Clinical Overview

Overall, I feel like our clinical teaching experience went really well. The chapter of the Educational Foundations book we had was Chapter 23, which was entitled "Teacher Unionism Reborn." Starting off, I barely knew anything about unions in general, and even less about teacher unions. After reading the chapter, I was still confused, but I was more educated than before. The chapter was very heavy and filled with lots of details which sometimes made it hard to grasp. But eventually after reading and talking about it, we all picked up on the main points and started to think about what to do with our 50 minute period.

We decided that to start off our lesson, we would do a Post-It Note exercise. We would hand out one sticky note to everyone before we even started talking about the topic. On this piece of paper, they were to write what first came to mind when they heard the words "teacher unions." After they were finished, they were to stick them on one side of the chalkboard. When we read over them, a lot of them had things like "riots," "negative," and "corrupt" on them. Others had things written on them that made it clear to us that, just like we were before reading the chapter, there was some confusion about the topic.

The next thing we did was start going over a PowerPoint. A lot of the period was us just reading straight from it and trying to throw in some additional information off the top of our heads. If I could go back and change anything about our presentation, it would be that we would not just talk so much at the class, but have them participate and be more active in the conversation. Because the topic was so difficult and not a lot of people knew about it, it was something we had to do, so I'm not sure how we could rework our lesson.

Another thing I wish we could go back and change was the video that we showed. We searched hard and long to find an unbiased one, but there were honestly none out there. I feel like the video we showed might have shaped some students' opinions about teacher unions before they were even able to think for themselves. When we chose the clip, we said that our aim with it was to get the class thinking of the pros and cons to the issues that come along with teacher unions, but I feel like it might have done more than that.

Something I think we did really well was the union activity we planned. In the chapter, the author mentioned four main problems and issues that teacher unions have to address. Since there were four tables in the classroom, we thought it would be interesting to give each table an issue. They were to become their own little union and think about what they would want to do with that issue. I believe this got them thinking about the pros and cons that come along with so many different aspects of being an educator and how they would hypothetically fix them. This activity really got them thinking and interacting with each other, not just listening to us lecture them.

I really enjoyed the process of being up in front of a class teaching. In doing this experience, it helped me realize that it is something I could see myself doing for the rest of my life. Even though it was a college classroom with a topic I would not teach about in the future, it was good to see how to plan a lesson, work with your colleagues, and actually go up and teach. I found this to be a very positive experience and I feel with some more hard work and dedication, we could all be fantastic teachers.

Field Blog #8

Orange High School

For my final visit, I again stayed on the same track as the last few visits and went to two different teachers. For the first period of my visit, I sat in on the class I had been in for the whole semester. This class kind of just seemed like a make up period for anyone who needed to get something done. Some of the students had to give presentations because they did not have time to do it the previous week. It was cool to see the final product of the project I walked around and helped some kids with. They all tied the information together nicely and were able to engage the class in the information they had just researched. When they would finish, the teacher would ask them a question or two, engaging in conversation, and more times than not, they were able to answer it without any problems. It was clear to see that they had effectively mastered the topic that they chose to learn about. The other part of this period was dedicated to studying and working on a review sheet for a test coming up soon. The teacher was available for questions and help if they needed it.


My second hour of observing was spent in the classroom next door, which was a junior psychology class. Right when I walked in, I knew it was going to be different. My initial teacher always talked to me about how this class was very misbehaved and didn't really respect the teacher at all. In all the other times she had me go to other classes, she avoided this class, but she felt I should see it at some point. When I walked in, the students all just started talking to me, drilling me with questions about everything from school to my personal life. The teacher didn't really do anything about it and it didn't bother me, it just seemed like he didn't have full control over the class. In this period, they were finishing a movie and reviewing what had happened. Right when the movie came on, more than half the class either put in their headphones, laid their heads on their desks and slept, or started talking to their neighbors. Two girls actually were talking on the phone and braiding each other's hair, but nothing was done. When the movie was over, the teacher tried to engage the students in discussion. There were a few kids who really wanted to be there and participated in class and I felt bad for them because the rest of the class was such a distraction. At one point, the teacher actually said to a student either keep completely tuning me out or go to the office because you can't sit here and be disrespectful. I felt bad for the teacher because it seemed like no matter what he did, a majority of the class just did not care about anything he had to say.

