Teaching is like..

Teaching is like the universe. You are constantly discovering new ways to teach just like they keep discovering new things in the universe. Once it seems like you have settled on a certain something, something else that is new and interesting comes along. It is important to always discover and try new things because you never know what is out there that just might be the answer to everything! We are always curious and we want to know what is out there in our universe, just like we always want to keep learning in the classroom.

One thing I found very interesting was the international assessments and where the US stands. I found this interesting because I honestly had no idea that we were ranked that low when we are the country who spends the most money on education. It honestly blows my mind, and we clearly need to start making some changes. Other countries are setting the bar high and setting great examples so maybe we should start to do some more research.

Another things I found very interesting was when we talked about all of the different schools. For example; the outdoor kindergarten and Summerhill. I honestly had no idea that those types of schools even existed. I found this so interesting because I feel that schools are becoming less safe and I know that a lot of parents feel the same way so these types of schooling might become more and more popular throughout our future generations. I found these schools to be very intriguing.

I also found the factors influencing classroom attitudes to be very informative. As a beginning teacher, it is important to know how to respond to these students and how to develop relationships with these students in order to break the barrier. You have to form a bond and trust with your students so they feel comfortable in your classroom. If they are comfortable and they want to learn then your students will be successful.

Throughout this course, I have learned to see different perspectives. By reading and responding to others every week, I was able to get a different look at things and get insight to new information. I think it was very beneficial. Just like our students, every child is unique, and so is everyone in this course. It is about respecting others and their ideas and thoughts.

Social Justice

When teaching for social justice, it is important to make sure all groups of people receive equal treatment in order to succeed in the classroom, and that they all have the same rights and opportunities as one another. As each student is tended to, this will activate them to become a contributor in society and enable them to start to have a positive outlook  in order to fulfill their needs in life. Social justice is about reality, and really knowing what is happening in your surroundings. 

When it comes to social justice in the classroom, you want your students to be aware of every culture and to be positive about it as well. Each student has their own identity and they start to become more aware of human development and why certain things are important to educate yourself about. 

In the article Rethinking our Classrooms it states that "Unfortunately, too many schools are training grounds for boredom, alienation, and pessimism. Too many schools fail to confront the racial, class, and gender inequities woven into our social fabric. Teachers are often simultaneously perpetrators and victims, with little control over planning time, class size, or broader school policies".

I think this is true because I feel that so many children are actually being "hidden" or teachers are "sugar coating" reality more and more. This isn't good because it isn't helping our future generations because they are going to grow up being naive. Schools need to confront more issues and parents need to stop worrying as much. For example, I was a nanny for one family and these children were 10 and 12. She did not want me turning on the TV just in case there was anything on the news she didn't want them seeing. I understand they are young, but this stuff is going to be talked about throughout the schools the next day and these children will have no idea what went on. Parents and teachers need to take control and confront these situations because you don;t want your children being naive about the harsh realities of the world. It is only going to make it harder for them. It is a teachers job to really incorporate this stuff in the classroom while teaching so the children can have something to relate their lives to.  It is important that teachers discuss the similarities and differences of cultures, and although we are all equal and have equal opportunities, that is it okay to embrace the diversity in the classroom. That is what makes us so unique, it is because there are so many different cultures and backgrounds that we can learn from. We are all different, but we should all have equal opportunities in the classroom in order to succeed. It doesn't matter who you are, anyone can make positive changes.

Teachers, do not let funding stop you!

I decided I would like to discuss the topic of school funding and how teachers lets it prevent them from doing certain things such as environmental learning. Place Based Education and or environmental learning is so CRUCIAL to our schools systems now-a-days. Children of our current and future generations are becoming more and more materialistic and are relying on all of this technology. Although technology does have its benefits for sure, it does however have its downfalls. Students and teachers are loosing sight of how important our environment is and how important our students are to our environments as well. As teachers, it is our job to open our students' eyes to our surrounding environmental issues, so they are realizing what is as risk for them in the future. If our students realize these risks, they will WANT to learn because this now becomes relevant to them, therefore this provides them with a more hands-on approach to learn and become more engaged. We need to become more persistent with our school systems and making sure they provide at least some resources in order for our students to contribute to their communities in a positive way. 

