4th Week Reflection

Fourth week of class, and I must say it was pretty interesting. Clifford Stoll! What an interesting man! He made so many good points that really got me thinking, but a the same time he almost had me  wanting to argue with him! He is someone who is just extremely close minded when it comes to technology in the classroom. He is old fashioned and believes that technology should play an extremely small roll, or even no roll at all in education. He feels as though the quality of a good teacher is extremely important, which I cannot argue. Stoll feels as though there is so much time that is wasted on technology and that students should experience real life anecdotes rather than researching something pointless on the web. Although he does make valid points, I think he needs to realize that times have changed and technology is playing a huge role in all of our students' lives. I believe that it does need to be incorporated in everyday lessons; however, only to a certain extent. I don't think that the entire lesson, from beginning to end, needs to be focussed off of technology. I just think it needs to be a part of each lesson, whether it be part of a homework assignment, contacting students through email, having  students research something, using a smart board, having the students communicate with each other through blogs, etc... I believe technology is huge and it is only getting larger! It is the future and it definitely needs to be recognized by all educators!
I think this picture defines Clifford very well.. :)
                                    

3rd Week Reflection

Today's class was really interesting. The lesson started with dr. Perry's lecture about 'Teaching the Taboo.' We got into a great discussion about providing the students with the corresponding standard for each lesson. Kevin talked about how in the Chino school district they are having the students write down their standards on each sheet of paper they use. It just made me think about how strict schools are becoming when it comes to having student’s understand each standard fully. When I went to high school I don't ever recall the word standard being used, not once. Granted I went to a private high school, but it was a very strict high school where a highly valuable education came first. As a student at La Verne, when I observed my first math class I noticed the standard written on the board for every new lesson, and the teacher would start off each lesson with the agenda followed by the standard. I think this is a good idea, only if the students fully understand the purpose of each standard and what it means to their education. Back to Dr. Perry's lecture, another topic that stood out was a question that was asked to the class, "How have you fostered the creation and advancement of an engaging learning community and effective learning environment?" a few different examples were brought up. One student brought up the classroom setting and placement of the desks. Another brought up having a living thing in a science classroom. Both great ideas! We also got into how the look of a classroom can impact learning. I love the idea that Dr. Perry gave. He said he used to change the layout of his classroom about 3 times a year. It makes me think back to when I was in high school and how I had several teachers do this. It really makes a lot of sense as to why they did this. It's a great was to change up instruction for different lessons and activities. As well as being a great way to change the flow of things for students. Having the classroom set up the same way can get boring. Change is good, especially when it's geared to student achievement and satisfaction.                                 

 I really enjoyed the topic of theme 2. It’s definitely something that all teachers can use and relate to. The articles were great sources and the presentation was enjoyable. Matthew was a great speaker! I fell in love with his PowerPoint presentation, very original and creative! I also really enjoyed the activity at the end, I can absolutely see myself using this on my students in the classroom. It's such a great idea. I love hearing and seeing the different teaching strategies other educators use in their classrooms, and the fact that Matthew provided pictures and videos from his own classroom really brought everything to life! During his presentation we discussed time management tips and tricks, something all teachers need to work on. The class gave great tips such as: flip classrooms, having baskets for students to turn in their work, having a set schedule for daily lessons, etc..                                                                                                                       

The subject about teachers using business management skills in the classroom is really important to me. Managers have very similar responsibilities as teachers do. My family had a café that we recently sold and ran it as the owner/manger. As a manger you have to make sure everyone is doing his or her job correctly, just like a teacher. I was constantly making sure everyone knew what they doing and were doing it correctly. A manger must have a lot of patience, just like a teacher! Patience is so important, I can’t stress that enough. I had so many employees that were constantly struggling and wanted to quit sometimes, but you just have to talk to them in the right manner and explain things as many times as you need to without getting angry. Sooner or later they will realize that hard work pays off. They will definitely thank you and appreciate you later. Just like students would. Matthew asked the question about who are teachers’ clients? Not only students, but also parents are definitely clients. I’m glad this topic came up. From looking at the pictures above it looks like teachers and managers have something else in common! :)

 4^th week of school and so far I’m so interested. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the semester is going to be like!

2nd Week Reflection

Second week into school and so far so good! Today Kevin gave us a little lesson on the history of education, and I must say it was a good presentation. He had some very insightful information that will stick with me throughout my teachings. One quote that really stood out from Kevin's presentation was a quote by John Dewey, "... if we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow..." As educators in todays society, we all need to be up-to-date on the newest technologies and the newest forms of teaching. We have an amazing gift at our fingertips that can help us be the most memorable teachers. That gift is technology. Teachers need to find new ways to enhance their teaching strategies every chance they can! We live in an information driven world, and educators need to take advantage of all the new information out there. Kevin had given us 2 different sources to read over the weekend. I really thought "Schooling and Poor Children in the 19th Century America" was a great source for any educator. It is important that we as educators, take the history we have learned and apply it to our teachings because we need a foundation to know how things came about. Today's students are not all the different from the students of the 19th century. There are disadvantaged students in every classroom, and we as teachers need to understand how to accommodate to each students needs, as well as how to treat all our students equally. We also need to find new ways to improve our communication skills with our students and find different ways to connect with all of our students, whether we have a lot in common with them or nothing in common at all.
I really liked how Kevin incorporated the think-pair-share organizer into the lesson! It was a great way to open up conversation with our peers, as well as to better familiarize ourselves with one another. One of the conversations from the class that stood out with me was when Kevin was talking about his experiences in his different classrooms. He talked about a student who was constantly rude to him and always gave him a hard time. This student was constantly late to class and never really put an effort in caring about anything. I loved Sarah's response to what she would do if she had this particular student in her classroom. Sarah said she would tell the student that what she is doing would not be accepted in the real world, and if this was a job she would be fired with no questions asked! I love hearing about my peers experiences in their classrooms, especially because I do not work in a classroom at the moment. It's just a great way for me to visualize what goes on in the classroom on a daily basis, whether it be good or bad.
When it came time for Dr. Perry to give us his lesson on avoiding teacher burnout, I would lie if I said it didn't stress me out! Just recently, I was lectured about a family member about why I should not become a teacher because they do not get paid enough. Up until last week, I never once questioned wanting to be a teacher. It is definitely a passion of mine. It is something that I see as more of an art than a job. And when I see myself teaching, I see myself happy. It was funny to me to have this lecture the week after I was stressing about what one of my relatives was telling me. After Dr. Perry's lecture I thought about it a little more and I have come to the realization that I will make the best of teaching. Even though the money may be a problem to most people, at the end of the day, I will be doing what I love. I know about the long hours, the extra responsibilities, high turnover rate, the stress, etc... But in reality, what job do you know of that doesn't contain all of these. Knowing myself, I will make the best of my situation. I am a very organized person and I know that I will be able to handle it!
I like to stay positive and think of the best od every situation...

Like I said, second week of school, and so far so good! :)