Overall, I absolutely loved my visits to Orange High School. I am so glad I was placed here because it really opened my eyes to what being on the other side of the classroom is like. These visits helped me look at different grade and academic levels and see how they are different. This school operates in a very different way than the high school I graduated from, so it was good to experience that diversity. When I first came in, I felt very welcome and by the end, I felt like I belonged with them. It was so sad to leave on the last day, but I think that just proves how positive of an experience I had.

Field Blog #7

Cleveland Heights High School

This visit was unlike any I had gone on in the past. The way the school operated was very different than any I had experienced in the past, it seemed very unique. Something I really enjoyed about my visit was seeing how small the class sizes were. I feel like in having your room be physically smaller, you are forced to limit the class size to a certain number of students. When there are less students in your class, you are better able to develop relationships with your children and are able to figure out a way of teaching that is most beneficial to them. The sizes of the classrooms I observed were generally pretty small and it seemed to work very well for both the students and the teachers. Something I found interesting about the school was the policy on cell phone use. It was very open and basically said that students were allowed to use their phones whenever they wished. I feel like having this policy be so loose was not a good thing and developed a disruptive environment. While students were being taught or were supposed to be doing work, they would often be on their phones. When I was in high school, cell phone use was prohibited and we were forced to leave them in our lockers for the day. When I went into my senior year, the rules were changed and we were allowed to have them during non-instructional times. Though some students abused and took advantage of that rule, I feel like it generally worked well and should be adopted in more schools, such as Heights HS. Overall, the experience was a positive one and it seems like a good school, there are just some things I believe need to be worked on.

Field Blog #6

Orange High School

For my next visit, I did the same thing as the previous visit. I stayed with my regular class for one period and then switched to a new teacher for the second period. For my normal class, they were doing the same thing as the last visit I made. They were spending another period just researching information and putting together their PowerPoint with their partner. Again, for most of the period, I walked around and helped the students with whatever questions they had about their project. One group in specific did the Harlem Renaissance and the people who were a part of that movement. In high school, I did a whole research paper on that, so it was cool to be able to connect my own personal experiences to something they were learning. Being able to help them with something I knew a lot about gave me a good feeling.

The next class I went into was a junior United States government class. This was just the regular level class, so it was a lot different than the AP one I saw in my last visit. First off, there were maybe ten or so kids in the class. It was different to see how small of a class it was, but it seemed like it was more beneficial to the kids; they were better able to interact with their teacher and develop more of a relationship with him. The first few minutes of class, they all just talked; about their days, what they did on the weekend, the homework they had to do, and so on. But soon enough, the teacher pulled up the PowerPoint and started going over it. They would go through the information and every once in a while, he would throw out questions from the book to see if people actually read for homework. If they didn't get it right, they could give the question to another student, but they had to answer the next one, and the process continued in that way. They continued on with the PowerPoint and that took them to the end of class. Throughout a lot of it, they got pretty off topic and that got the teacher upset. He just stopped teaching for a while and said that they would have to teach the rest to themselves and that they would be quizzed over it the next day. I think this small class made it easier for them to all get to know each other, but it made it a lot more difficult to focus and stay on track with their learning.

Field Blog #5

Orange High School

On my next visit to Orange High School, I spent one period in my normal classroom and then went off to visit another teacher. In my normal sophomore honors U.S. history class, they were beginning to work on a project. This project was kind of like a research paper, but they just had to make a presentation and share it out it to the class. The broad topic was the 1920s and each student (or pair of students) got to choose a more specific aspect from that period to look up, such as fashion, phrases and sayings, sports, and so on. They had to go onto the internet and find their information off of reliable sources, not just by typing their topic into Google. The teacher gave them some ideas for databases that would be acceptable and ones that the school had online access codes to. They spent the whole time just finding information and making a PowerPoint presentation they would share to the class in the next week. I walked around for part of the class and got to interact with the class, helping them with anything they needed.

The next class I went to was a junior AP government class. The class was mainly lecture from the teacher at the students, but sometimes he would go to them with questions and see if they were able to answer. At one point, he pulled up a website from the U.S. government's website and applied the information to real life. Even though it was an AP class and people generally stereotype them as uptight and full of rules and structure, this class seemed more open and fun. The way the teacher interacted with the students was mainly lecturing them, but he found a way to make it more enjoyable. The enthusiasm he had for the topic made it easier to focus and retain the information.

