Disillusionment (WIP)

This chapter was a little depressing for me. I could relate to a lot of the frustration these teachers were feeling about their jobs, even though I am not yet a teacher. I face many of the same aggravations with my crew, customers, and bosses that the teachers face. There has been a time or two that I have locked myself in my office to either cool off or cry.

Episode 3

It's amazing to think about how the role of public schools has changed so much over the years (and how it has remained the same in some schools). I thought it was interesting that school was a place to keep children safe for the baby boomers. Health programs, which normally were not a part of curriculum, were not in place in some schools. Technology in a way was born during the baby boomer's time of enrollment in public education, so schools were beginning to prepare kids for a future of technology. I feel like schools are still doing this (we do are introduced to new technology all of the time in Dr. Grace's class, Dan Ryder uses technology in his teaching at Mt. Blue as well).

It was sad for me to see all of the segregation and unfairness that was going on in schools before, during, and even after the Civil Rights Act. Blacks didn't have a science lab, were not offered foreign language classes, and didn't even have a gym! This was shocking to me because of the, "separate, but equal" statement. This is separate but it is completely unequal. It broke my heart that 72% of disabled students were not even enrolled in public school. This made me want to cry because what is the definition of "disabled" in this statistic? A blind or deaf student is considered disabled; students with physical differences are considered disabled. Many of these students who were not enrolled in school might have had so much potential, yet they were not attending school. It chokes me up.

I liked that in the episode it said that school was the place to bring down segregation in America. I agree with this because what students are introduced to and learn at a young age is what sticks with them. This is why we see so much propaganda hidden in shows intended for young audiences. If students are encouraged to interact with people of different races, religions, nationalities, etc, then they will not only learn to "tolerate" the differences of their peers, but these differences will not be as apparent to children. A teacher told me an adorable story about how one of her students had said that a boy in the neighboring class (we'll call him Jim) was her cousin. The teacher met the girl's cousin and he was an African American boy. At the time there was not a lot of diversity in the area. This boy was not actually the girl's cousin; she had confused his name with another student. It was cute to here how the girl loved Jim and accepted him as family despite his skin color, though. She never doubted for a second whether he was really family.

PBS Episode 3

I still need to visit the library to use a vcr - will post soon

Engagement

I found that the title of this chapter was a little strange. I expected the stories in this chapter to all be about how teachers were able to get their students involved and interested in their academics. Some of the stories, however, had to do with discrimination and the hardships that students felt. The story about the girl who was not given the part in the play because of her color was very heartbreaking. I wonder if maybe the title has more to do with the teachers than the students. The teachers in this chapter all seem to become interested and a part of the students lives, at least the part of their lives that are troubled. The teacher might need to be as engaged in their students as they would like the students to be in their school work.

PBS Episode 2

Having some knowledge of a second language has always been a proud accomplishment of mine. I thought it was incredibly sad that so many immigrants were both physically and verbally punished for speaking their native language rather than English when they first attended schools in America. One of the reasons I would like to move out West is so that I don't lose my second language and can strengthen my ability to read, write, speak, and understand the language. It's funny to me because there has been a lot of research that proves that students learn English more easily if there continue to use and learn about their own native language. If a student understands their own language more, then they are more likely to learn a new one. I wasn't surprised that the Germans were the people who tried to keep their language alive.

The SATs have always annoyed me. In the psyche course that all Secondary Ed. majors are required to take I learned that the SATs and early standardized tests are culturally and gender biased. The PBS movie made the same claim, so there must be strong evidence to support this. I think that it would be nearly impossible to create a standardized test that WAS NOT biased in one way or another. The knowledge that one gains varies depending on so many factors, such as what kind of family he/she is a part of, the type of school he/she attended, and even his/her interests. Test anxiety makes standardized tests a nightmare for poor test takers. My husband is a very poor test taker because he second, third, and fourth guesses himself. He had to take the written driver's permit test multiple times before passing. Strangely, the time that he passed was when he did not concentrate as hard on the test. He only had to take the driving test once, though. He knows all of the laws and details of driving, but when he takes a test even the language sometimes confuses and frustrates him.

I think that when I begin teaching that I will try to use both tests and varies projects to assess my students. Depending on the class, I might decide to give either more tests or more projects. Some students perform very well on tests and I would not want to give those students a disadvantage, either. I might even be able to give students a choice in how they are assessed. By this I mean let them decide to either complete a project or take a test to be graded on a unit.

