Field Blog Agnon

   I thought Agnon was a very interesting school. There was a very different and unique feel to the school. I really liked the school however. I thought that the teachers were very down to earth and personable, as well as professional. I was also very impressed with how well behaved the students were. Honestly, it was an eye opener to see how well behaved the students were. It was nothing like my elementary school and I thought that we were well behaved for the most part. These kids blew my class out of the water. They had so much freedom and did not try to test their limits. Also, I thought it was so cool how the teachers gave the students choices when it came to what they wanted to do in the classroom. For instance, the math teacher in the 4th grade told the students they could play a game call "domino war" or work on their homework in their math workbooks. When I was in grade school, we had no choices. We did whatever the teacher wanted us to do and if we did not we were punished. I think that by allowing the students to have a choice, they are able to learn at an earlier age the consequences or benefits of certain decisions. For example, a student who chose to play the game rather than working on their math workbook and vise versa. Putting off work usually makes it even harder to do later and that is something that I did not learn in grade school. Luckily enough for the students at Agnon, they are able to experience this at a young age.

Field blog NDCL #2

   I went back to NDCL high school again to obtain some valuable observation hours. This time when I went back and observed, I sat in on a 12th grade theology class. The class started out with a pop quiz that was used to show the teacher (Mr. Plumley) how much each student was able to recall from the last section. He told the students after the quiz that it was only counted as a participation quiz rather than a quiz based on how many questions each student got right. There were many sighs of relief after he said this. I thought this was a very interesting and unique way of seeing how well students actually paid attention from the previous class. Once he collected the quizzes, he introduced new notes in the form of a power point. When I had Mr. Plumley in high school for theology, he always used the chalk board to write down all of his notes. I was very proud to see that he was able to make the switch to power point because I felt that we used to spend so much time on a few notes that he would hand-write during class. I could tell that by having a power point, the students were able to write down what he told them and then participate in an insightful class conversation about the material,

This I Believe Proposal

   I am a firm believer that a students attitude and effort should determine their success, not their test scores. Results of standardized tests should indicate the strengths of students rather than focusing on their weaknesses. In today's educational society, test scores are used to define students from the time they are in elementary school, to the time they are in graduate school. These students are tested more than students in any other country. Even though this is the case, test scores are still not "high enough" in the U.S.   

    Not only do test scores negatively affect students, they affect teachers and school districts as well. These test scores are thought to be an accurate assessment of how "good" a teacher is. Therefore, if students score high on standardized tests then they have a good teacher and if they score low on standardized tests, their teacher is bad. This is a very ignorant and elementary way of judging teachers. 

Field blog NDCL #1

   I chose to go to NDCL for my first school visit on my own. I'm glad I did this because I was able to see things through the eyes of my teachers, rather than as a student. I observed my old chemistry teacher, Mr. Poulos who is a basketball coach at NDCL as well as a bio/chem teacher. Before he started class he introduced me to the class and had me tell the class a little bit about myself. Once I was done talking, Mr. Poulos had a thorough review of the most recent chemistry test. He started the review off explaining the problems that the majority of the class missed. As he was handing the tests back he congratulated students who did well. I thought this was a very good thing to do because it showed that he was still working on the bridge between himself and his students. I noticed that at NDCL the students were much more behaved than those at other high schools. This allowed Mr. Poulos to have complete control of the classroom and offer assistance whenever the students needed it. Some more things I noticed within the classroom were that each student had their own assignment notebooks that were given to them by the school, the teacher used the chalkboard and pull down periodic table of elements effectively, and when the students were told to fill out a worksheet, they could go in the lab or stay in the classroom with or without two partners.

Annotated Bibliography

With technology being so prevalent in today’s schools, the “use of primary data sources and interactive websites or software provides teachers with opportunities to engage students in inquiry-based science lessons from preschool to college level” (Irving 2006). I feel as though it is very important to utilize such tools and it would be foolish not to. In recent years, advances in technology have allowed teachers and students to have endless information right in the palm of their hands. This new age technology is easily obtainable by many students and is used in nearly every assignment. Not only do these savvy new tools help students in the classroom, these tools are often very helpful outside the classroom as well. For instance, I have used my laptop to check due dates for assignments in my education class 200 times this semester if not more. These advances in technology are very powerful when used the right way and can help students at any level.