Field Blog Post #4

The Agnon School

Our visit to the Agnon school was unlike any visit I have been on. The school was a lot different than any I had gone to in my life, it had very unique characteristics. One thing that really jumped out at me was how laid back the school itself seemed, whether it be the rules enforced, the way the teachers choose to educate their students, the open space throughout the whole building, and so on. The most interesting thing to me though was how the students address all of the teachers and administrators by their first names. I have never seen anything like that and it was interesting to hear young children get the attention of their teacher by saying their first name. I was always taught to call someone older than me by "Mr." or "Mrs." so it was just really interesting to see this not happen. The room I observed in was a second grade class where the children were really focusing on their reading skills. Each table was a different station and every fifteen or so minutes, they switched to a new activity. They were in groups of four or five kids, but something that struck me was that they rarely made any conversation with each other. All of the kids were very well behaved, but it seemed a little odd. They are so young and usually children at this age are excited and kind of rowdy, but these kids never even made a peep; I don't think the teacher ever had to discipline them one time. Hearing about how the school was private and was able to teach the curriculum any way they wanted was interesting. Ideally, I would want to teach in a private Catholic school, so it was cool to hear how truly open the possibilities are in the classroom. One last thing that really was new to me was how there was Hebrew written all throughout the school and how so many students were already able to speak and read it. Never have I been to an elementary school were a new language was taught and so stressed, but here, it was a vital part of their educational experience. It seems like the children that go to this school are being shaped into great students at such a young age, and that will help them in life as they grow older.

Post #10

Blog Post 10

Over the last ten weeks of this class, I have not only learned a lot about the concept of education, but also about myself. When I first started class, I was very unsure about my major. I had always had the idea of education in the back of my head, but I never really put serious thought into it. But between visiting schools in class, my own observations, our readings and discussions, and more I have found out that I am 99% sure that I want to continue on studying education. If I had not taken this class, I would probably still be in the dark, in regards to my major and what I wanted to do with my life. Something else I learned from being in this class is what it's like to not be a student in the classroom. Gaining the new perspective of a teacher was something that was good to do early on, so I can decide what good qualities to have are. Being a good teacher is something very difficult, but it is worth it when you watch your students succeed and thrive. To be a good teacher, the main aspect, in my opinion, is to be engaged with your classroom. You need to make it a community where everyone feels safe and comfortable to talk, take risks, and really just make the most of their education. We talked a lot about the classroom and what a good one looks like, reading essays, watching the video about Summerhill, observing physical classrooms on our visits. We talked controversial issues such as standardized testing, LGBTQ issues dealing with education, and more. This class really helped shape my ideas on these topics and opened my eyes to all of the different aspects of education.

Field Blog #3

Orange High School

Last Friday, I made another visit to Orange to do an observation. Again, the two classes I sat in on were the honors and the college prep sophomore history classes. It was Halloween, so all of the students were in their costumes and just having a good day. They had candy for each other, they took pictures on their phones to document the fun, and so on. I could just really see the strong bonds that were formed in the classroom. The teacher was again really friendly with the students, asking how they were doing that day, giving them candy, asking about their Halloween plans, and more. After they got the fun stuff out of the way, they got down to business and started their work. What they devoted the whole rest of the class period to was a DBQ, or a document based question. When I was a sophomore in high school taking AP U.S. History, we would do these assignments all the time. It was interesting to take the way I had done them in school and see how other places completed the same assignment. They went through the two different prompts they could choose from and really unpacked what it was asking. They then split into groups depending on who picked which prompt, and then discussed where they were going to go from there. A DBQ is a packet that consists first of one or two questions and then multiple, usually around ten, historical documents, which could be photographs, excerpts from speeches, political cartoons, or other pieces like these. The assignment is to answer the question in an essay format, incorporating some of the documents for evidence to back up the claim they are making. When they split into groups, they had to discuss which documents they tentatively chose to include when they actually form their essay. They all brought up reasons why they felt each document was or was not good for their specific question and they had a deep and insightful discussion. When they finished, they got back together as a main group and discussed with Mrs. Price about what they had just talked about. This class period was one similar to the one I experienced in high school, so it was interesting to be on the outside, not actually learning and being a student.

