Ch. 8 Journal Entry: Reorganization of Elementary Schools

I think elementary schools need to make a change in the end of level testing to better serve/help their students. I don't think that students should have to take a long standardized test only. I think that they still should take some type of standardized test at the end of the year but also do a project that shows their skills and knowledge. I know as a student I freak out with standardized tests, but you give me a project or something authentic to test me on the things I have learned, I can do that great!
Elementary schools need to also focus on teaching kids to have a love for learning. If children can be excited about learning then they will do better on tests and they will comprehend what they are learning and be engaged in learning. Teachers need to be passionate about the subjects they are teaching. This will help students have the love for learning that they need.
I also think that teachers need to be more aware of the diverse cultures and needs each student has in their class. Teachers can't just assume that every one of their students are the same religion, grew up the same way, or have the same experiences. We need to recognize these differences, except them, and help each of our students be successful and feel safe and comfortable in our classroom environment.

Journal Entry Ch. 7 Disabilities

I work in an autistic unit so all my students have a learning disability. One particular student is autistic, ADD, and he can not speak. This is a great challenge to communicate with him as a teacher. It gets frustrating for him because he can not express himself. How would it feel to never be able to tell someone your feelings? Being with him daily throughout this school year has been a great learning experience for me. We have to find new ways to teach, and accommodate him. Recently, he received a machine from a grant. This machine has a keyboard and different things he can push to help him interact and communicate with us. This machine will even speak the things he pushes so we can understand what he is trying to tell us.

1/10/09 Ch. 6 Priveleges

Growing up I never thought twice about the privileges I had over different ethnic groups. This year I am currently taking a multicultural class that has opened my eyes on this subject. I have learned some of the privileges that I have had throughout my life is because I am a white living in America. Some of the privileges I have thought of that I take for granted are: Knowing that my race is the majority in school, not the minority. Going to a grocery store and the majority of the store is "American food". Knowing that I got, or did not get a job because of my capabilities not my race. Knowing the person that is over me in my job is most likely my same race. Having English be the official language of my country.

These privileges I have had throughout my life have been given to me. I did not have to work for them or earn them in any way. The only reason I have these privileges is because I live in America and I am white. Learning this about myself has been difficult. Even if I do not want these privileges because of my race I cannot just take them away. I can do something about it, I can stand up for this injustice and start teaching that race should not have privilege over another. We all should be treated as equals.

2/3/09 Journal Entry for Ch. 5 Family Structure

When my parents were kids it was very rare to see a family not have a mother and father. There were hardly any gay/lesbian parents. Most kids lived with both the dad and mom. In that time you rarely heard about divorce or separation. If people lived together they were married. Grandparents weren't raising the grand kids. Mom stayed at home and dad went to work everyday.
Things have dramatically changed. Today, more than half of the students you will have in your classes have divorced or separated parents. Some students will have parents that live together that aren't married. Students will have gay or lesbian parents they live with. Some of the students will be living with grandparents or other family members like aunts and uncles. Some will live with foster parents, and others will be homeless.
As a teacher I need to take this into consideration. I need to be very sensitive to the children's feelings. Some of these situations will be very foreign to me because I have never experienced them. Therefore, I cannot make judgements on these parents/students. I need to be open and willing to understand every type of situation I come across. These are some things I am going to really try to work on.

Thursday 29, Ethical Methods

It was interesting to read about the ways in which a teacher can present the information for standardized tests effectively. Some of the examples were: draw on more challenging and interesteing ways of teaching the material that will be found on the standardized tests. Teachers ask themselves questions about the unit that will be taught. Don't make the standards the sole focus of your teaching, integrate it with the larger purposes of instruction. Mix it in with other forms of teaching. Try and make each lesson meaningful to each student. Get to know your students and find out what interests they have. Build a teacher student relationship. Give students the bigger picture. Don't make standards the focal point of your curriculum.
All of this makes complete since because most students will not learn as well using essentialism in the classroom. Most students are progessive learners. The hands on activities and projects benefit them much more then just giving the facts and testing them on the standards. I want to teach in a way that students will be successful in the standardized tests by the background knowledge I have given them. I want my students to enjoy learning. I want them to explore, be interested and passionate about the subjects I am teaching them. I want them to make personal connections with the subjects being taught. Therefore, I need to present those subjects to them in an engaging/progressive way. Kind of hiding the standard and objectives in my lessons. Making sure my lesson plans follow the core standards but they aren't the focal point of my lessons.

Tuesday 27 Standardized testing

Advantages
-They are structured.
-Learn basic skills.
-Higher standardized test scores.
-They can be measured.
-Know what is expected.
-Organized.
-Easy to grade.

Disadvantages
-No creativity is being used.
-The students don't learn to explore.
-There is no diverse instruction.
- Not able to draw from personal experiences.
- Some students can not learn in that way.
- No student teacher relationship.
- No student engagement in learning.

Looking at these advantages and disadvantages has made me stop and think about how I am going to use standardized testing in my classroom. There are going to be times I have to give students a standardized test. Take the end of year test for example, and all of the state tests the students have to take. I am going to try and engage my students in all of my lessons so they are able to draw from personal experiences. I know that it is important to build relationships with the students and see what interests them so you can pull that into help their learning. Students should have a say on how they want to learn. I know that students will teach me sometimes and I need to make sure I am getting feedback from all of them.

1/23/09 Survey Questions Journal Entry

This was interesting to see what happened to the teachers in the different scenarios. Some were surprising to me. I can't believe all of these have happened in the state of Utah. As a future teacher I think it's important for us to take these situations/scenarios and learn from them. We just need to make sure we are careful in all that we do. Teachers need to remember to be professional at all times. These situations we read in class and I did online were mind boggling. There were many times I wanted to say, "what were they thinking?" but who am I to judge. I hope we can have more discussions in class about these types of things so we can understand what "not" to do as a teacher. Therefore, we won't be going into the field blinded.