School is a microcosm of Society

"Schools are often blamed for the ills of society, yet society
has a major impact on our education system. The problems that schools
are facing today are certainly connected to the problems that are
society faces, including drugs, violence, and the changing of our
family structure. There are many methods that schools have begun to
use in order to deal with the problems they are faced with and still
offer the best possible education to our youth."
Taken from an essay on http://www.cyberessays.com/Politics/31.htm

This quote in interesting to me because it has some very powerful implications for our education system. It is important that teachers recognise that schools are a microcosm of society, meaning that all the problems that exist in the grown up world exist in schools. I think that sometimes as teachers we don't always want to believe that students have problems coming into the classroom. We expect students to leave their problems at the door and come to class every day with a positive attitude, ready to be as excited about my subject as I am. While these are positive expectations, and should be expected of students, I believe that there needs to be understanding when a student comes to class with their problems weighing them down. I believe that it is the teachers responsibility to challenge students to learn how to excel despite the external circumstances and the only way this can happen is by having a caring and compassionate attitude towards these students. How can I expect a students to leave their problems at the door when my bad attitude towards them, when they are having a bad day, only adds another problem to their shoulders. Growing up I noticed these teachers and their bad attitudes were often directed to my friends. Typically the result was my friends shutting down and checking out. Of course I realize that with the sheer number of students I will be in contact with during my career, and the sheer number of bad days I will have as a teacher, this seems very idealistic. Fortunately I believe in a God who I can depend on in the hard times of my career.

A heart for teaching

In my 450 class today we talked about what it takes to teach in a more ethnically diverse school. My initial reaction was overwhelmingly "yes"!!! I could teach outside of "vanilla valley" as one of my classmates put it. It really got me thinking about how this is an issue that still exists today in education. As much as I don't understand it, since I grew up in Colorado Springs where there is not much diversity, I have to be prepared to work with colleagues who may struggle with treating minority students differently. Even with this in mind, I still have no idea what kind of school I want to teach in for my first year. I am worried that if I go into a inner city school, that I will get burnt out within the first two years.

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Why I Teach

It seems that my desire to be a teacher fluctuates. One day I am pumped to step into my career as a teacher while other days I am worried that I might be making a mistake. I have come to realize that it is not so much teaching that scares me, but instead a fear of the unknown. It is amazing to me how one day I was willing to scrap the whole teaching thing before I really experienced what teaching is like. I won't know until I actually get a job and experience a full year of teaching. Some might argue that this kind of perspective is dangerous, saying that I should know if teaching is for me before I student teach. And to some extent I agree with this argument, but what I am talking about is a willingness to take a risk into the unknown. I am an experiential learner so actually experiencing something is vital to my decision making process. So with this in mind, my greatest enemy is a type of fear that prevents me from experiential learning. This reminds me of the first lecture I heard at CSU. Surprisingly, it was not while I was a student but instead when I was visiting CSU for "preview" when I was a Junior in high school. The topic of discussion was potential. He started out the lecture by praising all of us college hopefuls for making it this far, meaning that we had done well enough in school that we could go to college. Keep in mind that all of our parents were sitting in the room as well. He continued explaining all of the possibilities open to us because we had decided to go to college. He set up a frame work of "our potential" to be the change needed in the world. I admit, I was getting inspired. I remember thinking that everything was lining up for my future. Then he dropped a bomb on us. He explained how all of our potential means nothing. I remember a sinking feeling in my stomach. He went on to explain that no matter how much potential we have, it means nothing unless we do something with it. So what if I have the ability to go to college, I actually have to go to college for that ability to mean something. I know this sounds rather simple, but this issue of realizing potential and acting on it can act as a stumbling block for many people, the fear that cripples even the most able minds. I believe that I have potential to be a great teacher, but my battle is not letting the fear of the unknown discourage and inhibit my learning experiences right now.

Here is a website that deals with the things I mentioned: http://psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=20061204-000004&page=1

Also, this video is "why I teach"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU

My first lesson

My first lesson was on the opening of Japan by Commodore Matthew Perry. I decided to do a comparison of Japanese perceptions with American perceptions through the medium of art. Basically, I found a great on-line resource that has a bunch of pictures of paintings both from the Japanese and American sides. My main goal was for my students to understand the "clash of cultures" that happened when the cultures first interacted. Overall it went well. I can always improve though. One thing I did well was time management. I also did a good job of managing the group work I had my students do. The things I need to improve on are some small management pieces like wait until I have given all the instructions before I hand out things with pictures and to make sure I give appropriate closure that relates back to the main theme of "clash of cultures". As far as improving from my ed350 experience, I think I was more confident in front of my students. So I am seeing progress, which is relieving!

These are links to the websites I used to put my lesson plan together. If you are interested in art and or the history of Japan, I highly recommend these: http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027j/black_ships_and_samurai/core.html and

http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027j/yokohama/yb_core_intro.html

Inquiry!? Who knew it could change my life!

Today in 450 we talked about the art of asking questions. My professor started it out by telling the class that our lives would be forever changed after the end of class. He was extremely passionate and modeled to us the concept of a "hook"... and it worked. So, if you are reading this as a future educator, get ready because you will never look the same at asking a question.

Here it is, in one simple formula: ASK THE QUESTION---ALLOW FOR WAIT TIME---USE STUDENTS NAME=EFFECTIVE INQUIRY---that's it! A simple formula for effective question asking right? Well, it turns out that this skill takes some practice. Here are the benefits: lets say that I am teaching a class on World Geography. I ask a simple question like "why did the United States force Japan to open its ports". If I start the question by saying a students name, then the rest of class knows that they don't have to think about the question because I won't put them on the spot because I have already asked one student. If I pose the question to the whole class, then they all have to think because they don't know who I am going to call on. This simple art has the ability to keep the whole class engaged in the discussion. WOW, it blew my mind, simply asking the question first and then calling on a student keeps the class thinking! As my professor put it "inquiry is the difference between a good teacher and great teaching". Sounds cliche at first, but it really makes sense when it is applied in the classroom.

Here is a link for more information on Inquiry http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/index.html

The only thing worse then taking the CSAP is watching students take the CSAP

Today's reflection is on the 4 hours I spent on Tuesday proctoring CSAPs for Fort Collins High School. It was one of the most mind numbing things I have ever done. I spent most of the day counting the seconds in a minute. I also tried counting the seconds in 10 minutes, I only got to around 600 before my mind wondered away...It is amazing how many different songs will go through your head when you are forced to sit in complete silence. So, my view of the CSAP is that it is a good thing, in theory. I do believe that education needs to be accountable to the public and that CSAP is a good way, in theory, to get rid of bad schools and teachers. The problem is that it gets in the way of learning. The weeks that CSAP happen are really hard on the students who have to take them. Can you really expect a student to get anything out of a class when it has been reduced to 35 minutes? Also, the students are completely burnt out after spending 4 hours taking the test. It also poses problems for upper classsmen who are in rigorous AP classes because their class time is reduced as well. Honestly, CSAP's are bitter sweet for me because I understand the need for them, and even agree with that need. In this sense they are sweet, however they are bitter because they have many issues that affect students negatively.

Here is a good blog that offers further information and perspective: http://www.headfirstcolorado.org/blog/index.php/category/accountability/