Post #9

Blog Post 9

A lot of things go into making a school a good environment and many people have differing opinions on the topic. I personally feel it has to do a lot with the relationships that are formed in the school; teacher and student, student and student, teacher and teacher, and so on. The schools can have all these rules and regulations that make it better, but without the relationships that are so strong, the school will not be a good one. Some things that should be included in the school besides strong bonds are a good curriculum, extracurricular activities, lots of school pride, and just an overall positive attitude. A good school is one that combines the necessity to learn with ways and methods that engage the students and make them eager to learn. If a student is not fully engaged in what they are learning, they will fall away and not want to become even more educated, which can hurt them in the long run. A good school needs teachers and administrators who work as hard as they can for their students and want nothing but the best for them. Another big thing that is a controversial topic in the world of education today is standardized testing. I believe a good school would not institute them because they make students seem like cookie-cutter molds.They put everyone on the same level and test them on basic standards, that some students are not able to meet or students that are far above that level. A last interesting idea that I feel would go into a good school is making classes optional to go to. It makes the school a lot more like college and puts the responsibility on the student, which I have found to be a lot more successful. They should not be allowed to just skip out on every single class every day, but giving them the option makes them think more of how they should want to go and learn. These are just a few things I believe go in to making a good school, even though I could talk about this forever. Schools require a lot of work to be successful, but it is worth it in the long run.

Field Blog #2

Orange High School

On Monday after I finished my classes for the day, I traveled to Orange High School to do my first individual field visit. I was placed with a social studies teacher who has all sophomores this year, so they are learning all about American history. Being fresh out of high school myself, I was nervous about going into one and seeing how the students would react to me. But in both of the classes I observed in, they were very open to me and started to try to form a friendly relationship, since I will be in their classroom for the next few weeks.

The first class that I observed was an honors course, so there were the more advanced students in it.The teacher had given me a warning that even though these kids were very well behaved and mature, that they were just coming from their lunch period, so they would be a little rowdy. And sure enough, when the bell rang, the students all came in, talking very loudly and just joking around with their friends. But when Mrs. Price was ready for class to start, she told them that and they respected what she asked and got quiet. From the very first few minutes of class, I could tell that there was a strong relationship between the students and the teacher. She asked them how their weekends were, they asked back about hers; it just seemed like they were comfortable to talk as people. Something I thought was cool about this class was that the room was a little chilly, so the teacher brought in blankets and put them at the front of the room on a table. If a student was cold, they could just go take a blanket to wrap themselves in. She made the classroom seem like a very homey and comfortable place where the kids would want to learn in.

The actual class itself was pretty normal, one like the many honor-level classes I took in high school. At the beginning of class, they started off with a quiz based on the reading that they were assigned the night before. Before the quiz started, Mrs. Price opened the class up for any last minute questions and gave them a few minutes to study over their notes. When the students were finished with their quiz, they would hand that in, along with their homework from the day before. In exchange, the teacher gave them the homework for that day so that they would be productive with the time they had in class. When everyone was finished with the quiz, she told them to put their homework away and told them she was going to show an episode of an older TV show that went along with the new topic they were about to learn about. She said she didn't like to show just cut-and-dry documentaries that just throw out facts at you, so she switched it up a little. She handed out a list of questions that went along with the video, and told me it was a good way to keep them focused and get the information across. During the video, the teacher would pause the video and chime in with facts and information that related to topics they already learned about in previous lessons. And when the video was over and class ended, she asked if anyone had questions about what they just learned and helped the students review the information.

The next class I sat in was the same history class, except it was college prep and not honors. The basis of the class was exactly the same though. They took the same quiz and watched the same video as the last class, so it didn't seem that much difference that day. But Mrs. Price told me that that wasn't typical and that this class moves a little bit slower than the other one. They learn about the same things, just in different ways and at a different pace. The relationship she had with the kids though was the same, everyone seemed comfortable around her and that they could be themselves and really take risks in the classroom. She pushed them hard enough so that they would get their work done, but not enough to make her seem like she was a dictator and that the students mean nothing to her.

Overall, I really enjoyed being the classroom on the other side, not being a student. I feel like the teacher is a good one for me to observe and I am already enjoying my visits. I'm looking forward to my next observation and the things I am going to learn from the visits!

Post #8

Blog Post 8

This post is meant to be an extension on our last blog, which was mainly about building bridges and the kind of qualities and characteristics we want to have as teachers. After the readings we had this week and the discussion we had on them, I realized a lot of other techniques and components I would need to add in to my lesson planning and list of personal qualities. Some of these include forming allies with your students' parents, forming strong relationships with the teachers you work with, and to build a good community in the classroom.

