooling of multiracial children. There has been much talk about this in recent years mainly because on school forms or standardized tests for example, when the students have to fill out what race they are, they don't know which one to check off, because they belong to multiple. Over the last decade there have been more than 100,000 multiracial children born in the U.S. It is important for teachers to meet the needs of multiracial children, and because many of them live in urban areas, the schools there need their teachers to be more aware of the special needs of these students. These students have many advantages that they can bring into the classroom as well. Many of them have a strong sense of self, possibly speak more than one language, and they appreciate minority groups and cultures more than someone else might. They can also face many challenges for instance, they might struggle to accept that they might be one of a kind when it comes to their race. Being in a school that accepts multiracial students and having teachers that treat them no differently than anyone else, may help them overcome the challenges they face. If the teacher accepts them and others students in the class don't, they will know that their teacher will do the best they can to protect them from bullying or other peer challenges they might face. There is also many things the school can do as a whole to make the multiracial students feel more accepted. The school could have a heritage day where each student gets to share with their peers and teachers all about them and where they come from. The school can also provide toys and books that depict different races, ethnicity's, and cultures. The teachers can also teach the students about well known multiracial people in society (like Barack Obama) so they can identify with them. The last point the article makes is that schools should have counseling for multiracial students so if they have a problem, they will have someone to talk to.

After reading this article I had many thoughts about this subject pop into my head. The view the teachers have towards the students who are multiracial affect the way they see themselves and the way others see them. If they have a teacher who doesn't accept them, what will make the other students accept them? And what will make them accept themselves? I also really liked the ideas that the article gave about things schools can do to make the multiracial students feel strong about themselves and to educate the other students about all the different types of people there can be in the world. When I was younger we had a day were each student in my class brought in items (could be clothing, money, food, toys, etc.) that connected to their culture(s). One girl in my class was German, Spanish, and African-American. She had so many different things that showed where she and where her family came from. I remember this being the first time I really understood what it meant for someone to be multiracial, and I know that when I have multiracial students, I will do everything in my power as a teacher to make sure they feel just as accepted as everyone else.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Parent Involvement in Education

Should parents be more involved in their child's education? Researchers say that they should, and I agree. Parents should become involved in their child's education at the earliest point possible because the earlier they start, the more powerful the effects will be on the child. The best thing a parent can do for their child's education is to help them learn additional materials at home or to assist them with their school work. There are also many other types of parental involvement. Children who read for their parents and have books read to them by parents excel in reading and writing. There had been a general pattern observed by researchers of parents who are involved with their child's education. The parents tend to follow a family oriented routine daily, they make sure their children have supervised care when they are out of the house, and they also don't set unrealistic goals for their children.

Looking at a child's education, you can tell if their parents are involved or not because there is such a drastic difference. When parents are involved a child has a lower risk of using drugs and alcohol, they are less likely to become involved in violent behavior, they have a better attendance record, and their test scores are higher. Students who have their parents involved in their education are also much more likely to graduate.
After viewing the research that has been done on parental involvement it is very evident to me that it does have an effect on the child's education. If parents are not involved in their child's education, it seems to me that the child may see this as a sign that their parent doesn't care about them. I can also see a child thinking, "well if my parents care about my education, why should I," and then dropping out of school. When I was younger and my parents used to come into my school to see all my work and say how proud they were I remember the feeling really great about myself and wanting to continue in school so I could create more great work. As a teacher I really hope I can witness this happen between my students and their parents and if I don't see it, I definitely will help as much as I can to get the parents more involved in their child's education.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Why choose to become a teacher?

While researching for this blog entry I was having trouble finding a website that had reasons that I have not seen before. When I came upon the website listed below, I was thrilled to see some fresh ideas. Why do so many people want to become teachers? People who love challenges might find teaching to be a good job. Not every student will learn easily and I know there are some people who find it very hard to give up on something. If these people came across a student that had trouble learning, I know that they would not stop helping these kids until they understood. The success from the students understanding something is another reason people teach. I know that when I see that I have helped a student figure something out and they are so happy about it, that makes me happy. Teaching a certain subject also is an incentive for people to teach because teaching something is the best way to learn it and for people interested in learning a lot, this would be the way to do it.


One thing I have never heard before and was kind of surprised by was that people teach to stay younger. I assumed that teaching would wear you down faster but I guess some people think that if you are surrounded by youth, you in turn will stay young, or at least feel young. Being a teacher also lets you be creative in many different ways. The final reason why someone might teach is that is matches your family life. If you teach, it matches your families schedule, so vacations and holidays can be more easily planned. In this article there were also some answers that I have seen before like having a fun time with children, having an influence on someone's future, job security, and having summers off. I think that there are many good reasons to become a teacher and as long as it does not negatively affect the students than, bring on the teachers, we need them!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Hi everyone!

My name is Anne, I'm 20 (almost 21) and I'm from Cohasset, MA. I go to Webster University in St. Louis, MO where my major is education. This past fall I spent a semester studying in Vienna and traveled to many other parts of Europe and I cannot wait to go back. I love to sing, cook, read, watching movies/tv, and hanging out with my friends and family. Although I love school and learning what I can about teaching, I can't wait to get a job after graduation and start teaching! I look forward to getting to know all of you!