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!)