Developing an ally in your student's parent is an important thing that is often forgotten. A lot of people think of teaching as a one-to-one relationship with just the educator and the student, but the parents should be included. If something goes wrong in the classroom or the student is struggling in something and you have to approach the parents, you would feel a lot more comfortable doing so if there was already a relationship formed. Also, if there are things that are going on in the home that are affecting the child's learning, having that relationship would enable you to freely speak about what can be done in the situation.

Having relationships with the teachers who work in the same area as you do is a good thing for many reasons. It is inevitable that you will have bad days and just need someone to talk to, so having someone so close who understands what you are going through is a big plus. Another reason having relationships with fellow teachers is that they can help you if you are struggling in things, such as lesson planning or how to deal with behavioral issues. If the teacher has been educating for a lot longer than you have, it is even better because they have so much more experience under their belt. They have a lot of advice to give and can help make your teaching experience even better, for yourself and your students.

Having a tight-knit community in the classroom may be the most important thing a teacher can do. Making the students feel comfortable is a necessity in having a successful group. If they're not comfortable being around each other and as a class, it can take away from their desire to answer questions, get involved, and learn. To be a community, the teacher has to know each student as an individual. With knowing that information, you have to decide what is the best way to address the class as a whole big group. Doing things that they can relate to and bringing them all together helps develop relationships among the students and makes them happier to be in that specific class.

Post #7

Blog Post 7

In his book, Bill Ayers has an entire chapter on "building bridges." By this phrase, I think that he means it as a metaphor for moving forward in your teaching (as an educator) or in your learning (as a student). I also believe that his description of building bridges can be seen as moving from one thing to another, never stopping, and just continuing to teach and learn. The bottom of the bridge starts as an idea or a topic and the bridge, the teaching, then leads to the furthering of education and the level of intelligence a student has increasing.

In his writing, Ayers describes a kind of pattern for his bridge-building technique. I believe that his pattern is to start with a problem or a question and to work towards getting an answer or a solution to the issue. One example of this pattern that he writes about is when his kids are talking about the black people at the ice skating rink. He leads that into a discussion about white privilege and really gets his students thinking. Another example that he writes about is with the adult literacy. He starts with them just talking as a group, but leads it into them journaling and thinking about their literacy.

If I had to pick something to plan a lesson on, it would be in a social studies class and on social justice. For the project, I would teach about the different aspects of social justice and problems that surround it. I would make the students pick a specific issue, research about it, and plan a way that they think would help stop it from happening in the world. They would share them out to the class when finished and play the teacher for a day, educating their peers about their specific issue.

One of the things I would consider for myself while planning out a lesson would be to know that there always is light at the end of the tunnel. Even if the planning wasn't working out the way I would want it to and I was just struggling with ways to keep the students engaged in the learning, I would just hold the confidence that everything would be okay and that the kids would get the information that they needed. Another thing I would keep in the back of my mind was to fully know myself. To be a good teacher and to understand your students, you should really know about yourself. I would realize that everything I do may not work for other teachers or be beneficial for every single student, but I could learn about myself enough that I would be able to help them work through their problems.

Field Blog #1

Beachwood Middle School

For our first class field experience, we went out to Beachwood Middle School. I had never been to the district, but I had always heard about it. Right when I stepped foot into the building, I got a feeling that the day was going to be a good one. I don't really know what it was, but the building, the principal, the students, and everything else about the school just seemed very welcoming to us. I was nervous going into the first visit, but it started off on a good note from the beginning.

The first classroom that I got to observe in was a sixth grade social studies class. The teacher described this class as different and not normal for the school, because there were only six or seven boys in it. I did not get around to asking why the class was so small or only one gender, but it was an interesting change. When I walked in, the teacher was standing at the front of the room, going through a review PowerPoint. All of the boys were at their desks and they had a whiteboard and dry erase marker in front of them. The teacher was going through the slides, reviewing the information they had already learned in the past, stopping at certain point, and asking the kids questions. When they think that they had the right answer, they would write it on their board and hold it up for the teacher to check. After the answers were given and checked, he gave them praise if they got it right and helped those who were  incorrect. He did not put the kids down for not knowing, he went into further detail about the information so that they would better understand it. At certain points in the lessons, some of the kids would raise their hands and relate the information they were learning about to their own lives. The teacher got them to think and make connections from these events that happened so long ago, into their reality. The teacher also showed different ways of getting the boys to learn. Instead of just standing at the front of class and lecturing the whole time, he played a clip from a documentary on the History Channel. Whenever something they learned about would be mentioned, he would pause the video and point it out. Something he said to me was, "I'm a visual teacher. They may tell you to not teach like this, but I do." This shows that society tries to form all educators into this perfect cookie-cutter mold, when really, everyone is different. The actual atmosphere of the classroom was nice, it wasn't overwhelming. There were posters and quotes that went along with what they were learning about, American flags, pictures of all the presidents, and so on. All of these decorations are surrounding the room, except for the very front where his desk and the whiteboard is. The area where the children's focus should be at most of the time is a non-distracting one, which helps them keep their mind from wandering. Overall, the teacher was an engaging one and it was clear that he really got his boys to think. He related the information to the present day, had them ask questions and try to answer them themselves, and really just got them thinking.