“Teachers in small classes have higher morale, which enables them to provide a more supportive environment for initial student learning” (Biddle 2014). I think that in order to be the best teacher one can be, the teacher needs to be passionate about helping others. It is more likely that a teacher will push students to reach their full potential if the teacher has a good personal relationship with his/her students. In my past experiences in the classroom, I’ve noticed that the best teachers have always supported me and made me want to learn and take intellectual risks. They did this by posing questions and providing insight after asking questions about new material. As long as the classroom in a positive and supportive environment, I believe any student can reach their potential.

“Exams used to be administered mostly to decide where to place kids or what kind of help they needed; only recently have scores been published in the newspaper and used as the primary criteria for judging children, teachers, and schools—indeed, as the basis for flunking students or denying them a diploma, deciding where money should be spent, and so on” (Kohn 2000). First off, I strongly believe that test scores do not show if a teacher is good or not. Secondly, I do not think that test scores should determine where a student goes to school or determine the type of special treatment that certain students receive. Test scores should be used to help students improve in areas that they are struggling, rather than point out what they not good at. Too often students are categorized by what they scored on a test. I think this makes it hard for students who aren’t great test takers because it’s just a slap in the face and reminds certain students time and time again that no matter how hard they work, it doesn’t matter. I believe that hard working students should be the ones that are catered to rather than the students who are “gifted.”

 “Coming to know something is not a spectator sport, although numerous textbooks, especially in mathematics, and traditional modes of instruction may give that impression. As Dewey asserted many years ago, and as the constructivist school of thought has vigorously argued more recently to claim that “coming to know” is a participant sport is to require that we operate on and even modify the things we are trying to understand” (Brown 2014)

           

Works Cited

Brown, Stephen I., and Marion I. Walter, eds. Problem posing: Reflections and applications. Psychology Press, 2014.

Irving, Karen E. "The impact of technology on the 21st century classroom." Teaching science in the 21st century (2006): 3-19.

Sacks, Peter. Standardized minds: The high price of America's testing culture and what we can do to change it. Da Capo Press, 2000.

Kohn, Alfie. The case against standardized testing: Raising the scores, ruining the schools. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2000.

Biddle, Bruce J., and David C. Berliner. "Small class size and its effects." Schools and Society (2014): 76.

Freire, Paulo. "The banking concept of education." Educational foundations: An anthology of critical readings (1970): 99-111.

Clinical Experience

   Before our group got up in front of the class and taught the lesson, I was very nervous. I was not worried about us presenting the material, however, I was worried that the class would have trouble actively participating in group/class discussions. Once we got into our small groups, I was very pleased with the participation of my group. It was very apparent that my classmates felt comfortable with me and I think that is essential for teacher-student relationships. If they were not comfortable with me, they probably would have not wanted to consistently engage in conversation. I know personally I have felt that many a time with teachers and it makes discussion awkward and one sided. I think playing the video really helped with keeping the attention of the class as well as the comments that our group would make when we paused the video. The video allowed the students to see the things we talk about in class in practice and I thought that was good because it allowed them to hear what our group had to say about the topic then they could see it in practice.
   Even though I thought our group did very well in presenting the material to the class, I thought I could have done better explaining certain details that were left out. For example, I think I should have handed out an article on GERM or TFA. This would have allowed the students to better understand what both of those topics were. Another thing I could have done better is rotating from group to group so each of them didn't focus on one single topic from the chapter. All in all, I think our group did very well and worked well each other.

