Chapter 14: Succeeding in Your Teacher Education Program--and Beyond

As I think about teaching and becoming a teacher I have to say, I do have some concerns. I am very excited about pursuing a career in teaching, but I am concerned about if I can really do it. I hope I am able to keep my class' attention and help them learn as much as they can. I am not sure how I will perform in front of that class while having all those blank stares looking back at me. I have helped teach in classes in high school, for instance, in my chemistry class I helped explain a concept to others when I understood it and no one else did. Our teacher had me go in front of the class and explain it. So this is not really the concern, but whether I do this without having a teacher by my side helping me through it. I am concerned because I have so many aspirations for myself about getting my students involved and helping them enjoy learning more in English. I love English and helping others enjoy it as well. I am concerned about whether or not I will be able to help my students learn as much as they can and help them love learning. This leads me to another concern; I am not sure if I will have enough knowledge to educate my students. I do not know if I will know how to teach a lesson or answer a student’s question I had not thought about prior to class. These are the concerns that I find myself thinking about while I am also excited about teaching.

            The areas of concern that were most present in my statement would have to be Self and a little bit of Impact.  The areas consisted of more consequence and personal stages.

Chapter 13: Improving Teachers and Schools, and School Reform

By the time I graduate I have many aspects I hope I can add to my résumé.  I hope to have accounts of working with high school and middle school students because this would show experience in the field of secondary education. Through my next four years I hope to have many accounts of work such as mentoring, student teaching, working with teachers in my career choice, etc. Only through these experiences will I be ready to embark on the next step in my journey and having these on my résumé will show that I am ready.

Within my first five years of teaching I aspire to be in a school that believes strongly in helping make sure students improve and become more educated. It seems like so many schools these days seem to pass students on to the next level when the students are clearly not ready, and I hope to be part of a school that cares more for their students. I hope to be in a job where there is a strong system of school reforms that help improve learning rather than hinder it. I hope to be in a good learning environment where I am able to grow as a teacher while also aiding my students’ growth.

In the next five to ten years I hope to get a great job I love in a wonderful school. I also hope to further my education by earning a masters degree and hopefully even a doctorate in education. By doing this I believe I am helping myself grow in my profession while also allowing me to be all I can be for my students.

Chapter 7: Thinking about Teaching and Learning

In Chapter 7 of The Joy’s of Teaching, we see many great methods that could possibly when making a philosophy for teaching. It brings up key factors we as prospering teachers must consider when making a philosophy for teaching. Below are three of the methods I found helpful in thinking up ideas to add to my philosophy statement…

One of the methods I found that I thought could possibly be of use in my teaching philosophy would be that of reflection. I believe this is a great method to help one improve as a teacher. In order to do so, I would have to keep my lesson ideas with a brief description of how each worked for the class. This would help me reflect on whether the methods I am using are worth using again and improving on, or whether I should get rid of them and find something new. Only through reflecting on the different learning activities I do in my classroom will I be able to see what is effective and what I need to change so that my students get the best out of the learning experience.

Another method I found interesting and worth adding to my statement would be the idea of the focused classrooms. I believe my class would benefit from being a student-focused classroom with maybe some aspects of the teacher-focused classroom. I believe the only way I will know whether my students are understanding is if I am able to know what they are thinking and it is clear in this chapter that in the teacher-focused classroom it is hard to understand what your students are thinking and how well they are understanding each lesson.  I believe by taking on the student-focused classroom there will be more discussions, more open learning environment, more respect, better understanding of struggle areas, and will keep my students interested in the lessons.

The third method I found quite interesting would be Taba’s design of curriculum. His ideas for designing a curriculum seem to take all aspects into consideration, which is something I find very important when making a good curriculum. If you are thinking of all the aspects he has brought forward it makes you think about what you truly want your students to learn, the best way you can do so, and what means are necessary when helping getting across your lesson.

Chapter 6: Social Context of Schools

Why do we continue to judge based on stereotypes about women versus men? Who’s to say that men are really stronger and better at sports than women? What shows us that females are more intelligent and educated than males? There is no way to determine this due to the fact that everyone is different in many different ways so thought the majority of certain genders seem to fit each category doesn’t mean that we should classify everyone into.

I remember…

Example 1: The boys not passing me the football in gym due to the fact that I was a girl and was unable to pass and catch; however, I proved them wrong when one passed the ball and it flew way over the other guys head and I was a ways behind him and caught the ball scoring us the touch down. They remarked about how that was unnatural for a girl and I said maybe to you but others can see women’s potential. 

