Based on the
readings from this week, in-class school design project, and my own lived
experiences I have developed a better perspective of the numerous
characteristics that make up good schools. I believe schools should be places full
of opportunities, not only for students but for teachers too. If you are not
learning from your experiences as a student or as a teacher than you do not
receive any benefits. A good school requires teachers who are willing to be
creative with their teaching style and willing to invest in the future of their
students. When my partners and I were
discussing the school design project we reflected upon our own personal
experiences as students, and the factors that we thought contributed to
developing a good school. We talked a lot about whether structure in academic
curriculum served as an advantage to students and the influence that a more
restricted curriculum can have on students. Ensuring a balanced curriculum
among all schools is important because students deserve to have a standard,
well-rounded school experience. Another thing that we discussed was the use of
discipline and the impact that it can have on students learning. We also talked
about our feelings towards Summerhill School and if we could imagine ourselves
teaching or attending at a school like Summerhill. Lastly, although I do admire
Neill for his passion for his school system, I am not sure if I would consider
Summerhill a “good” school because of the type of learning environment that it
provides for students.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Field Blog Post 1
I enjoyed my first experience visiting Beachwood Middle School. I was assigned to observe a 7th grade math class and a 6th grade language arts class. The first teacher, Mr. Miller seemed like a great teacher because of the way that he interacted with his students. I could see that his students admired him and his teaching style, which was very straightforward. He was teaching them about linear equations and was mostly reviewing information from previous lessons. I could see that Mr. Miller wanted to ensure that his students understood how to solve linear equations by how much he encouraged them to refrain from making mistakes. I admired how laid back of a personality Mr. Miller had, he came across the least bit intimidating which made for a comfortable learning environment. The second teacher, Miss McLaughlin was a little bit more strict with her students but courteous and kind. Her students were working on constructing essays and used the class that day as a silent workday. From what I could see the students were working in pairs to write their essays and had been doing collaborative research on their topics. Miss McLaughlin informed me and a few of my other classmates who were also observing her class that the students were writing argumentative essays, which allowed for the kids to have the opportunity to take a position on an issue. I found it impressive that sixth graders were learning how to construct a formal essay because I certainly do not recollect writing one at that age. I could see that Miss McLaughlin truly cared about her students because she was willing to take the time to move around the classroom and check on each individual student’s progress. She made sure that all of her students were on task and fully aware of the expectations for this assignment. Even though there was not a lot of communal interaction to observe throughout the class I still observed the side conversations that were occurring between the teacher and students. I noticed that both classes had a very diverse group of students and both teachers treated each of their students with equal respect. It was interesting to see which students were friends with each other, especially in Mr. Miller’s class when he allowed for the students start the homework for that night. Every clique scattered throughout the classroom in a different section so they were separated from the kids whom they were not as close with to work together. Overall, the environment at Beachwood Middle School was completely judgment free, I got the sense that all students felt comfortable enough to be themselves around their classmates.
Initially, I did not have high expectations for this field experience because I was unsure what observing would be like. I think it was definitely better that I went in with an open mind and a sense of curiosity of how it would feel to be in the classroom setting from a different angle. Since this was my first experience I did not exactly know what I was supposed to take note of during my time observing so I mostly focused more on just observing and listening. I wish I could have talked more with the teachers about their personal experiences as teachers and have received advice about pursuing a career in the field of education. I also would have enjoyed it more if Miss McLaughlin’s class was not doing silent work because it could have given me a better perspective of her teaching style. In sum, I found this first field experience to be a little bit of a challenge but I gained a better understanding of how I should approach the next field observation.
Field Blog Post 2
I observed Mr. Flynn’s 9th grade Algebra 1 class at Cleveland Heights High School. At first, I was disappointed that I was assigned to observe a math class because I do not have much of an interest in the subject but my experience turned out better than I thought it would be. When me and my two other classmates entered Mr. Flynn’s classroom we were welcomed to a very warm and inviting environment. All of the students were fascinated by the fact that we were there and made it very obvious by staring at us. I thought that Mr. Flynn was not too outwardly friendly but definitely gracious to have us in his class. He asked each of what we wanted to specialize in in education and whether we were interested in teaching mathematics.