Generations

Four different generations are now working together and this is causing problems. The older generations are so accustomed to younger workers doing what the elder workers did, no questions asked. The general attitudes between generations are significantly different and this can cause tension and arguments. The article has a nice little chart that explains each of the generations. I found it interesting that for a veteran if someone says that something needs to be done, they interpret the sentence as a command while a person of the Generation X will only hear it as an observation.

I have seen sticky situations among the different generations first hand. At my job, I am the assistant manager. I am also one of the youngest workers. Often I can tell that the older crew members think that they know better than me and that they should be treated differently from the younger crew members. We base our scheduling on performance and overall attitudes, not on age, and in the past I've had the older crew members complain to me that the youngsters “do not need/deserve” the hours that they were getting. I hope that where ever I may end up getting a teaching position that I can find ways to compromise with the older generations when there is an argument or conflict of opinion. I think the generations can actually learn quite a bit from one another and they are all willing to at least get along and be respectable.

Challenges

I found it difficult to read some of the sections of this chapter. Some of the stories were extremely heartbreaking and upsetting, but what is most upsetting is that the stories are based on truth. One problem I had when I read this chapter is that we were always told to not be friends with our students, but I noticed that a lot of the teachers were playing the friend role in some of the stories. So, is it okay to give a student a hug when they are having a rough time? With all of the crazy business of sexual harassment between students and teachers in the new I feel like even hugging a student is risky business. I do agree that sending a student to counseling or something can be offensive to a student and actually might either make their issue(s) worse or simply not help at all.

When I was in high school, a teacher (I never did find out who) "recommended" me for this club that met once a week in the guidance office to talk about their problems. The point of the group was to allow students to all talk about their problems and help one each other (with the supervision of a professional). I felt a little insulted that a teacher went over me and told some stranger that I seemed like a "troubled" teenager and could use some help. I didn't feel like I needed help and also though that maybe there were other students who either wanted the help or did really need it who were not "recommended." Honestly, I think that the only reason the teacher tried to get me involved with this group because of the way I dressed and the fact that I was new to the high school. There were plenty of students who dressed nicely and more like the norm who were horribly depressed and had a lot of personal issues. I, on the other hand, wasn't at risk. Financially my family and I had it a little rough for awhile, but I really didn't feel like talking to strangers about my problems. A teacher shouldn't make assumptions about a student based on their appearance.

Anticipation

I feel much better about my concerns about teaching having begun Teaching Hope. It was a relief to read stories from a group of very different teachers with different situations. The story about the teacher who lost his father actually caused me to get a little emotional, especially when I reached the end when the teacher found a card on his desk from all of the students and staff. There are plenty of people who do are about teachers, but at the same time I understand that good people often times do not get a direct recognition for their hard work and dedication.

The first section of the book made me realize that I think that I would like to teach at a multicultural school. I feel that I could learn so much from students who are of a very different background than my own and I would like to try to help those students. The story about the boy from Brazil who taught his classmates to dance was incredible. I have taken a total of 6 years of Spanish and I am afraid that I will lose this language if I do not practice it. My husband and I have been talking about moving out to Colorado and I understand that 12% of the population speaks Spanish. At first I was a little nervous about trying to find a teaching job in Colorado because of the high percentage of Spanish speakers, but not it excites me.

I think I will always have some kind of anxiety/nervousness about teaching, even after years of experience. These stories remind me that I will make it through as long as I remember that the students will suffer if I do not try my best.

Diversity

Over the summer I have been internally debating whether or not to have the students in all of my classes fill out learning inventories. This seemed like a good way of getting to know the students a little more as well as what kind of learners are in each classroom. After reading this article I have decided that I will ask every student of mine to fill out one or more learning inventory. There might be a classroom with mostly students who would benefit the most from project based assessment while another class is primarily test takers. I would like to get to know all of my students in one way or another so that I can do my best to find out how I can help each individual reach their potential in the classroom. The only way to do this is by getting to know the students.


I understand that it is extremely important to use a variety of methods and approaches when teaching. In the article, Guild says that “using the best of a variety of approaches benefits many learners.” Some teaching methods are not going to work for certain groups, but they make work great for others. Until a teacher knows their students it will take much trial and error to decide which styles and methods to use for each group of students. The Thomas Armstrong quote that was used really pleased me because I have always personally thought that children (and adults) are being over prescribed. If a child is being hyper or disruptive, adults in this day tend to think that medication will solve the problem. Kids have energy and some of them need to use it.