TEACHERS! It is important to not let funding get in the way of incorporating environmental lessons and place based learning into your curriculum's. Unfortunately, especially in Urban areas, most schools will lack the necessary resources for this to be included because their first priorities , for example, are to make sure these children are being fed breakfast and to have the proper nutrition throughout the day. This is completely okay! Students like this NEED to be introduced to the issues in their environment because these are the students who want their neighborhoods to change. Do I mean take your students outside where they can be at risk to be harmed? Absolutely not. First step is to make sure that the environment you are in is safe. This even includes the smallest things such as, will there be glass in that area? Are there too many cars? Too many people? Things like this we need to take into consideration, and if that is the case, what about taking some of the environment into the classroom? As a teacher it is our job to be creative and to find different ways of learning. Personally, if my school could not provide my students and I with the proper funding or even a bus to a park/beach/etc near by, I would take this matters into my own hands and find ways to bring some of the material I wanted them to study into my classroom. I would have them research certain issues in their neighborhoods and communities so they can then become creative. Chances are, your students will have SO MANY ideas to make some positive changes in their communities. So why not let them have that opportunity just because your school does not have the proper funding? That is OKAY! No problem at all! Become creative because chances are your students will make the experience well worth it if you provide them with the opportunity.

http://clearingmagazine.org/archives/2087

Above is a link I found while I was pinning on Pinterest about Place Based Education, and provides ten different ways for developing environmental literacy. I think it is great and definitely well worth looking at.

Gardner vs. Freire

The Bank Concept by Paul Freire

"Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor. Instead of communicating, the teacher issues communiques and makes deposits which the students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat. This is the “banking” concept of education. In which the scope of action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits" (1).

The Multiple Intelligence Theory by Howard Gardner 

This theory consists of seven different intelligence's. This means that every student has strengths and weaknesses and can learn, process, memorize, and understand in different ways. The seven intelligence's are visual/spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, linguistic, and logical/mathematical. 

I personally have always been a BIG fan of the multiple intelligence theory and that is why I chose to discuss about Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence theory. Throughout my entire college education, Gardner and his theory of the seven different intelligence's have always been a great topic of discussion. When I become a teacher, I know that I will follow this theory because every child does learn in a different way, and every child does have their strengths and weaknesses. For instance, I am very hands on and I work well working with actual objects, so I am very bodily-kinesthetic. However when it comes to logical/mathematical, I am completely lost. I hate math and I always have. I never found easier ways for myself to learn in math UNLESS we were using blocks, or some sort of objects to help me visualize and play with. 

As for Gardner accepting Freire's theory? I don't think so. I think that they are complete OPPOSITE. Freire's banking concept is very strict and to the point. He says that education is basically teachers teaching this content, and the students are just memorizing the facts, but not actually going in depth. Freire uses the example "four times four is sixteen", and the students will memorize that the answer is sixteen, but they do not know why the answer is sixteen. I feel as if this theory is basically saying that students are becoming robots, just memorizing information and repeating it. They aren't actually going in depth as to why things are the way they are.

Gardner is completely different because he discusses so many different ways students can learn. If they use their strengths to learn, the information won't just be facts that they memorize and repeat. The information will be in depth because they will be learning the way they want to learn which will have the students more engaged. If a student is more engaged in their work they are willing to go more in depth with what they are learning. 

Overall, I agreed with Freire's theory because I think the school systems are becoming more like this with all the assessment testing and how they are teaching information. Do I like Freire's theory and do I hope this changes? Yes, of course. Schools should be more like Gardner's theory and they should be more open to theories and concepts like this. 

