Quick Response: Chapter Ten

This chapter was appealing because it made the point that students actually did want to learn not only in new and different ways but OUTSIDE of school as well. The fact that students wanted to be steered toward after school and summer programs was uplifting because school then is not a requirement, learning is fun and important to them. The fact that students would be willing to do extra instead of just scrapping by was extremely uplifting because then learning means more to them then simply a diploma it is an experience, an invesment, and important.

Quick Response: Chapter Nine

I liked this chapter because it is easy to be fearful of things going wrong. Everyone likes to feel in control. The section that struck me the greatest was to not take a bad day too hard. Everyone is every profession has a bad day, teachers are going to have them as well. Students are going to be a bad mood, have things going on in their lives, and somedays they just honestly will not want to be there. As a student myself I have those day. As a teacher, you are not allowed to have those days because it is your job and that is what you are trained and paid to do. Passionate teachers are passionate everyday. It reminds me of my job on the phones at MBNA, if I had a bad phone call I could not carry that on to the next call because it was not fair to the student. When you have a bad class or a bad day you cannot carry that on because it is not fair to your students who are there, commited to the class.

Quick Response: Chapter Eight

This chapter I approached with a little apprehension becuase I am not sure whether or not I will teach outside of the state of Maine, and the state of Maine has little diversity. However, as the chapter went on I did find helpful hints not only in the form of teaching students where English is not their first language but in teaching students who have learning disibilites in general. I am not saying I will never have a student that does not speak English well, but I think the best way for me to look at it at this point is to look at it this way. The most helpful part was the section about differentiation at the end. Using different activities including oral exams seesm very useful. My teacher had a student with a second grade reading level and a learning disorder take a test the other day and the student took part of the exam orally. This showed to me that the important part was not remembering it all for the test, but checking for understanding completely from the students.

Quick Response: Chapter Seven

This chapter was by far the most infulential chapter of them all. It gave incredibly helpful insights into actually classroom strategies that could help students actually learn and relate to the material. The part I especially related to was the section of not sticking exactly to the book. The students gave suggestions such as giving supplemental reading, giving textbooks excerpts from other country's textbooks and relating the subject to everyday life. I particularly liked the idea of giving excerpts from other nation's textbooks for a history class because of different views of an episode such as a American Revolution, it really puts things in perspective. I especially liked this part of the book because my mentor teacher in the schools really stuck to the book in terms of the content, section by section, and chapter by chapter and it really bored me just for the time I was there. I cannot imagine what it would be like for the entire year.

Quick Response: Chapter Six

The section that most stuck out to me was the one on what actually motivates students. Some of the examples given were passionate teachers, issues kids care about, connections to the real world, and choices on things that matter. In particular what stood out to me connections to thereal world and passionate teachers. I think it is important in every subject to connect the material the students are learning to every day life and things that are important to them. In terms of passionate teaching, this is a subject that is extremely important to me. In everything I do I am passionate. Things are not worth doing unless they are done with all of you. Therefore, I know that I will be able to be a passionate teacher because history is already something I am passionate about.

Quick Response: Chapter Five

The part of this chapter that I liked was the different tips for students working in small groups. Some of the things mentioned were things that we had already covered in Grace's class. Some of the things mentioned were to make sure the work challenged everyone, assign clear roles in the group, make sure everyone contributes in the group, do not let some of the members challenge the others, keep an eye on every member, and to sometimes let them pick the group they want to work with. The particular part that jumped out at me was the section on challenging them all was when the student said, "If you're done, you're just waiting there. Add an extra challenge, or think of something harder." This reminded me of the response I had written on Chapter Three about wasting time at the end of periods. It was rewarding to know that this bothers students as well.

Quick Response: Chapter Four

This chapter stuck out to me because of the pressures put on students to blend in and be "cool" for not achieving in school. I saw this a lot at Madison. I feel like a lot of the students are generally apathetic towards learning because that's what is accepted and cool to their peers. It is sad to see a school where generally the students do not strive to achieve because that is the norm. I feel like this was drastically different from my high school where generally the students did want to achieve and go on to college. Student apathy has been my biggest problem at Madison and the thing that made the biggest impression upon me while I was there. As an aspiring teacher I want to take the rest of my time here to learn strategies to combat this personally and ways that I can better relate history to my students.

Quick Response: Chapter Three

Chapter Three:

I really related to the very beginning when the student was saying that teacher's needed to keep their class disciplined and in order because otherwise the student automatically felt as if it was a waste of time. Personally, I hate classes where the teacher allows a lot of unporductive time because I feel as if it is wasting my time. If I have made the effort to be there then I expect the teacher/professor to put in the adequate planning time so that I get the most out of it. In the schools that is what has frustrated me that most about block scheduling is that at least with my teacher there is downtime at the end of every class in which she allows students to sit and not do anything productive. For me it is frustrating because in almost every case the students have things to work on and I feel that the oppotunity could be used to do other things with the students, taking the opportunity to learn new things, etc.