Blog Post 10

  I can honestly say that I've learned some very valuable information from this class. It exposed me to things that I've been around my whole life but never took the time to appreciate/understand. I really liked how we were able to go on school visits as a class and talk about our observations right then and there. Then, when I went on my own visits to schools I was able to pick up on things we discussed in class right away. As a result of taking this class, I can genuinely say that I am looking forward to becoming a teacher one day. I know being a teacher has its negatives (what job doesn't) but I know that I will wake up every day and be doing something that I love. To me personally, money isn't everything. I truly believe that if someone is able to wake up and go to "work" at a job they love, they really aren't working. They are doing what God put them on earth to do: making it a better place than they found it.
   The unifying theme from each of my blog post was that in order to be a "good teacher," teachers must be passionate and show a genuine interest in making a difference in students lives inside and out of the classroom. If students are able to see how passionate a teacher is about the material they are teaching, then it is more likely that students will WANT to learn.

Blog Post 8

    A bridge between the teacher and his/her students is essential for any positive learning to take place. This bridge is not just built overnight however. It requires constant effort from teacher and student. Trust, comfort, and consistency are a few of the key elements that need to be in place for a positive teacher-student relationship. In the book, Ayers has the children physically build a bridge which allows the class pet turtle to get to his food. By having the children perform this activity, they are able to see that a little work by each individual can ultimately help everyone in achieving a common goal. Personally, I think this is the most important aspect of education and being a "good teacher". In order for an entire class to make gains and become more educated in the class that they are in, they need to work hard to make themselves better before they can help others. The same goes for the teacher as well.
   The adult literacy class example in the book shows empowered students changing the community in which they live to better their own personal lives and the lives of those in their community. This example is very similar to the turtle example in the fact that the teacher/students are making small changes in their own selves to benefit the class as a whole. This also means that everyone is motivated to work for a common goal. Even though the pattern of these two examples are not the same, they are very similar.
    Let's say I'm going to teach my class about organelles and how they contribute to the cell. Each of the students will be given an organelle and asked to complete a task around the room that corresponds to the organelles function. After some time, I am going to have tell some of the students to stop doing their job. This is going to upset the students who are still working and picking up the slack of the students who do not have to work. This cell organelle example is a perfect for showing that in order for the class to reach its ultimate goal, everyone needs to do their job and work together.
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   In order for learning to take place, students have to WANT to learn the material. The challenge with this is that students do not all learn the same, nor have the same work ethic. It is up to the teacher to encourage each student to perform at their full potential. A good teacher does not give up on students just because they don't want to learn the material. A good teacher will do whatever he/she can do to ensure that each student strives for greatness. But before any of this is possible, the students need to feel comfortable with the teacher. This is why a bridge between students and teacher is so important. I think the most important thing is that the teacher is passionate about his/her profession. If the students are able to draw on this passion, they too will work hard.

Blog Post 9

   There are plenty of definitions of what a "good school" is in today's world. To some, a good school is one that meets all the states expectations. To others, a good school is one that has a high graduation rate. To me personally, a good school is one that brings out the best in teachers and students alike and encourages consistent learning and development. I believe that it is the teachers duty to always bring out the best in each student no matter what. I say this because there is greatness in each and every person on this planet and teachers are one of the most important ambassadors in helping others achieve their full potential. With this being said, I think a "good school" has passionate, enthusiastic, warm, and open teachers in each classroom. These teachers should always stress that attitude and effort are more important than ability. Also, I think it is important for class sizes to be relatively small (< 20) because then a teacher is able to get to know each student on a personal level. This allows for plenty of teacher-student discussion where no question is a stupid question. Teachers should also be involved in extracurricular activities that show they are not only passionate about their profession, but that they are also passionate about things many students are. 

   As far as the school day goes, I think a good school has open classrooms where students have a say and students can let the teacher know how they feel. Each class should be no longer than 50-60 minutes because after this amount of time, students often have difficulty paying attention. I also think that technology in the classroom should be utilized as much as possible because there are so many tools now a days that teachers/students can use to enhance learning in a positive way. For instance, instead of trying to fight cell phone use, a good school will look for ways to allow the students to use their phones to participate in class.