Educational Philosophy

As I started reading and doing the work for this module, I realized that there are so many philosophies of teaching that people go by. I took the self assessment test on my educational philosophy, and my scores ranged from 11 to 24. It turned out that my educational philosophy and the way I view the world is through Humanism. 

Humanism

 Where educators consider learning from the perspective of the human potential for growth, becoming the best one can be. The shift is to the study of effective as well as cognitive dimensions of learning. Beliefs include: human beings can control their own destiny; people are inherently good and will strive for a better world; people are free to act but must be responsible; behavior is the consequence of human choice; and people possess unlimited potential for growth and development. There is a natural tendency for people to learn, which will flourish if nourishing, encouraging environments are provided.

I was actually really happy that I scored this in Humanism because after doing some research, I really do view the world and education through this philosophy. I believe in the multiple intelligence's and how every person learns in their own way. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and EVERYONE has the potential to grow and become the best they can be. I am not religious, and I do believe that everyone controls their own destiny, and you are responsible for your own actions. I also believe that people have an unlimited amount of potential and that everyone can strive to become better. As a teacher, it is my job to nourish and encourage the student to want to learn. You can only teach a student so much if they do not want to learn. So by creating lessons that students can relate to and are interested in, I will be encouraging them to want to learn. My environment will be a safety net for them, and I want them to feel as comfortable as possible so they are able to grow and develop.

Learning Exceptionalities

Every environment in a school should enhance student's learning. Although we have curriculum standards, it is a teacher's job to adapt curricula for every student's needs so that they are able to learn to the best of their ability. Providing a flexible curriculum for your students provides them with different opportunities to bring out their strengths. Every students has strengths and weaknesses, and as a teacher it is our job to really get to know our students and help them excel in their areas of strength, and to improve on their areas of weakness. We have discussed multicultural education and some of the certain things a teacher needs to do in order to have a responsive multicultural classroom. The same goes for special education. We as teachers need to become more knowledgeable and make sure that we know their and adapt to their accommodations. While doing some research, I came across this AWESOME website that gives us a little insight and makes us see things in a different perspective.

http://sped.wikidot.com/exceptionalities

For example, the author writes:

"We all have strengths in some areas and weaknesses in others. A student may have severe problems in math and science but be a gifted public speaker with a talent for learning foreign languages. A student may be an intelligent, creative learner in all academic areas, but may be hampered by a wheelchair that makes many locations and activities inaccessible. You may, for example, have students like these in your classroom".

"Jason, a tall fifth grader, can throw a baseball at eighty miles per hour yet cannot hear".

"Michael, an excellent mountain climber, cannot see".

"Susan, whose drawings and paintings show a sophisticated understanding of composition and color, reads two years beneath her grade level."

I thought that these were great examples of children who can excel in one thing, but may not be so strong in another thing. All because someone is restricted to a wheel chair, doesn't mean that they shouldn't have access to a general education classroom. It is the school's job to make sure that a student in a wheel chair is able to access a classroom with either an elevator or a ramp. Schools have to be handicap accessible now. No one is perfect, and us as teachers really need to take a step back and really assess our students. It will only benefit our students and us as well. By us assessing our students, it will help us become more knowledgeable on what the student's strengths and weaknesses are. We then can use the flexible curriculum so the students can learn in a way that is appropriate to their learning style. This goes for every students whether they are a special needs students, or they have a multicultural background, or if they are gifted/talented students. Every student should have the opportunity to shine and show off their strengths. I think that is what school is about; it is where we come to find out and bring out our strong side, and to learn and work on things that we aren't so strong with.