That day in class Mr. Flynn’s class was reviewing for a test that they were going to take during the next class period. I noticed during my time observing that Mr. Flynn uses a very matter of a fact teaching style and straightforward thinking. I admired how much the students respected him even when he was stern with them about misbehaving or not being attentive. I liked that the class was small because it allowed for Mr. Flynn to spend more time to move around the room to check in on each individual student. I think that the smaller class size served as a benefit to the students because they were able to receive individual, undivided attention from the teacher. Another thing that I observed was how engaged Mr. Flynn kept his students throughout the class period. When reviewing the material for the upcoming test he focused on emphasizing the more important information to remember for the test. I think he is effective at making sure that students grasp the concept of the material that they will be tested on. One thing I found exceptional was how Mr. Flynn offered his students opportunities for improvement by allowing them to fix their mistakes for credit. Overall, I think that Mr. Flynn seemed like a remarkable teacher because of his dedication towards his students’ success.
I enjoyed my experience observing at Cleveland Heights High School because I had never seen what it felt like to be an observer from the outside looking in. It felt so strange to not be a high school student anymore and was a little bit difficult for me to feel completely comfortable. Lastly, I thought it was so neat how the students at Heights High earn all of their high school credit by their junior year and are able to start enrolling in pre college courses. I think that is an extremely awesome opportunity to have access to at that stage of your academic career.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Blog Post 8
DiGiulio has a
lot to contribute to the development of our guides as teachers. He makes a
strong argument that teaching can be challenging regardless of your performance
or your students performance. DiGiulio discusses how standardized testing may
be a harmful form of data that is used in the educational system today and
reasons why it does not serve as an advantage to student’s academic careers. He
is a good example of a teacher who takes into consideration the well being of
his students and is aware of the adverse affects that standardized testing can
provide. I agree with DiGiullo suggestion that standardized testing may not be
the best way to measure a student’s intelligence. I believe there are other
alternatives to standardized testing for assessing students and can guarantee
that they are more likely to be effective. DiGiulio pointed out that the best
teachers were the ones who were the most enthusiastic and caring because they
were dedicated to fostering their students’ academic achievement. If this is
true, than standardized testing could be eliminated because it detracts
students from feeling empowered and motivated to be responsible for their work.
DiGiulio’s reasoning proves that as teachers, we must be willing to think
outside of the box and takes risks when we are teaching. If we develop guides
that effectively engage our students then we are doing something right.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Blog Post 7
What Ayers means in his
metaphor about building bridges is that if you start with basic knowledge and
elaborate on that knowledge tit will help to establish new ideas and ways of
teaching. The bridge is from common knowledge to complex forms of knowledge.
Yes, there is a pattern and it can be extended in two ways:
1. Building a bridge from Childhood to
Adulthood
2. Building a Bridge from authoritative
figures to the people ruled underneath them
If I was going to
plan a learning/teaching experience I would create a lesson about a Robert
Frost poem. First, I would figure out if my students know any information about
the author Robert Frost because it will help them to understand his writing
style better. I would need to also consider the type of students that I am
working with and whether they are at the learning level in which they would be
able to comprehend the meaning of the poem. Then, I would create a set of
questions correlating to the text that would prompt for critical thinking and
the formation of new ideas. I can recall from my own personal experience as a
student being forced to explore deeper into poems that I read because my
teacher wanted us to be exposed to new concepts that were unfamiliar. I think
for this this lesson to be effective the bridge that must be built should start
at ensuring the students have a general sense of what the content of the poem
consists of and end at the students gaining a new perspective and feeling well
informed.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Blog Post 6: PostIt Notes Annotation Strategy
One of my
annotations that I wrote was a thought that was elaborating on something that
was discussed on page 105 at the end of the first paragraph. It was discussing
how students are choosing to accept the passive role that is placed upon them
which forces them to adapt to the world as it is with a disoriented viewpoint
of reality. This idea started to generate thoughts in my mind about why this is
bound to happen with students. My thought is that I think students are
willingly conforming to social norms rather than challenging themselves because
the banking system within the education system is allowing them to. Maybe in
some ways the banking system is an effective tool to use for teaching but in
other ways it can serve as a disadvantage. If students embrace that they are
being ignored as intellectual human beings it will only make them more
immature. Students do not gain a sense of confidence if teachers teach are only
depositing without first explaining the content’s meaning and forcing the
students to attempt to understand it. We should not let the students who are
being imposed with the banking system to continue to believe that this is the
right way to learn. Students must be challenged to think differently and be able to ask questions instead of just being told to memorize information.
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