- Meeting new people and making new friends
- Staying in the same classroom this semester for field
- I feel 1 million times more prepared to be a teacher than I did last semester
- We have learned A TON of information, and I feel A TON smarter :)
- I learned a lot about myself and my family from the various projects we have had to do
- I taught three lessons and all were successful!!! Even a math lesson
- I could write a lesson plan in my sleep
- We were exposed more to the standards and we worked more with them, which is beneficial information
- I learned about the Hub in the Bell Building
- I bought lots of books to start my classroom library
- We all took 18 hours and we haven't died yet
Friday, April 10, 2009
Positive Experiences from this Semester
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Tammy's Story
Tammy is trying her best to make a living for herself and to support her children. She walks ten miles to work because her car does not have wheels and she does not have a drivers license. She does not want to be on welfare. She has a strong work ethic, even though she does not have much to show for it. She seems to be proud of who she is, but she wishes that she was treated differently by society.
Matt is ashamed of his family members and their living situation. He does not mind living in a trailer, but his friends are unaware of it. At school he does not claim his brother. Matt wants to go to college so his children will not have to deal with growing up in poverty and the unintentional effects it has on people.
Matt is ashamed of his family members and their living situation. He does not mind living in a trailer, but his friends are unaware of it. At school he does not claim his brother. Matt wants to go to college so his children will not have to deal with growing up in poverty and the unintentional effects it has on people.
Stress
The work life of most adults has become more complicated and stressful; and children are very concerned about the stress and fatigue that adults bring home from work. The working world is full of pressures and insecurities over jobs. Working parents must find the time to work, take care of their children, and take care of their home. Juggling everything that is called for in daily life and making time to spend with your children can be nearly impossible, and could cause some parents to feel guilt. Children may feel like their parents are too busy to be with them, but they may know that they are trying to provide for them. This could cause a child to repress their feelings because they do not want to burden their parents anymore. Working stress can also lead to child care stress.
With child care comes the issues of availability, quality, cost, and scheduling. This stresses the parent and their children. A parent might not have enough money to place their child in the program of their choice. When all of these issues are working against you, a parent might have to find a family member to take care of their child. Even if parents do not concern their children with the logistics of work and child care, the stress a parent experiences is transmitted to their children. Continuous stress produces an enzyme in the brain, cortisol, that can hinder a child's normal development.
With child care comes the issues of availability, quality, cost, and scheduling. This stresses the parent and their children. A parent might not have enough money to place their child in the program of their choice. When all of these issues are working against you, a parent might have to find a family member to take care of their child. Even if parents do not concern their children with the logistics of work and child care, the stress a parent experiences is transmitted to their children. Continuous stress produces an enzyme in the brain, cortisol, that can hinder a child's normal development.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Long-Range Plans
I like my long-range plans because I chose social studies, and I think that is an interesting subject if you make it relevant to children. I guess I could have made it more like my unit plan for social studies, but it's not. It is a different grade level and different standards. One thing that I think is important, and a thing I like about my long-range plans, is to make sure that you establish a classroom where everyone respects individual differences and looks past those to work together and be flexible. Being flexible is not only for my students to learn how to do, I plan on being a flexible teacher, because it will be easier for my children to be flexible if I model it for them correctly and in an appropriate manner. Being flexible for me means that I have to take those "teachable" moments and turn them into actual in-depth student-centered learning. If I establish a classroom community where each child is responsible for themselves it will also make it more likely for them to follow the rules and understand why they are in place. I want every child to feel like they are an integral part of our community, because they are, and if children feel valued and known then they are more likely to achieve higher levels of academic success.
This is one reason why I like social studies, it is like a community-building, bettering yourself, type of subject.
Another thing I think is important to note about my long-range plans, is how I plan to establish or cultivate a sense of national pride in my students. Right now, I think it is important to help children to remember to love and have pride in this great country that we are so fortunate to live in, even if we are in an economic crisis and in war, we are still the United States of America. I want the children to know that the fate of this great country is in their hands.
This is one reason why I like social studies, it is like a community-building, bettering yourself, type of subject.
Another thing I think is important to note about my long-range plans, is how I plan to establish or cultivate a sense of national pride in my students. Right now, I think it is important to help children to remember to love and have pride in this great country that we are so fortunate to live in, even if we are in an economic crisis and in war, we are still the United States of America. I want the children to know that the fate of this great country is in their hands.
Assessment in the Field
Given the students in your field class, what do you want to know about them and how would you go about assessing them?
At Drayton Hall, children cannot receive special education services until they are in the 1st grade. As I have said before, the kindergarten class is extremely bright. Almost all of the children can write in complete sentences, and multiple ones at that. But not every child is this advanced. There is one boy, who I have referenced to in my past blogs, who only knows about 12 letters out of the alphabet. I would assess this child to identify a learning or developmental disability, or lack there of one. I would then use this information to decide whether he has special needs and then refer him to the school specialist. This would be a major decision that has a major impact for this child, and it would need to be based on multiple sources of information; including teacher observations, specialists observations, and information from his parents. I would collect this information at regular intervals throughout the year. I would use this assessment to refine how I plan and implement activities for this child. I believe that intervention should happen sooner rather than later.