Multicultural Education

Being responsive to multicultural education will always be a challenge for teachers. I think teachers will forever be faced with diversity and obstacles that they will have to overcome. There are many different ways to approach multicultural education, but there are also many ways that you should avoid. When you need a multicultural curriculum transformation, you first need to ask yourself a few questions. What are the necessary steps should I take? What is the issue at hand? How do I need to make myself more knowledgeable in order to have a different perspective? It is important to educate oneself about a culture before diving into a lesson. It will not only benefit you as a teacher, but for the student as well. The student will see that you are trying to understand things from their point of view, therefore they will have more respect for you as well. I realized throughout my field work experience in college that the curriculum are becoming more and more diverse, but I feel as if they are not fully including diversity. Since schools are becoming so diverse, the students need a deep understanding of the world around them in order for them to understand their peers. If students don't understand their peers, they will not feel comfortable, causing them to segregate themselves to stay in their comfort zone. One topic I would like to focus on is discussing differences. One thing that teachers often mistaken while teaching multicultural education is that they focus on the differences between cultures more than the similarities between cultures. Obviously there is differences between the cultures, and the students have figured that out. It is important to discuss the main differences, but it is also MORE important to discuss the similarities between cultures so the students have something to relate to. Students are more understanding and are more willing to engage themselves if it is something they can relate themselves too. For example; holidays. Most classrooms aren't allowed to just discuss one holiday anymore because students and parents are more sensitive to their religions and cultures. For instance; during Christmas time, it is important to talk about holidays such as Kwanzaa and Hanukkah as well, and it is important to discuss the differences AND similarities. Discussing these holidays to a group of students in the U.S. "All of these holidays are celebrations like Christmas, so depending on what culture you are from, that is the holiday you will celebrate around Christmas time. Each holiday has certain traditions that they do everyone year. Does anyone know of any of these traditions?" The students can then raise their hands and take guesses like "All of these holidays include presents, and family parties". This way the students can relate and see the difference perspectives of the difference cultures. Teachers should not shy away from teaching multicultural lessons. There are so many ways to make it fun and exciting for the students!

Should Sex Education be offered in schools?

Should Sex Education be offered in schools?

My answer is YES! It absolutely should be offered. Not only offered, but mandatory.

In my opinion, sex is a natural and pure part of life, whether you have it for the first time at a younger age, or if you wait until you're married. Sex education provides so much information for these students. Preaching abstinence isn't going to stop students from having sex, instead we as educators should be informing them on the proper ways to have safe sex, and ways to prevent teen pregnancy. Not only pregnancy, but sexually transmitted diseases as well.

There is a lot of controversy about whether or not schools should teach it. There are a lot of parents whining and complaining about it as well, like it is some unnatural part of life. From what I have heard and read there are a few different views;
- If a school offers sex education and are handing out condoms, are saying it is okay for children to have sex?
- Well if these children are going to have sex anyways, we might as well educate them to have safe sex.

Parents need to stop being in denial about their children and their sex lives. Why do you think teen pregnancies have increased? Why do you think the amount of sexually transmitted diseases have increased? It is because parents have been protesting and forcing the schools to rid of sex education, when really all they are doing is hurting their children.

In Chapter 2 by Robert F. McNergney, he states that "The more education she has, the less likely a girl is to have a baby. For teens, having a child greatly increases the chance that a young mother  and her child or children will live in poverty" (McNergney 33). No Parent should ever want that for their child. Don't get me wrong. Not every teen mother is not going to succeed. Two of my very good family friends had a child in high school, and they are GREAT, wonderful, and caring mothers who have amazing families that provide them with the best support imaginable. Unfortunately, not every family is fortunate enough to have the financial stability, or the emotional stability to raise a child at that age. So why chance it when you can prevent it? It is reality, and parents need to 'man up', and face it.

There is an article from the CNN News, called CNN Opinion. The title of the article is called "Sex Education should be mandatory in all schools" by Roland Martin. Martin debates that "taxes and death are considered to be undeniable realities of life. I would say that sex is right behind those two", and I couldn't agree more! It is reality! We all don't want to face the harsh realities of ANYTHING that is going to put us in an uncomfortable situation, but guess what? Not preventing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases is even MORE uncomfortable. The author also states, "Folks, y'all are flat out crazy if you want to encourage parents to opt out of sex education by making it more about abstinence and nothing else. Why can't both take place? Abstinence is definitely the safest of all safe sex measures, but there is also a point when we have to accept reality". I think that both should take place as well. Every child is different, and they are going to have different views on sex. Why not educate them on all the different areas of sex? That way every child is informed. Also, that way if students do have more questions about sex and are afraid to ask their parents, they will have sex educators at schools that are willing to inform them. Below is the link to the CNN Opinion article.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/29/opinion/martin-sex-education/

