i-movies

The i-movie projects have been fun and entertaining to watch. I have really enjoyed seeing what other groups came up with for a movie and what their books were about. I have been impressed by the projects and inspired to read the books. I think this was great way to start conversations about issues in the field of education. The movies have also provided opportunities to hear stories that of teachers that have made a difference which in turn motivate us to become one as well. The only thing that was hard about the i-movies was trying to figure out how to react to it. Because there was no rubric to follow, it was very hard to figure just what to put in the movies. It really pushed us to be creative. The creativity makes for a diversity of projects, but because of that the reflection sheets were awfully hard to fill out. A simple solution to this problem would be to have some form of rubric. I do not think that rubrics hinder creativity, as long as they are loosely written and there is still room for creativity. Some people need structure. I also think that having a rubric is beneficial because it is a fair grading system that holds everyone to the same expectations. I think that I would have felt better about myself and my i-movie if I knew what was expected.

Blogging...

Have I enjoyed blogging? No. Do I think it will be useful in the classroom? Yes. I have a love hate relationship with blogging. I do think that it would be an excellent way of reaching parents and students outside the classroom. Parents need to know what is going on in their child's classroom, what they can ask their children about, and what homework they can help their child with. Communicating with parents is key to a successful education, but why does it have to involve technology? I think that we have forgotten what talking with someone face to face really means. It means that you have taken the time out of your busy day to actually talk to someone, instead of just sending them a quick e-mail or fax. Even a hand written note means so much in these days of hurry. I think that a blog would be an effective way of reaching parents, but how personal is it? I also think that students should be excited enough about school to tell their parents at least a little about what they are doing and learning. Parents should not have to snoop around or hear it through the grape vine. Blogging is difficult for me because I guess I would rather just talk to a person about my thoughts and feelings, other than just typing them, posting them, and hoping someone will read them.

abUSed: The Postville Raid

On Thursday May 7th, I went to the showing of the documentary about the the immigration raid in Postville, that happened a year ago today. The documentary was titled abUSed. We only got to see a 30 minutes of what the director had put together so far, but of those 30 minutes the film seems like it will be a great success. The film is comprised of multiple interviews of people in community that were effected by the raid. The film also takes the viewer step by step, hour by hour of what happened the day of the raid. I think that the story of the Postville is one that needs to be heard, so I am glad that this film is being made.

So what does the Postville raid have anything to do with being a teacher? Well, for starters, many of the students and children that were effected by the raid were in school when the raid took place. In the documentary, a teacher is interviewed about what happened that day a year ago and what has changed in the schools because of it. The teacher said that the students that are still in her class that have parents that are in jail or that have been deported, have bad days and good days. As teachers we need to know how to support students in tragedies, so they can some day be the solution to them. One of the students in her class wants to become a lawyer because of what happened to his mom during the raid and his teacher is determined to make that happen.

The Brain Lady

I really enjoyed the presentation that we attended at Decorah Middle School on the adolescent brain and alcohol. Karen Williams was an excellent speaker that had a personality that came alive through her passion for the brain. I was surprised to learn a couple of things from her presentation. First, I learned that there are two major learning peaks in a child's development. I had no idea that there was two! This is wonderful because it gives a child the opportunity to develop and learn even more. It really made sense about how we teach students and what they need to be learning or developing at certain ages. The second thing I learned was about how teenage drinking is like getting a concussion. I recently had a minor concussion on my j-term trip to South Africa and I still find myself forgetting things. I can not imagine what it would be like to have be in school and not remember something when all your classmates had. To actually learn something you have to remember it. I feel like because I now know the effects of alcohol on a teenagers brain I will be able to show my students why they should not drink and help them with their problems. Also because I know about my students growth/development patterns I will be a more effective teacher.

Like I said before, Karen was a very dynamic speaker. Anyone in the audience could tell that she had a passion and cared about what she was presenting. I think that teachers need to be able to do the same thing. Teachers need to teach with a passion that everyone can see. I feel that if you are passionate about something then others will become passionate about it too.

