Blog Post 9

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.

Field Blog Post 1

I enjoyed my first experience visiting Beachwood Middle School. I was assigned to observe a 7^th grade math class and a 6^th 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 9^th 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.

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.

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.

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.