At Drayton Hall, children cannot receive special education services until they are in the 1st grade. As I have said before, the kindergarten class is extremely bright. Almost all of the children can write in complete sentences, and multiple ones at that. But not every child is this advanced. There is one boy, who I have referenced to in my past blogs, who only knows about 12 letters out of the alphabet. I would assess this child to identify a learning or developmental disability, or lack there of one. I would then use this information to decide whether he has special needs and then refer him to the school specialist. This would be a major decision that has a major impact for this child, and it would need to be based on multiple sources of information; including teacher observations, specialists observations, and information from his parents. I would collect this information at regular intervals throughout the year. I would use this assessment to refine how I plan and implement activities for this child. I believe that intervention should happen sooner rather than later.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Time Management and Organization
Where to begin...
Well I guess you have to be organized to be able to manage your time well, so we will begin with that. One thing that I think is key to organization is a planner. I would be lost without one, and I don't know how people keep up with things that they have to do without one. A second thing that I think you need to be organized is to keep things seperate. I have a notebook and folder for each of my classes, and nothing gets mixed up. At the beginning of each semester, when I recieve the syllabus for the class, I usually write down things that I need to do for that class in the near future in my planner. I find that it is usually pointless to write down everything in the syllabus and its due date because things end up getting moved around. At the end of each week I make sure that I have done everything I wrote down in my planner, and I write down things that are due for the next upcoming weeks.
When it comes to time management I think it is more of a personal thing to do, than something that is prescribed. One thing that I do to manage my time well is when I plan to study something, I study it and I don't do other things. Multitasking is beneficial, but not when I am studying. Also, I don't plan things to do something when I have planned to study. This is where the planner comes in handy. I take breaks, after I finish one task, before I move on to the next one. This gives me a minute to breathe and process the information that I have been looking at, and it helps to get me ready to do the next task on my list.
Well I guess you have to be organized to be able to manage your time well, so we will begin with that. One thing that I think is key to organization is a planner. I would be lost without one, and I don't know how people keep up with things that they have to do without one. A second thing that I think you need to be organized is to keep things seperate. I have a notebook and folder for each of my classes, and nothing gets mixed up. At the beginning of each semester, when I recieve the syllabus for the class, I usually write down things that I need to do for that class in the near future in my planner. I find that it is usually pointless to write down everything in the syllabus and its due date because things end up getting moved around. At the end of each week I make sure that I have done everything I wrote down in my planner, and I write down things that are due for the next upcoming weeks.
When it comes to time management I think it is more of a personal thing to do, than something that is prescribed. One thing that I do to manage my time well is when I plan to study something, I study it and I don't do other things. Multitasking is beneficial, but not when I am studying. Also, I don't plan things to do something when I have planned to study. This is where the planner comes in handy. I take breaks, after I finish one task, before I move on to the next one. This gives me a minute to breathe and process the information that I have been looking at, and it helps to get me ready to do the next task on my list.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
ECDC vs. Field
The children in my field class are able to see simple tasks through to completion. My case study child definitely needs some work in this area. The first thing I saw the child do was not put away blocks after he played with them. The teacher asked him several times to put away the things he had been working with. The child blatantly disregarded the teacher and pushed a friend down and made him cry.
The children in my field class understand and follow classroom rules without reminders. The children in my field class know what is expected of them, because the teacher established those expectations for them. It seemed to me that the children at ECDC pretty much have free reign over their classroom. Children at this age are very egocentric, and this might contribute to their not following classroom rules without reminders in that since they don't really like the rules they don't have to follow them...?
Primary grades classrooms have more of a structure than the classrooms I have observed at ECDC, and structure is not a bad thing. The classroom that I am in at Drayton Hall is considerably larger than the classrooms at ECDC, and I like that better. I think that the classrooms at ECDC have a lot more storage space on the walls. The students at both locations sit at tables with multiple students (4-6) at a table.
At ECDC the schedule is more flexible than at a primary school. I feel like they can make their schedules more flexible because the day really depends on the students, and I am not sure if that is a good thing or not. At ECDC the students also receive more time outdoors than children at a primary school. Play is an important component to learning, but while I was observing the class was outside for at least an hour and a half and they were going to go back outside again in the afternoon. (Keep in mind that these were three year olds.)
I think that ECDC is a beneficial program, but I am not sure if I would enroll my child there.
The children in my field class understand and follow classroom rules without reminders. The children in my field class know what is expected of them, because the teacher established those expectations for them. It seemed to me that the children at ECDC pretty much have free reign over their classroom. Children at this age are very egocentric, and this might contribute to their not following classroom rules without reminders in that since they don't really like the rules they don't have to follow them...?
Primary grades classrooms have more of a structure than the classrooms I have observed at ECDC, and structure is not a bad thing. The classroom that I am in at Drayton Hall is considerably larger than the classrooms at ECDC, and I like that better. I think that the classrooms at ECDC have a lot more storage space on the walls. The students at both locations sit at tables with multiple students (4-6) at a table.
At ECDC the schedule is more flexible than at a primary school. I feel like they can make their schedules more flexible because the day really depends on the students, and I am not sure if that is a good thing or not. At ECDC the students also receive more time outdoors than children at a primary school. Play is an important component to learning, but while I was observing the class was outside for at least an hour and a half and they were going to go back outside again in the afternoon. (Keep in mind that these were three year olds.)
I think that ECDC is a beneficial program, but I am not sure if I would enroll my child there.
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