The next classroom I got to visit was a seventh grade language arts class. From the very beginning, the kids were a little rowdy and distracted. But the teacher took charge of the situation and was firm with them, telling them how they were to behave, and they respected her and followed her instructions. This classroom was very different than the one I was in before. There were three "teachers" in the room; one actual teacher, one who was around to assist in things such as passing out papers, and another who was a sign-language translator for a child in the class. It was different than any of the classes I have ever been in, but it was cool to see how they all worked together. The way in which the teacher taught the kids was the basic way people would think of. Students came up to the front of the room and shared their work to the class, she called on a variety of students for answers to the questions she asked, and so on. One of the things I liked that she did was the way in which she related the information to real life situations or examples. For example, something they were learning that day was a new set of vocab words. The word had to do with elasticity, so she took out a rubber band and stretched it all around so they could really understand. The room was well decorated, everything had a place and a meaning to it that fit along with the curriculum. It wasn't overwhelming, but it gave the students something to look at and made it feel more homey. This teacher was specifically good about helping the children out when they were incorrect. If someone answered a question wrong, she would point that out, but in the nicest way. She would explain to them why they were wrong and then give a further reasoning into why the right answer was right. Overall, the classroom was a welcoming one and I enjoyed being an observer in it.

By the end of the day, all of my nervous feelings were gone and I just wanted to either stay there or go on another visit to a different school. Even though I am unsure if I absolutely want to enter in the field of education, this field experience really helped me see what it's like from the other side, not being a student. It was interesting to really sit back and  observe the instructor and seeing in which ways they choose to teach their students. Overall, I think the visit to Beachwood Middle School went really well and I am looking forward to my next observation period!

Post #6

BlogPostIt PostIt Notes annotation strategy

In reading Paulo Freire's "The Banking Concept of Education," my eyes were really opened to what education has really come to nowadays. Being a student for such a long time, I never really thought about how I was being fed information, but being on the other side, I have noticed how wrong our system really is nowadays. Reflecting back on my own student days, in more cases than not, my teachers have used the banking concept to get the information across to us students. They did not interact with us, pose questions to help us think for ourselves, or anything like that; the information was just forced into us so that we get it right on the test. This process is so wrong because as Freire describes, it turns the students into "containers" and the teachers are only aiming to stuff us with as much information as they can, which makes them look better among their peers. The problem with this is that it gives the students little opportunity to think for themselves and really comprehend what they are taught. Students are taught to just spit out facts and try to get a good grade on a test, not to become a more intelligent and thoughtful person. In the piece, Freire brings up a different method to go about education that seems a lot more valuable to the students. What he describes is called the problem-posing method, and it is just that. A teacher will educate their kids by making them critically think about the material. It causes the students to really use their brains and to take risks they otherwise wouldn't in a different learning environment. A lot of my Post-It notes were about these two different methods and the feelings I explained in my writing about them. It is clear that problem-posing seems like the better option and I hope that when the day comes that I am in front of a classroom, that I am able to teach in that way and make my students the best that they can be.

Post #5

Blog Post 5:

Rofes (2005) makes clear distinctions between liberal and radical conceptualizations of addressing homophobia and heterosexism in k-12 schools. Discuss these distinctions with examples from schools you attended. How does Rofes (2005) discuss childhood? What do the liberal and radical distinctions of addressing homophobia and heterosexism have to do with contemporary understandings of childhood? What do you believe and what is your vision for the school where you hope to be teaching in the next four years? (250 thoughtful words).