Now-a-days, children are engaging in sexual activity at a younger age. My mother in middle school made sure to have "the talk" to my two brothers and I because she knew that life was changing, and they we needed to be informed of this stuff. No matter how uncomfortable our parents were talking about it, they knew it had to be done. When I was in middle/elementary school, I still thought boys had cooties, and we did the whole exchanging notes in class that said "Will you be my boyfriend? Check yes or no". That is what my childhood consisted of. Now I hear stories that children as young as fourth and fifth grade are engaging in sexual activity and it blows my mind. Generations are changing and that is fine. That is ALSO reality my friends. This is a different generation. Why not educate them as soon as we can?

and PARENTS, all of those iPads and other forms of technology that you are buying for your children that have access to internet browsing, guess what? Your children have just been granted more access to more "mature" things, and they will try out these "mature" things if they are not educated on this stuff. Whether you are informed of it or not. It could even be an accident if they stumbled upon it on the internet! Parents need to realize this. Children engaging in these sorts of activity without any education can be life altering, and they might now know how serious it can be.

In my opinion, every school should make sex education absolutely mandatory, and like Ronald Martin said "y'all are flat our crazy if you want to encourage parents to opt out of sex education".

Reflect on yourself collage






Everyone is unique. Everyone starts somewhere. I decided for my "Reflect on yourself" topic, that I would make a collage from my past, to where I am today. All these pictures symbolize who I am. The picture of the cards are from the classroom of 2nd grade students that I did my junior block with. They all wrote me thank you cards that actually made me cry! (Tears of joy). There are pictures of my entire family and my brother who is in the ARMY. None of us in this world would have the freedom to do what we wanted to do, if they did not fight for our country everyday. There is a picture of me doing yoga, which helps me relax and reflect on my life. There is a picture of my mini library in my room which I hope to expand as the years go on. The softball pictures are very important to me because not only have I played my whole life, but I have coached as well and I can honestly say that softball made me who I am today. I have played non stop since I have 8 years old, and it has taught me leadership, respect, sportsmanship, dedication, passion, and love. All of these characteristics will definitely benefit me when I start to enter the field of education in the next few years. I imagine my future as a guidance counselor or a teacher in an inner city, helping and coaching the students who have all odds against them. That is where I want to be!

   

Why Teach? "The Boys of Baraka"

I could sit here and brainstorm this topic for hours and hours. Why do people choose to teach? Why do I choose to teach? There are many reasons as to why, but I think the main reasons why people, including me, want to teach is because of their own experiences and passion. I have experienced a lot when it comes to teaching, coaching, etc., but there are only a few crucial moments and a handful of people who have really driven me to want to work in the education field. Now considering other cultures, and having the same needs we all have, what drives people to teach?

This is Richard and he is one of my inspirations.

Now I have mentioned a few of my major experiences on a few occasions in this class, but I would like to talk about a documentary that I have seen that will ALWAYS stick with me. This documentary is called “The Boys of Baraka”. This documentary is about a group of 7^th and 8^th grade African American boys who live in Baltimore, Maryland and they were a few of the handpicked 20 at-risk students that were sent to Kenya, Africa to attend boarding school. 61% of the African American boys who live in Baltimore do not graduate high school, and 50% end up going jail. A lot of their parents are addicts and the streets are filled with drugs and crime. This boarding school provides them an opportunity to escape their harsh lifestyle and to see that there is a better life out there for them as long as they stay in school and receive an education. All of the boys that they follow in Maryland, and then in Africa have all different stories and reasons why they want to leave, but there was one boy that really stuck out to me and his name is Richard. He actually starts off talking in the documentary saying how the streets he lives on are filled with drugs, and he says “I can’t wait to go to Baraka. I know I’m smart, if I’m not allowing stupid and dumb people, but see I can’t let them get in here (points to his head), I have to let them stay out there (points to the streets away from him)”. This boy is only 13 years old, and he has seen and experienced more deaths, drugs, and crimes in his first 13 years than most people in their entire lives. For a boy his age to say this who has been surrounded by this his entire life is so powerful. He wants an education to be able to provide a better life for his self.