Example 2: At one point the guys would joke around saying we girls had to make them sandwiches because that was our job and we belonged in the kitchen due to the fact we were women. I asked them “hmm I wonder what Emerald or Bobby Flay would think of that?” Two cooks who spend a good majority of their time in the kitchen making delicious delectable food concoctions.

Example 3: I remember boys’ thinking it was pointless to take sewing in school because it was a girl thing and they would rather be spending time in wood shop. I remember bringing up the point that in the military those brave men and women spend time learning how to sew as a survival tactic so I am sure they would beg to differ. 

My home high school took part in challenge day (link below) and it opened our eyes to the bullying going on in the school forcing us to want to make a difference. It was a life-changing event that I would do again in a heartbeat and hope to bring to my school and bring their ideas to my class. Our school formed a group called "Be the Change" which took the ideas learned in this event and brought them forward in the school and classroom settings. It was remarkable I wanted to give the link to our schools personal page but you must be a member in order to view everything so the class and such would be unable to see it. Instead I added the link to the page of the program that brought change and positive thinking to my hometown school. It was a day full of life changing events, tear, remarkable discoveries, and a chance to be real and true to others and ourselves.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Be-the-Change-Movement-Challenge-Day/19192952301

Through all this I came up with the idea to make a list of things my class vows to uphold in making sure to make our classroom is a safe environment. 

Respect List

I vow to…

1.  Not to snicker at these vows.

2. Not use discriminating terms towards others in the classroom.

3.  Not bully others in any way such as cyber, verbal, physical, etc.

4. Make sure everyone feels safe coming to class.

5.  Be encouraged to express myself freely without worrying about bad feedback from others.

6. Not take part in negative judgments, thoughtless jokes, rumors, or oppressive behaviors, comments or violence that hurts others while in the classroom.

7.  Celebrate each person’s diverse beliefs even if I do not always agree.

8. Be willing to stand up for others when I see a bad situation occurring.

9. Create a positive atmosphere in the classroom.

10.           Lastly to always have an open mind!

Chapter 5: The History of Schools in the United States

The curriculum has changed much over the years. Through time we have seen many different forms of schools that started out one way and have evolved into something very different. For a while before women’s rights were really taken into consideration most teachers were males. Most men were the only ones who could further their education and go into various fields of work; where as women were only allowed to take part in certain jobs and teaching wasn’t really considered one. As we move along women weren’t the only ones left out. They also had segregated schools where students of one race or color were not allowed to be with that of another. This meant school were not able to have diversity or see how different cultures were associated into learning. They learned only that of their culture while also learning basic courses. There were also times when groups weren’t really separated into grades always. It was very different with students from all different levels being in the same room then they were separated in different schools depending on ages and then there became grades for certain age levels slowly separating the students in to sub groups much smaller and easier to teach.  Overall they have changed a lot over time.

Which theories and historical influences should most impact the schools we'd like to have?

Which theories and historical influences should most impact the schools we'd like to have?
         Well throughout the reading in chapter five we are able to see some of this. we have not really gone through this yet in class. I am not really sure if I have gotten as into this and understand it enough to explain how I can relate this to myself and my learning thus far. My concern is I hope I can figure out how to answer this for myself and find what I need for this.

How can diversity in the classroom help me be a better teacher?

How can diversity in the classroom help me be a better teacher?
            Through having a diverse amount of students in my class now and being able to see through assignments and group projects how we all differ and excel in different areas this will better prepare me for what is to come in the rest of my college career and my future career.  As I took part in different group projects I was able to see the many different diverse learning styles people have this opened my eyes to seeing that not everyone learns the same way and through assignments like this they are able to learn the information in the ways they know how to. This helps me realize that when I become a teacher I need to make sure my assignments will be able to teach the many diverse learning styles people have. Through group discussions I was able to see how people realized different things and were able to catch something you might have missed which shows that people are different and are able to focus on certain aspects differently. This also was useful because when some of us didn’t understand something because it was drawn toward a culture we weren’t familiar with someone in that culture was able to help us understand. This will help me as a teacher by teaching me I should have my students converse with one another because someone may be able to help others understand things due to their diverse cultures and such. Through all these learning experiences here it will enable me to be a better teacher. My only concern is I hope I am able to help each student who struggles due to diverse learning skills and such.