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.