Goodbye, EDU 100

I've loved taking this course so much, and I can't believe the semester is already over! I learned so much about teaching through this course. I think that teaching is like baking. There are always recipes to follow, but teachers, just like chefs, can improvise too. The recipe is like the core and standards that teachers need to explain to their students. However, a teacher can put her own twists and secret ingredients on the lessons and still get the expected result in the end. When baking, it is important not to undercook or overcook the food. A teacher shouldn't under teach her students by giving them too much independence. While it is important for students to do work on their own, they still need help and supervision along the way. Teachers shouldn't over-teach their students either. Spending too much time or being too over-bearing on a lesson can cause students to hate learning. A teacher needs to find the perfect balance of supervision and independence, just like a perfect baking time is important when cooking.The end result--the students-- are all different and unique, but all equally valuable and important. They can all have different values, shapes, sizes, flavors, just like baked goods do. Lastly, a teacher should know how to keep things sweet :)

http://sr.photos3.fotosearch.com/bthumb/CSP/CSP749/k7497973.jpg

An important take away from this class is that there are so many ways to teach and learn. There are traditional classrooms, but there are also classrooms that are very diverse, classrooms that embrace culture, specialized classrooms such as Montessori or Walden, classes that meet outside only, un-schooling techniques. Education does NOT need to be cookie-cutter as long as the students are learning.

Also, although the teacher is responsible for educating the entire classroom, he/she still needs to tailor certain lessons more toward certain students. The lesson shouldn't just be spat out and finished, the teacher needs to tweak and adapt the lessons to whatever the students need.

Lastly, it is so important for classrooms to be diverse. It is crucial for students to interact with peers of different cultures, and the curriculum needs to be multicultural as well. All the different cultures in our country is what makes us special. Understanding cultures and accepting them is an important skill for students to master as they move on to higher education and join the work force. Respecting everyone is always necessary.

From my classmates, I've seen how different every teacher (or future teacher) is. We are all different, but we all have the same passion to teach children and help out the next generation. Having teachers who are all different is totally fine, just like every student is different. Over the semester, we've learned from each other and I think as teachers, we need to be willing to learn from our students too.

Social Justice in Education

Religion is one of our country's most valued freedoms, along with the right of free speech, and other rights given to all Americans in our Bill of Rights and Constitution. In our present day, there are so many religions and cultures in our classrooms that a need for guidelines about religion has developed. What are the rights of teachers and students when it comes to religion at school?

Over the past few decades, religion has been removed from the public school curriculums, because not all students share the same religious views. Such changes include removing Bible readings and prayers from school activities, not requiring students to salut the flag or pledge allegiance, and having Holiday Parties instead of Christmas Parties.

Studying different religions in the classroom is considered constitutional. Many historical events have happened in which religion played a large role. The religions are to be studied in historical or literary context, students are not required to practice the religion. Teachers, like everyone else, have the same First Amendment right to religion. However, a teacher may not promote her own religion, and if she wishes to pray, she must do so when students are not present.

Students also have the right to practice religion together. Students are allowed to use public school rooms for extracurricular purposes in any room that is available. They are expected to be respectful and not disrupt other events going on around the school. Students are never required to participate in any religious type event at school such as a moment of silence, or Pledge of Allegiance. Every student is entitled to their own freedom of religion, and has the right to practice, or not practice religion at school.

I think that the way religious guidelines are currently set up is a good way to keep students and teachers content, and are set up in such a way so that no one feels forced into practicing or not practicing his/her religion.


Sources:

http://www.aclu-tn.org/pdfs/briefer_religion_in_public_schools.pdf
http://www.freedomforum.org/publications/first/findingcommonground/B10.USDeptGuidelines.pdf
http://www.freedomforum.org/publications/first/teachersguide/teachersguide.pdf
Photo Credit:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fblogsensebybarb.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F03%2F28%2Fthe-first-amendment-
religious-freedom-and-freedom-to-speak-print-assemble-and-petition%2F&h=0&w=0&tbnid=dWcR_ElYsMycDM&zoom=1&tbnh=168&tbnw=300&docid=8YtDaRi-2g1xUM&tbm=isch&ei=U_1WU8KmI8qYyAHgiYHIDA&ved=0CAUQsCUoAQ

Place-Based Education

What is place-based education?

The term has been growing in popularity over the recent years, especially with the growing concern about our deteriorating environment. Place-based learning allows students to leave the traditional indoor classroom and observe their environment in its most natural form. Students work closely with specially trained staff at a range of outdoor locations. One popular place for outdoor learning is at a farm, where students can learn all about the different plants and animals that supply their food. Students become more connected to the things they are learning about, and develop responsibility for the land around them. The students who are a part of place-based learning learn to care for the environment and want to treat it as gently as possible.The students create a sort of community as they learn and grow together.

As a future teacher, I have mixed feelings about place-based education. I think that it is a wonderful idea because of how much practical knowledge can be gained by being out in nature and working with the community to accomplish goals. I think that every classroom should be able to experience this. My reservations about this method come in when I think about how well the key, basic subjects taught in traditional schools are received when taught outside of a classroom. How well do these students learn when compared to students of the same age in traditional classrooms. I think there is a very fine line between just enough place-based learning and too much. 

www.promiseofplace.org

www.ourcurriculummatters.com

Montessori Education

Lately, I've been learning about different types of schools and classrooms that are anything but traditional. One particular classroom that stood out to me is a Montessori classroom.  Montessori education was founded by Italian doctor Maria Montessori. Maria was a doctor who ended up working in pediatrics and starting educating poor children and developmentally disabled children. Maria put the focus on the students, and on having classroom environments that catered to the students and allowed them to be part of a comfortable learning environment.