Below is a 3 minute video on YouTube of Richard talking in the documentary. I recommend every person in this class to watch this full documentary. It is a little over an hour and I promise you, you will never forget it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwNAPbX7gM4
“The Boys of Baraka”

The teachers in Kenya, Africa are teachers who are really understanding, passionate, patient, and strict in just the right ways. These teachers are viewed as professionals and have dedicated their lives to teaching these boys in Africa to make a difference so these young and innocent boys don't go back to their harsh lives back home. They want to send them home as more mature, strong, and educated young men so they will not fall into the drugs or crime, and they will finish high school to get a degree. These teachers are encouraging them to beat all odds, and not only are they teachers, but they are mentors as well. Teaching them to control their anger and to resort to other options besides physical and mental abuse.Also, these teachers are able to be professional and natural because this school provides a setting for the boys to be "boys" in. They exercise every morning, play sports, go on hikes, do group activities, etc. No distractions, and no one telling them they they won't amount to anything. They have all the support in the world here, and I think it is amazing to see. 

Now, unfortunately not all of these students went back to Baltimore and had better lives. Some fell back into old habits, some were in jail, and some were even murdered on the streets. The Baraka School was shut down in 2003 because of certain things happening in Kenya, but some students used this opportunity to excel and make sure that they would have a better life.

I think a lot of people have different views and reasons of why they want to teach. Personally, children like them, who are strong and powerful even when they have all odds against them are the reasons why I want to teach, and why I want to make a difference. You can learn so much from these students, and we as teachers can be the reason of why they succeed in life, in and out of the U.S. Some people might feel differently, and want to teach for other reasons, and that is perfectly fine, but for me, these children are the reason I want to teach.  

Hi, my name is Sarra. I live in Methuen, MA and I attend Salem State University double majoring in Early Childhood Education and English. I plan on receiving my Masters degree in Special Education or Guidance Counseling. I have a lot of experience working with children. I have coached softball teams, taught pitching lessons, taught in the classroom, taught sports and fitness classes, and I have been a nanny for over five years now. One of the greatest experiences I had at Salem State was when I had my Junior Block Pre-practicum. I was assigned to the Horace Mann school in Salem, MA to a second grade classroom of fourteen children, more than half of them having IEPs, or unstable family backgrounds. I got a chance to really know the students and learn not only about them, but a lot from them as well. I was able to experience some of these students excelling in the classroom, even though they had all odds against them. Some of these children came in late or they didn't even come in at all because they were not able to get a ride to school in the morning. Some students I even saw waiting after hours when school ended because their rides were not able to pick them up. I loved working with these children, and I am privileged that I was able to experience all of it because it made me realize what field of education I wanted to pursue in. This is what led to me to want to work with special education students and or guidance counseling, because I want to help those children who may have unstable homes, or family problems. I want to help them and make them feel comfortable in their school environment  So that is why I was really glad that I got the experience that I did. I played softball for Salem State University as well, and I was a center fielder and a pitcher. It was one of the best and most fun experiences of my life. I got to travel and I made some of the greatest friends. I also love dogs and I have a beagle named Murphy and a Great Dane named Molly.

I chose to add a link about the schools in Lawrence, MA. It is about their longer school days, and how the schools who were once Level 3 schools and failing, are now Level 1 schools and are striving to be the best that they can be. I think it is a powerful article, and I personally grew up in Lawrence, MA so I know how rough it can be. I am so glad to know that they are finally making some positive changes.