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

Preventing School Violence

School violence has become one of the biggest hot-topics" in America. When the topic of school violence comes up, I think almost everyone's mind goes to the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Those who are old enough may also think of the Columbine shootings. While these are definitely tragic, extreme cases of violence at schools, violence can also take place in many other forms. Violence can include fighting, and bullying too.

http://www.edf-feph.org/Page_Generale.asp?DocID=13855

As a future teacher, what will I do to prevent violence in my classroom?

First off, I would teach my students that violence of any kind will NEVER be tolerated. They need to know that if they were to become violent against another student or teacher, there would be immediate consequences.

Secondly, I would teach them about where violence comes from. It is very unlikely and rare for someone to just wake up and decide they want to go cause some serious trouble at school by showing how violent and malicious they can be. Violence often comes from emotions being bottled up inside a student until he/she can't keep them in anymore. When a student has been harassed and bullied and made fun of, that student may reach the breaking point at a moment's notice.

Therefore, I will teach my students that respecting others and treating them as they would want to be treated themselves is one of the best ways to prevent violence. By always encouraging students to love one another and to come to the teacher if there is a problem instead of taking care of it themselves, I think violence would be prevented.

The students should be able to calmly and politely say what the issue is, and work together in a mature way to find common ground and understanding. The key to reducing and preventing violence is zero-tolerance, as well as teaching respect and kindness.

http://www.stopbullying.gov/prevention/talking-about-it/index.html

http://www.greatschools.org/improvement/99-stopping-school-violence-the-latest-trends.gs

Why Should Someone Become A Teacher?

In today's world, many people choose a career path that will lead to money or fame. Why teach when teachers don't make much money? Why teach if there isn't recognition of my skills and talents? Why should anyone spend all day long with a room full of rowdy kids? What makes so many people decide to teach?

Personally, I love spending time with children, I have an extremely high amount of patience when it comes to working with children, and I love to see them grow. I can help them learn something new every day, and make an impact in their lives. There are so many reasons to go into teaching, but there were a few resources I found that have really great reasons to teach.

One website I found is www.teach.org/why-teach. It has a tab called "Why Teach" and it has lots of short clips of teachers saying why they are teachers.  They have amazing reasons, such as wanting to make a difference, leaving work everyday feeling successful because your students learned something that day, and filling a need in the lives of the students. Every teacher on this website was so passionate about their job. I hope that when I am a teacher I can be just as passionate, and make as much of a difference as I know they do.

Another source I found is actually a CNN article called "Why They Teach Despite It All", and it highlights several different teachers who let the world know why they teach. To read this article, link to http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/14/us/why-teachers-stay-ireport/. These teachers are all amazing, and are not in the job for the money. One teacher works two jobs just so she can stay on as a teacher and still support her family. Another teacher in this article was about a man who left his other job to become a teacher even though it would mean a big salary cut. The article tells the story of a special needs teacher who pays for supplies out of her own pocket just so the students have enough materials to learn. These teachers are truly amazing. They give their all to their students, and want what is best for the students, not themselves. They are truly selfless people, who give back to their communities in one of the best ways possible: teaching.

Why teach? To make a difference. To change lives. To help people learn. Kids are dependent on excellent teachers who are passionate about their jobs. Reading about these amazing teachers, and hearing their stories on video really excited me for my upcoming teaching career. They inspired me to work from my heart, to always put the students first, and to strive to make a difference in the lives of my students. My greatest desire as a teacher is for my students to succeed.

culvercitycrossroads.com/page/5

Who I Am!

Hello, Everyone! My name is Katie and I am working towards getting a Bachelor's degree in elementary education, as well as a Bachelor's in physical education. I am studying at Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts.

(this picture was set up by a friend who knew I was interested in education!)

 I have always wanted to be a teacher. I spent countless hours as a child teaching all of my stuffed animals and dolls everything that I knew. I absolutely loved the show "Magic School Bus", and I wanted to be just as cool as Ms Frizzle! I have always loved taking care of people who are younger than I am, and I have been working with kids for the last seven years. My first experience with kids was working as a babysitter, and I now work at a home daycare, and as a nanny. Over the past several years of working with kids, I gained experience helping them with homework, and I knew for sure that teaching was what I wanted to do. Although I enjoy working with kids of any age, I definitely like working with younger kids the best, so hopefully I will be able to teach first grade after I have my degree.

Other than playing with kids, my favorite things to do are cooking, baking, photography, volleyball, softball, swimming, hiking, piano, reading, and knitting.

I always loved doing various arts and crafts in elementary school, so here is the link to the Crayola website. Crayola has so many awesome products, and you can also get coloring pages,craft ideas and lesson plans. Take a look! www.crayola.com