High Stakes Community Schools

High Stakes was a simulation of a meeting to discuss at proposal for new curriculum and running of the High Stakes Community Schools differently. The class all played roles of groups of people that would both support and not support the proposal. I played the role of the college student (not too difficult to do). We talked about how we supported the proposal because we did not feel prepared for college and this new proposal approached holding back students that were not at grade level. However, we did not agree with the cutting of the arts in the schools. We felt that more art would have been beneficial to us because we were attending colleges that encouraged us to think out of the box and be creative and felt that art would help us learn to do that. This is what I was trying to express when I raised my hand to stick up for the art teachers. This was also the reason I did not really like the simulation. I don't like to argue, but though I did not like the simulation, I did learn that I need to stick up for my beliefs as a teacher. If I think that something needs to be changed or I disagree with something I need to say it. If I as a teacher, don't stick up for myself and my own personal beliefs, it in turn hurts others, like my students, who I am trying to help in the first place.

Chalk and Wire: Thumbs up or Thumbs Down?

Chalk and wire is a great tool for college students because it helps build and organize a working professional portfolio. However, I think that there are many downsides that go along with this portfolio as well. One of the most frustrating things about the portfolio is that it is hard to know exactly what articles to put in and under what competences. The professors at Luther seem to know what they each want but I don't know if they all agree. We all have to have the same things up so we can all be graded fairly. It is hard to figure out what needs to be in the portfolio when the professors themselves are still confused. I understand it is a new system, but it would just be nice to know what is expected in each students portfolio. Speaking of it being a new system, I was talking with my dad the other day about my electronic portfolio and asked him whether or not he had ever had to look at one when he was interviewing someone. My dad is a Elementary School principal in the Osseo School District in Minnesota. He said that he has never had looked at a electronic portfolio before. He also said that the thing with portfolios is that there is only so much that one can find out from them. He said that they are nice to find out how a applicant has demonstrated his or her knowledge, but he says that it is really hard to see if they have had actual experience with it. My dad is currently going through training on how to hire teachers so principals can know exactly what the teacher they will hire will be able to accomplish. He told me that he could not share with me any of the "new " questions and techniques of the interviewing process, but he did tell me getting a teaching job is becoming so much more than just having a comprehensive portfolio. Chalk and wire is a very good organizing information, building a profession, and saving paper, but does it really work in the real world?

Doan Van Dieu: Education in Vietnam

I really enjoyed Professor Doan Van Dieu's presentation on Monday. I found a couple things very fascinating. The first was that he was from Vietnam. Vietnam was a very controversial war in which may be still very fresh in many American's minds. I thought it was a sign of courage and humility for Doan to come over to the U.S. and also for the U.S. to have him come over. It made me feel that Americans can move forward and accept new cultures. And this is exactly what Doan did. He talked about three main points in his presentation, parents roles in children's marriage, students viewpoints on the role of the family and of women, and parents expectations of children. I found these topics very interesting. I think that a typical Vietnamese child has very similar beliefs as an American child. Both want to make their own choices that rarely involve parents. They enjoy their freedom. However, Vietnamese seem to value their family life a lot more than American culture. This is because of their culture and how traditions were set up. Sometimes I wish American children were more concerned with family values than we seem to be. I really liked how Doan described marriage as "shared freedom." Another thing that I found interesting was the study about the roles that women play in the Vietnamese society. Doan said that sex equality is very obvious in Vietnam. If this is true why did the study done? This statement kind of made me feel as if the survey showed what youth want in their society and not what is actually present. I also thought that the results of the survey on what parents expect of their children was interesting. I really like how important education and success was to parents, but what about children who have disabilities? What do parents expect of these children? I wish I would have thought of that question during Doans presentation. I found Doan Van Dieu's presentation very interesting and am glad that I was able to hear about his culture so that my eyes could be opened to different education practices throughout the world.

Chalk vs. The Triangle

I think that the purpose of the movie Chalk is to teach us the exact opposite of how to act, teach, and live. The teachers in this movie have no concern for their students what so ever. However, the good thing about this movie is that is does show us how Bandura's triangle works. Bandura's triangle demonstrates how student's behavior and environment are directly related. In Chalk this is very easy to see. In on of the history classrooms it is very evident that the teacher does not have a lot of experince teaching and does not really have a clue to what he is doing. The students respond to this environment by acint up in class, such as starting fights and having thier cell phones on. Thier behavior is also enticed by thier teacher who does not know how to discipline them. Chalk is a very wierd movie, but it has showed me exacly opposite of the teacher I want to be. I have learned form this movie that teaching has to be all about the students or else there really is not ppont to going to school, like the students in this movie have clearly demonstrated. I have learned that a student's behavior is directly related to the environment they are in. I really hope that this movie does not refelct a real school becasue that would be unacceptable.