NYT Middle School Article

The middle school debate is basically the concept of getting rid of middle schools completely and creating either just a K-8 school or a 6-12 school. The argument for getting rid of the middle school completely is that it is already a traumatic time for kids that age and they do not need another change. Also, that they can excell in an environment with older kids especially in sports. Another argument is that if the kids are in the K-8 school it is more of a comfort zone for them. The argument against this is that reconfiguration is costly and is not really taking into consideration what kids really need. Adolescents really need smaller class sizes, an engaging curriculum, personalized attention, and well-perpared teachers.

Personally I do not believe in this at all. It is not the correct solution for the middle school program. Middle school children need more attention which does not help to blend them into an even large crowd. Middle school in miserable for everyone, it is an awkward time but it is best for them to be all together going through it together. I do not believe keeping them in the "comfort zone" of elementary school will help them at all with the changes they are going through nor the real world. I do not believe that putting them in with high schoolers is a good idea because high school is terrifying enough for a freshman let alone dealing with 18 year olds when you are only 12. If I did become a teacher of these grade levels it would impact me in I was in a K-8 school because it would put me in a completely different environment than what I have been trained to be in. Being in the 6-12 school would not be that different but I think it would take away from the middle school experience. Middle school kids deserve their own attention and I believe the best way to do this is to have their own transition school. This age is a transition and it should be recognized and treated as one.

Quick Response Podcasting

Today I went out and found my own podcast to suscribe to. I did have a little trouble finding one that looked really interesting but I finally settled on a short one but it was a subject I could see myself legitamately keeping on my iTunes. My podcast that I suscribed to was "Royston's Jokes of the Day" and why I thought it would be good for me is because I love listening to people tell jokes and I always want to participate but I can only remember ONE single joke that I've EVER been told. So I figure this could give me a couple of laughs and definately elevate my social status at the same time, haha. The joke for today was, "A snake slithers into a pub and went up to the bar. The bartender says, 'I'm sorry but I can't serve you.' And the snake says, 'What?! Why not???' And the bartender says... [dramatic pause] 'Because, you can't hold your drinks.'" My response- I think I could make that work in a social setting.

Copyright and Fair Use Quick Response

1. I was surprised with number 7 because I would have figured you would need student permission to post their work on a website, after considering it as long as the website is protected it makes more sense.

2. Number 11 surprised me because it seems as though you promoting messing with someone else's work.

3. Number 12 surprised me because of the word "digitizing" but apparently I don't know what that means, I suppose it was the same reaction I had one number 11.

4. Number 13 surprised me as I was not aware that you could use other people's intellectual property for educational purposes without permission.

5. Number 14 surprised me as I that was the question I was 100% sure I had write and I was quickly proven wrong, I did not forsee a problem with showing kids a Disney movie whatsoever.

6. Number 15 surprised me as I did not see a problem in compliling movie clips to start off a lesson I actually am pretty sure I had a professor here at UMF do that every class.

7. Number 16 surprised me because this one just simply seemed wrong.

8. Number 19 surprised me simply because I did not realize there was a difference between playing part of a song and playing the entire song.

Quick Response Blog

So far blogging has been relatively painless. I have never really done this before so I was a little hesitant at the beginning but I have not had a problem yet and have my fingers crossed that it will remain this way. I always sort of thought that blogging was like an online journal and that turned me off toward the idea because I am more of an internal person. However, I can see how this process could help me in learning technology in the classroom and also how it can keep me organized with the label function.

Quick Reponse: Chapter Two

Chapter Two Response
The thing that stuck out to me most in this chapter was the concept of respect. Whether it is earning respect or giving respect both are equally important.
Respect is something that is very important to me because I have always been taught it is the most important thing in a relationship between any two people. After being in school for 15 years I realize it is extremely important in a learning environment because students rarely react positively to a teacher who does not respect that. At the same time respect is not something that is demanded it is something that is earned and I am eager to learn tools that will help me do this successfully.

Quick Reponse: Chapter One

Chapter One Response
What stuck out to me in the passage is the idea of a “get to know you survey.” The survey was suggested to give to students on the first day in an attempt to recognize them as individuals.
This is because it was something I had thought about before and a subject I am very passionate about. Students are unique individuals and this seems as though a great way to appreciate that. Teaching a subject like history can be hard because many students find it dull, by reaching out to the students and understanding them better I will be better able to relate history to them.

Quick Response: Introduction

Introduction Response
Though this section was practically five pages long the one thing that stuck out to me was the excerpt from the quotation at the beginning of the introduction. The part that was detailing what would make a good teacher and then stated, “If it is a lady, it would be good if she is pretty.”
Though I understand the comment was not meant to be degrading it did stick out to me because I am a woman who takes pride not on being good looking but on being intelligent and assuming this is a profession that will be rewarding because of that.

Quick Response: Preface

Preface Response:
What caught my attention was simply the fresh approach to education. The fact that teachers would sit down and collaborate the work with students was a unique and intriguing idea.
This particular idea spoke to me because I feel my educational experience, though it was rewarding, could have benefited from this and I am eager to incorporate some of these ideas in my own teaching.