In all of the schools I have attended in the past, all of them were open and accepting of students who were LBGTQ. Of course, there were those few people that would make the bad remarks and make the whole group look bad, but as an overall group, my city was very accepting. Though we did not have support groups at the high school, such as a Gay Straight Alliance group, people were comfortable to be who they were. Just looking back at all the increasing number of people who came out from my freshman to senior year, it was clear to see that we grew in acceptance over the years. People were comfortable to be who they really were, walk around with their partner in public, and just openly discuss their sexual orientation.  In his work, Rofes describes childhood as a sort of terror because of how much children are taken advantage of. Kids are very impressionable at a young age, and because of that, rarely are able to make their own decisions. Childhood is also a time for learning though; because of how much they do not know, kids experiment and try all these different things out. Through these trials, they learn about themselves and more about the world they live in. I believe that the liberal and radical distinctions of addressing homophobia and heterosexism help prove the point that not all kids are going to fit into the same cookie-cutter mold. Everyone is different in their own ways, and childhood is when people really start to find out about who they really are. Rofes feels that homophobia is at too high of a level still and even though people try to stop it and because more accepting, children are still harassed and mocked for being who they really are. If and when I begin to teach, I hope to work in a community similar to my own where even if someone does not necessarily agree with your choices, they will support you for the person you are. In the end, I believe that it is all about respect and love. To be a good Christian, one of the mottos we are taught to live by is to treat others in the way we would want to be treated. God created everyone in love, no matter if they are a different sexual orientation than we associate with, and I would hope my school would understand and follow that.

Post #4

Blog Post #4

[Teachers] should recognize that the linguistic form a student brings to school is intimately connected with loved one’s community, and personal identity. To suggest that this form is “wrong” or, even worse, ignorant, is to suggest that something is wrong with the student and his or her family. (p.33)

I believe that this quote describes how a teacher is supposed to view and understand their students' languages and the back stories behind how they developed them. If a teacher insults the way a student speaks, they are directly offending and insulting that person, their family, their community, the way they grew up, and so on. All people have a different story about how they became the person they are now, and it is vital as a teacher to understand and accept that. To put your student down and call them ignorant for something that they cannot have controlled is one of the worst things you can do. Just because you did not grow up and develop your language in the same way does not mean that you should put others down for theirs. Even if I do not grow up and choose an educator as my career, I hope that I am able to further develop my skill in fully understanding people and the way they speak. I have found that it is hard to not judge someone right away just because they act or speak differently than you, but reading Delpit's quote and talking about it furthur in class has really brought it to my attention. Someone's language is a representation of themselves and how they grew up, and it is not my place to judge. I completely agree with what she wrote and hope to see more teachers take her words into consideration.

Post #3

BlogPostWeek3

This week, we were told to write about anything that came up in our class periods or readings that peaked our interest. One thing that really interested me was when we broke into small groups, based on the age group and subjects we want to teach. In our groups, we discussed how we would design our classrooms, effective ways and methods of teaching, the personality traits we would possess as a teacher, and so on. It was really interesting to hear what my peers would do if they were already teachers and how their ideas compared and contrasted to my own. Speaking with them gave me new ideas and methods that would be effective in my own future classroom. Coming back and talking as a big group in class about the bad and good experiences we've had as students really made me think about my prior classrooms and how they affected my learning. A classroom needs to be an environment suitable for all students and needs to make them comfortable enough that they are able to use all their potential and learn all that they can. The room should put the students at ease and help them to focus, not distract them or take away from their education. The teacher, the room itself, and the other children have a major impact on the individual student, and all of the above should be presented in a way that is beneficial for the learning going on. 

Post #2

BlogPost2: More Exploration of Mental Filters and Their Influences on Perception

For this assignment, a friend and I went into a food court and observed the people there for around half of an hour. We sat back, didn't talk, and just observed until we came back together to discuss. It was interesting to compare what we saw over the span of time and see how they differed.

My Descriptions:

*lots of different cliques of many kinds of people

*around 100 people or so *good mix of both genders in each group

*can hear alternative music playing in the background *few people are sitting by themselves

*around ten people that wearing glasses

*one employee had an interesting beard, made up of different braids

*one girl leaned up against the wall, talking on her phone

*almost everyone was looking at their phone at one point or another

*overall, more men than women *lots of girls in workout clothes

*certain people were being loud and rowdy

*more white people than any other ethnicity

*a good amount of people got up more than once to eat

My Interpretations:

*must be dinner time because a big rush of people came in at once

*people met up with friends before they came, seeing that they all sat together

*certain kids had a good day because of the body language they were using and how they were talking with their hands, they seemed very excited about what they were saying

*because people got up more than once, they were hungry and it was time for their next meal, most likely dinner since it was around 6 o'clock *the girls in the work out clothes probably just came from working out, seeing that they chose to eat a healthy dinner and drink water with their meal

Parking Lot:

*certain groups are friends because they seem like they're messing around with each other, joking, laughing, smiling, just having happy facial expressions, etc.