Maria's philosophy on education is very different from Paulo Freire who says "the teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the pupils are mere objects." Paulo says that students just sit there in class and are filled with whatever information the teacher deems necessary. I like Maria's approach much better because she focuses on the children. It is all about the children  being able to learn as much as possible, even if it is in a more nontraditional way.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/317644579940807947/

http://www.biography.com/people/maria-montessori-9412528

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori_education

freire_the_banking_concept_of_education.pdf

Educational Philosophies

There are many different educational philosophies in today's schools, especially because of how diverse our classrooms have become. It is important for both teachers and students to understand each others' philosophies in order to have a productive classroom and learning environment.

After taking a test to see which philosophies I ranked highest in, I was not surprised to see essentialism and humanism come up as my results. Here are the definitions for each of these philosophies as found on http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/scoringguide.html.

"Essentialism
Essentialists believe that there is a core of basic knowledge and skills that needs to be transmitted to students in a systematic, disciplined way. A practical focus, rather than social policy, and emphasis on intellectual and moral standards should be transmitted by the schools. It is a back-to- basics movement that emphasizes facts. Instruction is uniform, direct, and subject-centered. Students should be taught discipline, hard work, and respect for authority. 

Humanism
Humanist 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 affective 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."

These results were what I expected would happen because I do think that there are some basic skills that students need to know, but that there needs to be a practical and applicable reason for why students are required to learn certain subjects.I also want to inspire my students to be diligent, disciplined, and respectful (somehow respect makes it into almost every one of my posts!). The other big thing for me is wanting students to reach their fullest potential.

I don't think I really learned anything about myself in this test, because I already had those opinions in mind about how I wanted to teach. I think that the way this site sets up the scoring makes it so the results are almost always accurate, although there can always be an occasional blip on any test. If you are going into the education field and wonder what your philosophy is, try out this test! You could be surprised what you learn.

Inclusion in the Modern Classroom

Today's students, classrooms, and schools are constantly changing. Inclusion is becoming more and more important. When I have my own classroom, how will I be able to include students of all learning abilities?

Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, is a way in which teachers use inclusive methods to teach students of varying educational backgrounds. The UDL curriculum seeks to use the same standards across the board whether it be "traditional" classroom students, students from other cultures, or students with disabilities. Although UDL was created with special needs students in mind, it is now a general curriculum for every student.

In order to give every student the best chance of reaching the desired education standard, UDL classrooms use a variety of teaching methods. Technology is mixed in with more traditional style learning from textbooks and lecture. Students are able to use iPads and smart boards to help reinforce the lessons they are learning in class.

I think that UDL and inclusion is very important. Every student deserves an equal opportunity to learn, and should be able to learn the same standards as every other student regardless of "placement". I hope that when I am a teacher I will be able to incorporate all the aspects of UDL to ensure every one of my students feels included, and welcomed in my learning environment.


http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines
http://www.ncset.hawaii.edu/institutes/april2003/papers/pdf/PROVIDING%20NEW%20ACCESS.pdf

Multicultural Education

One of the best things about America is that everyone is different. We have been likened to a "melting pot", referring to how many different nationalities and cultures all come together to form one nation. American classrooms are now more culturally diverse than ever. As a future teacher, some questions come to mind. How can I embrace multicultural learning in my classroom? How can I make learning about --and embracing-- so many cultures interesting and exciting for my future students?

photo credit

As I've mentioned before, respect for others is always going to be the most important thing in my classroom. Even if someone is very different, they should never be made fun of, and all students need to feel safe and welcome in my classroom. I think that a lot of disrespectful behavior from children can be from not really knowing about the person who is "different". I think that by learning about different cultures, my students and I will be able to better understand each other, and therefore, multicultural learning will have a positive effect on the class as a whole. Being able to interact with one another and understand the cultures of everyone in our class is very important.

The students need to recognize that every culture is important and understand that everyone is different and all of these nationalities and cultures come together to make our society the way it is today. They should also realize that while everyone is from a different culture, stereotyping fellow students is never acceptable. 

As far as actually incorporating the study of different cultures goes, I think that inviting visitors into the class is a great way to help my students learn. They can listen to a visitor talk all about his/her culture and lifestyle, and then the students will be able to ask questions to our special guest. Maybe we can even see how people dress from the country of the visitor, or have a special snack from that country.

Another fun way to learn about culture would be to have each student pick a different country to study, and go get books from the library and research the country. they could create a poster about the country, and then when the projects were done, our class could have a culture studies day where all the students present what they learned, and perhaps dress up like the traditional people from their chosen countries do. 

Combining these two ideas, as well as using traditional textbook/classroom learning will hopefully give my students a good view of the different cultures that surround us. Knowing about the people we live and interact with is very important for students to learn about.

http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/papers/caleb/multicultural.html

http://racebridgesforschools.com/wp/?p=2130