Classical Conditioning on The Office

This is the first thing that popped into my head when we read about classical conditioning and how children learn in chapter 7 of Santrock. Don't worry I won't do this to my students.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znAzMkn5Ey0

Gifted vs. Disabled

In the article Autism and Education, a single mom talks about the pressures of bringing up two very different children. One is is servery autistic and one is unusually gifted. She is very grateful about all the care that her son receives for his autism but she feels that her gifted daughter should get the same. I definitely agree with this mom; schools could do a lot more to help gifted students reach their full potential. I think that I also agree with this mom and feel like I am a part of a similar situation. I have a learning disability and my brother is one of the smartest people I know. My brother, Zac, taught himself to solve a rubix cube in less than 2 minutes in less than 3 days. He picked up the guitar and learned how to play all the chords and read tabs in a week. In school, however, Zac knows how to do the bare minimum to get an A. He does not push him self and slides right on by. Me on the other hand, used to get pulled out to work on reading, wring, and math in elementary school, and am now on a program that allows me to have accommodations. It is really easy to see the students, like myself, how need the help but what about the students that just slide by like my brother. The education system needs to start recognizing them as well. Awareness is the first step.

Life in the REAL World

What is life like in the real world once you graduate from Luther College with a degree in Education? This is a pretty big question that my peers and I have and the panel of new teachers brought us some great answers to this question. They told us about some comforting stories and also some that were a little concerning.

One of the things that they talked about that concerned me was the fact that kids have changed. A big part of this is because of the fast pace in which society is changing which have been brought on by technology. It was interesting to learn that kids use the computer for almost everything including looking up vocabulary words. The teachers talked about how information in the classroom has become almost too accessible and the that students are not retaining information as well or generation. Also due to this fact, kids come to schools lacking social skills and manners and need to learn them at school instead of at home. I do think that technology needs to play a role in the classroom but not to the point were it is the only resource students use.

The the comfort that I got from the new teacher presentation was the fact that they had made it! They are people that went through the very same program that I am in right now and they are all successful and are living their dream. I really can not wait to get to that point in my life. I can not wait to see were my path leads. The new teacher panel gave me some great insights into the roles of a teacher in the 21st century and hope for my own future.

Reactions to "Paper Clips," Where do Teachers Draw the Line?

The movie that we watched the past couple of Mondays in class has raised many interesting and concerning questions. One of these questions that I found particulary interesting was the issue of where teachers need to draw the line pertaining to appropriateness of a topic and the age level of thier students. The Holocaust is a very intense subject that is very graphic, incredibly sad, and hard to imagine. Was talking and teaching about the Holocaust at Whitwell Middle School developmentally approriate? Were some of the images, facts, and over all heart break of the Holocaust too much for students especailly at the middle school level? I remember studying the Holocaust in 8th grade, the same grade that they taught it at Whitwell. It was really tough to learn about. I remember one specific night that I was not able to sleep, which is really werid for me because sleeping is something that I am very talented in. I could not get the images and stories out of my head. The Holocaust is a very important event in world history and I am a better person for knowing about it, but it doesn't make it any less horrific. I think that the Holocaust is somthing every one should know about, but at the right time. It seems to easy for a teacher to say "well, they (students) are going to learn about it sometime, might as well be now." As teachers we need to know our students well enough to know if they can or can not handle certian topics. However, there are also topics that no one, no matter what age, will ever really be ready to learn about, like the horrors of the Holocaust. Some of the memebers of the comunity in the movie were not even ready. Where do teachers draw the line? I think that the line drawn should be more of dotted one. Where teachers can controll what is let through. Teachers should have the skills to know what is developmenatly approriate for the students in thier class room. They own the pencil that is used to draw the line, they just need to know when to do it.