*the workers here do not look happy, their facial expressions and the sulky body language they used when they were walking around

*the girls in the work out clothes care about their body and want to stay in shape

*the people on their phones are bored with the conversation going on and don't care what the people around them are talking about *one girl thinks that she was cooler than anyone else because of the clothes she wore, the way she presented herself, she brands of the products she used, the way she walked around, etc.

When I shared these descriptions with my friend, his findings were almost completely different. A lot of what he paid attention to was the actual building and detail around us. He noticed that there were a certain number of paintings on the wall and how many windows there were surrounding us and the different foods people were eating. He noticed some of the same minor details that I did, but overall, we saw very different things in our half hour of people watching. Doing this activity made me realize a lot about myself and how I am quick to judge situations without knowing what's really going on. I also realized that in actually making myself watch people, that it is something I do all the time without even noticing. It made me think about how I need to learn to look at a situation and be able to determine what is going on, without letting my personal beliefs get in the way. You have to be professional and able to address a situation in the best way you're able to.

Post #1

WebPost1: CLASS SURVEY

Personal information

1. What name do you prefer to be called? Corey
2. Hometown and photograph of you (inserted in your blog so I can connect you with your name). Brunswick, OH 
3. Grade level and subject(s) that you want to teach. Currently undecided about my major, but thinking about Education. If I was to become a teacher, I would either want to teach little kids, such as kindergartners, or high school students, possibly in theology.
4. What are you into; what makes you special? Share a few “unique” aspects about yourself that would help our classroom community get to know you a bit better. Some interesting facts about me are that I am one of six children, I am really strong in my Catholic faith, my favorite band is Mumford and Sons, I had lived in Texas for a month, my favorite kind of ice cream is chocolate, and I love doing volunteer and mission work!

Learning Style and more:

1. Being as specific as you can, what must be in place for you to feel comfortable taking intellectual and creative risks in a classroom? For me to feel comfortable, I would like to have the teacher be open to working with me if I am unsure about something we are doing. Also, I would like to know that my classmates are open to anyone's ideas and thoughts, and that we won't judge each other.
2. I am interested in your perception of yourself as a student. Please describe it. Consider such criteria as a) active oral class participation; b) responsible, timely class preparation (of readings, projects, etc.); c) honest, candid self-assessment; d) awareness of your own preferred learning styles/approaches; e) first thing that you do when you cannot or do not understand something; f)other dimensions you believe to be relevant and informative. In class, I am generally more quiet and reserved, but I am taking everything it in. If I feel like I have something really important to add though, I will speak up. I would say that I am a responsible student and I will do everything in my power to complete my assignments, readings, etc. If I don't do something, I will own up to it and take responsibility. I know about my own learning style, but I'm open to try new ways that we experiment with in class. When I am unsure about something we do in class, I will usually do anything to figure it out on my own. If and when that doesn't work, I will go to my classmates and professor to ask for clarification. 

Education Past and Present

7. Share a formative memory from your experiences as a student. My most important memories that have shaped me into the student I am today were all formed in my high school Latin classes. The strong bond I formed with the teacher helped make the class itself easier, seeing that I could go to her and be comfortable asking her about something I didn't understand. She helped to push me, even when I was so close to giving up, in school and in life itself. She was my mentor all throughout high school and helped lead me on the career path I am on now.
8. Please discuss what are, for you, some significant issues or concerns facing the field of education right now. Some issues I see in the field of education are the unfair treatment of teachers, how students are becoming more and more unwilling to learn, the impact standardized tests are having of students' anxiety levels, and how education in general seems like it has a mold that everything should fall under, even though every case should be different.

About Dr. Shutkin:

9. Write down a question or two that you would like to ask me about myself or the class. What made you want to go into the field of education? What are some problems in education that you see in our country today?

(This is a picture of me and some children I met while in the Dominican Republic on a mission trip!)